Netflix maintained its top slot in an annual survey of “must-keep” TV services amid an overall rise in consumer perceptions of streaming brands. Netflix has topped this survey of U.S. consumers for at least four straight years, ahead of ABC, CBS, Prime Video and Hulu in the top five, with NBC, Fox, Disney Plus, ESPN and HBO Max (now just Max) in this survey of 1,400 people age 12 and over, conducted in May.

Solutions Research Group noted upticks for Paramount Plus and Peacock, which rose to numbers 11 and 12 on the list, respectively. CNN, Fox News Channel, USA, Nickelodeon, FX, MTV and Telemundo showed positive momentum and Food Network is back in the top 15 from No. 20 a year ago. HGTV and History remained as Nos. 18 and 19, while Discovery fell outside the top 20 for the first time since the survey tracking began in 2007. AMC came in at No. 43, having fallen from its all-time high ranking of 12 in 2018.

Leading FAST streaming brands Tubi and Pluto entered the rankings at Nos. 28 and 35, SRG said. Tubi ranks ahead of Apple TV Plus at No. 30, the research firm said.

Among surveyed viewers in the 18 to 34 age range, Netflix was No. 1 for the seventh straight year, followed by Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, ABC, Fox, Disney Plus, HBO Max, ESPN, CBS and Peacock (showing gains by ESPN and Peacock).

Netflix also was tops among women ages 25 to 54 for the fifth straight year, per SRG. 

SRG said the sample captures and represents all major population segments. Respondents are shown a list of 83 broadcast, cable and high-penetration streaming brands and are asked to identify which ones would be on their “must-keep” TV list if they had to choose a limited number. The sample design is inclusive and is balanced by geography, gender and ethnicity, according to known universe parameters for the U.S. population, the firm said.

PASADENA, CALIF. — Apple TV Plus has finally given us (some) more details on season three of Ted Lasso.

The awards show darling will return to the streaming service in Spring 2023, Apple TV Plus announced Wednesday during the Television Critics Association press tour. Yeah, that's a broad time frame but at least it's something.

Executive producer Bill Lawrence hinted earlier in the day that news about Ted Lasso season three would come soon. Lawrence participated in an Apple TV Plus panel for Shrinking. He is co-creator and executive producer of that series.

Also: Apple TV Plus Shares Premiere for ‘City on Fire,’ Other Originals: TCA

Lawrence also said he had seen cuts of season three and it's "f**king awesome."

Season two of Lasso premiered back in July of 2021 and garnered multiple awards, including Emmys in 2022 for best comedy series and best actor in a comedy series for series star Jason Sudeikis. The 2022 statuettes were the second consecutive wins for the show in both best comedy series and best actor categories.

Apple TV Plus just turned three late last year but parent Apple has revealed little about the service. Earlier this month, Apple lost David Stern, who oversaw the company's paid subscription services, including Apple TV Plus. ■

The CW has renewed All American for a sixth season, Brad Schwartz, president, Entertainment, The CW Network, announced Wednesday.

According to The CW, the last season of All American was the network's No. 1 linear show among adults 18-49 and the most-watched digital series.

The midseason return of All American's fifth season is on January 23.

“Over the last five seasons, All American has established itself as one of the all-time CW flagship franchises,” said Schwartz. “All American is not only the network’s youngest series, but also the strongest performer when combining all our platforms. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, the entire creative team and the incredible cast for another season of captivating family drama.”

All American stars Daniel Ezra as Spencer James, Taye Diggs as Billy Baker, Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker, Bre-Z as Coop, Greta Onieogou as Layla Keating, Monet Mazur as Laura Baker, Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker, Cody Christian as Asher Adams, Karimah Westbrook as Grace James, Chelsea Tavares as Patience, and JJ Parker as Hunter Clowdus.

The series comes from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios. Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, John A. Norris, Jameal Turner, Mike Herro, and David Strauss serve as executive producers. ■

PASADENA, CALIF. — The first two episodes of Fatal Attraction will stream on Paramount Plus April 30 in the U.S. and Canada, the streaming service announced Monday during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

Subscribers in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France will get to see the series the following day.

Fatal Attraction, which is a reimagining of the 1980s thriller, stars Joshua Jackson, Lizzy Caplan, Amanda Peet, Alyssa Jirrels, Toby Huss, Reno Wilson, and Brian Goodman. The series explores marriage and infidelity through a modern lens.

Alexandra Cunningham is writer, showrunner and executive producer on the series. Kevin J. Hynes also executive produces. For Amblin Television, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey executive produce. ■

PASADENA, CALIF. — Young adult drama School Spirits will premiere on Paramount Plus  March 9 in the U.S. and Canada, the streaming service announced Monday during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

School Spirits, which will debut in Australia and the U.K. March 10, stars Peyton List as Maddie. Maddie, a teenager stuck in the afterlife, looks to solve her disappearance while attending high school in the spirit world.

The series also features Kristian Flores as Simon Elroy, Spencer MacPherson as Xavier Baxter, Kiara Pichardo as Nicole Herrera, Sarah Yarkin as Rhonda, Nick Pugliese as Charley, Rainbow Wedell as Claire Zolinski, and Milo Manheim as Wally Clark.

Based on the upcoming graphic novel by Nate and Megan Trinrud and Maria Nguyen, School Spirits is produced by Awesomeness Live-Action Studios. 

Oliver Goldstick is showrunner and executive producer of the series along with creators and writers Nate and Megan Trinrud. ■

PASADENA, CALIF. — Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies will premiere on Paramount Plus in the U.S. and Canada on April 6, the streaming service said Monday during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

The U.K., Australia, Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France will also get the series starting April 6.

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, which takes place in 1954, four years before the original Grease, stars Marisa Davila, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, Tricia Fukuhara, Shanel Bailey, Madison Thompson, Johnathan Nieves, Jason Schmidt, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, and Jackie Hoffman.

Annabel Oakes writes and executive produces along with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey for Temple Hill, Adam Fishbach and Alethea Jones, and Erik Feig and Samie Kim Falvey via PICTURESTART. Jamal Sims choreographs with Justin Tranter serving as music producer.  ■

PASADENA, CALIF. — Rabbit Hole will premiere on Paramount Plus March 26, showrunners John Requa and Glenn Ficarra said Monday during Paramount Plus’s Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour presentation.

The first two episodes of the series will drop on March 26 in the U.S. and Canada with new episodes then debuting weekly on the streaming service. The U.K. Australia, Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France will get the series starting March 27.

Rabbit Hole, which has eight episodes, stars Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir, “a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage” who is framed for murder.

Also in the cast are Charles Dance, Meta Golding, Enid Graham, Jason Butler Harner, Walt Link, and Rob Yang.

Showrunners Requa and Ficarra serve as executive producers with Sutherland, Charlie Gogolak, Suzan Bymel, and Hunt Baldwin. CBS Studios produces the series. ■

Content Spotlight is a podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television shows through the eyes of the show's stars and creators.

Actress Lisette Olivera discusses Disney Plus's new adventure series National Treasure: Edge of History with Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable Senior Content Producer, Programming R. Thomas Umstead.

Olivera stars as Jess Valenzuela, whose life is turned upside down after a stranger gives her clues to a centuries-old treasure that could be connected to her late father. The series, which premieres December 14, is based off of the National Treasure movie franchise starring Nicolas Cage.

Content Spotlight is a podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators.

Multichannel News’ Senior Content Producer, Programming R. Thomas Umstead recently spoke to multiple Grammy Award-winning Gospel music artist Kirk Franklin about Lifetime’s December 10 holiday film Kirk Franklin's The Night Before Christmas, in which he serves as executive producer and writer/producer of several original songs in the film.

Franklin talks about the movie -- which stars Naturi Naughton (Power) and follows an estranged mother and daughter who find the Christmas spirit while stranded in a church on Christmas Eve -- as well as his future television aspirations.

Also: Cable Nets, Streamers Ramp Up Holiday Films Lineup Leading Into Christmas

Yellowstone, one of Paramount Network’s biggest hits, returned for its fifth season on November 13. The drama, starring Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes and Kelly Reilly, has spawned multiple spin-offs including the limited series 1883 and the upcoming 1923, and the season four finale in January broke records with more than 10 million viewers, “making it the most-watched cable show since the season three premiere of The Walking Dead in 2017,” as Broadcasting + Cable’s Jon Lafayette reported at the time.

According to Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs, Yellowstone was the second most-watched show on November 13. Including reruns leading up to the two-hour season five premiere, the show in total accounted for 6.16% of all live, linear minutes watched during the day — behind only the NFL (27.24% of watch-time). 

At the network level, Paramount Network captured 3.31% of all minutes watched on November 13, putting it in fifth place for watch-time, behind only the big four broadcast networks.

Measuring viewership across the full time period that Yellowstone season four covered (November 7, 2021 through January 2, 2022), the show was the No. 11 most-watched program, and accounted for nearly 64% of all minutes watched on Paramount Network during the season run. 

Over the summer, while the show was between seasons, Paramount milked its popularity through a few weekend rerun marathons, which clearly engaged viewers: Inscape data for May 28 through September 5 reveals that it was the No. 1 most-watched program on Paramount Network, capturing 24.5% of all minutes watched. Each time a marathon aired, the show jumped into the top 50 ranking of programs on live, linear TV by watch-time across all networks for that TV week. 

A week ahead of the season five premiere, Paramount used the marathon approach to get people excited for Yellowstone’s return: From November 5-6, the network aired hours of old episodes, capturing 1.12% of all minutes watched on TV that weekend, putting it solidly in sixth place for most-watched shows, behind only sports and reruns of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ■

The first weekend of November kicks off with a busy lineup of live TV sports events,  beginning with the conclusion of Major League Baseball's World Series.

The Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday will meet in Game 6 of the World Series on Fox, with the Astros leading three games to two and looking to close out the Phillies. If the Phillies win, it sets up a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday, also on Fox.

On the soccer field, Fox on Saturday will televise the Major League Soccer Cup game between the Philadelphia Union and Los Angeles FC. On the Premier League front, Peacock, USA Network and NBC will offer a combined 10 live telecasts over the weekend.

Saturday kicks off a big weekend for college football as a number of ranked teams face each other as the sport gets closer to choosing its playoff-bound teams.

Top-ranked Tennessee battles No. 3 Georgia in a major Southeastern Conference matchup on CBS, while No. 2 Ohio State travels to face Northwestern in a Big Ten shootout on ABC. Also, fourth-ranked Clemson faces the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on NBC and No. 5 Michigan battles Rutgers on Big Ten Network.

Also: Report: Live Sports May Not Be That Big a Driver of Pay TV Subscriptions

Other ranked teams in action include No. 6 Alabama-No. 10 LSU (ESPN), No. 7 TCU-Texas Tech (Fox), No. 8 Oregon-Colorado (ESPN), and No. 9 USC-Cal (ESPN).

On Sunday, week nine of the NFL season will feature regional coverage on Fox and CBS, as well as NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast between the Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the ring, Showtime will televise a fight card featuring super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. defending his title against Aidos Yerbossynuly. Also, DAZN will feature a light heavyweight title matchup between champion Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramirez.

On Sunday NBC will provide live coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship, while CBSSN will offer coverage of the Professional Bull Riders’ Team Series Championship. ■ 

Programmers, streamers and even smart TV brands are leaning into the fall season in a big way. From myriad made-for-TV movies and Vizio's launch of its free-to-view "Fall Fest," to Peacock's "Halloween Horror" and Hulu's "Huluween" in-app destinations, it seems like this year there's more fall-related stuff popping up on screens than ever.

When it comes to live, linear TV, Hallmark Channel has a lock on love during the season's festivities. Its "Fall into Love" programming block kicked off August 6 with 11 new movie premieres over the following months, nearly double its autumn offering last year (six) and more than triple its 2019 premieres during the same period.

Looking at viewership data from Vizio's Inscape, 22 of Hallmark's 50 most-watched shows and movies are fall-themed, led by Dating the Delaneys, its third premiere of "Fall into Love," which captured 1.50% of all live, linear minutes watched on the network from August 1 through October 20. And if you remove syndicated reruns, Delaneys was the No. 1 program by watch-time for the channel this fall. That's up a notch from last year's most-watched fall title, Roadhouse Romance, which captured 1.48% of minutes watched during the same period.

On the advertising side of things, estimated TV ad spend on Hallmark Channel is up nearly 8% year-over-year since August 1, per iSpot.tv, and most-seen advertisers include Nutrisystem (1.44% impressions SOV), GOLO (1.21%) and Instacart (1.14%). While Nutrisystem and GOLO did advertise on Hallmark last fall, they've dramatically upped airings from a couple hundred each in 2021 to over 1,000 this year. Instacart, Knix, Indeed and Choice Hotels are four brands that did not advertise on Hallmark during fall 2021 but did run ads this year.

But of course it can't all be about harvest romances -- it is spooky season, after all. Inscape examined the horror genre across live, linear TV to reveal the most-watched horror movies so far this season: Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Jaws, House of Wax and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.

At the network level, AMC is dominating the scares, capturing over 54% of all horror minutes watched since September 1, up from 41% during the same period in 2021. Syfy takes second, with 10.5% of watch-time for horror content.

Diving deeper into AMC, airings of the original Halloween have captured 2.83% of all minutes watched on the network since September 1, second only to The Walking Dead.

Subway (1.68%), Progressive (1.61%) and Burger King (1.32%) are the top three brands by TV ad impressions SOV this fall on AMC, and each have invested more heavily this year than last, leading to notable share of voice increases compared to 2021. Looking at new advertisers this year, Instacart and Nutrafol were two of the most-seen that did not air ads in the same time period in 2021.

And finally, we can’t have Halloween without fresh baking competitions over on Food Network. The cooking destination has upped its fall fare: In 2021, five of its top 50 most-watched shows were Halloween- or autumn-themed. This year there are seven in the top 50, led by Halloween Baking Championship, which has snagged 10.87% of all live-linear minutes watched on the network September 1 through October 20, per Inscape -- up from 8.96% in the same period last year.

Halloween Wars, another seasonal competition, has received 7.77% of Food Network watch-time (up from 7% in 2021), and Halloween Cookie Challenge, the network’s latest themed offering, has 1.80% of minutes watched.

According to iSpot, top brands by TV ad impressions SOV on Food Network this fall include Kohl's (0.98%), Progressive (0.87%) and Target (0.87%). Of those three, Progressive ran about 100 more airings this year than last. New advertisers this year that didn't run ads last fall include Bank of America Credit Card, King's Hawaiian, Rubbermaid, Lavazza and Visible. ■

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show's stars and creators.

Multichannel News' Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead recently spoke with veteran actress Anika Noni Rose about her role in Showtime's vampire-themed series Let the Right One In, which also stars Demián Bichir and Madison Taylor Baez.

