Today’s Finales
BET: The Black Hamptons at 9p
Fox: Animal Control at 9p
PBS: A Brief History of the Future at 9p
TLC: Take My Tumor at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Disney exceeded Wall Street forecasts for its fiscal second quarter, with revenue up to $22.1 billion from $21.8 billion in the year-earlier period. Analysts had forecast revenue of $20.53 billion. Disney+ and Hulu finished the quarter with operating income of $47 million, versus a loss of $587 million in the same period of 2023, and ESPN posted a loss of $18 million, versus $659 million last year. Disney said it expects to meet its goal, set in 2019, of streaming profitability by the end of its fiscal fourth quarter. While Disney’s linear networks experienced an 8% decline in revenue to about $2.8 billion for the quarter, linear is helping to drive the growth of DTC, said CEO Bob Iger on an earnings call. “FX’s ‘Shogun’ has proven to be a global hit with success on both linear and streaming. It’s tracking as FX’s most watched show ever on our streaming platforms, and it’s driving the second largest number of signups to our streaming services,” he noted. “In Q2, series that aired on linear networks accounted for 17 of the top 20 most viewed series on our streaming platforms, with almost 3 billion hours of consumption.”

It’s back to the drawing board for Walt Disney and Comcast, who are in talks to hire a financial adviser to determine how to value the 33% stake in Hulu that Disney will acquire from Comcast, reports Reuters. JPMorgan has valued Hulu for Disney at $27.5 billion, while Morgan Stanley reportedly valued Hulu for Comcast at more than $40 billion. In accordance with the deal the companies made last year, since the banks’ valuations weren’t within 10% of each other, a different investment bank will independently value the streaming platform.

Gray Television reported total revenue in 1Q24 of $823 million, up 3% from the same period in 2023. “Overall, we believe that our businesses have started 2024 in a strong position,” said the company. “The first quarter of 2024 produced strong core advertising results, including $372 million in core advertising revenue, an increase of $15 million or 4% compared to 2023. Our core advertising business has more than fully recovered from the pandemic, with core advertising revenues 3% higher in the first quarter of 2024 than the corresponding quarter of the pre-pandemic year of 2019.”

A week before its Upfront presentation, Amazon introduced a new suite of interactive ad formats including shoppable carousel ads, interactive pause ads and brand trivia ads. “Amazon Ads continues to re-imagine the streaming TV experience with interactive ad formats that are seamlessly shoppable and help advertisers meaningfully connect with customers,” said Alan Mos, VP of Global Ad Sales for Amazon Ads. “We are developing innovative experiences to help brands better engage with customers, as we work to transform streaming advertising through our differentiated combination of reach, first-party signals, and ad tech.”

TikTok is suing the United States government, arguing that a bill passed on April 24 that seeks to force the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app or have it banned, violates constitutional protections of free speech. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide,” says the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. While the bill was a response to security concerns, TikTok maintains the burden is on the government to prove the restriction is warranted.

MVPD penetration continues to decline among Latine audiences, according to Horowitz report FOCUS Latinx Volume I: Subscriptions 2024. The report finds that 39% of Latine households subscribe (compared to 48% among consumers overall), a drop from 6 in 10 Latine households that subscribed to cable or satellite services in 2023. A major factor contributing to loss of subscribers to traditional cable/satellite services is the continued uptick in the quantity and quality of Spanish-language and Latine-themed content available through streaming. “The rules of engagement with Latine audiences have not inherently changed despite variations in which platforms and services consumers are using to access content,” said Adriana Waterston, EVP and Insights and Strategy Lead for Horowitz Research. “Services hoping to attract and retain Latine audiences must continue to focus on presenting the best Spanish-language offerings with high quality, desirable new content as well as robust libraries of classic Spanish shows and movies to represent real value for these viewers.”

