Industry News

The Fox Corp. division, which includes 29 stations, has struck a deal with Waymark, a technology firm that uses AI to help local and regional advertisers that might not have the expertise to make video commercials create some for TV.

Locality appointed John Brohel chief financial officer. Brohel brings 30-plus years of experience in global financial and strategic planning to his new role, and has proven to be a key player in the accelerated growth of major entertainment studios.

Scripps News, a 24/7 broadcast news network available over the air, has won its first national News Emmy Award with its documentary news series, In Real Life. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the honors Wednesday evening during the news ceremony of the 44th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Gray Television has launched the streaming news network Local News Live on more than 500 Gray Television station websites, connected TV apps, and mobile apps. It’s also available on Gray stations during non-local news hours on several FAST channels.

KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth, known as NBC 5, got its start 75 years ago when WBAP went live on September 27, 1948. It represented Texas’s first TV station. Amon G. Carter, Sr., publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at the time, was behind the station launch. Carter was also behind radio station WBAP. The new TV station was affiliated with NBC from day one, KXAS reports, and is owned by NBCU today.

The U.S. television station business is facing a soft ad market, high interest rates and inflationary pressure in 2023, but will get a boost from $4 billion in political ad spending in 2024, S&P Global Market Intelligence said.

Independent media agency Known has been named media AOR for the CW Network, part of Nexstar Media Group. The timing is aligned to the CW’s new slate of programming which includes an increasing amount of sports including ACC football and basketball, Inside The NFL, LIV Golf and more.

While ratings, which represent a percentage of viewership, remain important for reporting and informing planned impression levels, they leave room for inaccuracies as a currency due to rounding. This results in slightly higher or lower reported viewership than exists and sometimes even “zero cells,” which falsely report no viewership for a program if the impressions don’t hit a certain threshold.

TV measurement company iSpot announced that it has earned its first Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for the ability to accurately identify, verify and track national TV ad occurrences across 178 linear and broadcast networks.

U.S. new-vehicle sales are set to rise in September from a year ago, helped by sustained demand, according to Cox Automotive. Sales volumes in the current month are set to touch nearly 1.3 million units, up more than 13% from a year ago, according to the auto research firm.

Peachtree Sports Network, Gray Television’s newest sports broadcast channel, will launch Sunday, Oct. 1, on WPCH Atlanta. The channel will focus on live, local sports programming all year long and will feature teams from multiple sports across the state.

In a sign that the volatility of the U.S. ad economy may be stabilizing, the U.S. Ad Market Tracker posted its first consecutive month of growth in August since June 2022.

Three-quarters of U.S. adults, and 83% of millennials, plan to spend the same or more on holiday shopping this year than last year. Millennials plan to spend $1,474, on average, exceeding all other age groups by more than $600. Among millennials planning to spend more than last year, 40% say it’s because they’re in a better financial situation. TV ads and social media, along with family and friends, are the top three sources of gift ideas.

Krishan Bhatia, NBCUniversal’s president and chief business officer, global advertising and partnerships, is departing the media company after nearly 13 years. Bhatia oversaw ad sales for all of NBCU’s digital, streaming and data products, as well as its One Platform cross-portfolio sales stack.

NBCUniversal has promoted Rick Cordella to the role of president, NBC Sports, where he will report into Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group.

It’s been stated for decades that the Hispanic community is not just a key demographic segment, but a dynamic force shaping the future of consumer behavior and brand engagement. And, just like non-Latinos, U.S. Hispanics are “undeniably drawn to streaming” as Spanish- dominant Hispanics continue to embrace broadcast television.

The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF) has named seven new members to its board of directors. Joining the board are Catherine Badalamente of Graham Media Group, Lynn Beall of Tegna Inc., Joe DiScipio of Fox Corporation, Chad Matthews of ABC Owned Television Stations Disney Entertainment, Marian Pittman of Cox Media Group, David Santrella of Salem Media Group and Karen Wishart of Urban One.

Previewing the new forecast in an address before the TVB Forward Conference, Tom Buono, BIA founder-CEO, explained the drivers behind the forecast, which include heavy political advertising spending along with increased spending in key TV verticals, including legal and auto.

Overall political advertising spending — including on presidential, gubernatorial, Senate, House and state elections as well as on issues — is predicted to reach between $10.2 billion (according to AdImpact) and $11.6 billion (according to CMAG Vivvix). 

The U.S. JIC announced it has granted "conditional certification" to three alternative ad currencies for cross-platform -- linear and nonlinear TV -- negotiations: Comscore, iSpot and VideoAmp.

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced its 2023 honorees and will recognize them for their lifetime achievements during the 2023 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony, Nov. 14 at Gotham Hall in New York City.

ABC Television Network has now made a complete virtual return to its NFL roots -- adding a full schedule of “Monday Night Football” games this season. Originally, ABC planned to air just four exclusive games this season, and five simulcast with ESPN.

KCEN and KAGS, the Tegna-owned NBC affiliates in Temple and Bryan, Texas, has appointed Ernesto Romero director of sales.

