TV’s Latest Epic Battle: Upstart Audience Measurement Firms Take Aim at Nielsen’s Ratings Dominance

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Richard Leibner, a celebrated talent agent who represented some of the best-known anchors in TV news, first at a firm he helped build and then for UTA, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. He was 85 years old. In his time, Leibner served as an agent and adviser to Dan Rather, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer, Bob Simon, Steve Kroft, Bill Whitaker, Diane Sawyer, Chuck Scarborough, Paula Zahn, Brian Stelter and Fareed Zakaria, among others.

Take That's Mark Owen left fans swooning after his appearance on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The singer, who is known for his youthful looks, appeared to have turned back the clock as he ditched his moustache and long hair for a '90s curtains hairstyle - reminiscent of his early days with the band.The band kicked off Ant and Dec's ITV show with a performance of their hit single Shine on Saturday evening, 6 April.

Rio Ferdinand has questioned Manchester United's approach to games under Erik ten Hag this season.

Ant and Dec's Saturday Night takeaway fans took to social media with the same complaint after watching Take That close the show in the latest episode.

Pop star Mark Owen has left fans absolutely gobsmacked with his stunning new look, as he ditched his recent rugged style for a clean-cut vibe on Saturday Night Takeaway.The Take That icon, known for his longer locks and distinct moustache, turned heads when he appeared on Ant and Dec's hit ITV show on Saturday, sporting a freshly shaven face and neat haircut. Devotees of the band were quick to express their joy over the star's makeover, flooding social media with comments of approval. "Thank goodness Mark Owen has cut his hair #LookingGood," tweeted one fan, while another added, "Mark Owen's cut his hair.

Stephen Mulhern had to unexpectedly withdraw from his appearance on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway this week due to illness. The beloved TV star, aged 47, is said to have let the production team know on the morning of Saturday, 6 April, that he was too under the weather to make it to the West London studios, though the specifics of his condition remain under wraps.

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, the dynamic duo of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, orchestrated a heartwarming reunion between a mother and daughter who hadn't seen each other in five years during the show's second to last episode. On Saturday night (6 April) the Geordie pair chose audience member Jane from Birkenhead to participate in their Spot The Difference segment.

Shadowhunters costars Katherine McNamara and Dominic Sherwood reunited on the red carpet a few weeks after teasing an exciting new project with another costar!

Take That have announced details of a new festival called ‘The Greatest Weekend’, starring performances from Sugababes, Sam Ryder and more. Find ticket details below.Developed by the iconic ‘90s boy band, the new festival will be held on the Mediterranean island of Malta, and span across four days later this year.Running between Thursday, October 17 and Sunday, October 20, the live event is the first of its kind, and will see Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald host what promises to be a “celebration of music, entertainment, and unforgettable moments, curated by the band themselves”.The exclusive event tells fans that it offers a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to see the band perform in an intimate live setting, and bring out an array of special hand-picked guests to perform.So far, the first wave of artists have been announced, with Sugababes, Ella Henderson and Gok Wan lined up for the Saturday instalment, and Sam Ryder, Daniel Bedingfield and Heather Small being confirmed for the Sunday event.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A group backed by many of the entertainment sector’s biggest traditional TV companies said it would back audience-measurement tools from Comscore and VideoAmp for use in national ad deals, the latest effort by media giants to create an alternative to Nielsen for tabulating viewership. Whether or not the new ad currencies will gain traction will depend on Madison Avenue.

Hunter Schafer is spilling tea on her former romantic partners.

Hunter Schafer is telling all!

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fierce media rivals like ESPN and Fox Sports aren’t often eager to see the other do well. But the competitors may be cheering one another this weekend. Fox and ESPN will this weekend each broadcast two games from the new — depending on how one looks at it — UFL, a league that has been built out of the former USFL and its rival, the XFL.

Love Is Blind eclipsed Avatar: The Last Airbender to take No. 1 on the Nielsen streaming charts as Season 6 of the reality dating series started to heat up.

is an “a–hole” who behaved badly on the set of a film the duo starred in and is now trying to stop the publication of her forthcoming memoir “Rebel Rising,” which calls him out.“Thanks so much to everyone who has sent gorgeous messages of support in the last few days and to those who share with me their stories of the a–hole!,” Wilson, 44, posted on her Instagram Story.“Don’t worry I won’t be bullied or threatened by this guy! And am working hard behind the scenes to make sure my book comes out!”The Aussie actress added: “Ps my book is not ABOUT this guy – this is one chapter!” The pair starred in the 2016 spy comedy “The Brothers Grimsby,” in which Baron Cohen, 52, played a working-class Brit-turned spy named Nobby and Wilson played Dawn, the mother of his 11 kids.Their ugly spat began March 15 when Wilson said in an Instagram video that a portion of her book would be devoted to a “massive a–hole” she once worked with.“When I first came to Hollywood, people were like, yeah, ‘I have a no-a–hole policy. [It] means like, yeah, I don’t work with a–holes.’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah.

Kendrick Lamar has dissed Drake and J. Cole while appearing on Future and Metro Boomin‘s new track ‘Like That’.The track is featured on Metro Boomin’s latest joint album ‘We Don’t Trust You’.

Dominic Purcell has entered the chat!

Tish Cyrus hasn’t given up on reconciling with her youngest daughter Noah yet!

Avatar: The Last Airbender made quite the entrance on Netflix.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Nearly every commercial that runs on TV is backed by a guarantee of how big an audience will watch it. Late last year, Fox and Netflix decided to throw out that rule, one of the oldest in media economics. In November, Fox ran a two-minute-long segment during its Sunday-afternoon NFL showcase — one of the most-watched programs on TV.