Programming

OAN Plus, the over-the-top news channel from Herring Networks, is launching on a digital subchannel of OTA (over-the-air) distributor independent KPVM-TV Las Vegas. OAN Plus is a fee ad-supported spin-off of the national cable news network and will now add 2.7 million over-the-air homes via the TV station.

The Netflix historical drama landed on Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming programs list for the first time in weeks.

AMC Networks shifted two executives to give its streaming services more management attention as the company pivots its focus  towards its growing direct-to-consumer businesses. Courtney Thomasma was named general manager of AMC Plus, its commercial-free original content product, and Matt Graham was named general manager of AMC’s Sundance Now streaming service.

Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment have set a significant new licensing deal giving the streaming giant an exclusive window for the studio’s theatrical titles starting in 2022. The agreement, which replaces an output arrangement with Lionsgate-owned Starz dating back to 2005, provides Netflix with an 18-month exclusive window for Sony films. Multiple bidders had been angling for the rights for some time. Terms were not officially disclosed, but Netflix prevailed with an offer of $1 billion over four years, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The writer-producer also wrote for Committed and The Stephanie Miller Show and produced A Different World from 1987 to 1988.

The CW’s Kung Fu debuted on Wednesday night to 1.4 million total viewers and a 0.2 demo rating — improving upon Riverdale‘s season averages to date (530K/0.14) and, in fact, giving the time slot its largest audience in two-and-a-half years.

Fox has shared its summer premieres, which include Beat Shazam returning June 3. Jamie Foxx hosts the interactive game show as it enters season four.

The network announced late Wednesday that the procedural reboot starring Lucas Till will wrap after its current fifth season ends. The series finale will air April 30 on CBS.

For primetime linear TV this year, absence has not made the heart grow fonder. Heading into the upfront selling season, there have been fewer scripted primetime broadcast TV episodes through March, as well as continued overall declining primetime TV ratings.

CBS’s newest (and, for the record, still unconfirmed) spinoff, NCIS: Hawaii, is slated to feature a woman in the starring role. A CBS rep declined to comment, but sources confirm that the character — tentatively named “Jane Tennant” — will also break ground on-screen, serving as the first special agent in charge of “NCIS Pearl.”

ABC has released its summer unscripted schedule and it looks like things are back to normal after last year’s COVID interruption. The Disney-owned network has renewed game shows including The Chase and The Hustler and has confirmed that Bachelor in Paradise will return this summer after missing out in 2020.

Crime Scene Kitchen, a new baking competition series hosted by comedian, actor and author Joel McHale and judged by chef Curtis Stone and cake artist Yolanda Gampp, will premiere May 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox.

CBS’s NCIS dominated Tuesday both in total viewers (with 9.9 million of ’em) as well as in the demo, holding steady with a 0.9 rating. On ABC, Pooch Perfect (2.5M/0.4) dropped sharply in Week 2.

Club Mundo Kids, a new TV series debuting on Telemundo on April 10, is the latest result of a push for programming that uses Spanish to reach Latino audiences.

Five senior executives have abruptly quit Dick Clark Productions, the company behind the Golden Globes and the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards, amid complaints of what one insider called a “toxic culture.”

MLB decided to move the game from Truist Park in Atlanta in response to Georgia voting changes signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on March 25. Critics, including the CEOs of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, have condemned the changes as being too restrictive.

Just ahead of its Season 2 premiere next month, Fox renewed animated sitcom Duncanville for Season 3. “Watching Amy [Poehler] bring her incredible talent to Duncanville both on and off the screen these past two seasons has been an amazing experience,” said Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn.