DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar’s video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus the assumption of debt.

While both DirecTV and Dish have been losing customers to cord-cutting, combined they would have about 20 million subscribers, tops in the shrinking pay TV business. 

AT&T, which spun off DirecTV but retained 70% ownership in the satellite company, said it sold its stake to private-equity company TPG.

“DirecTV operates in a highly competitive video distribution industry,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said. “With greater scale, we expect a combined DirecTV and Dish will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV, which is to aggregate, curate and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests, and to be better positioned to realize operating efficiencies while creating value for customers through additional investment.”

Upon closing, DirecTV will continue to be led by Morrow and Ray Carpenter, DirecTV’s chief financial officer. The combined company will be headquartered in El Segundo, California.

The two companies have discussed various combinations over the years. 

DirecTV said it estimates that the combination of DirecTV and Dish has the potential to generate cost synergies of at least $1 billion per year. These synergies are expected to be achieved by the third anniversary of closing, assuming the closing is in late 2025.

In addition, TPG Angelo Gordon and certain of its co-investors, and DirecTV, provided $2.5 billion of financing to fully refinance Dish DBS’s November 2024 debt maturity fully.

The E.W. Scripps Co. said it was shutting down its Scripps News over-the-air channel effective November 15 and eliminating at least 200 jobs.

When the move was announced, Scripps stock jumped and was up 15% in midday trading Friday.

Burdened by debt since its acquisition of Ion Media, Scripps stock is down 72% this year from a 52-week high of $9.25 a share in January.

Kate O’Brian, president of news at Scripps, said she would be leaving the company.

“Over the last two years, Scripps News’ live anchored coverage and documentary programming have grown its linear television audience, but the prospects for the necessary revenue growth haven’t materialized, despite our sales teams’ efforts,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in a memo to employees. “Scripps News’ current financial position is what has led me to the decision to scale back our approach to 24-hour news and over-the-air coverage.“

“Amidst an already difficult linear television advertising marketplace, many brands and agencies have decided that advertising around national news is just too risky for them given the polarized nature of this country, no matter the accolades and credentials a news organization like Scripps receives for its objectivity,” Symson said. “I vehemently disagree, but it is hurting Scripps News, along with every other national linear and digital news outlet.” 

Symson said Scripps News will remain on streaming and digital platforms with weekday live coverage from a Washington, D.C.-based core reporting team. He said about 50 Scripps News staff members would remain to report for its local stations.

“I also want to emphasize that the advertising issues Scripps News has faced reflect the national marketplace,“ Symson said. ”Locally, there is advertising support for our local news and our stations’ ability to connect local businesses with our audiences. It remains our responsibility to serve local communities and connect them to the greater world through Scripps News’ national and international reporting.” 

In her memo to staff, O’Brian called the shutdown “a business decision” and not reflection on the quality of its work.

“The tough reality is that despite doing remarkable and award-winning journalism, building our OTA audience steadily since we launched, and doubling our weekly OTA revenue in the last year, the national ad market simply did not sustain over-the-air Scripps News as a viable business,” she said.

“The world needs more objective journalism and dedicated journalists like all of you,” O’Brian added. “Indeed, we still have a most consequential election to cover for our audience that demands fact-based and thoughtful coverage. We owe it to our loyal audiences on every platform to continue  to deliver the highest quality news and information right up to November 15.”

With women’s sports blowing up in popularity, Horizon Sports & Experiences said it signed Shark Beauty to be title sponsor for the inaugural Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic, which will be broadcast by Fox 

The Classic is an early-season showcase featuring some of college basketball’s top teams including WNBA rookie star Caitlin Clark’s alma mater Iowa, the University of Connecticut, Louisville and Tennessee. 

The event — a collaboration of Horizon Sports & Experiences and Fox Sports — is set for December 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

“There has been tremendous excitement around the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic, and we’re thrilled to announce our landmark sponsorship agreement with Shark Beauty,” said David Levy, co-CEO of HS&E. “This represents a significant shift, as brands in this category have historically focused their sponsorship dollars on traditional primetime entertainment television. As the popularity of women’s basketball continues to soar, new avenues for engagement and enhanced return on investment have emerged. Shark Beauty is setting a powerful example by recognizing the importance of investing in women’s sports, a strategy we believe will inspire other brands to follow suit.”

As part of a multiyear sponsorship package, Shark Beauty will receive a variety of broadcast and digital integrations and sponsorship elements, hospitality and fan engagement opportunities and in-arena signage.

“This first-of-its-kind early-season women’s tournament in New York City provides the type of national spotlight that will continue to elevate the women’s game, and we are thrilled to be on the ground floor to help further its momentum as title sponsor,” Shark Beauty VP of global marketing Petra Oman said. “At Shark Beauty, we work tirelessly to reimagine beauty solutions, and it’s just the beginning. As we continue to innovate across new products and categories, this event offers us a unique opportunity to introduce Shark Beauty to a national audience of passionate fans.”

Data and measurement company Inscape and local video advertising provider Locality said they are working together to provide marketers with unified linear TV and streaming measurement for national and local audiences.

The collaboration will enable advertisers to calculate incremental reach and other metrics for brands when planning and evaluating campaigns.

“Combining our access to premium local video at unduplicated scale with Inscape’s comprehensive local-level viewership data uniquely positions Locality to understand how ad campaigns perform across both linear and streaming distribution,” Locality president of streaming Keith Kazerman said. “This partnership enhances our ability to showcase our unique reach to partners and provide insights into how consumers engage with our local streaming and broadcast inventory in their optimal markets.”

Using Inscape’s unified source of data, Locality can perform cross-platform campaign planning at a brand and market level. This allows marketers to optimize budget allocations as consumers continue to lean into the growth of connected TV, the companies said.

“The solution this partnership brings to the $87 billion ad industry is access to unified data across locally targeted linear and streaming driving operational and budgetary efficiencies,” Vizio/Inscape VP of data licensing and strategy Ken Norcross said.

“Our data is a single-source solution that focuses on the content and the commercials and the habits and behaviors within the TV viewing experience, cohesively,” Norcross said. “This partnership with Locality allows us to demonstrate a comprehensive view of how consumers are engaging with TV and to create a better experience overall for advertisers.”

Integral Ad Science said it has expanded its brand safety and suitability capabilities to detect misinformation on YouTube for advertisers.

IAS’s Total Media Quality product assures marketers that their campaigns are running adjacent to brand-safe and suitable content. IAS will now identify misinformation on YouTube, enabling advertisers to verify if the content meets their safety and suitability requirements.

“Brand safety is a top priority for marketers as we approach upcoming marquee global media events. We are empowering marketers with enhanced products like our expanded Total Media Quality for YouTube which now offers IAS’s misinformation reporting,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS. “We’re excited to offer the ability to detect misinformation with our best-in-class measurement solution.”

IAS classifies content according to industry-aligned definitions and provides reporting based on advertisers’ custom brand suitability settings. Advertisers can access video-level insights into content adjacent to their ads. The product examines content in more than 30 languages and compliment’s YouTube’s own brand safety measures, IAS said.

The Media Rating Council accredited IAS’s measuring video viewability on YouTube earlier this year.

Agatha All Along, the new Marvel series on Disney Plus, was the top streaming show in TVision’s Power Score ranking of series on connected TV for the week of September 16.

The first two episodes of the show were released on September 18.

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (Season 4) dropped to the No. 2 spot.

Rounding out the Top 5 were The Perfect Couple on Netflix, Monsters on Netflix and Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist on Peacock.

Hulu’s Shogun and Max’s Hacks returned to the Top 20, probably boosted by winning numerous Emmy Awards earlier this month.

The Power Score ranking is designed to compare streaming shows on an apples-to-apples basis. In calculating its Power Score, TVision, which measures activity across over 1,000 apps, looks at the amount of time viewers pay attention to the program, the amount of program time available for the season, the program’s reach, as well as the application’s reach.

TVision said it chose that combination of metrics to enable a neutral look at the quality of programming and its unique, inherent ability to draw in viewers — regardless of the scale of the platform or the program’s release schedule.

Anthem Sports & Entertainment said it has agreed to buy Hollywood Suite, which owns and operates four linear TV channels in Canada.

The acquisition would double the number of channels Anthem offers to Canadian viewers.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Hollywood Suite’s linear networks show movies by decade, with an HS70s channel, an HS80s channel, an HS90s channel and an HS00s channel. It also has an on-demand offering.

The networks are available in about 10 million homes via distributors including Rogers Communications, Bell, Telus, Amazon Prime Video, Cogeco, Eastlink and Freedom Mobile.

Hollywood Suite will continue to be managed by its co-founder and president, David Kines.

“Anthem is focused on providing fresh and unique content offerings catering to a wide and diverse network of passionate fanbases, and the acquisition of Hollywood Suite helps us further that strategy in a major way,” Anthem founder and CEO Leonard Asper said. “They have a proven track record of success and have enjoyed incredible growth throughout the years, with a strong commitment to providing true movie lovers with wide-ranging offerings from some of cinema’s most consequential eras. We are proud to have them on board and we look forward to working closely with David and the Hollywood Suite team to help them reach even greater heights.”

