ESPN’s The Undefeated is Taking on Sports, Race, Culture, and Defining Modern Journalism
ESPN may be the best known brand in the world of sports. But they do more than simply report the nightly scores. Their commitment to covering sports and athletes of all types from around the world has transformed not just how athletics is covered, but how stories are told and how sports journalism is defined. So when ESPN commits itself to opening a dialogue on the issues facing African-American communities in America and how those issues intersect with sports, it’s something worth paying attention to. That’s where we get The Undefeated, ESPN’s new website dedicated to race, sports and culture
Report Reveals Programmers are Optimistic About Future Video Technology
A new report released from Akamai surveying companies that offer (or plan to offer) “direct to consumer” or over-the-top (OTT) video services reveals an optimistic and rapidly maturing marketplace. Apps like Hulu, HBO Now, and SHOWTIME are changing consumers’ relationships with streaming entertainment and while adoption is increasing, they key watchword among survey participants remains quality. According to the report, these companies are focused on how to offer scalable, interactive, live ultra-high-definition (UHD) quality experiences today while still looking towards what consumers will
Another Dominant Night as Premium TV Takes Big Emmy Wins
They’ve done it again! Premium TV creators dominated the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, taking home an impressive 73 Emmys, including both Creative Arts and Telecast Emmys. HBO and FX Networks were the big winners with 22 and 18 Emmys, respectively. All told, pay TV creators took 61 percent of all Emmys and 60 percent of Primetime Telecast Emmys. Notable wins went to HBO’s Game of Thrones, which took home its 38th Emmy, officially making it the winningest television show in history unseating NBC’s Frasier. HBO’s Veep principal Julia Louis-Dreyfus won again for Outstanding Lead Actress in a
The Surprising (and Not-So Surprising) Results of a New Streaming TV Survey
NCTA commissioned a new poll from Morning Consult which revealed many more Americans are watching TV on devices other than a television. The poll asked key questions on programming preferences, device usage, and the importance of watching live TV. 36 percent of poll respondents say they have never used a device to watch TV other than a television, leaving a full 61 percent who say they use a device like a computer, tablet, or smartphone to watch TV at least once a month. We’re pleased to see so many people taking advantage of non-traditional TV devices. It’s a sign that TV Everywhere efforts
How Did You Watch the Rio Olympics?
The results are in from the 2016 Summer Olympics, and aside from the remarkable achievements of the many American athletes who dazzled audiences around the world, NBCUniversal also snagged a few victories of its own with its coverage of the competition in Rio. According to Nielsen, 78 percent of U.S. TV homes tuned into NBC Olympics Rio Games coverage. This year’s coverage also earned the silver medal for garnering the second-highest primetime average audience on record for any non-domestic Olympic Summer Games. NBC’s Olympics coverage, which spanned 15 days of the competition, reached an
How Do Independent Networks Stand Apart in Today’s TV Environment?
During the cable portion of the TV Critics Association tour in Los Angeles last week, TV shows of all kinds – big budget shows with superstars, documentary series on social issues, visually stunning dramas and more – were given a first look by critics. While many people spend hours watching HBO’s grand dramas or sports on ESPN, the big takeaway is that there is now a variety of network programming for everyone, regardless of age, special interests or background. In 2015 alone, networks large and small invested over $35 billion in programming to meet the varied interests of consumers everywhere
Emerging TV Technologies On Display as the 2016 Summer Olympics Kick Off
Every four years audiences around the globe experience the thrill of watching the summer Olympics, one of the greatest sporting events in the world. As we await the start of the opening ceremony tonight, we wanted to take a peek at how the TV coverage of the event intends to use emerging technology to reach and engage audiences. So what’s new this time around? While the U.S. athletes will hopefully break new records this month, NBCUniversal, which will exclusively air live TV coverage of the event, will break its own when it comes to streaming. This year, the network plans to stream 4,500
TV One’s New Approach to Reaching African-American Audiences: Q+A With TV One SVP D’Angela Proctor
When D’Angela Proctor was introduced to Alfred Liggins, CEO of Radio One, he wanted to know what she would do if she could change TV One, the network owned by Radio One and which Liggins launched in 2004. So she put together a deck where she detailed how the network would benefit by producing original films and capitalizing on already working franchises. Since then, Proctor has been TV One’s senior vice president of original programming and production for the past three years, and has pretty much been able to accomplish all of that. TV One produces and airs an array of shows, documentaries
What TV Criticism says about TV, Culture, and Changing Audiences
With the cable portion now wrapped up at the TV Critics Association tour in Los Angeles, it’s safe to say that the critics never run short of questions throughout their eight-hour days stacked with panels of the best producers and casts found on television. For many, the TCA tour is the time to gain access to the various minds and talent making these shows possible, to get the scoop on what’s coming up next season, to find out the prep work it takes for characters to come to life on screen, or to just get to know a show’s writers, executives and actors on a more personal level. But as we all
What Makes TV Tick? We’re going behind the scenes at the TCA Press Tour
Twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter, hundreds of TV critics from media outlets across America gather in Los Angeles for the TV Critics Association press tour. There they’ll get the scoop on all the great shows coming out in the upcoming months. TCA represents over 200 journalists across the country, who reach over tens of millions of readers and consumers. This weekend, during the cable portion of the tour, which is organized by our friends at CTAM, we’ll be there to explore the state of television in today’s media culture as well as viewership trends directly from the