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Why programmers are making big bets on the ocean's apex predator

BIDEN'S FCC: WHO WOULD GET THE GAVEL?

CABLE STOCKS COME BACK, BUT COVID PITFALLS LOOM

VOLUME 41 ISSUE 14 • AUGUST 3, 2020 WWW.MULTICHANNEL.COM

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10 COVER STORY FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

10 COVER STORY With viewers stuck at home and the beach out of reach for many, they are finding summer TV sustenance in programming stunts starring the ocean’s apex predator, the shark. By Michael Malone 14 PROGRAMMING Princell Hair, a CNN veteran tapped as the new president and CEO of Black News Channel, says the startup won’t take a “one-size-fitsall” approach to its mission of tackling the issues important to African-Americans. By R. Thomas Umstead

6 AGENDA 16 TECH 20 BUSINESS 22 FATES & FORTUNES 24 DATA MINE 30 VIEWPOINT 32 THE FIVE SPOT

18 POLICY As former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign gains traction in the polls, Washington observers are speculating on his potential picks to lead the FCC. By John Eggerton

Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford Chief financial officer Rachel Addison Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244

14 PROGRAMMING

ON THE COVER

Great White Serial Killer, set to air during Discovery’s Shark Week stunt.

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Cover: Jeff Kurr/Discovery; Joe Biden: Mark Makela/Getty Images. This page: 50 Shades of Sharks: Didier Noirot/Nat Geo; Princell Hair: Tim Sproles; Mignon Clyburn: johnstaleyphoto.com

CONTENT VP/Global Editor-In-Chief Bill Gannon, william.gannon@futurenet.com Content Director Kent Gibbons, kent.gibbons@futurenet.com Content Manager Michael Demenchuk, michael.demenchuk@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer - Programming R. Thomas Umstead, thomas.umstead@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer - Finance Mike Farrell, michael.farrell@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer - Washington John S. Eggerton, john.eggerton@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer - Technology Daniel Frankel, daniel.frankel@futurenet.com Senior Content Producer Michael Malone, michael.malone@futurenetcom Senior Content Producer Jon Lafayette, jon.lafayette@futurenet.com Content Engagement Manager Jessika Walsten, jessika.walsten@futurenet.com Assistant Content Producer Chelsea Anderson, chelsea.anderson@futurenet.com Contributor Paige Albiniak Production Manager Heather Tatrow Managing Design Director Nicole Cobban Art Editor Cliff Newman

18 POLICY

Vol. 41 No. 14 August 3, 2020. Multichannel News (USPS 590-190) (ISSN 0276-8593) is published semimonthly, except July, with additional issues in January and September by Future US, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036-8002. Subscription prices: U.S. 1 year, $199. Canada 1 year, $249. Foreign 1 year, $299. Prepayment in U.S. funds only. Please send subscription orders to Multichannel News, P.O. Box 1337, Lowell, MA 01853-1337, (888) 266-5828. Outside the U.S., call (978) 667-0352. Please allow three to four weeks for your subscription to begin or for changes to become effective. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Multichannel News, P.O. Box 1337, Lowell, MA 01853-1337. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608. Printed in U.S.A. © 2020 by Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Multichannel News® is a registered trademark of Future US, Inc.

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AGENDA

Sponsors Keep Biting at Discovery’s Shark Week Heineken integrated into Josh Gates’ after show By Jon Lafayette jon.lafayette@futurenet.com @jlafayette

Andrew Brandy/Discovery Channel; Air Jaws: Jeff Kurr/Discovery Channel; CES: JohnStaleyPhoto.com

ven in the middle of a pandemic, Discovery can count on Shark Week to deliver sponsors. In its 32nd year, Shark Week has attracted new sponsors including Jeep, Heineken 0.0, Nationwide, Burger King, Home Depot, Modelo, Gorilla Glue and Cooper Tire. Returning sponsors are headed by Geico. Last year, Shark Week generated $28 million in ad sales for Discovery, according to iSpot.tv. This year, in an environment where analysts are expecting ad revenues to be down as much as 30% for the second quarter, demand for Shark Week remains high, Discovery executive VP of national ad sales Scott Kohn said. Commercials during Shark Week, which starts Aug. 9 (see Cover Story, page 10), are nearly sold out. Kohn wouldn’t say how this year’s sales would stack up to last year’s, but Discovery in 2020 made a concerted effort to boost the digital component. “We’re definitely seeing significant growth in the support of Shark Week from a digital perspective,” Kohn said. “This is how clients are buying and we’ve created much more robust content to view on our digital platforms.”

About half of the Shark Week sponsors made deals in last year’s upfront. The others bought more recently in the scatter market, Kohn said. “We did see a tremendous amount of interest throughout the scatter marketplace,” he said. “I think people recognize that especially now, when there’s not a lot of competition on the air, Shark Week is going to be the place to showcase your brand message.” Although Discovery pitches itself as an

Shark Week shows generated some $28 million in ad sales for Discovery in 2020.

alternative to sports, Kohn said he couldn’t be sure if some of the money being gobbled up by Shark Week had originally been earmarked for events that were canceled or postponed because of COVID-19. Many Shark Week sponsors run special commercials and marketing programs around the programming stunt. Despite the pandemic, Discovery was able to produce custom content for clients. “We’ve been able to produce some amazing programming,” Kohn said. “We’ve taken a lot of best practices and, working with our integrated ad sales and marketing teams and clients, produced custom content during this time as well.” Alcohol-free beer brand Heineken 0.0 will be integrated into the premiere episode of the event’s aftershow, Josh Gates Tonight: Shark Week. A sweepstakes with a shark dive as the prize is part of Jeep’s on-air and digital program, which also includes Nature Minute multiplatform videos and on-air custom vignettes. Jeep has social videos running on Facebook and Instagram, as well as Shark News videos across all sites and social. Nationwide will be featured on-air with a custom vignette and a Nature Minute video, as well as Shark News videos across social. Burger King will be featured prominently throughout Shark Week with on-air sponsorship and a midform series on the Discovery GO app. Cooper Tire will sponsor tune-ins leading up to Shark Week, as well as digital and social content. Kohn said he’s begun talking to clients about sponsoring next year’s Shark Week. ●

Giant CES Going Digital in January Global health concern about COVID-19 cited CES, THE ANNUAL giant technology conference that draws television and advertising executives to Las Vegas, will be going digital in January, the Consumer Technology Association said. The virus has canceled a series of industry events, including the network upfront presentations, the NAB Show, IBC and the SCTE-ISBE Cable Tec Expo. Still, CES, which reported 175,000 total attendees in 2019 in Las Vegas, is so

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massive that the conversion to digital seemed to cause an exceptional stir. “With the growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” the CTA said. The group said that the digital CES 2021 during the first week of January will offer “a highly personalized

experience” that will include keynotes and conferences, product showcases and meeting and networking. “Technology has helped us all work, learn and connect during the coronavirus pandemic, and it has presented real solutions to help solve complex global challenges. We recognize that, particularly in these uncertain times,

it is the partnerships of some of the most creative minds that bring the best solutions to life,” the CTA said. — JL

AGENDA

THE WATCHMAN

WATCH THIS …

Senior content producer Michael Malone’s look at the programming scene

Backyard Envy: Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo; Lower Decks: CBS All Access; The Swamp: Courtesy of HBO; Catfish: Courtesy of MTV; Being Reuben: Sebastian Smith/2020 Ricochet Ltd. © 2020 Ricochet Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

The Swamp

Backyard Envy

By Michael Malone michael.malone@futurenet.com @BCMikeMalone

Manscapers Mull Future on Bravo

Season two of Backyard Envy is on Bravo August 4. James DeSantis, Garrett Magee and Melissa Brasier are the Manscapers — landscape design folks cutting a colorful swath across New York. Season one was primarily before-and-after shots of their backyard projects, including what Joshua Brown, Bravo VP of current programming, called “the great reveal.” The new season delves into the challenges of managing a growing business, and strained friendships. “It’s at an interesting crossroads,” Brown said. “Their business is going to the next level, and we wanted to lean into what’s really going on in their business.” The Manscapers are considering branching into corporate projects and expanding into other cities. “There’s a lot of debate among the Manscapers,” Brown said, as to “where the business is going and what it will look like.” Randy Barbato, executive producer and co-founder

Star Trek: Lower Decks

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Documentary The Swamp, about what happens behind the scenes in Washington, begins on HBO Tuesday. The film follows three renegade congressmen as they “bring libertarian and conservative zeal to champion the President’s call to ‘drain the swamp,’” according to HBO. Wednesday, it’s new virtual episodes of Catfish: The TV Show on MTV. “Even catfish work from home,” said MTV. Thursday, An American Pickle begins on HBO Max. The film

of producer World of Wonder, called Backyard Envy “the perfect show for these challenging times, as a new generation discovers the joy of gardening.” Brown’s favorite scene in the new season has the trio in, of all places, a therapist’s office. “It’s an intense and interesting and revealing scene,” Brown said.