AdImpact said it has extended its relationship with TelevisaUnivision for two additional years. The Spanish-language programming giant licenses AdImpact’s political spending and competitive tracking tools

Nexstar Media Group has stuck its name in the hat for the eight ABC owned-and-operated stations, should The Walt Disney Co. make good on hints made over the summer and put them up for sale. 

Cox Media Group’s NeighborhoodTV project in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., aims to bring viewers hyperlocal content that harkens back to TV’s earlier, less rigidly structured days.

The 10 companies chosen for the third class of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator have gotten 25 opportunities, including pilot program, partnerships and business deals while taking part in the program.

At TVB’s Executive Summit this week, advertising experts pointed to encouraging signs from political and automotive (except the current strike), tempered by continuing concerns over measurement.

With Country superstar Carrie Underwood nearby performing for NBC’s “TODAY,” the TVB Executive Summit was just getting underway inside the famed Studio 8H of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Inside, MAGNA EVP of Local Investment Joe Cerone was readying to appear on a panel discussion focused on agencies alongside AdImpact & Smart Media Group President/CEO Kyle Roberts and RPA SVP/Executive Director Brian McCord.

U.S. local advertising is forecast to grow 4.4% to $157.1 billion in 2024, according to data released Friday from Borrell Associates. The forecast also estimates all 2024 U.S. media digital advertising formats to grow 6.0% -- lower than the projected 7.1% in 2023, with paid-search listings estimated to rise 8%.

Earning the top role at privately held Nielsen is Karthik Rao. Kenny, who has served as CEO since 2018, will assume the role of Executive Chairman.

FanDuel set an NY sports betting record with $32.3 million in weekly revenue in the week ending Sept. 10. All NY sports betting apps combined for $56.6 million in revenue during the first week of the NFL betting season.

The annual TVB Forward Conference events bring together thousands of broadcast TV execs, including station and sales leadership, sales managers and account executives, media agencies and advertisers to share the latest industry data and information about business forecasts, key ad categories, local measurement, recruitment, local OTT/CTV and sales training.

The 2024 election cycle is expected to be the most expensive of all time for political ad spending, totaling $10.2 billion across all media, according to new projections. That figure would exceed by more than $1 billion the current record, which was set during the 2020 election cycle. The group anticipates at least $7 billion of the 2024 total will go toward TV ad spending.

Premion, Tegna’s premium CTV/OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers, named Al Behmoiras head of political sales. With extensive experience in convergent linear and CTV sales, he joins Premion from Freewheel, where he was North American head of sales, demand ad tech. 

Nielsen is shaking up its leadership, tapping veteran executive Karthik Rao as chief executive of the media ratings juggernaut, succeeding David Kenny, who will become executive chairman.

Locality, a local television solutions provider, is widening its business relationship with Comcast-owned TV industry tech platform FreeWheel.

The Allen Media Group digital platform known as Local Now has added 14 free ad-supported television channels from CBS News & Stations, in addition to other content from the Paramount Global entity.

“Local TV: Perils and Promise in the Age of Streaming.” That’s the title of a newly released report from industry analyst group TVRev, co-founded by Alan Wolk. The 60-page study includes input from dozens of top executives, an extensive consumer survey of 60,000 people, and analysis.

Television advertising measurement firm iSpot.tv has acquired 605, the audience measurement and data analytics company founded by AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan. The deal brings the ad measurement firm’s total available TV device footprint to 82.7 million, adding set-top box data from 16.6 million homes.

Live sports is a big category for Peacock, which in addition to rugby, English Premier League soccer and NFL and college football carries the Olympics. A lot of work is going into enhancements for next year’s Summer Games in Paris.

Spending on political advertising is estimated to reach a record $10.2 billion in the 2024 cycle, according to new projections from AdImpact, which tracks and analyzes spending. Local television stations are projected to rake in half — $5.1 billion — of that amount, maintaining their advertising dominance in an increasingly competitive media landscape.

Veteran news executive Matt Goldberg today was named vice president and news director at CBS News and Stations’ local businesses in Los Angeles, including KCBS (CBS), KCAL (independent), the CBS News Los Angeles streaming channel and KCALNews.com, as of Monday, Sept. 25.

Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday said it has hired a new chief marketing officer and moved two members of the Ford family into new roles. The automaker said Lisa Materazzo, who was the top marketing executive at Toyota Motor North America, has been named CMO, effective immediately.

When times are tight and the future is uncertain, especially amid lingering fears about recession and a sluggish ad market, it’s tempting for marketers to focus on quick wins to get some points on the board and live to fight another day.

President Biden is taking early steps to shore up his re-election candidacy with a multipronged strategy that includes a costly advertising campaign and leveraging the powers of the bully pulpit.

In an earlier meeting with the MRC’s audit committee, Nielsen said it has begun integrating first-party data in its national Big Data panel service, and plans to use it for live- streamed programs in Nielsen’s MRC-accredited panel in September.

First, it was digitally distributed and known as Newsy. Then, it became a MVPD-distributed offering, before evolving to a free-to-air digital multicast network. The E.W. Scripps Co. is rolling out what was formerly branded as Newsy to 18 more stations.