Brand risk rises 59% during major sporting events, according to Integral Ad Science’s 19th Media Quality Report, examining the quality and effectiveness of digital ad placements. Key insights include:
· In the US, a brand risk average of 3.5% in the week leading up to the Super Bowl in February 2023 was 59% higher than the 2.2% benchmark.
· The Americas had the highest brand risk average in 2023 as presidential election cycles began in six countries.
· Bot traffic drops 21.2% from weekday to weekend, compared to a 6.9% drop in human traffic.
· Marketers running campaigns without fraud protection in H2 2023 were over 14 times more likely to lose advertising budget to invalid traffic.

“The findings of the report highlight the need for innovative solutions to help marketers, publishers, and platforms safeguard and scale their brands now more than ever, all while improving ROI to remain future-ready,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS.

Chicken Soup for the Soul has secured $175 million in financing from its primary lenders in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, with $75 million of the amount going toward paying off debt. As part of the deal with the lenders, the company, which reported a net loss of $636.6 million in 2023, has added two people to its board of directors who have expertise in restructuring.

Calling all leading ladies in gaming, esports & sports… entries closing 5/15!

Ladies, you rock. In today’s dynamic gaming, esports, and sports landscape, let’s all take a breath and recognize the contributions of the women like you who are instrumental in growing traditionally male-dominated industries like gaming, esports, and sports. It’s time to support the remarkable achievements of women and…

ENTER NOW

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is coming home to ABC. The reality show, which aired on the network from 2004-12, then had a one-season pit stop at HGTV in 2020, was handed a series order. While current HGTV star Ty Pennington hosted the original and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”) hosted the HGTV version, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin (“Get Organized with the Home Edit”) will take the reins this go-round. The new iteration, slated to debut in the 2024-25 season, comes from Endemol Shine North America and Hello Sunshine.

Amplify Pictures (“100 Foot Wave”) has greenlit development on comedy “LA Native.” The half-hour scripted series is written and created by Siena East (“Grimsurg,” “Clone High”) with Chadd Gindin (”Grimsburg,” “ Santa Clarita Diet”) serving as showrunner. The series follows an unruly Native twentysomething in LA trying to make friends and connect with her culture.

Food Network has ordered a second season of “24 in 24: Last Chef Standing.” Since its premiere on April 14, the series has reached more than 10 million total viewers across Food Network/Max/Discovery+.

The untitled ”NCIS” spinoff starring Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo now has a name: “NCIS: Tony & Ziva.” Filming on the series is scheduled to commence this summer in Budapest.

Critical Content landed a series order for “New House No Debt,” for A&E’s lifestyle block, Home.Made.Nation. The series follows buyers who want to sell high, then purchase new homes mortgage-free.

Steven Weinstock and Glenda Hersh, executive producers and co-CEOs of Truly Original, inked an overall deal with entertainment studio The Cinemart (“Murdagh Murders: A Southern Scandal”). Through the agreement, The Cinemart will expand its development and production operations in unscripted programming.

Michell Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) will star in “Blade Runner 2099” for Prime Video. The limited series is a sequel to the 2017 movie sequel “Blade Runner 2049,” which followed the 1982 classic film “Blade Runner.” Silka Luisa is executive producing alongside Ridley Scott, Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon’s President of Television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger from Scott Free Productions, Tom Spezialy, Richard Sharkey, Michael Green, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra and Isa Dick Hackett.

Teri Hatcher (“Desperate Housewives”) is starring with Tahmoh Penikett (“Battlestar Galactica”) in Lifetime movie “The Killer Inside Us: The Ruth Finley Story,” following the true tale of a woman who becomes the target of a stalker. The psychological drama, part of Lifetime’s Ripped from the Headlines slate, premieres Saturday, June 29.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

CBS has set its summer schedule. Among the highlights are the broadcast debut of season one of Paramount+ comedy/crime drama “Tulsa King” on Sunday, July 14 at 8p, followed by the season 26 kickoff of “Big Brother” on July 21. True crime series “The Real CSI: Miami,” from “CSI” creator Anthony Zuiker, Jerry Bruckheimer and Magical Elves, premieres Wednesday, June 26 at 10p.

The fourth and final season of AMC’s “Snowpiercer” launches Sunday, July 21 at 9p. Seasons one and two of the apocalyptic thriller will be available to stream on AMC+ starting Saturday, June 1, with season three dropping June 8.