Starfleet Have-Nots on CBS All Access

CBS All Access premieres Star Trek: Lower Decks August 6. It’s animated and it’s a comedy, yet the series is firmly entrenched in the Star Trek multiverse. Mike McMahan of Rick and Morty developed the show, about the support crew on the U.S.S. Cerritos. The idea for a humorous Star Trek was hatched several years ago, when McMahan, a serious Trek fan dating back to his childhood, started a Twitter account that touched on fake The Next Generation episodes — with a lot of quips. The account took off, fast. “I realized, there can be humor in it,” McMahan said. Watching Next Generation as a kid in Chicago gave his household “a sense of hope,” said McMahan. He noted how Star Trek has always had light-hearted moments. But nothing has been comedy-first. Will the Trekkies push back on an animated comedy? “I think the diehards will push back on anything,” acknowledged McMahan. But they’ll also find Lower Decks is full of affection for Trek. “If people give it a chance, they’ll find so much Star Trek in it, along with the comedy,” said McMahan. Might a few beloved Star Trek characters pop up in animated form? “You might see a couple familiar faces,” teased McMahan. CBS All Access is tripling down on Star Trek. The streaming service also offers Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. Star Trek: Lower Decks is full of tips of the cap to the mothership. Said McMahan, “There are so many Easter eggs that you have to dig through the Easter eggs to find the Easter eggs.” ●

Catfish: The TV Show stars Seth Rogen as Herschel Greenbaum, an immigrant who falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years before reemerging in modern-day Brooklyn. Friday, Being Reuben begins on The CW. It’s about a 14-year-old juggling with stardom after his appearance on Little Big Shots. Also on Friday, it’s season three of High Seas on Netflix. Set in the 1940s, sisters discover dark family secrets following mysterious deaths on a luxury ship headed from Spain to Brazil.

Being Reuben

COVER STORY

With people stuck at home, and off the beach, scientists — and viewers — get a new and different look at the ocean’s main predator

Great White Serial Killer: Jeff Kurr/Discovery; Laws of Jaws 2: Mike Dornellas/Discovery

By Michael Malone michael.malone@futurenet.com @BCMikeMalone

t is a summer like no other for the various networks offering shark-centric stunts. Sharks around the world have had more freedom to roam with so many humans stuck at home, offering scientists a unique opportunity to chronicle their true behavior. Discovery, home of Shark Week, mentioned how fewer people hanging out at the beach “has given sharks the opportunity to reclaim the oceans.” Shark Week runs Aug. 9 to Aug. 16, and vows to go where none of the 31 Shark Weeks before it have gone. “It’s a really unique, almost once in a lifetime opportunity to study great whites in a way they’ve never been observed before, without the influence of human activity on the water,” Howard Swartz, Discovery senior VP of production and development, said. “There are really surprising observations, surprising results.” National Geographic, for its part, expanded its SharkFest event from three weeks last year to five weeks, going from July 19 to Aug. 8 on Nat Geo and Aug. 9 to Aug. 22 on Nat Geo Wild. Geoff Daniels, Nat Geo executive VP of global unscripted entertainment, said the absence of the Olympics and most pro sports on television spelled serious opportunity for other content, including shark stuff. “The appetite is almost insatiable,” he said. “We saw there being a real good opportunity to expand and grow our following.” While conditions may be ideal this year for shark TV on the content side, there are good

10 Multichannel.com

Discovery's stalwart Shark Week includes Great White Serial Killer (above) and Laws of Jaws 2 (bottom r.).

reasons why Discovery has been doing Shark Week since 1988 and why other networks have followed that lead: Viewers tune in and sponsors turn up. Shark Week, for one, averaged 1.36 million total viewers during prime last year and made Discovery cable's top non-news network in prime for adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. In total-day ratings, Discovery was cable’s No. 1 network during Shark Week in adults 18-49 and 25-54.

Fintastic Fare

In terms of pandemic-themed programming, Shark Week offers Shark Lockdown, about how the hunting patterns of great whites off New Zealand may have changed without many people in the water, Aug. 9. Sharks of Neptune is on Aug. 13, looking at how great whites in Australia “are returning to their natural behaviors” without mankind getting in the way. Shark Week also offers new Air Jaws films

dedicated to great whites leaping out of the water. Those include Ultimate Breach Off, an examination of how the shark population is holding up (that kicks off Shark Week Aug. 9) and Air Jaws 2020, which celebrates 20 years of flying sharks under the Air Jaws rubric, and is on Aug. 13. Great White Double Trouble looks at the rising wave of shark attacks in Australia, and premieres Aug. 10. Mike Tyson, Will Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Snoop Dogg are some of the celebrities hanging out with the apex predators during Shark Week. In its eighth season, Nat Geo’s SharkFest offers 17 premieres, including Sharkcano, which sees a shark scientist reveal the peculiar connection between sharks and volcanos; and Raging Bull Shark, about why the bull shark is becoming increasingly dangerous. There’s also Sharks vs. Dolphins, which sounds like a bit of a mismatch on paper,

COVER STORY

The appetite is almost insatiable. We saw there being a real good opportunity to expand and grow our following. — Geoff Daniels, EVP of global unscripted entertainment, Nat Geo

but actually is not, according to Kevin Bachar, president and executive producer/director at Pangolin Pictures, which produced the film. Dolphins’ brains, he said, are a pretty good match for sharks’ sharp teeth. “Dolphins are able to go toe-to-toe with sharks,” he said. “In fact, they’re able to turn the tables on sharks.” SharkFest will not focus on how COVID has affected shark habits — at least not this year. “I think it’s probably too early to really understand the impact the pandemic is having on shark life and shark behavior,” Daniels said. “But it did give us the opportunity to get into oceans that were not as influenced by human presence, an opportunity to see sharks behave completely unaffected by the human presence.” Daniels said he “wouldn’t be surprised to see that become part of the stories going forward.” Last year’s SharkFest, which went for three weeks, reached 20 million total viewers

across Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild. It averaged 555,000 total viewers on National Geographic and 215,000 on Nat Geo Wild. Syfy might not have the nonfiction pedigree of Discovery and Nat Geo, but the network is also pushing hard on a shark stunt. One Last Bite of Summer, marking its fifth year, airs on the network Aug. 22 to Aug. 28. The half-dozen Sharknado films are featured, as is for the first time an array of high-camp original films, produced by Syfy and thirdparty outfits. The six Sharknado movies — including Sharknado: The 4th Awakens and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming — air Aug. 22. Ian Ziering and Tara Reid play fearless shark killers in the over-the-top horror movies, which offer loads of celebrity cameos. In press materials, Syfy called One Last Bite “the only week of sharks you need this summer.” The rest of the stunt offers, among other movies, 5-Headed Shark, 6-Headed