On Sept. 17, another milestone will be passed for women journalists. Kristen Welker is set to become the 13th moderator of “Meet the Press,” the longest-running show on American television. For the first time, every Sunday public affairs program will be moderated or co-moderated by a woman as Welker joins Dana Bash, Shannon Bream, Margaret Brennan, Jen Psaki, and Martha Raddatz at the helms for their respective networks.

Allen Media Group’s free-streaming digital platform, HBCU Go — the media provider for the nation’s 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities — has signed a 10-year media rights partnership with the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that grants HBCU Go cable, linear, streaming, broadcast, VOD, and pay-per-view coverage rights for all CIAA team sports through June 30, 2032.

Gracenote, a unit of Nielsen known for providing entertainment metadata and content IDs, unveiled a new offering to help content companies get their FAST channels and programming distributed by major streaming platforms more easily.

Thursday’s season kickoff NBC and a full slate of games on Sunday delivered viewership on par with the start of the 2022 season. The six broadcast windows on Thursday and Sunday averaged about 17.6 million viewers, a touch lower than the 18 million for the comparable games last year.

Conde made history in 2020 when he became the first Latino to lead a major English-language television news organization.

Half of all Americans say they rely on local broadcast radio or television stations the most for local news. More Americans believe local broadcasting does a better job of solving problems in our communities, educating people about important local issues, and providing information than social media and personal networks.

Allen Media Group’s Local Now said it made a deal with Banijay Rights to stream free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels based on some of Banijay’s reality, dating, and game shows.

The Senate confirmed Anna Gomez to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), filling the fifth and final seat for the first time since the election of President Joe Biden. The Senate voted to advance her nomination, 55-43. After more than two and a half years of gridlock, Gomez will end the commission’s partisan split by becoming the third Democrat on the panel.

An oft-cited factor in the continued struggles of traditional news outlets has been the sense that young people are disengaged from the news. But the News Socialization Study, a new survey commissioned by the Medill School at Northwestern University, reveals that teenagers may be keeping up with current events more than previously thought.

Viewers of an NBC Sports Thursday telecast of an NFL game between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs will see a new ad starring NBA great Allen Iverson — or “A.I.,” as he’s called in the spot — who helps people understand that “Peacock has the most live sports of any streamer.”

The Republican presidential nominating fight just eclipsed $100 million in ad spending, as the GOP field burns money at a historic rate — and as the contenders illustrate their strategies to win the party’s nod.

On September 1, the nation’s No. 1 broadcast television station ownership group completed its $35 million purchase of KUSI-51 in San Diego from McKinnon Broadcasting Company, in a deal brokered by Kalil & Co.

As part of ongoing efforts to increase the amount of advertising and marketing spending marketers and agencies allocate to diverse media suppliers, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) released a set of 11 new guidelines for their members to follow.

If a 2023 marketer is facing the begrudging acknowledgment that “they need Google (YouTube) more than Google needs them,” then the only path to recourse is clear: Transparency is what must be demanded by the collective community of U.S. marketers.

Viewers logged nearly 4 billion streaming hours on Tubi in 2023 through the end of June, the company said. "Tubi is now watched as much as a top 5 cable network, as audiences continue to embrace our digital-first, 100% free streaming experience,” said Anjali Sud, the recently appointed CEO of Tubi.

Not only are the big $100 million a season or more advertisers back, but smaller advertisers, many for the first time, are jumping into the NFL this fall. A number of new Fox NFL advertisers bought ad packages in the $25 million-$30 million range, while some others are getting their feet wet with selective ads totaling $2.5 million to $5 million.

The evolving nature of today’s advertising landscape requires a profound and meaningful commitment to (DEI). But too often, these initiatives are reduced to surface-level gestures, showcased merely for appearances, and quantified by headcounts, neglecting the profound impact they can have on the industry's ability to reach consumers.

U.S. ad industry revenue is expected to jump 5% to $363 billion in 2023, and rise another 4.3% in 2024, excluding political advertising spend, according to a report from industry analyst Brian Wieser.

Allen Media Group’s Local Now has launched Washington Post Television to its channel line-up, providing an additional destination for viewers to watch breaking news as it happens, exclusive interviews with newsmakers, and in-depth reporting from the front lines.

Hearst Television said it promoted Gerry McGavick to VP sales. McCavick has been corporate director of sales at Hearst since 2021. He will be moving from an office at WCVB-TV, Boston, to New York.

U.S. light-vehicle sales rose again in August at Toyota Motor, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Mazda, helped by the industry’s highest inventory levels in two years and increasing incentives that are helping to offset rising consumer interest rates, Automotive News reports.

WAPT, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, unveiled its new brand positioning statement as ‘Jackson’s Breaking News Leader’. “We wanted something that viewers could know exactly what they were going to be getting from us,” says Brett Kenyon, WAPT’s creative services director.

Nexstar and Fox announced that they have reached a comprehensive multi-year agreement renewing the Fox affiliations of 29 Nexstar-owned stations across the United States, including those in six of the country’s top 20 markets.

This past summer -- over the last 90 days -- the top four broadcast channels pulled in a collective $2.74 billion in national TV ad revenue -- down 2.5% from $2.81 billion a year ago, according to estimates from EDO Ad EnGage.

Magnite said it made a deal with Mediaocean that will make its streaming and connected TV inventory available to local linear buyers using the advertising services company’s platform.