Anthem currently distributes the Game TV, Games Plus, Fight Network and AXS TV channels in Canada.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission.

“With a passion and commitment to movies as deep as ours, Anthem is the perfect partner for Hollywood Suite,” Kines said. “Leonard and his team have demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to supporting cinema and independent platforms like us, giving viewers and subscribers the absolute best in film-focused content.”

Looking to address the issue of advertiser suitability for news content, Pixability and Ad Fontes are teaming up to enable marketers to identify and support reputable news sources on YouTube and connected TV.

Pixability uses artificial intelligence to gauge the suitability and performance of contextual targeting. Ad Fontes rates new sources for bias and reliability. 

Working together, they plan to identify trustworthy news sources and screen out particularly sensitive stories, enabling advertisers to run ads safely in news environments.

“At a time when false and misleading information is rampant across all platforms, it’s important we identify and provide support for sources of news that are trustworthy and not expressing extreme bias,” said Vanessa Otero, founder and CEO of Ad Fontes.

“As the largest video platform in the world, YouTube has a vast ocean of content of varying reliability, which presents both huge opportunities and challenges,” Otero said. “We believe our solution, combined with Pixability’s brand suitability technology, will together provide a much-needed way to target high-quality journalism and information on YouTube while in turn steering clear of low-reliability content.”

Pixability recently released data that showed that, on average, 40% of YouTube advertisers ask to avoid news content on YouTube. This leads to a lack of funding for reputable news sources and prevents advertisers from engaging audiences in key areas of interest.

Advertisers in categories including food & beverage, automotive, entertainment and travel have found that news content drives anywhere from 24% to 44% better engagement than the average content category on YouTube, Pixability said.

“We’ve seen a pattern of brands and agencies avoiding news content altogether because of a lack of effective brand suitability solutions in the market tailored for news sites and are proud to be solving for this problem on YouTube specifically,” Pixability CEO David George said.

Fox Entertainment worked with Vizio, using the TV maker’s full suite of ad capabilities to drive awareness and tune-in for new action series Rescue: HI-Surf.

The companies have worked together before, but to promote the lifeguard drama Fox took advantage of messages on the Vizio Home Screen as well as Hero, Discovery and Recommends ads. 

On the home screen, seen by millions before they decide what to watch, Vizio showed a Spotlight unit featuring a custom animation.

Fox also ran 15- and 30-second video promos on Vizio WatchFree Plus and partner AVOD apps.

The campaign urged viewers to watch the premiere of Rescue: HI-Surf on September 22, as well as to tune into the show in its regular Monday evening time slot. Viewers were also told they could watch the next day on demand via Hulu.

Vizio says Fox is the first marketer to use animated messages in the Spotlight unit on the Home Screen. 

“TV audiences are more fragmented than ever, so the Home Screen provides an opportunity to reach people before they start splitting off into streaming environments,” Vizio head of media & entertainment, national advertising sales Sean Booker said. “Fox is a longtime partner, and this expanded campaign brings the full impact of the Smart TV Home Screen to help the company reach audiences with creative executions that drive multiple media objectives.”

Revry, the LGBTQ+ streaming services said that credit card company Discovery has signed up to sponsor the 8th annual QueerX Awards telecast.

The awards show will  premiere on Revry October 11, which is National Coming Out Day.

“Discover believes everyone should feel like they belong and enjoy the freedom to be themselves,” said Darci Cavanaugh, Director of Compliance Operations and the Enterprise Lead for Pride, Discover’s employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies. “Discover is proud to support Revry and the QueerX awards. We celebrate diverse experiences and perspectives, which make us stronger and better able to help our employees, customers and communities achieve brighter financial futures.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The QueerX Awards will be hosted by Percy Rustomji, the known for his role as the host of Revry’s Culture Q, and Daniel Franzese, who appeared in Mean Girls and HBO’s Looking. 

The event will also feature special appearances Carmen Carrera, The Queen of Melrose (Cosmo Lombino), Jake Dupree, Love Bailey, Marval Rex, and Biqtch Puddin’. 

Award categories include Best Queer Dancer of the Year, Best Queer DJ, Best Athlete, Queer Comedian, Best Fashion Brand, Queer Twitch Streamer, Biggest Social Media Presence, Queer Anthem of the Year, Best Drag Artist, Best Podcast, and the QueerX Visibility Awards.

“As we prepare for the 8th annual QueerX Awards, we remain focused on celebrating the creativity, diversity, and joy that define our community. This event is more than just recognition; it’s about amplifying stories that push boundaries and inspire future generations,” said Damian Pelliccione, co-founder and CEO of Revry.

Revry said the 2023 QueerX Awards reached nearly one million U.S. households and ranked among Revry’s top-performing programs in October,

The 2024 QueerX Awards will be streamed globally and exclusively on Revry, which is available on platforms including Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Vizio WatchFree Plus, Plex, Rakuten TV and Xumo.

WMXI, the Fox affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said it named Jace Larson as senior director of news.

Larson had been director of newsgathering at Scripps News. Scripps News and WMXI are owned by E.W. Scripps.

Larson is replacing Dan Boers, who left the station in July.

At Scripps News, Larson oversaw the general assignment reporting team. He previously managed teams within the Scripps local-national operation before it merged with Scripps News.

Earlier in his career, Larson worked as a reporter at stations including KUSA and KMGH in Denver, KPRC Houston and KOKI Tulsa, Oklahoma. He won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for uncovering and dismantling a foreclosure scam in Colorado.

ESPN is set to televise Pickleball Slam 3, which will again feature tennis greats including Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf competing in the new racquet sport for a $1 million purse. 

Also competing are Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard.

The event is being held in Las Vegas at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on February 16.

“Pickleball’s surge in participation, sponsorship investments, and media coverage underscores its rising status in the sports and advertising worlds. The Pickleball Slam, featuring great players, dynamic locations, and ESPN coverage, plays a pivotal role in this growth, showcasing the sport’s expanding appeal,” said David Levy, Co-CEO of Horizon Sports & Entertainment.

“Set against the vibrant Las Vegas backdrop, Slam 3 promises an unforgettable experience for sponsors and fans alike, and we can’t wait for everyone to witness the unparalleled excitement and spectacle of this event.”

Agassi and Graf, who won Pickleball Slam 2, will take on Roddick and Bouchard in mixed doubles. Agassi and Roddick, who teamed up on the first Slam, will be competing in the upcoming event.

“I can’t wait to return with Steffi and defend our title in February at Slam 3,” said Agassi in a statement. “It’s an incredible opportunity to play in my hometown of Las Vegas, where the stakes are high, and the energy is electric. In this city, the odds are always in our favor, and I almost feel a little sorry for Andy and Genie.”  

“When Andre and I won the inaugural Pickleball Slam, I ended up doing most of the heavy lifting, so this time I'm excited to team up with Genie,” added Roddick. “For Slam 3, I’m actually more concerned about Steffi—she's a force to be reckoned with! Genie and I are ready to defy the odds. After all, this is Las Vegas, a city that knows a thing or two about unexpected upsets.”

The inaugural Pickleball Slam and Slam 2 both served up big audiences for ESPN.

The first Pickleball Slam in 2023, set a record as the highest-rated pickleball telecast in the network’s history, peaking with nearly 800,000 viewers. In February 2024, Slam 2 peaked with over 990,000 viewers.

“Pickleball has energized sports fans worldwide over the last few years and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this incredible event to Mandalay Bay in 2025,” said Lance Evans, MGM Resorts International’s senior VP of sports & sponsorships  We look forward to partnering with David Levy and his team as well as these extraordinary sports legends to showcase Las Vegas as the Sports Capital of the World.”

MGM Plus said it ordered a new drama series that reimagines the classic Robin Hood tale.

The show is being produced by Lionsgate Television and created by showrunner Scott Glenn and producer-director Jonathan English.

Production on a 10-episode first season is set to begin in February at PFI Studios in Serbia. The series is expected to premiere later in 2025.

In addition to premiering on MGM Plus in the U.S., Robin Hood will be available to MGM Plus viewers in the U.K., Italy, Germany, Spain, Latin America, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

“We call MGM Plus television for movie lovers and English and Glenn’s Robin Hood is the epitome of our brand promise,” MGM Plus head Michael Wright said. “This is a new imagining of the classic tale of the roguish outlaw hero who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. It’s an exciting, smart, sweeping, romantic adventure that brings historical authenticity, psychological depth, and a heightened focus on the relationship between Rob and Marian to the beloved story.”

The new series is expected to have a modern feel and romantic energy between Robin and Marian. The show will also aim to be historically authentic.

“Robin Hood is a global brand and a story we’ve both been obsessed with since our youth,“ Glenn and English said. “We are truly honored to have partnered with MGM Plus, Lionsgate and Todd to bring this classic story back to life.” 

Glenn and English also serve as writers and executive producers, alongside Todd Lieberman of Hidden Pictures. Carly Kleinbart and Nicole Bryant will oversee the series for Hidden Pictures.

Measurement company VideoAmp said it will be incorporating outcome data from a variety of providers into its VALID data and technology platform.

