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| Wednesday August 13, 2025 |
 IN THE NEWS |
| Sinclair is exploring options for its broadcast business include a merger. Sinclair’s board of directors has authorized a strategic review to evaluate separating ventures through a spin-off, split-off or other transaction. “With record financial performance and proven operational excellence, Sinclair intends to be a catalyst in the broadcast industry’s evolution,” said a statement from the company, adding it will “evaluate all value-enhancing opportunities, including acquisitions, strategic partnerships and business combinations, with potential partners in the broadcast and the broader media and technology ecosystem.” Sinclair owns, operates and/or provides services to 178 television stations, and owns Tennis Channel; multicast networks Charge, Comet, Roar and The Nest; and NewsON, a streaming aggregator of local news content.
Spectrum Reach is bringing a linear ad opportunity to CTV clients, using tvbeat’s programmatic capabilities. “With tvbeat’s technology, we’re enabling our customers to purchase traditional TV ads as easily and precisely as they would with CTV – a capability previously unavailable for linear buys,” said Dan Callahan, SVP and Chief Revenue Officer, Spectrum Reach. “This innovation aims to advance the industry by simplifying and enhancing the ad-buying experience.”
Elon Musk is threatening to sue Apple for breaching antirust regulations by allegedly favoring rivals of Musk’s xAI in its App Store. “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” posted Musk on X. Grok, xAI’s AI model, ranks 6th in the App Store’s “Top Free Apps” section for iPhones in the US, while ChatGPT ranks first. Apple has partnered with OpenAi to integrate ChatGPT into Apple devices.
Streaming platforms that house NFL games need to address churn, according to an analysis from Samsung Ads on streaming apps that offer NFL programming. While the NFL is a powerful driver of acquisition, increasing users by an average of 28% and time spent by an average of 57% across three major streaming apps, data suggests that growth doesn’t last. By March 2025, those same apps saw a 33% drop in audience and a 59% decrease in time spent per user. “The NFL is one of the most powerful acquisition tools in streaming, but retaining those fans is the bigger challenge,” Justin Fromm, Head of Insights and Thought Leadership, Samsung Ads, tells Cynopsis. “Our analysis found that 65% of new users acquired during the NFL season churned once the season ended. That’s a massive lost opportunity. The platforms that win in the long-term will be the ones that treat the start of the season as the start of a massive retention effort, leaning on personalized content recommendations, timely messaging, and data-informed strategies to keep fans engaged beyond the final whistle.”
The average American household tuned into 4.2 apps in 2Q25, and eight percent of tuned into ten or more apps in the same time period, according to TVision’s latest “State of Streaming” report. Top apps for household reach for the first half of 2025 were YouTube (61% of households accessed YouTube at least once during the period), followed by Netflix (58%), Amazon (54%), Hulu (35%) and Peacock (29%). |
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| HBO Max and Viu, home to Korean and Chinese dramas, are bundling their services in 4Q25 across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. “Following the proven consumer and business benefits of HBO Max bundles in other parts of the world, this new streaming offering will provide strong entertainment value for consumers across Southeast Asia, and help drive subscriber growth and stronger retention,” said James Gibbons, President of Asia Pacific at Warner Bros. Discovery. |
 Just in time for football season, Sling TV announced the launch of flexible streaming packages. Day Pass, Weekend Pass and Week Pass offer options to stream the sports games, shows, movies and award shows. “This launch is about putting control back in the hands of the fans, whether it’s tuning in for college football, professional sports, award shows, or a spontaneous movie night, all without having to sign a long-term, binding contract,” said Seth Van Sickel, SVP, Product and Operations, Sling TV. “With college football just around the corner, our new Day Pass offering is all consumers need to win on game day, for just $4.99 worth of upcoming programming.”
Sony anime streaming service Crunchyroll is laying off an undisclosed number of employees in a move it says is not a cost-cutting measure, but a restructuring to increase its focus on fast-growing markets like India and Brazil. “As we look toward the next three to five years, we believe the right path forward is a new organizational model that supports regionally-empowered teams to lean into anime fandom even further,” said Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini in a memo to staff. As part of the reorg, Crunchyroll is building engineering hubs in the US, Mexico and India, said Purini. |
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| Cynopsis ScreenShift
Job Hunting? Don’t Miss This.
Cynopsis ScreenShift | Oct 14 | NYC
Just 10 discounted tickets available for job seekers—$99 gets you in at 3PM for roundtables, panels, and networking.
Secure your spot |
| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
 FBI drama “Task,” from creator Brad Ingelsby (“Mare of Easttown”), debuts Sunday, September 7 at 9p on HBO. The season’s seven episodes will debut weekly.
