Two weeks before Donald Trump checks back into the White House, Meta is taking a page from X and changing its content review policies on Facebook, Threads and Instagram. Replacing fact checkers will be user-generated “community notes.” “Fact checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a video. “What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas, and it’s gone too far.” At a news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Trump said the change was “probably” due to threats he has made against the company.

New interactive and targeted strategies, especially leveraging social media, can have a positive impact on purchase decisions, particularly among younger consumers (ages 18-34), according to Horowitz study, State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Advertising in a Digital World. One in three consumers surveyed say that “one of the most valuable aspects of social media for me is the ability to follow influencers and creators who help me learn about new brands and products,” and over half of younger consumers say they are more likely to purchase from a brand that shows ads on media feeds (56%) or appears in an influencer’s social media page (55%). “Digital and social media has taught consumers to have new behaviors and new expectations when it comes to how they interact with content, brands, advertisers, and commerce,” notes Adriana Waterston, Executive Vice President and Insights & Strategy Lead for Horowitz Research, a division of M/A/R/C Research. “Traditional advertising strategies need to be re-thought to better fit new consumer behaviors and generate new revenue streams.”

Local broadcasting groups Scripps, Gray, Nexstar and Sinclair have formed a joint venture for the launch of EdgeBeam Wireless, aimed at upgrading data transmission. “Edgebeam will provide expansive, reliable, and secure data delivery service,” said the companies. “Using the broadcasters’ existing ATSC 3.0 facilities to deliver data has immediate applications for industries that need to send data to multiple customers, often in real time. This approach delivers a notably cost-effective solution that complements and enhances current wireless solutions.”

Three episodes each of FX’s “Shogun,” HBO’s “True Detective” and Netflix’s “The Diplomat” were nominated in the drama series category for DGA Awards. The comedy bucket includes Max’s “Hacks,” HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and three episodes of FX’s “The Bear.” HBO’s “The Penguin” nabbed three nods in the limited series/movies categories, along with one each for Apple TV+’s “Disclaimer” and Netflix’s “Ripley.” The ceremony takes place Saturday, February 8.

VIEW 2025 CATEGORIES!

January is a big month for premieres on UPtv. Season two of “Hudson & Rex” kicks off Thursday, January 9 at 8p, followed the season 17 debut of “Heartland” on Sunday, January 12 at 8p. And the third season of “Mystic” launches Sunday, January 19 at 8p.

“An Update on Our Family” debuts Wednesday, January 15 at 9p on HBO. The three-part docuseries explores the complex world of family vlogging.

BET+ spinoff “Carl Weber’s The Family Business: New Orleans” premieres Thursday, January 23 with two episodes. Onboard are Lela Rochon, Yvette Nicole Brown, Pooch Hall, Brandon T. Jackson, Ben Stephens, Quincy Brown, David Banner, Orlando Jones, and Bern Nadette Stanis.

Another docuseries with vlogging front and center, “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke,” is set to premiere Thursday, February 27 on Hulu. The three-parter tells the story of the popular vlogger who was arrested for child abuse.

Season three of Bravo’s “Below Deck Down Under” sets sail Monday, February 3 at 8p. Capt. Jason Chambers, Chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph and Deckhand Harry Van Vliet will return, along with a group of new crew members.

“FBI True” features more stories of agents reliving challenging cases in season six, launching Tuesday, January 14 on Paramount+.

Telemundo competition “La Casa de los Famosos” returns for its fifth season with a live premiere on Tuesday, February 4 at 7p.

“The Chef’s Garden” joins Farmer Lee Jones as he meets with renowned chefs from across the country starting Monday, January 27 at 10 on FYI. The show is part of A+E Networks’ Home.Made.Nation multi-platform lifestyle programming block.

“Taking Care,” a documentary capturing the journey of Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen as they navigate the challenges of Lauren’s mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, debuts exclusively on FUSE and FUSE+ beginning January 13 at 9p.

KERV.ai struck a strategic partnership with Pubmatic that enables marketers to layer KERV’s portfolio of AI-powered interactive and shoppable video capabilities across PubMatic’s premium inventory. “PubMatic’s curation platform provides a turnkey and scalable conduit to bring KERV’s cutting-edge tech and data to the masses,” said Ryan Schoenfeld, VP of Technical Partnerships at KERV. “While the partnership immediately unlocks KERV’s comprehensive suite of interactive and commerce-based ad products to buyers on premium supply, it will also serve as the launching pad to further accelerate additional data-driven and content-based solutions.”

