Newsmax has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the network of unlawfully blocking competition in the market for right-leaning pay TV news. The complaint claims Fox has leveraged its market dominance for years by pressuring distributors into unfair carriage agreements that exclude or marginalize rivals like Newsmax. “Fox has sought to protect and expand its monopoly power in the right-leaning pay TV news market by engaging in a suite of anticompetitive behaviors,” the lawsuit states. A Fox News spokesperson dismissed the claims, saying, “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”

Newsmax Media CEO Chris Ruddy told Cynopsis, “Over a long period of time Fox News and their various parent companies have acted as bad actors, targeting individuals and companies that they oppose. Newsmax is finally holding them accountable for actions we believe violated federal law.”

The audiences of major news sources vary widely by age, found a Pew Research Center survey. The median age of American adults who regularly get news from Univision is 39 years old, the youngest of any source included in the survey. Telemundo has the next youngest audience, at 42. On the other end of the spectrum, the median ages of adults who regularly get news from CBS News, Newsmax and Breitbart are 58, 63 and 62 years old – the oldest in the survey. The median age for CNN is 50; it’s 55 for both ABC News and Fox News; 56 for PBS; and 57 for NBC News. The median age of all US adults is 47.

NBCUniversal reports that the upcoming NFL season is the company’s highest grossing season to date, with overall revenue increasing across all platforms. The company also announced it has sold out of all ad inventory for Super Bowl LX, which will air on NBC, as well 90% of its NFL inventory separate from the Big Game.

The crossover between gaming and streaming is no longer experimental; it’s becoming core to how streaming evolves, according to a new Looper Insights survey. Findings include:
· Value perception is split – 56.1% of consumers say that including games would make a streaming service more valuable, while 29.8% want streaming and gaming kept separate.
· Quality expectations are high – 58.2% expect console-level or hybrid-quality games if offered through a smart TV or streaming device; low-effort integrations risk being dismissed as filler.
· TV-based gaming has broad curiosity – 64.7% would try playing games directly via their TV or streaming device.
· Connected TVs are seen as gaming’s “next console,” but not everyone agrees they’ll lead the charge. 37% say CTVs will enable gaming integration, just slightly more than the share who think they’ll stay behind-the-scenes as infrastructure.

Reality show “Ice Road Truckers, which ran from 2007-2017, is returning to The History Channel for a twelfth season on Wednesday, October 1. “The timing couldn’t be better to bring back a beloved series that once resonated with our viewers for over a decade,” said Eli Lehrer, EVP and Head of Programming for The History Channel. “We’re pleased to have this new season of ‘Ice Road Truckers’ be a co-production with our Canadian partners at Corus Entertainment as this season ventures into a new era of storytelling.”

“The Kelly Clarkson Show” kicks off season seven on Monday, September 29. New season guests include Emily Blunt, Marion Cotillard, Colin Farrell, Scarlett Johansson, Dwayne Johnson, Matthew McConaughey, Lionel Richie, Julia Roberts, Shonda Rhimes, Margot Robbie, Sylvester Stallone, Channing Tatum, Reese Witherspoon and others.

The fourth and final season of “Bel-Air” premieres Monday, November 24. The Peacock drama is a reimagining of the 1990-96 sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

Food Network’s “Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking” returns Sunday, November 2 at 8p. In the two-hour premiere, eight teams of two start their journey in The Great Hall, where they are sorted by the Sorting Hat into one of the four Hogwarts houses.

Dude Perfect has teamed up with Wave Sports & Entertainment to launch “Almost Athletes with Dude Perfect,” a weekly digital talk series hosted by founding member Garrett Hilbert and crew member Kevin ‘Sparky’ Sparkman, alongside a rotating cast of The Dudes. The longform talk series – Dude Perfect’s first – debuts Wednesday, September 10.

Acorn TV has ordered a third season of “Signora Volpe.” The detective drama comes from ITV Studios-backed production company Route 24.

“Game of Thrones” alum Sophie Turner has joined Amazon MGM Studios’ TV adaptation of the “Tomb Raider” video game franchise as Lara Croft. “Lara Croft is one of the most recognizable and iconic video game characters of all time. We are thrilled to have the wonderfully talented Sophie Turner bring this character to life who is defined by her courage, strength and unshakable resolve,” said the aforementioned Sanders. “This series will honor the beloved Tomb Raider legacy while delivering fresh adventures to fans worldwide.”

Ed Harris (“Top Gun: Maverick”) has joined “Yellowstone” spinoff “The Dutton Ranch” (w/t) in a lead role.

ITV Studios is launching a new label in January focused on scalable entertainment and competitive formats. Lily Wilson (currently Commissioning Editor, Entertainment at ITV) will serve as Managing Director and Tom Williams (“The Million Pound Drop”) as Creative Director.

Keshet International has signed a factual co-development deal with Scottish production company Caledonia TV. They will co-develop historical docuseries “Hitler’s Favourite Royals,” uncovering the story of the British monarchy’s complex and controversial connections to Nazi Germany.

IAB has published its AI in Advertising Use Case Map, a guide mapping real-world AI application across the advertising campaign lifecycle. The goal is to demystify AI in advertising and help the industry prioritize focus areas and evaluate opportunities, risks, and investments. What does it do?
· Organizes AI use cases by category, maturity (established vs. emerging), and description.
· Offers a shared language to benchmark adoption and identify areas for experimentation or deployment.
· Supports strategic planning, product development, education, and policy workstreams.

What do you think are the biggest questions on the minds of brand marketers today about maximizing shoppable?
How do we make the second screen experience feel natural rather than forced? We found that 47% of Amazon shoppers are already browsing while watching TV – so the behavior exists, but the experience needs to be seamless.

