Programming

The Yale doctoral student’s winning streak moved Jeopardy up 2% in the week ending Oct. 3.

In a move that many were expecting, Alan Horn, 78, is retiring as chief creative officer of Disney Studios Content, effective Dec.31. It will end a nine-year run at the Burbank, Calif., lot in an executive TV and motion picture industry career that has spanned close to 50 years. The news comes in the long wake of Bob Iger’s retirement from Disney which will be at the end of this year.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is forging ahead with a way to recognize the best of this year’s film and television achievements despite the fact that NBC will not televise this year’s Golden Globes ceremony.

The Yale doctoral student failed to answer the Final Jeopardy clue correctly and came third on Monday’s show, leaving him with 38 wins and more than $1.5 million in prize money.

Monday’s episode of NCIS was Mark Harmon’s final one as the lead of the long-running CBS procedural. He exits the show after 18 years of playing Leroy Jethro Gibbs, dating back to the character’s introduction on JAG in 2003. Though Harmon is leaving the series, CBS’s longest-running and most watched current scripted show, executive producer and showrunner Steven D. Binder left the door open for Gibbs to return sometime in the future.

ESPN, Fox and other networks are ramping up their sports betting efforts.

Alex Trebek projected impartiality. Bialik has questioned vaccines, endorsed a disputed brain supplement and weighed in on hot-button issues.

CBS‘s Sunday dramas are all seeing steady returns, pending possible adjustment due to NFL overrun in some markets. NBC Sunday Night Football (16.5M/4.8) was down sharply from last week’s preliminary numbers, yet of course led the night across the board.

The first back orders for new fall 2021 series have gone to CBS’s NCIS: Hawai’i and FBI: International. The breakout success of the two shows, which have been among the bright spots so far this season, underscores the value of popular procedural drama franchises as arguably the best — and safest — bets on broadcast TV these days with three NCIS, three Chicago, three FBI, two 9-1-1 and two (soon to be three) Law & Order series all doing well.

The change comes as people turn away from traditional TV viewing.

International broadcasters are ramping up original production to compensate for the loss of U.S. shows as studios shift their series to in-house streaming platforms.

Behind the painstaking creation of the Balenciaga-Simpsons episode that took nearly a year to make.

Data generated by the pucks and from sensors about the size of a thumb on the backs of players will be used by teams to develop their players and to scout opponents. Passing, puck possession, takeaways, giveaways and more can be accurately recorded without the potential subjectivity of a scoring crew in an arena. Perhaps later this season, gamblers are expected to be able to wager on a new wave of bets. How far does the puck travel in a game? Who skates the fastest in the second period? Who has the hardest shot in the game? TV networks will continue to display and talk about some of the information on broadcasts and studio shows.

Fox touched down strong in Thursday primetime with its Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks, which saw the former earn a 26-17 victory on Fox. Per Nielsen fast affiliates, the game drew in a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demo and 8.15 million viewers, easily surpassing the rest of the night’s programming. Coming in second overall is the Season 6 premiere of CBS’s Young Sheldon (0.7, 6.89M), which drew in the highest numbers for non-sports programming.

Lucifer roared back to near the top of the Nielsen U.S. streaming chart after a new season of the show dropped on Netflix, but Clickbait edged it to stay No. 1. During the week of September 6 to 12, Clickbait collected 1.1 billion total viewing minutes, while Lucifer totaled 1.05 billion.

Longtime NBCUniversal executive Lisa Hsia, who has worked in a wide variety of roles through the years at the company, is exiting after 27 years. The Emmy award-winning exec has decided to switch careers and work as a consultant for organizations. Hsia was most recently EVP of audience acquisition and growth for NBC Entertainment and NBC Sports, handling first-party data, optimizing CRM capabilities and driving audience engagement and growth across entertainment and sports platforms.

Through the first four weeks of the new season, professional football games are averaging 17.3 million viewers on television and digital, a whopping 17% increase over last season and 3% compared to two years ago.

Flay and Food Network have been in negotiations on a new contract for some time. The superstar chef’s most recent exclusive three-year pact with the Discovery-owned cable network expires at year’s end. Sources close to the situation say that Food Network has ended the negotiations.

CBS’s Survivor drew 5.6 million total viewers and a 0.9 rating, dipping in the demo week-to-week yet still leading Wednesday in that measure. NBC’s Chicago Med (6.7M/0.8) ticked up, Fire (7M/0.8) was steady and copped the night’s largest audience, and P.D. (5.6M/0.7) dipped.