‘Sesame Street’ shakes up its neighborhood to woo digital kids
Cookie Monster, Elmo and Abby Cadabby, three of the most popular residents of Sesame Street, have long talked to children. Now they must also answer to HBO - and many...
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Super Bowl Ads: A better class of rookie moves to big game
Pepsi, Budweiser and Coca-Cola are among the storied Madison Avenue residents that have over the decades lent support to the Super Bowl. But so are out-of-left-field outfits like GoDaddy, Cash4Gold...
Inside ‘Today’s’ ratings revival: How NBC punched back at ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’
Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and the rest of the "Today" crew have more reason than ever to smile when they greet viewers in the morning. George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and...
NBC’s ‘Best Time Ever’ is also wild and chaotic
NBC launched a new live program that sent Neil Patrick Harris careening through an hour of pranks, live stunts and Vegas-style extravaganza as the network pushed forward in its quest...
‘Murder in the First’ review: Solidly crafted, yet undemanding summer viewing
How time flies. "Murder One," which followed a single trial over an entire season, felt enormously ambitious when Steven Bochco introduced the series 20 years ago. Now the show plucked...
Bill Maher courts danger by working live on HBO
When Bill Maher takes the stage at the start of his weekly "Real Time" program on HBO, he feels like he was just shot from a cannon. By the time...
To Launch New Series, Sprout Lets Space Animals Invade Its Kiddie-Program Lineup
Space travelers have invaded TV's kiddie-oriented Sprout network. Tykes viewing a recent broadcast of the animated series "Justin Time" on the NBCUniversal-owned outlet may have been surprised to see the...
Despite Headwinds, Disney Expects Volume Gains In Kids’ Ad-Sales Market
Disney thinks it has made a few steps forward in its effort to lure ad dollars to its kids' programs, despite a difficult market. The so-called "kids' upfront," the market...
TV Station Consolidation Slowed In Second Quarter – Kagan
Broadcast station M&A; volume reached $1.85 billion in the second quarter, more than $2 billion less than the year-earlier period, according to market-research firm SNL Kagan, when $3.88 billion of...
Advertisers Wager NBC’s Katherine Heigl Drama Will Lead Freshman Scripted Series In New TV Season
Katherine Heigl may be a polarizing figure in some circles, but advertisers seem to like her just fine. A Variety survey of commercial-ratings projections from four major ad buyers finds...