Nexstar Plans to Package CW, NewsNation With Local Stations in TV Upfront (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Filming has begun on location in Italy and Morocco on virus thriller Cold Storage with Smile star Sosie Bacon joining Joe Keery (Stranger Things), Liam Neeson (Taken) and Georgina Campbell (Barbarian). The Crown star and Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) is in final talks to join.

EXCLUSIVE: After a two year journey to gain back the rights to The Way, Emilio Estevez has arranged with Fathom Events to re-release the film nationwide on May 16 on about 800 screens or more. The effort has led to not only a chance to dust off a 12-year old film, but also to start progress on a sequel.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The crack of a bullwhip may soon echo around the Palais. Fifteen years after opening the Cannes Film Festival, the world’s most famous archeologist is expected to return to the Croisette, and follow in the footsteps of 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick” as this edition’s splashy Hollywood blockbuster premiere. The festival has invited Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and it certainly boasts all the right ingredients to make for a glamorous and memorable moment. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, this installment will reportedly be Harrison Ford’s last time playing the titular character. Ford stars opposite an attractive international cast, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen, among others. James Mangold, the director of “Logan” and “Ford vs. Ferrari,” slides behind the camera on this one. Details of the film’s plot are being kept under wraps that are tighter than those of a mummy, but based on the trailer this one does find Dr. Jones facing off against former Nazis in a flashback sequence that uses de-aging technology to zap Ford back in time.

Lesley Joseph may be famous for playing larger-than-life Dorien Green in the classic sitcom Birds Of A Feather, but when we chat to the 77-year-old actress, who’s currently on tour in Sister Act: The Musical, she is noticeably more subdued than her TV alter ego. In fact, Lesley is the first to admit that her stint playing Mother Superior is taking its toll. “I am a bit tired to be honest,” she tells Notebook over the phone.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter More layoffs are underway at The CW, Variety has confirmed. Sources say that over a dozen people have been let go from the network, mostly in the marketing and finance divisions. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, those released this time were supposed to be part of an initial round of cuts that took place late last year, but ongoing projects or remaining time on their contracts meant they were not let go until today. This marks the latest layoffs at the broadcast network since Nexstar acquired a majority stake in it in October 2022. As Variety exclusively reported in November, between 30-40 staffers were laid off shortly after the deal closed, including longtime network communications head Paul Hewitt. Those came after network head Mark Pedowitz stepped down along with several other senior executives.

Rupert Murdoch just announced that he’s engaged to Ann Lesley Smith, less than a year after finalizing his divorce from model Jerry Hall.

Rupert Murdoch is officially engaged to former police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.

Rupert Murdoch is engaged, again.

Robin Roberts has some important updates for her fans! The veteran TV journalist spoke to ET's Rachel Smith ahead of the highly anticipated second season of her Emmy-winning talk series, , where she opened up about her partner's breast cancer battle, their wedding plans and the new installment.Roberts, who has been with Laign since 2005, first shared that her partner had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and struggled with chemotherapy complications last April. Laign ended her radiation treatment in July, which Roberts took to Instagram to celebrate with fans. «It was a rough year; her journey with breast cancer took some unexpected twists and turns but she is doing really really well,» Roberts tells ET now.

Ben Barnes co-stars as General Kirigan, aka The Darkling, in the Netflix fantasy series “Shadow and Bone,” and in Season 2 (premiering Thursday, March 16), “He enters this much nastier era,” Barnes, 41, told The Post.Based on a popular book series, the show is set in the fantasy land of Ravka. It follows orphan girl Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) as she discovers that she has special powers.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Tull Stories has acquired the BIFA-winning feature film “Our River…Our Sky,” which will be released in U.K. cinemas in September. The film won Best Ensemble Performance at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for two other BIFA awards, including Best Casting (Leila Bertrand) and Best Supporting Performance (Zainab Joda). “Our River…Our Sky” features intersecting individual stories set in Baghdad, Iraq, at a time of intense sectarian violence and nightly curfews, unfolding over the last week of 2006 and culminating in the sudden execution of Saddam Hussein.

