Cast of “The Celebrity Traitors UK” Season 2, courtesy of BBC One

Ratings aren’t everything. The BBC is boasting about promising ratings for “The Celebrity Traitors UK,” a spinoff of the reality competition series “The Traitors.” The Season 2 debut episode reached 15.7 million viewers – making it the most-watched program in the UK so far this year. But the reception among consumers has been lukewarm.

• On social media, some fans have complained that the series lacks an element of suspense and surprise compared with Season 1. One of the main gripes is that some players wearing the cloak aren’t fully committing to their role in the game. For example, one Traitor revealed his status during the second episode, while another has been reluctant to lie, admitting he’s basically playing the game as a Faithful. “If they’re not fully embracing the villainous role, it doesn’t really make for great TV,” wrote one displeased fan on social media. Or, as another critic wrote on Reddit: “In two words: no jeopardy.”
• The unpredictability of unscripted TV is part of its appeal – but it’s both a blessing and a curse. Without the guardrails of scripted lines, networks can’t fully control how a series unfolds – and they risk putting cast members on screen who simply aren’t winning viewers over.
• With viewers also becoming less loyal to specific networks and streamers, that uncertainty adds weight to the argument that audience size should no longer be the main metric for TV platforms and their brand partners.
• Viewers nowadays grapple with an overwhelming number of platforms and streaming services that keep jacking up their prices, which means many people cancel their subscriptions once the show they’re watching wraps. As a result, platforms are left scrambling to boost watch time and, in turn, subscriber retention.
• Media companies have many tactics and tools in their arsenal to boost engagement and audience loyalty, but some things they just can’t control, including the actions of unscripted cast members and the reactions of their viewers.

Third-quarter earnings: tricks, treats and quite a few scares. Media companies are posting their earnings numbers for the third quarter, and sports programming can make or break the results. Just look at TelevisaUnivision. Its third-quarter results diverged sharply between Mexico, where it held broadcast rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the US, where it did not.

• TelevisaUnivision’s overall revenue in the US dropped 14%, with advertising revenue falling 24%. The company attributes this decline to tough competition in the sports arena, namely its rival Telemundo securing the US Spanish-language airing rights for the World Cup.
• Meanwhile, TelevisaUnivision saw more promising numbers in Latin America, where it held airing rights for the tournament via its network and streaming service ViX. Thanks to LATAM coverage rights, TelevisaUnivision reported a 30% increase in overall subscription and licensing revenue.
• Mexico proved to be an especially valuable tailwind for the network, with regional quarterly revenue jumping 51% and ad revenue rising 19%.
• But although those gains helped offset its US losses, TelevisaUnivision’s overall ad revenue declined 5% last quarter. (A much less disappointing percentage than 24%, but still.)
• Going forward, the company plans to keep growing its reach across linear TV and digital platforms, in part by expanding its sports programming portfolio – just like pretty much every other media company in existence right now. 

Sticking with earnings, Starz also reported its third-quarter results this week. Overall growth was meager, but the good news is that it’s narrowing its losses as it bets on streaming to grow profitability over time.

• Last quarter, total revenue grew just 0.5% year over year to $322.4 million. That relatively small growth rate beat the expectations of Wall Street, which is well aware that the legacy entertainment company is trying to offset its linear losses with streaming growth.
• Taking streaming out of the equation, overall revenue for linear and other divisions dropped 2.3% because of the relentless cord-cutting trend that continues to chip away at legacy media company revenue.
• In better news, Starz’s streaming revenue grew 1.7% to $226.6 million, thanks to more streaming subscribers and recent price increases. Executives highlighted loyal subscribers – those paying for the service for at least a year – whose contributions to the company’s streaming growth have reached record levels.
• Starz’s focus on long-standing subscribers makes sense now that viewership numbers alone aren’t sufficient to stay competitive in the cutthroat media and streaming landscape. These days, audience engagement and subscriber retention are emerging as the more important metrics to watch as streaming competition intensifies.

Skydance is making enemies. Media veterans continue to voice their displeasure with Skydance’s leadership as the media conglomerate works to combine the teams, tech and assets of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

• Dan Rather, journalist and former “CBS Evening News” anchor, recently accused Skydance’s leadership of “acquiescing” to President Donald Trump by tailoring its programming and news coverage to reflect right-wing narratives, Puck reports.
• Naturally, Skydance denies being influenced by the administration. “Judge us by the journalism,” CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss told critics in an interview with The Information.
• The recent criticism reflects a growing trend of politics appearing to shape the direction of news coverage and steer the decisions of legacy networks, including those about their news anchors.

Meanwhile, Skydance continues to reshuffle its leadership teams. J.B. Perrette, Skydance’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) and TV co-chair and chief business officer, announced the division’s leadership roles in a staff memo Thursday, which resulted in some promotions and some exits.

• Who’s staying: Jeff Cusson becomes EVP and head of communications for Skydance DTC, Shauna Spenley is now chief marketing officer of global DTC and international TV, Trey Turner is the international chief operating officer, Josh Walker is the chief operating officer of DTC and Liz Wright becomes chief financial officer of Skydance’s TV segment.
• Who’s leaving: Dan Barnes, HBO Max’s global head of ad revenue; Michael Bishara, WBD’s EVP and general manager of global streaming and digital studios; Jamie Cooke, EVP of Central Europe, Middle East, Turkey and Africa; Domenic DiMeglio, CMO and chief data officer for Paramount Streaming; Marco Nobili, Paramount+ EVP and international general manager; Pank Patel, Paramount’s head of international media networks; and Juan Sola, Warner Bros. head of streaming for Latin America.