Dueling coalitions — the affiliate-led Coalition for Local News and O&O-led Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition — have raised the temperature on a long-simmering argument over who should be able to negotiate retransmission rights with vMVPDs. The growing size of the vMVPD revenue pot in an awful year for spot TV may have a lot to do with the timing.

As the video landscape continues its seismic shifting, advertising solutions provider Locality wants advertisers to give local advertising a fresh look. Locality specializes in local broadcast and streaming advertising, and the company is the product of a recent combination of CoxReps and Gamut, two media sales organizations with deep experience in the marketplace.

The CW Network announced that it has expanded and extended its network affiliation agreement with Gray Television. Gray will continue carrying The CW’s entertainment and sports programming on television stations in 55 markets across the country. In addition, beginning Sept. 2, Gray will launch The CW on PeachtreeTV (WPCH) in Atlanta.

Solutions Research Group noted upticks for Paramount Plus and Peacock, which rose to numbers 11 and 12 on the list, respectively. SRG said the sample captures and represents all major population segments. 

New light vehicle sales in August are estimated to be 1.34 million units, up 18% year-over-year, according to the report.

X is going to start accepting political ads which have been banned from the platform since November 2019, when it was known as Twitter. “We’ll continue to apply specific policies to paid-for promoted political posts,” said the company in a blog post.

TelevisaUnivision said it is restructuring its local advertising sales unit to better align with client demands and streamline relationships with buyers. The new setup features three units, one that deals with the big media agency holding companies; a multi-market unit with regional hubs in eight major cities and a local sales team.

Digital media-buying pioneer John Nardone has left Mediaocean and a new team has been put in place to oversee the operations of its legacy media-buying systems, its new ad tech portfolio, and the development of new products for managing the workflow surrounding the convergence of linear and non-linear TV, as well as new advertising currencies associated with it.

A new State of Play report by Nielsen’s Gracenote unit,  looking at the U.S., UK, Canada, Mexico, and Germany, found that audiences now have 2.7 million video titles available in 2023, up from 1.9 million in 2021. Nearly 87% of those titles are available via streaming, or 2.3 million, up from 1.7 million in 2021. 

According to AdImpact data, the group has spent more than $12.3 million on the new ad buy so far, with most of that – $11.4 million – targeting major Iowa media markets.

The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), representing television networks, asked Nielsen not to go forward with its plan to incorporate viewing data from Amazon when coming up with the audience estimates advertisers will use to determine how much they pay for commercials on Thursday Night Football on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Nexstar Media Group promoted veteran media executive Tracey Rogers to senior vice president and regional manager for its broadcasting division, overseeing Nexstar television stations and digital operations in multiple markets across the U.S.

Kansas sports betting handle reached $79.7 million in July, a 19% decrease from June ($98.1 million) and the lowest monthly total since KS sports betting began in September 2022.

Adam Henning has been named news director at WAAY Huntsville (AL), succeeding Stephen Gallien. Gallien shifts to assistant news director at the station.

Republicans have waged a decades-long battle to blow up the campaign-finance laws that rein in big-money spending. Now, they are making a play that could end in their biggest victory since the Citizens United ruling in 2010.

Paramount and Omnicom Media Group are partnering to test buy-side systems’ ability to implement Nielsen alternative currencies into legacy workflows.

With a bigger role at CBS given to McMahon just days ago, McMahon says she’s always craved opportunities in which she can continue to learn and grow. Yet, she said Wednesday in a TVB NEXT Women: Coffee online interview conducted by TVB Chief Communications Officer Abby Auerbach, “I’m not sure how I ultimately landed in this position.”

After dipping slightly in July, the U.S. Ad Market Tracker posted its biggest gain in monthly U.S. ad spending since April 2022. July ad spending by the major U.S. ad agencies pooling their data in the index, rose 6.2% over July 2022, which was down 8.2% from July 2021.

While the election isn’t scheduled for another 14 months from now, it’s not too early to consider the implications this election will have on the economy and, by extension, Local Advertising spending.

Gray Television is promoting Garrett Pope to senior vice president, of sales operations, effective Sept. 1. The company said his promotion “reflects the expansion of his duties and contributions within the organization.”

Bob Barker, an affable fixture on U.S. television for half a century who hosted the popular game show "The Price Is Right" for 35 years and was a committed animal rights activist, has died at age 99.

E.W. Scripps Co. is launching a redesigned digital video recorder to help fuel the renaissance of free over-the-air broadcast and ad-supported streaming TV.

The 21st Annual Hispanic Television Summit, programmed by Schramm Marketing Group during NYC TV Week, will feature two distinct one-on-one keynote interviews by two of today’s leading executives in Hispanic television.

Four more free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels from NBCUniversal have been added to Google TV and android TV devices.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America has created Sips & Tips, the second event in its campaign to give young professionals networking access to top-level broadcast industry managers and executives.

The ADTH NextGen TV Box allows ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV and ATSC 1.0 free-to-air television programs to be viewed on any IP-compatible TV display.

Debbie Petersmark, vice president and general manager of Gray Television’s WILX Lansing, was elected Chair of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters board of directors.

