Under Scrutiny, Nielsen Defends Coronavirus Count of TV Audience

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorOpen AP, the media consortium that hopes to broaden the practice known as “audience buying,” will unveil a new “identifier” aimed at facilitating the placement of commercials across linear TV and digital video — and a significant chunk of traditional TV and advertising companies are lining up to support the venture.AMC Networks, A+E Networks, Crown Media, Discovery, Disney, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Univision, ViacomCBS, WarnerMedia and The Weather Channel

Four years on from starring in Love Island, Chris Hughes is still holding out hopes for a lasting relationship. The Gloucestershire lad soared to fame as the nation watched him embark on a rollercoaster romance in the villa with his co-star Olivia Attwood, but the pair split the following year.

A&E has ordered Court Cam Presents Under Oath, a new legal series hosted and executive produced by Dan Abrams, for premiere on Wednesday, June 2.

Nelson Coates has been reelected president of the Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800. Coates, who ran unopposed, was first elected to the post in 2015.

© @Copyright HELLO! Hello! Magazine Brigitte Nielsen shared an incredible update on her health on Wednesday before urging her fans to follow in her footsteps. The 57-year-old posted a photo on Instagram of herself with a COVID-19 vaccination sticker on her finger as she revealed she has had her jab, although it is not clear if it is her first or second dose.

Roy Trakin Cannabis and country music icon Willie Nelson will be one of the keynote speakers at the virtual marijuana convention Luck Summit: Planting the Seed, taking place on April 26-29 in Nelson’s hometown of Luck, TX.“I think that people are realizing more and more that cannabis is a positive thing,” said Nelson.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBCUniversal said it hired a senior executive from Nielsen to oversee new efforts to help advertisers measure their commercials’ reach and effectiveness amid an outbreak of new tensions between the TV networks and the large measurement company.Kelly Abcarian was named executive vice president of measurement and impact at NBCU’s ad-sales unit, charged with helping advertisers find ways to gauge how many consumers their marketing efforts reach across NBCU’s

The fallout from the allegations of systematic abuse against Scott Rudin has extended to his ongoing projects. Earlier today, the top producer issued a statement saying that he was “stepping back from my film and streaming projects in addition to my work on Broadway.” (He had issued a similar statement about the Broadway shows he produces over the weekend.)

marijuana enthusiast Willie Nelson is imploring President Joe Biden to declare the time a national week of cannabis celebration. An online petition to legitimize the “High Holidays” currently boasts 4,000 signatures.

Culture Club frontman Boy George says casting for his “Karma Chameleon” biopic is underway as production eyes a summer 2021 filming start.

Willie Nelson and his Luck Reunion team are calling on President Joe Biden to make the unofficial marijuana holiday of April 20 a legitimate national week of celebrating cannabis.  Nelson and the Texas-based concert team started a petition that’s gained more than 2,000 signatures calling on the president to recognize April 20, also known as 4/20, as the kickoff to a national holiday that will end on April 29 each year to commemorate the singer and marijuana advocate’s birthday.  "The fine people

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen has flatly rejected demands from major networks for an outside audit of its TV ratings for the past year amid complaints that Nielsen has undercounted viewers during the pandemic lockdown period.In what would appear to be a rebuke to demands that the TV-ratings giant submit its recent audience measurement to an independent review by consultant Ernst & Young, Nielsen said Friday that it already is examined regularly by the Media Rating Council.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS, ABC, NBC and other TV networks want the company that audits their audiences every day to submit to an audit of its own.The VAB, an industry group that represents the TV networks to Madison Avenue, is demanding that Nielsen, the arbiter of TV ratings, submit to a third-party audit from Ernst and Young, the latest salvo in a battle between to the two sides over how TV audiences were counted during the coronavirus pandemic.