The first two episodes of music-driven “Vampirina: Teenage Vampire” premiere on Disney Channel on Friday, September 12 at 8p and 8:30p. All 16 episodes will be available October 15 on Disney+ and Disney Channel On Demand.
Family drama “Crossroad Springs” starts streaming on Pure Flix on Thursdays, beginning August 28, and will air on Great American Family and GFAM+ on Saturdays at 8p.
“Forever Young with Dr. Pablo Prichard” premieres Saturday, October 4 as part of NBC’s weekend morning “The More You Know” educational/informational programming block. The series, focused on health and wellness issues, comes from Hearst Media Productions Group in partnership with Evoke Entertainment.
Season two of BritBox’s “Karen Pirie” debuts Thursday, October 2. The drama is based on Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain. |
Today’s Premieres
Discovery: Mysteries of the Abandoned at 11p
Netflix: Fixed; Love Is Blind UK; Saare Jahan Se Accha; Young Millionaires
Prime Video: Butterfly; Sausage Party: Foodtopia |
| PRODUCTION |
| Netflix and Kevin Hart are partnering for a stand-up comedy competition series. In the eight-parter, contestants will face challenges that mirror the real-life journeys of comedians, showing audiences the gritty reality of the stand-up scene. Hartbeat and Alfred Street Industries are producing.
Production is underway for Great American Media movie “Christmas in Midnight Clear,” set to premiere as part of the 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas in 2025. The programming event kicks off in October.
Adult Swim has ordered “The Terrors of Jordan Mendoza,” a live-action, quarter-hour series created by and starring Jordan Mendoza that follows a man as he navigates a barrage of absurd, terrifying, and hilarious dreamscapes. The series is produced for Adult Swim by Avalon (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”).
“The Hill,” a digital source for non-partisan political news and information, announced that Lindsey Granger has been named co-host of its flagship morning show “Rising,” alongside Robby Soave. |
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| Cable & Broadband Standouts
CLOSING TONIGHT: Last Call for Entries!
The Cable & Broadband Standouts honor the next generation of leaders making their mark. Your rising star deserves to be seen alongside past winners like Netflix, TikTok, and ESPN. Nominate them now—before the clock runs out, TONIGHT.
NOMINATE NOW |
| TECH |
| With 95% of advertisers planning to use AI at least somewhat to identify and learn about adtech vendors, according to a study from DBC and Advertiser Perceptions, DBC has launched a Generative Engine Optimization offering to help companies optimize for visibility in generative AI outputs across platforms. “AI isn’t just influencing creative or targeting in the ad industry, it’s redefining how adtech vendors are discovered, and potentially selected,” said Bill Daddi, President of DBC. “By aligning brand communication and marketing strategies with how LLMs retrieve and surface information, DBC AI Optimization will ensure our clients show up where decisions are being made in real-time conversations powered by AI.”
IAB Tech Lab released two new mappings and implementation guidance that connects Content Taxonomy 2.1, a classification system initially designed to categorize webpage and app content, to Ad Product Taxonomy 2.0, which is used to accurately describe the products being advertised. The goal is to help companies refrain from using inappropriate content-based labels to describe products in ads. “A lot of companies are still using content-based labels to describe ads, which leads to confusion, mismatches across systems, and limits interoperability,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. “These mappings help clear that up and give the industry a straightforward path to align with the current Ad Product Taxonomy. We’ve also included implementation notes to explain why certain categories were matched and how to handle areas without a perfect fit.”
Esports brand ZOWIE has joined BLAST as an official partner for the upcoming 2025 Fortnite Global Championship at the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France. The ZOWIE XL2566X+ monitor will be featured during the event, to be held September 6-7. |
| COMING UP |
| Nickelodeon and Paramount+ are celebrating 25 years of their “Dora” franchise this week with a special birthday-themed episode, “Dora’s Birthday Surprise,” set to premiere on Friday, August 15, at 11:30a on Nickelodeon.
Stand Up To Cancer will hold its ninth biennial one-hour, commercial-free event, airing simultaneously on over 30 media platforms, on Friday, August 15 at 8p. All four major US broadcast networks will carry the show, with broadcasters donating prime time slots to support the cause. The telecast will also be available to watch on-demand across multiple digital and streaming platforms. |
| RATINGS |
| Season two of Netflix’s “Wednesday” delivered a massive 50 million views in its first five days. That’s the second most views in a single week across all English-language TV on the streamer, behind only “Wednesday” season one. Bur that’s not apples to apples – all episodes of the first season dropped at once, versus just the first four episodes for season two.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday drew 1,096,000 Total Viewers to CW, to rank as the most-watched Xfinity Series race from Watkins Glen since 2018 and up +41% compared to last year’s race.
