BREAKING NEWS: Television (2)

Cell Tower Training Bill Introduced

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 15:28:14 +0000

FCC would administer grant program

House Energy & Commerce Committee member Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) has introduced a bill, the Communications Jobs Training Act of 2019, that would boost training for cell tower workers.

That comes as the FCC, over the objections of various local government officials, has taken various steps to pave the way for swifter and easier deployment of such towers with the avowed goal of closing the rural digital divide and winning the race to 5G service that will make wireless broadband a stronger competitor to wired.

The bill (HR 1848) would instruct the FCC to administer a grant program establishing and/or expanding job training for tower "service, construction and maintenance."

FCC commissioner Brendan Carr, who has championed FCC efforts to ease rights of way and impose shot clocks on local government tower siting decisions and said that would translate to savings of billions of dollars in "red tape" praised the bill.

“To ensure that America wins the race to 5G, we need to double the number of tower crews that are building this next-generation infrastructure," said Carr. "There is demand for up to 20,000 more tower workers. These are good-paying, 5G jobs. And as I’ve seen firsthand, America’s tower crews are unmatched in their skill, professionalism, and dedication....By creating a pipeline of talented tower crews, we can help extend America’s global leadership in wireless.”

The FCC has been getting pushback from local governments who see the tower-siting moves as a threat to home rule and an overreach by the federal government into their zoning and environmental impact and historic preservation reviews. For example, according to the Daily Freeman, the Town Board of Saugerties, N.Y. (a Rolling Stone's throw from Woodstock), last week formally objected to the FCC's tower siting streamlining.

MCN Online Extra: March 25, 2019

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 15:22:24 +0000

Late Night's New Landscape | Why 10G is More Than FDX | Customer Care Webinar on March 27

COVER STORY
The Night S hift
New players to late-night scene scrap tried-and-true conventions, bring diversity

CONNECTIONS
Iterations, Daniel Frankel: Why 10G Is More Than FDX

COMMUNITY
MCN Webinar
Pay TV Customer Care: Managing the Customer Lifecycle

MCN’s Most Read, March 15-22
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2. On the Money: Viacom, AT&T Prepare for Battle
3. Video: HBO Sets April 14 ‘Game of Thrones’ Premiere Date
4. Video: What’s Premering This Week (March 18-24)
5. Apple Won’t Feature Netflix in New Streaming Service

Touch Your Heart (2019 - Drama) - Updated

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:36:45 +0000

New pictures on 2019/03/25
Broadcasting date in Korea : 2019/02/06~Now airing

Directed by Park Joon-hwa (박준화)

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Haechi (2019 - Drama) - Updated

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:36:45 +0000

New pictures on 2019/03/25
Broadcasting date in Korea : 2019/02/11~Now airing

Directed by Lee Yong Suk (이용석)

With Jung Il-woo, Kwon Yool, Go Ara, Park Hoon,...

The Fiery Priest (2019 - Drama) - Updated

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:36:45 +0000

New pictures on 2019/03/25
Broadcasting date in Korea : 2019/02/15~Now airing

Directed by Lee Myeong-woo (이명우)

With Kim Nam-gil, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Honey, Go Joon,...

Love in Sadness (2019 - Drama) - Updated

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:36:45 +0000

New pictures on 2019/03/25
Broadcasting date in Korea : 2019/02/23~Now airing

Directed by Choi I-seop (최이섭), Yoon Bum-sang (유범상)

With Ji Hyun-woo, Park Han-byul, Ryu Soo-young, Wang Bit-na,...

Beautiful World (2019 - Drama) - Updated

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:36:45 +0000

New pictures on 2019/03/25
Broadcasting date in Korea : 2019/04/05~Upcoming

Directed by Park Chan-hong (박찬홍)

With Park Hee-soon, Choo Ja-hyun, Oh Man-seok, Jo Yeo-jung,...

Save Me 2 (2019 - Drama) - Updated

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:36:45 +0000

New pictures on 2019/03/25
Broadcasting date in Korea : 2019/05/__~Upcoming

Directed by Lee Kwon (이권)

With Esom, Um Tae-goo, Chun Ho-jin, Han Sunhwa,...

INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR MICHAEL BUBLÉSHINES IN NBC SPECIAL “bublé!” WITH INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS AWARDED TO ALFRED HABER TELEVISION, INC.

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:12:17 +0000

PALISADES PARK, N.J. – March 25, 2019 – Alfred Haber, President of Alfred Haber Television, Inc., announced today that the company has secured the exclusive international distribution television rights to “bublé!”, the brand-new, one-hour special starring the international, best-selling singer/songwriter/entertainer, Michael Bublé. This musical extravaganza premiered in the U.S. on March 20 on the NBC Television Network. Alfred Haber Television, Inc. will be offering “bublé!” at the upcoming MIPTV for the first time.

Backed by a 36-piece orchestra, the multi-GRAMMY Award-winning Bublé performs some of the classic songs that inspired him, including “Fly Me to the Moon”, “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You”, “My Funny Valentine” and “Just A Gigolo.” Several of his most popular, original tunes, including smash hits “Haven’t Met You Yet,” “Home” and “It’s a Beautiful Day,” are featured as well, along with songs from his new album, “love” ❤, including “Such a Night” and the timeless “When You’re Smiling.”

“The worldwide, chart-topping Bublé is one of the most sought-after performers in the world. He has sold over 60 million records worldwide over the course of his extraordinary career,” commented Haber. “He has performed hundreds of sold-out shows around the globe, won four GRAMMYs, and recent shows this past summer in London, Dublin and Australia were seen by more than 150,000 fans. We are delighted to be offering this special at MIPTV.”

ABOUT THE ALFRED HABER COMPANIES

The Alfred Haber Group of Companies – Alfred Haber, Inc., Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc. and Alfred Haber Television, Inc. – together form one of the world's largest distributors of U.S. network annual events and music specials and are leading independent distributors of primetime reality series, specials, and documentaries. We acquire and represent content from a broad list of clients worldwide, including production companies and television broadcasters. For more information about the Alfred Haber companies, please visit www.alfredhaber.com.

Wonder Women 2019

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 13:51:59 +0000

Photos from the March 20 Wonder Women luncheon in New York

View the 15 images of this gallery on the original article

Trump 'Quadruples' Down on Press Attacks in Wake of Mueller Report

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 13:46:23 +0000

Said media were among driving forces in "witch hunt' investigation

President Donald Trump joined Vice President Mike Pence Monday in partly blaming the media for the alleged "witch hunt" Mueller investigation.

The Trump/Pence campaign* and the Republican National Committee were using that attack to try to raise money for the 2020 campaign, offering a special "quadruple match" for his "best supporters only, the ones who stood by my side through the entire Witch Hunt."

Attorney General Bill Barr Sunday (March 24) sent a summary of the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling, which included the conclusion that there was not evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign, and insufficient evidence the President had obstructed justice, though the report feel short of exonerating him.

Vice President Mike Pence's statement about the findings included that the two-year investigation was accompanied by "reckless accusations by many Democrats and members of the media."

The fundraising email, which came with the President's signature at the bottom, said that Democrats had "worked with the Fake News Media for 2 years orchestrating this Nasty Witch Hunt to use our government as a weapon to take away the votes of 63 MILLION Americans."

"Democrats and the Fake News media have proven that there is no line they won’t cross," the e-mail continued (emphasis theirs). "This entire charade was never really about me though, Friend. Their mission was to SILENCE YOU. You voted for REAL CHANGE in 2016, and they were TERRIFIED of the people taking the country back. Now It’s time to INVESTIGATE THEM!

"The biggest Witch Hunt in the history of politics has finally been exposed and you need to be on the right side of history."

Democrats are hardly done with the President. There are multiple congressional investigations still underway, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has called for release of the full report and promised to call Barr to testify before his committee.

*The Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee composed of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and the Republican National Committee

Huawei Pushes Back Hard at FCC

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 13:23:53 +0000

Said its tech is no more susceptible to vulnerabilities than U.S. companies

Huawei continues to try to head off the momentum for banishing its tech product from U.S. 5G networks.

In a filing at the FCC, the Chinese tech company said the government's "overriding" telecom policy goal should be to get mobile broadband to as many consumers as possible as quickly as possible in the race to 5G, whose benefits will accrue "regardless of who manufactures the network equipment."

U.S. intelligence agencies have collectively told Congress they are concerned about Chinese tech in U.S. systems due to the companies alleged cozy relationship with the Chinese government, which is the U.S.'s chief competitor in the race to 5G. Huawei president Ren Zhengfei said his company does not spy or provide technological back doors to its products.

Congress responded by adding a phase-out of Huawei tech in government contracts to the Defense Authorization Act.

