Brianna Keilar Turns CNN Daytime Into Place for Tough Talk

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMSNBC is getting closer to making some important weekend plans.The NBCUniversal-owned cable-news outlet is expected sometime this fall to decide on a successor for Joy Reid’s mid-morning weekend slot, according to two people familiar with the matter. Figuring out who might be among the contenders hasn’t been difficult.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorShaquille ONeal’s new deal with WarnerMedia will have him analyzing NBA games, but it could also put him in the wrestling ring and in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.The AT&T-owned entertainment company said Monday that it struck a new “multi-year” deal with the celebrated basketball analyst that will extend his reach beyond his regular duties on Turner Sports.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorHowie Long has long helped Fox viewers understand the ins-and-outs of gridiron play. Now he’s going to encourage them to make a wager on what they might see.Long is the latest Fox Sports personality to take up promotional duties for Fox Bet, the mobile sports-wagering partnership Fox Corporation operates in conjunction with Flutter Entertainment, the parent of the popular online-betting platform FanDuel.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s hottest properties this year may have little to do with the primetime lineup for which the medium is best known.Advertisers are placing new emphasis on ad-supported streaming outlets like Walt Disney’s Hulu and NBCUniversal’s Peacock, while exploring opportunities with WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, Fox’s Tubi and ViacomCBS’s Pluto, according to four media buyers and three other executives familiar with the pace of the industry’s annual “upfront” negotiations, when

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFood Network said it has started production on a new competition series called “Candy Land” that is based on the Hasbro children’s game and is hosted by Kristin Chenoweth.The six-episode series features five groups of cake and sugar artists, who create showpieces in order to get  a chance to win a grand prize of $25,000.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia has yet to install a new president of ad sales but in the meantime, it has given some new duties to one of its senior ad-sales executives.Joe Hogan has temporarily been given oversight of media sales at Xandr, the ad-tech unit that was operated separately from WarnerMedia’s ad sales efforts until April, when the two operations were combined, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTucker Carlson’s top-rated Fox News Channel hour has hit record ratings highs in recent months amid the rising tide for news networks as the presidential election draws near. Record ratings usually means record revenue for ad-supported TV shows.But “Tucker Carlson Tonight” has never been more difficult to monetize for the news network amid today’s polarized political environment.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorKirk McDonald. a top executive at WarnerMedia’s Xandr ad-tech unit, was named the new CEO of North American operations of WPP’s large GroupM media-buying firm, marking the latest in a string of top advertising leaders to leave the AT&T media operation.GroupM is one of the largest and most influential media-buying operations in the industry, managing about $17.6 billion in media billings across the U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSeth Meyers will join the parade of late-night hosts trying to bring their programs back to more typical production surroundings by moving NBC’s “Late Night” to a studio setting next week.The host informed his viewers on Monday’s broadcast of “Late Night” that he would stop holding forth from a makeshift perch he calls “Captain’s Quarters” at the end of this week.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPepsi says it will stick with the NFL for as long as the league can put games on the field.Pepsi has long been one of the sports giant’s biggest sponsors, so much so that it has become synonymous with the annual halftime show at the Super Bowl.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorHistory plans two new hour-long documentaries and an original eight-part podcast devoted to coverage of the infamous events of September 11, 2001.The two documentaries,  “9/11: The Final Minutes of Fight 93” and “9/11: The Pentagon,” will debut Friday, September 11 at 8 pm. and 9 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNexstar Media believes it has created the nation’s next great evening newscast. All it needs to do now is get viewers to agree.The company, the nation’s largest owner of TV stations, today will kick off a national promotional effort to call attention to  “News Nation,” a primetime three-hour newscast that will air on the cable outlet WGN America seven days a week starting September 1.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorKeyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and Zubin Mehenti have a big radio debut on Monday, when they take over ESPN’s national morning slot. But their new jobs started in earnest on Wednesday.The trio met in their studio at ESPN’s New York production facility for the first time, ready to test out their rapport.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Corp. is joining the parade of big U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAndrea Mitchell almost drowned in balloons when she covered the 2008 Republican National Convention, and was forced to swat them away as she tried to tell MSNBC viewers what was taking place on the ground.In 2020, the longtime NBC News and MSNBC correspondent will have plenty of air.Fewer TV journalists will be on the ground at either the Milwaukee site previously selected for the Democratic National Convention or the Jacksonville or Charlotte venues Republicans

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAmid hundreds of layoffs, WarnerMedia is still preparing for one crucial hire.The media company has yet to name a president to lead its advertising-sales efforts, and has not filled the position since executives abruptly pushed out industry veteran Donna Speciale in July of 2019 after she wrangled millions from sponsors to support WarnerMedia’s most recent programming cycle in haggling that was largely driven by conversations about digital opportunities.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBCUniversal broadcasts some of the best-known and longest-running programs in late-night TV. Now the company hopes to add two new shows to its wee-hours roster.The company behind “The Tonight Show,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Late Night” and “A Little Late” will launch two weekly programs on its Peacock streaming-video outlet, one led by “Late Night” writer and personality Amber Ruffin and the other hosted by former “Comedy Central” host Larry Wilmore.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCarla Hall, a longtime Food Network contributor who has also logged stints on ABC’s “The Chew” and Bravo’s “Top Chef,” has struck a new talent pact with the Discovery-owned media property.Hall’s new deal means she will work exclusively with Food Network across its linear and digital outlets, and will take part in “Halloween Baking Championship,” “Holiday Baking Championship,” “Worst Cooks in America,”  and Food Network’s Kitchen app.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia is expected to let go of at least 800 staffers at its Warner Brothers and HBO operations as part of a broad restructuring put in place by the unit’s CEO, Jason Kilar.Warner Brothers is expected to commence layoffs of around 650 people starting Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, while HBO is seen shedding between 150 and 175 staffers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA significant chunk of Fox Corp.’s employee base is likely to work from home for the rest of 2020 to keep the coronavirus from spreading among staffers, the company’s chief executive revealed in a memo.“In the near-term, we want to maintain a low density in our offices for those employees whose jobs do require them to be on site,” said Lachlan Murdoch, in the note.