TV Needs to Measure Audiences, but Won’t Have Nielsen or Comscore Accreditation for Upfront’s Start

Kacey Musgraves has an apt tribute to Willie Nelson in her home. The 33-year-old singer gave Architectural Digest a tour of her home in Nashville, Tennessee, and proudly showed off her prized gift from the country legend.In her light-filled art room off of her open entryway, Musgraves displays a framed joint from Nelson.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarner Bros. Discovery wants to interest Madison Avenue in everything from “Full Frontal” to “90 Day Fiancé.”The newly merged media conglomerate will fold what we’re once two separate upfront presentations into one, the company said Monday, reserving May 18 for a.showcase of both the Warner and Discovery properties as part of a unified portfolio.The new event essentially takes over the spot in May’s upfront week preciously occupied by WarnerMedia.

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Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBefore the TV industry can claim to have a new yardstick in place for measuring audiences, it will need to test many different ones.WarnerMedia, slated to be acquired by Discovery within days, has struck an alliance with Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands that will allow advertisers to test how three different measurement services gauge the performance of ad campaigns. The results from the test could influence the sorts of measurement deals Warner offers in the industry’s next “upfront” ad-sales market and will aid Mediabrands’ review of measurement providers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen investors just got a nice payday. Will the company’s biggest customers benefit financially as well?The media measurement giant raised eyebrows last week when it agreed to be sold to a private-­equity consortium led by Evergreen Coast Capital Corp., an affiliate of activist fund Elliott Management — which has been lobbying for a Nielsen sale — and Brookfield Business Partners.

Martha Stewart is saying goodbye to a beloved pet.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMedia-measurement mainstay Nielsen said it had agreed to be acquired by a private-equity group for $16 billion after holding out for a higher price than a previous bid.Nielsen said Tuesday that it would be purchased by a group led by Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of activist fund Elliott Investment Management L.P., which has been lobbying for a Nielsen sale, and Brookfield Business Partners L.P., in a deal that calls for an all-cash deal of for $28 per share, or $16 billion, including the assumption of debt. Nielsen had previously blocked a sale, saying it did not value the company’s growth prospects properly.The sale takes place with Nielsen under the media industry’s microscope.

Anthony Anderson and his wife Alvina Stewart are separating after 22 years of marriage.

Closing their chapter. Anthony Anderson and wife Alvina Stewart have split after more than 20 years together, Us Weekly confirms.

Coronation Street viewers were left emotional after they spotted what they thought was a touching tribute to Ukraine on the ITV soap. On Monday night, ITV viewers saw Elle Mulvaney's character Amy Barlow trying to convince her grandfather Ken Barlow (William Roache) to give her the inheritance that her late grandmother, Deidre (Anne Kirkbride) left her before she passed away.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAdvertisers still want TV to deliver big audiences, but they are also increasingly demanding new abilities to find smaller ones.NBCUniversal on Tuesday used an annual technology conference to keep demonstrating new technologies that help Madison Avenue track all the discrete consumer niches that may be found within the broader audiences watching TV programs. One new effort, an artificial-intelligence engine known as a “harmonizer,” aims to help marketers “make sure we are finding consumers at the right moment based on specific behavior,” says Josh Feldman, global chief marketing officer of NBCUniversal’s ad-sales unit.Using NBCU’s data about how viewers watch programs on the company’s streaming site Peacock, he says, advertisers might be able to assign an ad specifically created to “welcome” a new subscriber to the service, or feed particular commercials to customers who often watch programming late at night — even if they are tuning in at other times of the day.

Spencer star gave the look a bit of an edge by styling her hair in an effortlessly undone up-do. If this is any indication of how she'll dress to her upcoming wedding to , we're here for it.Kristen Stewart attends the 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California. Kristen Stewart's not the only one embracing as formal wear. On March 18, attended the SXSW premiere of her new film Cha Cha Real Smooth wearing a sheer nude corset, which she paired with a '70s-inspired linen pantsuit.

“Look, people are not held accountable for inaccuracies, so there’s that issue,” former Disney kingpin Bob Iger says of the news media business today.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorShares of media-measurement kingpin Nielsen Holdings PLC surged more than 40% Monday after The Wall Street Journal reported the company had started talks with a group of private-equity firms, including Elliott Management Corp., for a sale that could be valued at approximately $15 billion, including debt.Elliott Management has a reputation for pressing for big changes at the companies in which it invests, and has in the past called for different management of companies including Barnes & Noble. Interpublic Group and AT&T.

posted videos to his Instagram on Friday of him in a neon Hi-Viz safety vest shoveling asphalt out of the back of a truck into large, wet potholes.Several pals are seen working alongside Stewart in Harlow, Essex, about an hour outside the center of London.“This is the state of the roads near where I live in in Harlow and it’s been like this for ages … people are bashing their cars up,” Stewart said.He complained that the government has been putting “millions of pounds” into the nearby M11 highway while neglecting this road.A post shared by Sir Rod Stewart (@sirrodstewart)“And the other day there was an ambulance for the first time, my Derrari can’t go through here at all, so me and the boys thought we’d come out here and do it ourselves,” he said.Stewart, who released his latest album “The Tears of Hercules” last year, has scheduled a tour of the US and Canada set to kick off in June.

Willie Nelson’s sister and original bandmate has died.

Kristen Stewart is hitting the streets of NYC.