Programming

The show announced Wednesday that Katie Couric, the journalist and former Today host, will become the first woman ever to host the show. Others on tap are Mayim Bialik, Aaron Rodgers and journalist Bill Whitaker.

After a brief pause following County Health Department recommendations, Hollywood’s major studios are getting cameras rolling again. The industry had paused much of its Los Angeles-based filming around the holidays and into the early part of January when it became clear a coronavirus surge was underway.

Entertainers Penn & Teller will host the Jan. 21 ceremony honoring Kelly Clarkson, Jordan Wertlieb, Kevin Frazier and Entertainment Tonight at NATPE Virtual Miami.

The multi-year deal covers 13 CBS affiliates serving nearly six million television households.

All in the genre post gains from the previous session in the week ending Jan. 3, with Extra growing the most of the big five and matching its season high with a 17% spurt to a 0.7.

Fox’s Prodigal Son opened Season 2 with 2.3 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating — well below both its freshman averages (3.4M/0.7, airing Mondays) as well as what Empire averaged in the Tuesday time slot last season (2.7M/0.7).

NBC is getting an early start on its primetime lineup for the 2021-22 TV season, handing series orders to drama La Brea starring Natalie Zea (above) and comedies American Auto and Grand Crew.

CNN averaged 5.2 million viewers last Wednesday, eclipsing its previous high of 5.1 million on Election Day 2016, Nielsen said. NBC, led by a strong NFL playoff game Sunday night between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, was the top broadcast network last week, averaging 8.6 million viewers in primetime. CBS had 5.7 million, ABC had 3.8 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 920,000.

The show is currently using a series of interim hosts to replace Alex Trebek, who died of cancer on Nov. 8. That process began when record-holding contestant Ken Jennings made his debut on an episode that aired Monday.

FuboTV shares are riding high again after the emerging company announced it is acquiring sports betting startup Vigtory and will use it to launch a full-fledged sportsbook later this year. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter. It positions Fubo, which was founded in 2015 as an internet-delivered pay-TV operator akin to YouTube TV, as more of a hybrid company.

Spanish-language broadcast giant Univision today announced first quarter launch plans for PrendeTV, joining the crowded streaming market with a free, add-supported service created for the U.S. Hispanic audience. It will featuring premium 100% Spanish-language programming, debuting with over 30 channels and 10,000 hours of video-on-demand content in Spanish from global partners.

ABC’s The Good Doctor returned from a six-week break to 3.9 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating, both marking series lows.

The company adds media veterans to augment monetization efforts fueled by Latinos’ growing video consumption across all platforms. Ezequiel Fonseca Zas is named SVP, revenue strategy and distribution and Malu Carmona-Botana joins as content monetization VP.

On Monday, former Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings debuted as the show’s first post-Alex Trebek guest host. Jennings paid tribute to Trebek just after he walked out on stage. “Sharing this stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honors of my life,” he said.

The Big Three broadcast networks are mulling a roadblock special to air in primetime Jan. 20 celebrating the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States and Kamala Harris as vice president. Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell Variety that the special would be 90 minutes to two hours in length and would be produced by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, the same team that handled the Democratic National Convention. Weiss is set to direct. The special would feature remote performances as well as other possible highlights such as an outdoor, ball-style “first dance” with Biden and soon-to-be-First Lady Jill Biden, and a fireworks display.

The appointments include veteran executives from ViacomCBS, WarnerMedia and Telemundo. Pierluigi Gazzolo fills the newly created role of president of Univision Communications Inc. and chief transformation officer, while Luis Silberwasser fills the newly created role of president of the Univision Television Networks Group, leading Univision’s national TV properties.

The same producer who helped Drew Carey succeed Bob Barker on The Price Is Right is now working on the Jeopardy succession.

The deal calls for Hart to star and produce four features for the streamer and then enter into a first-look deal via his production banner, HartBeat Productions. The comedian previously had a first-look deal with Universal, for whom it made the comedy Night School, and a deal with Nickelodeon.

Nielsen said its local ratings service is now not accredited because the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted its ability to manage the panels it uses to measure what viewers are watching. The Media Rating Council accreditation of Nielsen’s local people meter and set meter service in large- and mid-sized markets has been put on “hiatus” while the company develops new ways to recruit and maintain its panels. Nielsen’s system for measuring viewership in the smallest markets is not MRC accredited.