DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Paris Olympics ratings soar 82% over Tokyo Games, delivering big boost to NBC’s Peacock streamer
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Liam Reilly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris drew a combined average of 30.6 million viewers across NBCU’s constellation of platforms, marking an 82% jump in viewership compared to the Tokyo Games and making the Games the most-streamed Olympics of all time. The network’s Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo also saw a 26% jump over the same period during the Tokyo Games three years ago. “The Olympics reestablished its unique power to reassemble the American media audience,” said Gary Zenkel, the NBC Olympics president. “NBC Nightly News” anchored by Lester Holt averaged 7.6 million viewers during the two-week period, and the “Today” show averaged 3.1 million viewers, the network said. Last month, Comcast reported the streamer had lost 500,000 subscribers in the second quarter, falling to 33 million total, well below Netflix’s 277 million subscribers and Disney’s 153.6 million.

Persons: ”, Peacock, Gary Zenkel, “, NBCU, Al Michael’s, NBCUniversal, Mark Lazarus, Lester Holt Organizations: New, New York CNN, Comcast, Tokyo Games, Telemundo, Olympics, NBC, America, USA, US, France, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paris Games, Tokyo, Games, Warner Bros, NBA, Paris Olympics, NBCUniversal Media, “ Parks, Studios Locations: New York, Paris, “ Paris

☆ ‘It sucks for all of us.’ Charles Barkley says the quiet part aloud as TNT’s NBA future in doubt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The situation at Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT network “sucks, plain and simple,” Charles Barkley bluntly said Thursday. Barkley, who said he feels “so bad for the people” he works with, laid blame at the feet of the “clowns” atop WBD. Wall Street has responded quite negatively to the possibility WBD, which has built a programming slate around the NBA, could lose the rights to air the games. And TNT has built a programming slate around the NBA games, most notably the highly rated “Inside the NBA” show. Losing the rights to NBA games could throw aspects of that business partnership into question.

Persons: ” Charles Barkley, NBA ”, Dan Patrick, ”, Barkley, ” Barkley, David Zaslav’s, Adam Silver, Turner, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, WBD, “, Shaw, ” Shaw, Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, Isabella Simonetti, Zaslav, Venu, That’s, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Wiedenfels, ” Wiedenfels, there’s, you’ve Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, TNT, NBA, Turner, Comcast, WSJ, WBD, NCAA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, College Football, ESPN —, Disney, Fox Corp, Morgan’s Technology, Media & Communications Locations: WBD

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock plummets to new low amid concerns the media giant could lose its NBA rights
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Discovery doesn’t “have to have the NBA.” It appears Wall Street disagrees. TNT has built a programming slate around the NBA games, most notably the highly rated ”Inside the NBA” show. Losing the rights to NBA games could throw aspects of that business partnership into question. Since WBD first began trading on Wall Street in April 2022, the stock has lost roughly 70% of its value. And for Zaslav, whose company is struggling on Wall Street, the battle could not come at a more inopportune time.

Persons: New York CNN — David Zaslav, “, WBD, —, Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, Isabella Simonetti —, Charles Barkley, Andrew Marchand, Warner, That’s, NBCU’s, I’m, Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Wiedenfels ’, Bob Iger, David Ellison’s, ” Organizations: New York CNN, Warner Bros, NBA, CNN, Industry, WBD, TNT, The Athletic, New York Post, NCAA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, Disney, Fox Corporation, Netflix, Paramount Global, Wall Locations: New York

☆ NBC News boss Cesar Conde faces backlash from his network’s anchors over ‘inexplicable’ decision to hire ex-RNC chair Ronna McDaniel
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Cesar Conde has a decision to make — and it’s not an especially difficult one. The NBCUniversal News Group chair is facing a torrent of backlash from his own staff after greenlighting the hire of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid network contributor. It does not take a brilliant political mind with prescient foresight to understand that hiring McDaniel would ignite a firestorm of outrage — from both within 30 Rock and outside it. After all, which NBC or MSNBC program is going to invite her on after all of this? I asked his spokesperson, Stephen Labaton, on Monday whether the NBCU News Group boss had any comment on the situation.

