NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal said more companies have asked to be included in its search for a better systems for measuring its various businesses, including television viewership. The company is now reviewing more than 70 responses.

As NBCUniversal puts Nielsen on notice, pressing questions arise of what a new ad measurement system should include. The answer must come out of studying Nielsen’s pain points and navigating privacy issues with which digital media currently grapple.

NBCUniversal intends to identify a group of partners for its ambitious measurement plans by mid September — and traditional measurement companies like Nielsen and Comscore are in the mix, the company disclosed Tuesday.

NBCUniversal has created a new executive position to oversee diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across its television and streaming brands. Longtime ViacomCBS inclusion executive Jeanne Mau is moving to NBCU to serve as its first senior vice president, TV programming, diversity, equity & inclusion. She will dual report to Universal Studio Group chair Pearlena Igbokwe and entertainment content chair Susan Rovner.

NBCUniversal, which has sparred publicly with Nielsen in recent years, has issued a call for “measurement independence” in the media industry. In an open letter, NBCU did not say it would outright shun Nielsen, which remains the dominant force in measurement despite challenges from Comscore and others. But it urged all measurement companies to offer alternative means of tracking viewing across linear TV and digital platforms.

Laura Gremelsbacker has been promoted to vice president of marketing and branding at NBCU’s WBTS (NBC) and WNEU (Telemundo) in Boston, as well as NBC Sports Boston and NECN, a 24-hour regional news network.

Citing a rise in Covid-19 cases, NBCUniversal told staffers via internal memo Wednesday that the company has decided to delay its return-to-office date until Oct. 18 “at the earliest.” The company had previously planned on welcoming staffers back to the office right after Labor Day.

Competing economic incentives are leading NBCUniversal, Disney and WarnerMedia to make difficult decisions about how to program their streaming services. The tension between how to balance streaming video, theatrical release and linear TV is leading to some peculiar choices bound to confuse consumers in what’s becoming an increasingly jumbled landscape.

It’s acquiring the Telemundo affiliate from Ramar Communications along with three other full-power signals, a Class A, three LPTVs and 20 translators.

NBCUniversal has a growing and somewhat serious early makegoods issue for the Olympics — due to underdelivery of expected viewers, now five days in for the event. The company believes streaming and digital inventory time can lessen the blow. But with viewing numbers down around 35% to 40% or more versus the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the near term doesn’t look good — especially on the linear TV side of things, according to media-buying executives.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell: “So, net-net, with all this bad luck, we’re going to be profitable on the Olympics, which we’re very happy with. We’re very happy with the product. If you watch every night, you’ll see that we use this as a firehose to promote everything else that we’re doing at the company.”

A significant comeback for NBCUniversal paced Comcast’s results in the second quarter as the media giant handily beat Wall Street forecasts. Total revenue climbed 20% to $28.5 billion, while earnings per share increased 22% to 84 cents. Wall Street analysts had expected earnings of 67 cents a share and revenue of $27.2 billion.

The new programming  includes WBTS’ Restaurants Remade, a streaming series about New England restaurants’ re-imagining their business models to adapt to challenges brought on by the pandemic; WBTS’ all new live and local lifestyle show The Hub Today, and WNEU’s fundraising special Milagros para Ninos (Miracles for Kids) for station partner Boston Children’s Hospital.

Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is out of today’s events in Tokyo after appearing to sustain an injury while participating in the Team Final, the International Gymnastics Federation has confirmed. The U.S. Gymnastics team released a statement shortly after she exited saying she had suffered a “medical issue” and that she would be assessed to determine whether she can participate further in the Games.

Onscreen graphics during the ceremony depicted maps of each country as the athletes marched, and some in China expressed anger that the map did not include the island of Taiwan or several islands in the South China Sea where there are disputes over territorial control. Relations between the network and China are worth watching since NBCUniversal is set to broadcast and stream the 2022 Winter Games from Beijing.

The deal builds on the success of peacock relationship, helping to manage and deliver a pristine viewing experience across all screens.

The new consultancy and research arm will provide partners bespoke insights on cultural trends through the eyes of almost 700 million people worldwide. The inaugural Co-Lab research study details the critical tie between local culture, community values, dedicated fandoms, and global resonance.

Amid concerns of COVID-19 issues in Japan, NBC continues to ramp up national TV marketing efforts for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, placing TV promos and TV advertising with a total value of $51 million since last November. The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were rescheduled until this summer due to the pandemic. TV promos on NBCU networks had a total media value of $49.9 million — mostly on its sports-related TV channels and programming, according to iSpot.tv.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games app will aggregate NBCUniversal’s new and previously developed Olympic content offerings into one place, making Olympic events available in participating Verizon Fios TV homes and National Cable Television Cooperative member homes. The app, which was built by NBCUniversal’s content distribution team, will feature more than 1,000 curated Olympic Games videos on-demand, improved discovery and navigation features, personalization by sport, up-to-date medal standings by sport and dynamic tune-in to NBCUniversal networks in select homes.