Cox Media Group said it has launched Neighborhood TV, a free ad-supported streaming service that focuses on neighborhoods in the markets where it owns broadcast stations.

One of the key assumptions of the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes has been that audiences would soon notice the effects of the work stoppages as broadcast, cable and streaming networks started running out of originals.

ATSC 3.0 deployments are booming in the U.S. and evolving past the trial phase onto the monetization stage. While the benefits of NextGen TV have been explored extensively, the broadcast community needs a better understanding of ATSC 3.0 business continuity and post-transition strategies.

We are just three weeks away from sports wagering in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “We are ready to deliver the quality entertainment experience Kentuckians asked for, while bringing money to the state to support pensions and free up funds that can be used to build a better Kentucky.”

Maggie Grinestaff has taken over as news director at WCIA Champaign, Illinois, the first time a woman has held that post in the history of the central Illinois station.

Congratulations to all national winners of the 2023 Edward R. Murrow Awards!

SagamoreHill Broadcasting, today appointed Chris Fleming to be the new general manager of its CBS affiliate KSWL and Telemundo affiliate KWWE in Lake Charles, La.

Broadcasters plan to launch the beginning of NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0 broadcasts in Minnesota. The launch of NextGen TV broadcasts involved Sinclair’s WUCW-TV (CW, channel 23); Hubbard’s KSTP-TV (ABC, channel 5); CBS’ WCCO-TV (CBS, channel 4); Fox’s KMSP-TV (Fox, channel 9); and Tegna’s KARE-TV (NBC, channel 11).

Making connections and joining groups is easy on LinkedIn and makes your daily feed provocative and educational. So in no particular order, here are some examples posted that are relevant to local TV creative services and marketing folks.

Issue-based spending is fueling political advertising this year. The ad-tracking firm Ad Impact says during the first half of the year, $174 million worth of issue-based advertising was bought, representing 38% of the $458 million that was spent on political ads between January and June.

The E.W. Scripps Co. attracted attention for sharing with its employees details about a local news initiative designed to transform how its broadcast TV stations report and produce its newscasts on a daily basis.

The goal of a purchase funnel study is to identify and highlight the critical role media platforms play in influencing consumers throughout the purchase decision process. Such studies examine media’s influence on purchase behavior, trust, and motivation for these advertising categories.

Wendy McMahon has been named president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures. She was president and co-head of CBS News and Stations alongside Neeraj Khemlani, who stepped down on August 13.

Fox Television Stations (FTS) is restructuring its Advertising Sales division, merging its local, national, and digital sales efforts into one streamlined unit. FTS Chief Executive Officer Jack Abernethy has named Patrick Paolini the new EVP of ad sales.

TVB, the trade association of America’s local broadcast television industry, today issued this statement in response to Nielsen’s July 2023 Gauge Report.

Nielsen continues to define the benchmarks for a fast-changing media-entertainment industry, but major questions about methodology and nomenclature remain.

There's a lot to unpack in Nielsen's momentous July Gauge report. Much/most of FAST is Linear. And a good deal of the usage in what these outlets call "Linear" comes from streaming vMVPDs like YoutubeTV, Hulu Live, Sling TV and Spectrum Reach.

The overwhelming majority of shoppers prefer to shop in-store for back-to-school items. Sixty-nine percent of back-to-school shoppers plan to buy their supplies in-store, according to a survey by Numerator, with 80% of them planning to shop at mass retailers such as Walmart and Target.

Below are verbatim statements from earnings calls transcripts from over the past month to help understand how those individuals (and their companies, all among the 100 largest advertisers globally) are thinking about related issues.

Papa John’s International, Inc. will issue a review of its national marketing agencies. The review is aimed at accelerating the brand’s analytics-led approach to marketing and consolidate and optimize its partners moving forward, according to a release.

West Flagler Associates filed a petition for a rehearing en banc in their sports betting case against the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the US Department of the Interior. 

Consumer spending held up well in July as inflation slowed, with retail sales turning in a stronger-than-expected showing for the month. The advanced retail sales report showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.7% for the month, better than the 0.4% Dow Jones estimate.

With the promotion on Monday of Wendy McMahon to President/CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, a 30-year CBS News veteran who most recently served as EVP/Newsgathering will now have top editorial oversight for the unit, across all platforms.

U.S. consumers are still buying more than last year, but spending growth is slowing as the economy settles down amid higher interest rates intended to reduce inflation, according to the National Retail Federation.

As broadcasters face talent and staff shortages in many parts of the country, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) launched an innovative industry recruitment campaign called "Be There" during its annual Summer Leadership Conference.

In Albuquerque, N.M., at KOAT, Hearst’s ABC affiliate, Matt Montoya, creative services director, says social media strategy revolves around talent “as the key component to connect with the users on these platforms to hopefully convert them to a linear broadcast.”

Neeraj Khemlani is stepping down as the president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. George Cheeks, the president, and CEO of CBS Entertainment Group said that he will update staffers soon with information about new leadership and structure for the news division. 

CBS executives Matt Naber and Robert Breen have been named co-heads of advertising sales and operations at CBS Stations.