Best known as the voice of Princess Tiana in Disney's animated film The Princess and the Frog, the Tony Award-winning Rose has starred on TV (Power and Maid), film (Dreamgirls, For Colored Girls); and on Broadway (Caroline, or Change, Carmen Jones) throughout her more than 20-year entertainment career.

Multichannel News/Broadcasting + Cable Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead talks to veteran TV/film/Broadway actor J. Bernard Calloway about his starring role in BET Plus' Emmy-nominated series The Ms. Pat Show as part of a special Emmys edition of the Multicultural Perspectives podcast.

More Podcasts with Emmy Nominees: From Dreamgirl to President: Sheryl Lee Ralph Continues to Shine | W. Kamau Bell on Why 'We Need to Talk About Cosby'

¡Hola, Vix!

TelevisaUnivision has officially unleashed Vix, what the company calls "the first global large-scale streaming service created specifically for the Spanish-speaking world.” 

While a beta version of the app debuted earlier this year, the full-fledged version launched March 31, featuring 50,000 hours of Spanish-language programming, including movies, series, live news and sports. That programming comes from current Univision and Teleivisa series as well as content from Televisa’s vault.

The release comes three months after Univision and Televisa completed their merger forming TelevisaUnivision.

“Our new service is not a rescanning of a TV offering,” said TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis during a presentation in February. “What we're building is incremental to our TV business, hundreds of originals, thousands of hours of exclusive, live premium soccer, live original news, and an innovative product at an unbeatable price point.”

That unbeatable price point Wade refers to is free, at least for the ad-supported Vix version launched at the end of March.

TelevisaUnivision plans to invest billions of dollars in original content, producing 1,000 hours of exclusive original programming this year.

“This audience is still underserved, given that there is not one single global streamer that fully and exclusively targets them with Spanish-language-first content,” TelevisaUnivision Chief Transformation Officer Pierluigi Gazzolo said. “Only a fraction of the content (that) the global services offer is originally produced in Spanish. Second, we will be putting Spanish-language content and our culture at the center of everything we do.”

How Much Does Vix Cost?

Vix is free.

Vix Plus, a paid version of the service, launched in July and offers 3,000 live soccer games and Vix Plus originals.

Vix Plus will set subs back $0.99 the first month and then $6.99 per month after.

Where Can I Stream Vix?

Vix is available on Android and iOS mobile devices as well as Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and Samsung TV.

Viewers can also stream Vix via web browsers.

If you've got T-Mobile, you can get a one-year subscription to Vix Plus for free.

“As the top wireless provider for Spanish-speaking customers in the U.S., we understand what they care about, and today we’re bringing them a whole new way to enjoy the news, TV shows, movies and live sports that matter the most, and it’s all on us,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile.

Got Dish? Then you can subscribe to Vix Plus directly through Dish's satellite TV and Sling TV platforms. 

What Will Happen to PrendeTV, Blim TV and the Legacy Vix Platform?

TelevisaUnivision will incorporate Univision’s PrendeTV (launched in March 2021), Televisa’s Blim TV and the legacy Vix platform (Univision bought Vix in February 2021) into the new iteration of Vix.

What Countries Is Vix Available In?

The service is available in the U.S. and Mexico along with 19 other Latin American countries. 

Multichannel News/Broadcasting + Cable Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead interviews veteran television/movie actor Russell Hornsby about his nearly 30-year acting career -- which includes starring roles in such TV shows as Lincoln Heights and Grimm, and such films as Fences and The Hate U Give -- as well as his current portrayal of legendary boxing promoter Don King in Hulu's original series Mike.

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators.

Multichannel News' Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead recently spoke with A League of Their Own star Chanté Adams about the Prime Video series debuting August 12, as well as the differences between the series and the 1992 movie of the same name starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.

Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead talks to Freeform and Onyx Collective President Tara Duncan about her successful career both as a producer for such iconic shows as AMC’s The Killing and Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black as well as a television executive overseeing such projects as Onyx’s Academy Award-winning documentary Summer Of Soul and Freeform's grown-ish, which recently launched its fifth season.

Also: Wonder Woman of Los Angeles 2022: Tara Duncan

Sinclair Broadcast Group’s highly anticipated direct-to-consumer regional sports streaming service has finally launched — at least a beta version of it has.

Major League Baseball fans can now subscribe to Bally Sports Plus in five markets: Detroit, Kansas City, Miami and Tampa Bay.

The service will expand into other markets where Bally Sports owns RSNs later this year. Additional marketing support will also come to the app after the MLB All-Star break.

“The first thing we’re focused on is the quality of the video,” Rob Weisbord, Sinclair’s chief operating officer and president of broadcast, told Broadcasting+Cable ahead of the launch. “The games themselves are our tent poles so there’s a heightened level of scrutiny. We have to be on par with the Netflixes and the Disney Pluses.”

“We want to entice the Xbox generation,” Weisbord said. “That’s who we envision as being the heavy app user and they’re used to interactivity. If we build up the interactivity, they’ll stay with the games longer, even if it’s a blowout.”

Bally Sports Plus is the second DTC sports service to launch. New England Sports Network released NESN 360 in early June. NESN, which is only available in the New England region, offers Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins content.

How Do I Watch Bally Sports Plus?

Bally Sports Plus is available via BallySports.com, iOS and Android mobile and tablet devices, as well as tvOS, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV. Support for other platforms, including Roku, is expected later this year.

Is Bally Sports Plus Free?

Bally Sports Plus isn't free. Fans will have to shell out $19.99 a month or $189.99 a year to watch their favorite teams.

Is Bally Sports Plus a Standalone Streaming App?

No. Bally Sports Plus is available within the Bally Sports app or on BallySportsPlus.com.

What Regions Can I Watch Bally Sports Plus in?

Bally Sports Plus is currently available in five markets: Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.

The direct-to-consumer service will land in additional markets where Bally Sports has regional sports networks in the third quarter.

Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead talks to prolific TV/movie actor Zahn McClarnon about his acting career, spanning more than three decades, as well as his most recent role as tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn in AMC’s drama series Dark Winds.

Dark Winds premieres June 12.

Saturday Night Live wrapped up its 47th season on NBC this past Saturday. And while the biggest constant for the long-running sketch comedy show is that it’s always changing, it also remains a consistent draw for both audiences and advertisers.

Below, we take a look at how SNL performed by TV ad impressions and its social video viewership, using network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv, and online video views via Tubular Labs.

A Top 15 Program for NBC by TV Ad Impressions

SNL has been an institution for NBC for nearly five decades. For its 47th season — October 2, 2021 through May 21, 2022 — the program was No. 15 by TV ad impressions delivered, with over 3.0 billion, or 1.39% of the total on NBC during first-airing programming, according to data from iSpot. 

The show stacks up well when compared to programs appearing across all four major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) as well. Across its 47th season, Saturday Night Live was No. 4 among comedy and variety shows on the Big Four, with 11.0% of impressions, and the only one in the top five to air just once per week. Narrowing things to just primetime and late fringe p.m. dayparts on those networks, SNL sits at No. 41 for non-sports or news programs — with 0.94% of impressions. 

Which brands were the beneficiaries of those impressions? Progressive was the most-seen advertiser during SNL all season, with 1.79% of impressions, followed by Disney Plus (1.62%), Kohl's (1.60%), T-Mobile (1.35%), and Target (1.35%). Department stores led the way by industries, accounting for 6.89% of impressions during the season, but theatrical movies (6.70%) and streaming services (5.93%) were close behind. 

