Today’s Finale
HBO: I May Destroy You at 9p

IN THE NEWS

The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will go on, presented digitally sometime in the fall. Date and platform are TBA. The event had originally been scheduled for June 7, but was replaced by plans for a streaming special on the same date due to COVID-19. That special was postponed amid unrest over the George Floyd killing. “Though unprecedented events cut the 2019-2020 Broadway season short, it was a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognized,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing. “We are thrilled not only to have found a way to properly celebrate our artists’ incredible achievements this season, but also to be able to uplift the entire theatre community and show the world what makes our Broadway family so special at this difficult time.”

TikTok confirmed it plans to file a lawsuit over President Trump’s executive order that would ban the short-form video app unless the Chinese-owned company is sold to a US buyer. Trump said TikTok threatens “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States” due to its access to user data. On Saturday, TikTok maintained it had no choice but to challenge the executive order in court. “Even though we strongly disagree with the administration’s concerns, for nearly a year we have sought to engage in good faith to provide a constructive solution,” said the company in a statement. “What we encountered instead was a lack of due process as the administration paid no attention to facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.”

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow the president to block critics on his @realdonaldtrump Twitter account. The federal appeals court in New York ruled last year that since the president uses his account to make announcements and observations that are overwhelmingly official in nature, blocking a critic violates the First Amendment. The administration argues that the Supreme Court, not lower courts, “should decide where to draw the line between the President’s personal decisions and official conduct.”

The CW Network will simulcast MTV’s 2020 VMAs, making the ceremony available to an expanded broadcast audience for the first time. The awards show, which this year will pay homage to New York City and its resilience, will also air across 11 ViacomCBS brands, in addition to The CW, immediately following the 90-minute VMAs preshow that will air exclusively on MTV on Sunday, August 30.

Lori Loughlin (When Calls the Heart) was sentenced to two months in a federal prison, starting in November, for participating in the college admissions scandal. She was also fined $150,000, and will serve 150 hours of community service. “I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass,” Loughlin told the judge on Friday. Loughlin’s husband, Mossimo Giannulli, was sentenced to five months.

CBS is looking to score $5.5 million for a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl, reports the Wall Street Journal. Advertisers would also be required to kick in about $200,000 to appear in the game’s online stream. Last year on Fox, Super Bowl ads fetched as much as $5.6 million.

SESSION SPOTLIGHT > 2021 IMPACT OF AVOD ON TRADITIONAL MEDIA
With ViacomCBS’s acquisition of Pluto, Fox’s purchase of Tubi, and Comcast’s takeover of Xumo and Vudu, the monetization formula for media firms will be changing. On Tuesday, Sept 22, we’ll dig down to talk about how these more automated platforms will influence the advertising future of legacy media players. (Sponsored by Tubi)

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NBCU production company Lark grabbed the rights to Amy Smart’s Still novels to adapt for television. Cobie Smulders (Stumptown) will executive produce, with Lara Azzopardi (The Bold Type) attached as showrunner and EP.

Harry Bradbeer struck a first-look deal with Amazon. The Fleabag director will develop and create TV series.

The Kelly Clarkson Show will start filming episodes for season two at the Universal Studios lot in early September, for a September 21 premiere. The syndicated talker will also air five original episodes the week of September 12, counting down to the sophomore launch. The show from NBCUniversal Television Distribution airs in 100% of the country.

TECH TALK

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Microsoft Corp. have teamed to cloud-optimize live-action as well as animation productions. Starting with visual effects, Universal and Microsoft will layer in live-action production capabilities into the cloud. “Universal is continuing to build on our commitment as an industry leader in transitioning to a cloud production model across our portfolio of studios…. streamlining our workflows will allow for a more efficient creative process, empowering the artists and storytellers we work with to make the best content possible,” said Michael Wise, SVP and Chief Technology Officer, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.

K-pop sensation BTS set a new YouTube record for views in the first 24 hours of release with its “Dynamite” video, the group’s first song entirely in English. The video had about 98.3 million views during the period, handily beating the previous record of 86.3 million, held by Blackpink for “How You Like That.”

STREAMING

FETV (Family Entertainment Television) inked an agreement with DISH to launch on Sling TV, making it available to more than 2 million Sling subscribers. “We greatly value our partnership with Dish, and we are pleased to bring our family-friendly content to Sling subscribers,” said president and CEO Drew Sumrall. “Launching on Sling is a pivotal step forward for FETV. Now more than ever, families are looking for comforting, quality entertainment, which our network provides.”

Peacock’s original film slate launching next month includes Anthony, examining the impact of an unprovoked, racially motivated attack in Liverpool (Friday, September 4) and The Sit-in: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show and Black Boys (Thursday, September 10). Additionally, documentary A Most Beautiful Thing and Emilio Estevez’s The Public will begin streaming exclusively in September.

COMING UP

Nat Geo WILD kicks off its 10th annual Big Cat Week on Monday, September 7 at 8p with Jade Eyed Leopard, as National Geographic cameras capture the story of a young female leopard during the first three years of her life.

Yahoo Finance’s live coverage of the 2020 Republican National Convention today, August 24, includes Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer and correspondents Jessica Smith, Kristin Myers, and Rick Newman along with special guests from inside the political arena. Yahoo Finance will livestream the convention all week.

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Discovery was the #1 cable network in Prime during Shark Week among P25-54 and P18-49. In Total Day, Discovery was cable’s #1 network during Shark Week among P18-49. Shark Week reached 21.0 million Total Viewers across Total Day.

HGTV’s new series Renovation Island wrapped on August 16 as the #4 new unscripted series of the year, with the finale earning series-best ratings for P25-54 and W25-54. Throughout its run, premieres of Renovation Island averaged over 2.5 million viewers, in total reaching nearly 22 million.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Thursday, August 20
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Holey Moley 2.26 (04), To Tell the Truth 2.55 (0.5), Democratic National Convention 297 (0.4)
CBS: Big Brother 3.91(1.0), Young Sheldon 2.21 (0.3), The Unicorn 1.68 (0.3), Democratic National Convention (0.3)
CW: Mysteries Decoded 0.79 (0.2), Penn & Teller: Fool Us 0.62 (0.1)
FOX: 24 Hours to Hell and Back 0.96 (0.2), 24 Hours to Hell and Back 1.00 (0.3)
NBC: The Wall 2.36 (0.4), Law & Order: SVU 1.92 (0.3), Democratic National Convention 2.15 (0.3)
Univision: Rosa de Guadelupe 1.26 (0.4), Medicos Linea de Vida 1.40 (0.4), Destino 2020 1.00 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Dave Clark has been promoted to CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. Clark had been SVP of Worldwide Operations.

Theresa Helmer has been elevated to the newly created role of Executive Director, Integrated Content Strategy and Development at Disney Channel. Helmer was previously Director, Social Media in Disney Channel’s marketing group.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In which sitcom’s first episode, in 1996, did a bride have second thoughts about the groom and leave him at the altar? Suddenly Susan (1996-2000). Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Mari Gold/Hawthorne, NJ, John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas, Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL

Today’s Trivia Question
Why did Dwight fire Jim and Pam on the season finale of The Office (2005-2013)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four per time zone.)