A new chief executive hopes that the TV and movie production business can help overcome significant difficulties elsewhere in the company.
AT&T’s WarnerMedia unit will take direct aim at consumers with a coming set of OTT-delivered subscription VoD services, but pay-TV providers will also play an important role in their distribution.
Newsrooms Getting Smarter About AI
Artificial intelligence in news is evolving beyond metadata tags. It can now help news organizations find and monetize content, generate silent videos and highlights reels and even predict trending news, and ABC News and the CBC are among the broadcasters experimenting with its capabilities.
Exclusives
The White House is trying to collect evidence of social media censorship and account takedowns, including tweets and screenshots of takedown notices. That is according to a tool on the White House website noted by Public Knowledge, which is no fan of the effort, saying it raises constitutional issues.
On day two of the Pay TV Show a panel of representatives from virtual MVPDs gathered to discuss the future of the TV service and channel bundles.
When the first output deal between Netflix and CW parents CBS and Warner Bros was announced in 2011, it was hailed as groundbreaking and, with its $1 billion windfall, a lifeline that may have helped save the then money-losing upstart network. The pact, re-uped by both sides in 2016 with some modifications, was up again this spring, and it’s not being renewed. The three new CW series — Batwoman, Nancy Drew and Riverdale spinoff Katy Keen— are being shopped for streaming deals individually by their respective studios.
Weather A Fulltime Job For WBMA’s James Spann
At the same time that America’s biggest media companies are touting their new dramas and sitcoms, they are also talking up their plans for streaming platforms that will look a lot like Netflix.
Stations Finding Sound Reasons To Podcast
Tegna, Tribune, Scripps, Fox and Graham are among a growing number of TV broadcasters who are exploring adding audio content and advertising platforms. A study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers puts podcast ad revenues at $313.9 million in 2017, and projects that it will more than double, to $659 million, by next year.
End-to-end automated buying within the Strata platform removes common barriers to buying premium OTT video. It opens up access to OTT marketplace for all Strata clients, from agency holding companies to independent media buying shops.
AT&T’s advanced advertising and analytics subsidiary Xandr will roll out a new video advertising marketplace and enhanced addressable TV offerings during its upfront week event Tuesday. The new video ad marketplace will be called “Community” and will be cross-platform, encompassing OTT, CTV, digital and mobile.
Disney and Comcast announced today that Disney will assume full operational control of Hulu, effective immediately. In return, Disney and Comcast entered into a “put/call” agree regarding NBCUniversal’s 33% ownership interest in Hulu. The deal puts a minimum future valuation on Hulu of $27.5 billion.
Connecticut Public today appointed Tim Rasmussen chief content officer, effective May 30. Rasmussen will report directly to Connecticut Public President-CEO Mark G. Contreras. Rasmussen joins Connecticut Public from his position as director of photography, digital and print media, at ESPN where he coordinated and oversaw photographic coverage for the network worldwide, as well as all photo-driven stories on all the company’s digital platforms, ESPN the Magazine and in coordination with ESPN broadcast television. Prior to joining ESPN, Rasmussen was assistant managing editor, photography and multimedia at the Denver Post, where he provided direction and vision for the 630,000-circulation daily. Under his leadership his team was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for photography, and one for breaking news reporting, in addition to six national Edward R. Murrow awards. As chief content officer, Rasmussen will oversee all content produced and distributed by Connecticut Public, including Connecticut Public Radio, Connecticut Public Television (CPTV, CPTV Create and Spirit) and all of Connecticut Public’s digital and online platforms.
The new capabilities available Monday come ahead of Apple’s plan to offer its own original shows, including ones from Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. Those shows will be part of an Apple TV Plus subscription coming later this year for a yet-to-be disclosed price.
Major League Soccer (MLS) and Pluto TV, the free streaming television service, today announced the launch of the league’s channel on Pluto TV (ch. 203). “Major League Soccer’s agreement with […]
CBSN, the 24-hour free streaming video news network from CBS News, is now averaging more than 1 million video streams per day, according to the company. Roughly 80% of CBSN’s daily live streams are happening on live content versus on-demand clips of various news segments.
TiVo Corp.’s board approved a plan to split its product division from its intellectual property licensing unit, as the set-top box maker looks to attract buyers for its businesses. The company has been exploring options for its business for over a year, considering everything from an outright sale to going private.
This week, the big U.S. TV networks plan to drive the knife further into digital rivals, repeating the phrase “brand safety” and exploiting YouTube’s struggle to curb unsuitable content, during the upfront ad sales period when TV networks preview the fall season for advertisers.
New TV-Digital Job Opening In Raleigh, NC
Capitol Broadcasting Co., a diversified media and entertainment company based in Raleigh, N.C., is looking for a director of technology.
Station Groups, Nets Tackle OTT UX, Discovery
ABC News’ Kaizar Campwala, CBC’s Roma Kojima, Graham Media’s Jonathan Beard and Tribune Broadcasting’s Kerry Oslund will make up a panel examining some of streaming’s more vexing challenges at TVNewsCheck’s OTT News Summit on June 11. The Weather Channel’s Michael Senzon will moderate.
Reality TV, long-forgotten “classics” and movies that never made it to theaters — these are the types of lackluster shows and movies you’ll find for free. But finding gems in the junk, like the original Roseanne, can give you a treasure-hunting rush.
Fox News is known for its flagship property, the Fox News Channel, but in months to come executives intend to expand, the unit’s top executive told investors Thursday. “Fox news is an important part of the company’s DNA,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scottsaid to an assembly gathered for an “Investor Day” held by Fox Corp., its first big public meeting after selling a large chunk of assets to Walt Disney. “We are truly agnostic to the form in which our content is consumed.”