Integral Ad Science announced the launch of its AI-driven Total Media Performance™ solution. TMP enables advertisers to achieve better campaign outcomes by integrating IAS’s media quality signals with in-flight optimization. “The launch of TMP marks a significant evolution for IAS as we expand beyond media efficiency and brand protection to deliver a unified marketing performance solution,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS. “We’re uniquely positioned to help advertisers unlock data to transform media quality insights into actionable, revenue-driving strategies and achieve superior results across the increasingly fragmented digital media ecosystem.”

Yahoo DSP has partnered with Roku to streamline the TV buying process, simplifying how advertisers reach their audiences and reducing fragmentation in the ecosystem. “Roku’s collaboration with Yahoo DSP is intended to bridge the gap for advertisers seeking scalable and effective solutions in CTV,” said Miles Fisher, Senior Director of Strategic Advertising Partnerships at Roku. “By combining Roku’s extensive audience reach and Yahoo DSP’s advanced programmatic capabilities, we’re allowing brands to connect with viewers in ways that are more data-driven, measurable, and impactful. We believe this partnership represents a significant step forward in delivering a seamless and effective advertising experience across the growing CTV landscape.”

First-of-its-Kind DSP Partnership with Roku Exchange and Roku Data Cloud
Yahoo DSP has partnered with Roku to further streamline the TV buying process, simplifying how advertisers reach their audiences and reducing fragmentation in the ecosystem. Advertisers are expected to have access to Roku’s CTV supply and key TV audiences at a critical time when CTV viewership continues to grow.

Amid the continuing standoff between Nielsen and Paramount Global, the media company has extended its partnership with VideoAmp, which will support all aspects of Paramount’s advertising business across content, local and syndication verticals for both measurement and currency. “We’re proactive in measurement and currency as an investment in our future,” said John Halley, President, Paramount Advertising. “Through our long-standing partnership with VideoAmp, we’re able to collectively drive innovation and accelerate progress by delivering advertisers and agencies the tools to make smarter, data-driven decisions.”

Blue Ant Media has launched FAST channel Declassified on VIZIO WatchFree+. Declassified features stories and revelations about conspiracies and catastrophes, engineering and ancient civilizations. Declassified joins additional Blue Ant free-streaming brands, including Love Nature, Love Pets, Homeful and HauntTV.

Crunchyroll is launching a new app later this year. Crunchyroll Manga will be part of a premium option for Crunchyroll members. “Research shows that nearly 70% of anime fans read digital manga at least once a month, highlighting the immense demand for this medium,” said Rahul Purini, President of Crunchyroll. “Crunchyroll Manga will not only meet this growing interest but also fuel the continued global popularity of anime and manga alike.”

This month, Revry is offering 2025 Is a Drag, a celebration of drag culture that includes “Drag Latina,” “Tucked,” “Queens of Kings,” “Drag Kids” and more. Also on the way is the film “Boss Up, the Musical,” featuring Tony Talks as his character, scheduled to drop Saturday, February 1.

Discovery+ is raising the price of ad-supported tier to $5.99/month, and its ad-free offering to $9.99/month – that’s $1 each. It’s the first price hike for the ad-supported plan, which launched in 2021.

Religion of Sports, Ensemble and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment are teaming for Next Is Now, a programming slate focused on women’s sports that will stream for free on The Roku Channel later this year. Programming will include a mix of docuseries and short-form content tailored for TV, streaming platforms, and social media.

Euroleague Basketball, the organizer of Europe’s professional basketball club competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the BKT EuroCup, and IMG, announced the renewal of their partnership agreement. The extended collaboration will run through the 2035-36 season, building upon a joint venture launched in 2016.

Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas made the network the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network in Q4 among Women 18+ for 11th year running. Original movie premieres delivered the Top 3 most-watched cable movies of the year among key demos, with “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” at #1, “Three Wiser Men and a Boy” at #2, and “Santa Tell Me” at #3. Combined, Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas and Hallmark Mystery’s Miracles of Christmas stunts reached 36 million Unduplicated Total Viewers during the holiday season.

Eleven days in, season two of “Squid Game” jumped to second place on Netflix’s list of most-watched non-English titles with 126.2 million views. That places it behind only season one. Among all series, the season ranks as the fourth most-streamed.

Basic Cable Top 10 for the week of December 30
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
ESPN 6694
Fox News
Hallmark Channel 828
HGTV 633
Paramount 580
USA 552
CNN 518
Discovery Channel 467
MSNBC 445
History 435
Total Day
ESPN 2943
Fox News 1342
Hallmark Channel 1342
CNN 396
MSNBC 390
HGTV 363
Paramount 305
USA 290
History 264
TBS 261
Source: Nielsen

WildBrain has appointed Emma Witkowski to the position of Vice President, Media Solutions. Most recently, Witkowski was Global Head of Strategy and Client Success at Moonbug Entertainment.

Today’s Trivia Question
On “High Potential,” what is Morgan’s IQ? (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.)