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SHARK BITES Advertisers hungry for shark programming

SHARK WEEK 2019

$997K $987K

$28.3 MILLION

$1.9M

$725K

STATE FARM

$553K

JEEP

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

HYUNDAI

DISCOVER CARD

TOP BRANDS BY SPEND

$782K

SHARK WEEK 2018

$27.7 MILLION

$1.3M

WALMART

TACO BELL

$7.4 MILLION

$164K $152K

(Nat Geo week only, not the additional weeks on NatGeo Wild)

NUGENIX

$210K

LIBERTY MUTUAL

GEICO

$297K

BURGER KING

DODGE

DAIRY QUEEN

SHARKFEST 2019

$392K

LEXUS

TOP BRANDS BY SPEND

$865K

Shark, Planet of the Sharks, Zombie Tidal Wave and Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf. Val Boreland, executive VP, content strategy & acquisitions for the NBCUniversal Entertainment & Lifestyle Group, said the Syfy stunt is most definitely not Shark Week. “It’s all in fun,” she said. “It’s very campy, the most ridiculous shark experience you can have.” Might there be more Sharknado movies? “I never say never,” Boreland said. While Discovery and Nat Geo shoot their shark projects year-round, the pandemic nonetheless caused a bit of havoc in the production process. Discovery deployed extra boats to better allow crews to socially distance, and protocols were set up to keep the virus at bay. “It added complexity, it added expense, it added time spent putting things together,” Howard Swartz said. “It definitely created some agita, but we were able to be patient and work through it.” Geoff Daniels said that SharkFest projects may be in production for one and a half to two years, so COVID-19 challenges were less of an issue for Nat Geo. “There are no shortcuts to

be able to tell groundbreaking, thrilling, entertaining stories,” he said.

Tooth Seekers

Asked why viewers appear to be so fascinated with sharks, multiple sources cite the 1975 Steven Spielberg smash Jaws. As the wide array of horror films and series across our TV dial will attest, people simply love to be scared to death. “For some reason we gravitate to roller coasters, we go see scary movies,” Bachar said. “We’re fascinated by things that terrorize us.” Mary Dalton, professor of communication at Wake Forest University, called shark programming “a manageable risk:”It’s scary and it’s fun, and if it gets too scary, one can simply change the channel or leave the room. “There’s the adrenaline rush, and a sense of relief when it’s over,” she said. Dalton likens the shark stunts on TV this summer to something else that tickled our desire to be frightened: Netflix smash Tiger King. “The lure, and lore, of big cats is not that different from the lure, and lore, of sharks,” she said. “Both are exotic.”

SHARKFEST 2018

$2.2 MILLION (For two weeks, all on Nat Geo Wild)

CERVEZA PACIFICO

DOMINO'S

PUR WATER

SUBARU

$72K $68K $66K $57K $49K THE GENERAL

TOP BRANDS BY SPEND

Air Jaws: Jeff Kurr/Discovery Channel; Mike Tyson: Jason Elias/Discovery Channel; Raging Bull Shark: Pond 5/Nat Geo

TOP BRANDS BY SPEND

$972K

COLUMBIA PICTURES

$1.4M

— Jon Lafayette SOURCE: iSpotTV

12 Multichannel.com

The lure, and lore, of big cats is not that different from the lure, and lore, of sharks. Both are exotic. — Mary Dalton, professor of communications, Wake Forest University

COVER STORY

NETS STRUTTING OUT STUNTS THIS SUMMER Programmers look to take advantage of captive audiences

(Also exotic? Tiger King star Joe Exotic.) Viewers simply enjoy watching a “perfect hunting machine,” in Swartz’s words, in action. “Sharks are massive and have lots of really big teeth. People are fascinated by that.” As Tiger King took off in the early days of the COVID lockdown, shark content may work even better for a viewing population that has been stuck at home for a good chunk of 2020, spending much of its time watching frightful tales of pandemic and protest on the news. Daniels mentioned feeling “incredibly happy” after watching SharkFest cuts from the South Pacific and the Caribbean. “It offers viewers a really wonderful and hopeful escape from the everyday,” he added. Discovery’s Swartz suspects increased hunger for shark content this summer. “It’s a nice respite from all the news of the world, and all the realities that are going on,” he said. “People love sharks.” ●

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Opposite: Discovery Shark Week offering Air Jaws (top l.) and celebrity guest Mike Tyson, and Nat Geo SharkFest doc Raging Bull Shark. This page, Nat Geo's 50 Shades of Sharks (above) and Syfy's campy Sharknado.

• Lifetime offered its annual FROM KILLER SHARKS to serial killers, cable “Ripped from the Headlines” two-week networks are looking to slay viewers with programming event beginning Aug. 1. The highly promotable, multi-day programming lineup includes such shows as the Aug. 9 stunts that they hope will both draw viewers premiere of the Surviving Jeffrey Epstein and bring awareness and attention to the special and the Aug. 2 premiere of the Ann brand, especially as people continue to spend Rule-themed Murder to Remember more time at home during the pandemic. movie, which marks the Usually relegated to major directorial debut of actress holidays and the doldrums Robin Givens. of the summer when Lifetime and LMN network shows are executive VP and typically on hiatus, head of programming industry executives said Amy Winter said the stunts like this month’s network has expanded SharkFest on National its programming slate Geographic, Shark Week from years past as it looks on Discovery Channel to draw in viewers with and Serial Killer Week on escapist programming during Investigative Discovery will an unusually busy and unique become more prevalent on cable period in the country. network lineups in the foreseeable “Lifetime’s brand-defining ripped future, given pandemic-related Lifetime’s from the headlines movies deliver delays in the production of new and “Ripped from a much needed escape to our returning series. the Headlines” “These [stunts] provide an stunt will include audience who crave compelling opportunity for networks to focus Surviving Jeffrey and contemporary story-telling based on real life events with all audience attention on content that fits Epstein, which the twists and turns that prove that the brand and audience wants to see,” interviews media consultant Bill Carroll said. survivors such as truth is stranger than fiction,” Winter said. “This summer, we expanded “During this pandemic, it’s important Virginia Giuffre. the slate to also include the real to have viewers check out your brand, people that inspired these movies and and any type of promotion that attracts viewers extended the experience with a new show works to your advantage.” with Elizabeth Smart, digging deeper into Indeed, a number of cable networks are Jodi Arias’s story with her prison cellmates scheduling themed programming blocks and spotlighting the survivors in Surviving around both original shows and popular Jeffrey Epstein.” acquired content in an effort to reach viewers AMC and other networks will offer a mix of looking for programming alternatives in original and acquired film stunts to help build a television environment void of original programming and limited sports programming brand awareness and appeal with viewers. AMC has slated an Aug. 30 marathon of The due to the effects of the pandemic. Walking Dead’s first season including bonus • Smithsonian Channel will devote its content, plus two daylong film fests with the Wednesday-night schedule throughout Jurassic Park (Aug.1- 2) and The Fast and the August to its “Wild Wednesdays” lineup of Furious (Aug. 8-9) franchises. animal-themed documentary programming, Carroll said networks will continue to lean including Cave Crocs of Gabon (Aug. 5) and on such programming stunts going forward Hunt for Escobar’s Hippos (Aug. 26). The as long as traditional programming schedules network will also feature an Aug. 23 daylong remain uncertain. natural disaster-themed programming stunt “Unless circumstances dramatically change leading into the primetime premiere of its in the next month or so we are looking at a V-Day: Volcanic Planet special. substantial amount of new programming not • Investigation Discovery will roll out its coming back until late 2020 or early next week-long “Serial Killer Week” stunt Aug. 31, featuring such provocatively titled documentary year,” he said. “Anyone looking to entice viewers to watch their network now will specials as The Butcher Baker: Mind of a look to add more of these offerings to their Monster, The Serial Killer Among Us: Phillip schedule.” — R. Thomas Umstead Jablonski and BTK: Chasing a Serial Killer. 13

PROGRAMMING

News Vet Princell Hair Takes on BNC’s Mission Former CNN exec says startup news channel won’t take a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach By R. Thomas Umstead thomas.umstead@futurenet.com @rtumstead30

ewly named Black News Channel president and CEO Princell Hair takes the reins of the upstart network during a monumentally busy and turbulent news cycle, focused on covering the country’s growing social and racial unrest, an upcoming presidential election campaign and the pandemic that is disproportionately affecting people of color. Hair, a former CNN general manager and most recently senior VP and general manager of NBC Sports Boston, recently spoke to Multichannel News about his vision for the five-month-old BNC, as well as his perspective on the cable news business and the return of sports amid the pandemic. Here’s an edited version of that interview.

