Latest news with #NBCU
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien on Trump and an industry in crisis
Good morning! NBCU offers to buy MLB rights, Laurene Powell Jobs lays off Emerson Collective employees, and Fortune's Ruth Umoh profiles the New York Times Company's Meredith Kopit Levien.– Fit to print. At 49, Meredith Kopit Levien became the youngest person and second woman to lead The New York Times Company when she was named CEO in September 2020. She did so during an historically tumultuous time: in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matters protests, which caused a reckoning on race and power not just in the nation's public consciousness but within the journalism industry as well. In the time since, Levien, No. 50 on Fortune's 2025 Most Powerful Women list, has worked to transform the Times from the storied 'Gray Lady' known for its rigorous journalism into a lifestyle subscription platform that has something for every kind of reader, Fortune's Ruth Umoh writes in a profile of the media bigwig. 'I didn't really understand, as COO, how profoundly different the CEO role would be,' Levien, who previously held roles as chief revenue officer and COO of the NYT Company, told Umoh. 'It took me at least a year—maybe two—just to have any confidence that I could do the job. And that I could maybe even do it well.' On the subscription side, Levien is certainly doing the job well. The New York Times has some 11 million paid digital subscribers, up from under one million in 2015, Umoh reports. But critics say some of that growth has come at the expense of the top-tier journalism the Times stakes its reputation on. And in a time of profound distrust of the media, it becomes trickier to balance traditional journalistic sentiment with the needs of the business that make producing the journalism possible. Still, it's hard to argue against her successful turnaround of a company that many people warned her to stay away from, Umoh writes. 'I never wanted the top job,' she says. 'I just wanted to do the biggest version of the work I loved.' You can read the rest of the feature here. MPW Daily will return Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday. Alicia The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune's daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today's edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
NBC Sports
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC Sports
NBCUNIVERSAL'S PARIS OLYMPICS COVERAGE TOPS SPORTS EMMYS WITH 10 WINS AS NBCU TIES COMPANY RECORD WITH 13 AWARDS
NBCU Ties for Most Sports Emmys of Any Media Company 2024 Paris Olympic Games Wins Outstanding Live Special – Championship Event NBC Sports' Peter Diamond (Gold Circle) and Rob Hyland (Silver Circle) Earn Special Recognition from the Academy Telemundo's Miguel Gurwitz Wins for Outstanding On-Air Personality in Spanish NEW YORK, NY – May 20, 2025 – NBCUniversal's coverage of the XXXIII Olympic Games from Paris topped the 46th Sports Emmy Awards with 10 wins – headlined by the honor for Outstanding Live Special-Championship Event – as NBCU tied its company record with 13 Sports Emmys (2003). In addition, NBC Sports earned honors for its NFL Playoff coverage and Telemundo Deportes' Miguel Gurwitz won his second Sports Emmy. The awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Additionally at tonight's awards, Peter Diamond, former EVP, NBC Olympics Programming, and Rob Hyland, Coordinating Producer, NBC Sunday Night Football and Primetime Producer, NBC Olympics, earned special recognition for 'individuals who have performed distinguished service within the television industry, setting standards for achievement, mentoring, leadership and professional accolades for 25 or 50 years.' Diamond received Gold Circle honors for 50 years of exemplary service. Hyland earned Silver Circle honors for more than a quarter century of excellence. The complete list of NBCUniversal winners: Outstanding Live Special – Championship Event: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Playoff Coverage: NFL Playoffs (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Short Feature: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Caeleb & The Critic (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Open/Tease: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Land of Stories (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Interactive Experience: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Technical Team Event: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Technical Team Studio: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Editing – Short Form: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Land of Stories (NBC/Peacock) The Dick Schaap Outstanding Writing Award – Short Form: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Land of Stories (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Audio/Sound – Live Event: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (NBC/Peacock) Outstanding Graphic Design – Event/Show: The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (NBC/Peacock/USA Network/CNBC/E!/ Channel) The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award: 2024 PGA TOUR: Drone AR (CBS/NBC (PGA TOUR)) Outstanding On-Air Personality in Spanish: Miguel Gurwitz (Telemundo/Universo/Peacock) A complete list of winners is available here. --NBC SPORTS—
