Digital

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.

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Devra Prywes, CMO and CPO of Applicaster, about how media companies are moving toward hybrid revenue models in a banner year for OTT and where station groups should be pursuing more monetization potential from their own streaming apps.

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.

The canceled superhero show grows in its second week of release in the United States; meanwhile, The Woman in the Window has an underwhelming start on Netflix.

Executives from E.W. Scripps, Cox Media Group, CBC and Disney told attendees of a TVNewsCheck virtual conference that advertisers are warming to the fact that neither a linear- nor digital-only approach can be as effective as a multiplatform buy. Above, Maggie Drake, Scripps senior director, OTT revenue, said she is starting to see advertisers gravitate toward digital and away from linear ads.

In just a few shorts years, esports has exploded onto the scene, attracting massive viewership and generating revenue in quite distinct ways. Will its exponential growth continue, or are there unknown risks in its uncharted territory?

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.

The provision of holistic linear and OTT measurements will provide thousands of advertisers with incremental reach and performance information on Tegna’s 64 TV stations and Premion streaming service.

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.

The broadcaster is silent as speculation it is victim of ransomware hack continues.

Comscore has signed the first media company to participate in its national addressable TV programmer measurement trials: WarnerMedia. Under the agreement, which began in late 2020, WarnerMedia is the first to test Comscore’s program, which allows publishers to execute and measure their national linear addressable inventory across multiple MVPD and connected TV providers for the first time.

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.

The company says her promotion signifies a significant investment in growing Nexstar’s data capabilities.

A new executive order directs the Commerce Department to undertake what officials describe as an “evidence-based” analysis of transactions involving apps that are manufactured or supplied or controlled by China. Officials are particularly concerned about apps that collect users’ personal data or have connections to Chinese military or intelligence activities.

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.

Several major websites, including those of the British government, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian and Le Monde, were inaccessible for many users on Tuesday morning. According to Downdetector.com, which tracks internet disruptions, sites reporting problems also included Etsy, Hulu, PayPal, Reddit, Twitch and Twitter. Many of the affected sites appeared to have been restored after a little less than an hour. The outage was connected to Fastly, a provider of cloud computing services.

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.