iSpot Acquires Tunity in Bid to Deliver New Measurement of Out of Home Audiences

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA new NBCUniversal advertising executive is taking on the task of tackling advertisers to link themselves to such sports properties as “Sunday Night Football” and the soon-to-launch USFL.Peter Lazarus will take the lead on selling ads behind the bulk of NBCUniversal’s sports programming, part of a gradual overhaul of the company’s work behind connecting Madison Avenue with some of TV’s biggest and most-watched properties.Lazarus has been named executive vice president of sports ad-sales, taking up responsibilities previously held by Dan Lovinger, a longtime NBCU ad-sales exec who has been assigned to focus more intently on the company’s efforts behind Olympics advertising. Lovinger was elevated to president in January and will lead Olympics ad-sales efforts as NBCU works harder to fulfill a commitment it has made along the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, pledging to offer long-term deals to partners for TV, digital, and live event advertising, as well as brand activations and associations with Team USA.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCAA has signed Peter Alexander, the co-chief White House correspondent for NBC News, and will represent him in his dealings with media and other potential employers.Alexander is also co-anchor of the weekend broadcast of “Today,” which he joined in October of 2018. He and Kristen Welker, who is also NBC News’ co-chief White House correspondent, have led “Today” on weekends since January of 2020, anchoring the program from Washington, D.C.Alexander has been with NBC News since 2004 and has covered events around the world as well as in the nation’s capital.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChris Cuomo wants CNN parent WarnerMedia to keep paying him even though he no longer works there.The former CNN primetime anchor alleged in an arbitration filing Wednesday that his career has suffered damages in excess of $125 million, and suggested CNN had allowed several of his one-time colleagues to violate standards and practices in a bid to keep viewership. The anchor also said his firing by CNN late last year cost him nearly $15 million in salary that he would have earned if he had served out his last contract.In the filing, Cuomo’s attorneys argued that CNN favorites like Don Lemon and Jake Tapper, as well as analyst Jeffrey Toobin, had potentially violated the news outlet’s practices, but were not punished for doing so.  “As long as CNN’s ratings would not be hurt, [former CNN Worldwide President Jeff] Zucker and [former CNN Chief Marketing Officer Allison] Gollust were more than willing to overlook major transgressions by CNN personalities,” Cuomo’s filing alleges, “or even engage in blatant misconduct themselves.” CNN declined to comment.Cuomo and CNN parted ways last year after the anchor was caught up in the sexual-harassment scandal that engulfed his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBenjamin Hall, the Fox News Channel correspondent who was injured while covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the Fox Corp.-owned network, has managed to get out of the country, according to a memo from Suzanne Scott, Fox News Media’s CEO, issued Wednesday.“Ben is alert and in good spirits. He is being treated with the best possible care in the world and we are in close contact with his wife and family,” Scott said in the note to staffers.Fox News has deployed a handful of correspondents around the country, including Trey Yingst and Steve Harrigan.Hall had been reporting in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, with cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova when their vehicle came under fire.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated rapper and Variety Hitmakers cover star Jack Harlow has announced that his second major-label album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” will be released May 6 via Generation Now/Atlantic Records. The album will feature the single “Nail Tech,” which was released last month.Harlow talked with Variety about the album last November.

Don’t be scared! That’s just Pete Davidson! The 28-year-old comedian was spotted soaked in fake blood while taking a break on-set for his upcoming horror flick The Home on Tuesday March 15. Even though his outfit might have been terrifying, Pete looked pretty content while he relaxed on the New Jersey set for the new movie. Despite being covered in blood, the comic seemed like he was in good spirits and even made a few funny faces in the new photos.

Sasha Urban editorStreaming service Shudder has acquired the rights to Australian horror-comedy film “Sissy” ahead of its premiere at SXSW in the Midnighters section on Friday.“Sissy” tells the story of young friends Cecilia (Aisha Dee) and Emma (Barlow), who were inseparable until Alex (Emily De Margheriti) showed up. After Emma and Cecilia run into each other 12 years later, Emma invites Cecilia for weekend at a secluded cabin in the mountains, where Alex turns Cecilia’s weekend into a living nightmare.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAndrew Ross Sorkin, the New York Times journalist and CNBC morning host, will take on a new assignment for NBC News: gaining an edge in the TV-news industry’s expanding streaming wars.Sorkin will host and produce a limited-run original series for NBC News Now, the NBC News streaming service that its parent has promoted aggressively in recent weeks as rival CNN prepares to launch a new streaming venture called CNN Plus. Sorkin’s streaming debut is expected to examine “the people, trends, institutions and forces shaping our world,” according to an NBC News statement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV networks have long demanded more data from Nielsen to help keep track of viewers who are leaving traditional TV for streaming video and mobile viewing. Now they say they want less.Nielsen recently began releasing new sets of information that include more granular measurement of TV audiences, available alongside its traditional measures of total linear viewership by age and gender.