But Huawei earlier this month challenged that restriction in a Texas district court (Huawei Technologies USA is based in Texas).

Separately the FCC is considering its own limitations on Huawei, potentially denying networks with Huawei tech access to broadband subsidy money, which has prompted the Huawei pushback.

"Huawei is ready to help build real 5G network in the U.S., through real competition," the company told the FCC. "As it has stated in previous comments in this docket, Huawei recognizes that supply chain security in the face of a wide range of potential threats is and should be a high priority throughout the U.S. Government. But, as Huawei has also demonstrated in its comments, all equipment used by U.S. telecommunications carriers is potentially vulnerable to threats from multiple vectors. To be perfectly clear, Huawei is not claiming that its equipment is immune to potential vulnerabilities. But there is not, and never has been, any evidence that Huawei has engaged in or abetted any deliberate weakening of security or any effort at eavesdropping or penetration of U.S. (or any other) networks."

As for the FCC effort to limit its tech, the company was talking tough:

"While Huawei has been working with other governments in deploying most advanced and increasingly secure networks, the FCC has yet to take any useful action. A policy that seeks to exclude particular equipment from the market based on the identity of its manufacturer is both futile, because even the most “trusted” manufacturer may have vulnerabilities, and counterproductive, because it could prevent Americans from receiving the widely-anticipated benefits of 5G deployment," it said.

FCC chair Ajit Pai back in March 2018 proposed to ban the use of money from the FCC's Universal Service Fund for equipment or services from "companies that pose a national security threat to United States communications networks or the communications supply chain."

The FCC proposal in part stemmed from a Dec. 20 letter from Congress expressing concerns about Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, plus a follow-up intelligence briefing, both of which were described as impetuses to the effort to monitor the supply chain, senior FCC officials speaking on background said.

The technology includes everything from phones, tablets and smart watches to mobile hot spots, broadband routers, switchers and servers.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Security subcommittee, was asked in an interview for C-SPAN's Communicators series last week whether he would use a Huawei phone. He said he would be hesitant to use a Huawei manufactured device. He said there was clearly a "close working relationship" between Chinese private sector companies and the Chinese government and army.

ESPN’s UFC Gain Means PPV Distributor Pain

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

The Pay-Per-View Event business is taking a standing eight count after UFC landed a body blow by moving its monthly mixed-martial-arts events exclusively to direct-to-consumer streaming service ESPN+.

Distributors such as In Demand, DirecTV and major MVPDs must now replace at least 12 UFC-distributed PPV events while fighting off increasing competition from services like ESPN+, DAZN and Bleacher Report Live, which are looking to siphon major sports events from traditional television. “The traditional linear PPV business is threatened, and these deals certainly portend problems and issues for companies like In Demand,” sports analyst Lee Berke said.

The new, two-year extension of ESPN and UFC’s three-year, $1.5 billion distribution deal that launched in January makes ESPN+ the only place to view the UFC’s monthly PPV events through 2025, beginning with UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2 on April 13.

That means fans will no longer be able to purchase UFC fights through In Demand — which licenses events for most cable providers — or services such as DirecTV or Verizon Fios TV. Only subscribers to the $4.99-per-month ESPN+ service will be able to view the UFC PPV events, which will cost an additional $59.99 each.

New ESPN+ subscribers can opt to pay $79.99 for one year of the service as well as one UFC PPV event, ESPN said.

Representatives from In Demand could not be reached at press time.

This leaves boxing as the PPV event category’s highest-profile offering, albeit one in flux as the sport develops a new generation of fighters who can headline a major card. There have been two PPV boxing events this year — Showtime’s Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury fight in January and Fox Sports’s March 16 Errol Spence-Mikey Garcia bout — with ESPN and Top Rank set to offer the Terence Crawford-Amir Khan welterweight title fight on April 20.

None of these events are expected to come close to the PPV event gold standard of 1 million buys, observers said.

More Diversity for T. Howard

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

2019 awards dinner will put women, Asian-Americans in the forefront

A year after a Spring Snowstorm forced a postponement of the 2018 T. Howard Diversity Awards Dinner in New York from March to May, the organization is gearing up for sunny skies at its event this week.

The diversity organization, which helps place college-age people of color into internship programs with entertainment companies around the U.S., is expecting more than 700 attendees for its 26th annual fundraising dinner on Wednesday (March 27) at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. The event will celebrate industry leaders and companies committed to increasing diversity, including Starz, which will receive the organization’s Corporate Leadership Award, and the cast of ABC’s comedy series Fresh Off The Boat, which will be honored with T. Howard’s Diversity Advocate Award.

In addition, T. Howard will present Executive Leadership Awards to three female executives. T. Howard Foundation president and CEO Jo Pamphile spoke with Multichannel News about the event as well as her thoughts on the industry’s diversity and inclusion efforts.

MCN: What is the focus for this year’s dinner?
Jo Pamphile: We have a convergence of messages — one of the strongest is the fact that all three of our Eexecutive Leadership Awards are going to three remarkable women. This is just wonderful progress for women, professionally speaking. Also for the first time we’re honoring a [TV show] cast: ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat. We tend to pay a lot of attention to Latino and African-Americans, but don’t give as much attention to another group of color, which are Asian people. In addition, Starz has been remarkable in its diversity both in front of and behind the camera. We are always focused on strengthening our message of diversity through the dinner. While it is a fundraiser, it’s also an opportunity to put that message out into the forefront.

MCN: T. Howard is now receiving funds from The Walter Kaitz Foundation. How will you look to use them?
JP: The area that we wanted to expand next year is our scholarships. We submitted requests for funding of the scholarships that we provide, and they also gave us additional funding as it relates to STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] students. Sometimes we have a tendency to overlook the fundamentals because we have a mission to help people to get jobs in the industry, but suppose those potential employees can’t get out of the educational process because of lack of funding? We want to help them launch a career, but we also want to help those that have done the right thing and finished high school and picked their area of interest. The biggest challenge for those students of color is how are they going to get access to the opportunities. If they’re not in school or they’ve dropped out for financial reasons, we’ve lost them. So being able to get scholarship dollars from the Kaitz Foundation is extremely helpful.

MCN: How would you rate the industry’s diversity and inclusion efforts?
JP: I think there’s room for improvement in every industry. The industry is in a state of flux as a result of consolidation, so it’s a very difficult time. But I know when I look at our numbers regarding our intern placements, over 100 alumni hires are getting hired every year, and that number is growing. This year’s dinner, we’ll put a spotlight on not only those alumni who were hired, but also those who have been promoted.

MCN: Are you worried consolidation might hamper future diversity efforts going forward?
JP: I would be remiss if it didn’t concern me, but you have to be able to adjust to the ebbs and flows of the business. You have to be resilient; I’m always looking for the positive aspects of everything. Consolidation has forced companies to be more competitive and to come up with new solutions to the business that may not have happened otherwise. They are also embracing diversity because it expands the market, so that works in our favor. You have to look at this as the glass is half full and not half empty, and you take it from there.

Leading Ladies

A snapshot of the T. Howard Executive Leadership Award recipients:

Christina Spade
Executive VP and CFO, CBS Corp.

Spade oversees all financial operations of CBS Corp. including treasury, tax, accounting, internal audit, information security and real estate. Prior to this position, Spade served as executive VP and chief financial officer and strategy for Showtime Networks since 2013.

Rita Tuzon
EVP and General Counsel, Fox Corp.

Tuzon leads the business and legal strategy for Fox’s sports and entertainment assets. She also oversees legal and business affairs for many functional areas, including corporate, distribution, digital, standards and practices, business development and content sales.

Susan Zirinsky
President and Senior Executive Producer, CBS News

Zirinsky is responsible for all news content for the CBS Television Network, CBS News digital platforms and CBS News Radio. Zirinsky, a former senior executive producer at CBS News, was named president and senior executive producer of CBS News this month.

Starz’s Sister Act Returns

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Women are front and center in Mexican-American drama ‘Vida’

At The Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, producer Tanya Saracho illustrated how the industry is beginning to embrace the presence of women behind the camera.

“All my directors were female; both of my [directors of photography] are female; all my editors are female,” Saracho said of Starz’s dramedy Vida, on which she serves as showrunner and executive producer. “My composer and everybody’s mostly Latina and female.”

The Mexican-born writer and showrunner is one a new wave of women of color helming scripted series across multiple platforms. Saracho’s Vida — which follows the lives of two estranged Mexican-American sisters who are reunited in their old neighborhood in East Los Angeles after the death of their mother — will return to the premium service later this year.

Multichannel News recently spoke with Saracho about the sophomore season of Vida and to get her perspective on the emergence of new and successful creators of color and whether the momentum can be sustained. Here’s an edited transcript of that conversation.

