Weak TV Upfront Market Has Advertisers Pushing for Pricing Rollbacks (EXCLUSIVE)

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox News agreed to pay $12 million to Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo, who alleged the Fox Corp.-backed outlet had coerced her into providing false testimony in a deposition related to a recent defamation suit levied by Dominion Voting Systems as well as operating a hostile and discriminatory workplace. In her suit, filed in the Southern District of the State of New York earlier this year, Grossberg alleged she was harassed and forced to give inaccurate information in the Dominion matter, which Fox agreed to settle for $787.5 million in April. Parisis G. Filippatos, an attorney for Grossberg, did not respond immediately to a query seeking comment. “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation,” Fox News said in a statement.

H&M's Market Street store has temporarily closed its doors ahead of a major refurbishment. The retailer has confirmed that the Manchester store will be closed for five months while it undergoes an 'amazing rebuild and transformation', enhancing the existing offer for Manchester shoppers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Geraldo Rivera has called Fox News his home since leaving CNBC in 2001 to join as the cable outlet’s ostensible war correspondent. He appears to have a lost a recent battle. After being ousted from a rotation on “The Five,” Rivera said in a video post on Twitter Thursday, he is leaving Fox News. “I’ve been fired from ‘The Five,’ and as a result, I quit Fox,” the veteran TV personality said, while riding a boat. He said he might appear on “Fox & Friends” Friday to offer more comment, but would not be appearing on “The Five” one last time, as he had previously indicated he would. Fox News was unable to offer immediate comment.

Kelsea Ballerini has a message for her fans. After the 29-year-old singerwas pelted in the face with an object while performing at Idaho's Outlaw Field on Wednesday, she spoke out on Instagram.«Hi. I'm fine.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The nation’s biggest media chiefs have for months asked investors to be patient. Wait until the back half of 2023, they’ve said, when ad money will start to flow once again. Now companies like Paramount Global, Comcast, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery need to play a waiting game of their own. Ad budgets are expected to be down in the industry’s “upfront” market, when U.S. media companies try to sew up deals for the bulk of their advertising inventory ahead of the fall launch of their next programming cycle. Big marketers are not only uncertain about what new content will be available come autumn – a writers’ strike has squelched production of everything from late-night programs to scripted comedies and dramas – but what they should expect from the economy over the next few months.

John Wick director Chad Stahelski has been pushing for a Best Stunts category to be added to the Oscars.In a recent interview with ComicBookMovie.com, to mark the blu-Ray release of John Wick: Chapter 4, Stahelksi said that conversations about a stunt Oscar had taken place “in the last couple of months” between the Academy and a group of stunt coordinators. “We’ve been meeting with members of the Academy and actually having these conversations, and, to be honest, it’s been nothing but incredibly positive, incredibly instructional,” Stahelski said.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Count NBA MVP Joel Embiid among the athletes looking to make their way into the media industry. The six-time NBA All-Star is launching Miniature Géant, a new production studio, in partnership with The SpringHill Company, the media company backed by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. “We want to do as much as we can to inspire,” says Embiid, who has galvanized sports fans by overcoming injuries early in his career for the Philadelphia 76ers, which he joined in 2014. He adds: “I want it to be successful, but I want it done the right way. The whole goal is just to try to tell people stories, and use my platform to inspire the next generation.”

EastEnders aired one of its biggest plot twists in years last night (Wednesday) as Cindy Beale was revealed to be alive and well - and masquerading as the missing Rose Knight. Cindy (Michelle Collins) was last heard of in the BBC soap 25 years ago in 1998, when husband Ian (Adam Woodyatt) was told she had died during childbirth in prison.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Some of the food and drink served in the next season of the frenzied family restaurant comedy “The Bear” may just be a lot easier to recognize. After getting queries from more than 40 different advertisers after the program’s first season on Hulu, Disney has come up with ways to mix Madison Avenue more closely into the recipe of the program. Viewers are likely to see Stella Atrois, Coca-Cola and American Express’ Resy online-reservations service develop a closer relationship to the series, with products showing up in scenes and customized promotional content placed alongside the program. The goal, says John Campbell, Disney Advertising’s senior vice president of entertainment and addressable solutions, is to “allow brands and clients to get closer to the intellectual property, closer to the talent.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Washington, D.C., needs to get set for a Monumental overhaul of its TV-sports traditions. In September, fans who once flocked to NBC Sports Washington will find they’ve landed at a new venue. Monumental Sports Network will soon serve as the area home of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the G League’s Capital City Go-Go and the NBA 2K League’s Wizards District Gaming. All the properties are held by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a company led by former AOL executive Ted Leonsis. The company bought NBCUniversal’s 67% stake in the business last year, and will spend a chunk of 2023 putting its own stamp on operations.

