We need leaders comfortable with subject matter including media planning, buying, leveraging ai, cross-platform measurement and more.

SUBMIT MY INTEREST

With the Super Bowl just days away, and the importance of measuring live sports growing, Nielsen is expanding measurement of OOH TV viewing from 65% of the US to 100%. “Nielsen is highly focused on innovating in order to better serve our clients and ensure our measurement accounts for the full landscape of television consumption,” said Deirdre Thomas, Chief Product Officer, Audience Measurement at Nielsen. “We understand how important it is for our clients to be able to have the most complete picture of the audience, especially for special events like the Super Bowl.”

When Super Bowls aren’t enough: The Kansas City Chiefs organization is launching a production studio to develop original scripted and unscripted content. “Foolish Club Studios is a tribute to my father in so many ways,” said Clark Hunt, Chairman and CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs and son of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt. “My father constantly pushed boundaries and inspired innovative thinking, and that is exactly the ethos we expect this new studio to embrace as we expand our ambitions in storytelling and continue to make the game more accessible to our fans.”

The proportion of national marketers who expect the US GDP to grow over the next 12 months doubled from 23% in January 2023 to 47% in January 2025, according to an Advertiser Perceptions survey conducted January 2-10. Additional findings include:
· Increasingly, brands and media agencies report the US GDP will impact ad budgets
· 37% of buy-side 2025 ad budgets will be bigger, an increase over the prior year
· 2025 new product launches will hit all-time high

“While increased tariffs on imported goods and regulatory uncertainty remain potential headwinds to the economy, advertisers are feeling bullish about the economy. Barring those issues, expect advertisers to increase budgets this year,” said Eric Haggstrom, VP of Business Intelligence and Head of Forecasting at Advertiser Perceptions.

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote letters to the CEOs of NPR and PBS, recipients of federal funding, to testify next month at a subcommittee hearing on alleged news bias. “NPR and PBS have repeatedly undermined public trust by ignoring stories that were damaging to the Biden Administration, dismissing genuine calls for balanced reporting, and pushing partisan coverage,” read a statement from the subcommittee. “As stewards of tax dollars, NPR and PBS have an obligation to provide objective and accurate coverage that serves all Americans.” Responded a PBS spokesperson, “PBS and our member stations are grateful to have bipartisan support in Congress, and our country. We’ve earned this support from decades of noncommercial and nonpartisan work in local communities: providing all Americans with content they trust; offering a broad range of stories and programs that help citizens understand our past and shape our future; and helping children and families open up worlds of possibilities through educational programming. We appreciate the opportunity to present to the committee how now, more than ever, the service PBS provides matters for our nation.”

Across all demographics, Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and Hulu were the most popular platforms watched by viewers, according to a study from The Measure with MX9 Labs. More takeaways include:
· For most of the top subscription streamers, roughly a quarter of viewers cited an inability to recall ads due to inattention. Disney+ was a standout, with only 21% of viewers citing non-recall. When asked to recall specific brands viewers had seen, Hulu and Netflix were the winners, both with 27% of people able to name brands.
· Ads on FASTs are part of the whole value proposition, but the data suggests that some services are doing it better than others: 60% of Samsung TV Plus viewers think the ad frequency is “just right,” followed by 58% of satisfied Watchfree+ viewers.
· 64% of respondents ranked Prime Video tops for movies overall, although drilling down into original movies only, Disney+ (51%) and Netflix (50%) were higher than Prime Video (45%).

Live streaming continues to increase with a 12% growth in 2024 and 32.5B hours watched, according to GameSquare’s Stream Hatchet 2024 live streaming trends report. Additional findings include:
· Twitch remains dominant (61% market share), but YouTube Gaming (22.9%) and Kick (5.7%) are growing as alternatives.
· Viewers spent heavily on subscriptions in 2024, with 16M subs purchased monthly on Twitch.
· The success of subathons shows that fans are more loyal than ever, offering creators new monetization opportunities beyond traditional sponsorships. Fearless prediction: Loyalty-based monetization models (e.g., exclusive content, tiered perks) will be key for creators in 2025, and traditional media should pay attention.

