Nielsen’s Defiant CEO Says Company Stands Ready to Count, Despite TV Network ‘Noise’

If Idina Menzel were offered a role in the upcoming movie adaptation of Wicked, she’d gladly do it.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe executives at the company that owns cable’s venerable Weather Channel know they have a popular service. The network has been around since 1982. Now they hope lightning will strike twice.A live-stream of the outlet will be made available via app for connected TV sets, and subscribers who already get the cable version can get it by providing details of their provider.

Lise Pedersen A multinational panel gathered on the first day of Cannes Docs, the Cannes Film Market sidebar, to discuss how having a strong, international, diverse and expert network is more important than ever to succeed as a documentary filmmaker today.Moderated and curated by Brigid O’Shea, co-director and co-founder of the Documentary Assn. of Europe, the panel brought together Nadja Tennstedt, director of DOK Industry, DOK Leipzig’s industry event, Nora Philippe, head of program at Eurodoc, a training program for producers with documentary projects in the development stage, Egyptian producer Kemsat El Sayed, and Michael Krotkiewski, producer and co-owner of Stockholm-based production company Momento Film.

Glamour. “I was finding a spot to sit, looking around, and thinking, ‘Hey, I can actually have a relationship or some type of connection with everyone that I see in this space.’ I was craving that social connection and working somewhere that wasn't my guest room. I was craving having a coffee with someone who wasn't my husband or my dog."While the future of a formal “return to office” in lieu of Zoom meetings in dresses over sweatpants (something Cho jokingly admits is still her WFH uniform) is still up in the air, the idea of pushing a female-led company forward has long been a driving point for women imagining a better world. Below, we talked to Jennifer Cho for about the beginnings of her career working as an intern alongside Eminem, her experience growing up as the child of Korean immigrants, and more.As I get older, I remember all of the things my parents told me about raising the bar and advocating for myself, and those are all things I want to transfer.

Stark political divisions in the U.S. have caused a surge in TV ad spending, with primary races in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other key states pointing to a massive haul in the upcoming fall midterms.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has opened up about his life since the Netflix series’ viral success and what the show might mean for the future of Korean media.In a recent interview with Deadline, Lee spoke about how, despite the massive international popularity of Squid Game – including critical success at the Critics Choice Awards and the SAG Awards – life has largely stayed the same for him.“I still don’t feel like my life has changed dramatically,” he explained, although, it’s been a different story for his career. The actor noted that the K-drama’s success has opened up “more opportunities to work with great people on more projects”.On the topic of opportunities, Lee touched on how he has “already [been] getting a lot of support” from renowed talent agency Creative Artists Agency, which he signed with earlier this year.

“That Damn Michael Che” is executive produced by Michael Che, Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer, and Erin Doyle, co-executive produced by Alice Mathias, Gary Richardson, Ayesha Rokadia, Daniel Powell and Alex Bach, and produced by Willa Slaughter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s most intense drama isn’t showing on any particular network and doesn’t stream on any specific screen. Even so, some of the industry’s most influential executives can’t stop talking about it.Chances are no one will mention the series at next week’s sundry upfront gatherings, when TV companies will unveil dozens of new programs as part of an effort to win billions of ad dollars, but it is of critical importance to Disney, Comcast, Fox and many of the TV-reliant companies behind the presentations.

Every year around this time – Saturday Night Live’s finale is May 21 – the rumor mill starts as to how the venerable comedy variety series will look next year.

One of the SNL Weekend Update anchors, Michael Che, went viral a few months ago when he told a comedy show audience he planned to leave the variety show this year.

EXCLUSIVE: John Cho rounds out the Season 2 ensemble cast of Apple TV+’s hit murder mystery comedy series The Afterparty, from Oscar winners Chris Miller and Phil Lord.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBCUniversal communications vet Katherine Nelson has joined Disney Branded Television in the newly-created role of vice president of corporate communications.In this position, Nelson will be responsible for overall communications strategy in support of the organization’s business and executive team as they ramp up the volume of programming that they create, produce and market for Disney+ and linear networks Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior.Based in Burbank, California, Nelson will have a focus on communications that drive the business and build Disney Branded Television’s brand reputation. She will be responsible for leading both external and internal communications for the organization, driving alignment and integrated messaging around strategy, business operations, brand development and internal culture.

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said a show called The Hill will debut on NewsNation by year end, building on the 2021 acquisition of the Beltway-focused digital asset as it builds up content on the news network he said is showing “green shoots.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Corporation said profit dipped in its third fiscal quarter due to declines in value of some of its outside investments, even as revenue increased at its mainstay cable and broadcast operations.The owner of the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports and Fox News Channel said net income attributable to shareholders came to $283 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with  $567 million, or 96 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. The company has a sizable stake in Flutter Entertainment, the sports-betting company that controls FanDuel.  Meanwhile, the company enjoyed a 7% increase in revenue, which rose to $3.46 billion from $3.22 billion a year earlier.In a statement, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch cited “pricing strength in both distribution and advertising revenues across our leadership brands, complemented by the powerful momentum we continue to see at Tubi,” the company’s streaming hub, as reasons for the revenue gains.

his band’s website on Friday that “due to a positive Covid case in the Willie Nelson Family Band” two upcoming shows scheduled to happen May 6 and May 7 would be postponed and that Nelson’s Sunday performance at Jazz Fest would be cancelled.Nelson was slated to close the Gentilly Stage — the same stage where his son Lukas Nelson is performing earlier in the day with his band the Promise of the Real. No replacement for the elder Nelson has yet been announced.The news comes after Melissa Etheridge announced Thursday that she would not be able to perform Saturday at Jazz Fest due to “COVID hitting my crew.” Mavis Staples will perform during that time period instead.“Oh my heart hurts not to be there.

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Younger (Snowfall) has been tapped to direct and executive produce ABC drama pilot The Company You Keep, starring Milo Ventigmilia and Catherine Haena Kim, from 20th Television.