The entertainment emphasis for advertisers also shows the value of SNL’s audience for both streaming subscribers and moviegoers. And interestingly, a large portion of those impressions were actually for services and movies not owned by NBCUniversal. Disney Plus, Warner Bros., and Apple TV Plus all had more impressions during the show than Universal Pictures or Peacock did. The six most-seen streaming or theatrical release ads during SNL this season were all non-NBCU entities as well, led by MGM’s spot for Licorice Pizza.

Over 5 Billion Minutes Watched Across Facebook and YouTube

For years, Saturday Night Live has leaned into the evolution of its viewership, uploading sketches to social video platforms to encourage audiences to watch and share individual sketches — whether they actually tuned in when it originally aired or not. 

Over the course of the show’s 47th season, global viewers watched over 5 billion minutes of SNL highlights on YouTube and Facebook, according to Tubular Audience Ratings. That includes a monthly high of more than 813 million minutes in October 2021 alone. Since the start of 2022, audiences have been tuning in for an average of more than 500 million minutes across those two platforms each month. About 20% of those minutes watched are coming from viewers under 25 years old.

In April 2022, SNL was 13th among U.S. broadcast, cable, radio and film creators by minutes watched, coming in behind Jimmy Kimmel Live (564.2 million minutes) and ahead of Inside Edition (431.4 million). Among NBCU-owned creators, Saturday Night Live was only behind MSNBC (over 1 billion minutes), Telemundo’s Caso Cerrado (827.3 million) and NBC News (801.9 million).

Across YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, SNL had 794 million video views this season, led by October’s Squid Game spoof, with over 13.6 million views. Of the 10 most-watched videos uploaded by the show this season, four featured Kim Kardashian (who hosted in October), and six featured now-outgoing cast member – and Kim Kardashian’s current boyfriend – Pete Davidson. 

Just three of the top 10 videos were pre-filmed sketches, led by the aforementioned Squid Game segment. While “Weekend Update” has been one of the show’s most popular elements for some time, just one of the show’s top 20 social videos were from that segment (this bit about Will Smith and Chris Rock received 7.3 million views). Just one of SNL’s 20 most-watched – this “Republican or Not” skit with 4.6 million views – was inherently political in nature. ■

Below is a profile of Comcast’s social video presence, with data via social video intelligence company Tubular Labs.

Amid this year’s NewFronts and Upfronts, the focus is decidedly on TV. But those media giants also have large social video footprints, with completely different content strategies. And completely different opportunities to leverage audiences with advertisers, as we explore below for Comcast.

During Q1 2022, Comcast-owned videos were watched for 15.5 billion minutes by U.S. audiences across YouTube and Facebook. Comcast’s top network and studio performers, by U.S. minutes watched in Q1:

1. NBC News (4.00 billion)
2. NBC Entertainment (2.88 billion)
3. Telemundo (1.48 billion)
4. DreamWorks Family International (1.28 billion)
5. Fandango (1.17 billion)

Of the top five by minutes watched, there’s a clear emphasis on NBC’s various television holdings, with NBC News including the Today Show, as well as MSNBC and the various shows that appear on the network. NBC Entertainment, which is regularly among the top 20 broadcast-related properties by monthly U.S. minutes watched, also succeeds as an amalgamation of many popular channels – from Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show, to NBC’s various dramas and sitcoms.

Telemundo is also the top Spanish-language U.S. broadcast property across Facebook and YouTube by minutes watched. While Comcast owns a variety of social properties with large audiences, Telemundo represents both a growing audience (Spanish speakers in the U.S.), as well as a dedicated one. Tubular data shows that on Facebook and YouTube, each unique U.S. Telemundo viewer watched an average of 37.9 minutes of content in March. That’s No. 4 among Comcast properties, only behind Dreamworks Family International (50.4 minutes), NBC News (43.4 minutes) and NBC Daytime (38.5 minutes).

Though Comcast’s March social video reach of 39.2% of the U.S. population in March 2022 was third among major broadcast conglomerates (behind Disney at 49.3% and Paramount at 47.9%), Comcast-owned channels also had more watch-time per viewer. In March, Comcast unique viewers watched an average of 50 minutes of content, versus 37.7 for Paramount and 23.6 for Disney.

Those minutes watched can provide a lot of chances for brand partnerships, as Tubular’s consumer insights data reveals.

Comcast social video viewers were 3.8x more likely than the average viewer to shop for books about dating, and 3.7x more likely to look for video game cables/adapters, as well as books about economics history. Within 30 days of watching Comcast videos on social media sites, 8.8% of viewers looked for something to watch on Prime Video. And 5.4% wanted to tune into a drama series or movie using Prime Video.

While the gaming focus may be a surprise, there’s also a natural fit for Comcast to work directly with Amazon to cross-promote certain shows or movies. Some of those can be Comcast-owned properties that also appear on Amazon Prime Video. But others could be integrations that prompt viewers to progress from, say, an MSNBC show’s highlights on YouTube to a specific political thriller on Amazon.

Among many areas for growth for Comcast in the coming months, Peacock is one of the more obvious ones. The streaming home of NBCUniversal content (including Bravo, now, next-day) had 120.9 million U.S. minutes watched across YouTube and Facebook in Q1 2022, which is more than several of NBCU’s TV networks on the platforms, and not too far behind the aforementioned Bravo (145.9 million). 

Leaning more heavily into Bravo content on social media to coincide with next-day streaming should fuel an increase in watch-time for Peacock, as will promos for Lionsgate movies, which will be joining the service in 2024. With many of Peacock’s most-watched social videos to-date revolving around either library content or content Comcast doesn’t own outright. Interestingly, two of the five most-watched Peacock videos feature hit show Yellowstone – which is not an NBCU show, but Peacock owns the streaming rights for the Paramount series.

Among Comcast-owned social video creators in Q1, many of the most-seen videos have either been movie trailers (Jurassic World Dominion, Nope) or clips uploaded by its TV shows. However, three of the top five are actually user-generated content – led by this wedding clip posted by E! News, at 57.3 million views on Facebook. For Comcast creators outside of the U.S., there’s also an extra emphasis on news. Of the top 10 Comcast uploads from non-U.S. creators, nine were news-focused videos from Sky News or Sky News Arabia. ■

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead sits down with actresses Niv Sultan and Glenn Close to discuss the second season of Apple TV Plus’s original drama series Tehran, which debuts on the streaming service May 6. Close also weighs in on Paramount Plus’s reimagining of one of her biggest films, Fatal Attraction.

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News Senior Content Producer R. Thomas Umstead sits down with legendary actress, author, comedian and activist Jenifer Lewis to discuss her latest starring role in Showtime’s new comedy series I Love That for You.

The series, which also stars Vanessa Bayer and Molly Shannon, debuts May 1 on Showtime.

Below is a profile of Walt Disney Co.’s social video presence, with data via social video intelligence company Tubular Labs.

Amid this year’s NewFronts and Upfronts, the focus is decidedly on TV. But these media giants also have large footprints on social video, with completely different content strategies. And completely different opportunities to leverage audiences with advertisers, as we’ll explore below for the Walt Disney Co.

In Q1 2022, Walt Disney Co.-owned videos were watched for 9.6 billion minutes by U.S. audiences across YouTube and Facebook. Disney’s network and studio performers, by U.S.  minutes watched in Q1:

Of the top five by minutes watched, four are TV networks, but ABC News is an exception as ABC’s news division. ABC News programs appear on ABC and on streaming platforms, but not as a standalone channel like the others. Despite lacking its own linear channel, ABC News still garners more minutes watched than ESPN (multiple networks) and ABC’s mostly entertainment-focused content.