Broadcasting and streaming the Tokyo Summer Games already had a high degree of difficulty due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Then Japan declared a state of emergency late last week, and banned live crowds, adding all kinds of new hurdles to the massive production slated to kick off July 23. Will the events seem as powerful and captivating without the roar of the crowd? Can sportscasters communicate the spirit and substance of the games without the hoopla fans have come to expect? NBC’s top sports exec insists they can.

The companies said Tuesday that starting in 2022 all Universal films, including the new Jurassic World and Minions movies, will become available exclusively on Peacock no later than four months after their theatrical premieres. Both companies are subsidiaries of Comcast’s NBCUniversal.

The media giant received more than $10 million in state and local economic development funds as incentives for locating the production facility in Albuquerque. Above, New Mexico Gov. Michell Lujan Grisham, left, speaks as New Mexico Economic Development Cabinet Security Alicia J. Keyes listens, during the official opening of the NBCUniversal’s New Mexico Production Studio, Thursday, June, 24.

NBCUniversal gave its strongest indication yet that it would move forward with plans to broadcast 7,000 hours of Tokyo Olympics events even as worries continue over the potential health of attendees and athletes as Japan continues to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the biggest cash spender when it comes to non-sports content, according to a new report from Todd Juenger, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. According to Juenger’s accounting, NBCU’s spending, including Sky reached $22.5 billion in 2020.

NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS may eventually find themselves on the outside looking in as the subscription streaming video industry continues to grow. That’s according to MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson, who kicked off The StreamTV Show with a forward-looking assessment of which major streamers have the best chance at future success. Assuming that both the Amazon-MGM and Discovery-WarnerMedia deals go through in 2022, he said that the clear winners will be Netflix, Disney, Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery while AMC Networks will have success, albeit on a more niche level.

For NBCUniversal, televising the Olympic Games is a marquee moment for its TV networks and a huge money-making event.

The CEO of NBCUniversal said the company enjoyed robust demand in the TV industry’s upfront market, but offered no tangible detains on volume or pricing to help bolster his case. “It was the strongest upfront I think probably in the history of NBCUniversal,” said Jeff Shell, NBCU’s CEO, speaking during an investor conference with Credit Suisse Monday. “We saw results in this upfront far beyond what we thought we’d see. Demand was extremely strong.” He attributed that dynamic to an increase in demand from advertisers eager to ramp up sales as the nation emerges from the coronavirus pandemic as the TV networks’ supply of ratings continues to diminish as viewers migrate to streaming services.

The exclusive deal connects marketers to more than 1 billion travelers in 90+ top airports.

At least three of the nation’s big media companies are writing deals in an upfront ad-sales market that is moving more rapidly than in years past. Disney, NBCUniversal and Fox have all begun to sell advance advertising commitments as part of TV’s annual upfront market, according to five people familiar with the pace of negotiations. These people expect the volume of advertising dollars in support of traditional linear TV to rise by 2% to 6%, with other money being committed to new streaming venues.

NBCUniversal has already found its replacement for Ellen DeGeneres’ time slot when she exits daytime TV next year. Starting in fall 2022, The Kelly Clarkson Show will take over the afternoon time slot — 3 p.m. in most markets — that has been held by Ellen. The daytime talker, which is in its second season, is currently renewed through 2023.

Executives from NBCUniversal Local (Frank Comerford, above), Tegna, Sinclair and Hearst told a TVNewsCheck webinar they’re bedeviled by persistent gaps in the available buying/selling pipeline, which have bogged down the transaction process and added to their expenses. Those woes are leading some broadcasters to bring more of their automated functions in house.

From augmented reality shopping experiences to “Choose Your Own Adventure” journeys, the new ad formats and products “offer marketers compelling ways to reach consumers around the world while driving interactivity for viewers,” the company says.

NBCUniversal’s new TV boss discusses the excitement and uncharted waters around her expansive role as she readies the company’s post-COVID upfront presentation. (Damon Casarez photo)

Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh is bullish on 2Q prospects: “We expect healthy growth in distribution revenue to continue. We will have significantly more sporting events compared to last year, which should result in higher advertising revenue, but also a significant increase in sports-related programming and production costs.”

Comcast also disclosed $32.7 million in 2020 compensation for its chairman and CEO Brian Roberts.

An advanced advertising veteran, Kelly Abcarian joins NBCUniversal from Nielsen to accelerate the company’s investment and development in cross-platform measurement and data capabilities.