Come Home to
Family Entertainment Television

FETV ranks 4th in Total Audience time spent viewing
• Low duplication with other nets
• Brand-safe ad environment
• Engaged viewers

Source

“As consumer behaviors continue to evolve, these insights offer marketers a valuable opportunity to connect with key audiences – like Gen Z – in an environment where they find real value through diverse content, seamless ad integration, and a viewing experience that mirrors paid services without the cost,” said Cynthia Clevenger, SVP of B2B Marketing at Tubi.

Streaming TV platforms had a best-yet share of 43.5% of viewing in February, behind broadcast and cable’s combined 44.4% share, according to Nielsen’s Total TV/Streaming snapshot for the month. YouTube helped drive streaming’s rise, jumping 2.5% to a record 11.6% share of all total TV viewing, while Netflix dipped from an 8.6% share in January to 8.2%.

Geopolitical uncertainty will be no friend to the advertising industry this year, forecasts Brian Wieser. The Madison and Wall principal lowered his projection for US ad spending growth to 3.6%, down from 4.5% in December and 5.3% in September. “Nearly three months into the year, what we can see is a certainty of additional negative factors, including volatility around trade policies and a more extreme threat to supply chains and corporate decision-making than we previously expected,” wrote Wieser in his Madison and Wall newsletter.

Internet for Growth, a coalition of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and digital creators, has issued an open letter to Governor Kathy Hochul urging her administration to reject a bill proposing a tax on digital advertising to fund state unemployment programs. “New York is the world’s advertising and media capital, yet this tax threatens one of its most vital industries,” said Internet for Growth Executive Director Brendan Thomas. “Digital advertising is crucial for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and creators to reach customers, grow, and compete. But it’s not just about sales – employers rely on it to find and hire workers. Taxing digital ads will raise hiring costs, worsening unemployment instead of solving it.”

Shareholders of Omnicom and Interpublic have approved the companies’ proposed $13 billion merger. “With an overwhelming majority voting in favor of the transaction, it is clear that our stockholders see the immense opportunity of Interpublic joining forces with Omnicom,” said Interpublic CEO Philippe Krakowsky in a statement. “Their approval reflects the tremendous potential we have to create one of the most dynamic, client-focused and forward-leaning organizations in our industry that will deliver significant shareholder value for years to come.” The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.

Max has canceled “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” The season three finale of the comedy, executive produced by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, aired in January.

National Geographic has launched the National Geographic 33, a list honoring individuals whose ideas are making the world a better place. Among the honorees are Jason Samoa, Selena Gomez, snowboarder Jeremy Jones, and Freetown, Sierra Leone mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr. “The inaugural National Geographic 33 represents an exciting milestone for us, as it embodies the very essence of our brand – sharing the stories of extraordinary individuals whose work is making a meaningful impact in the hope of inspiring others to help shape a better future,” said Courteney Monroe, President, National Geographic Content.

MGM+ has ordered crime drama “The Westies” from creator and executive producer Chris Brancato. Under his overall television deal with MGM+, Brancato created the series with Michael Panes and will also executive produce and showrun. It’s Brancato’s third series with MGM+ following “Godfather of Harlem” and “Hotel Cocaine.” “The Westies” will go into production in Toronto in July.

Spirit Studios has landed its first commission for UK broadcaster 5 with “Drunk and Disorderly: At 30,000 Feet.” The 60-minute film exposes the growing crisis of mid-air disruptions, and examines the ways in which the aviation industry may be contributing to the problem.

Global has greenlit Canadian original scripted series spinoff “Private Eyes West Coast.” Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson will reprise their “Private Eyes” roles in the drama from Lionsgate Canada and Piller/Segan.

Fox Television Stations has renewed “Extra” for season 32. The syndicated entertainment news series is produced by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.

Biblical drama “House of David” has been renewed for a second season on Prime Video. Launched on February 27 with three episodes, the series drew 22 million viewers in its first 17 days.

“Sirens,” a darkly comic limited series starring Julianne Moore (“May December”), Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”) and Milly Alcock (“House of the Dragon”) drops Thursday, May 22 on Netflix.

HGTV’s “Love It or List It” returns Monday, April 21 at 10p. Real estate agent David Visentin, who sparred with Hilary Farr for the show’s first 19 seasons, has a new designer foe this time around in Page Turner.

An April 17 crossover episode with NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU” will focus on a case involving a pattern of rape and murder targeting marginalized women. After the two-hour stunt, Peacock’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will jump to NBC for its season premiere at 10p.

After a 92-day theatrical window, Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” will make its Hulu landing on Thursday, March 27. The film starring Timothee Chalamet was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

Spectrum Reach announced the full-market rollout of planning tool, Audience Reach Optimizer, leveraging Spectrum Reach’s data insights in a privacy-focused way to help advertisers to target audiences more efficiently at the household level. The tool identifies new opportunities for multiscreen engagement across traditional TV and streaming platforms. Spectrum Reach began piloting ARO in key markets in 2024 and has since run over 5,600 reports.

Comcast has an offering for some Peacock subscribers that enables them to watch locally-televised sports programming from four Comcast-operated NBC RSNs, two in Northern California, and one each in Philadelphia and Boston. Peacock will offer access to each of the four networks, depending on where a subscriber lives, for a fee.

The International Hockey Federation and Endeavor Streaming struck a five-year strategic partnership to launch a re-imagined version of FIH’s global streaming service, Watch. Hockey. Launching ahead of FIH events including the FIH Hockey Pro League, the FIH Hockey Nations Cup and the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2, the enhanced service will stream more than 600 events live.

Global Polo Entertainment, the entertainment subsidiary of USPA Global, has extended its relationship with ESPN through 2026. A deal between GPE and ESPN, brought the sport of polo to a large global audience for the first time in 2022.

Fubo and Rangers Sports Network struck an agreement that will bring the Texas Rangers’ broadcast network to Fubo. Fubo will stream Rangers Sports Network’s coverage of every available Texas Rangers game, including pre- and postgame shows, to subscribers of its English-language paid channel plans in the Rangers Sports Network footprint across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Additionally, Fubo will launch Rangers Sports Network as a standalone subscription that can also be added to the Fubo Free plan or Latino plan in those markets.

FE, the sustainable sports apparel brand and an official NHL licensee, has secured the additional rights to create an apparel collection featuring Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin as he nears the National Hockey League’s all-time goals record.

TOGETHXR is again teaming up with Aflac for Raise the Bar, a campaign that encourages bars around the country to pledge to show the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on at least 50% of their TVs from March 17-April 6.

Another former dentsu exec on the move is Andrea Terrassa, tapped by PMG to serve as its first Chief Operating Officer. Terrassa joins PMG following her tenure as COO for dentsu Americas.

OpenX Technologies has promoted Jeanne Leasure to Chief People Officer. Leasure joined the company in early 2023.

Untold Fable, a production company aiming to drive greater diversity, equity and inclusion within advertising, announced the appointment of former Buzzfeed production manager Shyanne Wester as Executive Producer.

QVC Group has named Alex Wellen as President & Chief Growth Officer, QVC Group. Wellen most recently served as CEO and President of MotorTrend Group.

Today’s Trivia Question
Who hosted network TV’s first late-night comedy variety series? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)