Nexstar Media Group today extended the employment agreement of Gary Weitman, the company’s executive vice president and chief communications officer.

Horizon Media turned to artificial intelligence to find patterns in social media that would help it find what influences viewers.

Six television stations serving Philadelphia (DMA 4) have begun broadcasting with NextGen TV, also known as ATSC 3.0.

ESPN said it made a deal with Penn Entertainment under which Penn sportsbooks will be rebranded as ESPN Bet, effective this fall.

According to a post-SAG strike (that one started on July 14) study by Civic Science, 58 percent of network-TV viewers in America are at least “somewhat likely” to watch repeat episodes. 

The super PAC aligned with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is laying the groundwork to back GOP House candidates in blue states in 2024, according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC.

Julio Marenghi, CBS Television Stations president of sales, will retire as of October 1. He’s been at the CBS group for 14 years, including a run as WBZ Boston general manager.

Nexstar Media Group announced the appointment of Jon Camera as senior vice president of its national advertising sales division, responsible for overseeing and guiding the efforts of the company’s newly created national sales team.

Funding local news would more than pay for itself. Sometimes the work of journalists prompts government investigations into the private sector, which, in turn, produce fines that go into the public’s bank account. 

Black Americans comprised a 14.1% share of the U.S. age 6+ population last year. Moreover, whereas 6- to 17-year- olds constitute 15% share of the 6+ population among non- Black Americans, they account for a larger (21%) share of the Black population ages 6+.

There is still no sign of the political ad market slowing down as spending continues to pace well ahead of what was allocated to ad buys at this point during the prior presidential election cycle. The political ad tracking service AdImpact says $564 million was spent through Aug. 4.

New research reveals that traditional advertising drives more more pet product and brand discovery than any other channel. Two in five (40%) pet parents in the U.S. report using traditional channels like print, radio or television to get information about pet products and brands.

Automakers spent an estimated $90.2 million on national TV in July, down 3.8% compared to $93.7 million in July 2022. Impressions, at 27.0 billion, were up 14.5% for the month compared to 24.4 billion a year ago, per iSpot.tv.

Automaker spending on new-vehicle incentives rose sharply in July compared with the year-earlier month, driven by electric vehicle offers, luxury car lease deals and growing inventory across the industry, according to estimates by Motor Intelligence and J.D. Power.

Following a recent workshop on the potential impact of AI on the communications sector, the Federal Communications Commission has voted to launch a Notice of Inquiry into non-federal spectrum usage and explore how new data sources, methods, and technologies would allow the agency to better manage commercial spectrum. 

E.W. Scripps has hired Brian Norris — a media industry leader with 25 years of experience driving television revenue and developing multiplatform advertising sales strategies — to be its new chief revenue officer, effective Aug. 28.

In June, Locality emerged from the union of streaming pioneer Gamut and local-broadcast leader CoxReps as a new distinct brand, helping TV advertisers connect with highly engaged local audiences on a large scale across premium streaming and broadcast content.

Gray Television said it is “actively engaged” in discussion with professional sports teams and leagues whose games could be broadcast on Gray stations.

Creative services directors and marketing managers at stations owned by Hearst, Nexstar, Scripps, Tegna and Morgan Murphy weigh in on how they’re using social media and the results they see.

The CW reupped its president, Dennis Miller, through 2027. He joined the network as president in October 2022 following its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group.

Assuming no shocks to the economy, sales appear easily on their way to reaching the 15.4 million units forecast for the year. Battery-electric-vehicle deliveries increased 51% year-over-year accounting for a record-high 7.5% of the market.

Gray Television today appointed Brian Daugherty as general manager of its WCSC, the CBS affiliate in Charleston, S.C. He succeeds Dan Cates, who recently retired after a long and distinguished career.

Spanish-language media company TelevisaUnivision announced the close of its upfront negotiations Monday, noting strength in its sports and linear inventory despite a soft advertising market. While many media companies announced increases in volume, or the amount of inventory advertisers committed dollars to, a spare few have announced increases in pricing this year—the outliers mostly consisting of sports inventory.

Much has been predicted about how AI may be coming for ad jobs, but the emerging tech is also poised to lead to the creation of new roles within brands and agencies. AI leadership positions are already starting to emerge at major brands such as Coca-Cola and Amazon, which are appointing people to oversee internal strategy as well as coordinate implementation for business partners.

To boost consumer awareness of ATSC 3.0 capabilities, the NextGen Video Information Systems Alliance wants the industry to create a demo channel. The proposed channel would allow owners and retailers of NextGen devices to be able to see, hear, and interact with NextGen Broadcasts and build awareness for the many advanced technologies enabled by 3.0 broadcasts.

Griffin Media said after 48 years of service, President Rob Krier is retiring and moving to a newly created position of president emeritus. Wade Deaver, the current vice president of sales who joined the company 25 years ago will succeed Krier as president of Griffin Media, effective Oct. 1.

The CW has expanded and extended its network affiliation agreement with Hearst Television. With the comprehensive multi-year agreement, Hearst will continue carrying The CW’s entertainment and sports programming in six markets across the country.

