Skip a newsletter last week? “In Case You Missed It” rounds up the top stories in each of our three daily editions, so you can be up on the latest news, Cynopsis-style, in the worlds of linear, digital, sports and kids television. Enjoy!
Nine networks, one Upfront: For the first time, Turner Broadcasting will bundle Adult Swim, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, HLN, TBS, TNT, truTV and Turner Sports for one big Upfront event, Wednesday, May 13 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Why the mass gathering? “We have a unique position in today’s marketplace in that we offer advertisers opportunities across all screens and genres of programming news, sports, entertainment and kids,” Turner Broadcasting sales president Donna Speciale tells Cynopsis. As for the annual hot-ticket Adult Swim bash (Outkast performed last year) , the most anticipated party of the week will serve as a nightcap after the morning event.
NBC plans to release digital viewing projections along with daily ratings projections. “Live same day is pretty much irrelevant and will only become more irrelevant as time goes on and some of these long-tail and digital numbers become more relevant,” NBCUniversal president of research and media development Alan Wurtzel said at TCA. Digital data will include live viewing and Live+7.
Live-action comedy Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything got the green light from Disney XD. Series starring Cameron Boyce (Jessie) begins production in LA for a summer 2015 premiere. What¹s new? Adam Bonnett, EVP, original programming, Disney Channels Worldwide, promises a fresh, new twist by integrating gaming visual effects into each episode.
NBCUniversal will once again go big for its turn hosting the Super Bowl this year, announcing the company’s “most comprehensive Super Bowl promotional effort ever.” The push will span the likes of NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, E!, Bravo, Syfy, The Weather Channel and Telemundo for its “Big Event Strategy,” along with NBC Sports Radio, NBC Sports Digital, and NBC Sports Regional Networks.
Until the game on Feb. 1 the cross-channel promotional content will include: Today’s Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker anchoring the morning program live from Super Bowl Central on Jan. 30 and 31; Jimmy Fallon hosting a special Super Bowl XLIX edition of The Tonight Show from Phoenix with the show running live that Sunday night; Brian Williams reporting from the city for NBC Nightly News; Billy Bush and Kit Hoover hosting Access Hollywood Live from Super Bowl Central on Jan. 29 and 30; and Dan Patrick offering five days of shows from Glendale ahead of the game. Other offerings include NHL Live and Premier League Live originating from the city, as will Golf Channel’s Feherty, MSNBC’s Hardball and Morning Joe, and E!’s The Soup.
A long weekend saw CBS and the NFL renew their vows for Thursday Night Football, announcing the deal on Sunday. The agreement will be for the 2015 season with an addition year available at the NFL’s option as CBS and NFL Network simulcast TNF for the first eight games of the season. NFL Network will also exclusively carry eight games leading up to the playoffs with all 16 produced by CBS. In addition, the programming relationship between the NFL and CBS will expand to include, among other elements, “the development of new programming initiatives across the various CBS and NFL platforms.”
“We are pleased to extend our partnership with CBS for Thursday Night Football,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “The promotion and production by CBS and NFL Network last season made Thursday night a night for NFL football. We look forward to working again next season with CBS.
Amazon is taking on the silver screen, and planning to acquire original movies for theatrical release and early-window distribution on its Prime Instant Video service. Feature films will not be available online the day of their theatrical release, but instead be available to Prime subscribers four to eight weeks after. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Amazon Original Movies division will be lead by former Good Machine co-founder Ted Hope, who also was most recently the CEO of indie film streaming service Fandor. The company expects to release 12 original movies every year. Amazon’s main competitor Netflix, previously announced that it was planning to produce 10-14 movies a year and currently holds a deal with Adam Sandler to make four movies to debut exclusively on the service.
Netflix hit 57.4 million global subscribers, adding 13 million and generating $1.3 billion in revenue, the streaming service announced in its Q4 earnings report yesterday. However, U.S. subscriber rate is down from a year ago, dipping to 1.9 million this year from 2.3 million added in Q4 2013.
