Consumers are comfortable with transactional video experiences: 7.5 million households (8% of households who own a CTV device) have purchased a physical good through a CTV experience in the past 30 days, according to Parks Associates report, “Interactive & Shoppable TV: The Next Wave of CTV Revenues.” And 52% are likely or very likely to perform one of these activities through a CTV platform: Order food from special promotions on TV; click for more info on an item; click for more info on an item advertised during a commercial break; shop for special merchandise related to the show or event; and purchase items featured on a shopping channel. However, 81% of viewers have at least one concern with interactive features. “Brands must not take consumers’ trust for granted in designing next-generation interactive experiences, particularly as they more explicitly link to commerce,” concludes the report. “Success involves building scalable solutions for the long term.”

Creative technology company Edisen has officially rebranded as Orb Group. “The legacy agency model was built for a different time, not for the complexity or pace today’s brands demand,” said Kate Dohaney, CEO of Orb Group. “Orb’s approach is built around a new content optimization model that empowers brands to enhance creativity, scale intelligently, and give clients more control, clarity, and as much return on every idea, asset, and dollar as possible.”

“Trust is what turns visibility into value.” So says Raul Rios, head of strategy at creative agency Saylor. Rios explains what it takes for brands to show up for LGBTQ+ audiences in a meaningful way, in Cynsiders.

Kelly O’Donnell has been promoted to chief justice and national affairs correspondent at NBC News. O’Donnell has been senior White House correspondent for the past four years.

FOX Weather has hired Bayne Froney as an on-air meteorologist. Most recently, Froney served as a meteorologist at WLEX-TV (NBC) in Lexington, Kentucky. She will begin her new role on June 16, based at FOX Weather headquarters in NYC.

Garcelle Beauvais is expanding her partnership with Lifetime with two movies she will star in and executive produce: “Taken at a Truck Stop: A Black Girl Missing Movie,” a continuation of the “Black Girl Missing” franchise, and sequel “Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted 2 Love.” “I’m thrilled to continue telling stories that resonate deeply with audiences and put women – especially Black women – at the center,” said Beauvais.

“Welcome to Wrexham” scored a season five order from FX. The docuseries will follow Wrexham AGC’s debut in the EFL championship after its third consecutive promotion.

In “Wrexham”-adjacent news, the series’ spinoff has a name. FX and Disney+ Latin America’s “Necaxa,” a docuseries from Eva Longoria in partnership with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds – the three of whom are all investors in Aguascalientes, Mexico-based Club Necaxa – will debut this summer. The new series chronicles a transformational era at the Mexican football club.

J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”) will lead the cast of upcoming MGM+ period crime drama “The Westies.” “J.K. Simmons is one of the finest actors working today,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “His authenticity and intensity bring an invaluable quality to this complex and exhilarating story, and we can’t wait to see him bring this unforgettable character to life.”

Tiger Aspect Kids & Family is co-producing animated adventure series “Stan & Gran,” alongside Jollywise and Xentrix Studios. The series created by Jon Mason has been commissioned by 5’s preschool strand, Milkshake!.

“Chiquis Sin Filtro” was greenlit for a second season on ViX, and heads into production next month. The docuseries follows entertainer Chiquis as she navigates her family legacy, international career, and personal growth and business empire.

Netflix comedy “Leanne,” starring Leanne Morgan, debuts Thursday, July 31. The comedian plays a woman whose life is upended when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman.

TLC’s “Match Me Abroad returns for a second season on Sunday, June 22 at 10p. The reality show follows six American singles who cross international borders to look for love.

Nicole Curtis travels the country to restore neglected historic homes in a new season of HGTV’s “Rehab Addict,” kicking off Tuesday, June 24 at 9p.

Season four of “The Morning Show” launches Wednesday, September 17 on Apple TV+. The season opens in spring 2024, almost two years after season three.

Crime drama “Smoke” launches Friday, June 27 on Apple TV+ with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly through August 15. Created and written by Dennis Lehane and inspired by true events, “Smoke” follows an arson investigator who begrudgingly teams up with a police detective to stop two arsonists.

“Esports World Cup: Level Up” premieres on Prime Video on Friday, June 6. The docuseries goes behind the scenes at the inaugural EWC in 2024, with new episodes dropping weekly.

What was the inspiration for forming the league in 2017? How has it evolved since then?
The inspiration was that fans deserve more, better quality basketball. We recognized that there was a massive gap in the sports market in the summer and wanted to fill that void, but fill it with an innovative, physical, fast-paced game that was more reflective of basketball culture; and we succeeded. No other upstart sports league since UFC has survived more than five years, let alone through eight seasons, and we are incredibly proud of the exponential growth we’ve driven in the league across those years. This season may reflect that evolution more than ever, as we are transitioning from a fully league-centric model to a city-based model, opening up expansion franchises for sale for the first time. When we tip off in Chicago on June 14, we will be doing so with eight all-new city-based teams in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, the DMV metropolitan area, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, featuring a roster of some of the biggest basketball talent ever to play the game, such as First-Ballot Hall of Famer Dwight Howard, Born Ready Lance Stephenson, former Sixth Man of the Year Montrez Harrell, 4X NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, and 2024 BIG3 MVP Michael Beasley. Not to mention an incredible roster of hall-of-fame coaches in Julius ‘Dr.J’ Irving, George ‘Iceman’ Gervin, Gary Payton, Nancy Lieberman, and more.

