After Nickelodeon Football, CBS May Try Other Sports Experiments

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS has set in motion “an external investigation” into allegations of racist and misogynist behavior by senior executives at its local-TV unit, a sign that the ViacomCBS company continues to grapple with these issues even though it has probed them in the recent past.In a memo sent to staffers Friday, George Cheeks, CEO of CBS Entertainment Group, said the company had hired Keisha-Ann Gray, an attorney from the law firm Proskauer Rose, to examine recent

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEven in tough times, advertisers still want a Super Bowl.CBS is “virtually sold out” of all its commercial inventory for Super Bowl LIV, according to a spokesperson for parent company ViacomCBS, a sign that Madison Avenue remains interested in the Big Game despite some of the rockier economic conditions surrounding it.The network has been seeking around $5.5M for a 30 second in-game spot and has been grappling with decisions by some stalwart sponsors to bench

With no thanks to Covid we’re all back inside and pondering on what new hobbies we can take up in order to pass the time. One of the best things to do during this time is to still get out of the house and go for those important daily walks.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTwo of CBS’s two top local-TV executives were placed on administrative leave Monday night after the Los Angeles Times raised issues about their conduct over the weekend in a two-part report that examined their treatment of people of color at specific TV stations, among other allegations.Peter Dunn, president of the CBS Television Stations, and David Friend, senior vice president of news for the stations were placed on the leave “pending the results of a

straight to your inboxPhil Foden was magnanimous in victory after Manchester City survived a major FA Cup scare against Cheltenham Town. A massive upset was on the cards after Alfie May gave League Two side Cheltenham a shock lead in Saturday's fourth round tie at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium just before the hour mark.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFans of big NBC sports franchises like the NHL and Premier League will have to follow them to a new home.NBCUniversal will shutter its NBCSN sports network, and move some of its top sports properties to the USA network in a maneuver executives believe will boost the economics of the general-entertainment cable outlet at a time when new streaming-video hubs are luring bigger audiences.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor who rose from an early stint at a station in Sioux City, Iowa to anchor three of the nation’s best-known TV-news programs – “Today,” “NBC Nightly News” and, for a short time, “Meet the Press,” is set to step down formally from NBC News, where he has worked since 1966.Brokaw’s time on air has dwindled in recent years, while he has served as a special correspondent for the NBCUniversal-owned outlet.More to come….

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMaria Bartiromo will be among the Fox News Channel personnel taking a crack at leading “Fox News Primetime,”  the cable-news outlet’s new opinion hour at 7 p.m.Bartiromo and contributors Katie Pavlich, Mark Steyn, Rachel Campos-Duffy and former U.S. Representative Trey Gowdy are among those who will rotate as anchors on the program.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSharon Hoffman is leaving as executive producer of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” after a short tenure in the role that started in May.A spokeswoman for the late-night program confirmed the departure, but declined to offer any detail.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNancy Cordes has been the indefatigable Capitol Hill beat reporter at CBS News for more than a decade. Now she will start a new role for the ViacomCBS news unit – at the White House.CBS News named Cordes its chief White House correspondent, part of a reshuffling of news resources that usually takes place around the industry whenever a new occupant takes over the Oval Office.

Molly-Mae Hague has been left red faced after fans spotted she was holding her mobile phone upside down in an Instagram post. In the snap shared with her Instagram followers, the Love Island star wore a black gym outfit while holding her phone in her hand.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBCUniversal may well complete an Olympic-like event before the next set of Games even get started.The massive Comcast media conglomerate is returning to negotiations with Madison Avenue for advertising time in the now-delayed Tokyo Olympics, slated at present to take place this summer, just months after unwinding what had been described as $1.25 billion, or 90% of the inventory previously allocated to the company’s telecast of the event.