Business

Despite widespread speculation to the contrary, AT&T will not sell CNN after its acquisition of parent Time Warner closes, according to AT&T Entertainment Group chief John Stankey. In his first interview since being named to oversee assets such as Warner Bros. and HBO when AT&T’s acquisition of the media company is closed, Stankey also expresses support for Warner’s CEO Kevin Tsujihara: “He’s a talented guy.”

And CEO Les Moonves likes not having to rely heavily on advertising. “Ten years ago, it was greater than 70%. We love advertising, but diversifying our revenue leads to more certainty in our earnings,” he told analysts on Monday. It also says an OTT sports streaming service is in the works.

OTA Broadcasting had sold the spectrum of the Providence, R.I., CW affiliate in the FCC’s incentive auction.

The increase is helped by a higher retransmission consent and reverse comp revenue.

A coalition of TV and media industry entities is urging the FCC to reject Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media, arguing that the combination would “produce a TV station behemoth that is unprecedented in both local and national size and power.”

A new  BIA/Kelsey study says that enhancing station ratings with third-party “Big Data” about viewers’ buying interests “adds substantially to the local TV value proposition” by permitting targeted advertising that would mean local TV broadcasters could become “more competitive with digital pure-play platforms and would see greater revenue growth in better monetizing their broadcast audiences.”

The new agreement deal will bring CBS-owned TV stations, Showtime, the CW and Pop to the DirecTV Now streaming service. Financial terms of the pact were not disclosed.

It is not exactly a secret that Dish Network has all but given up on its DBS service, choosing instead to concentrate on Sling TV while trying to squeeze out every last penny of profit from the satellite TV business. But the company’s income was way down in the second quarter, even taking into account the $280 million fine in the telemarketing case the company booked in the quarter. And all other key financial indicators declined in the quarter, except for slightly better churn.

There are rumblings at the highest executive levels that AT&T’s top executives are considering divesting some Time Warner assets — including news organization CNN and celebrity gossip site TMZ — after they merge.

The reports of TV’s death are greatly exaggerated, and some people have blamed the ratings messenger — Nielsen. The data put out by the audience measurement company for what it calls “linear viewing” — which counts number of people who watch a program the day it airs — has been on a steady decline across broadcast and many cable networks in recent years. The company says it has answered the call by networks and ad agencies to provide “total audience data” that includes viewing on Internet-connected TV sets, digital devices and on screens seen outside the home.

Characters like Flo, star of 140 Progressive Insurance commercials, can deliver a brand message in a potent way. But they’re not great at evolving.

U.S. ad tech company Tremor Video is selling its “demand-side platform” to Israel-based mobile advertising firm Taptica for an enterprise value of $50 million continuing a raft of consolidation in a sector facing stiff online competition from Google and Facebook.

Another strong month of hiring sent stock indexes higher on Friday. The Department of Labor said U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs last month. Investors sold government bonds and bet that interest rates are going to rise, which lets banks make more money on loans.

As Charlie Ergen drags his feet in finding a deal for Dish Network Corp., it’s becoming clear that Sling TV especially deserves a new home sooner rather than later. Sling is Dish’s live TV streaming service that starts at $20 a month and offers networks from HGTV and ESPN to CNN and Lifetime — a chubbier skinny bundle, if you will. Its name is also appropriate given that Sling is helping support Dish’s wounded satellite-TV business, as cord cutting accelerates across the industry.

NEW YORK (AP) — A liberal advocacy group that targeted Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly for advertiser boycotts in the past now has its sights set on Fox News Channel’s […]

AT&T said Friday it would launch an advertising and analytics unit led by a senior Madison Avenue media-buying executive Brian Lesser — the latest hint of the plans the telecommunications giant has for its pending $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner Inc.

On Monday, an alliance of representatives from diverse corners of the media industry will come together to hold a press call announcing their FCC filings in opposition to the Sinclair Broadcasting-Tribune Media merger and reiterating their strong commitment to protecting independent local news. As a group, these representatives will call for the Sinclair-Tribune merger to be rejected.

The hour-long forum will air next Tuesday at 7-8 p.m. and will also be livestreamed on WBRC’s digital properties including WBRC.com, the WBRC FOX6 News app, Roku/Amazon and Facebook.

Dish reports that it lost 196,000 net video subscribers in the second quarter, the continuation of a downward trend for the satcaster, and the pay TV industry as a whole. The satellite TV service lost fewer subs in this year’s second quarter compared to last year’s second quarter when it dropped 281,000 customers. However, Dish lost just 81,000 subscribers in the 2015 second quarter.

NBC wants business writers and critics to focus more on overall viewing, not just live program viewing measures. The revenue from delayed viewing is “significant,” says Bob Greenblatt, chairman, NBC Entertainment.

Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt is near a deal to renew his contract with NBC, extending his tenure as the network’s top programming executive. “I’m going to be around for a long time,” Greenblatt said Thursday.