Univision Lines Up Big Sponsors for Launch of PrendeTV Streaming-Video Hub

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe ESPN executive who helped oversee landmark sports-journalism projects like “O.J.: Made in America” and “The Last Dance”  will team up with Peter Chernin to launch a new content studioConnor Schell was ESPN’s top content executive until he left the Disney sports-media giant at the end of 2020 in a bid to pursue new ventures.

Rebecca Davis editorUniversal Music Group (UMG) and K-pop giant YG Entertainment have invested an undisclosed sum in an up-and-coming global digital live-streaming platform established by BTS backer Big Hit Entertainment and cloud video tech firm Kiswe, the companies announced Tuesday.Leading K-pop firm and YG rival Big Hit first linked up with New Jersey-headquartered Kiswe in an MOU last May.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLou Dobbs’ program is off the schedule at Fox Business Network, and Larry Kudlow’s will soon be on.Fox Business Network will launch a new 4 p.m. program led by Kudlow on Tuesday, February 16, putting the former Trump economic adviser and CNBC personality on screen just as the stock markets close for the day.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis is helping to tie things together at ABC News.You might not see the string during one of her recent hours on the Disney unit’s ABC News Live. On Tuesday evening, Davis’ “ABC News Live Prime” took viewers to Russia to examine how the government was cracking down on citizen protests and spent time looking at Congress’ effort to devise pandemic relief and hold an impeachment trial.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBarstool Sports, the rowdy sports-information empire with a knack for smack talk, is getting into longer-form programming.The company intends to launch “Coach Prime,” a documentary series that will follow Deion Sanders in his first season as head coach of the Jackson State Tigers, while calling attention to Historically Black College and Universities.

Also Read: How The Miz Balances Comedy With Wrestling: 'A Lot of People Are One-Trick Ponies. I'm Not'Peacemaker’s trailer leaves a little something to be desired.On to the photo, which Cena knows is almost sure to become a meme (and is posted at the bottom of this story).“That, right there, is the face of defeat,” Cena said.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis and Whit Johnson have been named co-anchors of the weekend broadcasts of ABC News “World News Tonight,” filling roles in the wake of the departure of anchor Tom Llanas.In a memo sent to ABC News staffers Monday, James Goldston, the unit’s outgoing president, said Johnson will anchor Saturdays, while Davis will anchor Sundays. They will commence their new duties this weekend.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe prospect of putting an ad in the Super Bowl for the first time might make some executives nervous, but not John Lagerling.Madison Avenue regulars know they can game out the Big Game by getting consumer reaction to their ads before they put them on TV, or analyzing them with reams of data. Mercari, an online marketplace that’s running its first Super Bowl commercial on CBS next Sunday, isn’t doing too much of that, says Lagerling, the company’s U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEven in tough times, advertisers still want a Super Bowl.CBS is “virtually sold out” of all its commercial inventory for Super Bowl LIV, according to a spokesperson for parent company ViacomCBS, a sign that Madison Avenue remains interested in the Big Game despite some of the rockier economic conditions surrounding it.The network has been seeking around $5.5M for a 30 second in-game spot and has been grappling with decisions by some stalwart sponsors to bench

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLarry Kudlow, the former CNBC host turned Trump economic advisor, has found a new media job after his time at the White House — and it’s not with his former employer.Kudlow, who took on the unenviable job of predicting a quick V-shaped recovery for the nation in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and also tried to make the case the contagion was contained before it took full root in the U.S,, will launch a new weekday program for Fox Business Network.

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole finally went head to head in their “Verzuz” battle Thursday after numerous delays.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJohn Skipper and Dan Le Batard no longer work at ESPN, but that won’t keep them out of the scrum to dominate the world of sports content.Skipper, the former ESPN chief, and Le Batard, once one of the Disney-backed company’s most popular hosts, are launching Meadowlark Media, an independent content company that will initially focus on sports, with an emphasis on individual creators.

In a year that has stymied many of his peers, Riz Ahmed has been incredibly prolific, with two 2020 feature releases—Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal and Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli—as well as an album, The Long Goodbye, which came with a powerful short imagining life in a racist, post-Brexit Britain.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorOne of the first conversations cinematographer Douglas Koch had with director Deepa Mehta was about his using a handheld camera in shooting “Funny Boy,” a coming-of-age story set during the civil war in Sri Lanka.The plan was to allow complete flexibility as Koch worked with two actors — Arush Nand and Brandon Ingram — playing the role of Arjie from boyhood to adolescence as he discovers his sexual identity.

Ray Fisher is opening up about being “let go” from the DC Universe franchise following an internal investigation over Joss Whedon‘s actions on the Justice League set.