Top 10 Basic Cable Networks for the week of August 4
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
Fox News 2290
NFL Network 1012
ESPN 852
MSNBC 821
HGTV 550
USA 452
CNN 450
TBS 413
Discovery 390
Hallmark Channel 368
Total Day
Fox News 1436
MSNBC 523
NFL Network 438
ESPN 398
CNN 320
HGTV 306
USA 254
Hallmark Mystery 241
Hallmark Channel 231
TBS 221
Source: Nielsen |
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This Day in History
1961 – Construction started on the Berlin Wall.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
How many times had the title character on “Maude” (1972-78) been married? Four. Kudos to: Amy Levy- Amy Levy Public Relations/LA; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Matt Marini-Skydance Paramount/NYC; Jackie Howell-Nexstar WCMH TV/Columbus, OH; Linda Grillo/NYC; Wendy Holmes/Denver; David Rubinsohn-American Public Television/Boston; John Kukla-KDFW Fox 4/Dallas; Ken DuBow-DuBow Media Distribution/LA; Larry Hutchings/Nipomo Beach, CA
Today’s Trivia Question
Which Peabody Award-winning TV drama was the first to portray teachers and students in a realistic manner, with episodes covering topics like drug abuse and racial discrimination? (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.) |
SENIOR DESIGNER >>
REELZ CHANNEL/ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Responsible for the concept, design and execution of various motion graphics projects for on-air promo and sales presentations. Will be required to design and create graphics for social media, digital and print. Must be able to follow brand guidelines and expand and change the brand look when necessary. Full info HERE
EVP, COMMERCIAL & TECHNOLOGY TRANSACTIONS, LEGAL & BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
A+E GLOBAL MEDIA/NY(HYBRID): Oversee the three major areas of commercial transactions (comprised of supporting the Distribution, Total Media Solutions and Global Content Sales divisions) and the adjacent areas supported by the attorney teams that principally support those divisions (including vendor management and privacy). Full info HERE
SR. DIRECTOR OF SALES, KSTU & KUPX >>
THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY/SALT LAKE CITY: Leverage our suite of advertising solutions to unlock growth opportunities for local and national businesses. Play a role in driving the station’s revenue goals as well as serving as the home station for Utah’s new NHL team. Collaborate with our production team to create campaigns that connect our clients with their customers in meaningful ways. Full info HERE
DIGITAL MEDIA BUYER >>
FURMAN ROTH ADVERTISING/NY(HYBRID): Plan, launch, and optimize digital marketing campaigns across various paid media channels (including Display, Google products, Paid Social, CTV, and Programmatic, etc.) while managing budgets effectively. Support the execution of media plans across platforms, overseeing targeting, budget allocation, and performance tracking to drive campaign success. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR; CTV BRAND PARTNERSHIPS – MID WEST/WEST COAST
FUTURE TODAY
REMOTE
Build, maintain and expand a pipeline of sales targets, contacts, and sales opportunities leveraging your relationships with a heavy focus on new business revenue. Build/nurture relationships with the investment, strategy, precision and digital agencies as well as clients. Also maintain an ongoing knowledge of the streaming media landscape. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, AD MARKETING & SALES >>
THE SHADE ROOM/REMOTE: Develop and execute a revenue growth strategy to drive direct advertising, branded content, and sponsorship sales as well as lead the development of compelling advertising and branded content offerings tailored for TSR’s audience and cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key advertisers, media agencies, and brand partners. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DIRECT RESPONSE >>
OPPORTUNITY MEDIA/NY(REMOTE/HYBRID): Seeking an energetic achiever with excellent written & organizational skills for role to assist in growing revenue for dynamic Direct Response Team: required: BA Degree, Min 5 yrs DR Experience. Wide Orbit Exp a +. Full info HERE
PROFESSIONAL LECTURER OF COMMUNICATION/SPORTS BROADCASTING >>
MARIST UNIVERSITY/ POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: Teach studio and field broadcasting and new media courses in sports media and journalism as well as be able to teach a studio course on producing a newscast and help students live stream a podcast or produce short-form feature content suitable for social media streaming. Also demonstrate through their teaching, professional activity, and service. Full info HERE
SALES LEAD – AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS
UPWAVE
NEW YORK, NY
Build and manage relationships with our agency partners – mostly targeting media buyers and planners – and help them see the value of adding Upwave measurement to The Trade Desk campaigns. You will both leverage your existing network and open new doors to achieve aggressive but achievable sales targets. Full info HERE |
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