WBD Goes To The Max

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is renaming its streaming service Max, dropping HBO from the brand and bolstering its programming lineup in a bid to attract more subscribers.

Bloomberg reports the company unveiled the name at a press event in Burbank, California, Wednesday, where Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav and his team announced details including a new Harry Potter series and fresh features from DC Comics. Prices will range from $16 to $20 a month without advertising and $10 a month with ads, mostly in line with the current service.

“We can compete with the biggest players in the space,” said JB Perrette, head of the company’s streaming business.

JB Perrette

Zaslav merged his former company, reality TV programmer Discovery Communications, with the parent of the century-old Warner Bros. studios last year to compete with Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co., the world’s largest entertainment companies. They have more than twice as many streaming customers as Warner Bros., which had 96 million subscribers at the end of 2022.

While HBO remains the gold standard for producing critically acclaimed TV, Zaslav believes a portion of the country won’t pay for the service because it’s associated with high prices and coastal elites. HBO won the most Emmy Awards of any network last year and has already delivered two hit shows this year in The Last of Us and the latest season of Succession.

A new brand name and the addition of a deep library of unscripted programming, like Naked and Afraid from Warner Bros.’ Discovery Channel, could speak to viewers who don’t currently pay for HBO. It could also keep them using the app more, which appeals to advertisers.

HBO Max accounts for less than 1.5% of TV viewing in the US, according to the research firm Nielsen, drawing about as well as Peacock and Tubi, two rival services. Netflix attracts more than five times the audience each month, while Hulu and Amazon Prime Video do twice as well.

TV Ratings: Record Low Men's Championship Still Wins The Week

The NCAA men’s basketball final drew record-low viewership but still had the biggest audience for a professional or college basketball game since last year’s college championship.

CBS’ coverage of Connecticut’s 76-59 victory over San Diego State averaged 14.69 million viewers, according to The L-A Times citing live-plus-same-day figures released by Nielsen. The previous low was a combined 16.5 million for Villanova’s 79-62 victory over Michigan in the 2018 final on TBS, TNT and truTV. Records date back to 1975.

The top-ranked non-sports prime-time program between April 3 and Sunday was “60 Minutes,” which averaged 7.57 million viewers, second for the week. The CBS news magazine followed a 48-minute runover of the network’s coverage of golf’s Masters Tournament in the Eastern and Central time zones.

CBS had eight of the week’s 11 highest-ranked programs to finish first for the fourth consecutive week, averaging 5.61 million viewers.

The only times CBS has not finished first in the last 11 weeks were the weeks of Feb. 6-13, when Fox aired Super Bowl LVII, and March 6-12, when ABC aired the Oscars.

• NBC was second for the fourth consecutive week, averaging 3.4 million viewers. “Chicago Fire” was its ratings leader for the third consecutive week, averaging 6.77 million viewers to finish third after back-to-back fifth-place finishes.
• ABC was third among the broadcast networks for the fourth consecutive week, averaging 2.85 million viewers. “American Idol” was ABC’s top program for the seventh time in the eight weeks it has aired this season, with the Sunday edition averaging 4.58 million viewers to finish 17th. The only interruption to the streak was the week that ABC aired the Oscars.
• Fox averaged 2.23 million viewers. “The Masked Singer” topped its ratings for the second consecutive week, finishing 26th, averaging 3.69 million viewers.

The 20 prime-time programs consisted of the NCAA men’s basketball final and pregame show; six CBS scripted programs, its news magazine “60 Minutes,” the two-hour special “A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys,” that followed “60 Minutes” and the alternative series “Survivor”; five NBC scripted programs and the Monday edition of its singing competition “The Voice”; the April 4 edition of the Fox News Channel political talk show “Tucker Carlson Tonight”; and the two editions of the ABC singing competition, “American Idol.”.

Philly TV: After Almost 60-Years, KYW Rebrands The News

For almost 60 years, Eyewitness News has been an iconic brand name for local television news. As the moniker of CBS3’s newscasts, it is associated with legends ranging from Mort Crim and Jessica Savitch in the 1970s and Larry Kane in the 1990s.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports Eyewitness News will now be no longer as a new station president has decided to sunset the name due to changing viewer habits. The newscast will simply be known as CBS News Philadelphia. CBS3 will still be visible in some logos but as the audience evolves into other distribution platforms such as online and streaming, Kelly Frank, president and general manager of CBS’s Philadelphia properties, said “we wanted to make sure, number one, we kept that to honor that legacy, but at the same time, move forward with how people are actually finding us. And that's how they're finding us.”