Sony Pictures TV has informed CBS Studios that it is fully taking over global distribution of “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!”, starting with episodes scheduled to air the week of February 10. “We expect CBS to take all necessary steps to ensure that the episodes are properly delivered to broadcasters,” said Sony in a letter to Wendy McMahon, President and CEO of CBS News and Stations. Not so fast, responded CBS Studios, telling clients, “CBS remains the distributor for the Series, notwithstanding any communications from Sony to the contrary. Any contention by Sony that it has reclaimed the distribution rights is subject to ongoing judicial proceedings, and CBS will be seeking immediate relief from the appropriate courts. All business should continue in the usual course.” The issue goes back to October, when Sony filed a lawsuit accusing CBS of “undercutting the value and profitability” of the game shows. Four weeks later, CBS filed a countersuit alleging Sony is trying to get out of their distribution deal.

Outbrain has closed its acquisition of Teads. The two companies will merge their respective branding and performance offerings and operate under the name Teads,
creating one of the largest optimized supply paths on the premium open internet, with a focus on connecting curated media environments with data-driven creative experiences. “I am extremely excited about this new chapter in our journey. This transformative merger creates a company that directly addresses a large gap in the advertising industry: a scaled end-to-end platform that can drive outcomes, from branding to consideration to purchase, across screens,” said CEO, David Kostman.

“When No One Sees Us,” the first Max Original scripted series from Spain, debuts Friday, March 7. The Spanish-language drama explores a series of crimes in the political and cultural frontier of so-called “deep Spain” during the celebration of Holy Week in Morón de la Frontera.

Docuseries “A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read” airs over three nights starting Monday, March 17 at 9p on ID. The true crime series follows the case of a woman suspected of murdering her police officer boyfriend.

Oscars executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor and executive producer Katy Mullan announced members of their production team for the 97th Oscars, airing Sunday, March 2 at 7p on ABC. Rob Paine returns as co-executive producer, and Taryn Hurd and Sarah Levine Hall return as producers. Supervising choreographer Mandy Moore and lighting designers Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz also rejoin the team. Producers Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney join the team for the first time. Writers for this year’s show include Amberia Allen, José Arroyo, Josh Comers, Dan Cronin, Jessie Gaskell, Skyler Higley, Berkley Johnson, Ian Karmel, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Carol Leifer, Jon Macks, Conan O’Brien, Matt O’Brien, Agathe Panaretos and Mike Sweeney.

A sequel to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is inching closer to becoming a reality at Hulu. A pilot for the 1997-2003 supernatural drama pilot is being directed by Chloé Zhao (“Eternals”) based on a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman. 20th Television and Searchlight TV are producing.

Wheelhouse has inked a development and production partnership with unscripted producer Rasheed J. Daniel (“W.A.G.s”) and his TeamSheed Productions. Daniel will work closely with Wheelhouse Entertainment and its various labels (including Spoke, Butternut, Wheelhouse Studios, Wheelhouse Sports and Twist) to develop and produce unscripted content.

Serial Maven Studios, specializing in innovative models for developing, financing, producing, and distributing unscripted intellectual properties, announced its merger with production company Cantina Media. The merged business will retain the name Serial Maven Studios, with Cantina Media becoming its production label.

The Africa Channel has acquired the Trace Awards 2025 and will air its linear US premiere on Sunday, March 16 at 8p. The annual awards show, helmed by leading Afro-Urban music and culture platform Trace, showcases a diverse range of music genres, including Afrobeat, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Rumba, Zouk, Hip Hop, Gospel, Coupe Decale and more.

The Women’s Sports Network will be broadcasting live all remaining Oregon State Gymnastics home meets this season, starting Friday, February 7 at 7p. In addition to live coverage of the meets, the network also features over 1,000+ hours of women’s sports programming.

Fox Corporation has made a charitable commitment to Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana (BGCMLA) totaling more than $400,000 through its ongoing FOX Forward and FOX Sports Gamechanger Fund community impact initiatives. The commitment supports creating a long lasting, positive impact for youth throughout Louisiana and New Orleans, the host community of Super Bowl LIX.

Will Gurman has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Content Strategy and Partnerships at Pluto TV. In the role, he will continue to lead content strategy, oversee AVOD and FAST channel evaluation, and optimize Pluto TV’s 400+ content partnerships.

Perion Network has appointed Stephen Yap as Chief Revenue Officer. As a 17-year veteran of Google, Yap was responsible for developing, launching, and commercializing Google’s platforms business and led its sales and operations for over seven years.

Pipeline Studios has named WildBrain and Jetpack alum Rebecca Lugo as Director of Sales and Business Development.

Today’s Trivia Question
For which TV western did Kevin Costner win an Emmy? (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.)