Scots can now sample Irn Bru’s brand-new premium offering in style – with sleek cans of 1901 being hand-delivered by the brand’s ginger butler.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA+E Networks has long been in the business of selling advertising time for its linear cable networks. But as it moves into a new era of haggling over audiences who watch TV in decidedly non-traditional fashion, it has started to push advertisers to find new ways to spend their money.“As our industry continues to evolve, we remain focused on premium, popular and relevant stories and storytellers and are expanding the ways our viewers can find our content,’ says Paul Buccieri,” president and chairman of A+E Networks Group, in a prepared statement, adding: “In an ever-changing landscape, we are providing our advertisers more —  more programming featuring the world’s most beloved talent, more best-in-class opportunities to reach their targets, and more custom solutions to exceed their goals and deeply engage their audiences.” A+E Networks is holding a virtual upfront presentation Wednesday for advertisers.

Emma Willis and Nick Grimshaw are joining forces to host 'The Great Home Transformation'. The 'Voice' host and the former BBC Radio 1 DJ have landed a new gig at Channel 4 on the new show, which will see family homes transformed in just three days. Sharing the news on Instagram alongside a promo shot of him and Emma, Nick, 37, wrote: "Ooooooh I am so excited to announce that me and @emmawillisofficial are joining forces for a brand new series on @channel4.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs NBCUniversal’s ad-sales division starts to take on tasks beyond its core business, it is expanding the range of communications executives it has as well.Neil Ripley, who previously was head of corporate communications for media-measurement firm Comscore, has been named a vice president of communications for NBCU’s ad-sales unit. He is charged with promoting the division’s efforts around advertising technology, data and cross-platform media measurement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIf it wasn’t for Chris Licht, you might not see Gayle King on TV every weekday morning.King wasn’t the typical host of a national morning-news show. She had worked for nearly two decades at a Hartford TV station before trying her hand at daytime TV.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen hopes to regain industry backing of its TV ratings later this year, the company’s top executive told investors Monday.Speaking on a call with analysts, Nielsen CEO David Kenny said the company expects to complete all necessary work to regain accreditation by mid year. He believes the Media Rating Council, the industry organization that certifies measurement processes, will vote on accreditation of Nielsen’s national and local TV ratings work sometime after that.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPete Davidson won’t be live from New York on this particular Saturday night.The “Saturday Night Live” cast member has been cleared to work on the production of “The Home,” the Miramax horror movie being directed by James DeMonaco, according to two people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for “SNL” could not be reached for immediate comment.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAT&T and State Farm are the latest big advertisers to experiment with new ways of figuring out just who is watching TV – and the commercials that support it.The two marketers are among those who are taking part in an alliance between Discovery and Omnicom Media Group. Under the pact, a handful of Omnicom clients, including the telecom and insurance giants, will test new ways of tabulating linear TV audiences using Comscore and VideoAmp, and examine recent viewership data.

Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West last year and she’s enjoying life in a brand new luxury home.The property in Calabasas, California, is worth a whopping £45 million and was designed with help from minimalist architect Claudio Silverstrin - he worked on Kanye’s Manhattan loft before the rapper dated Kim. In the new video published by Vogue Magazine, the reality star has given fans a full tour of her plush pad, which she shared with children North, eight, Saint, six, Chicago, four and two-year-old Psalm. Released on Friday, the clip shows the mum-of-four, 41, sharing her ‘most-cherished’ items around the updated home from sweet baby books to ‘amazing art’ and her very own vegetable patch.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen is poised to release another batch of new data about TV viewers as it battles with TV networks over which yardstick will be paramount in the industry’s coming upfront marketplace.The media measurement giant is expected as soon as Wednesday to announce it will issue streaming data from connected TV sets, according to two people familiar with the matter. The information, Nielsen is expected to tell clients, will give advertisers, media buyers and media companies more information in their efforts to understand how audiences are behaving across a range of different screens.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAMC Networks will unveil a new ad-sales initiative called “Avenue” aimed at helping advertisers reach diverse audiences more effectively and more frequently.Slated to be unveiled at a virtual “upfront” event on Thursday, “Avenue” aims to give advertisers more resources to reach different audiences and new events that will make that outreach possible throughout the calendar year, says Kim Kelleher, , president of commercial revenue and partnerships for AMC Networks, in a recent interview.“We are part of this greater industry that’s really striving to be more representative, and more authentic in that representation,” says Kelleher. “What we have done is organized our audiences, our data tools, and our creators in a way that can more easily be tapped by our advertising and marketing partners.” “Avenue” will initially focus on five key groups: women, Black audiences, LBGTQ+, Asian-American Pacific Islanders) and Hispanic/Latinx.