Horizon Media Vows to Spend Up to 15% of Upfront Dollars on New Measurement Deals

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPeople who want to “Meet The Press” with Chuck Todd Monday through Friday will have to do so via their broadband connection, not their set-top box.“Meet The Press Daily,” the weekday counterpart to NBC News’ flagship Sunday public-affairs program, will move to NBC News Now starting June 6, the latest example of how much more focused big TV-news outlets are on streaming video as a rising generation of news aficionados reaches out to digital venues for the latest information and headlines. Chris Jansing, the NBC News veteran, will take over Todd’s 1 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN+ is gone, but some of the big-name anchors who were hired for the service appear to be sticking around for a while.Chris Licht, the new chairman and CEO at the Warner Bros. Discovery news operation, gave indications at a town hall meeting on Thursday that he intended to find places for some of the popular names that were lured to the company with the promise of new programs for CNN.+ The subscription-based streaming service was scuttled abruptly by the company’s new parent after it completed its acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T.

Blast from the past. Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler attended the Met Gala 2022 the same night he walked the red carpet with his girlfriend, Kaia Gerber.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe Fox-owned streaming outlet Tubi plans to expand its relationship with Nielsen to help advertisers measure viewing of Tubi programming across a wider array of venues, a critical demand that has increased from Madison Avenue as more viewing takes place via mobile and broadband.Tubi plans to utilize Nielsn’s Digital Ad Ratings to expand coverage of streaming devices, including computer, mobile and connected TV. The company said the expanded pact represents ” a step towards increased industry coverage” provided by Nielsen One, a new product being developed by the measurement giant that will track viewership acorss linear and digital screens and is expected to be made more widely available to the market by the end of 2022.

Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company, today announced the launch of its new theatrical release label, Gravitas Premiere, which will acquire 4-6 cast-driven, high production value films per year and release them wide theatrically with significant P&A support. The first title on Premiere’s docket is Katie Aselton’s dramedy Mack & Rita, starring  Diane Keaton, which it will release wide in theaters across the U.S. and Canada on August 12.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA new film created with Toyota sounds the turning of the ignition on a new venture from TelevisaUnivision aimed at generating more interest from advertisers for the company’s Spanish-language media offerings.Así Studios aims to produce inspirational films that speak to Spanish-speaking viewers and can appear across TelevisaUnivision’s linear, streaming, digital and audio properties. The entity’s first creation, “Imparable: Ismael Guzmán, tells the story of a Texas man who has dedicated two decades of his life to helping the youth of East Austin play soccer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorGroupM, the massive media-investment arm of WPP, will winnow down the number of separate agencies under its aegis in a bid to streamline its operations and make ad-tech a more central part of the process for clients who spend millions of dollars on commercial inventory across video, mobile, social and other media venues.A spokesperson for GroupM said the moves would not result in any layoffs or departures of prominent executives. As part of the announcement, Kyoko Matsushita, who led one of the media agencies, Essence, has been promoted to a new role as chief executive of WPP’s operations in Japan.As part of the move,  Essence, will be combined with Mediacom, forming the 10,000-employee unit, EssenceMediacom, which counts clients such as Google, Mars, and NBCUniversal among its largest customers.

TV presenter Matt Baker thrilled his followers on social media on Sunday as he showed off yet another of his talents in a new video posted to Instagram.The short clip showed the star playing piano as he accompanied boxing champion Tyson Fury in a clip from his celebratory singalong to Don McLean's American Pie the previous night.SEE: Matt Baker shows off incredible transformation as he thanks fans for support"Here we go Tyson," the dad-of-two said as he began the clip, playing a perfectly polished upright piano in a beautiful book-lined room – and it sounded impeccable!Matt's fans rushed to compliment the Countryfile co-host, and they all shared similar sentiments.WATCH: Countryfile's Matt Baker shows off amazing talent in new video"Is there no end to your talents MB," wrote one. A second commented: "Is there anything Matt Baker can't do??"MORE: Matt Baker makes rare comment about his marriage to wife Nicola after confirming exciting newsSEE: Matt Baker's private family farmhouse is a world of beautyAnother teased: "And on the eighth day...

