TV/Cable News

The modern era's biggest competitor to broadcast media content consumption, Netflix, on Tuesday afternoon released its Q4 2020 results. How did it do? Perhaps the Q1 2021 forecast is a better topic of discussion. While 21.5% year-over-year revenue growth was seen for Netflix, net income was down. Why?

It remains in a battle with Gray Television over the carriage on one of its legacy TV services of a ABC affiliate within the vast Tampa-St. Petersburg DMA. Now, that fight could be taking perhaps a positive spin -- if good vibes from the C-Suite find their way into retrans negotiation. Frontier has emerged from federal bankruptcy protection.

As of today, the ABC affiliate serving the Triad region of North Carolina is getting its own newscasts at 6pm and 11pm. It brings Greensboro and Winston Salem "a fresh perspective on local news," the News Director for the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned station says.

It already has an active Twitter feed full of general interest news. On Monday, it will get its broadcast TV premiere as a new entrant in one of the last ultra-competitive dayparts for television and radio — morning drive. "The National Desk" is all set and ready for launch from Sinclair Broadcast Group.

As expected, the merger of ION Media with The E.W. Scripps Co. has led Scripps to initiate a migration plan that will bring its five Katz Networks multicast networks to newly acquired ION properties. The moves begin on March 1, with Scripps confirming that ION's three digital multicast networks will soon be sunset.

In December 2019, it debuted. Now, this live TV streaming platform has given its subscribers access to Nexstar Media Group's WGN America cable channel -- the home of NewsNation and Ashleigh Banfield.

The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), which is staging a virtual NATPE Miami conference in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is presenting the President of Hearst Television with one of four Iris Awards.

Why did Frank Washington, founder and CEO of the Sacramento-based channel, and COO Daniel Sakaya, each decide to focus their careers and attention to the build-out of a television channel that offers a variety of programming targeting Asian Americans? They share this, and more, in a fresh InFOCUS podcast presented by DOT.FM. LISTEN HERE

One day after rival Univision Communications announced a series of major leadership changes in its C-Suite, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has revealed it is expanding its Revenue Strategy and Distribution business unit "to develop and grow content monetization opportunities in the U.S. and around the world."

Some 90 minutes to the east of Pittsburgh, a FOX affiliate is changing hands. But, that's not going to impact the station's operations in any way, with Sinclair Broadcast Group remaining the entity that's charged with overseeing news and sales needs.

Take a glance at the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report, and you'll see one matter of fact as clear as today: auto insurance brands are as competitive as ever.  And, they're spending money at spot TV.

New research from groupM finds that more than half of its respondents believe it is important to be equipped with the latest technology. An even greater percentage of respondents think that either they or a family member should be the only ones with access to health and fitness tracker data -- an interesting privacy concern that media companies may wish to take note of, for slightly different reasons.

On the north shore of pristine Lake Tahoe is Incline Village, Nev. It's a part of the Reno, Nev., DMA. That's key to understanding why Gray Television just agreed to purchase a couple of low-powered TV stations serving a town along Route 28 known for a nearby ski resort. 

Deposed LBI Media founder Lenard Liberman, for a song, agreed to purchase four TV properties in a deal made necessary as majority ownership of Univision Communications passed on to SearchLight Capital Partners and ForgeLight. That spinoff deal, brokered by Kalil & Co., has now closed.

With the deal, Scripps is, as expected, combining ION's assets with the Katz networks and Newsy to create "a full-scale national television networks business." Together, the national networks will reach nearly every American through free over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite, over-the-top and digital distribution, with multiple advertising-supported programming streams.