Today’s Finale
WE tv: “Bridezillas” at 10p

IN THE NEWS

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to force “divestiture or reconstruction” of Facebook assets including Instagram and WhatsApp as independent businesses. “Facebook has maintained its monopoly position by buying up companies that present competitive threats and by imposing restrictive policies that unjustifiably hinder actual or potential rivals that Facebook does not or cannot acquire,” said the commission in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in D.C. In another antitrust suit, 48 states have signed onto a complaint about anticompetitive practices at the social media giant.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s WhatsApp has taken issue with Apple’s new privacy labels, which require outside developers to state how their apps collect and use data, so it can be presented in Apple’s app store in an easy-to-understand format. WhatsApp called foul, noting that Apple’s messaging service, iMessage, is pre-installed. “While providing people with easy to read information is a good start, we believe it’s important people can compare these Privacy Nutrition labels from apps they download with apps that come pre-installed, like iMessage,” said a WhatsApp spokesperson.

Fox News Media is launching an ad supported, streaming weather service, Fox Weather, in 3Q21. “Weather is a vital component to news and combining our trusted reporters and expert meteorologists from Fox News and FTS nationwide, the Fox Weather products will be built to serve our audiences in a customized fashion,” said Sharri Berg, who will take on the role of President of Fox Weather. “I’m excited to get started as we continue to innovate and build new products from the ground up.” The platform will make its debut with the Fox Weather App, accompanied by an integrated website and streaming service featuring local, regional and national updates as well as live programming. Berg, currently the COO of News & Operations for Fox Television Stations, will relinquish her role as EVP of News Operations for Fox News Channel.

Fox owned-and-operated stations will air Allen Media Group’s upcoming network TheGrio.TV, featuring African American-focused content and launching January 15. “With the Fox owned-and-operated stations coming on board as our launch group, TheGrio.TV over-the-air 24/7 broadcast television network is now positioned for long-term sustainable success,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group.

YouTube said it will remove misleading content about the results of the presidential election. With enough states having certified results to ensure Joe Biden an electoral college victory, “we will start removing any piece of content uploaded today (or anytime after) that misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, in line with our approach towards historical U.S. Presidential elections,” said YouTube in a blog post. That includes videos claiming that a Presidential candidate won the election due to “widespread software glitches or counting errors.”

Nicolas Cage (“Moonstruck”) will host Netflix’s “History of Swear Words.” The unscripted comedy series, exploring the origins and impact of curse words, is produced by Funny or Die and B17 Entertainment; showrunner is Bellamie Blackstone (“I Love You, America”).

AT&T has received bids for DirecTV valuing the satcaster at over $15 billion including debt, according to the Wall Street Journal. Among the bidders are Churchill Capital Corp. IV, TPG and Apollo Global Management. AT&T bought DirecTV in 2015 for $49 billion.

Dish Network was slapped with a record-setting $126 million penalty for placing telemarketing calls in violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. Dish will also pay $84 million for violations in four states of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. “The settlement sends a strong message to would-be violators that telemarketing laws and regulations cannot be ignored,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. The case was filed in 2009, and in a 2017 opinion, the district court found Dish liable for over 66 million telemarketing violations of the TSR and other federal and state statutes.

Dentsu is laying off 12.5% of its staff outside of home country Japan, and splitting into three areas. Creative advertising will be headed by JonDupuis, Global President of Densu McgarryBowen; media planning and buying will be led by Chief Media Officer Doug Rozen; and Michael Komansinski, former CEO of Merkle Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will oversee customer-experience management. About 6000 people will be affected by the cuts.

While women generally expect brands to improve gender equality, and White, Hispanic and Latinx women have high expectations that brands will spark change, Black women are less like likely to trust brands to make it happen, according to a gender study from Dentsu and ANA’s SeeHer, “Perceptions of Progress: The State of Women’s Equality in the US.” “Hispanic and Latinx women are more likely to feel urgency around a lack of female role models for their community,” says the report. Black women, in the face of both racial and gender discrimination “feel that sexualization/harassment and persisting stereotypes contribute significantly to the inequality they face.” The upshot: “Achieving equality for all women requires more than just focusing on gender rights but addressing the specific barriers that women of color face,” says the report.

Law&Crime announced a new cable launch with Pennsylvania’s Blue Ridge Communications, making the network available in more than 23 million households.

NATPE is launching an initiative to embrace the role MVPDs play in the global content distribution system. In addition to forming an MVPD committee and conducting special MVPD-focused keynotes and sessions during the NATPE Virtual Miami conference January 19-21, a kickoff event on December 15 will explore where the industry’s global MVPD content sector is going.

