Wall Street rose Thursday to pull the S&P 500 back within 1% of its record. A report showing a pickup in layoffs helped to support the market.
CLOSING BELL
Tegna moves him from GM of WOI-KCWI Des Moines, Iowa, to oversee its Texas CBS-Quest duopoly.
The company has hired Moelis as its investment banker and has identified more than 60 stations in various regions of the U.S. that it would be willing to sell, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Sinclair owns or operates 185 TV stations in 86 markets. The stations are a mix of Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS and CW affiliates. If sold together, their average revenue for 2023 and 2024 is an estimated $1.56 billion, the people said. Sinclair is willing to sell all or some of the stations, which are in top markets like Minneapolis; Portland, Ore.; Pittsburgh; Austin, Texas and Fresno, Calif., among others.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
The Nexstar CEO tells analysts: “If I had to bet, I would bet the company will be larger three years from now than it is today. What acquisition will lead to that in combination with organic growth? I can't really say. But I'm excited to run out those ground balls and find out.” What it won't include is streaming, he added: “The main reason we're not in streaming is because we just don't think it's a good business.”
Industry consolidation, shifting viewing habits and the rise of new technologies like the cloud and AI are pushing major changes to newsroom computer systems with multiple groups opting for new systems, others eyeing changes and vendors updating their products to keep up with a very different newsroom world. Pictured: A view of the Rundown application in Avid’s MediaCentral Cloud UX.
Exclusives
NBC and its affiliates have worked out an arrangement that will give affiliates 90-second cut-ins during daytime network coverage of the Paris Olympic games. Affiliates will be able to use the cut-ins to promote their local news in front of Olympic-sized audiences. On some weekdays, the cut-ins will appear during an afternoon break at about 5 p.m. — around the time viewers would normally tune in to early-evening local news programming.
Good Morning Football, an NFL-focused panel talk show that has aired on NFL Network since 2016, is coming to broadcast syndication with the Fox Television Stations serving as the show’s launch partner in the nation’s largest markets. Good Morning Football — also referred to as GMFB — is slated to debut in broadcast syndication on Monday, Sept. 2, to kick off the season.
The Spanish-language broadcaster unveils a lineup that includes a sequel to El Senor de los Cielos and two new unscripted series alongside returning favorites.
The news comes after weeks of speculation that the show would make the jump to the streaming service from the broadcast network. The Season 4 finale will air on NBC on May 16 and stream the next day on Peacock.
The multiyear agreement also includes launch of two additional cable networks and continued carriage of AMG’s KITV and KIKU Honolulu.
The organization is honoring Star Trek with its Institutional Award and Witness with its first Global Impact Award ahead of a June 9 awards show hosted by Kumail Nanjiani.
Overall, revenue of $9.958 billion was down from the year before and shy of Wall Street expectations, of over $10 billion. Ditto with net loss per share of 40 cents. TV numbers felt the impact of strikes with fewer episodes delivered. Streaming was a bright spot, where WBD added 2 million subs to 99.6 million and had a profit of $86 million, up from $50 million the year before. Revenue firmed, including a 70% jump in ad sales.
QUARTERLY REPORT
Nexstar’s Q1 Net Revenue Rises 2.1%
The total of $1.284 billion was attributed to increased distribution revenue and higher political revenue of $39 million.
Founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, the National Headliner Awards program is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic merit in the communications industry.
The offering from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery shows how rival companies are willing to work together to navigate an uncertain entertainment landscape.
CBS and other well-known properties would be sold if Sony and Apollo were able to buy Paramount. But the new owners would keep the movie studio.
Following leaks earlier this month of Walmart’s plans to launch a new 4K streaming box, Walmart has officially unveiled the Onn. 4K Pro, a hybrid streaming box/smart speaker currently priced at $49.88. The Onn. 4K Pro is built on the Google TV platform and offers a cinematic experience with 4K UHD picture quality and enhanced Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
The agency released a final order clarifying that pay-to-play internet “fast lanes” for consumers violate its net neutrality rules. It also guarantees the new rules won’t preempt state broadband affordability programs.
PROGRAMMING EVERYWHERE 2024
Video: Are There Any Big Swings Left For Talk Shows?
Allen Media Group's Byron Allen, E!'s Jenny Depper, Telepictures' Lauren Blincoe, Debmar-Mercury's Ira Bernstein and Fox's Portia Bruner discuss where TV might find a way to keep marquee-name talkers going and where mulitplatform distribution will play a big role in this panel at TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere conference. Become a TVNewsCheck subscriber here to watch the exclusive video.
EARNINGS CALL
Political And Distribution Money Push Sinclair
In discussing Q1 performance, Lucy Rutishauser, Sinclair’s CFO, reported that “as compared to last year, consolidated media revenues increased to $792 million during the quarter, primarily on the higher political revenues and an increase in distribution revenue.” CEO Chris Ripley highlighted the company’s Broadspan, which is offering a new content distribution service that combines OTT and OTA distribution of live streaming events.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
New Jobs Posted To TVNewsCheck
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include an opening for a director of student media and a national operations director. Existing openings include a digital platform specialist, an account executive and a sales director.
Streaming sales leaders from Gray Television, E.W. Scripps, Hearst Television, Ticker and Megaphone TV will share the latest developments in technology and strategy for OTT and FAST channels. Learn more about this critically important revenue source for broadcasters in a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch Webinar on May 16. Register here.