The ad-tracking firm AdImpact says during the first half of the year $174 million worth of issue-based advertising was bought, representing 38% of the $458 million that was spent on political ads between January and June.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. continue to rebound while U.S. sales rose for the 12th consecutive month in July at Hyundai and Kia, helped by rising inventories, higher retail and fleet business, and more generous discounts.

Traditional pay TV video “cord-cutting” -- cable, satellite and telco services -- has hit a new low of 9% for the second consecutive quarter, matching the lowest level ever reported, according to Guggenheim Securities. While newer “virtual” pay TV services such as leader YouTube TV are climbing, overall declines also are at historic lows -- a 5% quarterly rate.

Peltz, a billionaire, and one-time Trump backer, hosted a fundraiser in 2020 to support the former president’s failed bid for reelection. Between April and June this year, he gave $80,000 to the PAC backing Scott, who only officially entered the race in May.

Unsurprisingly, gambling has grown explosively, with $8 billion wagered in the first 12 months after the court opened the way and more than 10 times that ($90 billion) bet from May 2022 through April 2023.

Chains including American Eagle and Target are debuting work as they try to capture a piece of the spending pie during the season, the second-biggest time of the year for retailers behind the winter holiday period.

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement said it will examine the value of panels in the future of TV and cross-platform television measurement. The project will be led by Joan FitzGerald of Data ImpacX and Jonathan Steuer of Anonymous Media Research.

TelevisaUnivision has completed its upfront negotiations, seeing gains in pricing and volume in a challenging advertising market, according to sources familiar with the situation.

NewsNation, Nexstar Media Group's four-year-old cable news network, is making a strong showing in an otherwise soft upfront advertising market. "NewsNation is going to be up over 20%, 25% in volume," Michael Strober, chief revenue officer of Nexstar, told Broadcasting+Cable.

Fox and its partner, FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment, said that they will shut down the Fox Bet service four years after launching it. The shutdown will take place in phases but will be completed by the end of August.

With an election year around the corner, Katz Media is expanding its political sales division and promoting its leaders: Trevor Heaton, Jared Salles, and Brad Phillips.

Live, linear TV sports - especially the NFL - has been a strong programming genre, according to analysts -- an area that has seen steady price increases for advertising messaging on major broadcast and sports-oriented TV networks during the still in-process, TV upfront advertising marketplace.

Traditional, linear, local TV news is the core around which everything else rotates. It’s where the audience connects with talent and experiences a brand. With shifting viewership, local TV news marketers must find unique ways to drive viewers to traditional linear newscasts, and digital and social assets.

Nexstar Media Group issued an open Request for Proposals seeking a next-generation audience measurement partner capable of providing data that accurately reflects the scale and power of the company’s national and local media businesses.

Consumer spending powered the solid quarter, aided by increases in nonresidential fixed investment, government spending and inventory growth.

A purported class action claims the search giant misled advertisers about its "TrueView" ad program by making the ads muted, auto-playing videos, and serving them on unlisted sites violating its promised standards.

New U.S. light vehicle sales volumes are set to rise again in July as easing supply-chain snags help automakers ramp up production to meet pent-up demand, automotive research firm S&P Global Mobility said.

Next year at this time, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Paris. NBCUniversal has the coverage rights, and it’s revving up awareness in collaboration with global icon Dolly Parton’s new video. 

Nexstar Media Group added Tony Wells to its board of directors. He fills the open position that was created when Dennis Miller stepped down last October to become president of The CW Network, a 75%-owned subsidiary of Nexstar.

You’ve been invited by the TVB to grab a cup of coffee and discuss key topics impacting the careers of women in broadcasting by participating in a virtual “coffee talk” with the President and Co-Head of CBS News and Stations.

Michael Callahan, an Emmy Award-winning TV, and digital-video producer, who since 2021 has served as senior director overseeing streaming production for Hearst Television, has been promoted to vice president of production for Very Local.

The newly formed Coalition for Local News wants to convince the FCC that broadcasters must negotiate directly with vMVPDs to ensure their long-term fiscal viability. They’re smartly drawing a direct line between local TV news and democracy’s health to make their case.

Nexstar Media Group announced the appointment of media executive Michael Biard as president and chief operating officer. His contract runs through August 2027.

A recent report from UBS estimates that global car production will exceed sales by 6% this year, leaving an excess of 5 million vehicles that will require price cuts to get sold off of lots, Yahoo Finance reported.

David Espinosa was named president of distribution at Fox Corp. He will succeed Mike Biard, who is leaving after more than 20 years with Fox to become president-COO of Nexstar Media Group.

Northeastern University’s Reinventing Local TV News Project will place fellows at three major-market stations — WCBS New York, WCVB Boston and WLS Chicago — for a year-long effort to build radically new models for digital news storytelling.

In just about every leading consumer category, 80% of the growth is coming from multicultural and diverse groups.

“Nielsen has reached a multiyear renewal agreement to use set-top box ‘return path data’ (RPD) from Comcast Corp. in its cross-platform and national and local TV measurement,” Ad Age’s Jack Neff reports.

NBCUniversal said it has completed its upfront sales, saying the dollar volume of ad commitments were “roughly in line” with last year’s upfront, which was in the $7 billion range across broadcast, cable and digital.

