AMC’s Newest Theater, Porter Ranch 9, Looks to Sell Out Opening Night – We scanned AMC’s online reservation system to see want demand exists. As of midnight early Friday morning, here’s what we see. Out of 18 total evening showings, 13 are sold out. The Courier sold out both Friday night shows. The Benedict Cumberbatch film is this weekend’s biggest new release. [Media News Journal]
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off today, but Americans aren’t very interested according to Ipsos – More than half (56%) of Americans say they don’t plan to watch any March Madness games this year. Other findings from Ipsos:
- People with a college degree are more likely to be interested in the college basketball tournament: 23% are more excited, versus only 11% of those without a degree
- Middle-aged adults are more excited than their younger or older peers: 26% of 35-to-54-year-olds are more excited, compared to only 14% of 18-to-34-year-olds and 10% of Americans older than 55
- 25% of Americans making over $100,000 are more excited, compared to only 14% of those making $50,000 to $100,000 and 12% of those making less than $50,000
NFL announces new broadcast deals running through 2033 season – The National Football League announced Thursday that it has signed long-term agreements with media partners Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX, and NBC for the distribution of NFL games over television and digital platforms, as well as additional media rights. The new agreements will begin with the 2023 season and run through the 2033 season.
Most notably, Amazon Prime Video acquired the rights to be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football. The NFL and Amazon have been partnering on the Thursday Night games since 2017.
- CBS will retain rights for AFC Sunday afternoon games. In addition to CBS broadcast, the games will also be available on Paramount+.
- ESPN will still broadcast Monday Night Football, cable’s most watched regular program for years. ABC received the rights to televise two Super Bowls and exclusive regular season games.
- FOX retained NFC Sunday afternoon games. They first received them in 1994.
- NBC Sunday Night Football will continue. It has been the #1 primetime TV show for 10 years running. Peacock will have an exclusive feed for select NFL games.
- NFL NETWORK will televise select exclusive NFL games.
CEO of Newspaper Giant Gannett Looks to Bet on Gambling – Gannett CEO says he want to “deeply integrate’ with a sports betting partner. Meanwhile, gaming industry expert says Gannett “management’s leap of faith in a possible sports betting partnership deal may be a leap too far.”
In other gambling news, Sinclair Starts Marketing Push for Its Forthcoming Bally Sports Networks – Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is preparing to rebrand its regional Fox Sports networks in the U.S. under the banner of Bally Sports, taking the name of casino operator Bally’s Corp. as sports media continues to establish closer ties with the gambling industry. [WSJ]
The Courier with Benedict Cumberbatch is this weekend’s new movie release in theaters. The spy movie has a 79% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score as of Friday morning.
Restaurant and hotel bookings are up. Airplane tickets are selling fast. Consumers spent more on gyms, salons and spas in recent weeks than they have since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The U.S. economic recovery is picking up steam as Americans increase their spending, particularly on in-person services that were battered by the coronavirus pandemic. [WSJ]
Peacock makes all nine seasons of “The Office” free for one week – In honor of The Office’s 16th anniversary, Peacock is making all nine seasons of original series available for free for one week only. The week offer started March 18.
Addison Rae Drops New Single Obsessed And Netflix Picks Up Her New Movie.
Anna Wintour, the global editorial director of Vogue, tried to save Alexi McCammond as Teen Vogue editor after a series of racist tweets from 2011 reemerged, according to a report from the Daily Mail.
Facebook Is Building An Instagram For Kids Under The Age Of 13 – “We have identified youth work as a priority for Instagram and have added it to our H1 priority list,” reads an internal Instagram post obtained by BuzzFeed News.
YouTube announced that YouTube Shorts Beta is now available in the U.S. – The Shorts beta started gradually rolling out yesterday and will be available to everybody in the U.S. over the next several weeks [YouTube]
Super Nintendo World Finally Opens In Japan
Comscore Reports TV Viewing Engagement for Week Ending March 7, 2021 – “Royalty-related programming reigned supreme this week,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst, Comscore. “CBS’s Primetime Special ‘Oprah with Meghan and Harry’ topped the broadcast chart, captivating the curious eyes and minds of viewers. On cable, Hallmark’s made-for-TV movies ‘Fit for a Prince’ and ‘Crown for Christmas’ grabbed the #1 and #17 spots, respectively, signaling viewers’ interest extends beyond real royals.” [Comscore]
Google Chrome can now caption audio and video – Now with Live Caption on Chrome, you can automatically generate real-time captions for media with audio on your browser. It works across social and video sites, podcasts and radio content, personal video libraries (such as Google Photos), embedded video players, and most web-based video or audio chat services. [Google]
