Digital

CNN has snatched Kasie Hunt, the Capitol Hill correspondent long viewed as a rising star at NBC News, as part of an aggressive bid to push the WarnerMedia cable-news outlet into the new frontier of streaming video. Sources say she will focus largely on content that is produced for streaming viewers as part of a big bet being made by Jeff Zucker, president of CNN.

Anthony Katsur has been named chief executive of the IAB Tech Lab, a global nonprofit that promotes common standards and technology for digital advertising, at a moment of flux for the digital advertising industry. The appointment comes weeks after Alphabet Inc.’s Google said it would delay its planned removal of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, a victory for the IAB Tech Lab, which was part of a chorus of industry voices calling for Google to give the industry more time to prepare for the change.

Sources say three senior staffers were let go after the streamer discovered they were secretly griping about management, including Chief Marketing Officer Bozoma Saint John.

An increasing amount of what ESPN does isn’t going to be seen on good ol’ ESPN. ESPN has long fed its content to other parts of the Disney empire, but as the media industry’s streaming wars shake up how people watch TV, much more is on the way, says Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and Disney sports content.

Nielsen said Thursday that Manifest on Netflix ran away as the most streamed program for the week of June 14-20 — the same week it was canceled by NBC after three seasons. The cult hit sci-fi drama drew almost 2.5 billion viewing minutes for the two seasons currently available on the streamer that week, swamping everything in its way.

Streaming platforms and cable networks increased their share of TV viewers’ time in June, while broadcast networks shrunk some. Netflix remains the top streamer, taking up 7% of all TV viewing for the month. Those are the findings from Nielsen’s second monthly release of “The Gauge,” which tracks total usage of TV across all platforms. For June, cable retained the biggest share of viewers’ attention, taking up 40% of total TV usage across the full day, while streaming grabbed a 27% share of usage.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has added his voice to that of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who are calling on the Biden Administration to allow private industry to get internet access to Cubans being denied that access by the Cuban government amid protests there.

Netflix has codified its recently rumored entry into the online video game market, hiring former EA and Facebook/Oculus executive Mike Verdu to lead the initiative. Verdu, who has also worked at Atari and Zynga Inc., will operate under the title of VP of gaming development.

Fox TV Stations said today it’s made a deal to integrate Fox Flx, its over-the-top advertising product, into the Strata buying platform operated by Comcast’s FreeWheel unit.

Mika Brzezinski, Jonathan Capehart, Michael Beschloss, Nicolle Wallace have new projects in development as MSNBC’s Peacock channel rebrands itself, tied to the cable channel’s 25th anniversary.

Demand for adding subscription streaming services in the U.S. is slowing down, according to new data from Kantar. In the second quarter just 3.9% of U.S. homes took a new subscription to a streaming service, Kantar said, down from 12.9% a year ago. The drop was the largest since Kantar started measuring. Kantar says 74.6% of U.S. households now have an SVOD subscription.

Without her vote, the case against Facebook could hit serious roadblocks, splitting the vote 2-2 between Democratic and Republican commissioners.

Amazon and Sony Pictures TV have struck a deal that will bring an extensive catalog of legendary producer Norman Lear’s shows to the Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV streaming services. The titles headed to the two platforms are Maude, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, 227, Good Times, the original One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes, Sanford & Son and Sanford.

Over-the-top advertising has become a surprisingly important business for companies that have been stockpiling television stations. Streaming revenue is letting broadcasters, including Cox Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and the NBC and Fox O&Os, claim a foothold in the technology field and create advanced advertising products for clients enamored of digital and social media.

Mediaocean agreed to acquire Flashtalking, combining its budget management capabilities with the ability to serve ads in digital environments. Terms were not disclosed, but according to published reports Mediaocean is paying $500 million for Flashtalking.

France’s competition regulation agency threatened fines of another 900,000 euros (around $1 million) per day if Google doesn’t come up with proposals within two months on how it will compensate publishers and news agencies for their content.

Roku has finished its upfront TV-video advertising market, posting rising “commitments” from marketers, two times that of the previous year, according to the company. For the entire 2021, MoffettNathanson Research projected Roku to have amassed $902 million in total advertising revenue — up from a $566 million estimate for 2020. Above, Roku original Chrissy’s Court.

The internet and cable provider is still trying to figure out the best way to compete in the streaming wars.

Think your SVOD streaming experience is completely ad-free? Non-traditional ads, “sponsored by” positions and dynamic product placement put the lie to that.

As of Aug. 13, the cost of a subscription will go to $7 a month, from $6, mirroring a recent uptick for Disney+. A full-year subscription will now run $70, up from $60.

In an unsurprising but make-or-break development for Amazon’s proposed MGM acquisition, the Federal Trade Commission on Friday opened an “in-depth” investigation of the deal, according to knowledgeable sources.

A look at some of the ventures that have sprung up, fueled by a new sense of mission in American journalism and by the sheer quantities of money available.