 IN THE NEWS |
| Paramount Skydance is doubling down, reaffirming its $30-a-share bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and insisting it tops the deal WBD struck with Netflix. The company says it has “diligently and constructively” addressed every concern raised by WBD, pointing to its December 22 revised proposal and follow-up filings that, it claims, fixed all outstanding issues -– including an irrevocable personal guarantee from Larry Ellison backing the equity financing. Paramount argues WBD is still flagging problems it says were already resolved, such as flexibility around interim operations. On Wednesday, the WBD board rejected Paramount’s latest offer in favor or Netflix’s roughly $27.75-a-share bid for WBD’s studios and streaming assets.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has asked for additional information as it reviews Paramount’s $108.4 billion tender offer, according to a regulatory filing. Paramount submitted its required filings to the FTC and DOJ on December 8, with the initial waiting period slated to expire December 23. That clock has now been paused after the DOJ issued requests for further information, extending the deadline until 10 days after Paramount certifies it has substantially complied with the request.
Hulu has picked up all 20 seasons of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” along with its many spinoffs and specials. The reality series originally aired on E! from 2007 to 2021 and was available on Hulu until 2022, when it moved to Peacock. All episodes return Tuesday, February 17 to Hulu, where “The Kardashians” recently wrapped its seventh season.
HBO Max has renewed “The Pitt” for a third season. Casey Bloys, CEO of HBO and HBO Max content, broke the news during the hit drama’s season two premiere event.
Plimsoll Productions is launching a new division, Plimsoll Immersive, to develop original content as well as leverage the company’s existing IP for immersive experiences across AR and VR, both in 2D and 3D. Alex Ranken, Creative Director of Natural History, has been tasked with leading lead the unit while he continues to create content for traditional broadcast television. |
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The Room Where Cross-Screen Strategy Takes Shape
Convergent TV World brings together the leaders shaping how video is planned, bought, measured, and monetized—across streaming, linear, gaming, and emerging platforms.
Expect unfiltered dialogue on AI, signal loss, evolving standards, and where budgets are really moving. Workshops, hosted buyer meetings, and curated networking go beyond the main stage.
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| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
| “History’s Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe,” hosted and executive produced by the “American Pickers” treasure hunter, premieres Sunday, February 22 at 9p on History Channel. Produced by Cineflix, the eight-parter will follow Wolfe as he dives into the stories behind legendary treasures, relics, and artifacts from history.’’
Season four of Bravo’s “Below Deck Down Under” launches Monday, February 2 at 8p – this time with a drama-filled crossover with “The Real Lives of Salt Lake City.”
Paramount+’s first original Canadian series, “Canada Shore,” will expand its debut beyond English language markets as originally announced and stream globally in all P+ markets, beginning Thursday, January 22.
Pinterest is popping up on Roku. The six-episode series “Bring My Pinterest to Life” features Pinterest creators and lets viewers jump from watching the show to shopping their favorite looks via Pinterest and integrated brand partners like Wayfair, eos and Michaels. The shoppable series is set to make its debut in March.
Paramount+ supernatural teen drama “School Spirits” is back for season three on Wednesday, January 28, at 3a.
Two-part documentary “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man” premieres Thursday, January 22 at 8p on HBO. The show was directed by filmmakers Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio.
Crime thriller “Cross” returns to Prime Video for season two on Wednesday, February 11 with the first three episodes. Weekly installments continue through March 18.
“Handsome Devil: Charming Killer,” a docuseries telling the story of a man arrested for the brutal murders of two women who became a social media fixation, drops Tuesday, January 20 on Paramount+.
Season two of French-Japanese drama “Drops of God” premieres Wednesday, January 21 on Apple TV. The series is set in the world of fine wines and gastronomy. |
Today’s Premieres
ABC: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune at 8p; 20/20 at 9p
Apple TV: Tehran
Hulu: A Thousand Blows
Netflix: Alpha Males; Paparazzi King
Paramount+: Coldwater
Saturday’s Premiere
OWN: Maxxed Out at 9p
Sunday’s Premieres
Adult Swim: Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal at 11:30p
Fox: Fear Factor: House of Fear at 8p
HBO: Industry at 9p
PBS: Miss Scarlet at 8p; All Creatures Great and Small at 9p; Bookish at 10p
Prime Video: The Night Manager |
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| TECH |
| Disney’s sixth annual Global Tech & Data Showcase demonstrated how AI, insights, and automation are driving impact for marketers. Among the advancements are a new video generation tool that allows brands to create high-quality, CTV-ready commercials using existing brand assets; an AI-powered internal tool that captures objectives, audience intent, and timing; and Disney Advertising Brand Impact Metric, allowing brands to see what’s working, understand why, and optimize while campaigns are live. In addition, vertical video is headed to Disney+ later this year.