In addition to having the cachet of CBS News in the moniker, the name is a nod to having a seamless experience across linear and streaming.

Starting Wednesday during CBS3’s 5 p.m. newscast, the station’s familiar gold, silver and blue colors will be replaced with a green palette. Its new tagline will be: “We uncover the heart behind the headline.”

Frank recognizes that Eyewitness News is an iconic brand in Philadelphia. The discussion began when Adrienne Roark, president of CBS Television Stations, approached Frank in December 2021 about relocating from the CBS affiliate in Tampa to become president and general manager at CBS3.

“One of the things I asked about was, the position of Eyewitness News in terms of the relevancy to a local news consumer. And is that something that was even up for discussion if idata supported it?,” Frank said.

When she took the job at CBS3 in April, the station hired an agency specializing in brand analysis. Frank said she learned that the Eyewitness News brand “wasn't as relevant to a growing audience. And that's a difficult thing in Philadelphia [if] you're born and raised here. People like what they like. But Eyewitness was starting to marginalize and that was what our data told us.”

Specifically, she said the research showed that viewers in their 20s, 30s and early 40s did not feel that the Eyewitness News brand spoke to them.

“That is a commitment as a newsroom,” Frank said. “If a story is three minutes or a story of five minutes or one minute, give it what it needs to tell the complete story and then continue to go back if we haven't been able to fully provide that context,” Frank said.

AI-Generated Joe Rogan Podcast Stuns Social Media

Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has created a 51-minute episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" featuring nearly flawless representations of the podcast host's voice and the voice of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Fox News Digital reports the episode begins with an AI-generated Rogan welcoming the audience to the first episode of "The Joe Rogan AI Experience," speaking in a manner and tone that is difficult to distinguish from the real person.

"I'm your host, Joe Rogan, or at least that's what this AI model thinks I sound like. Let me tell you, folks, this is some next-level stuff we've got going on here today," faux Rogan continues. "Every single word of this podcast has been generated with the help of ChatGPT."

Throughout the podcast, the synthetic voices of Rogan and Altman discuss numerous topics, including the need for ethics in AI, ChatGPT's potential impact on the content industry, whether people should be concerned about fake AI content and Elon Musk speaking about OpenAI.

Local TV Stations Are Driving Up The Cost of Streaming Services

Recently YouTube TV raised its cost to $72.99 a month and blamed the rising cost of content. YouTube TV is not alone in this almost every major live TV service has been forced to raise its costs due to the higher cost of content. Now thanks to S&P Global Market Intelligence, we get an idea of what these costs are, reports Cord Cutters News.

In 2023 the cost of your local TV station went up by 3%. In total local TV fees for your local ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC now total $14.83 billion across the industry. The bad news doesn’t stop there, as it is reported that by 2027 retransmission fees will grow to $15.93 billion. Because of that, over the next few years, streaming services and cable TV companies need to find over a billion extra dollars just to pay for local TV stations.

These costs are why Sling TV, for the most part, has avoided carrying locals to help keep their costs lower.

“Although traditional multichannel churn outpaced virtual subscriber gains in 2022, increases in average per-subscriber rates in renewals and annual step-ups kept gross retransmission revenues growing, albeit at a much slower pace than years prior,” said Justin Nielson, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence according to NextTV.

This is just the cost of local TV stations and major networks, especially news, sports, and other channels that offer live events, which have been driving up their costs also. Most of these contracts also include automatic yearly price hikes that explain why both cable TV and streaming services have to raise their fees every year.

Fox News To Air First Official Debate In August

Fox News will host the first official debate of the 2024 Republican presidential primary in Milwaukee in August, the Republican National Committee’s chairwoman announced on Wednesday.

“We are going to host the very first debate with Fox News. It will be a Fox News Republican primary debate,” Ronna McDaniel said on the network’s flagship morning program, “Fox and Friends,” adding that all participants will be asked to agree to a party loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee.