Persons: Cesar Conde, it’s, Ronna McDaniel, McDaniel, they’re, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, Conde, It’s, Rebecca Blumenstein, Carrie Budoff Brown, Rashida Jones, Donald Trump, Republican Party ”, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Conde —, ”, Stephen Labaton, Maddow, ” Maddow Organizations: New, New York CNN, NBCUniversal, Republican National Committee, NBC, MSNBC, NBCU, NBCU News, Peacock, Republican, NBC News, RNC, Republican Party, GOP, “, Press, Trump, ’ Locations: New York

☆ The deal to end the historic actors’ strike came down to the wire, averting ‘a huge financial blow to everybody’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Then, suddenly, with only minutes to go until the cutoff, the studio bosses got their answer: SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents the 160,000-some actors, had accepted the deal. Relief among the big four studio chiefs, made up of Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, and NBCU’s Donna Langley. Relief among the actors, who will finally get back to work. And relief among the other unions and workers who rely on the hum of the Hollywood machine to make ends meet. To get television shows back in January and keep film schedules to where they are, studios will need to quickly restart production.

Persons: Bob Iger, Discovery’s David Zaslav, Ted Sarandos, Donna Langley, “, AFTRA, ” Sarandos, Zaslav Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Warner Bros, Donna Langley . Relief, SAG Locations: Tinseltown

☆ Former NBCU exec Linda Yaccarino prepares to take over Twitter CEO role from Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal marketing executive, is preparing to take over the CEO role at Twitter from Elon Musk, weeks after the billionaire announced hiring her for the top spot at the social media company. The New York Times and The Information reported that Yaccarino is expected to officially start as Twitter CEO on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Musk is likely betting on Yaccarino’s ad industry chops to restore Twitter’s flagging advertising business. Even without the CEO title, Musk will retain significant control over Twitter as its owner. Following the DeSantis event, Yaccarino tweeted: “We just heard a rare and unscripted conversation, on a range of important topics, with a Presidential candidate — all launched on Twitter.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, Elon Musk, Yaccarino, Twitter, Joe Benarroch, Benarroch, “ Let’s, ” Yaccarino, she’d, Musk, Twitter’s, Ella Irwin, “, ”, Yaccarino’s, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, Ron DeSantis, — Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Elon, The New York Times, New York Times, CNN, CNBC, Democratic, Florida Locations: New York, York, “ Bay, San Francisco

☆ Bob Lee Murder: The Story of the Cash App Founder and His Alleged Killer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk Picks NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino to Lead Twitter. Here’s Why Twitter’s next CEO, Linda Yaccarino, is well-known for her tight relationship with ad agencies and her hard-nosed negotiating tactics. WSJ’s Suzanne Vranica explains what she can bring to the social media company. Photo: Charles Sykes/NBCUniversal/Getty Images

☆ A new CEO won’t fix Twitter’s biggest problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —During his six months as Twitter’s CEO and owner, Elon Musk decimated its ad business, alienated some news publications and VIP users, and plunged the platform into a constant state of chaos. But she may struggle to address Twitter’s biggest problem: Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Musk said he “didn’t care” if his controversial tweets drew the ire of Twitter advertisers or Tesla shareholders. She may struggle to undo the damage Elon Musk has done to the company's ad business. That could only add to the difficulty Yaccarino will face in shoring up Twitter’s business.

This year, advertisers and ad agencies may well use the strike as a bargaining tool, said Erin Firneno, vice president of business intelligence for researcher Advertiser Perceptions. The writers’ strike, which has entered its third week, is also injecting a new element of uncertainty for ad buyers, at a time when television viewership is declining and the possibility of recession looms. While the TV networks have long contended with splintered viewership amid the rise of social media and streaming, the writers' strike puts content production at risk, said Rishad Tobaccowala, a former executive at advertising and public relations giant Publicis Groupe and advisor on business transformation. Last year, NBC’s upfront presentation emphasized star power as the network returned to a live event after a COVID-19-imposed hiatus. Ahead of the upfront presentations, media executives sought to reassure investors about the strike’s impact.

☆ Elon Musk Picks NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino to Lead Twitter. Here’s Why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Title 42: What Its End Means for Immigration and the Southern Border Title 42, which allowed U.S. authorities to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds, expired on May 11. WSJ’s Alicia A. Caldwell explains what the policy is, its effect on the border and what comes next. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

Search resuls for: "NBCU’s"

10 mentions found