streaming

It will feature an expanded free advertising supported (AVOD) and an all-new subscription tier (SVOD) offering, bringing together the best of VIX, Univision NOW and PrendeTV under “a unified global product and vision.” Rodrigo Mazon is tapped as EVP-GM of SVOD. It will be available across U.S. and Latin America next year.

When the young Oracle heir entered the entertainment industry, no one expected much. Instead, he’s built the rarest of businesses — a thriving, all-audiences, independent studio, Skydance Media.

News this past week that Sinclair Broadcast Group and investment banker LionTree are raising $250 million to launch a sports streaming service may not be quite as big a deal as, say, that $43 billion spinoff/merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery. But despite the difference in the number of zeroes involved, a Sinclair streaming service could  dramatically reshape the sports streaming leader board, and not incidentally, what’s left of the cable bundle and broadcast TV, too.

Roku has out-executed larger companies and leaned on an unusual corporate culture to gain a $45 billion valuation. Roku batted away early acquisition offers and skepticism from Wall Street bankers to go public in 2017. Roku founder Anthony Wood is now spending much of his time thinking about the company’s content ambitions.

Adam Ware, VP of national networks and platforms for Sinclair Broadcast Group, says the company’s STIRR network of local streaming channels is seeing robust revenue growth in spinning up bespoke channels and “long-form” advertising content for local advertisers. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Shawn Wheat, executive producer of Gray Television’s Local News Live, about the new, digital-only streaming initiative that stitches together news from across Gray’s stations via a small team of anchors and producers.

A new monthly Nielsen measurement called The Gauge shows just how much the pandemic has catalyzed streaming among a broad ranger of consumers with May usage across all television homes climbing to 26% of time spent on TV — outpacing broadcast, with an audience share of 25%. The streaming video data included SVOD and AVOD. Streaming and broadcast now account for half of television time. Cable accounted for 39%, and “other” viewing for 9%.

Top ViacomCBS executive David Nevins is in talks for an expanded role that would include oversight of content for Paramount Plus, sources tell Variety. The longtime Showtime CEO and chairman, who also serves as chief creative officer of CBS, would maintain his portfolio that at present includes Showtime Networks and BET Networks, individuals with knowledge of the talks said.

The company known for measuring television ratings said Netflix and YouTube are far ahead of their digital rivals, but viewers still spend more time watching cable and network TV.

Netflix is actually the beneficially for this latest big off-net comedy move following a $500 million-plus deal in 2019 to acquire the Show About Billions.

Disney is closing in on a massive $22 million-per-year deal that would keep the Country Music Association Awards on ABC while bringing in its streaming services to support the awards show as broadcast ratings decline. The new agreement carries a license fee of at least $22 million a year for a multiyear contract, according to two individuals familiar with the deal, which was possible because Disney could draw on funding from Hulu and Disney+ in addition to ABC. As part of the new deal, Hulu and Disney+ are expected to feature additional shoulder programming around the annual event, which is held every November.

It marks the newest expansion of major market local news streaming services from CBS and features local news content produced by KOVR and KMAX.

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.

The Florida 24 Network highlights reporting from Scripps’ six stations in the state and is available over-the-top in every TV market across the state.

Forty-six percent of U.S. broadband homes supported four or more subscription streaming services at the end of the first quarter, a percentage that is more than double the 22% Parks Associates reported in 1Q 2020. Parks also reported that the U.S. homes with at least one subscription OTT service reached 82% in 1Q vs. 76% a year earlier.

Madison Avenue’s interest in digital ads, sports and new concepts tied to bolstering messages of diversity helped Disney close a fast-paced upfront that saw more than 40% of total dollars committed to the company go to streaming and interactive venues, the latest sign of how advertisers are working differently with some of the nation’s most traditional media companies. “We led with streaming this year. You always hear how broadcast leads in the upfront, and we saw an opportunity this year to change that and we did it well,” said Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales.

Netflix, HBO Max and others are investing in Spanish-language content to target U.S. Latinos and Latin American markets.