Donald J. Trump, the former president and current polling front-runner for the nomination in 2024, has refused to say whether he would support a nominee other than himself. In a February radio appearance, he said his support “would have to depend on who the nominee was.”

The NY Times reports McDaniel explained the reason for the pledge: “Let me ask you this, as R.N.C. chair, and we’re hosting R.N.C. debates with Fox, if I said I wouldn’t support the nominee of our party I’d be kicked out,” she said. “So why would we host a debate stage without every candidate saying I’m going to support whoever the voters choose, and the voters want that.”

“It’s about beating Joe Biden,” she added.

McDaniel did not say how the party would determine who qualifies for the debate stage. In 2020, the Democratic National Committee required candidates to report a minimum number of small donors or meet a certain polling level.

FCC Chair To Talk to Broadcasters

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will address broadcasters and those from all corners of the media and entertainment industry at NAB Show, April 17, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nev. The Chairwoman’s remarks will take place on NAB Show’s main stage following a “fireside” chat between NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt and Univision’s Gabriela Teissier at 9 a.m. PT.

Jessica Rosenworcel

"We are thrilled to have Chairwoman Rosenworcel joining us again this year at NAB Show,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “With the FCC sitting at the forefront of so many critical issues facing our members today, this will provide a unique opportunity for broadcasters across the country to hear directly from the Chairwoman on her thoughts on the state of the industry and her vision for the future."

Chairwoman Rosenworcel became FCC chair following her Senate confirmation for another five-year term in December 2021. She is the first woman to permanently serve as Chair in the agency’s almost-100-year history. Chairwoman Rosenworcel has a wealth of communications experience, as she was first confirmed as an FCC commissioner in May 2012 after serving as senior communications counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Chairwoman Rosenworcel previously worked at the FCC for the Wireline Competition Bureau and as a senior aide to Commissioner Michael Copps.

Chairwoman Rosenworcel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and English literature from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

4/13 WAKE-UP CALL: Security Concerns Plague Biden Admin

Biden security information found on street in Northern Ireland: A resident of Northern Ireland made a surprising discovery after police lost a pretty important document. Ahead of President Biden's speech there Wednesday, police in Belfast lost a document that detailed sensitive security information related to Biden's visit, which a resident later picked up on the street, a U.S. law enforcement official said. The document contained names of Belfast police and postings but nothing related to the Secret Service's operations or its security plans. The security breach came as the terrorism threat in Northern Ireland was considered "severe" for Biden's visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

➤LEAKED DOCS PAINT BLEAK PICTURE: Despite US officials’ public words of confidence about Ukraine’s military capabilities, recently leaked Pentagon documents paint a bleaker picture of the state of the war as Kyiv’s troops prepare a renewed spring offensive. “I’m confident that we will meet Ukraine’s defense needs through this spring and beyond,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday as he welcomed Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to the Pentagon. “And as the president has repeatedly made clear, we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.” 

But as Austin pledged to continue “swiftly deliver[ing] security assistance through procurements and from our own stocks,” a document posted on Telegram late Tuesday suggests Russia has figured out how to disable one of the most critical capabilities American weapons have to offer: precision. The document says Russian forces have begun “jamming” GPS signals that direct precision-guided munitions to their targets, effectively turning expensive, highly accurate weapons into unguided “dumb bombs.” The document is undated but references strikes on Feb. 15 and 21.

➤WAPO REPORTS LEAKER IS NOW KNOWN: The culprit behind the leak of a trove of classified US intelligence documents is reportedly a man who works on a “military base” that shared the sensitive material with a close-knit group of online pals on the chat platform Discord. The bombshell development was revealed in a Wednesday Washington Post report that partially relied on interviews with a teenager in the Discord group who claims to be friends with the leaker, who goes only by “OG.”

Digital Ad Revenue Surpasses $200B For The First Time

After record-breaking growth in 2021, internet advertising revenue has slowed but still delivered double-digit growth in 2022. That’s according to the newly released “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2022,” conducted by PwC.

Between 2021 and 2022, internet advertising revenues grew 10.8% year-over-year (YoY) totaling $209.7 billion and overall revenues increased $20.4 billion YoY. Q1 saw the highest growth of 21.1% followed by Q2 at 11.8%, resulting in ad revenues for the first half of the year surpassing $100 billion for the first time. Revenues slowed in Q3 (8.4%) and Q4 (4.4%).

