DMA 25: PORTLAND, OR

KGW Names New Director Of Digital Strategy

The Tegna NBC affiliate in Portland, Ore., promoted Greg Retsinas to a newly created position overseeing digital content and revenue strategy.

CLOSING BELL

Dow Picks Up 5, Nasdaq Closes Down 7

Retailers stumbled on Tuesday, but stocks overall were little changed. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Advance Auto Parts both disclosed disappointing second-quarter results and cut their annual forecasts, which affected a slew of other companies. Other retailers also dropped, including Home Depot, which posted strong results. Other groups of stocks managed modest gains.

DMA 4

WPVI Philadelphia To Broadcast ArenaBowl XXX

With the Philadelphia Soul’s 69-54 victory over the Baltimore Brigade on Saturday, the team will host the Arena Football League championship ArenaBowl XXX on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m. […]

BRAND CONNECTIONS

Internet Companies Boost U.S. Ad Revenue

Domestic ad revenue in 2017 is on track to increase 4% to 5% in 2017, thanks to growth from internet-based companies, according to Pivotal Research Analyst Brian Wieser. A group of 10 large web firms, including Google, Amazon and Expedia, increased their spending on sales and marketing by a median growth rate of 24% in the most recent quarter, he said in a note to investors.

DMA 76: ROCHESTER, NY

Longtime WHEC Anchor Rebecca LeClair Gone

Nielsen Adding Platforms In Digital Ratings

Nielsen says three of the largest digital video platforms — Facebook, Hulu and YouTube — will now be included in its digital content ratings. That offers a broader view of media owners’ content.

Dems Press For Answers About FCC-Sinclair

House Democrats are demanding answers from the FCC about its “favorable treatment” of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been cashing in on a series of agency moves that are easing restrictions on its control of television stations. In a 12-page letter sent to Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Monday, Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), Mike Doyle (Pa.) and Diana DeGette (Colo.) seized on multiple media reports detailing how the agency has been delivering on Sinclair’s deregulatory wish list.

 

DMA 2: LOS ANGELES

KVCR Fast-Tracks Local Production Expansion

DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY

Lia Lando Lands Sunday Anchor Spot At WKBW

‘Walking Dead’ Producers Sue AMC Over Profits

Fox News Settlements Cost $50M In Fiscal ’17

The cost of improprieties at Fox News Channel continues to grow for the cable-news outlet’s parent, 21st Century Fox. The media conglomerate, controlled by the Murdoch family, disclosed in a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had paid out $50 million in its recently completed fiscal 2017 due to “settlements of claims arising out of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at the Company’s Fox News Channel business.”

CLOSING BELL

Dow Closes Up 135, Nasdaq Adds 84

U.S. stocks jumped Monday as tensions with North Korea appeared to ease. But while stocks climbed, investors weren’t ready to loosen their grip on some traditionally safe investments. Bond prices slipped only by a small amount and gold finished a little lower, while silver prices rose.

Altice Considers Equity Funds To Buy Charter

Patrick Drahi’s Altice NV is thinking about asking Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and BC Partners to help fund a potential bid to buy cable broadcaster Charter Communications, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

C3 Ratings Decline For Cable TV Networks

Cable TV networks continue to see steeper overall viewership declines — particularly with younger TV viewers. In the second quarter, MoffettNathanson Research says there was a 9.1% decline in total day 18-49 viewers in Nielsen C3 ratings — the average commercial minute ratings plus three days of time-shifted viewing — for cable networks.

DMA 26: BALTIMORE

WMAR Slots ‘Midday Maryland’ Lifestyle Show

E.W. Scripps-owned ABC affiliate WMAR Baltimore (DMA 26) will premiere a new, lifestyle program, Midday Maryland, on Monday Sept. 11 at noon. The locally produced show, hosted by Wyatt Everhart and Elsa […]

DMA 8: HOUSTON

KRIV To Debut ‘The News Edge At 10 P.M.’

Fox-owned KRIV Houston (DMA 8) will debut The News Edge at 10 p.m. on Aug. 21. This Monday-Friday half-hour newscast will follow the station’s current late newscast, Fox 26 News […]

How Sinclair Is Ridding Itself Of Regulation

The Sinclair Broadcast Group and Ajit Pai, the chairman of the FCC, see eye-to-eye on the need to unleash television. Both are reaping big rewards.

ESI Adds Eric Gould As Finance EVP

He will oversee investments, M&A and corporate finance for all entertainment studios corporate entities.

ESPN’s Surrender To Grim New Reality

With cable TV subscribers fleeing, the sports giant has to look for customers online. That’s not where the money is.

MARKET SHARE | DMA 179: ALEXANDRIA, LA

Couple Says KALB Meteorologist Saved Their Lives

Some Nets Take Hit From Cutting Ad Time

TV giants like Turner and Viacom have been experimenting with cutting down the number of commercials they air in shows. They theorize that viewers will be happier, and they could even charge more for fewer ads, increasing revenue in the long run. But so far, there is no clear evidence of a financial payoff.

DMA 11: TAMPA, FL

Noncom WUSF To Go Dark On Oct. 15

The Tampa, Fla., PBS outlet owned by the University of South Florida will go off the air following the sale of its spectrum for $18.7 million in the FCC’s incentive auction. The school’s two FM stations will remain on the air.

HBO Offered Hackers $250,000 To Delay

Time Warner’s HBO last month offered $250,000 to cyber criminals who hacked into its computer system, asking them to extend a deadline for paying a much larger ransom, according to an email reviewed by Reuters. The note said that HBO was willing to make the payment “as a show of good faith,” but needed time to fund an account for sending payments in bitcoin digital currency or obtain account information from the hackers so it could use a conventional bank wire to transmit the funds.

Facebook Lures Video Makers With Incentives

For the many digital publishers who have been shifting their focus to video content, Facebook’s new “Watch” video platform is a sight for sore eyes.  Facebook, with its 2 billion users, is open for business, joining rival YouTube. And it is taking the risk out of the content-creation endeavor for many publishers, either by paying to offset their production costs or offering to license or buy their content outright, people familiar with the arrangements say.

JESSELL AT LARGE

Scripps’ Katz Buy Puts Diginets On The Map

The $302 million purchase of Bounce, Grit, Escape and Laff is “an authentication of the entire multicasting business,” which has needed a feel-good story. The deal also confirms Scripps’ willingness to take some chances in a TV station industry that has been more about consolidation than innovation.

National TV Advertising Revenues Dip

National TV advertising revenues were down 1% in the second quarter — an improvement from the 3% decline in the first quarter. Yet challenges remain. The estimates came from Brian Wieser, senior research analyst for Pivotal Research Group, and were based on recent second-quarter earnings results from major media companies. “The traditional medium is unlikely to return any time soon,” he writes.

Big 4 In Talks On New Emmy Awards Deal

ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are in talks with the Television Academy about a new licensing deal for the Primetime Emmy Awards. The TV Academy has retained heavyweight lawyer Ken Ziffren, who led the previous two negotiations in 2002 and in 2010-11.

MARKET SHARE | DMA 38: WEST PALM BEACH, FL

WPTV Holds Back-To-School Expo

DMA 136

KOMU Columbia Revamps ‘KOMU 8 News Today’

University of Missouri-owned NBC affiliate KOMU Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo. (DMA 136) is overhauling its morning newscast with a “focus on immediacy.” Starting Monday, KOMU 8 News Today will feature a […]

DMA 53

Anchor Scott Levin Returning To WGRZ Buffalo