Programming

Mark Pedowitz has re-upped his deal to continue as president of The CW. The early contract renewal comes 20 months after he inked his most recent multi-year pact with the network, co-owned by CBS and Warner Bros. Since then, Pedowitz steered the CW as it negotiated a new affiliate agreement with its top station group, Tribune, and inked a big new SVOD deal with Netflix.

There’s still plenty of great television to come as 2017 draws to a close, but while TV programming has offered a diverse set of creative content—from shows with ice zombies, to murder mysteries, to real-life quarreling socialites, to shows with plain old regular zombies—the real winners of the year seem to be the viewers, who have a dizzying array of ways to view and programming to choose from right at their fingertips.

NBC has built a 3,500 square foot geodesic dome as the main studio for its coverage of the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February. The unique domed set will include a 40-foot by 16-foot LED video wall from Leyard, complemented by 18 55-inch high-definition monitors and more than 15 standup locations. Also included in the design are a primary anchor desk, interview areas and news update desk.

Georgetown University professor and author Dr. Michael Eric Dyson will host The Raw Word, a daytime panel talkshow produced by Michael Eric Dyson Enterprises and Final Level Productions for a four-week test run on Sinclair Broadcast Group stations beginning March 5.

Obsession with politics propelled news viewing, already a sizable portion of live and same-day TV universe, to a 12% gain in 2017 compared with 2016. Sports programming, once thought to be impervious, declined 6% last year even when the Rio Olympics are taken out of the year-to-year comparison. The findings are contained in a new report by Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser.

The pickup by Fox Television Stations of the syndicated panel show from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution will deliver seasons five and six. 

Ellen’s Game of Games debuted in its new regular timeslot Tuesday night up significantly in both measures from the preview that aired on Dec. 18. The first episode of the NBC show at 8 p.m. drew a 2.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 8.8 million viewers. That is up approximately 30% in the demo and 20% in total viewers compared to the Dec. 18 preview. Also on Tuesday, Fox debuted the new comedy LA to Vegas. The series debut drew a 1.1 and 3.8 million viewers, airing at 9 p.m.

Everyone says and does dumb things, but some of us unfortunately do it on national TV.

John Skipper cited “substance addiction” as the reason for abruptly stepping down in December, but both his actions before the announcement and Disney’s incentives to push him out suggest a different narrative, writes the author of an oral history of ESPN.

Brian Dollenmayer, EVP of marketing and promotions for WGN America, has taken on expanded responsibilities and the title of EVP and chief marketing officer.   In his new capacity, Dollenmayer will […]

Ratings for The Bachelor took a walloping in its 22nd-season premiere Monday night, facing the Sugar Bowl and generally fatigued TV audiences on New Year’s Day. ABC’s latest entry in the dating franchise, which wrapped the last broadcast season as the No. 1 reality show on TV (not counting summer months’ effort America’s Got Talent on NBC), returned with an average 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers. In the key demo, that represented a disheartening 29% drop from the comparable premiere last year — one that aired Jan. 2.

The broadcast group promotes him to SVP of programming. “Emerson has been instrumental in the growth and stewardship of Hearst Television’s best-in-class programming assets,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb

Decisions made in courtrooms and boardrooms alike are poised to have lasting implications on the long-term direction of the cable industry. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest cable/media stories of 2017 (in no particular order) and their impact heading into 2018.

Cord-cutting is not just for millennials anymore. Fed up with high prices and bloated packages, millions of Americans cut the cord on cable TV in 2017, finding refuge with a growing number of streaming services, which deliver lower prices and a competitive channel lineup over the internet.

Two New York Times media reporters analyze why 2017, despite powerful foes like Netflix and the fallout of harassment scandals, was the year TV roared back.

NEW YORK (AP) — Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes and Jennifer Aniston are among hundreds of Hollywood women who have formed an anti-harassment coalition called Time’s Up. The initiative (www.timesupnow.com ) was […]

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Former Fox News Channel anchor and 1989 Miss America Gretchen Carlson was named chairwoman of the Miss America Organization’s board of directors Monday, and three […]

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to sell most of 21st Century Fox has many wondering what the future holds for him and the two sons who seemed on the cusp of taking over his vast empire.

Last-minute negotiations over carriage rights for Starz and Encore on the Altice USA cable systems failed, resulting in the channels going dark as of the new year.