On the retail front, Microsoft unveiled agentic AI solutions across merchandising, marketing, store operations and fulfillment. Highlights include:
· Copilot Checkout, enabling merchants to reach shoppers as they complete purchases discovered directly within Copilot without being redirected to external sites
· Brand Agents, now available for merchants on the Shopify platform, and the personalized shopping agent template in Copilot Studio, for personalized, conversational shopping experiences
· The catalog enrichment agent template in Copilot Studio, an intelligent assistant that extracts product attributes from images, enriches them with social insights, and automates catalog tasks such as product onboarding, categorization and error resolution
“The retailers that thrive will be the ones that unify their business with intelligence that reaches every corner of the value chain,” said Kathleen Mitford, Corporate Vice President of Global Industry at Microsoft. “With Microsoft’s agentic AI, retailers can automate what slows them down and amplify what sets them apart, enabling faster decisions and stronger customer relationships while building operations ready for whatever comes next.” |
| SPORTS ROUNDUP |
| TNT Sports inked a new multi-year agreement that adds the LIV Golf League to its sports offering across its channels and platforms in the UK and Ireland. Live coverage of the LIV Golf 2026 season starts February 4-7 at the ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh. |
| COMING UP |
| Puppy Bowl is back for its 22nd year on Sunday, February 8 at 2p, bringing the paw-some action to Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max and discovery+ in a multi-network simulcast. Returning to keep the chaos in check: referee Dan Schachner, marking his 15th year on the whistle. |
| DISTRIBUTION |
| ITV Studios and Television New Zealand have renewed their exclusive content partnership. The multi-year deal ensures TVNZ remains the home of ITV Studios’ catalogue of drama, non-scripted, and entertainment programming for New Zealand audiences. |
| SPORTS REPORT |
| UK’s Burnley Football Club has selected Camb.ai, Mantis XR, and Piing to participate in the inaugural cohort of its Innovation Hub. The companies will work alongside Burnley FC’s operations to deploy and test technologies in real club environments, aimed at delivering new digital experiences. |
| RATINGS |
Top 10 Broadcast Prime Averages for the Week of December 29
P2+ AA (000)
ABC: 5,079
NBC: 4347
CBS: 2818
Fox: 1765
Telemundo: 1134
Univision: 1071
ION: 609
Me TV: 501
CW: 412
Grit: 318 |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Jimmy Zasowski has been promoted to President, Platform Distribution, Disney Entertainment and ESPN. Zasowski will oversee the distribution and monetization of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN; the company’s linear portfolio; ABC’s broadcast affiliations; and film and television programming across home entertainment and content licensing.
BLAST has appointed former Activision Blizzard, NFL and Univision executive Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships. |
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Friday Fun Fact
There are three male ginger cats for every female ginger.