ABC gave a series order to “Home Economics.” The comedy from Michael Colton, John Aboud and Topher Grace (“That ‘70s Show”), starring and executive produced by Grace, and inspired by the life of writer/EP Colton (“Penguins of Madagascar”), is produced by Lionsgate and ABC Signature.

Amazon Studios inked a multi-media rights deal with pop star Jessica Simpson that includes an unscripted docuseries based on her best-selling memoir Open Book; development of a new coming-of-age scripted series, also inspired by the memoir, and two new original essays to be published through Amazon Original Stories. “I am humbled and honored to partner with Amazon Studios to bring my story and heart to life on the screen,” said Simpson. “I am a huge TV fan and many of my favorite shows live on Amazon, so the gift of this unprecedented collaboration is a dream for me. From our first meeting I had a visceral connection to every member of this team.”

HBO Max handed a pilot order to “The Gordita Chronicles,” a comedy from Claudia Forestieri (“Good Trouble”), Josh Berman (“Drop Dead Diva”) and his Osprey Productions, Cinestar Pictures, and Sony Pictures Television. The show centers on a chubby 12-year-old Dominican struggling to fit into 1980s Miami.

Another pilot order went to “Single Drunk Female,” starring Sofia Black-D’Elia (“Your Honor”) and Ally Sheedy (“The Breakfast Club”). Freeform picked up the 20th Century Television project about a 28-year-old alcoholic forced to move back home with her overbearing mother.

Self-discovery/cultural observation docu-comedy series “How To With John Wilson” will be back for season two on HBO Max. “John’s lens is so deliberate and dear,” said Amy Gravitt, EVP, HBO Programming. “Seeing the audience connect with ‘How To’ has been an absolute joy. We’re eager to see what 2021 has to offer with him behind the camera.”

Cineflix Productions is partnering with Hayley Orrantia (“The Goldbergs”) and her production company Snot Panda Productions on a home renovation series, “Legacy Builds” (wt). Orrantia will take on the role of boss of her family’s century-old home construction business, navigating family dynamics and clients’ renovation expectations.

Where there’s a Will: Westbrook Media and Snap Inc. announced Will Smith’s original series “Will From Home” will be back for season two on Snapchat, set to launch Monday, December 14 with new episodes airing daily.

There’s new life for “True Blood” – HBO, which aired the vampire drama from 2008-2014, is at work on a reboot. The pilot will be written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (“Riverdale”) and Jami O’Brien (“NOS4A2”).

Blue Ant International sold “A Wild Year on Earth” to BBC America. The six-part docu-series illustrating the connection between wildlife and the natural environment is produced by Northern Pictures, and narrated Laura Carmichael (“Downton Abbey”). BBC America will premiere the series in early 2021 as part of Wonderstruck, the destination dedicated to wildlife and natural history programming.

Netflix and Headspace are teaming for three original series meant to calm us down. “Headspace Guide to Meditation” drops January 1, followed by “Headspace Guide to Sleep” and another interactive experience later next year.

Imagine Kids+Family and Imagine Documentaries have formed a multi-format partnership with Rebel Girls (Good Night Stories) and its podcast of the same name to create original and historical content, feature films, and short and long-form scripted and unscripted television, that will tell the stories of pioneering women and girls. Imagine Kids+Family President Stephanie Sperber and Imagine Documentaries EVP Sara Bernstein will work with Rebel Girls CEO Jes Wolfe and Rebel Girls President of Entertainment Martha Adams.

CASTING

Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes will star as brothers in Netflix’s “True Story,” produced by Hart’s HeartBeat Productions. Hart will play a version of himself in the limited drama series written and executive produced by Eric Newman (“Narcos: Mexico”).

Joining Rose Byrne in Apple TV+ dramady “Physical,” following a woman in 1980s California who finds a path to power through aerobics, are Paul Sparks (“House of Cards”), Rory Scovel (“I Feel Pretty”), Lou Taylor Pucci (“You”), Della Saba (“Zootopia”), Deirdre Friel (“New Amsterdam”), and Ashley Liao (“Fuller House”).

Rosie O’Donnell (“SMILF”), Donald Faison (“Scrubs”) and Griffin Dunne (“House of Lies”) will guest on multiple episodes of the second season of Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q.” The season is currently in production and slated to return in 2021.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

“Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta” returns to WE tv for season four on Thursday, January 7 at 9p. This go-round, political division collides with pandemic pandemonium, leaving the OG’s of Atlanta hip hop on the brink of disaster.

