Jimmy Pitaro pledged a “resetting” of the network’s relationship with the NFL, but is reining in talent and placating the league a winning bet?
NETWORK RATINGS ROUNDUP: SEPT. 3-9
Miss America Ratings Fall After Swimsuits Dropped
Buoyed by two NFL games, NBC won the week in primetime, averaging 9.3 million viewers. CBS had 3.8 million, Fox had 3.52 million, ABC had 3.45 million, Univision had 1.32 million, Ion had 1.3 million, Telemundo had 1.25 million and the CW had 740,000.
FOCUS ON SYNDICATION
Syndie Development Pot Bubbling For 2019
Dr. Steve Perry, Mel Robbins, Angie Martinez (above), Jaime Pressly, Finesse Mitchell, Tamron Hall, Kelly Clarkson and RuPaul are among those who are said to be working on first-run syndication projects.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
According to Nielsen’s most current numbers — which include available Live+7 numbers up through week 49 — NBC has overtaken CBS as America’s most-watched network for the year. The last time NBC could claim that was the 2001-2002 season. The total viewers rankings are as follows: NBC, 7.8 million; CBS, 7.7 million; ABC, 5.6 million; Fox, 4.2 million; CW, 1.5 million.
Exclusives
The season finale of NBC’s competition series scored a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49, tying a season high and hitting the show’s best mark since June 4. (The season as a whole, however, is down about 25 percent in same-day ratings versus 2017.) Ninja Warrior also racked up the most total viewers (5.63 million) in primetime, drawing its second-biggest audience of the season.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actors and characters of Middle Eastern and North African descent are either ignored by TV or stereotyped, according to a new study. The few such actors […]
Sinclair Broadcast Group begins another season of high school sports coverage, including its popular series Thursday Night Lights/Friday Night Rivals and High School Hoops. Last season Sinclair aired 351 high […]
OVERNIGHTS
Miss America Pageant Suffers Against NFL
This year’s televised Miss America pageant saw a significant drop off in the ratings compared to last year, according to Nielsen overnight data from Sunday. The pageant drew a 0.7 rating in […]
DMAS 84 & 94
Dish Loses KRGV, WRBZ Over Retrans Fees
The Manship-owned ABC affiliates in Harlingen, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La., went dark on the satellite provider on Friday. Manship said it had granted Dish multiple contract extensions in the hopes of coming up with a new deal.
The fall of Les Moonves is stunning for the sheer velocity with which one of the most powerful moguls in the media business got dethroned. Once regarded as creative executive with few equals, Moonves now leaves a complicated legacy clouded by the allegations of sexual misconduct made this summer by a dozen women.
The awards were handed out over two nights, Saturday and Sunday, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stand Up To Cancer says its sixth celebrity-filled telethon was its most successful yet. The organization said Sunday that the fundraiser received more than $123 million in pledges […]
AT&T owns a significant SVOD product in HBO Now, with its $15-per-month price point and more than 5 million subscribers. But the company may be looking at bundling it with other direct-to-consumer products.
Thursday’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles on NBC drew a 13.4 rating in metered market households. That is off approximately 8% from the 14.6 delivered by last year’s opener. In addition to the continuing trend of ratings erosion, the game no doubt suffered due to a weather delay that pushed kickoff time past 9 p.m. ET. The game did not conclude until after midnight.
Paramount Pictures and former Paramount Television president Amy Powell have reached a settlement to head off litigation in connection with her abrupt firing in July after nearly 15 years with the studio. Powell was dismissed following allegations that she made racially insensitive remarks during a work-related conference call. Powell vehemently denied saying anything inflammatory.
FremantleMedia has dropped the “Media” from its name and is now simply Fremantle. The name change was announced in the same week that Jennifer Mullin took the reins as CEO of the production and distribution giant.
Syndicated daytime talk show Pickler & Ben returns for its second season on Sept. 17. The show, from E.W. Scripps and Porch Swing Productions and distributed by Disney/ABC, will be […]
CBS’s Big Brother was the top-rated show Wednesday night with a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers. NBC’s AGT was close behind with a 1.4 rating but was also ahead in viewers with 9.7 million.
Sacha Baron Cohen, CBS Corp. and Showtime Networks were sued by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who claims the satirist tricked him into appearing on his Who Is America? show and then made him look like a pedophile and sex offender. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington with claims of defamation and fraud. It seeks $95 million in damages.
A Variety survey of commercial-ratings projections for the 2018-19 broadcast network TV season finds that media buyers believe only a few top programs will build on audiences from last year. Among the programs they are betting on: NBC’s Saturday Night Live and a new run of Thursday Night Football games on Fox.
Nicole Clemens has been appointed president of Paramount Television. She will report to Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. She starts Sept. 10. Clemens, most recently manager/producer at Anonymous Content, had been a leading contender for the job, which was vacated in July after the sudden ouster of Amy Powell over alleged racially insensitive comments.