Tim Sproles; Hitman: Sky

MCN: Is Black News Channel’s role to be an alternative to the mainstream media for coverage of the African-American community? Princell Hair: I believe that the network's mission is really to shine a spotlight on those stories in our community that affect our community. We have to continue to differentiate ourselves and deliver on our brand promise of giving voice to the varied experiences, priorities and viewpoints that matter in the Black community. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. I grew up in South Florida and I saw Haitian-Americans that had very different priorities than Africans who had very different priorities than Southern Black people. They're all Black and they're all different, and BNC really exists to tell all of their stories through their varied lenses. MCN: As a veteran of the cable news business, how has the category changed over the years? PH: I don't know if it has led or it has followed the electorate, but it has certainly become much more partisan in its approach. You have very clear delineations in the cable news world. We’ve kind of conditioned the audience to expect a certain viewpoint from the left or the right. Our goal here at BNC is really to provide diverse perspectives on the issues of the day along

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REVIEW

HITMEN (Available starting Aug. 3 on Peacock)

with more context. We want to really respect our audience enough to be able to make up their own minds without us having to guide them to whatever conclusions they come to. The truth is the truth and the facts are the facts. Sadly, the word truth has become a euphemism for middle of the road, and that’s just not right, because we've conditioned audiences to look at issues from the left or the right. MCN: The sports industry has gone through many changes because of the pandemic. As a former cable sports executive, how do you se things evolving in this COVID-19 environment? PH: We’ve all been forced to reimagine our businesses, whether you're in broadcasting or in sports. I feel like that is going to continue, especially as we kind of get deeper into this pandemic and potentially a second wave that may come sometime later this year or early next year. We need sports and sports will and have come back, but it's going to look and feel different, and we're going to have to consume it differently. In many ways, the pandemic has accelerated things that were kind of already underway, like remote working and remote production that have been experimented with, but have now gone into full throttle since the pandemic began. ●

Black News Channel's goal is to present diverse perspectives and let viewers decide, says president and CEO Princell Hair.

UPSTART STREAMING SERVICE Peacock taps the U.K. for a comedy series revolving around the exploits of two female assassins. Hitmen follows Jamie (Mel Giedroyc) and Fran (Sue Perkins), two unlikely killers for pay whose lifelong friendship serves as the catalyst for the creation of unusual, unorthodox and humorous situations as they carry out their missions. While the two are ruthless in completing their jobs, much of the action and storylines revolve around the comical and often bizarre actions of the two women leading up to the kill. The first episode of the series finds the two compatriots sitting in an unmarked van contemplating how to celebrate Fran’s birthday. Their back-and-forth banter regarding the planning of an evening birthday party — which none of their contemporaries want to attend — comes while waiting for a call from their boss, Mr. K, to determine whether to silence a potential victim (Jason Watkins), who is in the back of the van tied up with a sack over his head. For obvious reasons, he’s keen on attending the birthday party and enthusiastically becomes engaged in the discussion. While Hitmen is charming and has several funny scenes — including Jamie’s failed order of a stripper to perform in the van while waiting for Mr. K’s call, as well as an unscheduled stop at a McDonald’s drive-thru for a McFlurry with their target in tow — it comes off as a bit too quirky and gets lost at times trying to be funny and dramatic all at once. Still, Giedroyc and Perkins have great chemistry, and other episodes in the Sky One-produced series further build upon the hapless assassins’ often comedic misadventures. The six-episode series originally premiered on Sky One in the United Kingdom this past month. — RTU

TECH

FCC Docs Take the Wraps Off TVision

Applications show T-Mobile device could be based on same dongle as Dish’s AirTV Mini

By Daniel Frankel daniel.frankel@futurenet.com @dannyfrankel

n December 2017, T-Mobile purchased Denver-based video startup Layer3 TV for $325 million and loudly proclaimed it would apply its disruptive “uncarrier” wireless strategy to the pay TV business. Since then, not much has changed for the erstwhile Layer3 TV service. It was rebranded to “TVision” and the top Layer3

executives have moved on. Founder and CEO Jeff Binder, who was initially put in charge of T-Mobile’s video operation following the acquisition, left in May 2019. Lindsay Gardner, chief content officer for T-Mobile, is leaving at the end of this month. The $90-a-month TVision service hasn’t expanded beyond the limited number of major markets — including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — where it already was when T-Mobile made the Layer3 deal. But government filings are offering

FCC filings showed a TVision device similar to the HDMI dongle used by Dish Network’s AirTV Mini.

glimpses of what’s happening next with TVision. Federal Communications Commission filings have recently been unearthed that reveal a revised TVision CPE platform, based on the same SEI Robotics HDMI dongle that’s used for Dish Network’s Android TV-powered connected TV product, AirTV Mini. The remote control is the same, too, featuring buttons dedicated to the Google Play store, YouTube and Google Assistant — all linchpins of the Android TV platform. Meanwhile, in its product marketing and its SEC filings, T-Mobile describes TVision as the pay TV service that it will roll out alongside fixed wireless 5G services. “TVision Home is being purpose-built for the 5G future,” T-Mobile says on its website, when you click on the 5G Vision link situated on the main menu tab of the TVision landing page. “We’re getting ready for a world where 5G replaces home broadband and TVision Home will replace your cable TV — and launching a complete, high-end home TV service is a key part of that strategy.” Following the April closure of its $26 billion Sprint acquisition, T-Mobile last month told the Securities and Exchange Commission in a filing that its “significantly enhanced spectrum position” will enable it to accelerate plans for its 5G fixed-wireless play. “The enhanced in-home broadband opportunity, along with the acquisition of certain content rights has created a strategic shift in our TVision Home service offering to developing a video product which will be complementary to the in-home broadband offering and which we believe is necessary to enable higher penetration into the in-home broadband market,” T-Mobile said in the filing. ●

TVision devices: FCC; Peacock: Peacock TV LLC

PEACOCK DOESN’T SUPPORT EXTERNAL HDMI CONNECTION PEACOCK WILL NOT ALLOW users of its platform on personal computers or mobile devices to port the video to their TV monitors via HDMI. The restriction represents yet another barrier to living-room viewing for Peacock, which already lacks app support for the two biggest connected TV platforms, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. “HDMI connectivity is not supported at this time,” Twitter handle operators for Peacock told a bereaved user last week. “Users will not be able to view via external monitor connection. They will need to use their PC, mobile or one of our other supported devices directly.” The Peacock posting directed the user to a link to a web page listing of devices that support the Comcast and NBCUniversal streaming app, which

16 Multichannel.com

launched nationally July 15. Peacock is supported by both the Google and Apple software ecosystems. In addition to connected TV devices powered by Google’s Android TV OS, as well as Apple TV gadgets, Peacock can be watched on personal computers via the Google Chrome Browser. MacBook users can watch it in Chrome or Safari. And, of course, users of Apple iOS and Google Android mobile devices can watch Peacock on their gadgets. But Peacock users can’t hook up these PC and mobile devices to an external monitor via HDMI and watch Peacock. Multichannel News tried using a 2015 MacBook Pro and received the same error message as those legions of users complaining on Reddit did — a screen pops up on the external monitor

NBCU launched the Peacock platform nationally on July 15. featuring a sad-eyed kitten indicating “something went wrong.” Conversely, we hooked up our version 1.0 AirTV device, powered by Android TV and connected via HDMI to the same TCL 55-inch monitor, and were able to watch 30 Rock on Peacock just fine. Side note: We also tried to get through

the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-hosted NASCAR documentary Lost Speedways, but we were very disappointed with this Peacock original. Very little meat to this sandwich — just Earnhardt Jr. walking around an abandoned racetrack. Hoping for better things from another Peacock original, Brave New World. — DF

POLICY

Biden’s FCC: Take a Number Candidates crowd field for would-be next agency head

is Comcast’s position against net neutrality rules, given that Biden has said they would be coming back. The other FCC Democrat, Geoffrey Starks, has to be in the conversation, said one veteran agency watcher, but added “there are an unusually large number of extremely qualified candidates this time around.”

