EARNINGS CALL
Murdoch Bullish On Sports JV, Tubi, Political Spend
Talking with analysts, the Fox CEO described the still-unnamed joint venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery that’s now in beta as “an incredibly exciting product.” The company’s operating results showed a decline in revenue from last year’s third quarter, but affiliate fees rose, from about $1.86 billion in last year’s comparable quarter to $1.94 billion.
NBCUniversal and Pluto announced NBCUniversal Local’s 15 NBC and Telemundo local and regional streaming news channels begin launching on Pluto TV this month, beginning today with five channels covering major […]
BRAND CONNECTIONS
QUARTERLY REPORT
Fox Swings To Quarterly Profit Despite Slump In Ad Revenue
Fox Corp. said it swung to a profit in its fiscal third quarter despite slumps in advertising revenue, largely due to the absence of charges associated with a massive legal setback tied to Fox News Channel and a boost in affiliate fees. The owner of Fox News Channel and the Fox broadcasting network said overall revenue fell to about $3.45 billion, compared to approximately $4.08 billion in the year-earlier period.
QUARTERLY REPORT
Tegna Q1 Revenue Dips 4%
The decrease to $714 million is attributed to lower subscription revenue and advertising and marketing services revenue.
Englewood, Colo.-based cable operator WideOpenWest (WOW!) canceled the Q&A portion of its first-quarter earnings report Tuesday, as a specially convened WOW! board committee considers an unsolicited takeover offer from private equity. DigitalBridge Investments and "various Crestview entities" have made a cash offer to purchase all outstanding WOW! shares not already owned by Crestview for $4.80 a share.
The 17 games, which feature the No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark, 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, will now be available to 4.6 million homes.
MARKET SHARE
Barbara Beresford New CSD At WPBF West Palm Beach
Barbara Beresford has taken over the reins as creative services director at Hearst's WPBF (ABC 25) in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Worldwide fraud rates for optimized ad campaign meant to protect brands fell to all-time lows in the second half of 2023, but those unprotected rose 14 times higher, according to data released Tuesday by media measurement and optimization platform Integral Ad Science. Rates for optimized campaigns fell to 0.6% from 0.9% the two prior years. The year-over-year rate in the Americas dropped to 0.1 point.
Ricky Strauss is exiting from his role as head of marketing at Apple TV+ after leading the department for nearly a year and a half. An insider familiar with Strauss’ moves indicated that the exec is looking to pursue other creative endeavors. It is unclear whether the now-vacated position will be filled and who will step in if so.
The game, which will see Clark's Indiana Fever face off against the Connecticut Sun, is set for May 14, and will be the first (non-animated) live sports event on Disney+.
The network has handed out a series order to the multicamera comedy Happy’s Place, starring Reba McEntire, and renewed George Lopez’s half-hour Lopez vs. Lopez for a third season. Additionally, NBC has canceled rookie comedy Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer.
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniversal Advertising and Partnerships, says. NBCU is set up to respond to both of those needs during the upfront, Kovacs says.
QUARTERLY REPORT
Comscore Posts $5.2 Million Loss In 1st Quarter
Measurement company Comscore’s net loss was $5.2 million, or $1.08 a share in the quarter, compared to a loss of $12.5 million, or $2.66 a share, a year ago. Revenue dipped 5% to $86.8 million cross-platform solution revenue was down 9.7% because of lower national TV revenue. For the full year 2024, Comscore expects revenue to be between $375 million and $390 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 12% and 15%.
The FCC is set to vote May 23 on a proposal to ban labs owned by companies deemed to be national security risks from its equipment authorization program. Companies on the agency’s “covered list” are already barred from receiving FCC authorizations necessary to sell new wireless products, as well as from being vendors for federally funded projects. The proposal circulated Thursday would prohibit labs and facilities from conducting tests for the agency as part of that authorization program if they’re at least 10% owned by a covered list entity.
PROGRAMMING EVERYWHERE 2024
Video: Finding New Levels Of Interactivity In Game Shows
Executives heralding bold game show innovations from CBS, Fremantle, Fox Television Stations and Apploff Entertainment share how interactivity can be built into decades-old catalogs and up-to-the-minute multiplatform offerings alike in this panel at TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere conference. Become a TVNewsCheck subscriber here to watch the exclusive video.
WEEK ENDING MAY 6
Station Trading Roundup: 1 Deal, $200,000
The purchase of WZPK-LD Monticello, N.Y., by Hudson TV tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Advisory Services.
Tegna promotes the news director to oversee operations at its NBC affiliate in Oregon and southwest Washington.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
New Jobs Posted To TVNewsCheck
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include an opening for a director of student media and a national operations director. Existing openings include a digital platform specialist, an account executive and a sales director.
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.