Following through on plans articulated at TCA winter press tour, WarnerMedia emphasized its new strategic direction during a brisk upfront pitch, highlighting a more blended approach to the formerly drama-centric TNT and comedy-focused TBS.
Advertisers Put On Full Court Press For NBA Ads
As the NBA post-season action gets underway, strong demand has already gobbled up between 85% and 95% of the inventory on ESPN, ABC and Turner’s TNT with percentage rate increases over last year in the high single digits, according to time buyers and sellers.
TNT’s Executive Vice President of Original Programming Sarah Aubrey has been named the head of original content for WarnerMedia Streaming Service. In addition, Brett Weitz was also named general manager of TBS and TNT.
Exclusives
ATLANTA (AP) — Candace Parker has been hired by Turner Sports as an analyst and commentator for NBA games this season on TNT and NBA TV. Turner announced Wednesday that […]
Monday night’s NCAA championship game, which saw Villanova crush Michigan 79-62, drew the lowest overnight rating in the history of the tournament. Across TBS, TNT and TruTV, the tournament’s championship game earned a 10.3 overnight rating. The previous low for a NCAA championship game was the 11.2 for the 2004 contest between UConn and Georgia Tech.
The heads of Showtime, TNT and Fox Television Group, together with the president of HBO programming, address the forces transforming the TV business at the INTV conference in Jerusalem.
Turner-owned cable network TNT has snatched up rerun rights to the procedural starring Scott Bakula. The Kevin Reilly-led drama-focused network has landed the first three seasons of the series as well as subsequent seasons. NCIS: New Orleans began airing on TNT in early December. The news comes as flagship NCIS and spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles both air off-network repeats on USA Network.
In an effort to hook a larger audience for a fledgling drama, TNT will stream Claws on Twitter following its TV premiere on June 11. In what TNT parent Turner is calling the first time a cable drama has been streamed on Twitter, the premiere episode will air on Twitter at 10 p.m. ET after its 9 p.m. airing on TNT. TNT is also planning on having series stars Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, Jenn Lyon, Judy Reyes and Karrueche Tran live tweet during the TV premiere.
Kevin Reilly, a veteran network executive, aims to transform two cable networks that have come to be known for the repeats they carry.
The 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has brought in slightly more in national TV advertising dollars through the early rounds leading up to the Final Four this weekend. So far, it has pulled in $748.6 million for CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, according to iSpot.tv — up 2% versus a year ago. There have been some 224 brands with 514 spots, airing 8,168 times.
Other big events have taken hits in 2017. But the NCAA men’s tourney is off to its best start in more than two decades. Credit close games on Sunday in part.
There’s nothing wrong with obsessing over the Big Dance. But maybe don’t stream games at work, the Defense Department tells employees, warning the department’s network could be overwhelmed.
Games on CBS and Turner Sports will feature breathtaking finishes and surprising winners as the field is culled to 32 teams over the next 48 hours. Get your bracket ready.
The tournament generated a record $1.24 billion in national ads in 2016, up 5% and a new record. Meanwhile, audiences for the final rounds have shrunk since moving to cable.
Kantar Media says “March Madness” generated $1.24 billion in national TV advertising spending in 2016 airings on CBS and Turner networks (TBS, TNT and truTV), up 4.7% versus 2015. Kantar says these gains are in line with 2% to 5% annual gains — keeping pace with annual TV rights fees increases.
While league sponsors snapped up much of the in-game inventory, some newcomers managed to elbow their way into the lineup.