Other Contenders

By John Eggerton john.eggerton@futurenet.com @eggerton

Clyburn: JohnStaleyPhoto.com; Cohen: Comcast; Rosenworcel: FCC

s former Vice President Joe Biden continues to rise in the polls, D.C. handicappers are seriously pondering who might be tapped for Federal Communications Commission chair in a Biden administration. Candidate Biden has already signaled his FCC will be restoring network neutrality rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, but since it is an independent agency, he will need to pick an FCC chief who “independently” shares that philosophy. Biden has already signaled his vice president will be a woman. Odds are good his FCC chair could be as well. The FCC chair calculus will be different depending on how many Republicans decide to leave with the change in administration. If more than just current FCC chairman Ajit Pai exits on the Republican side — he isn’t required to leave and could stay on as a commissioner, but that would be a “snow in July” occurrence — it would give Biden more latitude in picking the chair, said one executive. “If there is only one slot, one can assume that it is very unlikely that Biden would appoint a white male,” the executive said. The following is based on informed speculation aided by various Washington communications sources who asked not to be identified.

Handicapping the Field

Mignon Clyburn, the former commissioner and first female chair of the FCC, was acting chair between the exit of Julius Genachowski and the confirmation of Tom Wheeler for the post, which took a while

18 Multichannel.com

after Wheeler’s nomination was held up in the Senate. According to a couple of sources, Clyburn’s name will be in the hopper this time around. Closing the rural and racial digital divide was one of her commission (and post-commission) priorities, an issue that has been top of mind given the pandemic and with the current heated conversation on racial bias. Then there is the fact that her father, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), essentially resurrected Biden’s campaign with his endorsement preceding the South Carolina primary, the former VP’s first big win, at a time when the media was all but anointing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as the presumptive candidate. Blair Levin, policy adviser at New Street Research and the former architect of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, likes Clyburn’s chances. He said the job is hers if she wants it, which a top communications lobbyist says as well. Some are arguing current Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has an inside track to the big chair. She had to exit the commission after her renomination got caught up in political infighting, but made it back onto the commission for a second bite of the apple and possibly a shot at the chairmanship. Levin also says Rosenworcel is a leading contender. David Cohen, Comcast senior executive VP and adviser to the cable company’s chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts, is another name that has been making the rounds of late, but one observer said he doubted Cohen would want the job. “It’s not big enough for him,” he said, adding that Cohen would warrant a cabinet post. “There are few people as talented and qualified for government service,” he added. Before joining Comcast, Cohen was the longtime chief of staff to Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Probably working against Cohen

Names floated as could-be FCC chairs in a Biden administration include (from l.): former acting chair Mignon Clyburn, top Comcast exec David Cohen and current commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

John Orlando is the former top CBS/Viacom lobbyist who left the company at the end of 2019. He worked on Capitol Hill for over a decade, including seven years as chief of staff to the iconic Rep. John Dingell (D.-Mich). Orlando, said one executive, is a “Democratic heavyweight with industry experience, gravitas and deep connections to House and Senate leadership,” recalling what he called the “adult” pick of Tom Wheeler by President Barack Obama. Gigi Sohn is the former top aide to Wheeler. She has been a strong supporter of net neutrality rules, but was also willing to work with other stakeholders to find a way forward on the issue as head of Public Knowledge. Clint Odom is the National Urban League’s senior VP for policy and advocacy and head of the Washington bureau and formerly a senior adviser at the FCC. His extensive experience as a top congressional Democratic aide includes legislative director for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is a candidate to be Biden’s vice president or perhaps attorney general. John Branscome is the senior counsel on the Senate Commerce Committee. He has a lengthy resume that includes past FCC service in numerous capacities including legal advisor to two commissioners, and was counsel for communications and intellectual property for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), another legislator who helped Biden at a crucial time, in her case dropping out of the presidential race before her own home state primary and endorsing Biden. Disney regulatory attorney Susan Fox, former senior legal advisor to former FCC chairman William Kennard, the agency’s first African-American chairman. Larry Irving, former head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration under President Bill Clinton, coiner of the term “digital divide” and a member of the Internet Hall of Fame is another candidate that can’t be counted out if the Democrats take the White House. Levin’s other potential picks include another Larry, Lawrence Strickling, who was also head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) — under Obama — and currently on the Biden policy team; and Karen Kornbluh, who was on the shortlist if Hillary Clinton had won and just got pushed out as a board member of Voice of America. Louisa Terrell, a former aide to then-Sen. Biden and former FCC chairman Wheeler and past head of the Biden Foundation, is the “dark horse” candidate. Levin has been talked about as a candidate, but he said his money is on any of the other candidates before himself. ●

BUSINESS

No Half Measures For Cable Stocks

Content companies are facing growing uncertainty as streaming services proliferate and traditional pay TV distributors, which have pulled most of the freight regarding affiliate fees, lose subscribers.

Content Headwinds

Q2 reversed a downward trend in 2020’s first quarter, but analysts warn of pitfalls ahead

By Mike Farrell michael.farrell@futurenet.com @MikeFCable

able distribution stocks, battered by the fear that a prolonged pandemic would wreak havoc on their businesses, proved their resilience once again by clawing back from their low points in March to strong gains in Q2. And though some analysts expect the tide to rise in the second half of the year, they warn of a potential broadband pullback as people return to work could hurt the stocks in early 2021. The four major cable distribution stocks — Comcast, Charter Communications, Cable One and Altice USA — all posted strong Q2 gains; Charter led the way with a nearly 17% gain in the period. The increase was a welcome change from the first quarter, when every stock in the sector hit new 52-week lows. FBN Securities media analyst Robert Routh said COVID-19 helped cable on the broadband side because customers were working from home and, in some cases, their employers helped pay for higher-speed tiers. That could change once people start returning to offices. “I don’t think you have to worry about it this year,” Routh said. “But after that, that’s what I’m worried about.”

Comcast, which still relies on cable distribution for most of its revenue (56% in Q1), was hit hard by declines at its NBCUniversal content unit. The rapidly eroding advertising market, declining pay TV subscriber rolls (which means less affiliate fee revenue for programmers) and the rise in streaming services have all helped batter the content sector. And though NBCU launched its own streaming offering (Peacock) in July to strong reviews, some analysts have called for Comcast to separate or spin off the content business to unlock greater value on the distribution side. “A lot of investors I have talked to who own Comcast are upset because they think they would have done much better if there was some way to value the two separately,” Routh said. Routh isn’t alone in that thinking. Sanford Bernstein media analyst Peter Supino wrote an open letter to Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts at the end of June, pleading for a spinoff of NBCU and British satellite company Sky. Supino argued that spinoff would result in a doubling of the price of a pure-play cable Comcast stock in three years.

