Streamer spending on content will top commercial broadcaster spend for the first time this year, according to projections in a report from Ampere Analysis. The forecast has streamer spending rising 6% to $95 billion in 2025, $4 billion more than commercial networks. “The continued growth of VoD spend, combined with the more cautious outlook of linear broadcasters, highlights the shifting role of traditional television as viewer demand turns to digital platforms and streaming,” said Ampere researcher Peter Ingram.

Tegna has disbanded its national Verify fact-checking team. The division was added in 2015 to stop the spread of misinformation and improve audience trust in local news. Content from the Verify website has been removed, replaced by a message directing people to Tegna’s local stations. This isn’t the first round of layoffs to hit Tegna lately – the company recently restructured its marketing group, leading to exits.

Fox Corp. topped analysts’ forecasts for the last quarter, posting earnings of $5.08 billion, versus the expected $4.82 billion. Total ad revenue rose 21%, boosted by the presidential campaign and sports.

On the Fox earnings call, the company shared plans for a new subscription-based streaming service by the end of 2025. According to CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the “relatively” low-priced service will offer Fox programming including sports, TV shows and news. The target audience: cord-cutters and cord-nevers, a “large population outside the cable bundle.”

Publicis Groupe reported fourth-quarter organic net revenue growth of 6.3% and full-year growth of 5.8%. Boasted Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, “We are ending the year in the number one position across the board, growing three times faster than our holding company peers, and five times faster than the IT consultancies. We delivered industry-high financial ratios while stepping up the pace of our investments in AI and talent. Once again, we topped the charts in new business rankings.”

YouTube revenue grew 13.8% year-over-year, wrapping 2024 with ad revenue of $10.47 billion compared to $9.2 billion in 2023. The last quarter’s growth was largely due to Alphabet’s push into AI, which allowed for better video recommendations.

In a first-of-its-kind promotion for YouTube, the service has partnered with Starz to offer 30 days of access to Starz’s library of programming included with a subscription to YouTube TV and through YouTube Primetime Channels. “As Starz continues to adapt to the needs of our customers in this rapidly changing digital landscape, strategic partnerships, like this one with YouTube TV, allow us to expand our reach by introducing our premium content to new audiences,” said Alison Hoffman, President, Starz Networks. “We are excited to have YouTube’s support to ensure their customers see the value of this offer just in time for the Super Bowl. This promotion further highlights the strength of the STARZ brand as a complementary service.” The promotion is available through April.

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) shared its strategic priorities for H1 2025, including:
· A “new attention playbook for marketers” developed in conjunction with attention research supplier group The Attention Council
· An assessment of future demand for personification, co-viewing, and people identification in TV and video measurement
· New studies exploring the economics of national TV measurement, advertiser demand for and perspectives on measurement solutions, the opportunities for improving local TV and video measurement
· Work to support the identity resolution ecosystem for advanced TV and video advertising
· Exploring the future of children’s media measurement, sports measurement, and fraud

“The priorities we’ve outlined today seek to support buyers and sellers through this period of change and transformation, foster collaborative discussion, and generate meaningful, positive change to address key challenges,” said Jon Watts, Managing Director of CIMM. “We remain non-partisan, pan-industry and committed to supporting positive change through meaningful collaboration.”

Hemisphere Media Group announced the addition of Centro AmericaTV, Television Dominicana ,and WAPA America to Verizon Fios. The partnership includes programming that resonates with the Puerto Rican, Central American, and Dominican communities across the US.

pocket.watch is expanding its content library on Hulu, Peacock, and Amazon Kids+. “Kids and families are the key to streaming success,” said David B. Williams, SVP/GM Channels at pocket.watch. “They drive tons of engagement, subscriber growth and retention, and there’s simply no content that resonates with them as powerfully and consistently as creator content.”

Jesse Collins Entertainment is partnering with Concord Original on a biopic centered on blues man, Robert Johnson. “The Untitled Robert Johnson Biopic” marks the first authorized narrative feature on Johnson, known as the King of the Delta Blues. The film is produced by Jesse Collins and Dionne Harmon for Jesse Collins Entertainment (“The New Edition Story”), and Sophia Dilley (“Stax: Soulsville, USA”) and Charles Hopkins (“Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It”) for Concord Originals. Executive producers are Wesley Adams and Bob Valentine for Concord Originals.

Get Me Out Productions (“A Recipe For Murder”) has partnered with Hyde Park Entertainment Group to produce two documentary projects featuring athletes. Docuseries “Ultra” will explore the endurance sport of ultra running, and “Where are the Kenyans?” will follow the fortunes of a small, elite team of Kenyan runners.

FilmRise and Phoenix Television have partnered to co-produce new true crime series “Millionaire Murders.” Each episode depicts a murder case where either the killer or the victim lived a life of wealth.

Said Cunningham: “In terms of Super Bowl advertising strategies, over the last few of years we’ve seen more brands leaning into emotion or, more specifically, ‘positive’ emotional messaging – whether it’s through the use of celebrities or a healthy dose of nostalgia – to connect across a mass audience. Some of the most engaging ads in recent years – based on branded search queries and website traffic – integrated either one or both of these tactics that focus on ‘positive’ qualities like happiness and comfort.

“Mood plays a crucial role in brands’ success when it comes to advertising exposure, as research has shown that people who are in a positive state of mind are more inclined to purchase products they see advertised. This, coupled with the environment of Super Bowl viewing – friends or family gathered around a big screen TV, already highly engaged in both the content (i.e., game) and the advertising – creates a winning formula for advertisers.”