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Inside the NBCUniversal Upfront: A Caustic Seth MacFarlane, an Aerial Ad Chief and … John Tesh
The invitation to NBCUniversal's 2025 upfront presentation promised 'a sneak peek at the greatest two years in the history of any media company.' Hyperbole? You bet. We'll all be content if the entertainment industry just stays afloat through 2026. But it's always easier to make lofty claims when you're first at bat, as Comcast's evolving TV, film and streaming conglomerate was at Radio City Music Hall on Monday morning. NBCU kicked off a week that will see all major players in ad-supported visual media make a plea for spending commitments in a time when a volatile economy has purse strings ready to snap shut quicker than a gate door at Newark Airport. More from The Hollywood Reporter NBC Planning 100th Anniversary TV Special in 2026 'Lupin' Returning for Season 4 Prime Video Now Reaches 130 Million U.S. Ad-Supported Customers, Amazon Says Perhaps all that uncertainty is why NBCU chose to open its two-hour program not with a musical performance from whoever's mentoring on The Voice these days — that was the closer! — but with a tip of the beggar's hat to a theater packed with media buyers. The curtain opened to a full, 55-piece symphony orchestra performing a medley of 14 brands' advertising jingles from the last century. Let the marathon of pandering begin. After reminding the room that, like Burger King, NBCUniversal will let advertisers have it their way, Ted creator and rat pack cosplayer Seth MacFarlane delivered a song-and-dance roast of every other media company. None were spared, particularly Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. MacFarlane implored the crowd to 'check on his brother right away' after referencing HBO's curious affinity for incest storylines on its dramas. Donna Langley, chair of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, started the pitch off in earnest with a rundown of her company's offerings with an emphasis on their 'franchise-first strategy' and the ease with which they claim to sell ads cross-portfolio before calling out a rather surprising example: Saturday Night Live. After placing the emphasis of her hype on Wicked just a year ago, Langley called out SNL's recent 50th anniversary special and the many ancillary programs around it. 'We owned the entire weekend, creating a monocultural moment,' said Langley, citing 3.9 billion viewership minutes across SNL programming before claiming that nearly 40 percent of all event viewership in the U.S. through 2026 will be on NBC (and Peacock). Events (read: those rare opportunities for live eyeballs) were the focus of NBCU's aggressively long pitch, which dwelled less on trailers than it did on The World Cup, BravoCon the inevitable promotional blitz around Wicked sequel Wicked For Good and the return of NBA. Speaking of the NBA, what better way to celebrate the league's return to NBC for the first time since 2002 with a vague, pre-taped announcement from Michael Jordan that he'll serve as a 'special contributor' and a live performance of John Tesh sports theme music masterpiece 'Roundball Rock?.' In a week where myriad A-listers will grace stages and perhaps even break into song, you've got to hand it to the former Entertainment Tonight host for whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his Yamaha grand piano. As for scripted programming, it had its place in the presentation … just not at the level of years past. Full trailers were reserved for upcoming Peacock originals. Elizabeth Banks vehicle The Miniature Wife and a Keke Palmer-fronted reboot of The Burbs played particularly well in the room, as did NBC's solitary new order of the day. The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins got a trailer, a plug from executive producer Tina Fey and an appearance from stars Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe. The surplus of stage time was the only noticeable instance of multiple eggs being put in one scripted basket. (And, if you haven't heard, eggs are expensive these days.) One might have thought The Paper, Greg Daniels' spiritual sequel to The Office, would be the sitcom du jour. But its teaser was brief, and the on-screen appearance from stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore and original series player Oscar Nuñez didn't exactly scream 'chemistry.' The reception was warm enough, but this was the same crowd who were just told last year that Suits LA was going to be a thing. An unexpected dose of charm came from Mark Marshall. Shticks from the in-house ad execs are normally a low point of upfront week, but Marshall's pre-taped bit inserting himself into various NBCU properties before descending to the stage in a replica of Ariana Grande's bubble from Wicked was a true joy. 'I just want you to think, over the next couple of weeks when you're allocating your ad dollars, there was only one ad chief that was in the rafters of Radio City risking his own life,' Marshall said, moments after taking off a sequined pink blazer. 'So you decide where the money should go.' (Linda Yaccarino could never.) After being greeted with some well-earned laughs, Marshall attempted to clear up any lingering confusion about the who's selling ads for newly launched spin-co Versant. 