ITV

Tag: Fox Broadcasting

  • Nexstar Media & Fox Broadcasting extend network pacts, add OTT dist. through ’19

    MUMBAI: Nexstar Media Group announced today that it entered into a long-term affiliation agreement Fox Broadcasting Company (“Fox”) covering its 17 full power and 2 low power owned or operated stations through 31 December, 2019. In addition, the Company has reached an over-the-top (“OTT”) master agreement with Fox, as well as specific agreements to launch on all the new internet-delivered programming services already distributing Fox programming.

    Separately Fox Broadcasting Company extended the affiliation agreements for six stations owned by Mission Broadcasting, Inc., three stations owned by Marshall Broadcasting, Inc., one station owned by Shield Media, LLC, one station owned by White Knight Broadcasting, Inc. and one station owned by Super Towers, Inc., which are operated by Nexstar Media and these 12 stations have also entered into an over-the-top (“OTT”) master agreement with Fox, as well as individual opt-in agreements with the aforementioned new internet-delivered programming services.

    Nexstar Media Group chairman, president and CEO Perry A. Sook stated, “Our new agreement reflects the complementary value that Fox’s programming brings to our viewers and stations when combined with Nexstar’s unique, locally-produced news programming and other content. Fox’s programming, including highly-rated sports content such as the NFL, MLB and NASCAR and scripted primetime shows including Empire and The X-Files, are popular with our viewers and our affiliation with FOX supports our goals for delivering great entertainment and information to viewers and advertisers anywhere, anytime and on any device, while creating a new revenue stream for Nexstar related to the OTT master agreement.”

    Fox Networks Group president of distribution Michael Biard stated, “We are pleased to launch on emerging distribution services in all 31 Fox-affiliated markets. Our new agreements with Nexstar are an important part of our mutual efforts to extend audience reach while reflecting the value of our programming within the overall Fox network-affiliate relationship. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Perry and his exceptional team.”

  • FremantleMedia picks up 25% stake in Simon Andreae’s Naked Entertainment

    FremantleMedia picks up 25% stake in Simon Andreae’s Naked Entertainment

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia has taken a 25 per cent stake in Simon Andreae’s newly formed production company Naked Entertainment.

     

    Based in London, Naked Entertainment will develop original entertainment, factual, and factual entertainment formats, with series and one-off specials. The deal will further strengthen FremantleMedia’s content pipeline for the UK and global distribution market.

     

    FremantleMedia CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz said, “We are actively looking for the right companies and talent to expand and strengthen our business. Simon is one of the industry’s preeminent factual entertainment producers with a long history of delivering hits with global appeal. He already has a strong development slate and I’m really pleased to be partnering with him to bring his projects to audiences around the world.”

     

    Andreae added, “I’m excited to be back in the UK and delighted to be partnering with FremantleMedia, whose depth of experience and breadth of reach in entertainment programming is unrivalled. Naked, as the name suggests, aims to be provocative and risk-taking – but also kind of simple and straightforward –  producing content designed to attract, surprise, and I hope delight audiences both in the UK and overseas.”

     

    Andreae was most recently at Fox Broadcasting’s Alternative Entertainment as executive vice president in the US. Here, he oversaw all the network’s unscripted series and specials, including MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen, So You Think You Can Dance, World’s Funniest Fails, Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution, and Hilary Swank’s Cause for Paws.

     

    Prior to Fox, he was senior vice president, development and production, for Discovery, where he developed ratings hits Naked and Afraidand Fast N Loud, as well as supervised the multi-award winning Curiosity series hosted by Stephen Hawking, Donald Trump, and Samuel L Jackson, among others.

     

    He was also a founding partner of UK indie Optomen Television, helping grow it into one of the UK’s largest non-scripted prod-cos with a broad mix of programming including Police, Camera, Action!, The Naked Chef, Anatomy of Desire and Gore Vidal’s American Presidency.

  • Twitter acquires social TV analytics co Bluefin

    Twitter acquires social TV analytics co Bluefin

    MUMBAI: Micro-blogging platform Twitter has acquired leading social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs that provides data products to brand advertisers, agencies, and TV networks.

    Bluefin Labs started out as an academic pursuit in cross-modal machine learning that Mike and Deb brought out of the MIT Media Lab. It has worked with companies like P&G and PepsiCo, and TV networks such as CBS, Turner Broadcasting, Fox Broadcasting, and Discovery Communications.

    “We believe that Bluefin‘s data science capabilities and social TV expertise will help us create innovative new ad products and consumer experiences in the exciting intersection of Twitter and TV,” Twitter COO Ali Rowghani.

    Rowghani said the acquisition reflects Twitter‘s commitment to the social TV market, and builds on the exclusive partnership with Nielsen to create Nielsen Twitter TV Rating.

    “We intend to honor existing Bluefin customer contracts, but we will not continue to sell Bluefin‘s product suite beyond the existing contracts. We plan to collaborate closely with Nielsen and SocialGuide on product development and research to help brands, agencies, and networks fully understand the combined value of Twitter and TV,” Rowghani assured.

    Founded in 2008, Bluefin also measures whether people online are making favorable or unfavorable comments.