This Day in History
1956 – “Peter Pan,” starring Mary Martin, was broadcast live, for the second time, on NBC.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which product’s 1975 TV commercial featured a monk? Xerox. Kudos to: David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Ed Horwitz-Witz End Productions/Hollywood, CA; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; John W Burshtan-Water Planet Productions/Denver; Charles Conner-KOKI Fox23/Tulsa; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Vince Vincenzo-Omnicom/NYC; Steven Piluso-EdgeCraft Media/Chatham, NJ; Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Networks/NYC
Today’s Trivia Question
Which network launched as the Madison Square Garden Sports Network? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com 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.) |
DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE MARKETING >>
ATHLETE TO ATHLETE/SANTA MONICA, CA: Lead the performance marketing team across Meta Ads and new paid digital channels (TikTok, YouTube, Google, etc.) as well as build and execute a roadmap for channel expansion and profitable scale. Develop and run structured testing frameworks. Partner with Creative Strategist on ad briefs, testing priorities, and creative feedback loops. Full info HERE
SENIOR MANAGER, TRAFFIC >>
INSP, LLC./CHARLOTTE, SC: Oversee the Traffic staff and manage and monitor the day-to-day operations. Responsible for the prompt and accurate execution of broadcast logs for three networks. The manager assumes a leadership role within our Network Operations and consistently looks to streamline processes and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Traffic department. Full info HERE
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER >>
HEARST MEDIA PRODUCTION GROUP/CHARLOTTE, NC: Oversee daily sales pipeline operations focused on national sponsorships, integrations, and branded content tied to unscripted programming. Manage and coach the Business Development team, drive outbound activity, shape proposals and pricing, and lead CRM strategy, reporting, and optimizations via Salesforce. Full info HERE
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER >>
NTD/WASHINGTON, DC: Pitch story ideas and write scripts/segment outlines as well as research guests and interview topics. Book guests and coordinate interviews. Help with logistics and sometimes field production. Support shoots and ensure production runs smoothly. Review footage and work with editors to shape final episodes. Write headlines, teasers, and social posts. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, HUMAN RESOURCES AND ADMINISTRATION >>
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY/HOLLYWOOD, CA: Responsible for all HR functions and oversight of administrative and management needs. This strategic role is charged with operating from a customer service driven viewpoint that prioritizes employee satisfaction as well as enforce legally compliant policies, increase efficiency by implementing administrative and record-keeping best practices. Full info HERE
SENIOR DESIGNER >>
REELZ CHANNEL/ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Responsible for the concept, design and execution of various motion graphics projects for on-air promo and sales presentations. Will be required to design and create graphics for social media, digital and print. Must be able to follow brand guidelines and expand and change the brand look when necessary. Full info HERE
EVP, COMMERCIAL & TECHNOLOGY TRANSACTIONS, LEGAL & BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
A+E GLOBAL MEDIA/NY(HYBRID): Oversee the three major areas of commercial transactions (comprised of supporting the Distribution, Total Media Solutions and Global Content Sales divisions) and the adjacent areas supported by the attorney teams that principally support those divisions (including vendor management and privacy). Full info HERE
SR. DIRECTOR OF SALES, KSTU & KUPX >>
THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY/SALT LAKE CITY: Leverage our suite of advertising solutions to unlock growth opportunities for local and national businesses. Play a role in driving the station’s revenue goals as well as serving as the home station for Utah’s new NHL team. Collaborate with our production team to create campaigns that connect our clients with their customers in meaningful ways. Full info HERE
DIGITAL MEDIA BUYER >>
FURMAN ROTH ADVERTISING/NY(HYBRID): Plan, launch, and optimize digital marketing campaigns across various paid media channels (including Display, Google products, Paid Social, CTV, and Programmatic, etc.) while managing budgets effectively. Support the execution of media plans across platforms, overseeing targeting, budget allocation, and performance tracking to drive campaign success. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR; CTV BRAND PARTNERSHIPS – MID WEST/WEST COAST
FUTURE TODAY
REMOTE
Build, maintain and expand a pipeline of sales targets, contacts, and sales opportunities leveraging your relationships with a heavy focus on new business revenue. Build/nurture relationships with the investment, strategy, precision and digital agencies as well as clients. Also maintain an ongoing knowledge of the streaming media landscape. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, AD MARKETING & SALES >>
THE SHADE ROOM/REMOTE: Develop and execute a revenue growth strategy to drive direct advertising, branded content, and sponsorship sales as well as lead the development of compelling advertising and branded content offerings tailored for TSR’s audience and cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key advertisers, media agencies, and brand partners. Full info HERE
PROFESSIONAL LECTURER OF COMMUNICATION/SPORTS BROADCASTING >>
MARIST UNIVERSITY/ POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: Teach studio and field broadcasting and new media courses in sports media and journalism as well as be able to teach a studio course on producing a newscast and help students live stream a podcast or produce short-form feature content suitable for social media streaming. Also demonstrate through their teaching, professional activity, and service. Full info HERE
SALES LEAD – AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS
UPWAVE
NEW YORK, NY
Build and manage relationships with our agency partners – mostly targeting media buyers and planners – and help them see the value of adding Upwave measurement to The Trade Desk campaigns. You will both leverage your existing network and open new doors to achieve aggressive but achievable sales targets. Full info HERE |
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