“After unprecedented growth in 2021, we expected more moderation in 2022. Economic uncertainty, geo-political unrest, a shifting regulatory environment and addressability changes have all contributed to revenue growing at a slower pace,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “Looking ahead, there is definitely still growth to be had, but it will be harder to achieve and likely less than we have become accustomed to.”

Internet Advertising Revenue Growth Has Slowed in 2022, Revenues Still Increased YoY 

Rupert Murdoch May Testify As Early As Monday

Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is expected to be called to the witness stand in the trial of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against his company as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jury selection in the case is set to begin Thursday in Delaware, with opening arguments set for Monday. Murdoch would be the second witness called, meaning he would likely testify on Monday or Tuesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the schedule of Dominion’s witnesses has not yet been made public. The first witness is likely to be an expert on the Constitution’s First Amendment who will explain defamation law to jurors, the people said.

Bloomberg reports Murdoch is likely to be grilled about Fox News’ oversight of hosts and guests who repeatedly made false claims that Dominion’s machines were engineered to steal votes from then-President Donald Trump and give them to Democratic challenger Joe Biden and the company was set up by foreign businessmen specifically to rig elections. In a pre-trial deposition, Murdoch acknowledged he didn’t believe Dominion “engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election.”

Others from Fox slated to testify in the case include Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, Fox Corp.’s CEO, Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson and ex-host Lou Dobbs. The trial in Wilmington, Delaware, is slated to last six weeks.

Meanwhile, a Delaware judge said Wednesday he’d appoint a court official to determine whether Fox misled him about Rupert Murdoch’s role at the network and whether documents and recordings were property turned over to Dominion.

“I’m concerned there may have been misrepresentations” made about Fox’s compliance with court rules governing pre-trial information exchanges, Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said in a pre-trial hearing Wednesday. Fox could face sanctions if it’s found to have withheld or destroyed relevant documents.

Dominion’s lawyers say one issue is Fox’s failure to turn over files showing Murdoch, the founder of Fox Corp., also held the executive chairman title at Fox News. That miscue harmed the voting-machine maker’s efforts to put together its defamation case, its lawyers said.

A Fox News spokesperson issued this statement: “Rupert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of FOX News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his deposition.”

Report: Putin Okayed Arrest Of WSJ Journalist

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the arrest of a US reporter on espionage charges for the first time since the Cold War, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the situation.

The Russian president’s endorsement of the move reflects the growing influence of Kremlin hardliners who push for deepening a confrontation with Washington they view as irreversible, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public.

Putin

The detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on March 29 triggered angry denunciations from the US and its allies, marking yet another low in US-Russian ties, which have spiraled since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

“This should be a real wake-up call, not just to the US, but the broader West,” said Alina Polyakova, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. “It’s signaling that in Putin’s mindset that there’s no going back to a stable and reliable relationship.”

As the war drags into its second year, the Kremlin has increasingly sought to portray it as an existential struggle against a NATO bent on destroying Russia. Moves like the war-crimes warrant against Putin issued by the International Criminal Court last month have only deepened the leadership’s sense that there’s no room to back down in a conflict that it expects to last for years.

PBS Joins NPR In Dropping Twitter

The Public Broadcasting Service has followed National Public Radio in quitting Twitter after the social media network labeled both organizations as government-backed media, reports Bloomberg.

“PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time,” PBS spokesman Jason Phelps said in an email. “We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely.”

The spat began after Twitter tagged NPR as “state-affiliated media,” a description it also uses for propaganda accounts from Russia and China. Twitter later changed the wording to “government-funded media,” but the organization has called the description inaccurate and misleading because it’s a nonprofit group with editorial independence.

Twitter owner Elon Musk has cited NPR’s reliance on US government money, though the Washington-based organization only gets a small fraction of its funding from federal agencies.

“Guess they won’t mind losing federal funding in that case,” Musk said in one tweet. “Defund NPR,” the billionaire wrote in another.

IL Radio: Shaw Local Radio Completes Purchase of 8 Stations

The sale of eight radio stations to Shaw Local Radio has been completed, bringing the bundle of stations under the umbrella of the Northern Illinois newspaper group, Shaw Media. 