Season eleven of The History Channel’s “Alone” premieres Thursday, June 13 at 9p, preceded by pre-season special “Before the Drop” at 8p. The reality show moves to its regular timeslot of 8p the following week.

“Secrets & Spies: A Nuclear Game” debuts Sunday, June 2 at 10p on CNN. The docuseries follows spies operating behind the scenes during the Cold War. “’Secrets & Spies’ is a prime example of CNN Originals’ unique way to bring new perspectives to historical events – made all the more relevant by the current news cycle,” said Amy Entelis, EVP Talent, CNN Originals and Creative Development for CNN Worldwide. “This series plays like a thriller, unraveling a secret narrative that was entirely unknown as it occurred”

COMING UP

“Let the Canary Sing,” a documentary about “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer Cyndi Lauper, premieres Tuesday, June 4 on Paramount+. The film “takes the audience on an engaging exploration of a renowned and pioneering artist who has left a remarkable legacy with her art,” according to the streamer.

A&E is also in the music game, with new specials celebrating rock icons Bret Michaels, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar, and Sebastian Bach. Produced by Banger Films in association with A+E Factual Studios group under the “Biography” banner, the specials start rolling out Sunday, June 16 at 9p with Michaels.

NBC will celebrate Red Nose Day’s first decade in the US with “Red Nose Day: Cheers to Ten Years,” a special airing Thursday, May 23 at 8p. “Red Nose Day is all about using the power of laughter and entertainment to change lives and help create a world with less childhood poverty, more childhood,” said Alison Moore, CEO of Comic Relief US. “Having this special highlighting the best TV moments and extraordinary impact of Red Nose Day’s first 10 years makes this milestone an even bigger celebration.”

STREAMING

Tubi has launched Stubios, a fan-fueled studio for aspiring filmmakers and their fans. The program is an evolution of a content strategy that is built on viewer-driven trends. “Tubi has the unique advantage of the world’s largest library of movies and TV series, and the insights we gain from viewers telling us what they want to watch,” said Anjali Sud, CEO of Tubi. “Stubios is a way to give creatives with invested fanbases an opportunity to tell stories that may not otherwise be greenlit in Hollywood, and it will enable Tubi to ensure our programming reflects culture as it is happening.”

Syncbak, a company powering OTT solutions, is rebranding as “Zeam Media.” The rebrand represents the organization’s evolution into a full-scale media company, from supporting content creators looking to create and distribute live OTT programming to providing brand-safe advertising opportunities at scale. Gray Television, the NAB, Morgan Murphy Media, and Apollo/Cox board member Brian Brady are investors in the company. The rebrand is taking place following the debut of the new Zeam streaming platform last month.

TECH TALK

Optable, an SaaS data management and collaboration platform, struck a strategic partnership with Raptive, a media company for content creators. As part of the partnership, Raptive is now offering a data collaboration solution to its advertising partners. “The shifting web identity landscape poses both a threat and opportunity for media companies, driving the need for innovative solutions,” said Bosko Milekic, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Optable. “We’ve dedicated ourselves to empowering media companies to safely deliver advertisements to consumers amidst these challenges.”

Basis Technologies, provider of programmatic advertising and media automation solutions, announced an integration enabling agencies and marketers to measure Pinterest ad campaigns from its platform. The Basis media automation platform now allows real-time ad delivery data from Pinterest. Basis users also access third-party ad platform integrations for Google Ads (Search, Performance Max), Microsoft (Bing, LinkedIn), Meta (Facebook, Instagram), TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit. “Consolidating Pinterest ad platform data automatically into Basis Technologies’ platform is one aspect of the wide-ranging capabilities we’ve assembled to reduce advertising complexity,” said Amy Rumpler, SVP of Search and Social Media Services. “Making cross-campaign management easy for new and experienced media professionals and broadening their proficiency is the specialty of our technology.”

