Sports, Streaming Drive Volume As Fox Wraps Upfront

The mountains are as gorgeous as ever, the deal climate not so much as boutique investment bank Allen & Co. prepares to host its annual Sun Valley retreat. After guests arrive on Tuesday, official activities get under way Wednesday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA second NBCUniversal sports cable outlet is getting ready to finish its game.NBCUniversal has notified cable and satellite operators that it intends to shut down its Olympic Channel, devoted largely to content associated with U.S. Olympic athletes, on September 30, according to a company spokesperson.

NBCUniversal has exceeded last year’s record-setting upfront ad revenue haul north of $7 billion, company insiders said in confirming the finalizing of upfront dealmaking.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV networks continue to fare better than expected in the current “upfront” market as they harness streaming video and sports — and a willingness to accept lower rates — in order to keep Madison Avenue’s money flowing.NBCUniversal said it wrapped its upfront negotiations in the annual upfront, and could have seen advance advertising commitments for NBC’s primetime schedule rise by as much as 20%. Variety estimates that upfront commitments for NBC primetime could total between $3.2 billion and $3.4 billion, compared with  between $2.68 billion and $2.98 billion for its primetime broadcast inventory in 2021.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCharissa Thompson, a regular presence at Fox Sports, is broadening her horizons.The sportscaster, known for hosting “Fox NFL Kickoff” on Sundays during the NFL season, will also be working Thursday nights. Amazon’s Prime Video has selected Thompson to host its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of “Thursday Night Football,” of which the first season under its aegis will launch this fall.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTelevisaUnivision had something to sell in this year’s TV upfront market that many of its English-language counterparts did not: growing linear audiences.The Spanish-language media giant has finished its upfront negotiations and expects to see rising volume of advance commitments for its advertising, according to a person familiar with the matter. This person says TelevisaUnivision anticipates a double-digit-percentage increase in volume, with CPMs, or the cost of reaching 1,000 viewers, rising as much as 8% to 9%.Like other TV networks in the midst of selling upfront inventory this year, TelevisaUnivision noted significant advertiser interest in sports and streaming. Advertisers proved interested in the company’s soccer broadcasts, and saw ad investment in its streaming-video outlet, ViX more than double.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorStreaming outlet Fox Nation is already running the commercials its larger rivals say they want to sell.Big subscription-based streamers like Netflix and Disney+ have caught the attention of Madison Avenue with recent announcements about launching ad-supported tiers for their services. Fox Nation, a smaller streaming outlet that is part of Fox News Media, has quietly opened some of its selections for advertisers.Subscribers who recently streamed “Duck Family Treasure,” a new special that stars members of the Robertson family from the long-running series “Duck Dynasty,” likely saw something that people who binge-watch often don’t: commercials appearing in the bottom third of the screen while the action continued above them.

progressive disease, Fox turned to alcohol, a part of his life that the star recently opened up about in an interview with comedian Mike Birbiglia. Remarkably, even when dealing with a tremor, which leaves him unable to sit still, Fox stated that the "body impulses" he feels as a Parkinson's patient are "nothing" compared to what he felt as an alcohol addict. Feeling erratic and out of control when he was heavily drinking, Fox shared: "I couldn't be still.

With Lost rewatches happening all the time on streaming services, it’s easy to forget the show ended 12 whole years ago! And it wasn’t long after the acclaimed series took its final bow that star Matthew Fox followed suit.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSir Nick Faldo, who has helped call golf tournaments for CBS Sports alongside Jim Nantz for years, plans to step down from his role as CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst in August.Faldo, who has held the role of CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst since 2007, will be replaced by Trevor Immelman, who joined CBS Sports’ golf team in 2019. His new multi-year deal with CBS Sports will begin with its 2023 coverage, when he sits with Nantz for the Farmers Insurance Open.“Sir Nick has had a remarkable career on Network television for nearly 20 years and is one of the most accomplished commentators to ever sit in the 18th tower,” said Sean McManus, chairman, of CBS Sports, in a statement.  “Nick brought the same passion and dedication that propelled him to the world’s number one golfer to our broadcasts.

Former Page 3 model Sam Fox married her partner Linda Olsen in a lavish ceremony in Epping Forest, Essex, over the weekend. The pair got engaged in March 2020 and were due to get married the same year, however, due to Covid they had to reschedule. Sam, 56, looked fabulous in a low-cut bridal gown adorned with gems that then puffed out into a tulle skirt which was long at the back but short at the front.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe hottest place to be in TV may not be traditional television, but Paramount Global was able to make the medium seem pretty cool.Paramount Global has largely completed its upfront sales negotiations. And while the company saw its volume of advance advertising commitments rise most significantly for digital venues like Pluto and Paramount Plus, ad dollars committed for the traditional primetime schedule on the CBS broadcast network rose as well, according to a person familiar with current negotiations  The company expects at least a 10% rise in volume for its primetime schedule, this person says.  In 2021, CBS may have seen its primetime commitments total between $2.03 billion and $2.64 billion, according to Variety estimates, compared with $2.03 billion and $2.51 billion in 2020.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s dollars are migrating to digital, just like its viewers.The CW has wrapped upfront negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter, and expects a rise in advance ad commitments for its digital venues, but sees its primetime broadcast schedule take in similar volume to last year’s market.Variety estimates that CW may have seen primetime volume come in between $440.8 million and $626.9 million, in 2021, compared with $440.8 million and $$597.1 million in 2020More to come….

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFX has long been known for iconoclastic dramas like “The Shield” or “The Americans” that feature flawed protagonists and inventive plots. Next year, it may serve up more of those things — but not from scripted series.In 2023, FX will start showing spring football games from the XFL, the startup league backed by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia. Under a pact unveiled recently, FX and its corporate siblings at Disney will televise XFL games between 2023 and 2027.In its earlier days as a startup under the former News Corp.

Sharna Burgess is opening up about her relationship with Brian Austin Green's ex, Megan Fox. Sharna and Brian sat down with Nick Viall for the latest episode of his  podcast, where they spoke about their relationship, Sharna reaching out to Megan and how Brian and Megan have been co-parenting since their split.«We just sat and had coffee and breakfast and talked, we didn’t kiss, we didn’t try to rush it, we just took our time,» Sharna said of the couple's slow start. «And then I think the fifth date was our first kiss.»As the couple got to know each other more, Sharna decided to reach out to Megan, something she said the  actress appreciated.«After we’d been dating for about four or five months I was like, 'Can I get Megan’s number? I’d love to text her… I’d love to reach out and say, ‘Hey, I’m around your kids all the time, if you ever want to know anything about me or if you ever want to get coffee, let me know.

Lionsgate and Fox Corp.’s free, ad-supported streaming service Tubi have set a multi-year slate deal to give 30 new feature films and 200 library titles a presence on the platform.

Three leading media execs said upfront sales will wrap up shortly with Paramount and NBCUniversal seeing increases in the high single digits, according to CEOs Bob Bakish and Jeff Shell.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s upfront market is starting to close and ad dollars seem harder to collect.NBCUniversal expects the volume of advance advertising commitments secured in the annual haggle to be “in the same range as last year,” according to Jeff Shell, CEO of the Comcast owned unit. He said that declines due to “cord cutting were offset by pricing and Peacock for us,” during remarks made at an investor conference organized by Credit Suisse.