The timing of the decision to cancel CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was suspect for some, coming as it did just days after Colbert’s labeled Paramount Global’s settlement with President Trump “a big fat bribe.” While Colbert’s comment came as Paramount was awaiting FCC approval for the merger, the idea that the two were connected was shot down by George Cheeks, Chair of TV Media at the new company. “The challenge in late night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline,” Cheeks told journalists after the deal closed. “We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show, unfortunately the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.” Cheeks offered no details about the future of late night, but did say he planned to “double down” on primetime and sports.

Forty-three percent of all US adults say TV is the most acceptable place for advertising and the platform where they tend to pay attention to ads the most. That’s according to Tenetic, which collected data in conjunction with CivicScience from July 8 through July 11 and found that only 28% of adults feel that the internet is the most acceptable place for ads, and 29% that social media is best. On the down side, research showed that 37% of US adults said they believe TV advertisers don’t know anything about them, with 59% saying they rarely or never remember the sponsor or advertiser of a show they watched. Additional findings from the study include:
· 47% of U.S. adults would prefer to choose the ads they see over letting AI decide.
· Those earning over $100,000 (52%) are the most likely to want control, compared to 45% of those earning $50,000–$100,000 and 42% of those earning under $50,000.
· Gen Z, however, stands apart: 42% prefer to let AI choose their ads.

“Clearly there is an untapped opportunity in the television advertising market,” said Chris Wilson, CEO, Tenetic. “Viewers are accepting of ads on TV, but they are not finding enough ads to be relevant to their interests or needs. We can better realize the impact of TV advertising, especially as a driver to local purchase, with a more accurate, real-time understanding of the consumer.”

Revenue for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming business rose 9% to $2.8 billion and saw a profit of $293 million, versus a year-ago loss of $107 million, according to WBD’s quarterly report. The company added 3.4 million streaming subscribers for a total of 125.7 million globally, thanks in part to HBO Max’s launch in Australia in the first quarter.

Disney+ has canceled “Goosebumps” after two seasons. The series from Disney Branded Television was based on the books by R.L. Stine.

Fox News has filed a motion to throw out Gavin Newsom‘s $787 million defamation suit. In June, Newsom alleged that FNC host Jesse Watters defamed him by saying that the California governor lied about a phone call with President Trump. Watters apologized on air, but added that Newsom’s statement about the call was “confusing and unclear.” FNC argues that Newsom’s lawyers offered to drop the case in return for a retraction and apology, and accuse Newsom of seeking to create a “press spectacle” to advance his presidential ambitions.

“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” returns to Disney Channel for season two with two episodes on Friday, September 12, and drops Wednesday, October 8 on Disney+. Executive producer Selena Gomez will return to the sequel in a guest starring role.

VH1 improv comedy series “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out” continues its 21st season with 20 new episodes premiering Monday, September 1 at 9p. Taped in front of a live audience in Atlanta, the upcoming slate will feature roster of celebrity guests including Jim Jones, Dru Hill, Fabolous, Lecrae, Carla Hall, NEXT, Da’Vinchi, Apryl Jones, Bobby Shmurda, and Scar Lip, to name a few.

Dark comedy “In the Name of Love,” a Norwegian coming-of-age series, makes its Viaplay debut on Monday, September 6. Two episodes drop weekly.

Saturday’s Premieres
CNN: American Prince: JFK Jr. at 10p
CW: PBR on The CW at 6:30

Sunday’s Premiere
Hallmark Channel: The Chicken Sisters at 8p

Nominations close TONIGHT, 11:59PM ET.

ENTER NOW

Sports agency Athletes First and Sinclair have formed an events and media partnership that will unite Athletes First’s events and talent with the properties and national audience of Sinclair and AMP Sports, Sinclair’s portfolio of digital content and original podcasts. Sinclair will serve as the exclusive sports media partner for two of Athletes First’s live events, producing original content and brand activations at the next iteration of The Block, and host live video podcasts from multiple stops on the Tailgate Tour.

Dabl Get Schooled, an all-day marathon of back-to-school-themed episodes from Dabl Network’s library of sitcoms that includes “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Living Single,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and more, launches Sunday, August 10 at 6a.

Friday Fun Fact
Spelled out, no number before 1,000 contains the letter A.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What show did “Morning Joe” replace on MSNBC? “Imus in the Morning,” in 2007. Kudos to: Anne Thomason-Canvas Worldwide/Atlanta; Cindy O’Connor-Locality/NYC; Art Salisch-SMRC/West Windsor, NJ; Matt Marini-Skydance Paramount/NYC; Aaron Paquette-AccelerateSG/Fort Worth, TX; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Patrick Paris-Paris Public Relations/LA; Terri Corigliano/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which show aired as a rotating mystery movie on NBC in the 1970s, and again on ABC 11 years later? (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.)