President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid package that includes a bill that would ban TikTok if China-based parent company ByteDance fails to divest the app within a year. The divest-or-ban bill is now law, starting the clock for ByteDance to make its move. The company has an initial nine months to sort out a deal, though the president could extend that another three months if he sees progress.

Tubi Partners With Sports Streaming Platform DAZN

Tubi, Fox’s free, ad-supported streamer, has partnered with British streaming service DAZN to add new channels featuring live and recorded women’s football, or soccer, as its known in the U.S., as well as boxing and MMA.

BRAND CONNECTIONS

DoubleVerify Gets CTV ‘Video Viewable’ MRC Accreditation

Digital media data and analytics company DoubleVerify has received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for Video Viewable Impressions for connected TV (CTV). The company says this will help identify issues with advertisements that have run or played when TV sets are off.

Local News Close-Up: St. Louis Born And Bred

Stations everywhere take pride in having a main anchor who comes from the market they represent. That applies in St. Louis, too, but it also pertains to general managers. The bosses at KTVI-KPLR, KMOV and KSDK were all born and raised there. “St. Louisans love St. Louisans,” Kurt Krueger, KTVI-KPLR VP-GM says. “It gives me a special insight into what viewers like, and what they want to tune into.”

Inside The Crisis At NPR

Listeners are tuning out. Sponsorship revenue has dipped. A diversity push has generated internal turmoil. Can America’s public radio network turn things around?

Winners Of The Inaugural Poynter Journalism Prizes Announced

On Tuesday, Poynter unveiled the winners of its inaugural journalism contest, continuing a tradition that was most recently headed by the News Leaders Association. The Poynter Journalism Prizes saw over 525 entries from more than 300 news organizations and individual journalists. The contest was open to work across all platforms, including digital and broadcast, and featured 10 categories focused on different aspects of writing, reporting and leadership. Winners will receive a cash prize of $1,000 or $2,500, depending on the category. The broadcast winner is KHOU Houston.

Scripps Exploring Sale Of Black-Culture Diginet Bounce TV

E.W. Scripps, one of the largest local TV broadcasters in the U.S., has hired a financial adviser to evaluate interest in acquiring Bounce TV, its over-the-air network geared toward African Americans, according to Scripps CEO Adam Symson.

MARKET SHARE

WLBT CSD’s Balancing Act For Commercial Production And Station Promotion

Kayla Thomas, creative services director of WLBT in Jackson, Miss., came up with a solution to balance commercial production and station promotion for two stations. “We are finally rolling like a well-oiled machine,” she says.

Noncommercial KQED San Francisco is initiating staff buyouts, an effort to reduce costs in the face of a budget deficit. In an April 17 email to staff at the Bay Area’s best-known public broadcasting station, KQED President Michael Isip said the buyouts are a first step in reducing costs and that additional tactics might be necessary, including layoffs or a hiring freeze. (Google Street View)

With the augmented reality advertising market expected to reach $14.5 billion in 2027 (up from $3.4 billion in 2022), the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Media Rating Council have added game creator Niantic’s Rewarded AR ads technology to the set of ad industry measurement guidelines that both companies first released in February. “The Augmented Reality advertising market is projected to generate $1.2 billion in revenue in the U.S. this year,” explained Zoe Soon, vice president of IAB’s Experience Center, in February, adding: “Thus, as an industry, we need to establish a greater consistency on how we define and measure AR advertising to foster fairness and transparency for buyers and sellers.”

Texas AG Appeals Order Blocking Investigation Of Media Matters

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday appealed an order that effectively blocked his investigation of the watchdog Media Matters, which issued a critical report about brand safety on the social platform X. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta in Washington prohibited Paxton from attempting to enforce a subpoena for a trove of information, ruling that he likely violated Media Matter's First Amendment rights by issuing the subpoena in retaliation for the group's report about ads on X. Paxton will ask the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to lift that injunction. The Texas official hasn't yet made substantive arguments to that court.

The TikTok legislation was included as part of a larger $95 billion package that provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel and was passed 79-18. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it Wednesday. Pictured: A TikTok content creator, speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, April 23, as Senators prepared to consider legislation that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP)

Jo Ann Ross Steps Down As Paramount Ad Sales Chairman

Jo Ann Ross, the long-running queen of television advertising sales, is stepping down from her role as chairman of Paramount Advertising at the end of the month, the company says. A year ago, Ross was named chairman, taking an advisory role to Paramount Advertising President John Halley. The new move comes weeks before the upfront. Pictured: Jo Ann Ross with Jon Batiste's band during a CBS upfront at Carnegie Hall (CBS).

TVN’S MEDIA JOBS

Jobs Posted To TVNewsCheck

Jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include an opening for a director of sales and an account executive, executive producer, meteorologist, weekend anchor, sales manager, senior newscast producer, digital video producer and reporter.

TVN Webinar: Streaming Revenue Strategies For Local TV

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.

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