Ad spending on sports between Thursday, November 28 and Sunday, December 1 will hit $570 million, projects Guideline, accounting for 84% of all broadcast dollars and including Amazon’s Black Friday game. Additionally, NFL Thanksgiving Thursday games in 2024 have the highest :30 ad unit rate of the weekend at $1.45 million, up 16% YoY. Additional findings include:
– The share of spending on sports programming during the Thursday-Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend 2024 is up from 81% in 2023 and up from 73% in 2019, the year prior to the pandemic.
– The NFL Thanksgiving Thursday games (NBC, Fox, CBS) have the highest :30 unit rate at $1.45 million, up 16% YoY. NFL Thanksgiving weekend games (NBC, Fox, CBS, Amazon Prime) cost $576K for a :30 spot, up 11% YoY.
– College football also sees a boost during the holiday weekend, as :30 units for college football Saturday games (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) cost $133K, up 12% YoY.

“Thanksgiving weekend highlights the unmatched value of sports in video advertising,” said Alberto Leyes, Head of Product Strategy at Guideline. “With the NFL driving nearly 70% of National TV, advertisers see this holiday as a prime opportunity for massive reach and engagement despite double-digit growth in unit rates.”

The Justice Department asked the federal judge overseeing an antitrust case against Google to order the company to sell off its Chrome browser; to allow websites to opt out of having data trained by its Google’s AI models; and either have Google divest its Android phones business or have the court supervise its Android division. The filing comes after a ruling in August that found that Google had preserved the dominance of its search engine by acting as an illegal monopoly. Responded Google, “DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most.”

Fifty-three percent of female beauty shoppers said TV ads influence their decisions to buy beauty products, according to LG Ad Solutions report, “Beauty & The Screen.” Sixty-eight percent of female beauty shoppers said they pay attention to TV ads for beauty products, 64% were able to recall seeing beauty TV ads in the past month, 59% tried a new beauty brand after seeing a TV ad, and 53% said they wish beauty ads on TV made it easier to buy a product directly – with 78% stating they would likely purchase after scanning a QR code on a TV ad for a product. “We’ve found CTV to be a great strategy as it delivers premium awareness but enables a data-led approach where we can then retarget audiences to convert further down the funnel,” said Nobles Crawford, Consumer Activation Lead at L’Oréal. “In certain limited-time offers and sales periods, including interactive capabilities in our CTV ads has been beneficial in expediting the purchase funnel.”

Hearst Television was presented with the inaugural “Inspire” Award for its DEI efforts. The honor came from the Emm Bowen Foundation, which promotes inclusive hiring and advancement.

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Also renewed for a sophomore run is CNN’s comedy panel series “Have I Got News for You.” “We’re thrilled that ‘Have I Got News For You’ has made an impact with the CNN audience and can’t wait to come back next year,” said executive producer Jimmy Mulville. “I think we’ll have plenty of news to poke fun at!”.

NBC ordered five additional episodes of “Happy’s Place,” for a total of 18. The premiere of the Reba McEntire comedy improved the 8p timeslot by +90% in total viewers and +88% in A18-49, clocking 4 million linear Live+Same Day viewers. That number has risen to 14 million cross-platform viewers.

Scott Prendergrast (“So Help Me Todd”) has a procedural set at Fox, with a script commitment plus penalty, reports Deadline. “Pennies” focuses on a reclusive forensic pathologist who is more comfortable with the bodies under her care than with real people.

MGM+ ordered a 10-episode fourth season of “From.” The sci-fi horror series is set to return to production in Nova Scotia in 2025, and premiere in 2026.

New multi-platform content company Expanding Universe has launched with a development deal with Amazon MGM Studios. First up: “The Captive’s War,” an adaptation of the new sci-fi trilogy by James SA Corey.

Season two of “Wildcard Kitchen” launches Tuesday, January 7 at 9p on Food Network. In each episode, host Eric Adjepong welcomes three chefs who know each other well to the test kitchen after-hours for three hands of his underground poker game.

A new season of “Home Town” kicks off Sunday, December 28 at 8p on HGTV. In the opener, the renovation series follows a couple finding their dream home in a mid-century modern dwelling.