OUT OF THE CELLAR AND INTO THE STREET Cable distribution stocks started the long climb back from the cellar in Q2, with most showing gains despite continued restrictions associated with the pandemic. 12/31

3/31

Q1% CHANGE

6/30

Q2% CHANGE

CHARTER

$485.08

$436.31

(10.1%)

$510.04

16.9%

COMCAST

$44.97

$34.38

(23.5%)

$38.98

13.4%

CABLE ONE

$1,488.47

$1,644.01

10.4%

$1,774.85

8.0%

ALTICE USA

$27.34

$22.29

(18.5%)

$22.54

1.1%

DISH

$35.47

$19.99

(43.6%)

$34.51

72.6%

AT&T

$39.08

$29.15

(29.4%)

$30.23

3.7%

VERIZON

$61.40

$53.73

(12.5%)

$55.13

2.6%

VIACOMCBS

$41.97

$14.01

(66.6%)

$23.32

66.5%

WWE

$64.87

$33.93

(47.7%)

$43.45

28.1%

DISNEY

$144.63

$96.60

(33.2%)

$111.51

15.4%

FOX

$37.07

$23.63

(36.3%)

$26.82

13.5%

DISCOVERY

$32.74

$19.44

(40.6%)

$21.10

8.5%

AMC NETWORKS

$39.50

$24.31

(38.5%)

$23.39

(3.8%)

Getty Images

A Case-by-Case View

MoffettNathanson principal and senior analyst Craig Moffett said investors are no longer looking at cable as an individual market sector. “There is no monolithic ‘cable sector’ anymore,” Moffett said. “Each company now has a different story to tell.” For example, he noted Charter outperformed its peers in Q2 after showing better-thanexpected video and broadband results, while vertically-integrated Comcast shares, despite a strong broadband showing, grew at a slower pace. Pure-play cable operators Altice USA (up 1.1%) and Cable One (up all year despite the pandemic), had varying results. “Comcast has lagged Charter badly, not because its cable business isn’t as good, but because the rest of its portfolio is an albatross,” Moffett said. “Altice has struggled because it is so much more mature … making it harder to forecast long-term growth. And Cable One is just so inexplicably overvalued that it doesn’t really get discussed in the same conversation.”

Multichannel.com

That perception has proven itself in the stock prices of even the biggest programmers. While the programming sector improved its position during Q2 — five of the six stocks in the segment rose above their Q1 lows — many have just barely squeaked by. The biggest, The Walt Disney Co., finished Q2 up 15.4% to $111.51. But even with one of the most successful streaming services (Disney Plus, with about 55 million global subscribers in June) Disney stock was still far short of its Dec. 31 close of $144.63. AMC Networks, down 38.5% in Q1, fell another 3.8% in Q2. Other stocks like ViacomCBS, which fell 66.6% in Q1 to $14.01, gained more than 60% in Q2. But at $23.32, it was still nearly half the price it was at the beginning of the year. Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall said in a note he expects Disney Plus to climb to 62 million global subscribers in fiscal Q3 and to 81 million by year-end. But he believes that torrid pace will slow down, estimating 95 million subscribers by 2025. Even Disney Plus’s exponential growth won’t be able to stem the bleeding elsewhere. Cahall estimates that total revenue for Disney, which reports results on Aug. 4, will fall 39% in fiscal Q3 to $12.4 billion. Cahall’s caution is proven in his $118 per share 12-month price target on the stock: it closed at $118.12 on July 23. He expects shares to “remain range-bound as very strong content assets offset significant end-market uncertainty.” ●

SOURCE: NASDAQ website, Multichannel News estimates

FATES & FORTUNES

People Notable executives on the move BRIEFLY NOTED Other industry execs making moves

BECKTV

BLACK NEWS CHANNEL

BROADCAST SOLUTIONS

Princell Hair has joined Black News Channel as president and CEO. The former CNN executive most recently worked as senior VP and GM at NBC Sports Boston.

European systems integrator Broadcast Solutions has promoted JP Delport to managing director, Broadcast Solutions U.K. The 15-year industry veteran had been sales director.

Bakori Davis has joined CuriosityStream as managing director and head of international. He was partner and managing director of Niche Media Global (NMG), an international mediaservices firm.

NBCU TELEMUNDO ENTERPRISES

THE TRADE DESK

TUBI

Beau Ferrari was upped to chairman of NBCU Telemundo Enterprises. Formerly executive VP, he succeeds Cesar Conde, who was promoted to chairman, NBCU News Group.

Ad-technology firm The Trade Desk has promoted Tim Sims to chief revenue officer. The former OpenX and SpotRunner executive most recently was senior VP, inventory partnerships at The Trade Desk.

Carolyn Forrest has joined Fox Entertainment-owned Tubi as senior VP, general counsel, overseeing the business affairs and legal team. She was VP, legal affairs at Fox Television Stations.

WARNERMEDIA

WWE

WarnerMedia Entertainment has promoted New Yorkbased Jackie Gagne to senior VP, multicultural marketing. She had been VP, multicultural marketing at premium service HBO for the past six years.

Richard Jennings was promoted to senior VP, design and production at Warner Media Entertainment, based in New York. He had been VP, design and production at HBO since joining from Warner Music Group in 2013.

Kristy Chan joined WarnerMedia Entertainment as Burbank, California-based VP, publicity, TBS, TNT and truTV. She comes from Netflix, where she was director, original series publicity.

Christina Salen was named chief financial officer of sports-entertainment company WWE. Most recently CFO of online luxury fashion retailer Moda Operandi, she was CFO of Etsy from 2013 to 2017.

Broadcast systems integrator BeckTV has added Brock Raum as product engineer. He was director of live production and broadcast technology for the University of Notre Dame athletics department.

LITTON Angelica Rosas McDaniel has been named executive VP, strategy, for Litton Entertainment. She comes from CBS, where she was executive VP, daytime programs, overseeing the daytime lineup.

Multichannel.com

CURIOSITYSTREAM

Charles Watson has been named an Atlanta-based correspondent for Fox News Channel. He had been a multimedia reporter, based in Jackson, Mississippi. … Petersborough, Ontario-based Lindsay Broadband promoted Jonathan Haight to senior VP, worldwide business development. He had been VP, U.S. sales and business development, responsible for U.S. sales strategy and execution. … Scott Shapiro was tapped by Sinclair Broadcast Group as chief strategy officer, sports, a new post working closely with leaders from Stadium, Tennis Channel, RSNs and local stations. He will remain as chief development officer. … Spectrum Cable News in Dallas has named Derik Lattig as planning manager, responsible for overseeing 10 multimedia journalists for a new venture launching Sept. 1. A former CBS Newspath staffer, Lattig has worked at stations in Dallas and Houston. … The Trade Desk also named Michelle Hulst as executive VP, global data and strategy and Matt Goldberg as executive VP, global operations, both new posts.

