John Oliver Might Bite at New Discovery Bosses: ‘No Tastier Hand Than the One That Feeds You’

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.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery, Inc. president and CEO David Zaslav was awarded a one-time discretionary bonus of $4.4 million by the company’s board March 1 in honor of his “exceptional leadership” ahead of Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia.Per a Monday SEC filing, “The Board approved the one-time bonus (which is in addition to the 2021 annual bonus that Mr.

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.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe media industry’s measurement wars are expanding beyond counting traditional video audiences.iSpot, the measurement company that figures prominently in plans by NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia to offer alternatives to Nielsen in the sector’s looming “upfront” marketplace, will acquire Tunity, an analytics company that analyzes consumer viewing habits in public locations nationwide, including restaurants, offices, bars and hotels.“We want to account for all viewing across all screens,” says Sean Muller, iSpot’s founder and CEO, in an interview. The Tunity acquisition, he says, could be “powerful, both for our advertising clients who invest heavily in tentpole events and programs that are consumed outside the home and for our media partners.” The companies did not disclose financial terms.Keeping track of so-called “out of home” audiences has become more critical to TV networks, who understand that significant chunks of viewership for news, sports and other live programming is often found outside a consumer’s main habitat.

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.

NEW YORK -- Chris Licht, most recently Stephen Colbert's top producer at CBS, was appointed Monday as the new head of CNN, where he's expected to take over in May.Licht's expected appointment to replace Jeff Zucker as chief of CNN was widely reported over the weekend. Before moving into late-night TV, Licht was the chief executive behind the “CBS This Morning" news program and “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.The appointment was made by David Zaslav, Discovery CEO, who is expected to take over the merged company when Discovery's acquisition of CNN parent WarnerMedia is approved this spring.Zaslav called Licht a “dynamic and creative producer, an engaging and thoughtful journalist, and a true news person.”He said Licht is “a highly principled individual who is trusted, hard-working and makes every organization stronger, more innovative and more cohesive.”Zucker was forced out earlier this month, after admitting that he had violated corporate rules by not revealing his romantic relationship with a CNN marketing executive, Allison Gollust.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN will have a new chief for a new chapter.Chris Licht, a veteran producer who has overseen programs like MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” was named chairman and chief executive of CNN Global — a new name for the news operation once its parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery. Licht will report directly to David Zaslav, who will be CEO of the combined company.Discovery is expected to take control of WarnerMedia sometime in mid-April, depending on a shareholder vote, among other conditions.The prospect of a new owner and a new top executive has spurred speculation about what new programming and operating direction may be in store for the venerable cable-news outlet, which has been under scrutiny since WarnerMedia ousted former president Jeff Zucker after he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s former chief marketing officer.

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 EditorChris Licht, the wunderkind producer who launched “Morning Joe,” retooled “CBS This Morning” and helped late night host Stephen Colbert gain traction on CBS, is jumping to CNN to take over the operation once its corporate parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery in a much-anticipated merger expected to take place in April, according to a person familiar with the matter.Licht could not be reached for immediate comment and a CNN spokesperson referred an inquiry to Discovery. A Discovery executive declined to comment.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav dropped his usual quota of names during the company’s quarterly earnings call — John Malone, Jack Welch, Oprah — but one name didn’t come up: Jeff Zucker.

Discovery execs, attuning commentary around recent investor sentiment on streaming, reassured investors this morning that they will not overspend on content as the company merges with WarnerMedia early in the second quarter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDiscovery said profit tumbled in the fourth quarter as the owner of Food Network, Discovery Channel and Eurosport contended with expenses related to the Discovery Plus streaming hub and a group of one-time items related to expenses. Even so, the company saw revenue increase as its streaming efforts helped boost advertising and distribution revenue.Discovery said fourth quarter net income fell to $38 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with $271 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.The company released details of its performance as it prepares to acquire WarnerMedia, a move that will elevate its standing in the media sector.

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.

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 EditorNBCUniversal wants to add an interesting new story to Jenna Bush Hager’s “Today” book club.For nearly four years, the co-host of the 10 a.m. hour of “Today” has chosen a book each month for members of her “Read with Jenna” club to peruse and discuss.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDiscovery investors will be asked to approve the $43 billion deal to combine with WarnerMedia, which AT&T is spinning off, at a March 11 virtual meeting.Discovery announced the date in a letter to shareholders, which it disclosed in an SEC filing Thursday. On that same day, AT&T has scheduled a virtual investor conference where the company said it will provide “additional insight and expectations for financial and operational performance of AT&T’s Communications segment” following the close of the WarnerMedia transaction.The pact cleared a major hurdle this week after U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC News has a lot of stories to tell during the Olympics and the Super Bowl. One of them is about itself.The large NBCUniversal news division is using both events to get the word out about its growing package of streaming news programming at a time when the battle for broadband info junkies appears to be reaching a new apex.NBC News will tout its streaming-news outlet NBC News Now with a 20 second promo in the first quarter during NBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl LVI this Sunday, as well as with a 15-second promo during the pre-game.

Discovery has set March 11 as the date of a special shareholder meeting to hold a vote on the company’s proposed merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorOn Sunday, actor Ty Burrell will fulfill a goal that has long been on his bucket list: taking part in a Super Bowl commercial.He put a lot of work into it. In a 30-second spot slated to air in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, Burrell will be spotted making frivolous purchases like a jetpack, a giant yacht called the “TyTanic” and a life-size robot. He even agrees to buy a live Pegasus — all to the detriment of the character he portrays.