MCN: Are we in a sustainable golden age for minority and female producers, or is this just a trend?
Tanya Saracho: I don’t know if were having a moment or a trend. We’ve always gone in cycles regarding [inclusive] content — every so often we’re excited and say it’s great to see this and that show on the air, and then it goes away. So I feel like we need a few years to know. We need to see more of these shows to come out for proof; right now, we’re the only Latinix-themed show on prime cable. We do have [FX comedy series] Atlanta, [HBO comedy series] Insecure and other [diverse] shows and I’m hopeful, but I’m not optimistic that we’re there yet.

MCN: Has the expansion of distribution outlets both on traditional television as well as streaming services accelerated the development of diverse and inclusive shows?
TS: I would not be here if it hadn’t been for the amount of shows that have broken through on television, and I feel like I benefited from that. Nobody knew who I was and no one knew the actresses and actors in the show, but Starz was like, “we want the show,” and now we’re here. I don’t know if this is something that gets to stay for a long time. We need to stay and produce more. Everyone hopes. Now I want to see.

MCN: What makes the second season different from the first?
TS: Now we get to tell the story. Season one was an introduction; now we’re in the actual, day-to-day telling of how they’re going to lift this bar and their relationship as sisters.

MCN: Are you working on any other projects?
TS: Yes. I recently started a mini think tank for writers on a new show. It’s an Afro-Latina-themed show called Brujas, about modern-themed witchcraft; not like Harry Potter witchcraft but more the practice of praying. We’re working on it for Starz, so hopefully in a year or so, we’ll be talking about it. empty, and you take it from there.

People

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

BLOOMBERG

Bloomberg Television has elevated Rachel Wehrspan to head of TV, U.S., responsible for all U.S. editorial. She had been executive producer of Bloomberg Surveillance and Bloomberg Daybreak Americas.

DISCOVERY

Keith Kazerman has been promoted to executive vice president, digital sales, advanced advertising and research at Discovery. He had been group senior VP, research, data and Discovery Engage at the programmer.

FOX

Fox Corp. has named Mike Nelson as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fox Television Stations. He comes from 20th Century Fox Film, where he had served as executive VP and chief financial officer.

FREEWHEEL

FreeWheel has named Yuling Ma as senior vice president, engineering, and general manager of its Beijing, China, office, She was division head of data products, platforms and business development at JingDong.com.

SHOWTIME

Showtime Networks has elevated Brian Dailey to senior vice president, sports and digital content strategy. Dailey, who joined Showtime in 2014, has spearheaded digital initiatives for events and series and has developed new digital and podcast platforms.

YOUTUBE

Lori Conkling has joined YouTube as global head of partnerships for YouTube TV and Google Fiber. She spent the past five years at Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit, most recently as executive VP of strategy and business development.

Fox RSN Sale Is on the Clock

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

With Disney deal closed, starting gun sounds on 90-day scramble for 22 nets

The Walt Disney Co.’s months-long effort to sell 22 regional sports networks might be getting close to wrapping up, now that Disney’s deadline clock has formally begun.

Disney said it would sell the RSNs as a condition to winning federal approval of its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox programming and production assets. As part of that agreement, Disney agreed to have sale agreements in place within 90 days after closing the larger Fox deal, which occurred on March 20.

According to people familiar with the auction process, the next round of bids — most likely the final round, given the 90-day window — is due in mid-April. At press time, the leaders appeared to be a team owners’ group, including John Malone’s Liberty Media; and Major League Baseball itself.

Whether or not that means a winning bid will be picked in April still remains to be seen. The 90-day deadline to close the sale would mean a deal would have to be done by June 18. But those same people familiar with the auction said that as long as progress is being made, an extension could be applied for, which would push the deadline to Sept. 16.

Bidders Have Had Time to Ponder

Disney began this process in June 2018, after the Justice Department approved the Fox transaction. Books on the networks went out in October.

One deal is done or at least is in the eighth inning, metaphorically: YES Network’s sale to the New York Yankees. The Yankees, which own 20% of the channel and had the right of first refusal to purchase Fox’s 80% interest in the event of a sale, exercised that right earlier this month, teaming up with Amazon, Sinclair Broadcast Group and several private-equity firms to buy it for an estimated $3.5 billion, less than the $4 billion most expected the network to fetch. When the deal closes, the Yankees will own the majority of the channel.

While the YES deal hasn’t been officially announced, most observers believe that is merely a formality as the network is waiting until the other RSNs are closer to a sale before making the big reveal.

Sinclair, which in February announced a partnership with the Chicago Cubs for an RSN called Marquee Sports that will launch in 2020, is apparently still interested in adding to that portfolio. During an earnings conference call on Feb. 27, Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley alluded to reports concerning opportunities that Sinclair may have in the space.

“I can’t comment specifically on those reports, due to non-disclosure agreements we’ve signed,” Ripley said. “But there is a very unique moment in time here in the RSN space that we really like our positioning on.”

There have been a steady stream of potential suitors for the remaining RSN assets. Private-equity firms like Apollo Global Asset Management; consortiums of teams and investors; rapper Ice Cube, and others have all expressed interest.

According to Fox Business Network’s Charlie Gasparino, Disney and MLB were discussing “add-ons” to the league’s bid, mainly a “national rights extension” that would allow the league to air some games on ESPN that the RSNs own the rights to.

Gasparino said those discussions seemed to hint that MLB was in the lead.

One source familiar with Big 3 Networks, the professional three-on-three basketball league owned in part by Ice Cube, said it remains very much in the hunt for the channels. Big 3 has secured partial backing from boutique PR firm Centerbridge Partners.

Malone was said to be interested mainly to protect the interests of the team Liberty owns, the Atlanta Braves. There was a fear among owners of smaller market teams that an outside buyer would allocate more resources to networks with teams in larger cities, leaving the smaller markets in the lurch.

Other team owners have reportedly entered the fray as well. Platinum Equity chief Tom Gores, who also owns the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons, has conferred with Malone about a bid, as has Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad. Other baseball teams including the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles Angels (owner Arte Moreno was reportedly interested in bidding on Fox Sports West, Prime Ticket, Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports San Diego) and the Milwaukee Brewers have also considered making bids, according to reports.

Bids Seem to Be Coming In Low

Unfortunately for Disney, the networks, including Fox Sports channels in Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City and Phoenix, have reportedly attracted bids in the $10 billion range, or about half of the $20 billion first expected.

The emergence of Malone was said to have raised the price slightly — to maybe as high as $13 billion — but still below the original target.

Live sports and news are primarily the two remaining areas of programming that are attracting meaningful ad dollars. And sports on RSNs consistently place high in the ratings.

But regional sports networks have distribution concerns. Already saddled with a reputation of being too costly — YES Network, according to Kagan, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, costs distributors about $6.50 per subscriber per month — they have been placed on tiers by most cable and satellite service providers, which limits their audience.

“With the 90-day clock beginning with the close of the Disney/21st Century Fox sale, and YES not getting its full estimated value, I don’t think the other RSNs will be able to either,” Kagan sports analyst Adam Gajo said in an email message.

Fox Closes Disney Deal, Issues Affiliate-Fee Warning

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

As many as 4,000 jobs could be cut at newly combined studios

Fox Corp. threw a brief scare into investors shortly after it completed its long-brewing $71.3 billion asset sale to The Walt Disney Co., with a securities filing warning that the newly lean programmer expects a “meaningful deceleration” in affiliate fees for the six months remaining in the fiscal year.

Fox dipped after the warning on March 20, but the decline was short lived. Fox shares regained most of the losses — closing at $40.02 on March 21, up 3.6% — after analysts realized the deceleration wasn’t as bad as it at first seemed.

MoffettNathanson senior analyst Michael Nathanson said in a research note that he had already expected an affiliate-fee slowdown in the second half of fiscal 2019 — he forecasted 5% growth — based on tough comparisons to the prior year after big renewals for Fox News Channel with AT&T and with Comcast for Big Ten Network. Nathanson lowered his second-half forecast to 3% affiliate fee growth, but said Fox’s 10-Q filing showed stronger-than=expected increases in the first half of the fiscal year. His full-year affiliate fee growth forecast was unchanged at 7%.

Otherwise, Fox showed better-than-expected strength in retransmission-consent revenue, which rose 24% in the first half of the fiscal year. Nathanson maintained his 18% retrans growth estimate for FY2019, and said over the next five years total retrans revenue should rise from $1.38 billion in 2018 to $2.58 billion by 2023.