The data will provide advertisers with insights into how well exposure to messages on linear TV, streaming and digital channels creates consumer activity, including sales.

VideoAmp will collect data from a range of industries, including consumer packaged goods, credit cards, auto and pharmaceutical. 

“These new capabilities unlock scaled outcome measurement for our clients, across verticals,” VideoAmp chief product officer Josh Hudgins said. “Through these integrations, VideoAmp is laying the groundwork for standardized outcome reporting across industries and affording our clients the ability to maximize the value of their media.”

Affinity Solutions, Circana, Polk Automotive Solutions from S&P Global Mobility, PlaceIQ and PurpleLab have already agreed to integrate their data into VALID.

In addition to the benefits for advertisers, VideoAmp said integrating outcomes into its platform will enable media companies to unlock attribution insights to tie their premium ad inventory to actual business outcomes for their advertising clients. 

“Advertisers can noticeably improve ROAS by leveraging Circana’s 100% deterministic data in the planning process and by optimizing their media buy toward those programs, dayparts, etc., that most resonate with their customers,” said Amy Marentic, president of global solutions at Circana, which accumulates data from shopper loyalty cards.  

“We are in a new era of TV advertising, one where there is ample opportunity for brands to better measure — and therefore better understand — the value and outcomes of their investments,” PurpleLab VP of advertising partnerships and strategy Ted Sweetser added. “PurpleLab is proud to partner with VideoAmp to help deliver on this promise. The job of the CMO will get a little easier today, as VideoAmp brings a real understanding of ROI to television, a space where half the dollars have gone with a fraction of the measurability.”

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement said it will incorporate The Attention Council as a working group within CIMM.

CIMM’s Attention Working Group will be chaired by Andy Brown. It expects to publish a study on the state of attention management and the use of new metrics across the media and advertising business.

Brown will also join CMM’s Steering Committee.

“There has been exceptional growth in the use and development of attention by the industry — from the proliferation of innovative new approaches to the steady increase in buy-side adoption,” CIMM managing director Jon Watts said. “We are pleased to welcome TAC into CIMM to support this work, cementing metrics like attention, emotion and quality as critical components of our program. As we continue to work closely with other organizations and expand internationally, this collaboration marks the next step in our unified effort to support improvements, best practices and innovations across the industry.” 

The Attention Council was started in 2019 by Adelaide, Amplified Intelligence, Avocet, Lumen and TVision and has focused on the areas of quality, ethics, research, education and currency.

“I am excited by the new integration,“ Brown said. “I have admired the ARF and CIMM’s approach to client engagement and willingness to pursue research initiatives to meet the ever-changing developments in the media and advertising landscape.” 

The Paris Summer Olympics pushed Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit to the top spot on Nielsen’s list of media distributors for August.

Nielsen said that NBCU’s units including NBC, USA Network and Peacock, accumulated 13.4% of TV usage — the biggest share since Nielsen began keeping track in November 2023.

NBCU had 9.5% of TV viewing in July.

USA Network viewership jumped 47%, Peacock showed a 39% gain in streaming and viewing across NBC’s broadcast affiliates rose 62%.

NBCU also got a boost from the Democratic National Convention, which boosted viewing of news network MSNBC by 43% compared to July.

YouTube dropped to the No. 2 spot in the distributor’s rankings in August, but its share increased to 10.6% from 10.4% in July.

Also showing an increase in share during August was The Roku Channel, which had 1.7% of TV usage.

Nielsen noted that with the start of the football season not happening until September and their fall TV premieres still on the way, The Walt Disney Co., Fox and Paramount had August lulls.

Paramount Global on Tuesday began what it called “phase two” of its plan to cut costs by eliminating 15% of its staff in the U.S.

The company is in the process of being acquired by Skydance Media, but the three-man office of the CEO has already initiated its plan to reduce expenses by $500 million. Skydance has plans for additional cost savings.

The first round of staff cuts took place in August. The CEOs, George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, said that after this round 90% of the planned staff reductions will be complete.

On the company’s second-quarter earnings call, McCarthy said layoffs would focus on two areas: ”First, redundant functions within marketing and communications. Second, streamlining our corporate structure, reducing our head count in finance, legal, technology and other support functions.“ 

The company isn’t breaking out how many people are being impacted by each round of layoffs, but by the end of the year, the company expects to have reduced its U.S. headcount by about 2,000.

“Like the entire media industry, we are working to accelerate streaming profitability while at the same time adjusting to the evolving landscape in our traditional businesses,” the CEOs said in their memo Tuesday. “In order to set Paramount up for continued success, we are taking these actions, and after today, 90% of these reductions will be complete.

“Days like today are never easy. It is difficult to say goodbye to valued colleagues, and to those departing, we are incredibly grateful for your countless contributions,” the CEOs said. 

Family Entertainment Television (FETV) said it has made a deal with DirecTV Stream has and has been launched on the service.

DirecTV Stream serves more than 2 million subscribers, explaining carriage of FETV, which is carried on cable, satellite and other virtual platforms.

“DirecTV has been a tremendous partner for us throughout the years, and we are thrilled to bring FETV to DirecTV Stream customers,” Cara Conte, executive VP, affiliate sales of FETV and FMC, said. “This launch furthers our commitment to deliver family-friendly entertainment to millions of viewers across America.”

FETV has been available to DirecTV’s satellite customers since 2017.

The network’s programming lineup currently features shows such as Emergency!, Leave It to Beaver, Perry Mason and Adam-12.  

 Jonathan Katz’s Free TV Networks has named Suzanne Satterfield as general counsel.

The company also said that Joe Cantrell was promoted to chief distribution & development officer and Ahtansios Tsiris was elevated to senior VP, digital, distribution and partnerships.

Satterfield had been with Warner Bros. Discovery where she was VP president and legal counsel for global rights management. Earlier in her career, she represented CNN and Court TV as a litigator at Troutman Sanders. She was also a writer and producer for CNN Headline News.

Cantrell had been executive VP, network operations and development. Earlier in his career, he was with Teton Ridge and Raycom Media.

Tsiris, who reports to Cantrell, has been senior VP, distribution and partnerships. Before that, he was at Screen Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have a seasoned lawyer like Suzanne join our world-class team. In this ever-changing media landscape, she brings a unique blend of legal and media expertise with a focus on managing complex entertainment rights issues,” Katz said. “We’re also thrilled to recognize Joe and Athanasios’ successful accomplishments during our company’s first year and look forward to them continuing to drive growth and innovation for Free TV Networks.”

WLS, the ABC-owned station in Chicago, said it named Nneka Nwosu as VP of marketing for the station.

Nosu has been assistant news director at WLS since 2022, overseeing the I-Team investigative unit. She also collaborated with the ABC Television Network on investigations across the ABC stations and created the streaming series Facing the Facts.

She succeeds David Lee, now VP, brand and marketing at WCBS New York.

"Nneka is an inspirational leader whose creativity and strategic vision make her an ideal choice for this role,” WLS GM John Idler said. “We are excited about her next chapter at our station and look forward to seeing her impact on ABC7’s marketing efforts.”

Nwosu joined WLS from Hearst-owned WCVB Boston, where she was executive producer of Chronicle. Before that she was a reporter for WTNH New Haven, Connecticut.

Sinclair is expected to post higher earnings for the year as political ad spending continues to balloon.

The station group on Thursday disclosed that it now expects political ad spending to be between $442 million and  $469 million for the year, an increase of about $60 million. Sinclair’s initial forecast way back when was for $350 million in political spending, which would have been 20% above 2020’s level.

For Q3, ad revenue is expected to range from $149 million to $145 million, up from the previous estimate of $113 million to $128 million.

Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos, who already had a “buy” rating for Sinclair stock, said in a note Monday he was increasing his estimate for Sinclair’s 2024 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by $17 million as a result of the increase in expected political spending.

“In theory, incremental political dollars ought to be very high margin,” Kurnos said. With Sinclair’s new yield-optimization efforts, core looks to be impacted only by a point or two in 3Q, with growth of 2% to 4% still projected.” 

Sinclair’s announcement also provided positive comments about the company’s round of retransmission consent renewals, which it said should yield 2% compounded annualized growth in net retrans for 2023-25.

That “should point to a successful refinancing in the near-term, lifting one of the biggest overhangs and paving the way for significant debt reduction over the medium term,” Kurnos said.

Sinclair stock traded down almost 1% at $14.51 a share in morning trading Monday.

 Paramount Global said that Erin Calhoun is stepping down from her post as executive VP, head of communications, Paramount Streaming & Showtime, and cross-company publicity, effective the end of the month.

Paramount is in the process of being acquired by Skydance Media and is cutting costs, including personnel.

“During her tenure, Erin successfully built and led a world-class team that effectively showcased the momentum and milestones of our premium content and leading services,” said Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan said in an internal memo. “I’m incredibly grateful for her countless contributions to Paramount but most of all her steadfast collaboration and expert counsel.”

Calhoun was with the company for seven years. Before Paramount, she was VP of corporate communication at NBCUniversal Cable.

