In July of 2023, recently returned Disney CEO Bob Iger shocked the media industry by indicating he might be open to divesting the company’s declining linear assets. By last fall, he’d changed his mind, declaring them not for sale. On interviews and earnings calls since, he’s explained why — most recently at the MoffettNathanson media conference, and in the midst of annual upfront presentations to advertisers.
In its biggest completed deal so far, the company adds the production firm behind such series as The Traitors (pictured), Squid Game: The Challenge and The Tourist, and films like 1917 to its media portfolio.
The lawsuit claims Berkeley-based startup LOVO misappropriated actors' voices to create its AI voice tool.
Using Samba TV data, StackAdapt is providing clients with Reach Forecasting and Incremental Reach Measurement features.
The CW is looking to keep acquiring sports rights and is eyeing an expansion on Sundays as well as potential team-ups with other rights holders, President Dennis Miller said. In an upfronts briefing alongside Brad Schwartz, president of Entertainment, Miller said the pace of sports rights dealmaking has surprised “everyone, from Perry [Sook, CEO of parent company Nexstar] on down.”
The company’s name and logo were announced this morning by CEO Pete Distad. The service expects to launch this fall in the U.S., though it faces a legal challenge from pay-TV company Fubo and resistance from some corners of the industry and federal government. The companies first revealed plans for the initiative last February.
The CW's transformation under new owners Nexstar is almost complete, with only two pre-merger series, the final season of Superman & Lois and veteran improv comedy Whose Line It Is Anyway?, on the network’s fall schedule. What’s more, there is an unprecedented scheduling turnover, with only three shows from the current 2023-24 season making it to next fall, Whose Line, Sullivan’s Crossing and Inside the NFL.
In a matter of hours, two networks outmaneuvered their rivals and landed a coveted pair of Biden-Trump primetime debates.
The current leader of CBS O&O WBBM Chicago is adding the company's Detroit station to her portfolio.
Now is not the best time for women in TV. According to recent research by the Creative Diversity Network, whose Diamond report collects data from the U.K.’s big broadcasters, the gender gap is widening. One female director hides that she has a child; younger women face a 39% gender pay gap; and harassment is widespread. Insiders say it’s a wonder the television industry has any women left at all.
The Sun's 92-71 win over the Fever in Clark's WNBA debut on the league's opening night on Tuesday drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, including a high of 2.3 million viewers between 7:45 p.m. and 7:59 p.m. That topped ESPN's previous mark of nearly 1.5 million viewers for a Phoenix Mercury-Connecticut Sun game on May 22, 2004, in Diana Taurasi's rookie season. (Jessica Hill/AP)
When YouTube launched nearly two decades ago, its first clip was a grainy video of co-founder Jawed Karim speaking to the camera while standing in front of the elephants at the San Diego Zoo. Since, then the online video giant has increasingly been the entertainment of choice for billions of people. And while the Google-owned service is still often thought of as being the destination for people watching funny short videos on their smartphones, the way that Americans watch it has changed in a big way.
Diamond Sports Group said negotiations with Comcast Corp. remain open despite warnings from Major League Baseball that the cable provider’s decision to drop its regional sports channels could force the league to set up alternative broadcasts for fans of a dozen teams.
The Trade Desk, Google Display & Video 360 and Magnite join Microsoft handling programmatic sales.
The studio’s historic mix stages for TV and motion pictures have been restored and updated.
The seven-year run of the hit series, which ends on Thursday, mirrors the story of the television business during that time.
A bipartisan group of senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a sweeping report Wednesday detailing how Congress should regulate AI, capping off a nearly year-long effort. Getting AI bills passed before the end of the year is a bipartisan goal, but time is running out with limited opportunities for floor action and the election looming. Any change in administration or congressional makeup could derail the report's goals.
The FCC names the leaders who will guide the agency's spectrum policy modernization and National Spectrum Strategy efforts.
CBS’ FBI (with 6 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating) was Tuesday’s most-watched show and landed in a three-way tie for the nightly demo win. Fox's newly renewed The Cleaning Lady (1.1 mil/0.2) ticked up in the demo.
Technology leaders from NBC Regional Sports Networks, Sinclair, Gray Television, Hearst Television and Fox Television Stations discuss the benefits and challenges of remote production in an IP environment in a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch webinar on July 16 at 1 p.m. ET. Register here.
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a station vice president and general manager and a lifestyle show producer. Existing jobs include openings for a director of student media, a national operations manager, a digital platform specialist and an account executive.
Streaming sales leaders from Gray Television, E.W. Scripps, Hearst Television, Ticker and Megaphone TV will share the latest developments in technology and strategy for OTT and FAST channels. Learn more about this critically important revenue source for broadcasters in a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch Webinar on May 16. Register here.