How do we measure impact across the entire funnel? With shoppable TV, brands need to understand both immediate conversion and longer-term brand impact.

How do we create content that drives both entertainment and commerce? Brands want to understand how to tell their stories while making products discoverable and purchasable while being authentic to a leaned back experience.

How has the evolution of shoppable and the state of the industry/media marketplace changed your role or how you advise customers?
The evolution of shoppable TV has fundamentally shifted our creative approach. Traditionally, TV ads relied heavily on direct call-to-actions – that ‘buy now,’ ‘shop here’ urgency. But what we’re seeing with retail-tainment is the freedom to prioritize authentic storytelling while maintaining commerce capabilities. This has changed how I advise brands: let your stories breathe. When customers can instantly shop what they see, you don’t need to be as prescriptive with messaging. We’ve found that 79% of Amazon Live shoppers say shopping events are enjoyable and entertaining – they’re there for the experience as much as the products. The beauty of shoppable video is that it creates this seamless bridge between content and commerce, letting customers discover and purchase when they’re ready, which frees up the creative to focus on building those meaningful connections.

What do you hope attendees will take away from your panel?
I hope attendees walk away understanding that shoppable TV isn’t just about adding commerce to content – it’s about reimagining the entire viewing and shopping experience. Looking at themes like AI innovation and cross-platform measurement that we’ll discuss at ScreenShift, it’s clear that success requires thinking beyond individual touchpoints to create truly connected experiences. We’re seeing this in our results – when brands create these seamless experiences, combining engaging content with intuitive shopping moments, they can achieve significantly higher engagement and conversion rates.

CBS is heading to Nashville on Wednesday, September 24 to celebrate the premiere of its highly anticipated new primetime drama SHERIFF COUNTRY, starring Morena Baccarin as Sheriff Mickey Fox. The series, an expansion of the universe of the hit drama FIRE COUNTRY, premieres Friday, Oct. 17 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT and moves to its regular time-period on Friday, Oct. 24 at 8:00 PM ET/PT.

Maryland Public Television will mark its sixth annual HBCU Week September 8-14, with more than 30 hours of programming highlighting the impact of historically Black colleges and universities. Anchoring the lineup is the world premiere of MPT’s PBS documentary, “Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect,” airing exclusively on MPT at 9p Tuesday, September 9, ahead of the national broadcast at 10p.

Viaplay Content Distribution has added two Swedish series for kids, “Bert” and “LasseMaja’s Detective Agency,” produced for SVT and TV4.

HBO Max has expanded its relationship with All Elite Wrestling. AEW pay-per-view will launch Saturday, September 20 at 3p with “AEW All Out.” HBO Max will stream live pay-per-view events without ads, with all marketing and promotions of AEW PPV events primarily centered on HBO Max.

Comcast Technology Solutions has been selected by the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers to power a new digital fan experience on the web and mobile app using Comcast Media360, a 24/7 managed service platform that integrates advanced video and audience management into a single experience.

FloSports’ coverage of CJI2 on August 30-31 drew 2.8 million views, the largest audience in FloGrappling history.

While we’re on the subject – FloSports has launched a new and upgraded FloWrestling platform, powered by deep personalization, immersive tournament brackets, expanded athlete rankings, live streaming, and AI-driven video technology. At the heart of the new platform is FloWrestling’s immersive tournament bracket technology, enabling fans to search for athletes, track favorites in real time, and navigate tournaments through every round.

ESPN has re-signed NFL national reporters Sal Paolantonio and Dan Graziano, extending Paolantonio’s tenure as ESPN’s longest-serving full time reporter across all sports and deepening Graziano’s multiplatform presence across digital and studio shows. Paolantonio and Graziano will continue as mainstays “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

HAND, the AI-powered business intelligence & Talent ID registry platform, awarded the NBA draft class of 2025 with individual HAND IDs that will enable the 59 players to more effectively manage and utilize their Name, Image, Likeness as they begin their professional careers.

Fox Sports coverage of the 17-race 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season averaged 1.36 million viewers, according to Nielsen, a +27% year-to-year increase from 2024 and the most-watched season in 17 years. In 2025, the NTT INDYCAR Series has recorded the most audience growth to date of any sport, averaging at least a million viewers.

“Cuomo” is NewsNation’s top-rated program, up 14% in total viewership versus its first quarter launch (151,000 in P2+; 13,000 in 25-54). The network reports it outpaced MSNBC in daytime at least three times last month in the 25-54 demo, including August 27, August 15, and August 13.

Crossmedia has named Bobby Singh as CFO. Singh was previously EVP-Global Head of Client Operations at WPP.

Blue Ant Media Corporation announced the appointments of Dervla Kelly as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and Surani Adamesco as Chief Technology Officer.

Lionsgate has named Justin Manfredi as EVP and Head of Worldwide Television Marketing. He joins from Apple TV+, where he led Apple TV+ title marketing teams. Manfredi succeeds Suzy Feldman, who is retiring.

Richard Barry has joined The Situation Group as Senior Creative Director. Barry previously held the same position at Sesame Workshop.

Vagrants has named Jen Perry as Executive Creative Director. Perry has held senior creative roles at agencies including MullenLowe, Deutsch NY, Energy BBDO, and Arnold Worldwide.

Criteo has tapped Janine Flaccavento to serve as Managing Director for Canada, overseeing the Canadian business and leading the retail media team. She joins from dentsu, where she spent nine years shaping retail media partnerships with major retailers including Target, Dollar General and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Today’s Trivia Question
On which 1998-2001 sitcom did future “Two and a Half Men” (2003-2015) stars Jon Cryer and Conchata Ferrell both have guest roles? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Limit of four answers per time zone.)