Canadian “Jeopardy!” contestant Mattea Roach has been notching win after win, and on the Friday, April 22 episode she captured her 14th consecutive victory.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are teaming up again for yet another movie project. Affleck is set to direct, write, co-star and produce while Damon will star, write and produce an untitled film about former Nike executive Sonny Vaccarro's life story, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The two will be joined by production company Mandalay Pictures.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are once again teaming up for a new movie!

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNetflix has held Madison Avenue at arm’s length for years. Now, the popular streamer wants to draw the advertising industry in a tighter embrace.After years of resisting the prospect of running commercials, Netflix signaled on Tuesday that it’s ready to consider launching an ad-supported tier of its service, which has lured traditional TV viewers with ad-free series like “Stranger Things” and “Ozark” and commercial-free movies like “Don’t Look Up.” Figuring out an ad strategy could take months, said Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-CEO, during an investor meeting, “but think of us as quite open to offering even lower prices with advertising as a consumer choice.”The company announced its intention to court commercials just weeks before the start of the industry’s annual “upfront” ad sales season, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory for the next programming cycle.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorVideoAmp has gained notice in recent months for its work with various media agencies and TV networks that are trying to take on the increasingly difficult task of measuring video audiences. The company hopes its latest maneuver will help make that complex assignment more simple.VideoAmp has acquired Elsy, a company that helps advertisers optimize the money they are spending to place commercials on various media platforms.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMelissa Stark clearly knows the value of staying in touch.The veteran sportscaster served as the sideline reporter for “Monday Night Football” between 2000 and 2002, when she was just 26 and the game — then one of TV’s biggest weekly events — was still broadcast on ABC. She worked with everyone from the legendary TV executive Don Ohlmeyer to “MNF” announcers like John Madden and Dennis Miller —  and with Fred Gaudelli, the producer who would move on to work for NBC Sports and oversee “Sunday Night Football,” then all of NBC’s NFL coverage.

Beatles fan has turned George Harrison’s childhood home into an Airbnb and “living museum”.READ MORE: The greatest debut albums recorded at Abbey Road StudiosKen Lambert bought the property at 25 Upton Green in the suburb of Speke, Liverpool last November for around £171,000. According to the listing, Harrison lived at the three-bedroom house between 1949 and 1962.The house was also used as a practice space for The Beatles, then known as The Quarrymen.But now the property has become “a living museum by letting people stay overnight” with the new landlord confirming that a weekly tour group also stops by and spends about half an hour in the home drinking tea and playing music.“I’m not a wealthy individual.

Made for Love is coming back!

went up for auction for the first time in nearly a decade. Two weeks later, it landed a buyer from the other side of the pond — superfan Ken Lambert, who is now turning the iconic home into an Airbnb rental and house museum. Lambert, 48, who hails from New Hampshire, never dreamed he would one day own a piece of Beatles history, until he put in an offer for £171,000 (which equates to $250,000) and no one else bid any higher. Now Lambert, who is in commercial construction, is only the third owner to have ever owned the home since the Harrisons. “Once I realized I was the winner, it was pretty shocking,” Lambert told The Post. “I really started to think about what I was going to do with the property.

Hailey Bieber is done putting up with the haters.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorRachel Maddow doesn’t seem to have much in common with John Oliver.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarner Bros. Discovery wants to interest Madison Avenue in everything from “Full Frontal” to “90 Day Fiancé.”The newly merged media conglomerate will fold what we’re once two separate upfront presentations into one, the company said Monday, reserving May 18 for a.showcase of both the Warner and Discovery properties as part of a unified portfolio.The new event essentially takes over the spot in May’s upfront week preciously occupied by WarnerMedia.