Shaw Local Radio’s acquisition involves WALS-FM in Oglesby; WIVQ in Spring Valley; WSTQ-FM, WSPL-AM and WYYS-FM in Streator; WGLC in Mendota, WBZG in Peru; and W253BX in Streator. 

Listeners know them better as Walls 102, Q Hit Music, Classic Hits 106, 100.9 FM Rocks, WGLC Classic Country and WSPL 98.5. 

Shaw Media, which operates daily newspapers in Crystal Lake, Joliet, Ottawa, La Salle, DeKalb, Dixon and Sterling, Illinois, purchased the stations from the family-owned Studstill Media of Peru. 

“These stations are fantastic, and now we have an entirely new way to connect with our local audience,” said J. Tom Shaw, vice president and chief product officer at Shaw Media. “As the business of local media continues to change, the combination of radio, print and digital creates incredible opportunities. It’s going to be a fun summer.” 

April 13 Radio History

➦In 1922..KHJ Los Angeles officially signed on.

KHJ - 1927

Today KHJ is owned and operated by Relevant Radio, Inc., the station broadcasts Roman Catholic religious programming as an affiliate of the Relevant Radio network.

KHJ was first licensed on March 18, 1922 to C. R. Kierulff & Company in Los Angeles, for operation on the 360 meter entertainment wavelength. The Kierulff company acted as contractors responsible for installing the station in the Los Angeles Times building at First and Broadway, and in November the newspaper's owner, the Times Mirror Company, became the official licensee.  The KHJ call letters were randomly assigned from a roster of available call signs, although the station quickly adopted the slogan "Kindness, Happiness and Joy".  Test transmissions began on April 8th.  The station's formal debut broadcast was held on April 13th from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m.

In April 1965, programming consultant Bill Drake crafted KHJ's top 40 format. Drake hired program director Ron Jacobs, who had created formats in Hawaii and California. The format, known as "Boss Radio", featured a restricted playlist and restrained commentary by announcers (although a few, such as Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Tuna, Humble Harve Miller, and The Real Don Steele, were allowed to develop on-air personas). 

Other DJs from this era (1965–1980) included Roger Christian, Gary Mack, Dave Diamond, Beau Weaver, John Leader, Sam Riddle, Johnny Williams, Frank Terry, Johnny Mitchell, Tommy Vance, Scotty Brink, Steve Clark, Bobby Tripp, Tom Maule, and Bill Wade. One defining characteristic of Boss Radio was the jingles by the Johnny Mann Singers.

Drake's format spread throughout North America, bringing high ratings to KFRC in San Francisco, WFIL in Philadelphia, KGB in San Diego, WQXI in Atlanta, WRKO in Boston, and CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, Canada (serving Detroit). Drake and his business partner Gene Chenault brought many of their announcers from the other Boss stations, using those stations as a farm system to develop talent.

The station switched to a country music radio format in 1980 and back to pop music in 1983. In 1986, KHJ changed its call letters to KRTH, adopting an oldies format as a sister station to KRTH-FM 101.1 FM. Three years later, the station was sold to Liberman Broadcasting who aired Spanish-language formats from 1990 to 2014, using the call letters KKHJ until 2000, when it regained its original calls.

➦In 1930...WHOM AM NYC signed on.

NPR Quits Twitter

NPR is quitting Twitter as a result of the Elon Musk-run social media platform continuing to label the company “state affiliated media,” reports The Wrap.

The move to retire its 52 official Twitter feeds, announced Wednesday, makes it the first major news organization to leave the embattled platform since Musk’s takeover last fall. They previously addressed Twitter’s unannounced decision to tag the public radio network’s main account as “state affiliated media” last week, decrying the label as one used “to designate official state mouthpieces and propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China.””

NPR CEO John Lansing said Wednesday that the decision came down to maintaining NPR’s credibility.

NPR is quitting Twitter as a result of the Elon Musk-run social media platform continuing to label the company “state affiliated media.”

The move to retire its 52 official Twitter feeds, announced Wednesday, makes it the first major news organization to leave the embattled platform since Musk’s takeover last fall. They previously addressed Twitter’s unannounced decision to tag the public radio network’s main account as “state affiliated media” last week, decrying the label as one used “to designate official state mouthpieces and propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China.””

NPR CEO John Lansing said Wednesday that the decision came down to maintaining NPR’s credibility.