Latest in Broadcast Networks

The CW has opted not to renew affiliations with E.W. Scripps-owned stations in seven markets. Nexstar Media Group, the broadcast network’s corporate parent, says it is “confident” that replacement deals will keep The CW on the air across the U.S. Affected markets include Detroit, Miami, Tucson, AZ…

EXCLUSIVE: The CW is undergoing another round of staff cuts, sources tell Deadline. We hear more than 15 people were affected, with the marketing/promotional team impacted, along with finance. The laid-off employees are said to include mid- and high-level executives, including some in SVP roles. A…

When Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav wanted to make a forceful first impression at the company’s upfront last spring, he used words designed to dazzle the audience of ad buyers. The newly merged company, he declared, would now stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the broadcast networks in terms of scale and reach…

The broadcast networks are pre-empting daytime shows to bring in news coverage of the tragic shooting of 14 children and a teacher in a Texas elementary school. Gov. Greg Abbott said that an 18-year old gunman shot and killed the kids and teacher in Uvalde, Texas in the latest tragic attack. Texas School Shooting: Dead…

UPDATED with broadcasters’ comment: Big broadcasters responded with relief Wednesday to a judge’s ruling the day before granting an injunction against television streaming app Locast from transmitting their local TV streams to customers. “The federal court's ruling is a victory for copyright law, vindicating our claim…

The NFL, which has already taken steps to strongly encourage its players to get vaccinated against Covid-19, is ramping up the pressure at the team level. The league has sent a memo to its 32 clubs that if games are forced to be postponed due to a positive Covid test, they will go down as forfeits if they can’t be…

Now that the last broadcast network (ABC) has set its 2020-21 schedule, the next question for the TV business is how and when networks will sell upfront advertising that helps keep the lights on. Madison Avenue marketing plans are on an uneven footing due to COVID-19, and the typical upfront negotiations held in the…

David Goodfriend, founder of controversial not-for-profit outfit Locast, said the parent companies of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox “waited too long” to sue him over the alleged theft of their signals. He also questioned why they didn’t seek a temporary restraining order to halt the two-year-old company’s operations, as they…

Locast, the service launched in 2018 that enables viewers to access free internet streams of local TV stations’ signals, has filed a counter-suit against ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, alleging “classic copyright abuse.” The two sides have clashed over the service, which bills itself as a “signal booster” fully compliant with…

The takeaways from the Emmy Awards are not very golden for the Big Four broadcast networks. Not only did Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Primetime Emmys drop to an all-time ratings low, but broadcasters’ tally of 16 total Emmy wins from the three September ceremonies also set a record. The previous low was 19 combined…

While a number of broadcast series at all five networks already have secured early renewals a month before the upfronts, there are quite a few that are yet to hear, some of them heavily on the bubble. Here is rundown of the broadcast scripted series whose fate beyond this season has not been unveiled yet, along with…

After a big push into content ownership among the broadcast networks in the early 2000s, they loosened the grip, resulting in several megahits from non-affiliated studios, including the biggest comedies on television, CBS' The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family. The tide slowly started to turn the past couple of…