How do you expect the home market model to impact the business of the league?
Shifting to the home market model was the natural next step to continue growing the BIG3. The league-centric model allowed us to successfully popularize the product and build a fanbase for the game, but there were always limits to the level of fandom we could cultivate in one weekend. This shift allows us to meet fans where they are and deepen our investment in these communities. We also have added owners who bring exceptional levels of expertise to the league – they have deep ties to their franchise cities and inventive perspectives that will make a tremendous impact on the business of their selected teams, and the league at large. We have essentially increased business opportunities eight-fold, and still hope to add additional expansion franchises in the future.

What are your expectations with Dwight Howard’s addition to the league
Our expectations, and the expectations of LA Riot fans, are extremely high. He’s obviously a generational talent who has a tremendous amount of game left to be played, and we are honored that he has chosen to close out his professional career with the BIG3. Whether or not he will be successful remains to be seen, he has some tough BIG3 veterans to go up against, and with eight all-new teams, the field this season is more competitive than ever. We know that basketball fans’ eyes will be on him, the LA Riot, and the BIG3 all summer long.

What does our Cynopsis community not know about the BIG3 that they should?
More than anything, they should know that the BIG3 is here to stay. We continue to provide a strong, diverse, and demographically desirable viewership on linear and streaming that far exceeds that of other summer live sports programming. This isn’t just a passion project or a celebrity-led league, it’s a commitment to changing the landscape of live sports and that’s what you get when you work with us. Our outstanding partners and clients have our full attention and we work to deliver creative and engaging programming year after year. We look forward to sharing more about our offerings and what is in store for season eight during next week’s webinar.

BIG3 season eight tips off June 14 at 3p on CBS and 6p on VICE TV.

AI-powered ads deliver 25% higher relevance compared with traditional search, and deliver 25% higher relevance, according to internal data from Microsoft Advertising. The company also noted 85% of marketers using generative AI say it has improved productivity across content and ad creation.

FMC sets the scene for summer with Beach Week, featuring the Beach Party series of films, including “Gidget” (1959), and “For Those Who Think Young” (1964), every night from June 1-8.

DraftKings and Meadowlark Media inked a multiyear renewal of their content distribution, monetization and sponsorship agreement that began in 2021. As part of the deal, Meadowlark Media and DraftKings will continue to distribute “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” and the Le Batard & Friends Network across audio, TV, social and digital channels, including DraftKings Network, FAST channels, HBO MAX and Peacock.

The super middleweight doubleheader featuring Caleb Plant vs. Armando Reséndiz and Jermall Charlo vs. Thomas LaManna headlines “PBC Championship Boxing” on Prime Video on Saturday, May 31 at 8p from Las Vegas. The fight card is part of an 11-day stretch of live sports on Prime Video that includes WNBA on May 29, PBC Boxing on May 31 and the NASCAR Cup Series race from Nashville on June 1.

Telemundo is presenting coverage of two US Women’s National Team friendlies over the next two weeks. The USWNT will take on China PR at Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN on Saturday, May 31 at 5p on Universo and Peacock, and will challenge Jamaica at Energizer Park in St. Louis on Tuesday, June 3 at 7:30p on Universo and Peacock.

CBS’s broadcast of the 2025 American Music Awards delivered the event’s largest audience since 2019 and was the #1 broadcast of the night, with 4.73 million viewers, up +34% from its last live broadcast in 2022. Versus last year’s NFL-led 50th anniversary clips special, the AMAs dipped 19.66%.

FOX News Channel averaged 2.9 million viewers in weekday primetime in May, to rank as the fourth highest-rated network in all of television. More Democrats, Independents and Republicans tuned in to FNC over any other cable network across total day, according to data from Nielsen MRI Fusion, and FNC was the number one in cable news with Asians, Hispanics and upscale viewers throughout total day during May.

NewsNation finished the month of May up 21% in total viewers and up 50 percent among A25-54 versus last year, with its top-rated program, “Cuomo,” drawing 175,000 total viewers. In weekday primetime, the network saw a 15 percent increase in total viewers.

The season seven premiere of Showtime’s “The Chi” drew two million cross-platform viewers, making it the most-streamed in the series’ history, up +2% on streaming versus last season.

Spectrum News reports it averaged 1.8 million daily viewing households across its linear and digital platforms during the month of May.

The E.W. Scripps Co. has named Sean McGarvy to the new role of Senior Director of Digital News and Content Strategy, effective June 16. McGarvy is tasked with developing and executing the strategic vision for news content across all Scripps News Group digital platforms, including Scripps News and Scripps’ local stations.

Kartoon Studios announced that it has expanded Todd Steinman’s role from Toon Media Networks President to lead global business for Kartoon Channel Worldwide!. “Steinman’s extraordinary performance guiding Kartoon Channel!, Ameba, and Frederator Networks into profitable streaming powerhouses for children and young adults has fueled an important and growing profit center for Kartoon Networks, with triple-digit growth year over year,” said Andy Heyward, CEO and Chairman of Kartoon Studios.

Hallmark has tapped Sabrina Wiewel to serve as EVP of Crayola Studios. Wiewel helped develop and launch the Crayola Studios initiative in 2023. “I’ve asked Sabrina to oversee the buildout and commercialization of content and programming for Crayola Studios, representing a pivotal step in our aggressive growth strategy,” said Mike Perry, CEO, Hallmark Cards, Inc. “Her expertise and vision will drive our business forward and unlock new opportunities for creative engagement with children and families worldwide.”

Today’s Trivia Question
Which TV movie followed four game show-winning couples on vacation? (Email your answer to trivia@cynopsis.com and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)