But the success of ABC News encouraging extensive watch-time presents an opportunity for targeted advertisers on social video platforms in ways that Disney can’t with some of its other top assets – most notably, Disney Junior and Disney Channel video content, which are limited by their younger audience.

The Walt Disney Co. reached 49.0% of the entire U.S. population in March 2022, and 51.3% of U.S. adults over 18. Such a large audience creates a massive opportunity to connect viewers with retail brands in various forms, as Tubular’s consumer insights data reveals.

Disney social video viewers were 13.6x more likely than the average viewer to shop for science fiction and fantasy children’s books within 30 days of watching a video, and 21% of all Disney social video viewers shopped for books within 30 days. Additionally, 18.9% shopped for electronics on Amazon. 

Given Disney’s extensive approach to marketing already, the brand can either use this data as an opportunity to extend the reach of its content into owned retail products (and it has plenty in the books and electronics spaces already), or partner with advertisers looking to capitalize on an audience already anxious to shop for those products. 

Disney also has further opportunities for growth abroad. Less than a third (32%) of Walt Disney Co.’s global Facebook and YouTube minutes watched in Q1 came from the U.S. Movies like Encanto, which was not centered solely on the U.S. or English-language dialog/songs, also delivered plenty of views for the company. In Q1, eight of Disney’s 20 most-watched videos across YouTube, Facebook and Twitter globally had to do with Encanto. 

But some of the rest may surprise. 

SportsNation (part of ESPN) uploaded six of the 10 most-viewed U.S. Disney videos – four of the top five – and all were YouTube #Shorts. The user-generated content was a hit with fans both by way of views and engagement, where it also topped the list for Disney. Despite the success, #Shorts made up just 2.7% of Q1 YouTube uploads for Disney. Brand partnerships that remain aligned to the UGC angle could be advantageous for the company to lean into given the performance of those videos and the fact that they haven’t over indexed on that content format yet.

And while Marvel may control the box office in recent years, the company accounted for just two of the top 20 U.S. Disney videos by views in Q1. Part of that may be because there were no Marvel films in theaters in Q1, with just one TV show (Moon Knight) debuting at the very end of the quarter. But perhaps it’s an area where advertisers only go if they’re looking for a niche audience, versus the broader reach of some of Disney’s other properties.

Also interestingly, the company hasn’t utilized Disney Plus as a major engine for show promos in Q1 (when compared to streaming competitors), with U.S. audiences watching just 37.9 million minutes of content across Facebook and YouTube. Part of this could be due to Disney having its individual arms of IP (Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, etc.) publishing trailers to connect with their most passionate fans. But Disney Plus could have an opportunity for greater engagement through that property with shoulder content, sneak peaks and similar content that showcases how it’s a one-stop shop for whatever audiences are fans of (mimicking much of its TV advertising campaigns of late).

Prime Video will soon add martial arts to its lineup of live sports events as the streaming service secured rights to 12 live One Championship events annually.

The deal provides Prime Video exclusive rights to One Championship events, which feature world class athletes representing more than 80 countries competing across MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling and other disciplines, said the service. Prime Video’s official launch date of global sports property’s live events will be announced later in the year, said Prime Video.

One Championship content was last seen on U.S. television in 2021 when TNT aired four live events in April.

The deal adds to Prime Video’s live sports offerings, which include select New York Yankees games, and launching later this fall, exclusive NFL Thursday Night Football games.

“We are proud to add exclusive coverage of One Championship events to our suite of marquee live sports offerings,” said Amazon Global Sports Video VP Marie Donoghue in a statement. “In addition to offering a full suite of martial arts disciplines, One Championship shares our mutual commitment to elevate female athletes, boasting five reigning female world champions.”

Added One Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong: “One Championship is thrilled to work with Prime Video, one of the largest premium sports content providers in the world, to bring our live events closer to fans in the United States and Canada. As the world’s largest martial arts organization, we believe our collaboration with Prime Video will allow us to reach a wider North American audience that is hungry for an authentic and differentiated product you simply can’t get with any other organization.” ■

Multichannel News senior content producer R. Thomas Umstead talks to actress, producer, singer, author and philanthropist Holly Robinson Peete on the heels of her recent multi-picture deal with Hallmark Channel parent Crown Media Family Networks.

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News senior content producer R. Thomas Umstead talks with actor/producer Samuel L. Jackson about his new Apple TV Plus series, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, in which he plays an elderly man suffering from dementia who is given an opportunity to remember past events so that he can complete some unfinished business in his life. The series also stars Omar Benson Miller as Grey's great nephew Reggie and Dominique Fishback as Grey's young caretaker Robyn. 

The six-episode series debuts with the first two episodes on March 11.

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead talks to comedian/actor Tommy Davidson, star of Disney Plus‘s animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, which debuts February 23. The series, a reboot of the 2000s Disney Channel series The Proud Family and executive produced by Bruce Smith and Ralph Farquhar, follows the exploits of an African-American teenage girl, along with her family and friends. Davidson voices the character of Oscar Proud, the family patriarch.

Davidson, best known for his role in Fox’s variety series In Living Color, talks about the return of The Proud Family and gives his thoughts on diversity within today’s television industry.

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead talks to comedian/producer W. Kamau Bell about his new Showtime documentary series We Need to Talk About Cosby. The four-part series, debuting January 30, explores the complex story of Bill Cosby’s life and work, weighing his indisputable global influence against charges of being a sexual predator. Bell, who also produces the CNN series United Shades of America, talks about the We Need to Talk About Cosby documentary and the complexities of discussing Cosby’s legacy.

Multicultural Perspectives is a new podcast extension of the original video series of the same name from Multichannel News and Broadcasting+Cable that shines a spotlight on executives and celebrities of color making significant and groundbreaking contributions across the entertainment industry.  

Our latest episode of Multicultural Perspectives focuses on veteran producer and founder of RMVISTAR production company Rose Marie Vega. The former Lorimar and Universal Television executive has successfully steered her 10-year old company toward developing creative distribution agreements for internationally produced content in territories around the globe, while also expanding into content production for multiple platforms. 

Vega most recently teamed with Warner Bros. to develop an American version of the Argentinian hit series The Cleaning Lady, which debuts on Fox January 3. RMVISTAR also recently sold the exclusive North American streaming rights to award-winning animated short film Anacronte to HBO Max and WarnerMedia OneFifty.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has agreed to testify at a Dec. 8 hearing in the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee. He should come prepared with some answers, or a flak jacket, given the committee chair's framing of the hearing.

“After bombshell reports about Instagram’s toxic impacts, we want to hear straight from the company’s leadership why it uses powerful algorithms that push poisonous content to children driving them down rabbit holes to dark places, and what it will do to make its platform safer,” said Committee Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who announced the bipartisan hearing along with ranking member Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

Blumenthal has been a central player in Congress' beat down of Big Tech, particularly Instagram parent Meta (formerly Facebook), and the revelation of internal research on the impact of Instagram on youth.

Blumenthal said he appreciated Mosseri's agreement to testify voluntarily but suggested he would appreciate it even more if Mosseri came armed with "reforms and solutions."

Blackburn said it was time for action given that "Instagram’s repeated failures to protect children’s privacy have already been exposed before the U.S. Senate."