A new lineup of Saturday programming and a surge of post-pandemic spending by Madison Avenue helped the CW boost its volume of advertising commitments in TV’s annual “upfront” market, a sign that advertisers continue to make the medium a central part of their plans even as they are showing new interest in chasing viewers to new streaming venues. The network, jointly owned by ViacomCBS and AT&T’s WarnerMedia, has wrapped its upfront negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter, and believes it has obtained a greater volume of advertising for its next programming cycle than it did in 2020.

Peacock has added premium streaming as an option for all of the National Hockey League’s remaining Stanley Cup Semifinal games. As previously announced, the games will also air on NBCSN or USA Network and NBC Sports digital platforms. The series starts June 14 at 9 p.m. ET with Game 1 in the semifinal between the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights.

The biggest driver of subscribers for HBO Max in 2021 was not exclusive premieres of blockbuster films like Godzilla vs. Kong or even Zack Snyder’s long-awaited redo of Justice League. Instead, it was a show that hasn’t aired a new episode since George W. Bush was president.

Next week, Gray’s Memphis NBC affiliate WMC is expected to launch (very softly) a new digital channel called WMC Plus — or in effect two digital channels. A linear version will be broadcast over the air while an on-demand version streams on the station’s OTT app. WMC Plus won’t officially kick off with a full slate of original programs until September, but the project is already a model of collaboration and innovation that balances technical challenges, creativity and experimentation with careful planning and cost controls.

Sinclair Broadcast Group is quietly raising money for a new service that would stream games by the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dallas Mavericks and scores of other popular sports teams to fans over the Internet. Sinclair — which owns exclusive rights to broadcast games for dozens of MLB, NBA and NHL teams — is working with investment bank LionTree to raise more than $250 million for the venture, according to two sources with knowledge of the plans.

Streaming executives from CBS News Digital, Fox Television Stations, Gray Television and KSL Salt Lake City say live and local content, good UX and quality control are key factors in finding and retaining audiences in the highly competitive OTT space.

Streaming consumers suddenly had more choices than ever, and analyst Brett Sappington says they enjoyed their freedom.

Tensions between Disney and Comcast over their joint ownership of Hulu are heating up. The two companies are feuding over Disney’s decision last year to not launch Hulu overseas, a move that Comcast believes undermined its growth potential and valuation. The issue has inflamed arbitration proceedings now underway between the two companies over the value of Hulu, say people familiar with the situation. The dispute is a prelude to what could be a bigger fight in 2024, when Disney is scheduled to buy Comcast out of its minority stake in Hulu at a price that could be anywhere from $9 billion to $13 billion. Buying Comcast’s stake would give Disney full ownership of Hulu.

Starz wants Disney to change the name of its upcoming Latin America streaming service, Star+. The Lionsgate-owned network filed copyright infringement lawsuits against Disney in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Starz is arguing that the name of Disney’s forthcoming streaming service is too similar with Starz, particularly its own streaming service StarzPlay, which operates in 58 countries worldwide and has been available in Latin America since 2019.

An exclusive deal with European pay TV provider Sky is restricting HBO Max ‘s ability to expand as it tries to catch up with Netflix and Disney+ .

The Parents Television and Media Council is calling on the FCC and Congress to regulate streaming services. That came Tuesday after the heads of the top streaming services did not participate in its virtual town hall on better content controls.

The former drama head will fill the void created by Beatrice Springborn, who left last year to run Universal Content Productions. Helman has been head of drama at Hulu since joining the streamer in 2015.

Pluto TV, ViacomCBS’s free, ad-supported television service, looks to be ahead of financial projections as it closes in on $1 billion in annual ad revenue. ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish, speaking Monday at an Evercore investor conference, said that, on a run rate basis, Pluto TV is on track to exceed $1 billion in total ad revenue during the fourth quarter.

At $4.99 per month, the ad-supported version of Paramount+, launching today, is a bit less expensive than the CBS All Access Limited Commercials version it’s replacing. One reason: Unlike the All Access plan, which cost $5.99 per month, the new, limited-commercials Paramount+ Essential service does not provide access to local CBS stations.