The Writers Guild of America’s demand for more streaming residuals from the studios could set the stage for the first industrywide strike in more than a decade. And it’s not just that writers are in a fighting mood after feuding with the agencies for more than nine months: there’s big money at stake – and not just from the ever-growing streaming market, but also from what the guild says are “hundreds of millions of dollars” that will be going into the pockets of the studios if it prevails in its lawsuit and packaging fees are eliminated.
The third-season premiere of Station 19 delivered its biggest same-day audience ever for ABC, thanks in part to a crossover with Grey’s Anatomy. The penultimate episode of The Good Place on NBC also hit a multi-episode high in viewers.
Deborah Dugan has gone from leading the Recording Academy to being a whistleblower. Here’s why those watching — or not watching — this year’s awards ceremony may be more consequential than any judge.
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Emmy-winning character actor John Karlen, known for his roles on the television series “Dark Shadows” and “Cagney & Lacey,” has died. Karlen died Wednesday of congestive […]
Exclusives
‘Chicago’ Trio Scores Again For NBC
For the second straight week, NBC’s three Chicago shows powered the network to an across-the-board ratings victory Wednesday. ABC’s comedy The Goldbergs also bounced back some from last week’s lows.
Abernethy Talks Super Bowl, Election, More
Jack Abernethy, head of Fox Television Stations, addressed NFL rights, the presidential election’s effect on regulation, station consolidation and other topics during a NATPE keynote session Wednesday.
For those who cover TV, the annual January meeting of the Television Critics Association can yield access, news and insights; for those in the industry, the goal is publicity. As brisk and carefully planned as it is, and as practiced as celebrities are, discernibly genuine moments can happen at the meeting that’s nicknamed “press tour” or referred to the “TCAs.”
On Wednesday evening, NATPE presented its 17th annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards at a dinner in Miami. The winners (l-r): Marcos Santana, president of NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Global Studios; Courtney A. Kemp, television creator, producer and writer; Karey Burke, ABC Entertainment president; actress Christine Baranski; and Jeff Zucker, chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports and president, CNN Worldwide. The dinner benefits the NATPE Educational Foundation, with a portion going to the Broadcasters Federation of America.
The syndicated game show from Entertainment Studios will return for fall 2021 and fall 2022 in broadcast strip syndication and cable.
Ratings Dip For NFL Conference Championships
With the benefit of an NFL game in primetime, Fox led all the broadcast networks in ratings last week, averaging 9.9 million viewers. CBS had 4.9 million viewers in prime time, NBC had 4.2 million, ABC had 3.8 million, Univision had 1.6 million, Ion Television had 1.3 million, Telemundo had 890,000 and the CW had 790,000.
‘This Is Us,’ ‘NCIS’ Hold Up Vs. Impeachment
The broadcast networks remained fairly steady in the ratings Tuesday night despite ongoing coverage of the opening of President Trump’s impeachment trial on cable. NBC’s This Is Us and CBS’s NCIS held their usual posts of the top shows in, respectively, adults 18-49 and total viewers.
New Year Sees Syndies Start Strong
In the week ending Jan. 12 more than a dozen first-run shows posted weekly rating gains in the double digits, including Dr. Phil, which rose 42% to reclaim first place among the talk shows.
The Price Point | NBC Affiliates Stabbed By Peacock Quill
Hank Price: “Starting in July, Peacock premium subscribers will be able to watch The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers live, hours before they air in their regular slots on NBC affiliates. Instead of the fresh product NBC stations now carry after their late newscasts, they will instead be airing reruns of shows that have already aired on Peacock. This is an outrageous breach of trust between Comcast/NBC Universal and the NBC affiliate body.”
With Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam, Jones formed Monty Python’s Flying Circus, whose anarchic humor helped revolutionize British comedy. He was 77.
As the overseer of the Star Trek television properties for ViacomCBS Inc., producer Alex Kurtzman is charged with updating the space drama for a new generation without alienating its hard-core fans. But he knows there is much more at stake: ViacomCBS is counting on the franchise to help its streaming service, CBS All Access, hold its own against a field of larger rivals in Hollywood.
TVN’s Executive Session | More Than 25 Words With Meredith Vieira
The veteran correspondent, talk show host and moderator of The View continues her sideline into game show hosting with 25 Words or Less. She says her interviewing skills and empathy from journalism made the shift less dramatic than it sounds, and her next act may be podcasting.
The digital-first lifestyle brand will add linear distribution on Feb. 17 as the multicast network Live Well Television is rebranded as Localish.
Univision Communications and Televisa today announced a distribution arrangement that would make a Univision-branded linear television channel available across the region in early 2020. The 24-hour pay TV channel will […]
American Ninja Warrior is returning for a ninth season. NBC said it has renewed the four-time Emmy-nominated series for a return this summer. Production will begin in the spring with a premiere date TBD. Hosted by Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila along with sideline reporter Zuri Hall, the obstacle course competition series will shoot in three cities this season: Los Angeles, Washington and St. Louis. The show’s national finals will once again take place in Las Vegas.
‘Drew Barrymore’ Cleared For Fall Launch
CBS Television Distribution’s new daytime talker The Drew Barrymore Show, is now a firm go for fall 2020, Steve LoCascio, chief operating officer of CBS Television Distribution, said Tuesday. CTD has added such station groups as Nexstar, Sinclair, Weigel, Scripps, Gray, Tegna, Meredith and Mission to its initial launch group of CBS-owned stations, bringing the show’s total clearance level to 85% of the country.
The Bachelor bounced back from last week’s ratings dip to lead ABC to a first-place finish among adults 18-49 Monday night. NBC’s America’s Got Talent: The Champions also improved week to week. The time-period debut of 911: Lone Star on Fox unsurprisingly came down a lot from its NFL-fueled premiere Sunday, but it still tied for first among scripted shows in the 18-49 demo.
