John Skipper, Dan Le Batard Join to Launch Meadowlark Media

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis is helping to tie things together at ABC News.You might not see the string during one of her recent hours on the Disney unit’s ABC News Live. On Tuesday evening, Davis’ “ABC News Live Prime” took viewers to Russia to examine how the government was cracking down on citizen protests and spent time looking at Congress’ effort to devise pandemic relief and hold an impeachment trial.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBarstool Sports, the rowdy sports-information empire with a knack for smack talk, is getting into longer-form programming.The company intends to launch “Coach Prime,” a documentary series that will follow Deion Sanders in his first season as head coach of the Jackson State Tigers, while calling attention to Historically Black College and Universities.

The models are back together!

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis and Whit Johnson have been named co-anchors of the weekend broadcasts of ABC News “World News Tonight,” filling roles in the wake of the departure of anchor Tom Llanas.In a memo sent to ABC News staffers Monday, James Goldston, the unit’s outgoing president, said Johnson will anchor Saturdays, while Davis will anchor Sundays. They will commence their new duties this weekend.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe prospect of putting an ad in the Super Bowl for the first time might make some executives nervous, but not John Lagerling.Madison Avenue regulars know they can game out the Big Game by getting consumer reaction to their ads before they put them on TV, or analyzing them with reams of data. Mercari, an online marketplace that’s running its first Super Bowl commercial on CBS next Sunday, isn’t doing too much of that, says Lagerling, the company’s U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLarry Kudlow, the former CNBC host turned Trump economic advisor, has found a new media job after his time at the White House — and it’s not with his former employer.Kudlow, who took on the unenviable job of predicting a quick V-shaped recovery for the nation in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and also tried to make the case the contagion was contained before it took full root in the U.S,, will launch a new weekday program for Fox Business Network.

Jane Lynch is explaining the reason why her dogs have been given human names.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSix of the nation’s most prominent advertisers have signed on as early supporters of Univision’s new PrendeTV, a vote of confidence in the streaming service as the Spanish-language broadcaster moves forward in early days under new management.Clorox, Coca-Cola, Dunkin, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota and Walmart will serve as charter advertisers of the new service, Donna Speciale, the executive recently named president of advertising sales and marketing at Univision,

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole finally went head to head in their “Verzuz” battle Thursday after numerous delays.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPresident Trump’s White House tenure is over, but some members of the far-right media think there’s more of the now-former Commander-in-Chief’s story to tell.Several of the outlets, many of which have gained a reputation in media circles for promoting opinions based on falsehoods, spent part of a day devoted to the inauguration of a new president (Joe Biden) devoted to maintaining some echo of the one he replaced (Donald Trump).On the far-right cable network

Former ESPN president John Skipper and radio host and former ESPN on-air talent Dan Le Batard are joining forces on a new content venture. The pair are launching Meadowlark Media, which will emphasize a "creator-centric point of view" to content, with its initial focus on sports.

In a year that has stymied many of his peers, Riz Ahmed has been incredibly prolific, with two 2020 feature releases—Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal and Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli—as well as an album, The Long Goodbye, which came with a powerful short imagining life in a racist, post-Brexit Britain.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorOne of the first conversations cinematographer Douglas Koch had with director Deepa Mehta was about his using a handheld camera in shooting “Funny Boy,” a coming-of-age story set during the civil war in Sri Lanka.The plan was to allow complete flexibility as Koch worked with two actors — Arush Nand and Brandon Ingram — playing the role of Arjie from boyhood to adolescence as he discovers his sexual identity.

Six months after quitting the News Corp. board, James Murdoch is embarking on a new media and tech venture in India alongside Uday Shankar, the former president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and chairman, Star & Disney India.

Ray Fisher is opening up about being “let go” from the DC Universe franchise following an internal investigation over Joss Whedon‘s actions on the Justice League set.