The Dec. 8 hearing will be the fifth Blumenthal/Blackburn co-production looking at social media's impact on children and young people. ■

Heading off what could have been a major disruption, Comcast has reached a new deal to carry The Walt Disney Co.’s content.

Disney and Comcast have had a touchy relationship since Disney outbid Comcast for 21st Century Fox. Comcast remains a minority owner in Hulu, now controlled by Disney, and two two companies have issues including how much Hulu is worth when Comcast sells its stake and how much content from Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit Hulu will have access to.

The deal Comcast and Disney agreed to in 2012 expired Sept. 30, and the two sides have been negotiating in relative quiet ever since.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the new deal, Comcast will launch the ACC Network, run by Disney’s ESPN.

Comcast already makes Hulu and Disney’s newer streaming services, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus, available to its subscribers through its X1 operating system.

“We are very pleased to have reached this comprehensive agreement with Disney to continue providing Xfinity customers access to their content across our industry-leading platforms,” said Rebecca Heap, senior VP, consumer products & propositions, Comcast Cable.

Retransmission consent for Disney’s ABC TV stations was renewed in the new agreement. Comcast will also continue to carry cable channels including the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded networks, the FX Networks, the National Geographic channels, Freeform and the SEC Network.

“We’re very happy to extend our longstanding relationship with Comcast and continue to provide their Xfinity customers with Disney’s best-in-class programming,” said Sean Breen, executive VP, platform distribution, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. “In addition to our news, sports and general entertainment offerings, the launch of the ACC Network in the coming weeks, paired with the renewal of the SEC Network, will give Xfinity’s college sports fans long-awaited access to their favorite games.” ■

Crown Media has struck a deal with YouTube TV to launch its suite of networks on the streaming service.

YouTube TV already streams the company's VOD offering, Hallmark Movies Now, as an option, but it will now offer Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama over the top.

The move comes as Hallmark continues to score with its Countdown to Christmas marathon that began even before Halloween.

“Our content, rooted in celebration, joy, optimism, and human connection, has never been more in demand, and we are confident the addition of Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama adds tremendous value to YouTube TV’s offerings and will be instant favorites among subscribers,” Crown Media president Wonya Lucas said.

“We’re excited to partner with Crown Media Family Networks to deliver all three of Hallmark’s linear channels to our YouTube TV members, including Hallmark Channel,” said Paul Snow, co-head of YouTube TV content partnerships. “We know that our members love this content, and it's the perfect time to introduce these channels to YouTube TV as we head into the holiday season.”

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead discusses BET Plus’ new original drama series Sacrifice with show star and executive producer Paula Patton. The veteran actress talks about making the adjustment from theatrical films to the small screen as well as her future aspirations.

Sacrifice, which originally debuted on BET Plus as an original movie, premieres Nov. 4.

Actor Kal Penn (House, Designated Survivor, Harold & Kumar) said he thinks that streaming services have helped diversify the entertainment industry, an industry with a history of typecasting minorities.

Penn was being interviewed by CNN's Jake Tapper about his new book, "Maybe I Do Have a Story to Tell," which includes stories about his being forced to adopt an Indian accent to get roles--he was born and raised in Montclair, NJ, and does not have an accent--some of which he turned down, others he took because he needed them on his resume.

He said of one casting decision that when he argued against a stereotypical accent he was told that he was lucky that people like him could work in the business.

Also: New Bill Would Incentivize Diverse Streaming

Penn said that over the intervening couple of decades, the industry has improved "by leaps and bounds" in addressing diversity, thanks more recently to OTT.

"I think one of the big things that has helped television and entertainment change for the better are the streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu," he told Tapper. "If you think about the content that they have, they are often times outside the purview of race or gender. They just make great, compelling characters that anyone wants to watch no matter what the characters are, no matter who we are."

A Nielsen diversity and inclusion report last January found that "the widest assortment of shows starring people of color was found on streaming platforms," and that streamed shows had either the most of the second most recurring characters who were Black, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern or Native American.

Content Spotlight is a new podcast from Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable that looks at new and returning television series through the eyes of the show’s stars and creators. 

Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead talks to Hightown creator and writer Rebecca Perry Cutter about the Starz drama series’ second season, as well as future projects from the former Gotham and The Mentalist writer.

Multicultural Perspectives is a new podcast extension of the original video series of the same name from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that shines a spotlight on executives and celebrities of color making significant and groundbreaking contributions to the entertainment industry. 

A special flashback episode of Multicultural Perspectives shines a light on social media sensation Liza Koshy, whose YouTube scripted series Liza On Demand launches its third and final season Oct. 13. In a 2020 discussion with Multichannel News’ R. Thomas Umstead, the television and film star talks about the series as well as her future aspirations as a media star and influencer.

Multicultural Perspectives is a new podcast extension of the original video series of the same name from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that shines a spotlight on executives and celebrities of color making significant and groundbreaking contributions to the entertainment industry. 

Our latest episode features Grammy-winning and Tony-nominated jazz musician Branford Marsalis who talks about his recent Emmy nomination for developing the original musical score for History’s documentary Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre, executive produced by Marco Williams. The multi-talented artist also talks about producing music for television, his various acting endeavors and his love for jazz and music.

The Parents Television Council is urging U.S. streamers to take a page from Britain when it comes to more uniform control of on-demand content.

According to a report, that country is contemplating imposing rules for streamed content from U.S. imports including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus similar to those for broadcast content. Currently, over-the-top content is out of the reach of the FCC.

“Our research of top streaming services has also found that content ratings, and other age-gating mechanisms, are wildly inconsistent in the U.S. market," PTC President Tim Winter said. "We are glad to see Britain’s similar concerns being elevated. Streaming services should adopt similar standards as other TV platforms, and eagerly commit to putting best practices in place to better serve their users."

He said streaming services have to commit to doing a better job of providing parental controls and should advocate for more consistent standards.

PTC has moved its focus from broadcast content to over-the-top and has been calling for better parental controls given the rise in popularity of streaming video.

ABC has released the trailer for the eighth installment of its One America streamed news series.

That comes just in time to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month (which is actually Hispanic Heritage 30 days, starting Sept. 15 and ending Oct. 15).

Our America: Todos Unidos, a weeklong special, streams Sept. 15 on the web sites of ABC's eight owned TV stations and will also be available on ABC's almost three dozen connected TV apps on Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, and Hulu.

"From actors and activists to business owners who are keeping traditions alive, the hourlong news special shines a light on diverse voices from the Hispanic community honoring their heritage, celebrating their culture and expressing their identity," ABC said.

The series was helmed by the ABC-owned stations' Race and Culture Content EPs Mariel Myers, Porsha Grant and Nzinga Blake.

Turner Classic Movies Wednesday raised the curtain on a new branding package designed to bring its 20th century films to a 21st century audience.

The network, part of AT&T’s WarnerMedia, will be using a new tagline “Where Then Meets Now.” 

A fresh new logo focuses on the “C” in TCM. The “C” stands for four keys to the brand: curation, context, connection, and culture. The rebranding also includes a “sonic identity,” with a song that uses strings to recall iconic Hollywood musicals.

“Everything old is new and classic movies are no exception,” said Pola Changnon, general manager of TCM. “Our new look better reflects the vibrant brand and respected industry authority that TCM has become over the years, with an eye toward the future. Fans can still enjoy the same curated classic film experience, now presented with a bold new energy that reflects today’s audience.”

The network will also be updating the sets used by TCM hosts Ben Mankiewicz, Eddie Muller, Alicia Malone, Dave Karger and Jacqueline Stewart.