For Disney, pink slips started going out shortly after the deal closed to pare down the workforce by as many as 3,000 to 4,000 jobs by some estimates. The layoffs are expected to focus on the sales and distribution divisions, where there are a lot of redundancies with Fox. On Thursday (March 21) Twentieth Television chief Greg Meidel announced his departure and more are expected to come. Disney also now has 90 days to find a buyer for 22 Fox-owned regional sports networks.

Disney plans to offer more strategic insights at an upcoming Investors Day in Burbank, California, on April 11, but has let some information dribble out in the meantime.

On the programming front, Disney will capitalize on its Star Wars franchise, offering a live-action series for its Disney+ streaming service, set to debut later this year. More Marvel shows and a series based on Disney’s High School Musical also are expected. Hulu, which Disney now controls, will likely become home to edgier Fox content.

Wolfe Research managing director Marci Ryvicker maintained her $147-per-share target on Disney stock and looked forward to the Investors Day. “We think a LOT of the uncertainty is going to be cleared up — synergies (management has been hinting of upside), Hulu (we think losses may narrow) and Disney+,” she wrote.

Nexstar Offloads 19 Stations En Route to Tribune Close

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Nexstar Media Group — edging toward approval of the $6.4 billion purchase of Tribune Media stations that will make it the biggest U.S. TV station group — has taken a key step by agreeing to sell 19 stations in two separate all-cash deals, to Tegna and E.W. Scripps, for a total of $1.3 billion.

After it absorbs Tribune, sometime in the third quarter (pending approvals), Nexstar will have around 200 stations covering 39% of TV households, generating nearly $2 billion annually in retransmission-consent revenue.

The sold-off stations were earmarked for sale in an effort to remain in compliance with Federal Communications Commission ownership rules and are all contingent on the Tribune deal closing. Tegna bought the largest chunk of stations — 11 properties in eight markets including Memphis, Tennessee and Hartford, Connecticut, for $740 million.

Scripps agreed to buy eight stations, including WPIX in New York (which Nexstar has a right to buy back later), for $580 million in cash. Nexstar still has two other stations in Indianapolis it has said it wants to divest: WISH and WNDY.

Tegna’s acquisitions boosts its total number of stations to 60 stations in 49 markets.

Scripps will increase its footprint to 59 stations in 42 markets, covering 30% of TV homes. Scripps will pay $75 million for WPIX, which Nexstar can buy back during a period running from March 31, 2020, through the end of 2021 if the government increases the ownership cap.

“I’ve given up trying to guess what is going to happen there in the regulatory environment,” E.W. Scripps CEO Adam Symson said during a call with analysts discussing the March 20 transaction. “We look at this as a station we’re acquiring and we’re pleased to be running a station in New York City.”

Later, Scripps Local Media president Brian Lawlor said although WPIX is a CW affiliate, it acts more like a Big Four broadcaster with seven hours of news per day and big-name sporting events: WPIX is the broadcast home of baseball’s Yankees and Mets.

“This is a big strong television station that competes in the largest market in America,” Lawlor said.

‘The Edge’ Is on Edge As D.C. Drills Down

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Crackdown called for even as antitrust chief says big isn’t necessarily bad

WASHINGTON — Calls from the nation’s capital to break up, shake up or simply regulate edge providers have been building at a fever pitch, but the Justice Department has been taking some of the edge off those rhetorical thrusts.

NCTA–The Internet & Television Association and Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai are both in the “time to regulate” camp, though neither party has pushed for breakups.

Lawmakers are understandably exercised over the combined power of the so-called FAANG companies — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google — and their tendency, in some cases calculated, to play fast and loose with user data.

Behind it all is the Federal Trade Commission’s new role as the enforcer and backstop of both internet access and internet content privacy.

Warren: Act ‘Right Now’

Presidential aspirant Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), for example, has said that the edge needs both government oversight and market discipline over issues of aggregating and monetizing data without accountability, issues Washington needs to wrestle with “right now.”

While Warren initially left some room for companies to be big without being bad — her suggestion that edge platforms can’t buy up other companies in other parts of the internet ecosystem without raising some flags — she has since said the biggest firms need to be broken up.

Warren said Amazon is both providing the marketplace for products and scraping information about those buying patterns. Amazon then uses that “special information advantage” to sell its own products in competition with others in the marketplace it provides, she has argued, effectively “wiping out” competitors’ businesses.

That practice, per Warren, is “a serious problem” and one that should require Amazon to make a choice.

“You’ve got to pick one business or the other,” either platform provider or product competitor, she said. “If you are getting a huge comparative advantage from the information you can collect as the platform provider, we no longer have competition going on.”

FAANG data collection and sharing; privacy protection, or the lack of it; allegations of censoring conservative content; and the use of social media for anti-social behavior like sex and drug trafficking, terrorism and election meddling have combined to put edge providers in the sights of legislators on both sides of the aisle.

Responses could include rethinking the legal liability carveout that social media sites currently enjoy for content posted by third parties.

The desire to cut Amazon down to size makes strange bedfellows of Warren and the man whose job she’s seeking, President Donald Trump, who has also taken aim at the edge giant, as he did again last week, echoing the charges of anti-conservative bias.

Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim also has his eye on the edge. But he has used public forums to do a little pushing back on the notion that monopolies — even big virtual monopolies — are necessarily bad. He’s also focused on how they use their power.

Keynoting at the annual Silicon Flatirons tech policy conference at the University of Colorado Law School, Delrahim spent some time pointing out that web users have been found to prefer giving up their data for targeted advertising to paying for internet content and services.

“For now, consumers seem to be willing to provide information about themselves so that they receive the product for free, even recognizing that their information will be sold to advertisers in exchange for a zero price,” he said. “Some consumers even may prefer receiving targeted advertisements that are more likely to be relevant to their needs.” Those arguments are ones Silicon Valley keeps making as well.

“The fact that successful companies can reap the benefits of their hard work encourages the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and inserts the dynamic competition that best benefits consumers,” Delrahim said. “Therefore, as the Supreme Court explained [in Verizon vs. Trinko], ‘[t]o safeguard the incentive to innovate, the possession of monopoly power will not be found unlawful unless it is accompanied by an element of anticompetitive conduct.’ ”

The shakeup-but-not-breakup philosophy appears to be the approach of choice for the public at large, at least according to a new poll released by CNN.

Big Tech Breakup Not Needed: Survey

Asked if Google, Facebook and the like should be broken up, only 11% of survey respondents said yes. Among the subset of those who thought the edge needed more regulating (42% of those surveyed), 64% said that regulation should stop short of breaking up the companies.

One potential target of increased regulation could be the Section 202 carveout from liability over social-media posts by third parties. The carveout was adopted to keep the net a neutral platform and allow social media to flourish. But Silicon Valley has come under fire from Republicans for what they see as attempts to label conservative speech as inappropriate content — either as hate speech or comments that make their online communities uncomfortable.

No less an expert than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added fuel to the fire by saying in a Hill hearing that concerns about a liberal bias in Silicon Valley were legitimate, though he hastened to add his company had no policy of suppressing conservative voices.

Add some liberal Democrats to those calling for rethinking the liability exception, and edge providers could find themselves facing the kind of regulatory pressure that has been reserved for ISPs.

Dems Dissed Over Bill ‘Neutrality’

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

A group trying to restore the former net neutrality rules is looking to raise money via attacks on what they see as recalcitrant Democrats who have remained neutral, so far, on the hot-button issue of bringing back internet regulation.

While a bill to restore the 2015 Open Internet Order’s Title II-based rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization (and anything else a majority of Federal Communications Commission members concludes threatens an open internet) likely has enough votes to pass the House this time around, it needs the votes of specific Dems to pass out of committee and get to the floor.

In a fund-raising email last week, Demand Progress bit some of the hands of the party that traditionally feeds it, saying: “We are SO CLOSE to passing the Save the Internet Act through its first big test in Congress, the House subcommittee in charge of net neutrality. But guess who’s standing in the way now: DEMOCRATS.”

Elsewhere, fellow net activist group Fight for the Future is also calling out committee Dems, including a fifth one who had suggested a willingness to compromise.

It’s not that the legislators at issue oppose the bill, just that they have not yet pledged their allegiance.

Demand Progress points out that none of the Republicans on the (House Energy & Commerce) committee are expected to support the bill, and that there are still four Democrats — they say bought by “Big Cable” — who are not yet on board.

In an apparent attempt to catch flies with vinegar, they call them out by name — Reps. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Tom O’Halleran of Arizona, Tony Cárdenas of California and Kurt Schrader of Oregon — as potential bill-killers. Such is the tenor of the net neutrality debate, where passions run high and rhetoric runs higher. Demand Progress wants a sawbuck from fans to put public pressure on the four Dems and “demand” they vote yes on the Save the Internet Act.