WTLV and WJXX, Tegna’s NBC and ABC affiliates in Jacksonville, Fla., branded as First Coast News, launched a testimonial campaign to differentiate their news from others in the market.

Comcast signed a multi-year data license renewal with Nielsen that will expand Nielsen’s access to return-path-data about TV usage from millions of Comcast subscribers’ homes.

Online ads, sales promotions, and billboards are good, Lanier says, but local TV ads convert better. 

Two comprehensive studies GfK completed for TVB, Media Comparisons and The Purchase Funnel, aimed to understand media usage in the US and the influence of different media platforms on consumers’ purchase decisions.

Traditional TV is still a core strategy in media plans, with 80% of advertisers planning to maintain or increase their spend on traditional TV in the coming year.

Stations in major markets owned by Fox and Gray Television are making local news coverage from major markets including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, and Washington D.C. available to Vizio set users.

Kim Voet was named president and general manager for CBS News and Stations’ local businesses in Miami. Voet joins CBS after spending 26 years at Graham Media Group-owned WDIV Detroit, where she had been news director since 2011.

Nexstar-owned CBS affiliate WTRF Wheeling, W.Va.-Steubenville, Ohio (DMA 163), appointed Mitzi Coleman as vice president and general manager of its broadcast and digital operations.

Nexstar Media Group today promoted Larry Cottrill to vice president and general manager of its NBC affiliate WCMH Columbus, Ohio (DMA 32), and nbc4i.com, and their related mobile apps and social media channels.

CVS Health’s Norm de Greve is joining General Motors as its top marketer effective July 31.

The U.S. Census Bureau said the overall retail sales in June were up 0.2% from May and up 1.5% year over year. In May, sales were up 0.5% month over month and up 2% year over year.

The Treasury Secretary said that the combination of a robust jobs market and cooling inflation means she's confident that the world's largest economy won't suffer a prolonged slump.

Goldman Sachs revised down the odds of a U.S. recession happening in the next 12 months, cutting the probability down to 20% from 25% on the back of positive economic activity.

The E.W. Scripps Co. launched Court TV: Legendary Trials and Laff More — two free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels based on its popular brands Court TV and Laff.

The President of Broadcasting for Nexstar Media Group and President/Chief Operating Officer of Bonneville International Corporation have been appointed to the National Association of Broadcasters Television Board of Directors by Television Board Chair Pat LaPlatney.

Fox’s streaming service Tubi has hired Anjali Sud as its CEO, effective September 1. Sud has been the CEO of Vimeo and will succeed Tubi founder Farhad Massoudi as CEO.

Nexstar Media Group signed employment contract extensions with two senior executives, Sean Compton, president, networks, and Dana Zimmer, president, distribution, and strategy.

Local broadcast station groups, with the support of the ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS television affiliate associations representing more than 600 stations across the country, introduced the Coalition for Local News, a new advocacy group urging lawmakers and regulators to act now to protect the future of local news in America.

Based on iSpot research, household TV ad impressions climbed by 5% year-over-year to 4.2 trillion. While prime delivery for ads remains relatively flat, advertisers saw increased reach during non-traditional dayparts like early morning (up 6.8%) and daytime (up 5.4%). 

According to earnings reports for the media industry’s second quarter, there are a number of signs suggesting growth in advertising this quarter according to analyst Brian Wieser.

We often forget that the 50+ crowd controls a massive amount of media attention, investment, and spending – particularly in mega-industries like financial services, healthcare, travel, and many others.

The U.S. new-vehicle inventory continued its steady climb in June as production recovers, according to data from Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Research & Data Center.

The arrival of ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV—and its ability to combine broadcast with IP—has the potential to transform TV commercials from one-way mass-market blasts to two-way personalized interactive experiences.

The one-day campaign on Thursday, July 20, aims to raise money and awareness to help radio and TV professionals, across all positions, who are in acute need.

Jerry Walsh is elevated to senior vice president of local content development, while Austin Kellerman becomes vice president of local digital content strategy.

Black Tech Week, a culture-driven conference connecting entrepreneurs, innovators, and creatives across several days of curated content, and social events, has created a media division, BlackTech Weekly.

Back-to-school spending is expected to reach an “unparalleled” $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year and the previous high of $37.1 billion in 2021.

iSpot said linear TV ad impressions grew by 5% to 4.21 trillion in the first half of 2023. At the same time, national TV ad spend dropped by 7.4% to $21.6 billion.

Vivvix/CMAG has tracked over $200 million in spending on issues and races across the country. The presidential contest has already committed nearly $70 million focused on cable news networks and early primary states.

The June 2023 SAAR totaled 15.7 million units, an increase of 20.2% vs. June 2022. Raw sales volume in June was 1.37 million, raising total sales volume for the first half of the year to 7.66 million.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved emergency and ordinary regulations for KY sports betting. The emergency rules are effective as soon as they are filed with the Legislative Review Commission.

U.S. media companies have largely closed out their “upfront” ad-sales process, according to four executives familiar with recent negotiations, and are likely to see a decline in volume for the first time since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Automotive national TV spending declined 18.1% in June despite big sports buys, per iSpot.tv. The estimated national TV spending by automakers was $128.7 million, compared to $15