Mankiewicz’s new set has its debut Wednesday night. In a message to fans, Mankiewicz explains that what the network is doing is not changing.

“What we do is not changing. Showing the films you love from Hollywood’s golden age, putting them in context and telling stories about the artists who made them. The only difference is we’re doing it with a cool new logo and a spiffy 21st century set,” he said. “But the films, the directors and the stars, they’re still where they’re supposed to be. In your head. In your heart. And on Turner Classic Movies.”

In addition to its cable TV network, the TCM brand is used as a hub for classic films on HBO Max, the WarnerMedia streaming service.

TCM worked with Sibling Rivalry to develop the tagline and the creative packaging. It collaborated with Made Music Studio on the custom sound.

Multicultural Perspectives is a new podcast extension of the original video series of the same name from Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable that shines a spotlight on executives and celebrities of color making significant and groundbreaking contributions to the entertainment industry. 

In our inaugural podcast, Multichannel News's R. Thomas Umstead chats with Tony Award-nominated actress/singer/activist Sheryl Lee Ralph about her career in entertainment, from her Tony Award-nominated Broadway performance in Dreamgirls to her most recent role as U.S. President Kelly Wade in Freeform’s drama series Motherland: Fort Salem. 

Wayne “The Great” Gretzky has signed on to the Turner Sports team as a studio hockey analyst as Turner launches coverage of National Hockey League games next season.

AT&T’s Turner Sports signed a long-term deal to televise NHL games last month.

Turner also signed play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and analyst Eddie Olczyk to call live regular season and Stanley Cup games on TNT and TBS.

“The world’s best hockey league is coming to Turner Sports later this year and the exciting additions of Wayne, Kenny and Eddie will jumpstart our NHL coverage with some of the best and biggest talents in the sport,” said Tara August, senior VP of talent relations and special projects at Turner Sports. “Their incomparable experiences within the game and unparalleled depth of knowledge will bring a distinct dimension to our game and studio coverage. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Turner Sports family.”

Gretzky is the all-time leader in goals, assists and points. He  won four Stanley Cups and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I’ve long admired Turner Sports’ coverage of the NBA, among other sports, and I’m thrilled to be joining the studio team in their inaugural NHL season,” said Gretzky. “This is an exciting opportunity to share my experiences and perspectives on the game I will always cherish, while hopefully informing and entertaining fans along the way.”

Albert has been calling hockey games since 1990 and most recently did national broadcasts for Fox and NBC.

Olcyzk, who played 16 years in the NHL, was in the broadcast booth as lead hockey analyst for NBC nationally and locally for the Chicago Blackhawks.

SurvivorNet's streaming channel, SurvivorNetTV, is expanding beyond major streaming platforms such as AppleTV and Roku to include free, ad-supported platforms Local Now and GlewedTV. SurvivorNetTV also said it has added hundreds of hours of films and documentary programming to its library since launching a year ago.

SurvivorNetTV is a linear streaming network aimed at the growing community of cancer survivors and caregivers and is approaching its first anniversary.  

“Our original vision with SurvivorNet has always been to bring support and comfort to millions of survivors and caregivers in the form of hope and inspiration,” Steve Alperin, SurvivorNet CEO, told NextTV. “Over the past year, we’ve seen that vision come to life with SurvivorNetTV. We’re excited to partner with Local Now and GlewedTV to reach new markets and an ever-growing audience of individuals whose lives have been touched by cancer.”

SurvivorNetTV programming includes compelling people and stories around cancer, from recent scientific breakthroughs to leading medical treatments, COVID-19 guidance and documentaries dealing with everything from music to relationships. 

The channel’s programming is currently available at SurvivorNet.com as well as on streaming providers including Roku, Apple TV and Amazon. The new distribution deals with Local Now and GlewedTV represent an important step into continuing the channels’ incredible momentum. Local Now reaches more than 2.5 million monthly unique users and GlewedTV reaches about 5 million. 

New programming, besides the previously announced documentary Breakthrough, includes SN & You, a newsmagazine featuring stories about cancer survivors Tom Brokaw and Marcia Cross, as well as cancer advocate Patrick Dempsey. There are also documentaries and shorts.

Leslie Jones will host the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards, the network announced Wednesday.

This year’s show will be part of a two night event. The MTV Movie & TV Awards will air live from Los Angeles on May 16. On May 17, the inaugural edition of MTV’s Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted will air, honoring the top reality TV shows and moments.

Awards shows, long a tentpole for MTV, have not been faring well lately. Sunday’s Oscars telecast saw its ratings dive more than 50% from last year’s already record low levels. The Movie & TV Awards didn't appear during the pandemic in 2020, but viewership was down 46% in 2019, when they appeared on 10 Viacom cable networks. 

Also Read: Jason White Named CMO for MTV Entertainment Group

Jones is best known for her run on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and appearances in films including Ghostbusters. Jones currently hosts and executive produces Supermarket Sweep on ABC.

She is nominated for an MTV Movie & TV Award this year in the Best Comedic Performance category for her role in Coming 2 America.

As part of the Unscripted awards, fans can vote to pick winners in 25 categories including Best Kiss, Breakthrough Performance and Best Show at vote.mtv.com.

Executive Producers for both the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards and the Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted are MTV's Bruce Gillmer, Wendy Plaut and Vanessa Whitewolf and Den Of Thieves’ Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowski. Jackie Barba and Alicia Portugal are executives in charge of production and Lisa Lauricella serves as the music talent executive for both events.

Sponsors of the two-night celebration include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s The Real Cost program and Sonic Drive-In.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Netflix recently agreed to a groundbreaking licensing deal that will give Netflix an exclusive window on Sony theatrical releases. This is clearly a boon for both parties, with Netflix scoring more of the latest entertainment titles and Sony locking in access to the massive Netflix subscriber base. And there are likely to be promotional synergies too.

Social video has helped SVOD companies excel in the streaming wars, engaging current audiences and accelerating subscriber growth. According to a recent report from social video analytics firm Tubular Labs, U.S. viewers spent 116% more time watching SVOD content on social video in January 2021 compared to January 2020. Tubular’s analysis shows that of the SVODs’ U.S. audiences, 67% are 13-34 years old, a coveted demographic. (A note about methodology: This data is based on the U.S. viewing audience, including YouTube and Facebook. The minutes-watched data is based on views of at least 30 seconds.) 

Also Read: Netflix Ups the Ante with Latest Deals

Of the SVOD platforms Tubular measured, Netflix dominated for U.S. cross-platform unique viewers in January of this year, with 93.2 million. That bodes well for Sony, given that Netflix will surely use its social video muscle to promote new Sony titles as they become available to stream. 

That said, Sony also already has a strong social video strategy.

Sony Pictures utilizes multiple social video platforms to promote its content, but according to Tubular, YouTube is a primary driver of views for the company, netting 796 million from over 1,100 video uploads across various Sony Pictures-owned accounts (that includes Sony Pictures’ global creators and other owned properties such as Sony Pictures Classics). 

The top YouTube video for Sony Pictures’ U.S. accounts across the last year is the official trailer for Monster Hunt, which was posted in October and has generated 11.8 million views, 5.5 million of which occurred within the first 30 days, according to Tubular’s analysis. Meanwhile, the most-watched Netflix video hasn’t even been up for a full month yet: The official trailer for The Mitchells vs. The Machines, posted on March 31, has racked up over 18.9 million views so far. 

