Programming

Movie studios are considering whether to ignore the objections of cinema chains and forge ahead with a plan to offer digital rentals of films mere weeks after they appear in theaters, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of the biggest proponents, including Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures, are pressing on in talks with Apple Inc. and Comcast Corp. on ways to push ahead with the project even without theater chains, the people said. After months of negotiations, the two sides have been unable to arrive at a mutually beneficial way to create a $30 to $50 premium movie-download product.

According to Nielsen data from May 25 to Aug. 13, Colbert is averaging a 0.53 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic and 3.38 million viewers per episode. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is averaging a 0.66 rating and 2.59 million viewers for the same time period. At the conclusion of the standard September-May season, Colbert was averaging a 0.58 and 3.195 million viewers compared to Fallon’s 0.81 and 3.173 million. That means that Colbert has grown approximately 6% in total viewers.

Major TV networks are gearing up to cover Monday’s solar eclipse as if it were a sporting event — the Super Bowl of the scientific world. The first total solar eclipse to cross the United States since 1917 and the first to be visible from the mainland since 1979 is set to begin around 1:15 p.m. ET. The eclipse will be visible for another 90 minutes in varying degrees around the country. Here’s is a list of major networks offering extensive eclipse coverage on Monday

The second installment of SNL: Weekend Update is currently up significantly in both key ratings measures in its second week, However, Thursday night’s numbers will likely be adjusted down later today due to local preemptions for NFL preseason football. Airing at 9 p.m., the expanded version of the popular segment is currently averaging a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.8 million total viewers. That is up approximately 25% in the key demo and 24% in total viewers, pending adjustments. The episode featured cameos by former “SNL” cast members Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers.

NEW YORK (AP) — HBO says it has regained control of its social media accounts after the latest security breach to hit the entertainment company. The hacking group OurMine on […]

Jeffrey Glaser, 20th Century Fox TV’s former longtime current programming chief, is joining Sony Pictures TV Studios as head of current, effective Sept. 5. He will replace Sony TV’s EVP of Current Programming Kim Rozenfeld, who will leave the company when his contract is up at the end of the month.

A judge rules that a biopic about the late singer Jenni Rivera wasn’t “routine investigative reporting,” and so, the Spanish network must face a lawsuit for interfering with a non-disclosure agreement.

The series debut of NBC’s comedy Marlon scored the second most-watched new summer comedy premiere on the Big 4 broadcast networks in 10 years, according to Nielsen. Airing at 9 p.m., Marlon averaged a 1.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.4 million total viewers. That is one of the best premieres for a summer comedy series since CBS’s Creature Comforts nabbed 6.2 million viewers in 2007.

Sing Like a Star will air in 33 Tegna markets and be hosted by Arthel Neville. It will be produced out of WWL New Orleans and premieres Sept. 16.

For those not in the 14 states that make up the eclipse’s “path of totality,” here’s a look at some of the viewing opportunities online and on TV.

For networks and their affiliated studios, finding a way to hold on to top-tier talent used to be a relatively simple proposition. Big producer threatening to jump to another company? Back up a Brinks truck. And if money alone wasn’t the only concern, offer the talent more “creative freedom.” As important as both those factors remain in talent negotiations, Shonda Rhimes’s just-announced decision to sign with Netflix and leave ABC/Disney points to a bleak new reality for old-school broadcasters trying to hold on to big names.

Former WGN America head of scripted Jon Wax is joining YouTube as head of drama, scripted and current programming. He is one of two high-profile new executives hires by the Google-owned online video platform tied to the company’s YouTube Red Originals, along with former Fox Broadcasting Chief Marketing Officer Angela Courtin, who has been named global head of YouTube TV and originals marketing.

NEW YORK (AP) — The parent company of New York’s Tribeca Film Festival is giving TV its own show. Tribeca Enterprises said Wednesday it will launch the stand-alone Tribeca TV […]

Sharon Scott, president and GM of NBC’s Peacock Productions, is leaving the network. Peacock Productions, which launched 10 years ago, produces new series and repackages existing NBC News reports for multiple broadcast and cable networks and digital platforms, ranging from Discovery ID to History Channel to NatGeo and A&E.

The traditional TV ecosystem of cable and satellite providers offering huge bundles of channels has been slow to respond to the shifts in consumer behavior toward on-demand, commercial-free streaming access to programming across any device. But now the largest programmers and forward-looking MVPDs, like Comcast and DirecTV, are taking baby steps. It’s a tricky line for Disney and its cohorts to walk, because MVPD affiliate fees are still the biggest profit engines for the largest media conglomerates.

In what’s sure to be another devastating turn of events for HBO, the newest episode of Game Of Thrones has leaked online, four days ahead of schedule.

With just a few weeks to go before the kickoff of football season, advertisers may be questioning whether primetime NFL games can still score as many marketing touchdowns as it has in the past. A Variety survey of commercial-ratings projections for the 2017-18 broadcast-network TV season finds that ad buyers believe fewer people than last season will watch commercials during such primetime stalwarts as NBC’s Sunday Night Football and the Thursday Night Football broadcasts on both NBC and CBS.

Bob Iger’s plan to launch two streamers — one for family fare, another for ESPN — carries huge stakes for the media giant and the future of the cable bundle itself.

Days after seeing Shonda Rhimes exit for a game-changing deal with Netflix, ABC Studios has reunited with Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse. The Disney-owned studio has inked a massive four-year overall deal with Cuse and his newly launched Genre Arts banner in what is said to be a pact worth more than $20 million plus a percentage of the back-end on programming created under the partnership.

NEW DELHI (AP) — An India-based media technology company said Wednesday that it regrets the recent leak of an episode of the popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” by four of its […]

With the news this week that Shonda Rhimes is leaving ABC for Netflix, the streaming giant added yet another big name to its increasingly deep bench. Since it began investing eye-popping amounts of cash in original programming, Netflix has quickly won over showrunners and filmmakers interested in getting financed with few strings attached. So Rhimes is in very good company. Here’s a look at some of the other bigwigs who have made the leap.