Robert Conrad, ‘Wild, Wild West’ Star, Dies

The rugged, contentious actor who starred in the hugely popular 1960s television series Hawaiian Eye and The Wild, Wild West. Baa Baa Black Sheep followed in 1976 and was roughly based on an autobiography by Marine Corps ace and Medal of Honor recipient Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, who wrote of the raucous fliers he commanded during World War II. Conrad was 84.

OVERNIGHTS

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Returns Steady

NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine opened its seventh season a little ahead of where it finished its sixth on Thursday. The network’s other comedy debut, Indebted, opened to soft ratings, and CBS’s drama Tommy premiered with a total-viewer win in the 10 p.m. hour. Young Sheldon, meanwhile, is near a season high in viewers.

Betting Could Be ‘X’ Factor For New Pro Football League

The revived XFL owned by wrestling impresario Vince McMahon will consciously appeal to fans accustomed to betting on professional or college football — and who otherwise would have nothing to bet on for months.

BRAND CONNECTIONS

ESPN’s Steve Levy: XFL Is ‘Made-For-TV Football’

Fox Picks Up Musical Game Show

Following on the success of The Masked Singer, Fox is doubling down with another South Korean game show import, the musical series I Can See Your Voice. Based on the South Korean format from CJ ENM, the show will offer contestants a cash prize if they can tell the difference between the good and bad singers, without ever hearing them sing a note. Masked Singer judge Ken Jeong will serve as host and executive producer.

Demi Lovato Sets Talk Show At Quibi

TVN FOCUS ON ADVERTISING

XFL Scores Late Ad Sales On Eve Of Launch

Advertisers have been slow to the table to support the newly-revived XFL league, which kicks off this weekend. Interest is finally stirring, according to ESPN and ABC, but uncertain audience engagement and the memory of past alternative pro-football league failures cast a shadow over its prospects.

WarnerMedia Nears Deal For ‘Friends’ Reunion

Warner Bros. is finalizing agreements with the cast of Friends for a reunion special that will likely be used to launch the HBO Max streaming service this spring, people familiar with the matter said. Under terms being discussed, each of the show’s six stars would receive between $2.25 million and $2.5 million.

ViacomCBS To Launch New Streaming Service

Newly combined ViacomCBS is working on combining media assets for a new streaming service that will build on CBS All Access, according to people familiar with the matter. While ViacomCBS executives haven’t made any firm decisions, they are considering creating a service with advertisements that will combine CBS All Access with Viacom assets including Pluto TV, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures.

Pluto TV, Hisense And Vidaa Partner

Free streaming TV service Pluto TV, a ViacomCBS company, today with Vidaa International, a subsidiary of Hisense, the third-largest television manufacturer in the world, announced a multi-year global pact bringing […]

Jennie Snyder Urman Extends Overall Deal At CBS TV Studios

Comedy Based On Kelly Ripa & Ryan Seacrest Snags ABC Pilot Order

OVERNIGHTS

‘Lego Masters’ Premiere Scores For Fox

The premiere of Fox’s Lego Masters built up a solid audience on Wednesday. The competition series delivered the second best series-debut rating of the season in adults 18-49 — and the only one to beat it had an NFL lead-in.

‘Judge Judy’ Profits Fight Settled

A 2016 dispute that included a complaint about Judy Sheindlin’s $47 million salary has been resolved by a mediator.

Warner-HBO Label To Make Streaming Movies

Movie studio Warner Bros. and HBO Max are launching a new division that will specialize in making movies specifically for streaming, the companies said Wednesday. The unit is designed to produce films for HBO Max, the upcoming streaming service owned by the Burbank-based studio’s parent company, AT&T Inc. The new division is expected to make eight to 10 films a year for the direct-to-consumer platform, which launches in May.

America’s Public Television Stations Elect Board Leaders, Members

America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today announced the election of its new board leaders and members. Molly Phillips, executive director and general manager of Iowa PBS, has been elected chair; […]

WWE Stock Plummets Below $40 Per Share

WWE stock has sunk sub-$40 per share in premarket trading Thursday, following the pro wrestling company’s release of 4Q and full-year 2019 financials. While WWE reported Thursday it beat fourth-quarter 2019 earnings estimates, the company missed on revenue expectations, despite reaching a record high thanks to its big SmackDown on Fox deal.

Comcast To Air Westminster Dog Show In 4K

Tyler Perry’s ‘If Loving You Is Wrong’ To End After 5 Seasons On OWN

‘Judge Jerry’ Renewed For Season 2

The freshman syndicated court show has been renewed in more than 95% of U.S. markets.

Writer, Producer Jane Milmore Dies At 64

State Of The Union Falls In Early Numbers

The State of the Union address drew a considerably smaller audience on the broadcast networks than it did a year ago, at least in the preliminary ratings from Tuesday. President Trump’s address and the Democratic response averaged 15.23 million viewers from 9-11 p.m. ET on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC in Nielsen’s fast national ratings. That’s down about 25% from the comparable figure last year.

Cosmo Changes Course On ‘Bachelor’ Cover

The magazine won’t publish an online cover featuring Victoria Fuller after photos surfaced of her modeling “White Lives Matter” apparel.

‘Ray Donovan’ Canceled At Showtime

Bounce Airing Star-Studded Black History Month Special

Gene Reynolds, Co-Creator of ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies

Six-time Emmy winner Gene Reynolds, known for his writing, directing and producing for the lauded socially conscious 1970s TV shows M*A*S*H and Lou Grant, died Monday. He was 96.

NETWORK RATINGS ROUNDUP: JAN. 27-FEB. 2

‘Masked Singer’ Hopes For Big Bounce

A new episode of the game, usually Fox’s most popular primetime program or close to it, airs on Wednesday. A special edition of the show, with Lil’ Wayne as the mystery guest, had its biggest audience ever Sunday when 23.7 million people watched it following the Super Bowl, according to Nielsen.

Fox Taps Allison Wallach To Run Unscripted Studio

Shannen Doherty Says She Is Battling Stage 4 Breast Cancer

NEW YORK (AP) — Shannen Doherty is battling a recurrence of breast cancer that has progressed to stage four, telling fans “it’s a bitter pill to swallow.” “I definitely have […]

WEEKLY SYNDICATION RATINGS ROUNDUP

Rookie ‘Kelly Clarkson’ Keeps Climbing

Despite the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 20, and tons of preemptions for President Trump’s impeachment hearings, which wiped out programming in many markets for the rest of the week, Clarkson climbed 8% from the prior frame to a first-place five-week high 1.4 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, and surged 17% among women 25-54 to its highest demo score since the week of Sept. 30.