"During my time here, I had the honor of leading the communications team first at Showtime and most recently for Paramount Streaming, an experience that has been truly rewarding. I am very proud of this team and all we have accomplished,” Calhoun said in a memo. “I leave here with cherished memories that will stay with me forever. I am so grateful for every moment, for all the fun we have had together and for each and every one of you.”

Comcast Advertising said it named Scott Weisenthal head of global marketing and insights, a new position at the unit.

Weisenthal had been senior VP, global marketing, for Major League Baseball. In his new role he will oversee all global marketing and brand strategy for Comcast Advertising, including its Effectv sales and FreeWheel technology businesses.

He will report to James Rooke, president of Comcast Advertising.

“With over two decades of marketing experience, Scott’s proven track record at Fortune 500 companies will be invaluable as we look to further integrate our insights, brand and product marketing efforts across Comcast Advertising,” said Rooke. “Scott’s first-hand understanding of the challenges faced by today’s marketers will better enable us to support our diverse clients and fulfill our mission to grow a healthy premium video ecosystem at the intersection of media, data and tech.”

Before joining the Major League Baseball lineup, Weisenthal was head of the Washington Post Creative Group at the Washington Post and VP, Global Creative & Content Marketing at Marriott International. While at Marriott, he launched Marriott Bonvoy, the hotel chain’s loyalty program. He also held several l roles at NBCUniversal, a Comcast company. 

"Comcast Advertising is at the forefront of innovation and continues to lead the industry by supporting publishers, agencies and marketers in navigating the incredible structural changes within media and technology, both in the U.S. and across the globe,” said Weisenthal. “I look forward to leaning into this industry transformation to create differentiated, and above all, effective opportunities for our customers and business partners.”

E.W. Scripps said that ratings for its WNBA games on Ion increased 133% in the league’s just-completed season, averaging 670,000 viewers per game.

Scripps pushed into women’s sports with the WNBA and the National Women’s Soccer League, and credited women’s sports for giving it a boost in upfront advertising sales.

Scripps added more than 20 new advertisers during Ion WNBA telecasts during the second year of its three-year deal with the league.

Women’s basketball got a boost from the Caitlin Clark effect as college basketball’s leading all-time scorer joined the WNBA as a rookie and her games attracted new viewers to the league. The Paris Summer Olympics also raised the profile of women athletes.

Ion had the largest share of female viewers of any network airing WNBA games this season, with women comprising 50% of viewers 18-to-49 and 45% of all viewers.

Male viewers in the 25-54 age demographic increased by 181%.

For the season, Ion’s games, presented by State Farm, attracted 23.4 million unique viewers across games and wrap shows. 

Ion also delivered more than 3.7 million hours of viewing this season on streaming platforms including Roku, Samsung TV Plus, LG, Vizio, Xumo, Plex, Amazon Fire Channels, Pluto, CW and Tablo.

“This season was a big step forward for the WNBA and its players in terms of exposure both in arenas and on television,” said Brian Lawlor, Scripps Sports president. “It was so fun to watch the momentum build throughout the season. Scripps is thrilled to have played a part in that.”

The WNBA in July reached new rights deals with The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, NBC and Amazon worth $2.2 billion over 11 years.

Scripps expects to be able to renew its deal with the WNBA beyond next season.

“We are incredibly pleased with the success of our partnership with Scripps Sports, which has played a pivotal role in amplifying the reach and visibility of the WNBA season,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Through this partnership, we’ve been able to showcase great basketball with a broader audience, deepening the connection between the league, the players and our growing fanbase while delivering record-breaking viewership numbers.”

TelevisaUnivision said it named Daniel Alegre as CEO, effective immediately, replacing Wade Davis, who becomes vice chairman of the board.

Allegre most recently was CEO of Yuga Labs, a web3 company. Before that he was president and chief operating officer of ActivisionBlizzard. He also spent time at Google.

Davis had been with Viacom before engineering a buyout of Univision and combining its assets with Televisa, the Mexican media giant.

“On behalf of the board, I’m excited to welcome Daniel to TelevisaUnivision as we embark on the next phase of our strategic journey focused on further integration and optimization,” Alfonso de Angoitia, executive chairman of TelevisaUnivision, said. 

“It’s been a very dynamic media environment, and we are grateful for what Wade has accomplished in the turnaround of Univision and the subsequent transformative merger between Univision and Televisa’s content business to create TelevisaUnivision — the world’s leading Spanish-language media and content company,” de Angoitia said. “As we look to grow our unparalleled market position and the recent investments in our linear and streaming platforms as well as our news and sports products, Daniel is the right leader at the right time to take the helm.”

Operating in the Spanish-language business, Univision was able to buck some of the pressure on ad revenue. But its debt made it difficult to generate profits.

“The media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation and TelevisaUnivision is strategically poised to seize new opportunities while staying deeply connected to the communities we serve,” Allegre said. “Building on TelevisaUnivision’s solid foundation, global content pipeline, ongoing investments in cutting-edge technologies, and unmatched reach, we are uniquely positioned to continue serving this vital audience. Wade and the entire TelevisaUnivision team have created a strong multi-platform media business with world-class quality and breadth of entertainment, news and sports programming. I look forward to working with our global teams and partners to build on TelevisaUnivision’s great history and take the company to new heights.”

Under Davis, TelevisaUnivision invested in streaming by launching ViX, which was expected to turn profitable this year.

“Thanks to the efforts of our exceptional team, TelevisaUnivision has consistently delivered above-market revenue growth, outperformed the U.S. and Mexican advertising markets and launched and have grown our direct-to-consumer business, ViX, to become the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service in the world,” Davis said. “We could not have picked a better successor than Daniel, who brings an incredible track record of operational and strategic execution. He is the ideal executive to take TelevisaUnivision into its next phase of growth. The company’s future is bright, and I look forward to supporting Daniel and the TelevisaUnivision team in my role as vice chairman of the board.”

Spectrum Reach, the ad-sales arm of Charter Communications, said it a has deal with Amazon to become a local reseller of streaming Amazon Ads. 

The collaboration will enable Spectrum Reach to offer small, local business clients campaigns that include linear inventory and a broader range of streaming inventory, enabling advertisers to reach more households in their region.

Spectrum Reach said its streaming inventory reaches about 90% of viewers in its footprint. 

Amazon Ads inventory includes Prime Video, Freevee and Fire TV.

"Our work with Amazon Ads means local SMB advertisers can now access a modern solution to simplify media fragmentation and reach almost every household in their service areas, including both Spectrum customers and non-subscribers,” said David Kline, executive VP at Charter Communications and president of Spectrum Reach. "By bringing together Amazon Ads’ capabilities alongside our first-party data, we can offer small to medium-sized businesses the ability to more accurately measure and optimize their advertising spend.”

Invicta Fighting Championships, Anthem Sports & Entertainment all-female mixed martial arts outfit, said it signed Chaco Flaco’s El Cero brand of non-alcoholic cocktails as its official Craft Canned Mocktail.

Beginning with Invicta FC 57 on September 20, Invicta events will feature El Cero signage on cage canvas and corder pads. There will be product placement in all DJ booth, promotion inside arenas and commercial on CBS Sports Network. 

Ring announcements will spotlight El Cero as the official sponsor of Invica 57 and there will be branded on the Invicta FC homepage, Instagram page and newsletter.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Like Invicta, El Cero has a history of breaking new ground in a  highly-competitive marketplace. There has never been a better time to enter this untapped landscape, and El Cero is the perfect partner to join us on this journey. We are proud to welcome El Cero aboard as the promotion’s Official Craft Canned Mocktail, kicking off in a big way with Invicta FC 57 on September 20,” Kligman said.

Invicta has been growing under the leadership of CEO Shannon Knapp.

“Shannon Knapp has shaped Invicta FC into a multifaceted force with wide-reaching appeal, and this partnership with El Cero is a powerful reflection of that,” said Rob Kligman, Chief Revenue Officer of Anthem Sports Group, which oversees Invicta Fighting Championships

The non-alcoholic cocktail industry ranks as the third-fastest growing beverage category in the United States, as millennials and GenZ consumers decrease their alcohol consumption.

El Cero is known for itss lower calories, lower sugar, all-natural ingredients, real fruit juices and 0.0% ABV.

“El Cero’s non-alcoholic craft mocktails paired with Invicta FC presents a unique opportunity to promote both women's sports and mindful drinking choices. With the rise in popularity of non-alcoholic beverages, this collaboration will resonate with fans who are looking for a refreshing drink option while enjoying the thrill of competitive sports,” said Chuck Moore, CEO of El Cero Drinks. 

“The tagline ‘All the Punch without the Buzz’ effectively captures the essence of this partnership, emphasizing that you can enjoy the excitement and flavor without the effects of alcohol. It’s a timely and relevant collaboration that reflects current trends in both the beverage and women’s sports industries,” Moore said.

Invicta FC 57 will be televised live from  Kansas City’s Memorial Hall on CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com ,on September 20. Elisandra Ferreira and Andressa Romero will fight for the Atomweight title, and Kristina Williams and Nayara Maia will compete to be champion of the Flyweight division.