There’s nothing like the buzz of having something to look forward to.Taking pleasure from anticipation is built into us – and key to our mental wellbeing. When we imagine our future selves doing something we love, our brains release the happiness hormone dopamine, giving us the motivation to endure difficult days. It’s one of the reasons life in lockdown felt grey and at – we couldn’t enjoy making plans.There’s even scientific proof that we take more pleasure from expectation than reward, as dopamine drops when we get what we want.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming Paramount+ series “Lioness” has cast Bassem Youssef in a guest starring role, Variety has learned exclusively. Youssef will now appear in a cast that includes Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur, Hannah Love Lanier, Michael Kelly, Morgan Freeman, and Nicole Kidman. The official logline states that the show “is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within.”

Despite an impasse between Paramount Global and FuboTV, which has kept Nexstar stations off the air for weeks, Nexstar President and COO Tom Carter has a relatively upbeat outlook on pay-TV’s future.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Nexstar is still dark on internet streamer FuboTV on Tuesday, the TV station group giant’s president and chief operating officer explained why. “We are in a dispute with CBS right now over the Fubo situation,” Tom Carter said during a Morgan Stanley-hosted investor conference. “But keep in mind that virtual MVPDs contribute less than 10% of our distribution revenue and our distribution revenue is about half of our total revenue and Fubo is the smallest vMVPD we deal with. So we’re talking about a relatively minor amount of money, quite honestly, to both us and CBS. So it’s kind of easy to pick Fubo as a fight to have.” Nexstar executive vice president and chief financial officer Lee Ann Gliha noted: “We view this as a CBS-only issues and it’s just driven by the specific issues that surround the CBS situation.”

Kelsey Parker is a real life superwoman and mum. As the one-year anniversary of her husband Tom Parker's death approaches, Kelsey has been navigating being a solo parent to their two children Aurelia, nearly three, and Bodhi, two.

Becky G is enjoying being engaged, and gearing up for an exciting new chapter in her life and career.The singer walked the carpet at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music awards gala in Los Angeles on Wednesday and spoke with ET's Deidre Behar about her recent engagement to FC Dallas soccer player Sebastian Lletget.After flashing her shiny new sparkler, Becky G — who stunned in a semi-sheer black and cobalt ensemble — explained the reason she decided to rock a black veil at the event.«Why not? I mean honestly, this was a piece, this dress, when I put it on. I was like, 'Wow, this feels great!'» she explained. «Once I gave it my own twist and I Beckified, it [really] felt right.»Becky and Sebastian — who began dating in 2016 — announced their engagement back in December. However, the songstress explained that they aren't in any rush to walk down the aisle or even start planning the whole affair.«This is a very busy year on the BG agenda,» Becky shared.

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said the company’s acquisition of the CW has already paid for itself in terms of adding muscle to the company’s distribution negotiations.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Nexstar reported its fourth-quarter 2022 earnings Tuesday, revealing its core ad sales fell 3.3% from Oct. 1-Dec. 31, the quarter it finalized its purchase of the CW Network, but political ad revenue was up 1,306.9% due to the 2022 midterm elections. The TV station groups giant reported core advertising revenue at $477.5 million for the quarter, down from $493.7 million in the comparable 2021 period. Meanwhile, political ad sales were at a whopping $265.9 million versus $18.9 million last year. Overall, Nexstar’s total TV ad sales were up 45%, coming in at $743.4 million compared to $512.6 in Q4 2021.

Prime Video this morning released first look at its global spy series from Anthony and Joe Russo, Citadel, which will premiere April 28 with two episodes, followed by a new episode released weekly every Friday through May 26. The images for the big-budget series, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, feature British actor Lesley Manville which is being revealed as a core series regular alongside previously announced Madden, Chopra Jonas and Stanley Tucci.