As TV’s Upfront Draws Near, More Addressable TV Commercials Will Be for Sale

Naman Ramachandran Premium documentary titles featuring iconic musicians including John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Tupac Shakur and Amy Winehouse have sold widely for BBC Studios.Rogan productions’ feature-length documentary for BBC Two, “Freddie Mercury: The Final Act,” charts the final chapter of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s life story. International sales include the U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorABC News anchor David Muir will anchor a live primetime “20/20” special from the border between Ukraine and Poland on Friday night, as the nation’s news networks continue to scramble to cover Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, one of the biggest global stories to take place in recent memory.Muir will report on the refugee emergency taking place along that border as Ukrainians seek safety amid turmoil in their country. The program will air on Friday, March 4, at 8 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Stacia Philips Deshishku, an ABC News veteran who has supervised audio content and was a former deputy Washington Bureau chief for the Disney-backed news outlet, has been named executive editor and senior vice president position. She reports to Kim Godwin, president of ABC News.Philips Deshishku will essentially work as the second-in-command of ABC News editorial efforts, working closely with senior producers at “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight,” “The View,” “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” “20/20,” “Tamron Hall” and “Nightline,” as well as ABC News’ booking unit.Prior to joining ABC,  the executive managed newsgathering around  some of the biggest domestic and international stories while serving as CNN’s director of coverage.

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is planning to replace Cristiano Ronaldo with highly-rated Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

Russia can compete in the upcoming song contest, to be held in May, other countries have called for its exclusion amid the invasion of Ukraine. Yesterday event bosses described the competition as a ‘non-political cultural event’ while appearing to dismiss suggestions that Russia’s attack on its neighbour would result in the country being banned. Now, after Ukrainian state broadcaster UA:PBC called on the European Broadcasting Union, which produces the event, to suspend Russia’s membership and ban it from the contest, other countries have echoed the same sentiments.

Chris Willman Music WriterSidney Poitier — film noir icon? That may not be one of the phrases that popped up most frequently in the recent obituaries and appreciations for the late actor, but Poitier did take his turn at noir. The movie with which he made his screen debut, “No Way Out,” will be featured at the upcoming resumption of the annual Noir City Hollywood Festival, which is devoting separate days to the treatment of race and women in the crime dramas of the ’40s and ’50s, along with a continued focus on presenting restorations in 35mm glory.Noir City Hollywood has been a staple at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre each spring since the late ’90s, but with that theater closed for extensive Netflix-funded renovations, this year it will take place at the American Legion Theatre a few blocks up Highland Blvd.

“Aziz Ansari is an incredible talent and, with this script, he brings a singular combination of insightful humor and pathos,” Searchlight presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with him on his feature directorial debut which is long overdue, and of course working with the genius Bill Murray once again.”Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey are overseeing the project for Searchlight Pictures.

Aziz Ansari (Master of None, Parks and Recreation) is making his feature directorial debut with an untitled dramedy for Searchlight, based on the 2014 non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by surgeon Atul Gawande, in which he’ll star alongside Oscar nominee Bill Murray (The French Dispatch, Lost in Translation), Deadline has confirmed.

The Guardian in a 2016 profile of Hill. “He always took being a drag king to a new level, which was more fully realized than most kings.” As the years have gone by, Hill has become far more than a pioneering drag king, queer New York nightlife fixture, or campy, charismatic trans comedian/actor. The 50-year-old has long struggled to find the right words and terminology to describe himself.“I keep saying, when I talk to young people: We just didn’t have the language and the ID politics, we had nothing.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAMC Networks says it plans to sell three addressable ad slots in each linear hour of original programs on its flagship cable network as well as WeTV, the latest expansion of technology that allows advertisers to hone their pitches to radiational mass TV audiences.The spots are slated to run on Comcast, Charter and Cox cable systems and have the potential to reach 35 million U.S. homes.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe hunt for an elusive South American flower is at the heart of the latest addition to the Peacock streaming service, but the creators of the new show aren’t from the typical Hollywood studio.“Unlocked,” a short film that debuts Friday on the NBCUniversal broadband outlet, is the creation of tech giant Hewlett-Packard and the agency Giant Spoon. The mini-movie tells the story of data scientists hoping to track down a rare plant that might just offer a cure to a mysterious neurological disease that ails the world, but it might solve some other problems as well, like how to get ad messages in front of consumers who are increasingly accustomed to avoid such things when they hunker down for a new bingeworthy session.

