Producers of the Academy of Country Music Awards have settled on a new date for the live CBS telecast, landing on Sept. 16, pushing back the ceremony five months from its originally scheduled April 5 perch.
FuboTV — a U.S.-based video streaming service offering a premium, over-the-top bundle of sports TV channels — has inked a deal to merge with Facebank Group, a developer of technology IP. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the proposed merger aims to create a sports-first digital entertainment alternative online for cord-cutters and cord-nevers.
The International Olympics Committee will take a month to decide whether the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics can proceed as planned, given the global spread of coronavirus, a move that would potentially wreak havoc on the fortunes of hundreds of athletes, the media industry and the plans of many big-spending advertisers.
Just days after being transferred to the Wende Correctional Facility from NYC’s Rikers Island, the Oscar winning producer and convicted rapist is now in medical isolation, a New York state law enforcement official confirms.
The International Olympic Committee still insists the Games will go ahead as planned and will not be cancelled, but it’s facing growing opposition from athletes, teams and federations for a delay. Sources tell Reuters that Tokyo Games organizers are also drafting possible alternatives to holding the Games this summer.
Exclusives
In what may have been the most peripatetic week in broadcast news history, CBS This Morning was likely the nation’s most dramatically displaced production with three moves in one week. Its executive producer shares details of the numerous challenges the show faced working with a skeleton crew under exhausting conditions, ultimately finding a home at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The new XFL football league has stopped its first season, after a week where the league said it was “suspending” its season due to issues around COVID-19. “The COVID-19 pandemic, and the most recent state and local regulations, have left the XFL no choice but to officially cancel the remainder of the 2020 season,” according to a statement from the league. The league stops after five weeks of games, after launching Feb. 8.
Strong Fri. Showings For ‘Blacklist,’ ’20/20′
Primetime ratings continued to soar Friday, as a locked down country turned to the tube to get some relief from the outside world’s pressures.
NBCUniversal is making MSNBC and CNBC available to all video customers throughout the coronavirus crisis, similar to an announcement from Fox earlier this week, though NBCU’s viewers must authenticate by providing a pay TV password. NBCU Owned Stations, including Telemundo stations, will also be streaming their local newscasts and coronavirus-related press conferences, and NBC News NOW will be showing more content from MSNBC, CNBC and NBC News.
A recent Nielsen streaming report for the week of March 2-8 acquired by Variety shed light on the normally very tight black box of Netflix viewing data. It shows The Office, Schitt’s Creek and Good Girls as the top three in acquired series on the streamer. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez and Love is Blind led the most-watched original shows.
For years, U.S. television networks have spent increasing amounts of money on “sports packages,” paying billions of dollars for the rights to show baseball, basketball and other games exclusively. The high fees were justified because live contests offered a unique asset — unskippable, real-time drama in the age of DVR. But that immediacy is now proving to be a great weakness.
Netflix will create a $1 million fund to help the creative community affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos announced Friday. “Almost all television and film production has now ceased globally — leaving hundreds of thousands of crew and cast without jobs. These include electricians, carpenters and drivers, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis.”
Of all the sports ESPN has shown over the years, professional wrestling matches from WWE haven’t really been on the list. That will change this weekend. For three Sundays, the Disney-owned sports-media giant will air classic WrestleMania events on its flagship cable network and stream them on its mobile app.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee won’t be held as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus. Scripps announced its decision Friday morning, citing recommendations against large gatherings by the Centers […]
ABC’s entire lineup hit season highs in total viewers Thursday, and NBC’s Superstore and Will & Grace also recorded highs as coronavirus quarantines continue to drive linear TV viewing.
NAB President Gordon Smith said broadcasters don’t want to see any retransmission consent service disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has called for a retransmission consent quiet period to avoid TV station signals going off MVPDs.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Thursday that its 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony set for June in Pasadena has been canceled. “Given our concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided that we will not be staging the 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena this coming June,” NATAS chairman Terry O’Reilly said.
Tennis Channel will introduce a daily, three-hour edition of Tennis Channel Live while the professional tennis tours are on hiatus due to the worldwide coronavirus containment effort. Beginning, Monday, March 23, at […]
PPI Releasing has expanded its SSN Sports (Syndie Sports Network) programming and offering additional options to aid stations in need of weekly programming to fill the holes created by sports […]
A staff member on The Dr. Oz Show has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting the syndicated show to shut down production. New episodes will continue airing daily, and host Dr. Mehmet Oz will film remotely from his home.