TikTok isn’t letting a lawsuit slow down its messaging. TikTok is the leading product-discovery app among social media platforms, with 61% of TikTok users discovering new brands and products on the app, 1.5 times more than other platform users. That’s according to a study from Material, commissioned by TikTok, that reports half of TikTok users say they went to the app to research or learn more about new products or brands, and 91% of users who were inspired to do something because of search on TikTok followed through. Sixty-six percent of products were found using TikTok’s search feature.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Daytona 500 champ Dale Earnhardt Jr. will join Prime Video’s broadcast booth when the streamer launches its exclusive NASCAR Cup Series coverage in 2025. “I’m honored to be a part of Prime Video’s entrance into NASCAR,” said Earnhardt Jr. “It is an exciting opportunity to have the chance to give our NASCAR fan base yet another way to watch the sport. It will be exciting to see the innovation that Prime Video is going to bring to our sport and the fans.” In addition to streaming five NASCAR Cup Series races, Prime Video will present coverage of practice and qualifying for the first half of the NASCAR Cup Series season (excluding the Busch Light Clash, DAYTONA 500, Duel at Daytona, and NASCAR All-Star Race).

Scripps Sports is adding weekly studio shows to supplement the State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION. ION will air 43 regular-season games during its second season broadcasting WNBA games, including eight Indiana Fever games with Caitlin Clark. The first of those is May 24 against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Al Rojo Vivo will join anchor Jessica Carrillo as a co-host for Telemundo’s coverage of the Olympics in Paris this summer, alongside sports anchor Miguel Gurwitz. Carrillo and Gurwitz kick off the network’s coverage on Wednesday, July 24 with the start of the Olympic Football Tournaments.

GOING GLOBAL

Warner Bros. Discovery has struck deals to distribute Max to Canal+ in France and to Prime Video in France and Spain. “Strong partnerships will turbocharge scale and build greater awareness for Max, helping us to reach new users faster, more effectively and more efficiently,” said JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming & Games at WBD.

Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. & Ireland has commissioned the latest installment of its ‘vs’ series with “Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” (w/t), set to premiere on discovery+ in the UK and on Max globally in June 2024.

Studio 100 International, in collaboration with Caligari Film (Germany), Studio Isar Animation (Germany), and 3 Doubles Producciones (Spain), announced the pre-production action-comedy CGI movie, “Dougie Dolittle.” The movie is planned for delivery in 4Q26.

Fox scored the second-most watched UFL game of the season when 1.22 million viewers tuned in to watch the D.C. Defenders defeat the San Antonio Brahmas on Sunday. That’s up 78% from the equivalent Week 6 game last year.

Through 22 games, the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are up 17% on ESPN nets, with an average 1.03 million viewers, and 439,000 P18-49 (up 13%). Saturday’s Maple Leafs/Bruins Game 7 averaged 3.2 million total viewers and 1.2 million P18-49, up 59% and 37% versus the equivalent game last year and Sunday’s Hurricanes/Rangers Game 1 averaged 2 million total viewers and 828,000 P18-49, up 49% and 34% versus last year.

Basic Cable Top Ten for the week of April 29
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
TNT 2548
Fox News 2004
ESPN 1380
MSNBC 1195
TBS 786
HGTV 739
Hallmark Channel 640
History 612
CNN 594
USA 594
Total Day
Fox News 1306
MSNBC 836
TNT 713
ESPN 575
CNN 492
HGTV 376
TBS 361
Hallmark Channel 332
ID 302
History 297
Source: Nielsen

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Ryan Griffin has been named SVP, Strategic Partnerships in the US at MiQ. Griffin has held roles at companies including Niantic, Flipboard, and AdColony.

Brian Radin has joined XR Extreme Reach as President of SpotlightXR. Previously, Radin was President of Fleetcor’s Prepaid card business.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which series featured American TV’s first same sex wedding? “Roc” (1991-94). Kudos to: Rory Rosegarten-The Conversation Company/Manhasset, NY; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Ed Horwitz-The Talk/Studio City, CA; Jason Viers-Nickelodeon/NYC

Today’s Trivia Question
How many sequels have there been to “Tales of the City” (1993)? (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.)