DATA MINE

Data provided by

Ad Meter Who’s spending what where

PROMO MOJO Our exclusive weekly ranking of the programming that networks are promoting most heavily (July 20-26)

BIG SPENDERS

MOST-SEEN TV ADS

Brands ranked by the greatest increase in TV spend (July 20-26)

Brands ranked by TV ad impressions (July 20-26)

1 Modelo

Spend Increase:

GEICO ▲ 246%

$5.4M

Est. TV Spend: Spend Within Industry:

20%

Top Network: Comedy Central

$3.2M

Est. TV Spend:

Est. Media Value: $8,440,380

Nickelodeon

Estimated media value of in-network promos On the strength of 367.9 million TV ad impressions, a promo for Nickelodeon’s Baby Shark’s Big Week takes No. 1. Cable dominates the week’s rankings, with Nick joined by HGTV, hyping Build Me Up and Vacation House Rules, while TNT gives some love to The Alienist: Angel of Darkness and Investigation Discovery promotes Devil Among Us. Notably, the Vacation House Rules spot earns the highest iSpot Attention Index number (147), interrupted 47% less often than the average promo (interruptions include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Multichannel.com

Nickelodeon

TV Ad Impressions Est. Media Value

2. Build Me Up, HGTV TV Ad Impressions Est. Media Value

367,900,861 $8,440,380 277,808,971 $2,219,429

3. The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, TNT TV Ad Impressions Est. Media Value

215,047,339 $2,684,382

4. Devil Among Us, Investigation Discovery

TV Ad Impressions Est. Media Value

199,659,753 $834,974

5. Vacation House Rules, HGTV TV Ad Impressions Est. Media Value

192,002,233 $1,482,563

TV Ad Impressions:

1.36B

Est. TV Spend:

$9.6M 93.53

Attention Score:

Top Network:

Fox

Top Show:

NBC Nightly News

Domino's ▲ 154%

Spend Increase:

1. Baby Shark's Big Week,

MLB Baseball

Top Show:

14%

Grubhub

Total TV ad impressions within all U.S. households, including national linear (live and time-shifted), VOD plus OTT and local

90.65

Attention Score:

Spend Within Industry:

TV Ad Impressions: 367,900,861

$24.6M

Est. TV Spend:

Liberty Mutual ▲ 180%

Spend Increase:

TOP 5 PROMOTIONS

1.64B

Quibi

Baby Shark's Big Week, Nickelodeon

TV Ad Impressions:

1.04B

Est. TV Spend:

$3M

Est. TV Spend:

$8.7M

Spend Within Industry:

52%

Attention Score:

94.51

Top Network:

Adult Swim

Est. TV Spend:

Law & Order: SVU

Walmart Spend Increase:

Top Show:

Amazon ▲ 151%

$8.8M

TV Ad Impressions:

$13.9M

Est. TV Spend:

Spend Within Industry:

33%

Attention Score:

Top Network:

NBC

Top Show:

Est. TV Spend: Spend Within Industry: Top Network:

94.94

Ridiculousness

Target

The General Spend Increase:

1.03B

▲ 136%

$3.2M 4% BET Her

TV Ad Impressions:

1.02B

Est. TV Spend:

$9.2M

Attention Score:

92.40

Top Show: Good Morning America

DATA MINE

COWEN: 33% OF CABLE TV SUBS ARE ON PROMOTIONAL DEALS

MCN’S MOST VIEWED

ONE-THIRD OF U.S. cable TV customers are currently paying promotional rates that will soon expire, exposing them to much higher monthly bills for video service. That’s the conclusion of equity research company Cowen, which reported on a survey conducted June 26-27 with 1,021 U.S. consumers for its Q2 cable TV/satellite video report. While pay TV operators typically and continuously manage price promotions, adjusting them in specific regions based on such factors as credit ratings and price elasticity, “the current mix of promotional subscribers

2. Comcast Brings Back a Bigger Data Cap

Are you currently on a broadband and/or video promotion with your provider (such as a 12- or 24-month price lock that increases after the promotion expires)?

3. Weekly Cable Ratings: Fox News Stays Hot

(All respondents who subscribe to cable/ telco services)

Top stories on multichannel.com, July 13-29 1. Biden FCC Would Restore Net Neutrality Rules

4. Update: HBO Max Integrated into TiVo Stream 4K Through Google Play 5. Cable TV Pioneers Names 22 New Members

within the base is of particular interest amid the current recession and potential for higher risk of ‘sticker shock’ churn,” lead report author Gregory Williams wrote. Among those U.S. cable TV customers on promo plans, 20% of them have deals that will expire in the next 12 months. Of the major U.S. cable operators, Cowen finds Altice USA most exposed, with 45% of its base on promotional deals. Comcast is second at 42%, followed by Charter Communications (32%). — Daniel Frankel For more stories like this, go to nexttv.com.

Yes, I am on a promotional plan that will expire within the next 12 months, 20%

Yes, I am on a promotional plan that will expire in more than 12 months, 13% No, I am not on a promotional plan and I pay typical nonpromotional rates, 57%

No, I am not on a "price for life" guarantee plan, 10%

To read these stories, go to multichannel.com.

SOURCE: Cowen and Co. Cable and Broadband Survey 2Q20

STICKIEST SHOWS Top 10 cable programs ranked by viewer engagement Ratings Rank

Telecast (Week Ending June 14)

Network

Stickiness Index*

90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?

TLC

154

90 Day Fiance: The Other Way

TLC

140

774

La Rosa de Guadalupe

Galavisión

136

The Rachel Maddow Show

MSNBC

134

184

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Bravo

131

286

Murder in the Vineyard

Lifetime

128

806

Coins for Love

TV One

128

314

Married at First Sight

Lifetime

127

WWE Monday Night Raw

USA Network

127

Tyler Perry's The Oval

BET

126

Stickiness Rank

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Kathy Boos/Bravo; Joe Biden: David Lienemann

The Stickiness Index looks at viewer engagement based on several factors. A higher number indicates more of the audience is tuned in for the duration of the telecast. * TV Engagement ratings powered by Comscore’s TV Essentials. (Sorted by social media activity.)

Multichannel.com

DATA MINE

Data provided by

STICKIEST SHOWS Top 10 broadcast programs ranked by viewer engagement

Ratings Rank

Telecast (Week July 19)

Network

Stickiness Index*

Amor Eterno

Univision

152

Te Doy La Vida

Univision

152

Fútbol Copa Por México

UniMás

147

Cennet

Telemundo

145

Como Tú No Hay 2

Univision

138

Médicos, Línea De Vida

Univision

133

America's Got Talent

NBC

131

144

La Rosa de Guadalupe

Univision

130

110

Exatlón Estados Unidos

Telemundo

127

Magnum P.I.

CBS

125

Stickiness Rank

THE WEEK OF JULY 20 TV Time users track the shows they're watching on TV via the TV Time app. That data is then used to determine the most-binged shows of the week in the U.S.

Cursed

Share of binges: 1.83%

Criminal Minds

Share of binges: 1.71%

Schitt's Creek

Share of binges: 1.01%

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Share of binges: 0.98%

The Big Bang Theory

Share of binges: 0.85%

Community

Share of binges: 0.81%

The Office

Share of binges: 0.79%

Absentia

Share of binges: 0.78%

New Girl

Share of binges: 0.76%

In the Dark

Share of binges: 0.72%

LAST WEEK: —

LAST WEEK: 3

LAST WEEK: 1

LAST WEEK: —

LAST WEEK: 5

LAST WEEK: 8

LAST WEEK: 9

America's Got Talent: NBC

LAST WEEK: 2

LAST WEEK: 6

Networks reflected don't include every viewing platform available nor total viewing in share of binge

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NEXT TV’S MOST VIEWED Top five stories on nexttv.com, July 13-29 1. Blog: Is Roku Pushing Its Luck? 2. IMDb TV: Everything You Need to Know About the Fast-Growing Free, Ad-Supported Side of Amazon’s Streaming Business 3. Will HBO Max Use ‘Tenet’ as a ‘Battering Ram’ Against Amazon, Roku? 4. Tubi: Everything You Need to Know About Fox’s Big $440M AVOD Buy 5. Why Roku and Amazon Provide Very Different Negotiating Challenges To read these stories, go to nexttv.com.

DATA MINE

Profiles Devices Americans use to watch TV shows TODAY.YOUGOV.COM

Smart TV

48%

Amazon Fire

16%

Regular TV

48%

Tablet

14%

Cellphone

23%

Gaming console

Desktop/laptop

21%

Apple TV

Roku

21%

Chromecast

Methodology: 119,126 U.S. adults were asked which devices they used the previous day to watch TV. Respondents were asked between July 2019 and July 2020.