The group is doing more than putting a hand out. It is also calling constituents in the legislator’s districts, then patching them through to their offices to help mount that public pressure.

If the bill does pass the House, Dems need some help in the Senate. A similar bill passed the Senate last year but died in the then-GOP-controlled House. Republicans also picked up Senate seats last November.

Even if the measure does pass the Senate, President Donald Trump could well exercise his second veto on it. He is on the record in support of net-neutrality rule deregulation, though gambling on consistency from the chief executive is not a retirement strategy.

Cable, Telcos Take Different Routes to Broadband Map

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Each group pitches FCC on plan for more granular data

WASHINGTON — Cable and broadband telcos are offering up different approaches to revised broadband mapping as the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications & Information Administration try to figure out a better way to gauge where broadband is, and where it isn’t.

At stake are billions of dollars in government broadband subsidies and the credibility of the FCC’s assessments of just how advanced telecommunications is being deployed, on which hinges the potential of future regulation — or not, depending on the answer.

Internet providers and the FCC also are under pressure from Congress to improve broadband mapping, something most everyone, including the regulator, agrees is needed.

Telcos Pitch New Plan, With Pilot

USTelecom looked to take the lead with a new proposal for a single, comprehensive source of broadband availability data, with an eye toward determining where broadband is as a way to find out where it isn’t.

NCTA–The Internet & Television Association, wasn’t ready to yield the field, however.

The telco and cable groups agree that the current use of census block data by the FCC (Form 477) is insufficiently granular: if one home is served, the entire census block gets credit. Both groups would use crowdsourced information, something FCC Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has advocated, along with existing provider data.

Both also want to prevent government overbuilding of their risk-capital-funded plant.

USTelecom is launching a pilot program in Virginia and Missouri, because those states have “a mix of rural and urban areas” and because “there is also a wide range of fixed service providers utilizing different types of technology.”

The USTelecom proposal will combine building and customer addresses for the database of where broadband is, with a third-party vendor getting access to that data, though USTelecom has said there won’t be any privacy issues.

NCTA also wants to get more granular data, but by using “shape files” that illustrate the actual contours of service. Crowdsourcing could help make sure providers aren’t overstating coverage areas, NCTA said, as one provider did in the FCC’s most recent Section 706 draft report on broadband availability.

Cable operators argue that using addresses is also imprecise, since some folks don’t have traditional addresses: tribal lands, rural roads. Cable companies also are less sanguine about the privacy implications of a database of addresses, according to a cable executive talking not for attribution.

USTelecom said it would use the four-to six-month pilot as proof of concept and, if the concept is proved, ask the FCC to adopt it nationwide. “I look forward to seeing the results of this new pilot project,” FCC chairman Ajit Pai said during a March 21 USTelecom broadband mapping forum, where the pilot was rolled out.

Cable Seeks Quick FCC Approval

The NCTA plan would not require any pilot projects — USTelecom said the maps will take 18 months to two years to develop — so NCTA has asked the FCC for an immediate green light.

“While we look forward to seeing the results of that experiment, we do not think it should cause the commission to delay consideration and adoption of NCTA’s proposed reforms to the reporting regime,” the association said in a blog post.

The Watchman: Jesus’s Posse Makes History, truTV Comedy Catches Fire

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Senior content producer Michael Malone’s weekly look at the programming scene

Jesus: his life begins on History March 25. The eight-part series looks at Jesus the man, not Jesus the Messiah. Each episode is told from the perspective of someone who knew him, including mother Mary, father Joseph, John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, traitorous Judas and Mary Magdalene.

The series is a mix of scripted stuff and interviews with experts, including famed televangelist Joel Osteen. “It’s a really emotional and different approach to Jesus’s life,” executive producer Jane Root said.

The idea was a TV special where people who know a celebrity before they get famous share their insights. “The people in this program don’t yet know they’ll be in the Bible,” Root said.

Jesus: His Life was shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco, where Gladiator and The Garden of Eden were shot. Root calls it “a really storied” place to film. She also notes the international cast and crew that made for a “truly global show.”

History airs two back to back episodes of Jesus every week, the finale happening days before Easter.

So what makes Jesus timely today? “Jesus is still worshipped by millions and millions of people around the world, but in different ways,” Root said. “It’s a different Jesus that means different things to different people.”

And Tacoma FD, from the guys behind cult cop comedy Super Troopers, starts on truTV March 28. It looks at a fire department in a very rainy city. “Light on blazes that need extinguishing, these firefighters keep themselves entertained with creative competitions, friendly first-responder rivalries and no shortage of bizarre emergency calls,” truTV said.

Co-creators Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme star. They said a true firefighter comedy has not really been done. Of course, there was Rescue Me on FX. Heffernan noted how the Denis Leary series effectively captured the firefighter downtime and “familial aspects” of a department that Tacoma FD seeks to depict, but that series “was ultimately, at its heart, a drama.”

Key sources on Tacoma FD include Bill Heffernan, Kevin’s cousin and a firefighter in the West Haven, Connecticut, FD, and Brian Quinn of Impractical Jokers, a former FDNY member.

Heffernan’s and Lemme’s highlights? For Lemme, episode three, when Tacoma FD introduces its first woman firefighter to the department. Firehouses were built for men, he said, which can make for some awkward moments for ladies. Heffernan mentions Full Moon Night — how crazy stuff often happens when a full moon looms above, and firefighters are called upon to sort things out.

The series has fun with what the creators call the “inane calls” firefighters get from stricken community members. “People’s appendages getting stuck in things,” said Heffernan. “Things getting stuck in people’s appendages.”

The Night Shift

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

New players to late-night scene scrap tried-and-true conventions, bring diversity

The increasingly jammed late-night arena is getting another major player this summer, when David Spade steps onstage for a new 11:30 show on Comedy Central.

Though it doesn’t have a title or format settled just yet, this much we do know — while it leads out of The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, Spade, who starred in Just Shoot Me!, Rules of Engagement and a batch of movies, will not touch on politics. He will dabble in all sorts of pop culture.

Busy Philipps of E!'s 'Busy Tonight'

Jonas Larsen, executive vice president and co-head of talent and development for Comedy Central, likens the Spade show to a “palate cleanser,” avoiding not only quips about President Donald Trump but many of late night’s typical conventions. “There is such a thing as too much political humor,” Larsen said. “Viewers will go to bed relatively happy. It’s fair to say, the show will probably not be locked into the current slate of late-night shows.”

While late night used to be the battleground of the broadcast networks, there is a vast range of players in the midnight game today, representing a range of platforms. Also on Comedy Central, The Jim Jefferies Show launched in summer 2017. Busy Tonight, hosted by Busy Philipps, premiered on E! in late October, the day before the debut of Nightly Pop, hosted by Morgan Stewart and Nina Parker. Desus & Mero began on Showtime Feb. 21, with the Bronx pair known as the Bodega Boys representing the network’s first weekly late-night talker. TNT has a pilot in the works for Naked With Niecy Nash.

Gary Levine, Showtime president of entertainment, said the premium network avoided late night for a long time, thinking, “Does the world need another guy behind another desk?” Desus & Mero, he added, “offered us a unique way into late night, and we took the plunge in a completely unique way.”

Stand Out By Standing Out

All the newer entrants are similarly intent on offering a unique proposition to viewers. Like the David Spade project, Busy Tonight delves into pop culture while avoiding politics. The show is also distinctive in that it has a woman host who essentially speaks directly to women, such as in impactful segments on the indignities of bra shopping and the high cost of hygienic products.

“It’s fun and light, counter to what everybody else is doing,” E! executive vice president of development and production Amy Introcaso-Davis said. “It is speaking to another audience than the Jimmys are, than the other shows are.”

Before launching, Philipps built her brand on Instagram, where she has a whopping 1.6 million followers. That has helped draw young viewers to Busy Tonight, which has an average viewer age in the mid-40s, Introcaso-Davis said, while the typical late night viewer is in their mid-50s.

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero hail from the Bronx and bring their trademark street-level perspective to their new show. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), another Bronx product, was the guest on the premiere. Desus likens Desus & Mero to an urban barbershop, where lively characters shout out whatever is on their mind. “There’s no suits, no house band, no monologue,” he said. “You come sit on the couch with us and discuss what happened today.”

White men long held down the host posts in late night, but that has changed. Samantha Bee recently marked three years of hosting Full Frontal on TBS. Trevor Noah hit his three-year mark atop The Daily Show in September. Busy Tonight seeks to build audience since shifting from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. in January.

“There are a lot of women in the daytime space,” said Caissie St. Onge, Busy Tonight executive producer and showrunner, “and it’s exciting to have a woman in the late-night space.”