For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park. 

Paramount+ dropped an official trailer and key art for its upcoming comedy series “It Gets Worse,” created and executive produced by English comedian and writer Leo Reich. The six-episode series premieres Nov. 6.

AMC Global Media released a trailer for its upcoming comedy series “Cue the Laughs,” hosted by comedian Adam Ray (“King of the Hill”) and premiering Nov. 7. The six-episode series includes a compilation of clips from humorous moments happening in the real world, from vacation disasters to family meltdowns. (So if you’ve still never seen “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” worry not; here you go.)

Nicco Annan playing strip club owner Uncle Clifford in “P-Valley” Season 3, courtesy of Starz

Starz unveiled a full trailer and key art for the third and final season of “P-Valley,” a story following the relationships and rivalries among dancers, workers and patrons at a strip club in Mississippi. Season 3 is slated to premiere Dec. 4.

HBO announced a Nov. 17 premiere date for its upcoming documentary “When a Witness Recants,” which explores the circumstances and aftermath of false testimony in a conviction that exposes uncomfortable truths about law enforcement in Black communities. The documentary is directed by Dawn Porter and executive produced by Maceo-Lyn, a studio founded by director Kamilah Forbes, producer Kenyatta Matthews and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the acclaimed book “Between the World and Me.”

Investigation Discovery (ID) announced an upcoming documentary series “Andrew Tate: Toxic Empire,” which chronicles the rise and fall of brothers and social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate. The Tates went viral for promoting their beliefs about masculinity and male dominance leading up to their detention on multiple charges of human trafficking and sexual assault. The four-part docuseries premieres Nov. 25 on ID and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

MGM+ revealed a first look at “Bosch: Start of Watch,” a prequel to the Prime Video crime drama “Bosch” exploring the origin story of author Michael Connelly’s detective Harry Bosch. The prequel stars Cameron Monaghan (“Shameless”) and Omari Hardwick (“Power”) and premieres Jan. 10.

ABC: “The Dropout – Who Is Elizabeth Holmes?” at 8 p.m.
Apple TV: “Nocturne”
Hallmark: “Who’s Coming for Christmas?”
Netflix: “Akka”; “A Couple of Lies”; “Dead-End Job”; “How to Ruin Diwali”
Paramount+: “Dexter: Resurrection” Season 2 
Screambox: “Your Dearest, Darkest Friend with Ted Raimi”

Great American Family: “A Very Arctic Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “Adopting St. Nick” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “We’re Getting Out of Here Alive” at 8 p.m.

Hallmark: “A Danish Christmas” at 8 p.m.
HBO: “The Gilded Age” Season 4 at 9 p.m.
Peacock: “OJ’s Accomplice”

Keri Russell in Netflix’s “The Diplomat”

Netflix announced it has renewed its political drama “The Diplomat” for a fifth season, just two weeks after the premiere of its most recent season.

Independent production company Dynamic Television has partnered with Sky New Zealand and NZ On Air to launch a scripted content development initiative. Under the agreement, the three entities will develop up to three original New Zealand drama series for domestic and global audiences.

Marketers using TV advertising platform Vibe.co can now build campaigns with Walmart audience data. The announcement follows Walmart’s recent acquisition of Vibe as part of a broader push to grow its advertising business, particularly in streaming TV. That strategy also drove its purchase of Vizio, which makes smart TVs and runs a data and advertising business.

Streaming TV advertising still has a data and transparency problem. Marketers have been demanding program-level data for years, but according to a recent analysis from video ad platform Wurl, only 11% of streaming TV ad requests included a usable show name. Even with piecemeal efforts among media companies to share more show-level information, there’s still a lack of standardization in content labeling.

CBS announced that singer-songwriter and internet personality Alex Warren will host Nickelodeon’s “Kids’ Choice Awards” Nov. 14.

BET announced that singer-songwriter Elmiene will perform at the Soul Train Awards 2026 Nov. 27, where he will receive the New Soul Honor.

Brand sponsorships account for a growing proportion of overall revenue for sports leagues. The MLB, for example, has seen sponsorship revenue spike 57% since 2022, according to a recent report from SponsorUnited.

English actor Sir Patrick Stewart died Wednesday at 86. Stewart was well known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the “Star Trek” TV franchise. His other TV credits include voice-acting roles in popular American sitcoms such as “American Dad” and “Family Guy.” 

German actor Elke Sommer died Wednesday at 85, her stepson announced. While Sommer was primarily known for her acting in films, she also made guest appearances in several TV series throughout her career, including the comedies “Forever Fernwood” (1977-78) and “St. Elsewhere” (1982-88).

TV comedy writer Earl Barret died Oct. 22 at 94, his daughter announced. Barret co-developed the ‘80s sitcom “Too Close for Comfort” (1980-83) and worked on more than 30 other TV series throughout his career, including “Bewitched” (1965-67) and “The Andy Griffith Show” (1960-68).

At least one in five adults pretend not to be home on Halloween.