“The Pitt” will make its debut this January on Max. The medical drama starring Noah Wylie comes from John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television, created by R. Scott Gemmill. Earlier this month, Warner Bros. Television filed a motion to dismiss in response to a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the widow of “ER” creator Michael Crichton claiming “The Pitt” is a copy of “ER.”

Saturday’s Premiere
MSNBC: The Sing Sing Chronicles at 9p

Sunday’s Premieres
Bravo: Married to Medicine at 9p
Fuse: Discontinued at 6p
Nat Geo: Tsunami: Race Against Time at 9p
Prime Video: It’s in the Game: Madden NFL

Canela.TV celebrates the holidays with “Fiestas En Familia” beginning in December, with holiday movies, series, and specials along with “El Espíritu de la Navidad,” a selection of uplifting stories and faith-based content, and Canela.TV’s “Best of the Year.”

“Country Christmas,” hosted by Amy Grant and Trisha Yearwood, airs Tuesday, December 3 at 8p on ABC. The fifteenth annual special was filmed in Nashville.

Transmit, a technology platform offering advanced advertising solutions, and Wurl announced a strategic partnership to bring Transmit’s in-stream ad formats to the FAST channels in the Wurl ecosystem. The in-stream ad formats will allow FAST channels to create incremental inventory and revenue without disrupting the viewer experience. “The rise of subscription fatigue has created an opportunity for ad-supported models to thrive,” said Transmit CEO Seth Hittman. “By maximizing untapped advertising potential and providing a robust platform for advertisers to reach engaged, cost-conscious audiences without compromising their viewing experience, FAST publishers will be able to make the most of the ad-supported programming opportunity.”

Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising Sales announced two solutions on Max: Shop with Max and Moments. With KERV’s AI-enhanced technology incorporated into WBDs AdTech platform, the ad experiences deliver viewers a more integrated, relevant experience, and enable brands to connect with audiences in new ways via shows in the WBD ecosystem. “Shop with Max and Moments are two dynamic solutions that exemplify how Warner Bros. Discovery is accelerating and delivering innovation across advertising technology,” said Ryan Gould, Head of Advanced Advertising and Digital Ad Sales, Warner Bros. Discovery. “By closely partnering with KERV, we’re redefining how audiences discover and engage with products while creating deeper connections between brands and our iconic portfolio of premium content and IP across Max.”

Mediaocean is acquiring Innovid in a deal that will have Innovid merge with Flashtalking by Mediaocean. The combined organization will offer ad delivery, creative personalization, measurement, and optimization across channels, including digital, social, CTV, and linear TV. Zvika Netter, CEO & Founder of Innovid, will lead the combined ad tech organization as CEO. Grant Parker, who currently runs Flashtalking, will be President of the combined ad tech organization reporting to Netter. “From the start, when we founded Innovid 17 years ago, we have been driven by the belief that advertising can be made better for all – and this merger represents a key milestone on that journey, and the people, teams, and passion behind it,” said Netter. “We believe Innovid, Mediaocean, and Flashtalking represent decades of innovation and integrations of some of the world’s best technologies.”

IAB Tech Lab announced the release of its “ID-Less Solutions Guidance” document, now open for public comment until December 19. The document highlights the functional and technical capabilities of ID-less solutions and frames them within the broader context of privacy and addressability. “We’re entering a new phase where the rules of addressability have fundamentally changed,” said Shailley Singh, EVP, Product, and COO at IAB Tech Lab. “This guidance provides the clarity and tools needed to make thoughtful, effective decisions in environments where an ID is not available.”

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NASCAR and FloSports struck a multi-year extension of their media partnership that will focus on elevating the grassroots racing events and allow them to invest in the sport of short track racing.

The “Dancing with the Stars” semifinals on Tuesday was the top program of the night in Adults 18-49 (0.75 rating) and all key Women demos, including Women 18-34 (1.10 rating), Women 18-49 (1.04 rating) and Women 25-54 (1.27 rating). The show grew over the previous week’s 500th episode celebration in both Total Viewers (5.19 million vs. 5.13 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.75 rating vs. 0.71 rating), hitting a season high in Total Viewers.

FloSports has named Rob Steffens as its Chief Financial Officer. Steffens had a 20-year career at Marvel Entertainment.