Peacock Hiking Prices for Second Time in Two Years

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube‘s message to Madison Avenue: The video giant isn’t like traditional TV — it’s bigger, with literally billions of viewers, and better at targeting relevant audiences. At its annual Brandcast event, held Wednesday during the TV biz’s upfronts week, YouTube drilled home massive scale. On average, viewers watch more than 1 billion hours of content on TV screens daily.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In Netflix‘s first move into big-league sports streaming, the company has won the rights to two NFL games on Christmas Day 2024. On Dec. 25, 2024, Netflix will be the global home of the NFL’s two Christmas Day games.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku has landed exclusive multiyear rights for Major League Baseball‘s Sunday Leadoff live games, a package previously with NBCUniversal’s Peacock. Starting May 19, Roku will stream Sunday MLB games for free on the Roku Channel. The company also will launch a new MLB Zone to help baseball fans find live and upcoming games, nightly recaps, highlights, a fully programmed MLB free, ad-supported streaming TV channel, and other content across the Roku platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Carrie-Anne Moss is joining Arnold Schwarzenegger in action comedy series “Fubar” Season 2 as a former East German spy — who has a passionate history with Schwarzenegger’s CIA operative. Moss (“The Matrix” movies, Disney+’s “The Acolyte”) joins the returning cast of “Fubar,” which includes Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, Fortune Feimster, Travis Van Winkle, Jay Baruchel, Aparna Brielle, Andy Buckley, Milan Carter, Fabiana Udenio and Barbara Eve Harris.In Season 2 of “Fubar,” Schwarzenegger reprises his role as Luke Brunner, a veteran CIA operative who, until recently, was on the verge of retirement.

Happy Valley‘s Sarah Lancashire today took home the BAFTA TV Award for Leading Actress for the second time.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor More than three decades after they co-starred in hit sitcom “Cheers,” Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson are getting back together — going into the audio booth for a new podcast from SiriusXM. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)” is set to premiere June 12, with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays on all major podcast platforms.

Sam Raimi‘s marriage to Gillian Greene is over.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In the latest twist in Paramount Global‘s M&A saga, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management reportedly have made a bid to take Paramount private with an all-cash buyout offer of $26 billion. Sony and private-equity giant Apollo submitted an offer letter Wednesday to Paramount Global, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The report comes as Paramount Global board’s special committee established to consider M&A proposals is evaluating the best and final offer from Skydance Media to merge Paramount and Skydance, while keeping Paramount Global public.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor SAG-AFTRA will license Nielsen‘s streaming content data, which the union will to enforce the terms of its 2023 contract with Hollywood studios. Under the deal for Nielsen’s Streaming Content Ratings, SAG-AFTRA will have “an objective source of domestic viewership data for original streaming programming,” the parties announced.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Crunchyroll, the Sony-owned anime streaming service, is raising prices for its two top tier packages in select countries — the first pricing hike in five years. The pricing is increasing for Crunchyroll’s Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscription tiers in select countries. “The price change reflects the increase in content on Crunchyroll in recent years, expanding its catalog to more than 45,000 episodes via 1,400 series and films,” the company said in a blog post.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Internet-TV provider Fubo dropped all Warner Bros. Discovery networks from its lineup, alleging that the media company was seeking “above-market rates” and refused to license Turner Sports networks separately. In a statement Tuesday, Fubo said it attempted to renew its Discovery content agreement with WBD for networks including Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and TLC.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amid Paramount Global’s removal of Bob Bakish as CEO and the ongoing uncertainty of a company sale, it was business as usual for the first quarter at the media conglomerate — which included a $1.3 billion charge for content write-offs as well as layoffs. Paramount Global reported Q1 2024 earnings Monday, announcing Bakish’s exit and the installation of an unusual three-in-a-box “Office of the CEO”: CBS’s George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures’ Brian Robbins.

Katie Price has launched her latest money-making scheme after being declared bankrupt for a second time.The ex-glamour model is selling video messages to fans for a hefty price in a bid to make more cash. Katie, 45, announced she's joined Cameo, a platform which enables fans to get in contact with their celebrity idols and pay for messages, videos and more. She shared a snap from her profile and told fans on Instagram: "Book a personal video message from me on Cameo." A personalised message from the mum-of-five will set you back by a staggering £120.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Oprah Winfrey is off the board of WeightWatchers — but she’s continuing to work with the company as part of her efforts to change the cultural conversation about weight. Winfrey will host “Making The Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight,” a three-hour event on Thursday, May 9, from 6-9 p.m.

Love Island star Shannon Singh is reportedly back on the singles market after parting ways with her DJ boyfriend, Ben Sterling.The 25 year old reality TV sensation and the international DJ reportedly ended their romance earlier this year, but have kept quiet about the details. The couple had a bit of a rollercoaster relationship, breaking up in 2021 before Shannon made headlines when she entered the Love Island villa shortly after their split.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The three Paramount Global executives installed to run the company after Bob Bakish was removed as CEO sought to reassure employees that they have a long-term strategy. On Monday, Paramount Global said Bakish was stepping down as CEO and leaving the board. In his place, the company established an “Office of the CEO” committee led by three divisional heads: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.

BBC news presenter Huw Edwards was warned about his conduct online two years before the scandal that triggered his departure from the corporation, The Sunday Times reports.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube keeps eating up more share of the advertising pie: The Google-owned video giant posted $8.1 billion in ad sales for the first quarter of 2024, its highest Q1 total to date. The figure for YouTube ad sales, up 21% year over year, was announced as part of parent company Alphabet’s Q1 earnings. Wall Street analysts expected YouTube’s ad revenue for Q1 to come in at $7.72 billion, according to StreetAccount.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok could be banned in the U.S. as soon as January 2025. Here’s what the new law means for users of the popular short-form video app.

Peter Andre has been told it's 'about time' as he left his fans and celebrity pals in stitches with his latest social media post. The singer and presenter may have his hands full after welcoming his fifth child into the world but he found the time to recreate an iconic TV moment that didn't pass its viewers by.