In mid-March, NBC announced that Lilly Singh, an Indian-Canadian actress and YouTube star, will succeed Carson Daly as host of the nightly 1:30 a.m. program. A Little Late With Lilly Singh will debut in September.

Linda Ong, chief culture officer at Civic Entertainment Group, said Hasan Minhaj, who hosts the weekly Patriot Act on Netflix, is a good example of a less traditional viewpoint finding a strong niche in late night. “There are obviously more strides to be made, but it’s gotten better,” Ong said of diversity. “There’s a lot of room for people to be different.”

Ong would like to see more of the shows attempt to break up the tried-and-true format of late night, be it the band, the monologue or the celebrity guest talking up their new movie. “I think there’s still a lot of room for experimentation,” she said. “I don’t understand why there’s not.”

Hosts With the Mostess

To make their show stand out amidst so many competitors, late-night hosts are doing far more than just hosting the show. On April 26, Bee hosts the second “not-annual” Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., with the special airing a day later, at the same time as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. James Corden, host of The Late Late Show on CBS, hosts competition series The World’s Best on that network, and also hosts Carpool Karaoke, a digital smash that gets an annual primetime special on CBS. (A Carpool Karaoke with Adele has 194 million views on YouTube.) Stephen Colbert and Chris Licht, executive producers of The Late Show, also executive produce Showtime’s Our Cartoon President.

Trevor Noah got raves for his book Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Philipps brings viewers to Busy Tonight through her confessional videos on Instagram. “That authenticity is who Busy really is,” St. Onge said.

Conan O’Brien may be the busiest host in late night. He kicked off his half-hour Conan on TBS Jan. 22. Kevin Reilly, TBS and TNT president and chief creative officer of Turner Entertainment, called the show a “hub” in The New York Times, but not “the ultimate destination.”

Showtime's 'Desus & Mero'

O’Brien also hosts comedy tours, as well as a pair of podcasts — besides Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, he debuted Inside Conan: An Important Hollywood Podcast March 1. “With such a glut of great talent, you have to cut through it and do something different,” TBS and TNT general manager Brett Weitz said. “It’s not just being a late-night host.”

The more traditional late-night shows on broadcast are not exactly sitting back. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert saw ratings skyrocket after Donald Trump was elected president. For the first time, The Late Show inched ahead of NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in early March in viewers 18-49 season-to-date.

Jim Bell, former Today executive producer, moved to The Tonight Show in the fall, taking on the title of executive in charge and showrunner. Fallon’s program has seen ratings tick up since. NBC did not make Bell available for comment. The show turned five in February.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! takes the show to Las Vegas April 1-5.

Bedtime Battle

To be sure, not every late-night show is finding enough viewers to continue. For instance, The Rundown With Robin Thede lasted one season on BET. The Opposition With Jordan Klepper did not see a sophomore season on Comedy Central.

The streaming platforms, where shows don’t follow time-of-day schedules, have had a rough time in late night. Chelsea Handler-helmed Chelsea lasted two seasons on Netflix. Shows from Michelle Wolf and Joel McHale on Netflix lasted one. Comedians Norm Macdonald and Minhaj launched talk shows late last year on Netflix.

Amazon and Hulu do not offer late-night-style talkers.

“The daypart itself is not as healthy as it used to be,” said Dave Smith, CEO/founder of consultancy SmithGeiger, who noted how subscription video-on-demand viewing cuts into both primetime and late-night audience. “It doesn’t necessarily make sense to launch a late-night show, but there’s always a chance that it breaks through.”

The 30-minute David Spade project will fill the slot previously held by Klepper. Spade described its content as “whatever is funny, whatever is stupid.” Larsen adds that, similar to the prevailing late-night mindset these days, Spade will extend the show brand on social platforms, and will take on whatever other projects to keep his face, name and brand in the pop culture bloodstream.

“We’re going to look at all those kinds of things as potential opportunities for David,” Larsen said.

While Spade may share some traits with traditional hosts, his new show won’t look a whole lot like those that came before it, as is the trend in late-night television. “I don’t think we see this as a traditional late-night setup,” Larsen said.

Where the Heck Is Jon Stewart?

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Former 'Daily Show' host keeping low profile in hyper-political late-night era

The Trump presidency continues to redefine the role of the U.S. commander in chief. Congress still bickers like The Lockhorns. School shootings continue.

One cannot help but wonder where Jon Stewart is amidst all this madness. “In many ways, I think this an environment that’s made for Jon Stewart,” Magid senior vice president of global media and entertainment Mike Bloxham said.

Jon Stewart in a 2018 appearance on CBS's 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.'

Stewart signed off on The Daily Show in August 2015.

A few months later, he inked a four-year deal with HBO that was to include short-form content. Almost two years ago, Stewart and HBO said the digital shorts would not happen, citing technical issues.

In summer 2017, HBO said Stewart would do a couple of standup specials. A spokesperson said those are still in the works.

Stewart hosted autism benefit Night of Too Many Stars on HBO in November 2017. A longtime champion of Sept. 11 first responders, he appeared on Fox News Channel in February to discuss the Never Forget the Heroes Act. He will direct a political satire film called Irresistible.

Stewart still has a hand in late night. He’s an executive producer on CBS’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Samantha Bee, host of Full Frontal on TBS, was a Daily Show correspondent under Stewart, as was Wyatt Cenac of HBO’s Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas. “He’s got his fingerprints on quite a lot right now,” Bloxham said.

Amanda Lotz, media scholar and professor at Queensland University of Technology (Australia), feels Stewart “passed a torch” to other hosts, many of them Daily Show alums. “Not only to Trevor Noah,” she said, “but the formats of John Oliver’s and Hasan Minhaj’s shows [Last Week Tonight, Patriot Act] in many ways add more depth to the informational side of the info-comedy equation.”

Apple’s Long, Winding Road To Streaming Video Ends

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Going into today’s big unveiling, there are still more questions than answers

On Monday (March 25), Apple is expected to finally unveil its long-awaited video streaming platform at a press conference at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, an event many believed would feature some big-name celebrity talent attached to the service’s billion-dollar original programming slate.

Leading into the splashy entrée, though, there were far more questions than answers as to what the new service will look like, which streaming services it will directly compete with and whose devices it will play on.

“I have no better guesses than what others have written,” said Michael Greeson, president and co-founder of The Diffusion Group, a boutique OTT research and analysis shop. “I’m taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the announcement, as I’ve been burned with pre-announcement prognostications about Apple’s video efforts before.”

For the better part of the last decade, Apple executives have been talking off the record about plans to honor the vision of the company’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, with a disruptive new video service. “Apple’s lofty plans to build an online television service are coming into sharper focus,” read a Wall Street Journal headline from 2015, describing a virtual MVPD-like service.

Apple had also been in talks with Comcast about a new video service that would combine the tech giant’s expertise in user experience with the MSO’s strength in broadband infrastructure, the WSJ noted at that time.

Nothing became of the Comcast talks. And by the time Apple started what would become cumbersome negotiations with media companies to program a virtual multichannel video programming distributor, Dish Network and Sony had already come out with Sling TV and PlayStation Vue.

These were just a few instances over the last few years in which Eddie Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, was reported to have been leading the company into a major streaming service launch.

How many times has this happened?

“I’m not sure,” Greeson responded, “but it would take two hands to count them all. There have been a lot of fits and starts over the years.”

What We Do Know

Going into Monday’s presser in the Steve Jobs Theater — taglined in Apple invitations as “It’s show time” — it’s certain that the new service will be backed by a modest original programming slate, overseen by former Sony Pictures Television executives Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, who report to Cue, who reports to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

According to The New York Times, Erlicht and Van Amburg, working out of Apple’s Culver City, Calif., studio headquarters, have already “blown well past” a $1 billion production budget set aside for originals. In all, the Times said, Apple has ordered roughly two dozen series from creatives including Oprah Winfrey, J.J. Abrams, Damien Chazelle and Chris Evans.

The first company to surpass $1 trillion in market capitalization before flattening sales reduced its valuation to a current level of around $918.5 billion, Apple’s content budget is only a fraction of Netflix’s, which spent $8 billion on series and movies in 2018.

Notably, we also know that Apple’s new service won’t have anything to do with Netflix, as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the world’s top streaming service will steer clear of the upstart.

Beyond these key facts, we’re going to learn an awful lot from Apple’s show and tell, starting with the new service’s basic business model.

Is it a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video? Will it be all or partially ad-supported? Will it package a skinny bundle of live programming networks like Sling TV or DirecTV Now? Will it aggregate subscription services, a la Amazon Prime Channels?

