Skip a newsletter last week? “In Case You Missed It” rounds up the top stories in each of our four daily editions, so you can be up on the latest news, Cynopsis-style, in the worlds of linear, digital, sports and kids television. Enjoy!
Effective January 1, HBO won’t be releasing overnight ratings for its series. The move follows a similar decision by FX, which stopped releasing “live plus same day” ratings, earlier this year. “HBO subscribers have available to them an array of entry points to watch our programming HBO linear feeds, DVR, HBO On Demand and HBO GO and a single airing is no longer representative of an HBO show’s true audience size,” said HBO in a statement. “Today, it’s common for final gross-audience figures to grow anywhere from five to ten times viewership after an initial airing.” In the new year, HBO viewership figures will first be made available approximately two weeks after a program’s premiere, including Nielsen’s live-plus-seven and preliminary HBO On Demand and HBO GO data.
NBC announced its midseason sked, and on Thursday, it’s all about drama. Starting February 5, new event series The Slap kicks off the night at 8p, followed by The Blacklist at 9p and freshman spy drama Allegiance at 10p. Summer hit Undateable returns Tuesday, March 17, along with new comedy One Big Happy, following The Voice; Marry Me and About a Boy are on hold. The singing competition also serves as lead-in to Monday medical drama The Night Shift starting February 23.
NASCAR and Sprint are splitting up, with the pair confirming plans for Sprint to end its title sponsorship of the organization’s premier series when the current agreement expires in 2016. “We are proud of our association with NASCAR’s top series but have made the decision not to extend our sponsorship beyond the next two years,” said Steve Gaffney, VP-Marketing, Sprint. “As we look to the future, Sprint is focused on investing in maintaining a competitive edge and providing consumers with the best value in wireless.
Meanwhile, Brett Jewkes, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, said via statement: “The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is a very unique, premium sports marketing platform with strong momentum, so we are very confident of moving forward in 2017 with an outstanding new partner. In the meantime, we look forward to Sprint’s partnership on the best racing series in the world for the next two seasons.”
Hearst acquired a 25 percent interest in DreamWorks multi-platform media company AwesomenessTV, with plans to give ATV access to its subscription VOD technology. “Few companies have built the global audience of millennial females as quickly as AwesomenessTV,” said Hearst Corporation president and CEO Steven R. Swartz. “For us, it’s very important to make a bet on the future of how content is created. Together, in partnership with DreamWorks, we see great opportunity in supporting the consumer media franchise that AwesomenessTV continues to build.”
Look where that sneaky Elf on the Shelf is turning up now. Sprout will air the holiday flick An Elf’s Story: The Elf on the Shelf several times this weekend to maximize viewing opportunities. First airing is 1p Saturday, followed by 5:30p Saturday, and during the network’s Good Night Show at 6p, 9p and midnight on Sunday.
ReactToThat, a half-hour TV series from The Fine Bros., based on the YouTube franchise React, premiered Monday on Nickelodeon. The show, created with Nick Cannon’s NCredible Entertainment, will consist of kids and celebrities responding to viral videos on the web. The first episode featured YT’s Bethany Mota and Lia Marie Johnson along with network stars Mace Coronel and Aidan Gallagher (Nicky, Rick, Dicky & Dawn). ReactToThat will regularly air Monday through Friday at 6p through Jan. 1, 2015, on Nickelodeon. In its three years since launching online, the React franchise has garnered 1 billion-plus video views and more than 10 million subscribers. The success of Kids React has yielded spinoffs Teens React, Elders React and YouTubers React.
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