LEAD STORY
21 Media Questions Heading Into 2022
Coverage Notes is looking into the new year and wondering what the media landscape will be looking like? We are asking these 21 questions…
Who will fill the coveted 9 pm ET slot for MSNBC and CNN?
Will the Olympics, the EPL, and original programming help propel NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock into relevance?
Will the new Warner Bros. Discovery management want CNN to revert back to more reporting and less opinionated programming during an election year?
CBS News revamped its morning show; will it now turn its attention to its evening show?
Will Newsmax start to siphon some viewers away from Fox News?
Will Paramount Plus make any noise in the streaming space?
Does CNN Plus generate enough interest to become a dominant news streaming platform and a huge revenue generator?
Does the NBA revisit its TV contracts with ESPN and Turner Sports?
If Fox Weather performs well in its weekend morning slot, does it get more airtime on the Fox Business Channel?
Will Bally Sports launch a streaming sports service?
After the Warner Media/Discovery merger closes and David Zaslav takes over the new company, where will Jason Kilar go?
Will Amazon Prime Video’s sports programming challenge ESPN and FS1’s studio shows?
What will Thursday Night Football look like on Amazon Prime Video and will Al Michaels be part of it?
Will Fox get more use out of its Tubi streaming service?
What will the management structure at the new Warner Bros. Discovery look like?
What will Disney Plus do to boost its subscriber numbers?
Will NBCUniversal remove its programming from Hulu and move it to Peacock?
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will occur during the fall and not during the summer months — how will Fox Sports handle this and the NFL?
Will Fox News’ stable of serious news journalists continue to dwindle, and will they be able to bring in any marquee talent?
What will happen to the NFL’s media assets, particularly the NFL Sunday Ticket?
What international TV show will dominate on Netflix?
QUICK RECAP
Michele Tafoya To Leave Sunday Night Football After This Season
NBC Sports’ marquee show Sunday Night Football will look considerably different come fall of 2022. Mike Torico will replace Al Michaels in the broadcast booth, while sidelines reporter Michele Tafoya has indicated that she will not be returning. Tafoya has decided, on her own, that it was time to step away from the field after nearly three decades of TV work. She has been in the news recently due to her comments about Covid-19 during an appearance on ABC’s The View. She’s also been missing from SNF for the past three Sundays, NBC Sports calls them her scheduled “bye weeks,” and that there was nothing sinister about her absence. (New York Post)
YouTube TV Drops Disney Channels Including ESPN
On Friday night, YouTube TV subscribers watching the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves match-up on ESPN were shocked to see the channel disappear while the game was still ongoing. This resulted from a carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Disney, which began on the night of December 17 and saw all the Disney channels, including ESPN, taken off the service. YouTube TV was seeking a clause in the new contract guaranteeing it pays the same rate as distributors of similar size, and the house of Mickey was not committing to such a guarantee. The two came into an agreement late Sunday evening. Typically Pay-TV distributors pay media houses to carry their channels, and then those costs are transferred to their subscribers. (Wall Street Journal & YouTube TV/Twitter)
Fox News and CNN Announce New Year’s Eve Programming
Fox News and CNN unveiled their New Year’s Eve programming plans this week. Fox News is decamping from New York City and heading to Nashville, where the weekend Fox and Friends crew of Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Pete Hegseth will be on hand to ring in the new year. CNN, meanwhile, is sticking with its tried and true formula of Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen at Times Square in New York City, and Don Lemon and Alysin Camerota, who is replacing Brooke Baldwin, anchoring the festivities live from New Orleans. With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, it will be interesting to see if these networks stick with these plans or will there be changes? (TVNewser)
QUICK RECAP
Dax Tejera was named executive producer of ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopolous. (ABC News Public Relations)
Eva Longoria gets a show on CNN Plus. (CNN Press Room)
Former Trump aide, Ric Grenell, joins Newsmax. (The Daily Beast)
LaChina Robinson signs a contract extension with ESPN. (ESPN Press Room)
CBS News announces new assignments for its beat reporters. (TVNewser)
Ema Voroqua has been named executive producer of ABC News’ Dateline. (ABC News Public Relations)
ESPN hires Kendra Andrews as Golden State Warriors reporter. (Awful Announcing)
Fox News personalities sent text messages to Mark Meadows during the insurrection on January 6. (Associated Press)
CNN closes its offices to non-essential staff due to Covid-19. (Wall Street Journal)
HBO Max is tops in mobile downloads in the US. (MediaPost)
Paramount Plus had its best streaming week. (Entertainment Strategy Guy)
ESPN’s ACC Network is now available on Xfinity. (ESPN Press Room)
CNN Plus may cost $5.99. (Bloomberg)
NFL is in no rush to sell part of NFL Media. (Awful Announcing)
Judge declines to dismiss Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox News. (CNN Business)
NBC News’ Chuck Todd produces an anthology series for Peacock. (The Hollywood Reporter)
CBS News/Sports’ Nate Burleson, Ian Eagle, and Gabrielle Neveah are back again to call the NFL Wild-Card game on Nickelodeon. (Awful Announcing)
Steve Wyche, Charles Davis, and Bucky Brooks to call the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl game on February 19 on NFL Network. (NFL Communications)
NBC Sports to air USFL games for three years. (Front Office Sports/Twitter)
CNN Digital dominates in 2021. (CNN Press Room)
MSNBC is the #2 cable news network in 2021. (NBCUniversal Media Village)
NBCU Newsgroup shines in the digital space in 2021. (NBC News Public Relations)
ESPN does the victory lap with its Formula 1 coverage. (ESPN Press Room)
CBS Mornings delivers its largest audience since its makeover. (ViacomCBS Press Express)
Netflix slashes its prices in India. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Cable news’ battlefields are now moving to the streaming world. (Axios)
Despite cable audiences shrinking, ESPN still has value. (Sportico)
Thanks for reading the Coverage Notes newsletter; we will be back in 2022. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #72 - 2021