Nielsen Streaming Top 10: ‘A Madea Homecoming’ and ‘Free Guy’ Both Cross 1 Billion Minutes Watched in Debut Week

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery completed its $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T on Friday to form new company Warner Bros. Discovery.WarnerMedia owns HBO, HBO Max, CNN, Warner Bros., DC Films, New Line Cinema, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Turner Sports and Rooster Teeth, among other brands, and is part owner of the CW Network along with Paramount.Discovery is the parent of Discovery Plus, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal Planet, Science Channel and OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).Here is the new leadership structure for Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarner Bros. Discovery is not going with the “initial wordmark” revealed last June as its official logo.Variety has obtained a low-res copy of a new logo that is being circulated on internal memos at Discovery and WarnerMedia Friday, ahead of the expected close of the merger transaction later today.Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment on the Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterChip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network will move under HBO’s purview upon the completion of Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, which will result in the launch of Warner Bros. Discovery Monday, Variety has learned exclusively.Allison Page, president of Magnolia, which is a joint venture between the Gaineses and Discovery, Inc., will report directly to HBO and HBO Max chief Casey Bloys.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery is cleaning house among the top ranks at WarnerMedia ahead of the close of the two companies’ merger, which is expected to occur Friday, with six more executives shown the door Wednesday, Variety has learned.According to a WarnerMedia spokesperson, the newly cut WarnerMedia players include: Jennifer Biry – Chief Financial Officer, Jim Cummings – EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer; Tony Goncalves – EVP, Chief Revenue Officer; Christy Haubegger – EVP, Communications and Chief Inclusion Officer;  Jim Meza – EVP, General Counsel, WarnerMedia; and Richard Tom – Chief Technology Officer.Notably remaining with the soon-to-be-combined company, which will be renamed Warner Bros. Discovery and run by current Discovery CEO David Zaslav, is Gerhard Zeiler, president of WarnerMedia International, a source close to the internal leadership changes confirmed to Variety.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Bridgerton” Season 2 has broken the record for most-viewed show in a week among Netflix’s English TV series, per the streaming service’s newly released weekly Top 10 list.While “Squid Game” still holds the overall record for most-viewed show on Netflix in general across a 7-day period with 571.76 million hours viewed, the second season of “Bridgerton” racked up 251.74 million hours viewed for the week of March 28-April 3, its first full week on the streaming service.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Discovery-WarnerMedia merger could close as early as Friday, Variety has learned exclusively.Previously, insiders said the transaction between Discovery and WarnerMedia’s current owner AT&T would be formally completed on April 11. On Tuesday, amid WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar formally announcing his exit timed to the rapidly approaching close of the formation of Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterCBS’ Pete Holmes bowling sitcom “How We Roll” entered the broadcast comedy lane on Thursday with an impressive debut audience that landed it the No. 2 slot on the 2021-2022 broadcast season’s list of freshman comedy premieres ranked by viewership.In first place is “How We Roll’s” time slot lead-in, “Ghosts,” a critical darling that has already been renewed at CBS for Season 2.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix shows “Vikings: Valhalla” and “Worst Roommate Ever” both racked up more than 1 billion minutes watched during the week of Feb. 28-March 6, per Nielsen’s newly released Top 10 streaming rankings.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Promising Young Woman” and “Arrival” production company FilmNation Entertainment and Range Media Partners have set a partnership to co-produce, co-finance, develop and sell a broad-ranging slate of feature films across a variety of genres and budget-sizes, the companies said Thursday.Under the co-production pact, FilmNation Entertainment and Range Media Partners expect to produce four to six films per year, “with the capacity for more as needed.”The deal will offer Range Media’s talent “the platform and tools needed to get their films made via both independent and worldwide buyers, while driving greater ownership in their own projects – both creatively and financially.” In turn, FilmNation “will further expand its production, sales and financing slates as the leading independent studio continues to serve as a global destination for the world’s best storytellers.” FilmNation and Range expect to give the green light to multiple projects “imminently.” Per the two companies, “The combination of FilmNation’s top tier production capabilities and world class distribution platform with Range Media’s access to high-end material and world-renowned talent, underpinned by both companies’ deep financial resources, will bring to market some of the most compelling, highly anticipated film projects available to an array of buyers.”“We at FilmNation are always looking for inventive ways to give the world’s most talented creators an avenue to use our powerful production, sales and finance platform, particularly as a tool to make their creative visions come to life,” FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Bridgerton” Season 2 was viewed for 193 million hours over its debut weekend, per Netflix’s newly released Top 10 rankings for the week of March 21-27. That impressive three-day viewership is a record-breaker, as “Bridgerton” Season 2 is now the most-watched Netflix English-language TV title in its premiere weekend in the streamer’s history.Naturally, the second season of “Bridgerton” landed in the No.