Roku said it launched Roku Ads Manager, a self-service platform designed to attract performance marketers who use social media and search and enable them to buy connected TV.

Performance marketers will be able to create campaigns using shoppable ads linked to the Shopify accounts and interactive ads using Ads Manager.

With big companies putting more of their ad dollars into digital, major media companies have been creating self-service buying tools to attract newer, smaller and direct-to-consumer marketers.

Roku has been competing for big advertisers’ budgets, but now has built Ads Manager for advertisers used to the way digital media is bought, targeted and reported. 

“We expect new entrants to be the primary user of this interface. We have had interest from advertisers of every kinds,”  Peter Hamilton, senior director of Ad Innovation at Roku, told Broadcasting+Cable.

There is no minimum budget for Roku Ads Manager users.

"Roku Ads Manager made it incredibly easy for Criquet Shirts to enter the CTV space,” said Hobson Brown, co-founder, Criquet Shirts, which participated in the beta.  “The platform’s intuitive setup and unique interactive ad formats allowed us to quickly create and launch campaigns, all while effectively reaching key geos and audiences on the big screen." 

While most new advertisers using Ads Manager are mid-sized or direct-to-consumer companies, “we are also seeing marketers and advertisers that have pretty substantial budgets for buying search and social. They are familiar with that style of buying and want to translate that to CTV and execute it with a system that is optimizing on their behalf,” he said.

“Digital natives are starting to move into CTV, in droves. A platform like this is certainly designed to help them develop their strategy here, Hamilton said. “We're looking for the growth hackers of CTV to teach us the future of this channel.”

Hamilton said that advertisers will have the opportunity to buy inventory directly from Roku on Roku-owned channels as well as inventory Roku gets from ad-supported apps on the platform. 

Buying direct means pricing is efficient, Hamilton said. 

“We have lots of different waterfalls in ways that we expose our supply to different kinds of platforms and advertisers,” he said. “What's powerful about this is direct access to Roku. That means there is a great amount of price efficiency that comes with it.”

Roku Ads Manager has been in beta for about a year, tested by several hundred advertisers, Hamilton said. 

“It's been fascinating learning from those advertisers and learning exactly what they need to be successful,” he said. “By opening up a solution like this, you have the opportunity to let marketers tell you what the product should be.”

During the beta test, Roku added features to Ads Manager, including an integration with Shopify that enables advertisers to make their ads shoppable and enable viewers to complete purchases using their Roku remote controls.

Ads Manager users can also include Action Ads” in their campaigns. Actions Ads enable viewers to press “OK” on their remotes and send themselves a text about the ad they just saw.  

Hamilton said that Action Ads are one of Roku’s most popuar ad formats. He added that adding interactivity increases brand recall, purchase intent and ultimately sales.

Roku has also built an AI Upscaler tool that takes creative that a marketer has been using on social media and makes it television quality, improving the definition and clarity of images.

“I would highly recommend that markers take creative that's working well for them in other places and bring it to CTV,” he said.

“One of the most exciting things about self-service is that an advertiser can roll out 10, 20, 50 different campaigns and creatives and figure out what’s really resonating with audiences and what's not,” Hamilton said. “And it's not going to take quarters to figure out what's performing better. You know, it in days.”

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (Season 4) returned to the top spot in TVision’s Power Score ranking of the top shows streaming on connected TV for the week of September 9.

The Steve Martin-Martin Short-Selena Gomez series had dropped to No. 2 behind Netflix’s The Perfect Couple the prior week. A week later, the two shows swapped positions, with The Perfect Couple in the second slot.

Rounding out the Top 5 were Apple TV Plus’s Bad Monkey, Peacock’s Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist and Netflix’s Emily in Paris (Season 4). Netflix dropped the second half of Season 4 of Emily in Paris on September 12.

Netflix had seven shows in the Top 10. Apple and Hulu had four each.

The Power Score ranking is designed to compare streaming shows on an apples-to-apples basis. In calculating its Power Score, TVision, which measures activity across more than 1,000 apps, looks at the amount of time viewers pay attention to the program, the amount of program time available for the season, the program’s reach, as well as the application’s reach.

TVision said it chose that combination of metrics to enable a neutral look at the quality of programming and its unique, inherent ability to draw in viewers — regardless of a platform’s scale or a program’s release schedule.

WGBA, an NBC affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said it named Bob Schaper was news director, effective October 28.

Schaper is currently news director at Nexstar Media Group’s WOWK in Charleston, West Virginia.

Schaper will be filling a vacancy left ob Ryan Scott, who moved to WTMJ, Milwaukee, which like WGBA is owned by the E.W. Scripps Co.

“Bob has a track record of success in driving increased ratings and shares across the newsrooms he has led while staying committed to quality journalism and storytelling,” said Jaclyn Clark, station manager and director of sales for WGBA. “He is a great fit for our newsroom and our mission.” 

Schaper started out as a newspaper reporter. He got his first TV reporting job at WREX in Rockford, Illinois. He worked at stations in Madison, Wisconsin;  and Eugene, Oregon, advancing from reporter to anchor to assistant news director before getting his current post.

StackAdapt said it made a deal with Experian to integrate the data and analytics firm’s identity graph and syndicated audiences into the StackAdapt platform.

The collaboration is designed to boost the scale of campaigns, increase match rates for marketers and improve outcomes.

“This collaboration aligns with our commitment to providing future-proof marketing solutions that drive meaningful results,” StackAdapt senior VP of advertising technologies Michael Shang said. “With seamless and secure access to Experian’s identity solutions and audiences directly within the StackAdapt platform, our clients can now better reach and engage their most important audiences with precision and impact.”

The integration will allow marketers to upload and onboard their first-party data to achieve superior campaign outcomes, the companies said. 

Improving scale and match rates can benefit marketers in most industries. For political campaigns, candidates and other advertisers can leverage hashed email matches to connect with voters responsibly, reaching specific demographics with personalized messages. Hashed email matches are a way to match two parties who are using the same email address. 

Retail media networks also benefit from enhanced addressability, allowing them to gain insights and deliver highly relevant advertisements.

“Staying ahead in digital advertising demands both innovation and strategic alliances,” Experian chief business officer Chris Feo said. “Our collaboration with StackAdapt is a testament to our dedication to providing advertisers with powerful, data-driven insights. We have seen the benefit and success of brands who leverage the combination of Experian Consumer Sync Identity Graph and Consumer View audiences. Adding Experian’s data to the StackAdapt platform allows agencies and advertisers to drive exceptional precision and performance with personalized marketing across multiple channels.”

AXS TV and Charter Communications’ Spectrum brand said that the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is joining their Band Together for Music Education initiative.

The magical and mysterious bus, packed with musical and video equipment and state-of-the-art gear, will make stops at the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center in Los Angeles, James Whitcomb Riley School 43 in Indianapolis and the N.Y.C. Lab School for Collaborative Studies.

Founded by Yoko Ono and Brian Rothschild in 1998, the Lennon bus gives young people a unique opportunity to write and record an original composition and shoot a music video, guided by the bus’s engineers.

“AXS TV’s Band Together For Music Education has left an indelible mark on young and aspiring musicians throughout America — instilling confidence and creativity, and helping cultivate invaluable skills, techniques, and habits that can last a lifetime,” AXS TV president Andy Schuon said.

“This year, we are proud to expand this initiative by partnering with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus to bring incredible music experiences to even more students,” Schuon said. “Their mission is a perfect complement to our own, as they tirelessly strive to keep the spirit of music alive for future generations via dynamic and hands-on activities, empowering students to dig into the wide breadth of creative and career opportunities that the industry and art form have to offer.”

The Band Together program was started by AXS TV in 2022 and is designed to connect with affiliates, local communities and schools nationwide to promote music education as schools are cutting budgets for music programs.

With Spectrum’s support, AXS TV’s Band Together has awarded $160,000 in grants to 24 schools across 20 cities.

"Spectrum’s partnership with AXS TV and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus enriches the educational opportunities for students in these communities,” said Adam Falk, senior VP of state government affairs for Spectrum. “By supporting the Band Together For Music Education initiative, we are giving more students access to high-quality music programs to explore their creative potential. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this collaboration will have on students nationwide."

Each of the stops the Lennon Bus makes will be marked by fun activities for kids and appearances by local officials.

When the Lennon Bus appears in L.A. on September 19, officials on hand will include California State Senators Steven Bradford (35th District) and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (28th District), Los Angeles Councilwoman Heather Hutt (10th District), Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (2nd District) and legendary bass player Verdine White from Earth, Wind & Fire.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is attending the New York event on October 9.

Measurement company VideoAmp said that $1 billion in media buys have already been guaranteed using its measurement as a currency this year.

VideoAmp is on track to reach $1.5 billion by the end of the year, the company added, and is growing at a rate of 651% year over year compared to the same point in 2023.

“This is incredibly encouraging to see, and share, as our growth figures clearly indicate that there is a seismic industry shift underway,” VideoAmp chief commercial and growth officer Pete Bradbury said. “Advanced media measurement is here, and it’s here to stay. Our mission is to help clients plan, deliver and ultimately drive better outcomes, and we’re making good on that promise.”