But as things continue to heat up with the challenges more advanced than ever, the question of who will take home the MasterChef crown remains on everyone's lips - including those of eliminated MasterChef contestants! 

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox is granting new status to one of its veteran research chiefs. Michael Mulvihill will take on the role of president of insights and analytics at Fox Corp., expanding his purview from Fox Sports, where he had held forth for years, to Fox Entertainment and the Tubi streaming-video hub. Mulvihill will continue to report to Mark Silverman, president and COO of Fox Sports, while additionally now reporting into the leadership of Fox Entertainment and Tubi. He will not have oversight over any functions at Fox News Media, “Mike has been an unbelievable asset to the FOX Sports team, providing unmatched insightful analysis, and helping us grow our business to new heights,” said Silverman. “We are thrilled to see Mike expand his portfolio and bring his unique talents to our Fox Entertainment Group and Tubi.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is going to dramatic lengths to get consumers thinking about the challenges of Meningitis B. Rather than pepper Lifetime’s TV schedule with traditional ads about the disease, GSK has commissioned a short film on the subject, in which actor Soleil Moon Frye talks to parents and experts. Her efforts will show up in a three-minute vignette that appears during certain Lifetime movies; a 17-minute film made available via a bespoke digital site; and in “snackable” lengths via social and other venues. Melissa Joan Hart, who was, like Frye, a popular child actor and is a regular in Lifetime’s movies, will also appear in the vignettes, which will appear on digital outlets first and then on the cable network starting June 25.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor NBCUniversal is, for a quick moment, taking “Live, from New York” to a lounge found in a beach-side resort in France. Fresh episodes of “Saturday Night Live” have been in short supply in the U.S. due to the Hollywood writers strike, but NBC’s late-night mainstay could generate some interest on Wednesday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival. In a showcase led by NBC News’ Willie Geist, “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels will hold forth with cast members Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Mikey Day and Ego Nwodim as part of a broader bid by NBCUniversal to get Madison Avenue to align itself with the program at it nears its 50th season in the fall of 2024.

King Charles III honored both his sons on Father’s Day!

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Disney+ has put the brakes on original commissions in Canada until at least the end of the year, Variety can reveal. Sources indicate that the Mouse House has put a pin in local programming from across its brands in Canada, and isn’t actively commissioning. It’s understood that this mandate will be in place until the end of 2023 and could extend into 2024. Disney+ officially launched in Canada in November 2019, but like other streaming services north of the border, it’s taken a few years to get originals underway. Last summer, the company hired respected Telefilm executive Stephanie Azam as its director of content for Canada — an appointment that generated some buzz in the local industry.

With households having faced relentless price rises with their food shop, there's one store that has been the cheapest for basics since January.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Forest,” an Italian eco-themed animation film about deforestation, has scored some strong pre-sales for Rome-based True Colours at the Cannes Marché du film. The still-in-production 3-D animation feature – the protagonist of which is a young mushroom named Fey – has been picked up for roughly 20 territories by Top Film Distribution which will distribute “Forest” in Ukraine, CIS, the Baltics, and Eastern European countries including former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech and Slovak Republics, Romania, and Hungary.  Helmed by Luca Della Grotta and Francesco Dafano, the film is produced by Italy’s AI One, the same team that previously spawned 2020 similarly themed animation feature “Trash” that sold in more than 30 countries. 

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Guy Adami and Dan Nathan typically suss out the stock market on CNBC’s early-evening program “Fast Money.” Now they’ll be able to do more of the same earlier in the day at least once a week. The two CNBC contributors will launch ‘MRKT Call,” a live Monday noontime program on SiriusXM’s Business Radio. Adami and Nathan, will their insights on various hot-button business topics, including the the state of the economy, breaking news from Wall Street, corporate earnings, economic data, interest rate decisions, and more. SiriusXM subscribers wil alsol have the opportunity to call into the program to ask the duo for advice on stock picks and more.

Lala Kent is addressing the big bombshell revealed at the end of the Vanderpump Rules reunion.