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNew York City-based esports giant Andbox has rebranded as NYXL and will be making a hefty investment into the city’s gaming community over the next year, including building its new Manhattan headquarters, practice facility and live-event space in pursuit of developing New York into a gaming epicenter.“Dedicated to creating experiences and developing content that connects the worlds of esports, gaming culture, and lifestyle for the discerning modern gamer, NYXL solidifies its commitment to New York in more than just name — making an investment in the high-seven figures into NYC’s gaming community over the next 12 months, including building its headquarters, XLHQ, in Manhattan. The organization will also launch YXL, their Young Creator Project, an annual initiative that discovers, supports and promotes the next generation of New York digital content creators, pledging $500,000 to the program,” the company said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDocuseries “Bad Vegan” debuted on Netflix’s Top 10 list of English-language TV series at No. 5, with 27 million hours of the show viewed in the first five days after its March 16 launch. On the film side, “The Adam Project” maintained its hold as the No.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC’s “American Song Contest” series premiere was topped by a new episode of ABC’s “American Idol” Monday, according to early Nielsen data.The two-hour debut of NBC’s U.S. adaptation of the European mega hit “Eurovision Song Contest” averaged a 0.5 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.892 million viewers while airing live from 8-10 p.m., per Nielsen’s fast-affiliate ratings. Meanwhile, “Idol” averaged a 0.7 key demo rating and 5.1465 million viewers during that same window.“American Song Contest” is a live show for the East Coast, but airs tape delayed for the West Coast.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterTyler Perry’s “The Oval” and “Sistas” have been renewed for a fourth and fifth season, respectively, at BET.Production on the new seasons of both series is set to start at Tyler Perry Studios this spring.Executive produced, directed and written by Perry, “The Oval” Season 3 averaged 1.3 million total viewers per episode in Live + 3 Day data from Nielsen, and “Sistas” Season 4 averaged 1.6 million across BET and BET Her.“Tyler Perry’s The Oval” lifts the veil of what can happen when the leader of the free world, his wife, and his family are crazed maniacs. The series also highlights the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run the inner workings of the nation’s most iconic residence.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe series premiere of NBC’s Renée Zellweger-led limited series “The Thing About Pam” has increased its key demo rating by nearly 400% when counting a week’s worth of delayed and digital viewing, Variety has learned exclusively.The debut episode of the Blumhouse Television-produced show, which aired at 10 p.m. on March 8, initially managed a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.9 million total viewers in Live + Same Day Nielsen data.When adding in seven days of delayed viewing across linear and DVR, plus digital platforms Hulu, NBC.com, the NBC app and Peacock, “The Thing About Pam” series premiere jumped to a 1.93 demo rating (up 387%) and 8.7 million viewers (+205%).From the initial live + same day viewing, the first episode is up 387% in the demo (0.40 vs.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“American Song Contest” has revealed its detailed online and TikTok voting procedures and the 56 members of its expert jury panel, including Isaac Slade, Matt Pinfield and Jose Tillan, ahead of the U.S. adaptation of “Eurovision’s” big two-hour debut Monday on NBC, Variety has learned exclusively.Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the all-live “American Song Contest” will feature 56 artists representing the 50 states, five U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix’s “Inventing Anna” jumped to No. 1 on Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings in its second week after launching on Netflix, almost tripling its audience to 3.3 billion minutes watched during the week of Feb.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAmazon has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM first announced last May, the companies said Thursday.Per Amazon, “The storied, nearly century-old studio—with more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards, and 100 Emmy Awards—will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers.”The completion of the transaction comes two days after the Amazon-MGM deal received clearance from the European Union’s antitrust regulator, which “unconditionally” approved Amazon’s proposed acquisition of MGM, in part because “MGM’s content cannot be considered as must-have.” The European Commission, in its antitrust review, found that the overlaps between the Amazon and MGM businesses are “limited.” At that time, the deal was still pending approval by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which had been given a mid-March deadline by Amazon to issue a decision on approval of the transaction, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“The Adam Project” and “Pieces of Her” topped Netflix’s lists of English-language film and TV series for the week of March 7, when the fifth and final season of “The Last Kingdom” was viewed for 63.5 million hours in its first five days after launch.Debuting March 11, the Ryan Reynolds-led flick drew 92.43 million hours viewed in just its first two days on the platform. Meanwhile, “Pieces of Her,” which premiered Season 1 March 4, was the No.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterFox hopes to greet a big audience with its new small-town docu-comedy “Welcome to Flatch” when the Paul Feig and Jenny Bicks-produced show launches later this week. But if “Flatch” doesn’t bring in the viewers with its linear premiere on Thursday at 9:30 p.m., Fox execs won’t be talking about cutting the mockumentary from the network’s midseason lineup Friday morning.That’s because the broadcast network is launching the first half of the 14-episode Season 1 via Hulu and other digital platforms at midnight on Thursday, and promises it’s not going to be giving much weight to “Welcome to Flatch’s” Live + Same Day Nielsen ratings over those first seven weeks of airing, when the episodes will all be available for streaming well before they rollout weekly on Fox.