‘Karamo’ Picked Up for Season 3

Karamo has been renewed for a third season, Tracie Wilson, executive vice president, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News, said Thursday. The conflict talker is hosted by reality television personality, author, actor, producer and activist Karamo Brown.

Magna Sees National TV Ad Revenue Down 4.7% In 2024

Despite an improving economic outlook, media buyer Magna forecasts that weakness of linear networks will result in national TV ad revenues falling 4.7% to $44.2 billion in 2024. Magna sees spending on linear networks dropping 8.8% to $34.2 billion, while streaming, including ad supported video on demand, connected TV and free ad-supported streaming television is expected to jump 12.9% to hit the $10 billion mark, accounting for 22% of national TV ad market.

Fast-Growing YouTube TV Seen Breaking Even In 2024

YouTube TV, the fast-growing virtual multichannel video programming distributor, is expected to post a profit for the first time in 2024, according to analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson. Nathanson sees YouTube TV having operating income of $200 million in 2024, following a loss of $300 million in 2023. He sees net income continuing to rise, hitting $600 million in 2026.

BRAND CONNECTIONS

Big Four Affiliates Oppose FCC On Retrans Blackout Reports

The Big Four affiliates want federal regulators to drop plans of keeping a record of signal blackouts that result from contract disputes between TV stations and cable and satellite TV providers. Lawyers for some 600 stations affiliated with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks delivered that message to the FCC this week along with a fresh request that online linear video providers like YouTube TV should be classified as the legal equivalent of cable and satellite TV operators and brought within the carriage distribution system known as retransmission consent.

Major League Baseball Sets Up Pay TV, Streaming For Rockies Games

On opening day Major League Baseball said it has taken over production and distribution of all local Colorado Rockies games this season, following the shutdown of AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain by Warner Bros. Discovery. DirecTV, Comcast’s Xfinity, Charter Communications’ Spectrum and Fubo have all set up channels where subscribers can watch Rockies games on Rockies.tv.

‘Love Is Blind’ Takes Over Nielsen Streaming Charts

Love Is Blind eclipsed Avatar: The Last Airbender to take No. 1 on the Nielsen streaming charts as Season 6 of the reality dating series started to heat up. From Feb. 19 to 25, Love Is Blind tallied 2.1 billion viewing minutes, which was slightly down from the week prior but enough to claim the top spot. This coincided with the release of the second batch of episodes in Season 6, which dropped on Netflix on Feb. 21.

Fox Corp. on Wednesday announced its entertainment studio will be restructured across three key business segments — entertainment, television and streaming platforms, and worldwide sales and licensing. The newly created Fox Entertainment Studios will be headed by Fernando Szew, founding partner and CEO of MarVista Entertainment and Fox Entertainment Global.
Fox Television Network will be led by Michael Thorn, president of scripted programming for Fox Entertainment.

ESPN is planning another Monday Night Football pregame shake-up, according to executives with knowledge of the network’s plans. A year after a complete makeover of the set under the stewardship of Scott Van Pelt, Robert Griffin III’s spot is in jeopardy, while the network is aggressively pursuing retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce for Monday nights. (Matt Rourke/AP)

Biden Goes Local In Effort To Get Around National Media

Biden and his top aides say the road to reelection isn’t only through the national television and print outlets, where many of the viewers and readers are familiar with his record. As they begin the general election, a core part of their media strategy will be done at the local level, especially in an effort to move the ball forward with critical swing voters. Pictured: President Joe Biden visits his Wisconsin election campaign office in Milwaukee on March 13. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has sued Media Matters in an attempt to protect Elon Musk and X from the nonprofit watchdog group's investigations into hate speech on the social network. Bailey's lawsuit claims that "Media Matters has used fraud to solicit donations from Missourians in order to trick advertisers into removing their advertisements from X, formerly Twitter, one of the last platforms dedicated to free speech in America."

Walmart Taking Second Try At Antitrust Filings On Vizio Acquisition

Walmart plans to redo and refile documents pertaining to antitrust issues regarding its proposed acquisition of Vizio. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Vizio, “following informal discussions with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, Walmart notified the antitrust agencies that Walmart will voluntarily withdraw and refile the Hart-Scott-Rodino notification report form for the merger in order to give the antitrust agencies additional time to review the proposed transaction.”

Paramount Global‘s credit rating has been lowered to junk status by S&P Global, which cited the toll of ongoing pay-TV declines as a key factor in the downgrade. The company said Wednesday it dropped Paramount’s rating to BB+ from BBB- due to the “accelerating declines in linear media and the shift toward a more competitive and less certain streaming model.”

TVN’S MEDIA JOBS

New Jobs Posted To TVNewsCheck

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a reporter in coastal California and a media salesperson to work remotely.

More News

In Case You Missed It