NFL Strikes New Rights Pacts: Fox Cedes Thursdays to Amazon, ABC Gains Super Bowl Slot

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDisney’s search for a new leader for ABC News continues weeks after the company unexpectedly disclosed the former president, James Goldston, would leave the post.Goldston’s last day came at the end of March and the company has yet to hone in on a candidate to replace him, according to four people familiar with parts of the search process. When ABC News heads like David Westin or Ben Sherwood left in years past, Disney identified a successor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMorgan Radford will join Aaron Gilchrist as a co-anchor at live-streaming outlet NBC News Now, the latest example of NBC News adding resources to its streaming-video operations.Radford and Gilchrist will co-anchor the service between noon to 2 p.m. Her first appearance as co-anchor on the outlet came on Monday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEach weeknight, Fox News Channel’s primetime opinion hosts seek to own the libs. Greg Gutfeld says he wants to own some laughs.In an unorthodox maneuver, executives at the Fox Corp.-owned cable-news outlet will explore whether jokes and satire can capture a crowd after 11 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAnchor Bret Baier has renewed his contract with Fox News Channel, extending a pact that was last negotiated in 2019.The deal will keep Baier at the network for the next few years, and will maintain his roles as anchor and executive editor of the Fox Corp. network’s “Special Report” and as the outlet’s chief political anchor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Nation seems eager to expand its chief export.The streaming service, originally conceived as a place for “super fans” of Fox News Channel, has in recent months been filling its digital shelves with a show led by Nancy Grace; faith-based shows tied to Easter; and vintage movies and TV series.

NFL owners have voted to add a 17th regular-season game to the schedule for the upcoming campaign — the first time the schedule has grown in more than 40 years.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorKayleigh McEnany, the former White House Press Secretary during the Trump administration, will take on a regular anchoring job at Fox News Channel, co-hosting the daytime program, “Outnumbered,” a move that helps cement the Fox Corporation-backed outlet’s Trump ties in the aftermath of the 2020 election.Starting April 6, McEnany will appear regularly on the program along with Harris Faulkner, who has been a regular presence on the show since its launch in 2014,

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLara Trump, the Trump family member whose representation of her famous father-in-law helped her gain traction in conservative circles, has joined Fox News Channel as a contributor.“I sort of feel like I’ve been an unofficial member of the team for so long,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that the Fox Corporation-backed cable outlet made false claims about the company’s actions and influence on the 2020 presidential election. It is the second legal proceeding made against Fox News for its coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 race for the White House.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAudiences for TV’s biggest award shows may be in decline, but ad prices are not.ABC has been seeking around $2 million for a 30-second spot in its April 25 broadcast of the 93rd annual Academy Awards, according to two people familiar with negotiations, and the network does not appear to be facing much resistance.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA series of prominent TV-series endings will give AMC Networks an opportunity to seek new beginnings with advertisers.The New York owner of the AMC, IFC and Sundance cable networks will be selling ad inventory in the final cycles of “The Walking Dead,” “Better Call Saul” and “Killing Eve,” all part of the media industry’s annual “upfront” market, when U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS, NBC and Fox have all had issues with “Thursday Night Football.” Amazon sees possibilities.The e-commerce and streaming giant believes a new deal with the NFL that gives it sole control over the league’s Thursday-night franchise lends it an opportunity to create new viewing experiences for streamers and chances to work more expansively with advertisers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe Super Bowl is the TV industry’s biggest annual event. What if it became several?Walt Disney is considering a Super Bowl “mega-cast” that could create different broadcasts of the gridiron classic tailored to specific types of audiences, says Jimmy Pitaro, the company’s chairman of ESPN and sports content, during remarks made Thursday evening.

In deals collectively worth tens of billions, the NFL has reached 10-year rights extensions with existing TV partners and also taken the league into uncharted digital waters.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Corp. has partnered with Operative Media that will help Fox supervise all of the advertising inventory across its portfolio, a new sign of how media companies are evolving to track commercial buys across a wider array of different media types.Fox will weave Operative’s cloud native sales technology platform across its portfolio of entertainment, sports and news properties.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe chief legal officer of Fox Corporation tried to throw cold water on growing speculation that he has taken on a broader role at the company, making decisions about the company on behalf of its CEO Lachlan Murdoch,.In an interview with David Lat, writer of the Substack newsletter “Original Jurisdiction,” Viet Dinh, Fox Corp.’s chief legal and policy officer, demurred at recent stories in The New York Times and Financial Times suggesting he’s taken more control

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor“Chopped,” that Food Network perennial, is getting a few new ingredients.When the Discovery-owned outlet launches two new versions of the long-running series on streaming-video hub Discovery Plus, it will do with an aim to win younger audiences to its cause. “Chopped 420” gives four chefs the chance to incorporate cannabis or cannabis-infused ingredients into their recipes while “Chopped Next Gen” focuses on younger chefs.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMadison Avenue is paying more money to podcasting. Now a group of people focused on the industry wants advertisers to pay more attention.The Media Roundtable, a group of organizations that aims to promote civility and stronger dialogue in media, is launching a chart of what it considers to be the podcasts that display the most and least bias.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDrew Brees has jumped off the playing field into a sizable job as a sports analyst for NBC.The former New Orleans Saints quarterback, who just announced his retirement yesterday, will join NBC Sports as a studio analyst for “Football Night in America” and game analyst for its coverage of Notre Dame Football.