The company said the gains were coming as more ad buyers and advertisers invest in data-driven, audience-based campaigns and use measurement from companies other than Nielsen.

“As an early adopter of big data, VideoAmp has made profound contributions to currency innovation, aiming to right-size the industry’s measurement capabilities to reflect total video viewership and support audience planning and buying,“ Omnicom Media Group North America chief investment officer Geoffery Calabrese said. “We applaud VideoAmp’s efforts to foster healthy competition in our marketplace and for enabling our clients to transact and measure against the audiences and KPIs that matter most to them.” 

In addition to OMG, VideoAmp said it works with buyers and sellers including A+E Networks, Allen Media Group, IPG Mediabrands, NBCUniversal, Paramount, RPA and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“At Warner Bros. Discovery, we’re committed to providing unmatched value to our clients with innovative solutions that drive exceptional results,” said David Porter, head of ad sales research, data and Insights at Warner Bros. Discovery. “Integrating VideoAmp’s state-of-the-art measurement tools into our Olli platform has delivered extraordinary levels of growth, efficiency and execution to our partners’ cross-platform Data-Driven Video campaigns across WBD’s iconic portfolio of brands and programming.”

VideoAmp added that its work with OpenAP has expanded the overall market for advanced audience campaigns.

LG Ad Solutions shared a new report “The Inclusive Screen: Asian Americans, which found that 70% of Asian Americans feel that streaming TV ads are more relevant than traditional TV ads.

The study also found that 54% of Asian-American viewers said they pay more attention to ads on streaming TV, 61% higher than the general population.

“Our Inclusive Screens research series emphasizes the value of campaigns that are tailored to specific audiences. This is especially true for Asian American audiences, with the overwhelming majority stating they prefer seeing ads relevant to their interests and relevant to the content they’re actually watching,” said Monica Longoria, head of marketing insights at LG Ad Solutions.

According to the study, 47% of Asian Americans said they visit websites after seeing an ad, with 42% saying  the searched for a product online and 27% claiming they bought an advertised product.

Other findings from the report:

• 96% of Asian CTV users say they multitask, with top activities including social media (55%), messaging (55%), gaming (49%), and shopping (44%).
• 75% of Asian CTV users prefer streaming free video content with ads instead of paying for a subscription without ads.
• While most Asian Americans rely on word of mouth for content recommendations (44%), the homepage of an app (42%) and the TV home screen (39%) are also top sources for discovering new content.

“The world around us is more diverse than ever before – and marketers have an opportunity to reach key audiences with thoughtful TV campaign strategies that foster meaningful connections,” said Longoria. “As consumer viewership across demographics continues to shift towards ad-supported streaming, our three-part Inclusive Screen Series provides marketers with the insights they need to do just that – all while prioritizing the consumer experience.”

Gray Media is forming a new venture called Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network that will carry all of the locally televised games of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.

Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment will be anchored by Gray’s WVUE in New Orleans.

Also carrying Pelicans games over the air are Gray’s Louisiana stations in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria. 

The games will also be on Gray’s stations in Biloxi, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Meridian, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.

Gray and the Pelicans said the new network will reach 4.1 million households, 16 times its reach on the Bally Sports New Orleans regional network owned by bankrupt Diamond Sports Group.

Several teams have been abandoning cable-based regional sports networks in favor of local broadcasters.

“Gray Media is thrilled to be able to leverage our resources to connect our loyal viewers with the growing number of Pelicans fans across the Gulf South,” Gray Media chief operating officer Sandy Breland said. “The Pelicans are putting their fans first as now all fans will have the ability to watch the games free over-the-air or through any basic cable, satellite service, or streaming provider that carries the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network.”

“This partnership with Gray Media represents our commitment to our fans, community, and partners across Louisiana and the Gulf South,” added Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson. “Our focus has been to make Pelicans games accessible to as many fans as possible, and this deal means that Pelicans games will now be available to millions of more fans with this free, over-the-air broadcast product.”    

In New Orleans, WVUE will air at least eight Pelicans regular season games and all available post-season games, with the remaining regular season games airing on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network. 

The first New Orleans Pelicans game will air live on WVUE and simulcast on GCSEN October 23 when the Pelicans take on the Chicago Bulls.

The Paris Summer Olympics gave a boost to broadcast and popped on Peacock in August, according to Nielsen.

Total TV use in August changed little from July, but compared to a year ago, TV viewing was up 3.5% — thanks to the Summer Games.

NBC, which broadcast the Olympics coverage, had the top 19 broadcast telecasts in August, helping to boost broadcast viewing by 8% compared to July and 11.7% compared to August 2023.

Broadcast had a 22% share for the month, up from 20.3% in July.

Among streamers, Comcast NBCUniversal’s Peacock saw its viewership increase 39%. In the 35-49 year old demo, viewership nearly doubled. 

Peacock’s share of TV viewing jumped to 2.1% from 1.4% in July. 

Overall, streaming’s share of TV usage dipped to 1% from 41.4%.

YouTube had the biggest share among streamers, with 10.6%, up from 10.4% in July, while Netflix’s share dropped to 7.9% from 8.4%

Amazon Prime Video had a 3.1% share, down from 3.4%; Hulu’s share fell to 2.4% from 2.7%; Disney Plus had a 2.3% share, up from 2.1%; Tubi had a 1.8% share, down from 2.1%; The Roku Channel had a 1.7% share, up slightly from 1.6%; Max’s share slid to 1.3% from 1.5%; Paramount Plus had a 1.1% share, unchanged; and Pluto TV was steady with a 0.7% share.

Cable’s share was 26.3%, down from 26.7% in July. Total cable viewing was down 2% for the month.

The Democratic National Convention drove viewership in the final week of August, as MSNBC had the 11 top cable telecasts of the month and 14 of the top 15. ESPN’s Florida State-Georgia Tech college football game had the 12th largest audience.

Charter Communications’ Spectrum service launched a new brand platform, Life Unlimited, as part of a new product bundling and marketing approach aimed at competing with wireless connectivity providers.

Spectrum is offering price guarantees, including a 500 Megabits-per-second internet plan starting at $30 a month when ordered with two lines of Spectrum’s fastest mobile and/or video services.

The company said speeds will increase for all of its current internet customers.

Last year, Charter introduced Spectrum One, a converged offering. Customers who don’t take advantage of new Life Unlimited bunded rates may continue to subscribe to Spectrum One, the company said.

“This new commitment to our customers goes beyond words; it is about action,” said Cliff Hagan, executive VP, customer operations for Charter, which operates the Spectrum brand.

“With approximately 100,000 employees, our customers are also our friends, family and neighbors, and we hold ourselves accountable to them,“ he said. “If we are charging for a service, it should work all the time; if it doesn’t, our customers should trust that we’ll make it right. By focusing on reliability, transparency and outstanding service, we want to exceed expectations, build lasting loyalty and address our customers’ needs with renewed energy and focus on keeping them seamlessly connected. 

“We’ve already made the investment in our people, tools and systems that will allow us to execute on these commitments and fully stand behind the great value, products and services we provide to our customers,” Hagan said.

Cable companies have been losing video customers to cord-cutting and more profitable broadband business to cheaper wireless providers.

Cable analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson noted that Life Unlimited is not a price cut.

“Today’s introduction of what Charter is calling a ‘new brand platform’ under the moniker Life Unlimited should be seen as leaning into convergence, and more, into the concept that connectivity in home and out, should be viewed as an entirely new product category, not just a pricing plan,” Moffett said.

Moffett noted that it will be difficult to tell how the new offerings affect the individual products Charter offers.

“What they will do is elevate their converged broadband/mobile offers to the center of the plate,” Moffett said. “They want to be seen as a converged connectivity provider. Their new bundled offers will deliver higher speeds — a relatively standard practice for broadband, whether in bundles or standalone — and they will have new plans targeted to lower-income consumers as they continue to respond to the sunset of ACP… but mostly this is about leaning into bundles. Or convergence, if you prefer.”

Moffett added that the new bundle elevates video as a component. This move comes with Charter having cut deals with The Walt Disney Co., Paramount Global, TelevisaUnivision and AMC Networks to include their streaming properties as part of Spectrum pay TV bundles.

“How much any of this will move the needle for broadband is unclear,” Moffett said.

“And while Charter’s video offering will indeed be differentiated — it is interesting to consider the success Verizon has had with their myPlan bundles of different DTC video services as add-ons to wireless, for example — it is hard to imagine that anything will slow the decline of linear video packages all that much,” Moffett said. “We would imagine, however, that Spectrum Mobile will get a boost, as the company leans into the fact that its broadband + mobile (ahem, converged connectivity) bundles are priced below any converged alternative. And they are available … everywhere.”

Charter is introducing Life Unlimited with a new TV ad campaign that starts Tuesday. The new brand also features new-for-charter colors and a new sound.

“Today’s launch of Spectrum’s Life Unlimited brand platform marks a milestone in our journey to redefine what a connectivity company means to its customers,”  Charter executive VP, chief marketing officer Sharon Peters said.