Conversations with Apple insiders point to the service blending originals — and rentable and sellable movies, TV shows and music in the iTunes Store — with apps from third-party SVOD and AVOD suppliers. There might even be music apps, such as Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Notably, Comcast just introduced a similar model, Xfinity Flex, a $5-per-month service targeted to internet-only customers.

“Besides the original content slate, I’ll be looking closely at the extent to which it mirrors uber aggregators like Prime Channels and Roku’s new curated app store,” said Greeson, going out on a limb to offer some prediction.

Another key question: What devices will be supported by Apple’s new platform? Will it be just for iOS mobile devices (the iPhone and iPad), Apple TV and MacBooks? Or will it play in the broader spectrum of consumer electronics, including Android mobile phones, and Roku and Amazon Fire TV OTT devices?

Notably, Apple launched the “Apple TV” app two years ago, which is designed to curate and organize, based on users’ algorithmic consumption patterns, all of the TV iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users watch. Will the new service be a replacement, or extension, of that Apple TV app?

Other notable questions: What will the new service cost? Morgan Stanley predicted a potential $8 monthly fee, while Goldman Sachs projected $15 a month. And when will it launch? There are conflicting reports ranging from the spring to the fall.

Yes, there are a lot of unanswered questions. But a decade after Apple launched what was arguably its last truly transformative product, the iPhone, and with revenue down 5% in the company’s fiscal first quarter, look for Apple to pull out quite a few stops when the clock hits “show time” Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

DAA Is Slow to Roll Out — But That’s Normal

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Transformative technology meets market reality

Momentum has been building for some time for the Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) and 2019 was expected to be the year it would start to scale in the market. This technology is expected to transform cable operators’ infrastructure to remediate the limitations caused by bandwidth capacity increases and to enable them to offer competitive services. However, the reality is quite different.

Liliane Offredo-Zreik

To date, the real field deployments of DAA are few and far between, and in the 4Q 2018 earnings calls, many vendors spoke of a temporary pause. What is going on?

The reality is that the market is in the process of crossing the proverbial chasm from hype to reality, from early adopters to mainstream adoption. This process is always difficult, but it is even more complicated in this case given the far-reaching implications of the DAA for operators’ networks and operating environments.

Some of the challenges with which operators are grappling:

• Immature specifications: DAA specifications, notably Remote-PHY (Remote-MACPHY specs are still in development), are recent; despite the tremendous effort the industry has put in developing them, no spec is ever comprehensive from day one, and as operators are going through their comprehensive test cycles, issues are being identified and addressed. This is time-consuming.
• Interoperability: The industry has been working diligently on interoperability, for example, with CableLabs’s Plugfests. But more remains to be done. With any new specification there is often room for interpretation by vendors, which creates incompatibility and can hamper interoperability. It’s not a coincidence that early field deployments of DAA (of note is the Stofa recent field introduction) were largely based on one vendor’s solutions (in this case Arris). To its credit, the industry remains committed to interoperability and CableLabs continues to play a major role in this extensive undertaking.
• Need to support existing services: The DAA is profoundly different from the integrated architecture, and yet it has to support all existing services from day one. This requires considerable planning by operators.
• New operational environment: Despite the best efforts of vendors to maintain the operating environment with the DAA-based new solutions, the reality is that underlying the DAA transition is a migration from analog to digital. This has significant operational implications. One case in point is the analog sweep systems for testing and troubleshooting, which are no longer adequate in the digital domain. Therefore, operators need new tools for RF-network alignment and for upstream quality assessment.
• New skill set needed: Because the DAA uses digital technology principles, operators need to retrain technicians on the new technologies and in some cases supplement their workforce with new talent.
• New interconnect network: With the CCAP functionality distributed, an interconnect network is required to connect the CCAP cores to the remote PHY devices (RPD) and to connect other elements of the distributed network. The current analog network is ill-suited for this task, and operators are in various phases of planning for a Converged Interconnect Network (CIN) to replace it. There are many design considerations for the CIN that the operator has to address, and it often requires that disparate teams work together to develop the right strategy, which may make it time consuming and may add organizational complexity.
• Selecting the right architecture: Although R-PHY is to date gaining more traction because its specifications are further along, some operators may decide that R-MACPHY is better suited for their network topology (at least in some areas) and may wait for more mature solutions from vendors.
• Some operators are more cautious: Although some operators are comfortable as early adopters and are willing to work out the bugs that invariably come with the privilege, others are more cautious and prefer to move when solutions are more mature and interoperable.
• To DAA or not to DAA: As promising as DAA is, it may not be the right solution in every case. For example, in some sparse rural areas where bandwidth utilization is not substantial, the business case for DAA may not work. Some areas will retain an I-CCAP with a long cascade of amplifiers for years to come.
• To virtualize or not to virtualize: One of the key benefits of DAA is that it opens the way for virtualization, which substantially increases agility and service velocity for operators and enables them to leverage the inherent attributes of software to improve their service delivery and management. There are already strong software-based solutions on the market. Although some operators see their DAA transition in phases where a hardware network element is retained in Phase 1 and replaced by a software-based solution in Phase 2, other operators are considering adopting a virtualized solution in Phase 1. Virtualization has even more profound implications and needs thorough planning by the operators.

Considering all the parameters operators must optimize, it is not surprising that DAA is taking longer for market introduction on a broad scale. Expecting it to scale any sooner fails to account for the significant complexities — and opportunities — involved in bringing such a far-reaching transformation in a mature network that is serving millions of subscribers. The road ahead will be exciting but challenging for cable operators and their vendors.

Although the new architecture will unlock significant new opportunities, the homogeneous networks of yesterday are a thing of the past. Vendors have to either create and nurture a variety of solutions or bet on one approach and hope it will prove to be a winning one. Buckle up, the ride may be turbulent, but it will be fun.

Liliane Offredo-Zreik is a principal analyst with ACG Research covering the cable industry and SD-WAN.

#SoapNationLive kicked-off @DaytimeEmmys Season w/ our #NominationsSpecial. Check out replay http://bit.ly/2WhWyT1 w/ @MauraWest @lldubs #PeterBergman @MaxGail @billymflynn @MarciMiller @Tyler2929 @BethMaitlandDQB @ericmartsolf @gregrikaart @BrytonEja

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 11:25:25 +0000

#SoapNationLive kicked-off @DaytimeEmmys Season w/ our #NominationsSpecial. Check out replay http://bit.ly/2WhWyT1 w/ @MauraWest @lldubs #PeterBergman @MaxGail @billymflynn @MarciMiller @Tyler2929 @BethMaitlandDQB @ericmartsolf @gregrikaart @BrytonEjames @Marth27 @chloelanier https://twitter.com/MichaelFairman/status/1109635204195352576 …

Viacom, AT&T Reach Carriage Deal

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 11:08:51 +0000

Renewal avoids blackout to 24M subscribers

AT&T and Viacom said early Monday that they had reached a carriage deal for the programmer’s networks, avoiding a blackout of more than 24 million AT&T customers across four platforms.

Viacom’s carriage deal officially expired Friday, but the parties continued to negotiate through the weekend, keeping the channels live to about 24 million DirecTV. DirecTV Now, Uverse and AT&T WatchTV customers.

“We are pleased to announce a renewed Viacom-AT&T contract that includes continued carriage of Viacom services across multiple AT&T platforms and products,” Viacom and AT&T said in a joint statement. “The deal also brings AT&T customers more choice and improved value for Viacom content. We expect to announce additional details in the near future.”

#90DayFiance '90 Day Fiance' Couples Now: Who is still together? Who's split? Where are they now? (PHOTOS): 90 Day Fiance Couples Now: See which 90 Day Fiance couples are still together, and who has split and broken up! http://dlvr.it/R1VGKW

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 09:53:34 +0000

#90DayFiance '90 Day Fiance' Couples Now: Who is still together? Who's split? Where are they now? (PHOTOS): 90 Day Fiance Couples Now: See which 90 Day Fiance couples are still together, and who has split and broken up! http://dlvr.it/R1VGKW

Apple teases Monday’s big event with an early look into Steve Jobs Theater

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 06:15:36 +0000

Apple is gearing up for a big event on Monday where it's expected to unveil a video-streaming service. But more than 12 hours before it starts, the company has apparently already cranked up the event's livestream ...

The post Apple teases Monday’s big event with an early look into Steve Jobs Theater appeared first on Digital Trends.

