Programming

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.

Coverage of Division I women’s sports has been in a particularly bright spotlight in 2021 and the record-setting Women’s College World Series was just the latest example of growing interest — and growing demands for a more equitable playing field when compared with men’s events.

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 comedy starring Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins is finished after two seasons. The show’s end comes after the broadcast network pushed its final three episodes into the summer; the now series finale is slated to air Sunday.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee unveiled the coverage plans along with its campaign called Show the World, which is designed to highlight Paralympic athletes on their journey to Tokyo. The trials in several sports begin Thursday, with the highlight show set for June 27. The Paralympics are Aug. 24-Sept. 5. NBC plans 1,200 hours of programming from Tokyo, including more than 200 on TV.

Fox saw increases in advance ad commitments for its primetime schedule and expanding digital venues as part of the industry’s annual “upfront” sales process, the latest of the nation’s big media companies to see robust activity as advertisers try to move forward as the coronavirus pandemic diminishes.

The latenight rivals put up their best numbers in more than a year as loosening COVID-19 restrictions allow their studios to fill up again.

The inaugural edition of the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl will be played Dec. 18 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the host announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday night. The game will air on ABC. “This is not a joke,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue. “This is a real bowl game named after me, so mark your calendars…. It’s like an early Christmas gift for all of us.”

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.

NBC’s coverage of the U.S. Olympics Trials and America’s Got Talent tied for the Tuesday demo win, while CBS’s NCIS rerun drew the night’s biggest audience.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the biggest cash spender when it comes to non-sports content, according to a new report from Todd Juenger, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. According to Juenger’s accounting, NBCU’s spending, including Sky reached $22.5 billion in 2020.

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.

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.

When it comes to NFT investing, Fox apparently has diamond hands. The network is staking its new NFT business unit, Blockchain Creative Labs, with a $100 million creative fund, Fox announced Tuesday. Fox is partnering with Bento Box Entertainment on the project and has now named Bento Box co-founder and CEO Scott Greenberg as CEO of the new company. Blockchain Creative Labs will build, launch, manage and sell NFT content and experiences, and fungible tokens, as well as digital goods and assets.

The lineup includes new seasons of Walker, The Flash, Riverdale, Batwoman and All American (which has quietly become the network’s top-rated show in the young adult demo after its previous seasons debuted on Netflix and Supernatural concluded). The Flash will launch with a five-episode crossover event featuring heroes from the other DC universe shows. There are also new series: The reimagined game show Legends of the Hidden Temple, a new U.S. version of the British reality show Killer Camp and a reboot of the sci-fi mystery drama series 4400.

Not a single first-run show posted an increase in household ratings during the holiday session. Family Feud held steady, but it was enough to make it No. 1 overall (again) as well as the top game show (again).