When Dinosaurs Roar
Audiences Rush In!
~14M moviegoers saw Jurassic World Rebirth over the 5-day weekend, setting off fireworks at the box office.

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Eighty-three percent of Americans say they watch streaming services, while just 36% say they currently subscribe to cable or satellite TV at home, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Streaming use varies by age and income but is relatively common across groups. Americans ages 65 and older are most likely (64%) to say they subscribe to cable or satellite. Smaller shares of those 50 to 64 (44%), 30 to 49 (23%) and 18 to 29 (16%) say the same. Eight of Americans who subscribe to cable or satellite TV don’t watch streaming services, and another 8% neither subscribe to cable or satellite nor watch streaming services. On two platforms, the youngest age groups differ from each other:
– 72% of 18- to 29-year-olds use Hulu, versus 60% of those 30 to 49, 48% of those 50 to 64, and 29% of those 65 and older.
– 78% of 30- to 49-year-olds use Amazon Prime, versus 67% of those 18 to 29, 70% of those 50 to 64, and 50% of those 65 and up.

The exception to these patterns is ESPN+, which adults of all ages are about equally likely to use.

Local TV groups E.W. Scripps and Gray Media have made some station swaps. Gray will acquire Fox affiliate WSYM in Lansing, MI; and ABC station KATC in Lafayette, LA. Gray already owns NBC affiliate WILX in Lansing. Going to Scripps are CBS affiliate KKTV in Colorado Springs, CO, where Scripps owns NBC station KOAA, and Colorado’s NBC affiliate KKCO and low power ABC station KJCT in Grand Junction, along with CBS affiliate KMVT and low-power Fox station KSVT-LD (Fox) in Twin Falls, ID where Scripps owns low power station KSAW-LD (ABC). “We are very pleased to be executing a successful set of station swaps with Scripps that brings great value to both companies,” said Gray President and Co-CEO Pat LaPlatney. “At Gray, due to the strategic nature of these two acquisitions and the benefits to our operations, we anticipate expanding the news staff and hours of live local newscasts on both stations soon after closing the acquisitions.” E.W. Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson said the deal will test the FCC’s commitment to overhauling the broadcast industry’s regulatory structure. “The commission, and specifically the chairman, has definitely signaled that it’s ready to move on, allowing multiple big four ownership in a market,” said Symson.

AT&T has closed the sale of its 70% stake in DirecTV to TPG, a private equity firm. TPG now has complete ownership of the company, which includes DirecTV’s satellite and streaming businesses as well as U-verse. The sale was first announced last September. AT&T, which purchased DirecTV for $49 billion in 2015, said last year that it expects to receive $7.6 billion in cash from DIRECTV through 2029.

The clock started ticking Monday on a second 90-day extension for Paramount Global’s proposed to sale Skydance Media, giving the FCC more time to okay the deal. Paramount agreed to a $16 million settlement with President Trump last week over his “60 Minutes” lawsuit, presumably smoothing the path to FCC approval.

“Damascus,” canceled by cost-conscious AMC Networks in 2023 before it had premiered, has landed at Tubi. The sci-fi comedy series from playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm and Mark Johnson (“Better Call Saul”) will make its debut Thursday, August 9 as a Tubi Original.

Competition event series “LEGO Masters Jr.” kicks off Monday, August 18 at 8p on Fox. The four-part spinoff is hosted by Kelly Osbourne.

Free TV Networks announced new affiliate launches for its digital broadcast networks 365BLK and DEFY. “Our new distribution with Scripps and Gray Media allows us to reach deeply into communities across the country and serve viewers who are increasingly looking for free entertaining and engaging alternatives to paying for TV,” said Joe Cantrell, Chief Distribution and Development Officer of Free TV Networks.

Woodcut Media and distributor Woodcut International announced two new documentaries, “Britain’s Railway Empire in Colour” and “The Manhattan Project in Colour,” have presold to Channel 4 (UK) and SBS (Australia). “The Manhattan Project in Colour “was also picked up by Mediawan (France) for its channel Toute L’Histoire, TV Catalunya, UR (Sweden), Viasat World, and Channel 8 (Israel). YLE (Finland) also acquired this title, as well as “Britain’s Railway Empire in Colour.”

Creative and production studio Versus has appointed Elliott Chaffer as Executive Creative Director. Chaffer was most recently at Trollbäck+Company, where he led work for clients including Apple, Nike, FX, FOX, and ABC.

Sinclair named Narinder Sahai as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Sahai served as CFO at Arcis.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which series ran on CBS from 1966-73, and was revived by ABC in 1988 for two seasons? “Mission: Impossible.” Kudos to: Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Mike Gioscia-NBCUniversal/NYC; Paul Gluck-TUTV/Philadelphia; Andrew Goldman-Phanes Funding Group/NYC; Amit Singh-Scripps Media/NYC; Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago

Today’s Trivia Question
Who did Sue Hawk call a rat in her “rats and snakes” speech on the season one finale of “Survivor”? (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.)