And let’s not leave out social media. Notes Trowbridge, “The Super Bowl is a rare opportunity each year where audiences treat advertising as entertainment, and brands who are investing in the Big Game should be maximizing the opportunity. The best campaigns are not just built for linear viewership, instead they are strategically customized for social, OOH, etc. in ways that best entertain audiences on those platforms. In addition to the big buy, brands should lean into a reactive social strategy throughout the game. Whether it’s reacting to key plays, trending moments, or other ads – brands who buy a spot in the Big Game should be leveraging every aspect to drive awareness of their brand.”

“Denise Richards and Her Wild Things” is on the move. Originally slated to air on E, the docuseries launches instead on Bravo, on Tuesday, March 4 at 9p.

Hulu has canceled “How to Die Alone” after one season. The comedy, created by and starring Natasha Rothwell and focused a woman determined to change her life after a near-death experience, premiered in September.

In new Food Network competition “House of Knives,” eliminations are followed by a dramatic reveal (we won’t spoil the surprise!). The series premieres Tuesday, March 18th at 9p.

MeTV Toons is launching The House of Hanna-Barbera, a weekday and Sunday afternoon programming block showcasing cartoons from the Hanna-Barbera animation studio (think Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Secret Squirrel and more). The block kicks off with a three-hour, primetime sneak peek on Sunday, February 16 from 8-11p, ahead of its regular Monday-Friday timeslot of 11a-1p beginning on Monday, February 17. The block will also air regularly on Sunday afternoons from 1-3pm beginning on February 23.

“The 2024 NFL season experienced a continual shift in how games are offered and consumed, driven by the rising prominence of streaming platforms alongside linear TV. While streaming expanded its viewership, broadcast and cable TV continued as the dominant platforms for primetime games,” said Kailyn Hartmann, VP, Advanced Analytics & Intelligence, VAB. “As the NFL media ecosystem continues to evolve, modern measurement solutions must follow suit to ensure accurate representation for all viewership occurring across devices and among diverse audiences, both in and out of the home.”

The Boston Bruins, NESN, and National Hockey League are collaborating to produce “Best Snow Day Ever,” the latest animated data visualization in the NHL HOCKEYVERSE animated world, to air on March 11 at 7p on NESN+ alongside the main broadcast of the Bruins-Panthers game on NESN. The story incorporates a mix of STEM-focused lessons, using hockey as a vehicle to make math, physics and science concepts come together in a way that is both fun and educational.

Wireless data usage at NFL stadiums is on the rise. According to Verizon’s Consumer Connections report, during the 2024 season, average mobile consumption increased 37% from the same period in 2023, with video accounting for a quarter of data use. Verizon cites technological advances yielding faster, more powerful phones and the continued migration to the digital world as contributing factors.

The New Jersey Devils will host their Black History Celebration Night on February 6, when they face off against the Vegas Golden Knights at Prudential Center. The club’s fourth “Hockey Is For Everyone” event will feature custom designed jerseys, food options from Heritage Kitchen, concourse performances, and more.

The Global Fight League has partnered with production company Box to Box (“Formula 1: Drive to Survive”) to collaborate on content creation and ideation, including a docuseries, digital features, live event broadcasts, and athlete profiles into and through the first season, which will begin in April.

Broadcast Evening News Ratings for the week of January 27
ABC World News Tonight: Total Viewers 8.304 million; A25-54 0.9/11, 1.137 million
NBC Nightly News: Total Viewers 6.93 million; A25-54 0.911, 1.093 million
CBS Evening News: Total Viewers 4.81million; A25-54 0.67, 688,000

Sunday’s Grammys, broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ with Showtime, drew 15.4 million Live+SD viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s 8% under the 16.9 viewers for last year’s awards show. On social media, the show had 102.2 million interactions, besting hall sports, news and entertainment programs.

Viewership for Billiard TV, the network dedicated to cue sports, wrapped 2024 with a 63% year-over-year increase, or 65 million unique viewers. Billiard TV is available to watch via a growing range of television platforms, including Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, LG Channels, DAZN, YouTube TV, Fubo, Sling TV, Xfinity Stream, and Xumo Play, to name a few.

Fox News finished January with 410 million video views on YouTube, an increase of 74% versus the month prior.

UK’s Woodcut Media landed a two-season order for docuseries “World’s Most Dangerous Prisoners.” Seasons two and three will again be distributed by FilmRise in the US under the title “World’s Most Evil Prisoners,” with the complete series distributed internationally by Woodcut International. The company also announced the promotion of Aidan Dunford to the role of senior development executive.

Dublin-based Giant Animation has opened its first international office in Barcelona. Giant plans to split production of its upcoming projects across Ireland and Spain, and will also make use of the Spanish Tax Rebate for international production work carried out in the country.

GRB Media Ranch has licensed political documentary “#UNTRUTH: The Psychology of Trumpism” to Against Gravity in Poland.

BBC World Service has launched an Arabic edition of educational program “Dars” in the Middle East and North Africa. The show, described by the UN as a “learning lifeline” for children barred from school in Afghanistan, supports learning for children who cannot access education.

Nick Brien has been appointed as interim CEO of Outfront Media, effective February 10. Brien has served as CEO of Amobee and President of Hearst Marketing Services/CEO of iCrossing. Brien succeeds Jeremy Male, who is retiring.

Today’s Trivia Question
Which actress starred as a doctor in a short-lived sitcom; was nominated for an Emmy for her guest role as a doctor’s mother in a medical drama; then guested as a doctor on another medical drama? (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.)