Tyrese Gibson‘s mother, Priscilla Murray Gibson, has died after a battle with COVID-19 and pneumonia. Tyrese announced the sad news Monday on his Instagram.

Tyrese Gibson's mother, Priscilla Murray Gibson, has died after a battle with COVID-19 and pneumonia. Tyrese announced the sad news Monday on his Instagram.He shared a sad video of him holding on to and rubbing his mother's hand as he tearfully said his goodbyes.«Rest in peace mom,» Tyrese can be heard saying through his tears. «You fought, mom.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMadison Avenue used its most tried-and-true techniques to keep Super Bowl watchers from being overwhelmed Sunday night by a brave new world that emerged with great speed as the nation was hunkered down during the coronavirus pandemic.General Motors, one of the nation’s most staid corporations, put its marketing heft behind a fleet of electric vehicles, using revivals of media favorites like “Austin Powers” and “The Sopranos.” Verizon touted quickening telecommunications service by reviving Jim Carrey in his role as “The Cable Guy” and T-Mobile pressed viewers to think about 5G by showing Dolly Parton with a phone pressed close to her chest. Rocket Mortgage dressed its digital service in bright Barbie overtones along with the familiar site of Anna Kendrick.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorToyota no doubt hopes Super Bowl viewers will be jones-ing for its new series of Tundra pick-up trucks after the Super Bowl is over.A 60-second spot that aired just before the automaker’s sponsored halftime report on NBC featured three famous Jones actors — Tommy Lee, Leslie and Rashida — in a humorous scene. The trio puts individual vehicles through their paces and then gets a surprise visit from Nick Jonas,  who shares most of the consonants in the actors’ surname (Meanwhile, the entire ad takes place to the tune of “It’s Not Unusual,” by Tom Jones).

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC will run dozens of commercials during the Super Bowl for potato chips, cryptocurrency, beer and electric cars. And it will also run dozens for itself and its parent company.By the time viewers finish watching the network’s broadcast of Super Bowl LVI, they are likely to hear a lot about the return of “Law & Order” and the arrival of new series like “Endgame,” “American Song Contest” and “The Thing About Pam.” There will also be room for talk about NBC comedies; shows on Peacock like “Bel Air”; and offerings from NBC News, and Universal Orlando Resort.There’s good reason to talk up as much as possible. NBC will spend part of Super Bowl Sunday showing part of the Winter Olympics and will air that before and after its coverage of the Big Game.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorOne of the self-proclaimed greatest villains in history is coming to the Super Bowl to take over the world — but only if he can save it first.General Motors is likely to cause a stir on Sunday when it debuts a Super Bowl commercial for its growing fleet of electric vehicles that reunites the cast of the 1997 hit “Austin Powers.” The goal is to get consumers thinking about cars and trucks that are better for the environment. In the spot, Dr.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDisney is shaking up its traditional “upfront” process, planning to host multiple showcases for advertisers that highlight sports, technology and creativity, while moving its annual sales event to a new venue.“Everyone recognizes we understand storytelling, but we are also leading with innovations around data and targeting and really connecting brands with their consumers,” says Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales, in an interview.Disney intends to hold its biggest upfront event on Tuesday, May 17, at New York’s Basketball City complex downtown. The venue, says Ferro, will allow the company to discuss its broad media portfolio in a more communal, interactive manner.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs Americans chow down on buffalo wings, beer, quesadillas, and chips, during the Super Bowl Unilever thinks it’s found a flavor that will help them swallow a serious message.The company is sending its venerable Hellmann’s  mayonnaise back into the Super Bowl ad fray in a second effort to use the Big Game to get people at home to cut back on wasting food. In the ad, linebacker Jerod Mayo tackles people getting ready to toss out old food, telling them instead they can use Hellman’s to turn potatoes into potato salad. “Saturday Night Live” cast member Pete Davidson (and his mother) turns up at the end to drive the lesson home.“There is a bigger ambition here, a bigger mission, says Benjamin Crook, senior marketing director for Hellmann’s North America, in an interview.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger wants £225,000-a-week to stay at Stamford Bridge amid transfer interest from Manchester City - according to reports.