Ty Pennington (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) teams with HGTV stars to help homeowners decide whether to renovate their own home, or overhaul a different property on “Ty Breaker,” launching Monday, January 11 at 9p. Joining Pennington on various episodes will be Allison Victoria (“Windy City Rehab”), Grace Mitchell (“One of a Kind”), and Sabrina Soto (“The High Low Project”).

That’s the spirit! “Ghost Adventures: Cecil Hotel” launches Monday, January 4 on discovery+. “It doesn’t get bigger and more sinister than this,” said Zak Bagans, lead paranormal investigator. “We’ve been trying to get inside these rooms for more than a decade, so this is really a big deal – the first-ever paranormal investigation in the Cecil Hotel. It has a dark history and reputation and it’s one of the heaviest places we’ve ever been in. This is not your average hotel.”

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” returns to VH1 for lucky season 13 on Friday, January 1 at 8p.

Season three of Max Original German drama “4 Blocks” launches Thursday, December 17 on HBO Max. The six-parter explores family loyalty in the world of organized crime.

Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry and Jethro Bovingdon hit the road in “Top Gear America,” premiering Friday, January 29 on the Motor Trend App. “The ‘Top Gear’ format has proven itself a powerful global phenomenon, winning over generations of audiences as an enduring fan favorite,” said Valerie Bruce, General Manager, L.A. Productions, BBC Studios. “Dax, Rob and Jethro put themselves to the test to achieve the ultimate adrenaline rush.”

TECH TALK

ViacomCBS and Amazon Web Services struck a deal that will have ViacomCBS migrating operations for its entire broadcast footprint to AWS. ViacomCBS will leverage AWS’s infrastructure and cloud capabilities to build a cloud-based broadcast and media supply chain operating model, with a cloud-based hub to help spin up new channels faster, dynamically assemble live content to optimize delivery over any distribution channel, add image and video analysis to applications, and automate workflows. “With AWS, we will be able to automate and streamline our processes for content production, licensing, and distribution to consumer streaming services and innovate faster to deliver improved customer experiences,” said Phil Wiser, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ViacomCBS. “We are thinking and acting aggressively to build on the major disruptions that ViacomCBS is bringing to the market with our leading global content and services.”

Amazon is rolling out a new user interface for Fire TV over the coming weeks, with a redesigned home screen and user profiles aimed at providing a more personalized and intuitive user experience. The update is available on the new Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite. The new “Home” includes a Main Menu navigation bar at with updated content discovery functions and search. There’s room for up to six members of a household, and expanded Alexa navigation.

IAB Tech Lab’s Open Measurement SDK is now available for web video advertising. Previously, the Open Measurement SDK was only available for mobile applications. The web video expansion will enable advertisers to use one Digital Video Ad Serving Template tag to measure all their video ads, as opposed to having separate measurement tags per platform. “Part of IAB Tech Lab’s mission is to develop products that can be broadly adopted to bring consistency and transparency to the industry. Open Measurement SDK does just that. It is a move to improved, seamless, and transparent video measurement,” said Shailley Singh, VP, Product, IAB Tech Lab. “Expanding Open Measurement SDK to web video ads also lessens the dependency on VPAID, which is being phased out as a request from the industry.”

CTV leads in the share of impressions by device, with 39%, according to Extreme Reach’s Q3 Video Benchmark Report. Other findings include:
* 30-second ads remain the preferred ad length for advertisers. Data from the report indicates that 30-second ads accounted for 81% of ad impressions served by Extreme Reach in Q3 2020, compared to 79% in Q2 and 66% in Q3 2019.
* Desktop benefits as WFH continues due to COVID-19. In Q3, desktop accounted for 21% of ad impressions, a 40% year-over-year increase. Video completion rates for ads on desktop remained steady at 70%, though lower than rates seen for mobile app and CTV (where skipping ads is generally not an option).
* Media aggregators hit a new high. Similar to the growth seen in 2Q20, media aggregators surged to 47% in Q3, an increase from 35% in Q2 and just 20% in Q3 2019. While premium publishers still lead in share of impressions served, at 53%, this is the lowest percentage reported for premium publishers since Extreme Reach’s first report in Q1 2017.

Video intelligence company Iris.TV announced the introduction of AVOD Crackle to the company’s Contextual Video Marketplace. Crackle’s streaming CTV content will be contextually segmented by a list of data providers including Oracle Data Cloud, Comscore, GumGum, Zefr and Spectrum Media Services, with all segmentation enabled by the IRIS.TV platform. The goal is to provide marketers with more transparency into the CTV inventory, allowing them to contextually target Crackle’s CTV audiences in a privacy-first and brand-suitable way.