REVIEW: AMC's "Into the Badlands" - Pilgrim Exerts His Power and Demands Loyalty from Sunny in "Chamber of the Scorpion" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/into-the-badlands-s3-e9-chamber-of-the-scorpion.html … #IntoTheBadlands #AMCpic.twitter.com/

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 06:02:45 +0000

REVIEW: AMC's "Into the Badlands" - Pilgrim Exerts His Power and Demands Loyalty from Sunny in "Chamber of the Scorpion" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/into-the-badlands-s3-e9-chamber-of-the-scorpion.html … #IntoTheBadlands #AMC pic.twitter.com/B6htDnOlO8

REVIEW: The CW's "Supergirl" - Lex Luthor Trains the Red Daughter to Advance His Own Vision for the Future in "The House of L" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/supergirl-s4-e16-the-house-of-l.html … #Supergirl #CWpic.twitter.com/PBmvxPamUa

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 04:29:29 +0000

REVIEW: The CW's "Supergirl" - Lex Luthor Trains the Red Daughter to Advance His Own Vision for the Future in "The House of L" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/supergirl-s4-e16-the-house-of-l.html … #Supergirl #CW pic.twitter.com/PBmvxPamUa

What To Watch This Week (March 25-March 31)

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 04:01:00 +0000

‘Veep’ Returns for Final Season

The last season debut of HBO’s Emmy award-winning series Veep headlines a busy week of show premieres.

The sixth and final season of the multi-Emmy winning series Veep, which stars Julia Louise Dreyfus as politician Selina Meyer, debuts March 31 with seven episodes, according to HBO.

New series premiering this week include Fx’s vampire-themed mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows (March 27) and Prime Video’s Hanna (March 29).

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several other shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services:

March 25 -- Knightfall (drama series) -- History

March 25 -- One Nation Under Stress (documentary) -- HBO

March 27 -- Happy (comedy series) -- Syfy

March 28 -- Tacoma FD (comedy) -- truTV

March 29 -- Osmosis (sci-fi/drama) -- Netflix

March 31 -- Barry (comedy) -- HBO

'Parks and Recreation' cast and creator talk possible revival at reunion panel #RashidaJones #AmyPoehler #AzizAnsari #AubreyPlaza #PattonOswalt #RobLowe #NickOfferman #ChrisPratt #AdamScott #ParksandRecreation https://buff.ly/2Fs2SjV

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:54:00 +0000

'Parks and Recreation' cast and creator talk possible revival at reunion panel #RashidaJones #AmyPoehler #AzizAnsari #AubreyPlaza #PattonOswalt #RobLowe #NickOfferman #ChrisPratt #AdamScott #ParksandRecreation https://buff.ly/2Fs2SjV

Denny Love, Jay Lee, Landry Bender, Sofia Vassilieva, Uriah Shelton and Jordan Connor to co-star in Hulu's 'Looking for Alaska' #SofiaVassilieva #LandryBender #CharliePlummer #Legion https://buff.ly/2WjMPvt

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:44:00 +0000

Denny Love, Jay Lee, Landry Bender, Sofia Vassilieva, Uriah Shelton and Jordan Connor to co-star in Hulu's 'Looking for Alaska' #SofiaVassilieva #LandryBender #CharliePlummer #Legion https://buff.ly/2WjMPvt

REVIEW: AMC's "Into the Badlands" - Episode 3.09 "Chamber of the Scorpion" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/into-the-badlands-s3-e9-chamber-of-the-scorpion.html … #IntoTheBadlands #AMCpic.twitter.com/Ro2Pkprjze

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:27:27 +0000

REVIEW: AMC's "Into the Badlands" - Episode 3.09 "Chamber of the Scorpion" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/into-the-badlands-s3-e9-chamber-of-the-scorpion.html … #IntoTheBadlands #AMC pic.twitter.com/Ro2Pkprjze

Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd reunite with 'Clueless' co-stars Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison #BrittanyMurphy #AliciaSilverstone #DonaldFaison #BreckinMeyer #StaceyDash #PaulRudd #Clueless https://buff.ly/2CDXR7s

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:24:00 +0000

Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd reunite with 'Clueless' co-stars Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison #BrittanyMurphy #AliciaSilverstone #DonaldFaison #BreckinMeyer #StaceyDash #PaulRudd #Clueless https://buff.ly/2CDXR7s

REVIEW: The CW's "Supergirl" - Episode 4.16 "The House of L" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/supergirl-s4-e16-the-house-of-l.html … #Supergirl #SupergirlCW #RedDaughter #CWpic.twitter.com/oqb5ynYTZj

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:23:39 +0000

REVIEW: The CW's "Supergirl" - Episode 4.16 "The House of L" http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/supergirl-s4-e16-the-house-of-l.html … #Supergirl #SupergirlCW #RedDaughter #CW pic.twitter.com/oqb5ynYTZj

Thandie Newton bonds with daughter Nico Parker ahead of 'Dumbo' movie premiere #AlanArkin #ThandieNewton #DannyDeVito #ColinFarrell #EvaGreen #MichaelKeaton #Westworld #Dumbo https://buff.ly/2U7TlaZ

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:14:00 +0000

Thandie Newton bonds with daughter Nico Parker ahead of 'Dumbo' movie premiere #AlanArkin #ThandieNewton #DannyDeVito #ColinFarrell #EvaGreen #MichaelKeaton #Westworld #Dumbo https://buff.ly/2U7TlaZ

'Us' tops weekend movie box office with $70.3 million #TylerPerry #JordanPeele #AlitaBattleAngel #CaptainMarvel https://buff.ly/2Fu77eX

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:04:00 +0000

'Us' tops weekend movie box office with $70.3 million #TylerPerry #JordanPeele #AlitaBattleAngel #CaptainMarvel https://buff.ly/2Fu77eX

Nicole Richie to star in Fox's new 'Richard Lovely' comedy pilot #NicoleRichie #ThomasLennon #GraceandFrankie #AStarIsBorn https://buff.ly/2U0ZSob

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 02:44:00 +0000

Nicole Richie to star in Fox's new 'Richard Lovely' comedy pilot #NicoleRichie #ThomasLennon #GraceandFrankie #AStarIsBorn https://buff.ly/2U0ZSob

In facing a huge reckoning, The Walking Dead gets back to what it does best https://trib.al/cHh2G4A pic.twitter.com/tCp6Qdfs91

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 02:40:05 +0000

In facing a huge reckoning, The Walking Dead gets back to what it does best https://trib.al/cHh2G4A pic.twitter.com/tCp6Qdfs91

Lena Headey praises Emilia Clarke after brain aneurysm essay #LenaHeadey #EmiliaClarke #GameofThrones https://buff.ly/2HMWEOu

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 02:34:00 +0000

Lena Headey praises Emilia Clarke after brain aneurysm essay #LenaHeadey #EmiliaClarke #GameofThrones https://buff.ly/2HMWEOu

#TheAmazingRace @AmazingRaceCBS producers "shocked & deeply saddened" to learn of Jim Raman's sudden death: The Amazing Race executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri have issued a statement on former Racer Jim Raman's death. http://dlvr

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 02:12:04 +0000

#TheAmazingRace @AmazingRaceCBS producers "shocked & deeply saddened" to learn of Jim Raman's sudden death: The Amazing Race executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri have issued a statement on former Racer Jim Raman's death. http://dlvr.it/R1TPr2

#Idol @AmericanIdol spoilers: Season 17's Top 20 contestants identities leak online https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/american-idol-spoilers-season-17-top-20-contestants-identities-leak-online-25306.php …

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 01:52:53 +0000

#Idol @AmericanIdol spoilers: Season 17's Top 20 contestants identities leak online https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/american-idol-spoilers-season-17-top-20-contestants-identities-leak-online-25306.php …

The OA is the best speculative fiction in any format right now. Part II is providing chills, epiphanies, confusion and drama in equal measure @NetflixUK

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 01:25:08 +0000

The OA is the best speculative fiction in any format right now. Part II is providing chills, epiphanies, confusion and drama in equal measure @NetflixUK

Was Will growing a beard on @SingleParentsTV a network note? Facial hair traditionally doesn’t change within season. Very curious.

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 01:02:54 +0000

Was Will growing a beard on @SingleParentsTV a network note? Facial hair traditionally doesn’t change within season. Very curious.

"There's a lot of cultural expectations of what you're supposed to do. I like the idea of breaking those parameters" – @MuzaeSesay #BlackStoriespic.twitter.com/4hXYMqh60e

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 01:00:00 +0000

"There's a lot of cultural expectations of what you're supposed to do. I like the idea of breaking those parameters" – @MuzaeSesay #BlackStories pic.twitter.com/4hXYMqh60e

Hulu Renews #Runaways for Season 3 http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/hulu-renews-runaways-season-3.html … #Hulupic.twitter.com/sn8Rav259N

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 00:14:40 +0000

Hulu Renews #Runaways for Season 3 http://www.tv-recaps-reviews.com/2019/03/hulu-renews-runaways-season-3.html … #Hulu pic.twitter.com/sn8Rav259N