TelevisaUnivision Upfront Growth Bucks Soft Market

K.J. Yossman “Lord of the Rings” owner Embracer told shareholders and investors that the fantasy franchise, which they snapped up last summer for $395 million, has been a significant growth driver in Q1.

As an editor for Netflix’s Queer Eye, Toni Ann Carabello says the work is very different from other reality series. “On a lot of other shows, you’re over-emphasizing the drama,” she says. “On Queer Eye, you’re really just playing up the best parts of what’s there… It just makes everyone leave smiling.”

Some families across Scotland will be getting the kids ready to go back to school for a new term, which means the school uniform could still be on the to-do list.

In Lalalaletmeexplain 's hit column, readers ask for her expert advice on their own love, sex and relationship problems. With over 200k Instagram followers, Lala is the anonymous voice helping womankind through every bump in the road. An established sex, dating and relationship educator, she’s had her fair share of relationship drama and shares her wisdom on social media to a loyal army of followers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Madison Avenue pulled hundreds of millions of dollars out of primetime TV and sent them to streaming venues in the industry’s recently completed “upfront” market, the latest sign that one of the media sector’s most stable mediums is in an era of severe flux. Ad commitments for primetime broadcast TV fell 3%, to $9.595 billion, compared with $9.91 billion in last year’s market, according to Media Dynamics Inc., an advertising consultancy that tracks the upfront, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory for their next programming cycle.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC’s game show lineup is making a splash on Sunday nights.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The video industry in Indonesia is set for rapid growth over the next five years as online services overtake conventional TV’s market share, according to new study. Total video industry revenues (free TV, pay-TV and online video) are expected to grow at 8% compound average growth rate, according to a briefing by Singapore-based research firm Media Partners Asia. The researcher forecasts the market expanding from $2.5 billion in the current year to £3.7 billion in 2028.

threw at a Las Vegas concertgoer.Cardi’s flying mike was sold for $99,900 on eBay Tuesday. That’s one heck of a mike check.The 30-year-old “WAP” rapper chucked the microphone at a woman at Drai’s Beachclub during her July 29 set after the crowd member threw an unknown liquid and ice at Cardi.Scott Fisher — whose company, the Wave, provided audio support for the show — listed the mike Aug. 1.He listed the item for $500.

Disney has wrapped up its 2023-24 upfront sales process, with gains in sports and streaming helping it return to 2022 revenue and volume levels.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A tough advertising market sent dollars toward Disney’s sports and streaming properties, the company said Tuesday, but not flocking at the same rate to its traditional TV networks. “Overall revenue and volume commitments made in the Upfront are in line with the prior year,” the company said in a statement.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Endeavor swung to a big profit in the second quarter thanks to the sale of its IMG Academy business, which will help fuel a stock buyback program and a cash dividend payments at the end of the current quarter. The parent company of WME, IMG, UFC and other media and sports assets delivered revenue of $1.43 billion in the quarter, up about 8% from the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization of $304.9 million, up slightly from the year-ago mark ($306.4 million).

Jada Pinkett Smith is sharing some of her progress amid her ongoing battle with alopecia. The 51-year-old star took to Instagram to show some before and after photos of her hair growth. «This here hair is act’n like it’s try’n a make a come back.

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, slid 5.1% to €3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) for the first half of 2023, financial results released on Tuesday have revealed. Adjusted EBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, and Amortization) was down to down to €250 million compared to €501 million during the same period in 2022 and group profit was at €132 million, more than 50% down €304 million in 2022. The company attributes this to “challenging TV advertising markets, in particular in Germany.” RTL group’s TV advertising revenue declined 12.5% to €1.18 billion (H1/2022: €1.35 billion).

Paramount Global had a rocky June quarter in film as Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, not surprising, found it tough going against last year’s Top Gun: Maverick.

Lisa Vanderpump‘s husband is facing a major legal battle from the landlords of the now-shuttered Pump!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Short-form video platform TikTok enjoyed a huge increase in viewership in the first six months of the year in Southeast Asia, contributing to a sudden halt to the overall growth of premium (SVOD) video, according to a new report. Data from AMPD and analysis from consultancy firm Media Partners Asia show that TikTok is increasingly a major driver of viewership growth on mobile and web platforms in the region, responsible for over 70% of growth in streaming minutes over the past two years.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor While its English-language competitors had to grapple with price reductions in this year’s TV upfront market, Spanish-language giant TelevisaUnivision was able to do the opposite. The owner of the Univision broadcast network and the Vix streaming hub was able to increase the volume of ad commitments it secured in upfront talks, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Two of the nation’s biggest purveyors of primetime television are relying more heavily on other kinds of video inventory to fuel their advertising flows for 2023 and 202r, Fox Corp. and Paramount Global are both near the end of their processes in TV’s annual “upfront” ad sales market, and both expect to see some volume gains in specific areas of their portfolio.

CBS and Fox weighed in on their upfronts today, following NBC last week. CBS has closed its 2024 selling season up “low-to-mid single digits” in dollar commitments. Fox Corp. showed gains in news and is looking at a fall slate of sports, animated and unsripted content.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify, the world’s biggest music and audio streaming service, delivered strong numbers for the second quarter of 2023 — beating forecast user growth on paid subscribers and total listeners, while Q2 revenue was in-line with expectations. But with newly announced price increases for Spotify Premium in dozens of markets including the U.S., the company is forecasting a smaller gain in paid subscribers for Q3. The company netted 10 million new Premium customers in the quarter (over its expectations of 7 million), to stand at 220 million. Overall, Spotify had 551 million monthly active users for the period, a pickup of 36 million sequentially — an all-time high for the company.