A consortium of suppliers of DOOH advertising introduced a simplified standardization of the major DOOH formats. The initiative includes both “demand-side” and “supply-side” platforms, reducing the naming conventions of various biddable advertising formats by about two-thirds. “The hope of this framework and the way the group has approached it is for this to be an evolving standard,” said Leslie Lee, VP of Marketing at Vistar, which helped organize the initiative. Trade associations including DPAA and OAAA have endorsed the effort.

iSpot is expanding its person-level measurement beyond standard traditional age and gender demographics to more flexible and granular age and gender segments for cross-platform campaigns. CTV and linear impressions on business outcomes will be available within 24 hours, with separate results for CTV and linear TV.

Entertainment technology and data company Spherex announced a strategic partnership with Cinedigm to accelerate Cinedigm’s international expansion. The companies are partnering on global content localization and compliance, deploying Spherex’s AI and machine learning capabilities. Through an integration with its proprietary Matchpoint platform, Cinedigm is tapping into Spherex’s global metadata solution to adapt its digital content across a growing number of subscription video on demand, advertising-based video on demand and Smart TV streaming platforms.

Video platform Dailymotion is introducing “Vertical Video,” a format that spans the full length of a user’s mobile device to help advertisers seamlessly integrate content with the user experience while delivering their message, extending vertical campaigns to a premium, non-social and suitable environment. The format allows the use of existing vertical creative assets or the ability to develop custom units that drive attention and brand recall through Dailymotion’s internal creative studio, NROLL.

STREAMING

CBS All Access is ramping up family-friendly features, as well as adding more Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. library programming, as the service continues its expansion across the ViacomCBS portfolio in advance of its upcoming rebrand to Paramount+. New features include the ability to create up to six profiles per account and manage each profile using “Kids Mode,” which allows parents to create profiles that limit content to older children or younger children based on content ratings.

AMC Networks announced the launch of two free ad-supported streaming channels on Samsung TV Plus. The video service delivers 160 free channels, pre-installed on all 2016-2020 Samsung Smart TVs and available for download on select Samsung Galaxy devices. AMC Presents offers access to AMC shows viewers might have missed, including “The Walking Dead,” “Turn,” “Halt and Catch Fire”; movies, unscripted originals, and more. Absolute Reality by WE tv brings reality TV shows including “Bridezillas,” “Kendra on Top,” “Joan & Melissa” and more. Both new channels are available now, with additional channels planned for Samsung TV Plus in 2021.

COMING UP

Annual flagship West Coast countdown celebration “Grand Park NYELA” will ring in 2021 with a new format as a special national broadcast and streaming event. With partnerships with Fuse and new Latin music label Dim Mak En Fuego, the special kicks off Thursday, December 31 at 11p PST.

Univision announced a lineup for the 2020 edition of TeletonUSA that includes Angeles Azules, J Balvin, Yennis Bencosme, Ally Brooke, Becky G, Camilo, Eduardo Capetillo y familia, Gabriel Coronel, El Dasa, Farina, Joss Favela, Luis Fonsi, Karol G, Greeicy, Larry Hernández, Natalia Jiménez, Melina León, Lucero, Ricky Martin, Mau y Ricky, Isabella Merced, Christian Nodal, Danna Paola, Maite Perroni, Chiquis Rivera, Paulina Rubio, Los Sebastianes, Thalia, Dayanara Torres, Victor Varona, Sebastián Villalobos and Sebastián Yatra. The 17-hour broadcast will raise funds for the Children’s Rehabilitation Institute TeletonUSA, and air live on Saturday, December 12 at 10a.

GOING GLOBAL

Barcroft Studios, part of Future plc, today announces the launch of its new scheduled OTT channel truly on Samsung TV Plus in the UK with over 50 hours of original long form documentary content alongside factual programming licensed from a range of distribution partners.

Beyond Rights announced that its Australian psychological thriller “Halifax: Retribution” has been acquired in the US by PBS Distribution for PBS Masterpiece Channel on Prime Video.

The History Channel Japan announced the global premiere of its local original production, “Tokyo Legacy,” will be aired across 20 Asian markets on December 20.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the first Rankin/Bass Christmas special to use traditional, vs. stop-motion animation? “Frosty the Snowman” (1969). Kudos to: Luke Watson-Entertaining Concepts/NYC, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Sasha M. Wolff-Discovery Inc./NYC, Daniel Laub-Premion/NYC, Richard Quan-Heat/San Francisco, Eric Litt-Nexstar/Chicago, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank, Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago

Today’s Trivia Question
In which Christmas special was a future Santa a reporter for a Chicago newspaper before being persuaded to take the reindeer reins? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)