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VIEWPOINT

By Raghu Khodige, Alphonso @Alphonsoinc

Return of Sports Isn’t Necessarily a Slam Dunk Pent-up demand is obvious, but habits may have changed

ith the shortened Major League Baseball season underway and the reconfigured National Basketball Association season just getting started, tele casts for both will be a smashing success in a live-sports-starved pandemic TV world. Or will they? While indications suggest they should be, there are some potential challenges. To date, real-world examples certainly indicate there is pent-up demand. As NASCAR and golf’s PGA Tour came back into action in June, for example, there was a significant increase in viewership compared to June 2019. Golf saw a year-over-year increase of 27%, and NASCAR a 32% increase, according to an analysis by Alphonso. But despite this, and the tightening of lockdowns in some regions where COVID-19 is surging, it is still the heart of the summer, and we will be dealing with an audience that has shown it clearly wants to get outside and enjoy daylight that at this time of year lasts well into evening hours.

NBA: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images

Summer Viewing Lull

Keep in mind July is traditionally one of the lowest viewing times of the year for this very reason. It remains to be seen if the resumption of live sports will be enough to change this traditional dynamic. Also, we might face an audience that has acclimated, at least to a degree, to the absence of live sports. There may very well be a percentage of this audience that has decided life was just fine without sports and that have actually begun to appreciate the found time to do other things. Additionally, the availability of the first new compelling content since lockdowns began and productions mostly stopped will provide the real look into the pandemic’s long-term effects on viewing habits. As we have seen, despite a lack of live sports, and with hundreds of programs interrupted and major TV events canceled or postponed,

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across premium pay TV channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz. Here, unique household reach increased up to 33% in April, hovering in that range throughout May before dropping down as some states began to re-open. As quickly as some re-openings backfired, premium cable viewership rebounded as measured in total time watched. During the last two weeks of June, total time watched went up to 23% over the January-February average.

A New Abnormal

The NBA is returning to action in a quarantined “bubble” at Orlando, Florida’s Walt Disney World. broadcast television was able to hold on until May. But it has now dipped below prepandemic levels. At the end of June, the major English- and Spanish-language networks combined reached 11% fewer households compared to the January/ February average, according to Alphonso’s analysis. At the same time, basic cable has remained mostly flat in terms of households reached throughout the pandemic so far. While there have been upticks in time watched, primarily in March and April, basic cable hasn’t seen the same growth as other categories nor has it seen any declines. Similarly, looking at original programming from streaming services, we can see binge burnout continuing as many households have enjoyed a large portion of original programming, combined with the negative impact of productions halting due to COVID-19 restrictions. Streaming services saw unique household reach hit a peak of 29% growth during late March and midApril. It has mostly returned back to the early 2020 levels and has remained the same throughout June. Beyond Netflix adding 10 million subscribers, the lone bright spot has been

Raghu Khodige is chief product officer and co-founder of Alphonso, a TV data firm.

Compounding this, of course, is the fact that these will not be “normal” baseball and basketball seasons. Will fans take these games seriously since they are not being played in pursuit of winning each sport’s traditional championship? Yes, the teams that remain standing at the conclusion of the 2020 MLB and NBA seasons will get a trophy, but will it mean as much to fans? And therefore, will the games leading up to that trophy mean as much and be worth giving up time for? Finally, both COVID-19 and the current social justice environment will be very evident in the games. Some NBA and MLB players are sitting out and others are wearing masks. Some baseball players and coaches have knelt during the national anthem, while the NBA is putting social justice messages on player jerseys and Black Lives Matter messages on the court. For fans who have viewed sports as a way to escape real-life pressures and issues, will this be a detriment to viewing? Certainly, real-world events have always been a part of sports and have had a presence in games, but rarely during as trying a period as this nation has faced due to COVID-19. So while the return of live sports looks like just what advertisers and broadcasters have been waiting for, its success is by no means a certainty. And in this most unusual year of 2020, anything can happen. All it will take is for a percentage of the audience to say “I am fine without sports,” or “I want to be outside,” or “I need a break from challenging issues” to turn what should be a slam dunk success into a blown layup. ●

THE FIVE SPOT

Suzanne Sullivan

EVP, Fox Entertainment Ad Sales Veteran ad seller helps Fox stay flexible as it navigates the pandemic

uzanne Sullivan, the executive VP responsible for selling ads in Fox’s entertainment programming, calls the network where she’s worked for 15 years her second family. Her (and her husband’s) four kids moved out on their own, and she wound up moving to a smaller Connecticut home during a pandemic. “The first time we actually stepped foot inside the house was about two weeks before we moved in,” she said. “It was intense but we’re settled in now.” Unlike in many families, none of the kids tried to return to the roost. One son lives in New Jersey. “We’ve informed him very clearly that it would be impossible for all three of us to work from home from here,” she said. Sullivan wanted to grow up to be Katie Couric, but after college she got no responses to the form letter she sent to every TV station between Massachusetts and Virginia. She answered an ad in The New York Times and got a job as a sales assistant at CBS. She later crossed Sixth Avenue to work at ad agency BBDO and thought she would never leave. But then she followed a colleague, Toby Byrne — who later became president of sales at the network — to Fox. Now, fun for Sullivan is sitting on the beach with a book, “maybe a piña colada, if it’s after 5 o’clock.” Sullivan spoke with Multichannel News contributing editor Jon Lafayette. An edited transcript follows. How are you handling working from home? Certainly all the technology that

we have makes it a heck of a lot easier. We all miss the collaboration and having somebody right there that you can bounce an idea off. I would say we’ve managed really well, but it’s not the same as being in an office, for sure.

BONUS FIVE

How easy has it been to reach clients with everyone working from home in a pandemic? Everyone’s been super accessible. We’ve been able to do some really interesting virtual meetings where we’ve been able to access [Fox Entertainment CEO] Charlie Colller. We’ve also got a whole calendar of events we’re doing with clients. As an example, with the MasterChef Junior talent, we had an event for people with young children. We sent them all cookiedecorating kits and we’ve got some of our staff members hosting it with their kids. One of the nice parts is every once in a while little kids pop up on Zoom calls and it just humanized everybody.

All-time favorite show? Alias with Jennifer Garner. She was kind of a badass. I want to be her a little bit.

The pandemic canceled and changed many advertisers plans. How did you deal with that? When the waves of relief requests began, I was so proud of Fox because our response to what our partners needed was immediate. It was really hard, but we were able to say, “We can help you.” We were literally able to help every single advertiser with whatever they needed and then it felt so good to be able to do that. I do believe in karma because once all of that got settled, we ended up with a robust scatter market.

Sullivan: Fox; MasterChef Junior: Greg Gayne/Fox

Suzanne Sullivan deployed talent from Fox shows like MasterChef Junior for client events.

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What show is on your DVR? Better Things.

Favorite podcast? My go-to podcasts are true crime, so Cold and Root of Evil. What apps are you using? Simple Habit and Calm. There’s one leader, Sean M. Kelly. He has the most wonderful irish accent. I like to start my day or end my day listening to that. What books are you reading? Radical Candor by Kim Scott and Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane.

What in the world is going on with this upfront? Are buyers still expecting price rollbacks? Conversations are ongoing. Advertisers recognize they need the scale and reach of broadcast to create the demand needed to move their business forward. At Fox, we’re in an enviable position. We were the top-rated network for the 2019-2020 broadcast season, and we are ready for the fall. Based on all the indicators leading into the upfront, it’s trending towards a positive marketplace for broadcast prime. Everyone seems to be talking about flexibility. What does that mean to you? We understand with what everybody’s just been through, that they need as much flexibility as they can possibly get and we’re working through those terms with everybody. It’s certainly not one size fits all. I think ideally what advertisers want is the certainty of price that the upfront affords and the maximum flexibility that scatter affords. There’s a reason why those are two different marketplaces. Some requests are more realistic and reasonable than others and so we’re working through this. The way I look at it is that if it helps advertisers feel more comfortable doing business with us, then we’re going to work with them. Just like we’ve proven that we already are willing to do. ●

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