The network was seeking about $325,000 for 30 seconds of commercial time in the highly anticipated interview, ad buyers said. The two-hour interview is scheduled for Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET, after the network’s popular news magazine 60 Minutes.
CLOSING BELL
Dow Finishes Up 572, Nasdaq Climbs 197
A tech rebound on Friday pulled stocks our of a slump and to a weekly gain. The S&P 500 rose 2% after clawing back from a 1% skid that followed a 1% surge at the start of trading. Other stock indexes went through similar zigzags, but finished with solid gains.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
OVERNIGHTS
‘Celebrity Wheel’ And ‘The Chase’ End Low
ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune wrapped its freshman run with 5.6 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo rating, ticking down week-to-week to match and hit season lows. Also yet to be renewed, The Chase similarly slipped to season lows with its first Thursday episode (4.2M/0.5), and then dipped further with its actual finale (3.3M/0.4). CBS's Young Sheldon (7.5M/0.9) dominated the night in both measures.
Jeep’s soon-to-be-revealed Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be the first vehicles in the automotive industry to integrate Amazon Fire TV for Auto, according to the automaker. In-car connectivity will allow passengers to stream their favorite shows or movies together or separately while staying linked to their digital lives, with access to apps and Alexa.
Exclusives
Q&A WITH EDMUND LEE
Sports Are The Internet’s Secret Key
To glimpse the future of entertainment on the internet, pay attention to where we can watch football.
The CW's Superman & Lois is coming off The CW schedule temporarily after being impact by COVID-19. The show will take a break after its fifth episode and will return for new episodes and to finish up the season on May 18. Meanwhile, Supergirl, will premiere its sixth and final season on Tuesday March 30 in that same timeslot.
Dish Network has notified subscribers that they’re going to lose more regional sports networks on April 1 when its deal to carry the NBC Regional Sports Networks expires. The timing is odd, coming days after Dish announced a deal with DraftKings, which wants viewers watching sports and betting on the outcomes. Under poker player and chairman Charlie Ergen, Dish has been folding its relationships with RSNs, which he had deemed offering too low a return for too high a price.
Andrew Giuliani, who was an adviser to President Donald Trump and is the son of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, has joined Newsmax TV as a contributor. He is a former professional golfer and was special assistant to the president and association director of the Office of Public Liaison at the White House.
As the lines continue to blur between traditional and digital media, players scramble for a piece of the new and very appetizing pie.
The first episode of Superman & Lois is the most-streamed series premiere in The CW’s history, the network said Thursday. The DC Entertainment series’ first episode has been watched by a total of 3.25 million total viewers, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-seven measurement. That marks an 86% growth over the seven days following the Feb. 23 premiere.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said Thursday that former President Trump’s account on the platform will be reinstated "when we determine that the risk of violence has decreased." Trump's YouTube account was suspended a week after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Thursday he expects the cable channel's ratings to recover after a post-election dip.
One newsroom is experimenting with the livestream service to reach new viewers and increase transparency.
Another CTV ad fraud scheme has hit servers in recent weeks — the second one discovered this year — with a estimated advertising cost of $5 million per month, according to DoubleVerify. This follows the ParrotTerra scheme discovered in February by DoubleVerify, estimated to have cost a much greater $30 million to $50 million in ad dollars, spoofing some 3.7 million devices.
NEWS ANALYSIS
Adara Pitches MobiTV Alternative
Adara Technologies has introduced a streaming TV platform that, it claims, can provide tier 2/3 operators with an alternative to MobiTV, the pay-TV tech company whose future is uncertain after filing for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week. Adara, a supplier that has also developed a video switching platform that helps its base of independent operators reclaim bandwidth for broadband and other services, is also out in the market with an app- and IP-based video platform called "myCatapulTVe."
Peter Doocy, the son of Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy has fast become a noisy fixture in the briefing room.
QUARTERLY REPORT
Comscore Reports $13.2 Million 4Q Loss
Comscore reported a fourth quarter loss as the company prepared to close a deal that promises to wipe out the measurement company’s debt. The company said it lost $13.2 million, or 18 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to a loss of $21.4 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue dropped to $90 million from $95.2 million a year ago.
TVN WORKING LUNCH WEBINAR
How Well Are Performance Campaigns Performing?
Leaders of the spot TV buying and selling community will tackle the evolving world of performance campaigns and how well they are doing at making local TV ad campaigns both more effective and easier to steward during a TVNewsCheck webinar. Set for March 31 at 1 p.m. ET, Performance Campaigns and Optimizing Spot TV will feature (top row, l-r): Nancy Larkin, Horizon Media; Kathy Doyle, MagnaGlobal; Missy Evenson, Scripps; (bottom row, Ted Kramer, ProvantageX; and moderator Janet Stilson. To register, click here.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
News Director And Executive Producer Openings
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for an executive producer in Columbus, Ga./Opelika-Auburn, Ala., as well as a news director position in La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
Producer Openings In Marketing And Digital Content
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a marketing and promotions producer for Cox and a digital content producer for Hearst.
A TVNewsCheck webinar featuring executives from CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Game Creek Video, Vizrt and CP Communications will look to advances in sports production emerging later this year and next as remote workflows continuously improve. Register here.