“This initiative is about so much more than a new look and feel for the Spectrum brand; it is a fundamental shift in how we operate, with the goal of building more trust with our customers,“ Peters said. “Life Unlimited is a platform for action that holds the customer experience at the center of everything we do. By delivering competitive, reliable products and exceptional customer service at an incredible value, we are declaring our unwavering commitment to helping our customers lead unlimited lives, anywhere and everywhere they need us.”

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Hispanic is launching Hispano Soy, an event featuring original programming and promotion spots that will run across the company’s television networks.

On Discovery en Español, new seasons of Desafio x 2 Mexico and Supervivencia al desnudo: Latinoamerica will debut on September 19. On Sundays the network will air series made by Hispanics for Hispanics including Te debo una: celebridades y autos; Canelo: la historia de un campeón and Cuban Chrome. 

Discovery Familia will feature the premiere of Kilos mortales: Mexico, a documentary series following individuals battling severe obesity.  The channel will also feature other reality shows such as Juntos en Acción, El Toque de Aarón, Quinceañera, and Remodelaciones con celebridades Miami.

Hogar de HGTV will present series including Los hermanos Rausch and the Hogar Star competition series.

The event will be wrapped with HIspano Soy promotional spots that are designed to showcase Hispanic expressions and phrases, celebrate the Hispanic linguistic heritage and foster community pride.

NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Enterprises is marking Hispanic Heritage Month with year four of its multiplatform initiative with the slogan “Celebrando Todo Lo Que Somos,” or Celebrating All That We Are.

The bilingual campaign kicks off Monday during NBC’s Today show and Telemundo’s Hoy Dia, followed by a roadblock across NBCU’s social media platforms.

Among those showing up in the campaign are Mario Lopez, George Lopez, Mayan Lopez, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Isabella Castillo, Danilo Carrera,  Chikybombom, Andrea Meza, Lourdes Stephen, Jessica Carrillo, Carlos Adyan,  Giselle Blondet and Myrka Dellanos; athletes Alyssa Thompson and Benjamin Cremaschi; and news anchors Julio Vaqueiro, Arantxa Loizagam Vanessa Hauc, Ana Cabrera, Alicia Menendez and José Díaz-Balart.

A message from Oscar-winning actress and Hispanic Heritage Month ally Lupita Nyong’o will also be featured.

The campaign pays tribute to the rich and multifaceted identities of U.S. Hispanics and culminates with an invitation to Hispanics to share their personal stories and join in celebrating their heritage.

Telemundo will spotlight national Hispanic Heritage celebrations through its entertainment and news programming, including original digital content series like Como Se Dice (‘How Do You Say That?’) as well as digital and social extensions of La Mesa Caliente and Al Rojo Vivo that delve into the Hispanic experience and inspire Latinos.

Telemundo Deportes shows and digital properties will profile Hispanic American athletes and commemorative games throughout the month including the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Premier League. 

Telemundo also co-hosted the third annual Axios Latino Visionarios event celebrating the contributions of Latinos. 

A stronger-than-expected U.S. advertising market and special events meant smaller declines in national TV ad revenues in the second quarter, according to media agency Magna, which boosted its full-year ad spending forecast for 2024.

National television/video revenues fell 1.1% in Q2. That included a 6.4% drop for linear networks and a 19.6% increase for ad-supported video-on-demand, connected TV and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST). 

For 2024, Magna forecasts that national TV will finish down 1.7%, an improvement from Magna’s earlier forecast of a 3% decline. Linear networks will be down 6.8% while AVOD, CTV and FAST will be up 19.3%.

Local TV is expected to be up 25.4% in 2024 including cyclical events, and down 3.9% excluding cyclical events.

For all media, Magna sees ad revenues including cyclical events as rising by 11.4% (the previous forecast was 10.7%) and up 8.9% excluding cyclical events (the earlier forecast was 8.2%). That would mark the strongest growth rate in 20 years.

Those cyclical events will bring in $10 billion in incremental ad sales in 2024. The election will add a record $9 billion to media owners. Magna estimates NBCUniversal’s ad sales during the Paris Olympic Games at $1.5 billion, including $1.1 billion for linear and $400 million for digital and streaming.

On the digital side, ad revenue rose 16% in the first half of 2024. Magna noted that Meta and Google credited AI tools with driving incremental spending.

For the full year, digital pure-play ad revenue is expected to be up 14.2% in 2024.

Magna also forecasts that the ad market will remain strong in 2025.

Overall, noncyclical ad spending will grow 6.3% to $291 billion in 2025, Magna said, while sales including cyclical events, like the Olympics and elections, will rise only 3.9%. 

National television sales will drop 2.7% while local television sales will underperform and decline 3.6% (excluding election spending) in 2025.

Digital pure players will again drive the market, growing 9.3% to $289 billion, while traditional media owners will erode by 1.5% to $102 billion.

Digital revenues are expected to be up 8.7% in 2025.

In 2026, the ad market should top $400 billion, the agency said.

DirecTV and The Walt Disney Co. said they have come to a carriage agreement in principle, ending a blackout that kept subscribers from watching ESPN and other Disney-owned channels as the football season began.

After a two-week negotiating impasse, DirecTV agreed to continue to carry all of Disney’s entertainment, sports and news programming.  The channels are being restored immediately as the two sides finalize and sign a deal.

The satellite TV company said it gained the opportunity to offer multiple genre-specific options to consumers, including sports, entertainment and kids and family packages that include linear Disney networks, as well as its streaming services, Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus.

Those streaming services will be included in select DirecTV packages.

DirecTV also has the right to distribute the ESPN flagship streaming service at no additional cost to DirecTV customers when it is available.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DirecTV and Disney are giving customers the ability to tailor their video experience through more flexible options,“ the companies said in a statement. “DirecTV and Disney have a long-standing history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DirecTV’s customers. 

“We’d like to thank all affected viewers for their patience and are pleased to restore Disney’s entire portfolio of networks in time for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend,” the statement said.

During the blackout, DirecTV subscribers were deprived of the start of Monday Night Football and some college football games. There was also a dispute over carriage of the ABC News debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, although ABC made that event available to other networks.

Earlier this week, Charter Communications reached a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that would give Charter’s Spectrum TV customers WBD’s streaming services, including Max, as part of their pay TV packages.

Charter has signed similar deals with Disney, TelevisaUnivision, Paramount Global and AMC Networks.

Procter & Gamble is sponsoring sports programming on Allen Media Group’s HBCU Go streaming digital platform during the 2024 college football season.

P&G is the presenting sponsor of the 2024 HBCU Go Sports Pre-Game Live Kickoff Show, which originates on-campus before the biggest games of the season including the Southern Heritage Classic, three homecoming games and the matchup between Mississippi Valley and Jackson State.

Allen Media Group also produced a campaign for P&G using the tagline “This is How We HBCYou.”

The campaign will run on HBCU Go throughout the season. AMG produced 14 individual spots and the campaign focuses on supporting students with their everyday needs and personal care.

The campaign comes from executive producers from the theGrio, who have a deep understanding of the Black audience and HBCU culture.

Last month, P&G sponsored the 2024 HBCU GO Sports Kickoff Show.

“We strive to meet the unique needs of all consumers.  Together with Allen Media Group’s HBCU GO we are able to authentically connect and support Black consumers — in everyday life, with superior brand innovation at relevant cultural moments,” said Eric Austin, VP, global marketing & media Innovation at P&G.

HBCU Go is Allen Media Group’s free streaming digital platform focused on the 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“P&G truly understands the valuable, untapped audience that HBCU GO can deliver,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “This new super-charged partnership with HBCU GO highlights P&G’s continued efforts to reach audiences through Black-owned media partners in authentic ways, such as HBCU Education and Culture.”

The 2024 HBCU Go Sports Pre-Game Live Kickoff Show is hosted by Jasmine McKoy, former Carolina Panthers safety Tre Boston and HBCU Gameday’s Tolly Carr.

HBCU Go will show 26 football games this season featuring teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Many of the games are syndicated on local TV stations owned by CBS, Fox and other groups.

The History Channel’s History This Week podcast returns for a fifth season on September 16.

Released weekly, each episode deals with people whose decision shaped the world we live in.

The podcast is hosted by radio producer Sally Helm and is a production of Back Pocket Studios with History Channel.

“We are honored to be bringing back the History This Week podcast for a remarkable 5th season. It’s been incredibly heartening to see the very first podcast we produced as a brand finding an audience of engaged and curious fans. With weekly episode drops, we aim to provide our listeners with real stories that connect our shared past history with our current world,” said Eli Lehrer, executive VP and Head of Programming for The History Channel.

History This Week is available on the Apple, Audacy and Spotify podcast platforms.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Charter Communications said the reached a new multi-year distribution deal that gives Charter subscribers access to WBD’s Max streaming service as part of their pay TV bundle.

Charter, concerned about the migration of premium programming from broadcast and cable TV networks to streaming services, has been negotiating deals that includes streaming programming.

It has reached similar deals with The Walt Disney Co., Paramount Global, TelevisaUnivision and AMC Networks.

