TV Networks Hammer Buyers for Big Rate Hikes in Early Upfront Ad Sales Talks

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorScott Collins has found life beyond “The Walking Dead.”The former ad-sales chief at AMC Networks, who gained traction by finding interesting ways of tying prominent marketers to some of the company’s flagship series, has joined Blockgraph, the ad-tech company that is jointly owned by by Charter Communications, Comcast, and ViacomCBS.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA coterie of 20 big advertisers — General Mills, L’Oreal and Nestle among them — has vowed to spend between 2% and 5% of their annual media budgets on Black-owned media outlets, part of a growing effort on Madison Avenue to raise ad dollars in support of multicultural media venues.The group of marketers, which also includes AARP, Mars, Pernod Ricard, Danone, DoorDash, Target and Tyson Foods, is working through GroupM, the large WPP media investment unit that

targeted by a group of mindless yobs who surrounded and pushed through bus passengers to attack him. The terrifying incident is reported to have happened on Sir Thomas Street in Liverpool city centre on Thursday, June 3.

Antiques Road Trip has been on our screens for over ten years now, but presenter Izzie Balmer is a new face to the show. However, the 31-year-old auctioneer and valuer is no less experienced than her co-stars, having worked her way up in the trade to become head valuer at the Wessex Auction rooms in Wiltshire.

live-action film dropped on May 28, Disney is looking forward «to a long run» with the franchise. To date, the Emma Stone-starring movie has earned over $32.4 million domestically and over $48.5 million worldwide.«We are very pleased with Cruella’s box office success, in conjunction with its strong Disney+ Premier Access performance to date,» a Disney spokesperson tells ET.

“The good thing about evil people is you can always trust them to do something, well, evil.” Of course, there’s a metaphor in there about movie studios, but we’ll let you figure that one out. Regardless, following the success of “Cruella” in theaters and Disney+, Disney is already developing a “Cruella 2” sequel.

No surprise here: Disney is capitalizing on last weekend’s success of Cruella in theaters and on Disney+ Premier, with a sequel already in the works with the pic’s director Craig Gillespie and writer Tony McNamara looking to team again.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterThe world may have been a more wholesome place before Cruella De Vil, but Disney cannot get enough of her.Before “Cruella” — the live-action prequel to the animated feature “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” — has even entered its second weekend, Disney is already in early development on a sequel, with director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Tony McNamara both expected to return.

AMC Entertainment, which has been surfing a wave of retail enthusiasm over its meme-worthy stock, has decided to cash in and sell 11.6 million shares.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAt least three of the nation’s big media companies are writing deals in an upfront ad-sales market that is moving more rapidly than in years past.Disney, NBCUniversal and Fox have all begun to sell advance advertising commitments as part of TV’s annual upfront market, according to five people familiar with the pace of negotiations.

The Droughtlander is finally going to end — but not for a while. Production on “Outlander” Season 6 will wrap this week, but you won’t get to see it until “early 2022,” Starz said on Tuesday.Sorry, that’s as specific as we’re getting right now in terms of timing.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe nation’s big media companies are on a new mission: finding ways to unite thousands of individual binge-watchers into a cohesive mass audience.Madison Avenue is eager to chase consumers moving from TV to new streaming hubs like Paramount Plus, Peacock and HBO Max. But when advertisers do, they find a much different set of viewing patterns than they do on the old familiar screen.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorRob Master loves the idea of putting commercials into new Hollywood streaming hubs like Peacock, HBO Max and Paramount Plus. But he’s not so enchanted with the costs being demanded by the media companies that own the sites.NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia and others are seeking a premium from sponsors eager to attach their ads to streaming shows.

Things are starting to return to normal, in late-night, it seems.

Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album is here, which also means we just got a whole bunch of lyrics from SOUR for Instagram captions. At 18, the Disney Channel alum is proving she’s a lot more than just a one-hit-wonder after the viral success of her 2021 single, “drivers license.” Her lyrics on SOUR range from topics of self-empowerment to self-doubt that anyone who has ever been a teenager (or, TBH, a struggling twenty-something) can relate to.

Henry Cavill is in early talks to star in one of the two lead roles in Chad Stahelski’s “Highlander” reboot, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.Neal H.

John Krasinski is celebrating a return to the theaters.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia tried to put its best foot forward on Wednesday by focusing on the future of its own media assets, rather than questions about its looming spinoff from AT&T and merger with Discovery.Executives at the AT&T-owned media conglomerate put a spotlight on the company’s broad array of media outlets and talent during an upfront presentation to advertisers. The showcase, largely pre-taped, featured Leslie Odom Jr.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe largest TV networks are getting ready to snare billions of dollars from Madison Avenue. And lose them, all at the same time.Expectations are high for the industry’s annual upfront, when TV networks try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory for the upcoming season.