Trailers are the bread and butter of Sony Pictures’ social video strategy: Of its top 15 YouTube U.S.-focused videos by views in the last year, only two aren’t teasers or trailers: “Puppy! A Hotel Transylvania Short Film,” from Sony Pictures Animation with over 3 million views, and “The New Spider-Man Title is…” reveal with 2.4 million views. 

This brings us to one specific area where Sony might take cues from Netflix: the diversification of content types in its social video mix. Although both companies focus heavily on teasers and trailers for their YouTube presences, Netflix in particular tends to offer more full-fledged content: While many of Netflix’s top 15 YouTube videos by views are trailers, it's also posted full episodes of Our Planet, which have generated top view counts. 

Also, of the top SVOD platforms that Tubular examined, Netflix has the most format diversity across types of content posted to Facebook.

For example, on Facebook, Netflix shares short clips from shows and movies, such as a 17 Again clip that was posted in early January and is the No. 1 Facebook video by views (55.6 million) for Netflix in the last year, 19 million of which occurred in the first week. Another top video is a collection of “Floor Is Lava Falls,” with 29.7 million views, and this interview with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, which has generated 8.8 million views. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures’ most-watched Facebook videos are all trailers and teasers. 

As Sony Pictures content comes to Netflix under the new licensing deal, it’s easy to envision how the streaming giant can push forward with increasingly engaging ways to promote Sony fare.

Bernstein media analyst Todd Juenger said Tuesday that Netflix could be readying widespread price hikes across Western Europe this year, in line with its earlier increases in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Argentina.

Juenger tracked Netflix pricing across 50 countries and said the SVOD giant’s strategy is pretty clear -- increase pricing every two years; raise charges aggressively for its Premium package, moderately on its Standard plan and rarely on its Basic plan. He added that on average, the price increases are in the mid-single digits.

“After very little pricing activity in 2020, evidence is growing that we will see widespread pricing increases in 2021,” Juenger wrote in a note to clients, pointing to “significant” price increases in Q1 in the U.K., Germany (bringing pricing in line with Austria and Ireland); Japan and Argentina. 

Netflix raised pricing for its Standard plan in Canada by about $1 per month and by $2 per month for its Premium plan in early October and three weeks later raised pricing for Standard and Premium plans in the U.S. by similar levels. Juenger estimates that Austria, Ireland and Germany could prove to be similarly “leading indicators” for price hikes in Europe, “perhaps a more gradual roll-out across the Continent rather than one uniform, lockstep pricing change.”

In the United Kingdom, Netflix raised prices for its Standard plan by $1 per month (11%) and by $2 per month for its Premium plan (17%) in January. That same month German customers saw pricing for the Standard plan rise 8% and 13% for the Premium plan. In Japan, Netflix said in February that it would raise prices for the Basic and Standard plans by 13% each. The biggest percentage hikes were in Argentina, where Netflix said in Q1 that  it would raise pricing for all tiers --  Basic (40%), Standard (44%) and Premium (49%). Juenger added that the increases in Argentina were likely due to high inflation rates in Latin America and efforts to account for the decline in exchange rates compared to the U.S. dollar over the past year. He said that Netflix rates in Argentina are roughly 60% lower than in the U.S., in U.S. currency.

Netflix has been under some pressure recently as some analysts have pointed out that the service has lost as much as 31% of its global market share (despite gaining 40 million customers) given the increase in competition from new streaming services like Disney Plus, HBO Max, Paramount Plus and Peacock. 

On Tuesday, Netflix stock was up as much as 2.5% ($13.49 each) to $554.16 each in early trading, a day after  Evercore ISI Group internet analyst Mark Mahaney assumed coverage of the company, upgrading his rating on Netflix stock to “outperform” and raising his price target on the stock to $665 per share. Mahaney was encouraged by Netflix’s large cash position, which enables it to invest in more content, which in turn leads to more subscribers. Adding to that strength is Netflix’s massive platform coupled with a global recommendation algorithm that the analyst wrote has the power to transform good content into global sensations. As an example he pointed to shows like The Queen’s Gambit, which he wrote on its own made “chess cool again.”  

“Simply put, a dollar spent at Netflix arguably creates more marketing power than any other platform, generating greater leverage and potentially more subs,” Mahaney continued.

We’re a year into the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and it should come as no surprise that social video consumption has seen drastic, sustained growth, with many people still homebound and in front of their computers and smartphones more and more. 

Social video analytics company Tubular Labs examined how much year-over-year growth occurred in February across five genres: sports, gaming, entertainment, kids entertainment and news/politics. (A note about methodology: The data in this article is based on a U.S.-viewing audience, including YouTube and Facebook. The minutes watched data is based on views of at least 30 seconds.) 

The gaming genre was the clear winner, with 80.1 billion minutes watched in February 2021, an impressive 73% increase from February 2020. Kids entertainment (55.3 billion minutes watched, a 34% increase year-over-year) took second place, followed by entertainment (77 billion minutes, a 22% increase from February 2020), news and politics (17.2 billion, +17%) and sports (14.5 billion, +15%). 

Also Read: Social Video 2020 Year in Review: The Broadcast and Digital Winners

One of the most-watched gaming properties for U.S. audiences over the last year has been Riot Games, which led for minutes watched for 10 out of 12 months compared to other top properties Nintendo, Activision Blizzard and PokerStars. (In December and February, Nintendo was tops for minutes watched.) October was Riot’s biggest month for watch-time, with 114 million minutes watched. 

The top Riot-owned video by views in the last year was posted to the League of Legends YouTube channel in October: “K/DA - MORE ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Lexie Liu, Jaira Burns, Seraphine (Official Music Video),” with 80.8 million views.

Looking at unique U.S. viewers in the last year, Activision Blizzard and Nintendo have taken turns as No. 1 over the last 12 months. April was Activision Blizzard’s top month for unique viewers (8.9 million) — right when initial stay-at-home orders were in full effect across the country. But Nintendo has lately taken over for the most unique viewers, with 6.9 million in December, 7.6 million in January and 8.5 million in February.  

Activision Blizzard’s top YouTube video in the last year was a Spanish-language version of the Crash Bandicoot 4 trailer, with 18.8 million views; the English version was close behind with 16.6 million. Nintendo’s most-watched video in the last year was posted this January and already has 10.2 million views: “A Bigger Badder Bowser - Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - Nintendo Switch.”

The CW’s Two Sentence Horror Stories has installed an all-female creative team for season three, led by Lisa Morales, who will serve as showrunner of the program.

The creative team and actors from Two Sentence Horror Stories participated in a panel discussion during the CultureX Conversations conference this week. Register to watch on demand.

The series is notable for its diversity and use of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ stores and talent on screen and behind the scenes.

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Morales previously served as a writer and producer on OWN’s Queen Sugar during seasons four and five.

She joins series Vera Miao and Liz Levine as executive producers.

Also on the creative team for season three are producer Liz Alper and story editors Stephanie Adams-Santos, Sehaj Sethi and Lekethia Dalcoe.

The series is produced by Warner Bros. Stage 13 unit.

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“Two Sentence Horror Stories is a very significant series in not only the social issues it addresses within the horror trope, but in its clear purpose of featuring BIPOC and LGBTQ+ stories and talent – above and below the line, as well as in creative positions,” said Diana Mogollón, senior VP and general manager of Stage 13. “Season two continued to push the dialogue of social and psychological fear, and season three will elevate that further with this best-in-class creative team.”

The show finished season two on the CW on Feb. 16 and all 33 episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.