“This strategic relationship with WBD further evolves the linear and broadband video distribution model and supports Spectrum’s efforts to provide flexible packages, whether through hybrid linear-DTC full video relationships, smaller video packages with DTC add-ons, or a suite of a-la-carte or bundled DTC options for broadband customers,” said Chris Winfrey, CEO of Charter, which operates the Spectrum brand. “The inclusion of the ad-supported version of Max and Discovery Plus in our most popular packages at no additional cost ensures we provide the most value to our customers, particularly when combined with the utility of Xumo, which seamlessly integrates live linear, DVR and VOD, DTC, and SVOD content with unified search and discovery for the best overall customer experience. WBD’s creativity and commitment to a healthier video ecosystem further enables us to deliver on our core principles to create value and choice for customers.” 

WBD is under pressure to maintain distribution revenue with the prospect of losing rights to the NBA after next season.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The new deal with charter covers networks including  TNT, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, TBS, Adult Swim and Investigation Discovery. It also makes Max a preferred partner for Spectrum when marketing and selling DTC apps and bundles to broadband subscribers.

“This innovative partnership with Charter recognizes the value of our linear content and the investments we’ve made in premium original programming, sports and news, while also significantly expanding the distribution of Max’s ad-supported service to Spectrum’s millions of Select customers,” said WBD CEO David Zaslav. “We did this agreement together nearly a year early to set a framework for the future and to provide more consumers access to our unparalleled content offering while giving the industry more resilience as it evolves. We are pleased this achieves each of our company’s objectives.”

Brightcove introduced the Brightcove AI Suite, which uses AI to provide content creation, audience growth and engagement and increased revenue generation.

The new AI Suite is integrated into Brightcove’s video cloud platform.

“Generative AI is transforming how companies create content and how users engage, and we believe it will drive a boom in video content and its consumption,“ Brightcove CEO Mark DeBevoise said. “To enable our customers to take full advantage of these next-generation creation and engagement capabilities, we are enhancing our platform with a suite of AI-driven solutions to deliver on these opportunities. By listening to our customers and analyzing their businesses and use cases, we built the Brightcove AI Suite to address their needs, especially in key focus areas, including maximizing content utilization, driving engagement, growing revenue and solving the cost-to-quality equation.”

The Brightcove AI Suite will launch with an AI Content Multiplier, AI Universal Translator, AI Metadata Optimizer, AI Engagement Maximizer and AI Cost-to-Quality Optimizer. 

Each is available for existing customers to pilot, with general availability planned for year-end. The products are designed to help customers create and optimize content, grow engagement and monetization, and reduce the costs of creating, managing, and delivering content without sacrificing quality.

Brightcove is strengthening its platform by using models from industry leaders like Anthropic, AWS, and Google to deliver excellence and speed of innovation by adding the power of their models to Brightcove’s solutions. 

The Brightcove AI Suite is being tested with more than a dozen customers, including Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), Major League Fishing, Italiaonline and OneValley.

For a limited time, the company is expanding its AI pilot program to all customers at no additional cost.

“As a trusted partner to more than 2,000 global customers, we are also launching the Brightcove AI Pledge: a commitment to securely handling customer data with transparency and responsibility,” Brightcove chief product officer Scott Levine said. “Part of our differentiation will be our ability to advance Generative AI securely, protecting our customers’ most valuable assets, including transparent guiding principles to protect customer data and content integrity. We will only use data and content to train our AI models with explicit permission from our customers so they can decide their level of inclusion and security.”

The presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was watched by 67.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

That’s up from the 51.3 million people who watched Trump debate President Joe Biden in June. The debate led to Biden deciding to pull out of the race and not run for re-election.

The debate on Tuesday was produced by ABC News and was simulcast on an additional 17 Nielsen-measured television networks.

The Biden-Trump debate appeared on 15 networks.

ABC drew the most viewers to the debate with 19 million, according to Nielsen data provided by Fox News Channel.

NBC had 10.1 million viewers, followed by Fox News with 9.1 million, MSNBC with 6.4 million, CBS with 6.2 million, Fox with 4.8 million and Fox Business Network with 295,000.

ABC said that Disney streaming platforms including Hulu, Disney Plus and the ABC Owned Television Station apps added another 7.4 million viewers to its total, giving its 25.4 million total viewers across linear and streaming.

Mike Fisher, who had been executive director of investment innovation at GroupM, has joined Comcast Advertising as executive director, agency development.

In his new role, Fisher will work with Comcast Advertising’s leaders and focus on agency relationships and developing advanced advertising solutions to serve agency clients.

Fisher joined GroupM in 2020 as VP, advanced TV for EssenceMediacom and moved into a GroupM-wide role.

Before that he held posts at MediaMath, Brightline and Canoe Ventures.

He also service as an advisor to Octopus Interactive, which was acquired by T-Mobile.

FreeWheel, Comcast’s ad-tech company, said it would be integrating Samba TV automatic content recognition viewer data into FreeWheel’s Audience Manager, enabling the creation of targeted campaign across linear, streaming and on-demand programming.

FreeWheel clients will be able to create custom targeting segments based on TV consumption behaviors, content exposure, and demographics in as little as 24 hours, the companies said. 

The speed will limit signal loss and enable advertisers to quickly retarged viewers exposed to a competitor's ads or who have watched a big event, such as a presidential debate. 

“At FreeWheel, we are focused on connecting all parts of the TV advertising industry to make it work better,” said FreeWheel U.S. Chief Revenue Officer Katy Loria. “By partnering with Samba TV to add audience segments based on first-party ACR data for the first time into our Audience Manager platform, we are helping media buyers reach audiences that matter. With elections less than a month away, this new offering is a valuable asset for our clients who are looking to accurately re-target viewers in a privacy-centric way as early as the next day, such as after a debate or breaking news.”

FreeWheel clients are now able to activate audiences that use Samba TV data from 38 million U.S. TVs, including more than 1,000 prebuilt Samba TV audience segments. 

"Our partnership with FreeWheel allows advertisers the ability to combine high-quality, biddable media with real-time targeting precision across TV, streaming and digital platforms to connect with audiences who are consuming media in new and diverse ways," said Samba TV Co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. “This is a crucial strategy to reach the entire electorate efficiently in one of the most pivotal elections in history.

Samba TV’s data comes from smart TV made by 10 manufacturers in the U.S. and 24 globally.

“Direct Persuasion takes an audience-first, not publisher-first approach, to all of our voter contact efforts,” said Daria Grastara, CEO of Direct Persuasion, a digital agency focused on Republican politics. “Samba has always been our preferred partner to find audiences accurately, scale reach quickly, and utilize real-time behaviors of linear and streaming consumption as well as advertising exposure. Samba's new integration with FreeWheel now ensures we can pair Samba's audience-first approach with FreeWheel's publisher quality, scale, and diversity.”

“The team at Bully Pulpit International is constantly seeking innovative solutions to deliver precision-targeted messaging to voters at the most impactful moments,” said  Ivanka Farrell. Interactive Managing Director, Media, at Bully Pulpit an agency whose clients included the Biden-Harris campaign as well as McDonald’s and Goldman Sachs. “The integration of Samba TV's real-time audience targeting with FreeWheel’s advanced technology empowers us to harness the full potential of ACR data, allowing us to reach voters based on their actual TV viewership in near real-time. This partnership enables us to deliver the right message to the right audience exactly when it matters most, ensuring our campaigns are as effective and timely as possible.”

Netflix’s The Perfect Couple had its debut as the No. 1 show on connected TV, according to TVision’s Power Score rankings for the week of September 2.

The show, starring Nicole Kidman, topped Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (Season 4) and Apple TV Plus’ Bad Monkey, which had been the top two shows the week before and fell to No. 2 and No. 3. 

Rounding out the Top 5 were Peacock’s Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist and Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2).

Netflix had six shows in the Top 20. Hulu had five and Apple had four.

The Power Score ranking is designed to compare streaming shows on an apples-to-apples basis. In calculating its Power Score, TVision, which measures activity across over 1,000 apps, looks at the amount of time viewers pay attention to the program, the amount of program time available for the season, the program’s reach, as well as the application’s reach.

TVision said it chose that combination of metrics to enable a neutral look at the quality of programming and its unique, inherent ability to draw in viewers — regardless of the scale of the platform or the program’s release schedule.

Noticias Univision, the news unit of TelevisaUnivision, announced that it and long-time anchor Jorge Ramos have mutually agreed not to renew their contract, which will expire shortly.

Ramos will step down from his role as co-anchor of Noticiero Univision at the end of 2024, following the U.S. presidential election.

Ramos has been with the network for 40 years, 38 of them as co-anchor of Noticiero Univision, the most-watched Spanish-language newscast in the U.S.

“This is not a farewell,“ Ramos said. ”I will continue anchoring Noticiero Univision until December, and afterwards I will share my professional plans. I am deeply grateful for these four decades at Univision and very proud to be part of a team that has established strong leadership over the years.“

Univision News president Daniel Coronell said: “I want to express my respect and gratitude for Jorge Ramos and all he has done for Univision and the growing community we serve each and every day. As we look to 2025 and beyond, our talented team is well equipped to continue the tradition of journalistic excellence that has defined Noticiero Univision since the beginning.”