NBCU Lures Senior Nielsen Exec Kelly Abcarian to Oversee Measurement for Advertisers

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen’s TV yardstick has been found wanting.A review of recent Nielsen efforts to map out TV audience activity determined the company likely undercounted TV audiences in February of this year, a development that is expected to intensify a growing rift between the measurement giant and the TV networks who depend on it to set discussions with advertisers that help undergird billions of dollars in advertising.The Media Rating Council, an industry organization that

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorKenny Mayne, the longtime ESPN announcer and humorist, is set to leave the Disney-owned sports-media outlet after a more-than-quarter-century run that had him hold forth on “SportsCenter,” tackle horse racing coverage and appear in some other, very unique showcases.On Twitter, Mayne cited “salary cap casualty” as the reason for his decision.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC started broadcasting “Saturday Night Live” live across the U.S in 2017.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen, the company that measures TV audiences every day says it still needs a few weeks to get its counting procedures back to normal.In a May 6 letter to TV networks, media-measurement giant Nielsen said it is still working to “resolve outstanding maintenance needs” in approximately 2700 homes that serve in its panel of consumers, and will likely not complete that work until the end of May.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBig advertisers like General Motors and Target say they intend to pay more attention to Black-owned media outlets.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAMC Networks said first quarter profit rose even as it navigated declines in revenue and operating income in the midst of a challenging environment.The New York owner of the AMC, IFC and Sundance cable networks said net income came to $87 million, or $2.02 per share, compared with $68.7 million, or $1.22 per share in the year-earlier period.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC and Lilly Singh will end her late-night program, “A Little Late With Lilly Singh,” after two years, the latest sign that TV networks are rethinking how to handle a widening array of wee-hours programs as viewing habits shift.Singh has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, to develop unscripted projects.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorViacomCBS said first-quarter profit surged as the company enjoyed the benefits of ad sales associated with Super Bowl LV and lured 6 million new subscribers to streaming outlets such as Paramount Plus.The New York owner of CBS, Showtime and Nickelodeon said revenue increased 14% to $7.41 billion, up from nearly $6.5 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs millions of people tune in to the Tokyo Olympics later this year, one of the world’s biggest advertisers hopes to give them something during the commercial breaks that is as inspiring as anything they might see around the swimming pool or on the gymnastics pavilion.Procter & Gamble, which has become a regular participant in Olympics advertising over the last decade, will serve up two short films that give viewers a different take of the athletes competing this

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorYamiche Alcindor, a veteran Washington correspondent, will take over as moderator of “Washington Week,” the venerable PBS Friday-night series that aims to add perspective to an always-churning news cycle.Alcindor, currently the White House correspondent for “PBS NewsHour,” will continue in that role. She becomes just the ninth moderator in the history of the 54-year old program, which is produced by PBS affiliate WETA of Arlington, VA.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorYou don’t have to be perpetually “live, from New York” to flourish these days at “Saturday Night Live.”In years past, the show’s cast members focused their all on the venerable late-night program and, when outside opportunity knocked or contracts ran out or media economics forced a tightening of the group, they left.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWalter Cronkite held forth from New York and Washington for CBS News. His heirs at a new ViacomCBS unit will do the same, while also monitoring Sacramento, Minneapolis and Dallas.The two executives named to head a newly fashioned division that combines the CBS local stations with CBS News and the team that manages the CBSN live-streaming news service offered their early vision for how the operation will function.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAmazon will gain new rights to “Thursday Night Football” one year earlier than expected, giving the digital giant exclusive access to the NFL property in 2022, instead of in 2023.“This expedited deal is an immediate differentiator for us as a service, as it gives Prime members exclusive access to the most popular sport in the United States.” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of Global Sports Video at Amazon, in a statement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen and the networks it serves have long been at odds, like a student might be with a particularly tough college professor who always offers a B- but never an A.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAmazon recently won the rights to show the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.” Now all it has to do is get more people used to the fact that the games will stream exclusively on the company’s Prime Video starting in 2023, rather than airing on Fox, NBC or CBS.That’s where Marc Patrick comes in.Patrick, most recently senior vice president of marketing at Beyond Meat, was named global head of sports marketing for Amazon Prime Video, where he will report to Ukonwa Ojo,

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorComcast said first-quarter profit rose due largely to increases in business at its cable and Sky operations, while its NBCUniversal business continued to recover from the results of the coronavirus pandemic.The Philadelphia media giant said first quarter profit rose 55% to $3.33 billion, or 71 cents a share, compared with$2.1 billion, or $4.6 billion in the year-earlier period.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC’s “Tonight Show” will try a new way to break out of TV’s late-night pack.The Jimmy Fallon-led program is launching a new six-episode miniseries that chronicles how the show maneuvered during the coronavirus pandemic, moving to “at home” broadcasts that featured the host and his family, and its eventual return to NBC’s TV studios with fewer bells and whistles.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorOpen AP, the media consortium that hopes to broaden the practice known as “audience buying,” will unveil a new “identifier” aimed at facilitating the placement of commercials across linear TV and digital video — and a significant chunk of traditional TV and advertising companies are lining up to support the venture.AMC Networks, A+E Networks, Crown Media, Discovery, Disney, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Univision, ViacomCBS, WarnerMedia and The Weather Channel

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDiscovery revealed the big challenge behind getting involved in the media industry’s streaming wars: A new broadband hub can bring in millions of new customers — but it also requires millions of dollars in investment.The New York owner of Food Network, HGTV, TLC and its flagship Discovery cable outlet said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit slumped after it ramped up spending for content and marketing related to Discovery Plus, the streaming-video outlet it