Meanwhile, President Trump made good on threats that he would sue the BBC for its edit of the 2024 Panorama documentary on the January 6 insurrection, filing suit on Monday (December 15) seeking $10 billion in damages. Trump had complained that the edit made it appear he had directly urged attendees at his 2021 post-election rally to storm the capital, which the network earlier admitted as an “error in judgment,” and led to the resignation of Director General Tim Davie and news boss Deborah Turness. In a statement Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said, “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman offered more details on the arrest of Nick Reiner in the deaths of his parents, director Rob Reiner and producer Michele Singer Reiner, late Tuesday, stating in a press conference that Nick Reiner has been charged with two counts of first degree murder with special circumstances, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty, although the DA said the death penalty was not currently on the table.

Earlier, the LAPD said Nick was responsible for the deaths of his parents and was booked on suspicion of murder. He was being held without bail, but has yet to appear in court. His attorney, Alan Jackson, who has taken on several high-profile clients’ and gained an acquittal for Karen Read, the subject of the HBO documentary “A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read” in June, said that Nick Reiner had not been medically cleared to be moved to the courthouse.

DirecTV won its appeal to reinstate a federal lawsuit accusing Nexstar Media Group, Mission Broadcasting, and White Knight Broadcasting of conspiring to manipulate retransmission consent fees. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that DirecTV has standing to sue under antitrust laws and may prosecute its claims against Nexstar and its sidecars. This case will now resume in U. S. District Court in Manhattan.

“We are pleased that the 2nd Circuit has held that DirecTV has standing in this case, and we plan to proceed with our claim that Nexstar, White Knight, and Mission have abused their “’sidecar’” relationship in violation of FCC regulations and longstanding competition laws,” said Michael Hartman, chief legal officer at DirecTV.

DirecTV originally filed suit in March 2023 in U.S. District Court, alleging that Nexstar, Mission and White Knight conspired to fix retransmission consent prices in areas where they owned a Big 4 (ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox) broadcast station. In October 2022, DirecTV failed to renew retransmission consent agreements with the station owners, which resulted in blackouts of Big 4 stations in 25 DMAs that continue today. The federal district court dismissed that case, claiming DirecTV lacked standing to assert antitrust claims against the defendants under the Sherman Act. DirecTV appealed, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeal today reversed the district court in a 2-1 decision.

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Also returning in 2026, after attracting 14.1 million viewers across linear and streaming to its first season, “Castle Impossible” renovators Daphne and Ian Fig will continue the restoration of her late grandfather’s 500-year-old chateau on a 130-acre estate just outside of Paris. In addition, HGTV set the schedule for premieres for “HGTV Dream Home 2026” (January 1 at 8p), “House of Ali” (January 1at 9p), “Home Town” (January 4 at 8p), “Ugliest House in America” (January 7 at 8 and 8:30p) and “Neighborhood Watch” (January 7 at 9:30p). The finales of “Celebrity IOU” and “Junk or Jackpot?” are scheduled for January 25 at 9p and January 30 at 9:30p, respectively.

“Build for Off Road Adventure Ride,” the Season 2 three-part finale of MotorTrendTV series “Build for Off Road,” hosted by Ian Johnson, will air December 20 on the network. The finale will follow Johnson and his crew as they tackle the diverse terrains of Big Bear, California; the King of the Hammers trails in Johnson Valley; and the historic landscape of Kingman, Arizona. Joining the host will be Off-Road Motor Sports Hall of Famer Brad Lovell, King of the Hammers Champion Adam Lovell, “Two Guys Garage” host Willie B, “Truck U” host Matt Steele, and “The Dirt Lifestyle” content creator Nate Pickel. The series also will highlight several vehicles, – including Willie B’s 1983 CJ7, a purpose-built Factory Five Racing XTF test truck, and Brad Lovell’s legendary Ranger. The finale of the ride will be the 2025 SEMA Show floor, where several of the rigs from the Adventure Ride will be on display.

Jewish Life Television/JLTV will celebrate the 100th birthday of legendary comedian and television pioneer Soupy Sales with a 48-Hour Marathon of “The Soupy Sales Show,” beginning 12a January 10 and ending 11:59p on January 11. The special event will spotlight episodes from the show’s mid-1960s and late-1970s incarnations. JLTV will also host a special viewer giveaway in the run-up to and throughout the marathon, offering fans the chance to win Soupy Sales memorabilia, books, and rare photographs. Entries open on December 23 at www.jltv.tv/show/the-soupy-sales-show.

“Soupy Sales was one of the most gifted comedians of the 20th century. He brought joy and laughter to audiences over three decades, quite an incredible feat. We at JLTV are thrilled to be able to honor Soupy for his 100th birthday by running 48 straight hours of The Soupy Sales Show,” said Brad Pomerance, Executive Vice President, JLTV.

AMC Networks will hold Tech & Innovation Events, hosted by EVP of Commercial Sales and Revenue Operations Evan Adman in February. In April, the network will hold its Upfront Content Showcase, giving advertisers a look at its upcoming content slate.

Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas” averaged 0.60 P25-54 / 0.70 W25-54 L3 ratings with triple-digit ratings growth vs. prior six-week time-slot benchmarks (+135% and +170%, respectively) and year ago (+144% and +152%, respectively). The series reached more than 13 million P2+ cross-platform viewers and catapulted the network to the No. 1 rank for non-news/sports ad-supported cable networks for P/W25-54 on Wednesday nights during its run.

“Broadcast gains were driven overwhelmingly by a 30% monthly increase in sports viewing, powered by the back-half of the MLB World Series on Fox, plus NFL and college football on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC,” Nielsen said. Overall television usage was up 5.5% during the five-week reporting interval, driven by live sports, also one of the main catalysts for streamers like Peacock and Paramount+.

Streaming usage was up by 8% in November, capturing 46.7% of total TV watch -time. Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” with nearly 12 billion viewing minutes, lifted the subscription service to a 10% monthly increase, adding 0.3 share points to finish with 8.3% of total TV. The Roku Channel rose 9% overall, benefiting from a 23% increase among viewers ages 25–34. The gains lifted the platform to a record 2.9% share of television.

National multimedia sports platform OutKick finished November 2025 with triple- digit year- over- year growth on Facebook, with 484,000 total actions, up 190% versus the prior year, and 2.8 million total video views, up 141% versus the prior year, according to Comscore Social. OutKick also delivered 10.7 million total digital multiplatform unique visitors, ranking 25th out of over 350 sports entities in November 2025. The platform finished ahead of DraftKings, AP News-Sports, and The Ringer. OutKick also attracted 3.8 million total desktop and mobile unique visitors, 22 million total multiplatform views, and 20 million total multiplatform minutes, according to Comscore.

AMC Networks has promoted Kathryn Brenner and Stephen Cox to senior vice presidents of publicity. In their expanded roles, Brenner and Cox will help lead publicity and talent relations strategies across the company’s portfolio of brands, including streaming services AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder and Sundance Now; and cable networks AMC, BBC America, IFC and Sundance TV. Brenner and Cox will be based in New York and will work with Joy Phillips, senior vice president of publicity, and report to Olivia Dupuis, AMC Networks’ executive vice president of publicity, as part of the larger team led by chief communications officer Georgia Juvelis.

Today’s Trivia Question
What short-lived sitcom featured a wise-cracking Genie named Shabu who fell into the hands of a reluctant TV reporter, and featured cameos by stars like Roy Orbison and Wink Martindale? (Email your answer to mjfarrell9865324@gmail.com and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)