Fox’s New Channel Changes the Climate for Weather TV – As viewers tune out cable news, Rupert Murdoch is preparing the debut of Fox Weather, a potentially powerful new player in a sphere long dominated by the Weather Channel. [NY Times]
WEATHER NEWS HIGHLIGHTS * ‘The Dancing Weatherman’ is Among The First FOX Weather Meteorologists * The Weather Channel Plus Introduced As New Subscription Streaming Service * FOX Weather Streaming Service To Launch in Q3 2021
They Resurrected MGM. Amazon Bought the Studio. Now What? – Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have reinvigorated a once-storied Hollywood institution. Now it needs to figure out its place in a streaming company.
In the past 15 months, MGM has experienced a resurgence, led by Mr. De Luca, a one-time brash and reckless young executive who introduced filmmakers like Mr. Anderson and David Fincher to the culture when he was president of production at New Line Cinema, and now, after 36 years in the business, is seen as one of its most reliable statesmen. His deputy, Pamela Abdy, produced “Garden State” when she was at Jersey Films and amplified the career of Alejandro González Iñárritu, among others, during her time as a Paramount executive and later at New Regency. [NY Times]
Megyn Kelly Signs Exclusive Broadcasting Agreement with SiriusXM – Kelly to host “The Megyn Kelly Show” — a live, weekday radio show on SiriusXM starting September 7. The multi-platform deal includes the radio show becoming available to her podcast listeners after premiering on SiriusXM. [SiriusXM]
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. Names Greg Kim Head of CLG – Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. today announced that Greg Kim, a well-regarded esports industry executive, has been named Head of CLG, effective immediately.
As Head of CLG, Mr. Kim will oversee all business operations, working closely with Daniel Fleeter, MSG Sports’ Vice President of Business Operations, and George “HotshotGG” Georgallidis, CLG Founder, on advancing the organization’s goals. Mr. Kim will be responsible for maximizing CLG business performance; launching new growth initiatives; driving marketing partnerships; enhancing fan engagement; and providing leadership in the evolving esports community.
“Greg has built an incredible reputation within the esports industry around his passion for growing the world of professional and amateur gaming,” said Mr. Fleeter. “On behalf of the entire CLG staff, I am excited to work with him as we continue to cultivate CLG and drive the long-term success of our organization.”
CLG is a top tier North American esports organization respected for its championship legacy and passionate fanbase. CLG was founded originally in 2010 as a League of Legends team by George Georgallidis, with the intent of pushing the boundaries of esports and creating a thriving community around it. CLG is now one of the largest esports organizations in the world. CLG fields teams in all leading esports titles: League of Legends, Fortnite, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Apex Legends, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros.
FunPlus Appoints Michael Tong as Chief Strategy Officer – FunPlus, a leading independent mobile game developer and publisher, today announced it has recruited Michael Tong as Chief Strategy Officer. A long-serving industry board member, strategy expert, and advisor, Michael Tong will lend over 20 years of experience to oversee the company’s rapidly-growing global strategic development and execution.
Get inside the mind of Dillon Francis LIVE on TikTok’s Headstream – Dillon Francis will be the next guest on TikTok’s Headstream, the app’s new interactive LIVE series that invites fans to enter the minds of their favorite artists the day they drop new music. For 30 minutes, on Fridays at 4PM PT/7PM ET, Headstream invites artists to introduce their new music, interact with fans in the live chat, and get into some real talk with their toughest interviewer yet—themselves. The next session drops with Dillon Francis on Friday, July 9th via @DillonFrancis and will feature music from his forthcoming album.
Best practices for livestreaming commerce – In the US, buying products promoted via livestreams is still in its very early days. In an April 2021 survey by The Harris Poll, for example, 38% of US adults said they had watched a livestream of someone talking about a product that they might want to buy, but just 7% said they ultimately bought the product based on the presenter’s recommendation.
But interest is rising, and livestreaming is poised to be a major driver of growth for social commerce as the capabilities expand and improve. [eMarketer]
Is Disney+ more addictive than Netflix? – Each of the four installments so far, with their time-warped connections to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and characters plucked from comic book obscurity, seem calibrated to send viewers rushing toward the internet’s trove of audio recaps and explainer articles (such as those by my colleague Tracy Brown).
For every episode of “Loki,” there are hours of additional content to consume, at 1.5x speed, from outlets like the Ringer and Vanity Fair.
And though podcast brain may be bad for anyone’s goals of improving mindfulness during the pandemic, it’s helpful for Disney+. It represents heavy engagement with the Marvel franchise, which is key to the studio’s strategy within Disney.
Within seven days of its premiere, “Loki” had 89.9 times more demand than the average TV series globally, according to Parrot, making it the most “in-demand” show in the world. That doesn’t necessarily mean it was the most-watched show, but it does suggest that people are talking about it a lot online, and that counts for a lot. [LA Times]