'One platform is alive and well,' he said, confirming that the same team was still selling across its portfolio — even if USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Syfy and E! were technically leaving the fold. Versant was the elephant in the room — both the butt of the joke for Seth Meyers when he came out on stage for his annual jokes and a source of confusion when John Slattery previewed the trailer for his John Grisham adaptation, The Rainmaker. It's 'one of many shows coming to Versant this year,' he said. The show, in fact, is coming to USA. Long the crown jewel of basic cable, it's apparently no longer worth mentioning by name. As the presentation came to its long-awaited close, Jon M. Chu debuted the trailer for Wicked For Good (massive applause), the annual reminder that NBCU still has broadcast rights to The Olympics was delivered and Snoop Dogg drew the short straw among The Voice cast and wrap the whole ordeal with a medley of his biggest tracks. But the energy may have peaked about 20 minutes before the official climax. 'This is our Olympics, our Super Bowl,' he told the audience, reminding them that BravoCon was returning this fall. The Las Vegas gathering of Bravo talent and fans is an orgy of branding, one reason why the media buyers got so worked up by the BravoCon spiel. Dancers writhed to a mashup of 'Physical' (Dua Lipa and Olivia Newton John's respective songs of the same name), while Bravo talent milled about on stage and Cohen pumped his fist into the air as confetti cannons baptized the rapt Radio City crowd in rainbow shards of paper. It made absolutely no sense, but it didn't have to. Bravo wasn't shuffled off to Versant with the other cable networks for a reason. Its appeal to audiences — and, in turn, advertisers — now transcends individual programs. NBA rights may be transient, but Bravo is forever. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise 'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why NBCU's advertising president Alison Levin is betting 2026 will be a blockbuster year
Good morning! Testimonies begin in Diddy's sex trafficking trial, hand sanitizer brand Touchland to be acquired, and Fortune's Nina Ajemian reports from NBCUniversal's Upfront presentation—where execs are promising a studio that's bigger and better than ever. - Upfront and personal. In between Seth MacFarlane dissing competing streaming services in a glitzy musical number and Snoop Dogg rapping 'Drop It Like It's Hot,' NBCUniversal painted a vision of an unforgettable year ahead for the legacy studio during its annual Upfront presentation yesterday at Radio City Music Hall. Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal entertainment and studios, is the only woman to run a legacy Hollywood studio. She made the pitch that NBCUniversal's best days are ahead of it—as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2026. NBCUniversal made $3.76 billion at the global box office last year. 'At a moment when attention is being pulled in multiple directions, our ability to collaborate across the company and work together towards a common goal is our superpower,' Langley said. 'And, that starts with our franchise-first strategy, investing in durable stories and brands that inspire fans everywhere in a multitude of ways.' At the Upfront, longtime NBC talent Tina Fey and Amy Poehler announced a TV special celebrating the network's centennial. NBCU showed trailers for new TV shows, like All Her Fault with Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning and The 'Burbs with Keke Palmer. Wicked director Jon M. Chu screened the trailer for the highly anticipated Wicked: For Good, with the first installment grossing $754 million in box offices worldwide since its opening in November 2024. Plus, he announced that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will perform songs from the musical in a live TV special in November, which will air on NBC and stream on Peacock. Despite the looming spinoff of the media company's cable assets—which will form a new company called Versant (and give Langley even more responsibility)—NBCU is still selling its entire portfolio to advertisers. Before the presentation, I spoke with Alison Levin, president of advertising and partnerships, about how she has been thinking about advertising at NBCU. Levin joined the company in 2023, after serving as VP of global ad revenue at TV streaming company Roku. Now at NBCU, she oversees agency partnerships, client diversification, and 'verticalization,' or focusing marketing on a specific industry. Part of her job is to translate that corporate-speak for consumers. 'Consumers have a relationship with IP, not delivery mechanism. You wake up, and you think about that funny clip you watched on SNL, but you're not like, 'Did I watch it on linear or did I watch it on Peacock?'' she says. Levin is also thinking about live sports and how to maximize their advertising potential. NBCUniversal used programmatic advertising for the first time at the Olympics last year, which was a 'testing experiment' for future live events, she says. Starting in 2026, NBA games are coming to NBC and Peacock, with Michael Jordan joining as a special contributor on coverage. Langley told advertisers yesterday that NBA games would 'create a halo effect around the entire entertainment schedule.' Beyond the content slate, the events calendar will keep NBCUniversal and its advertising team busy next year. Sunday Night Football goes straight into Bravocon (the annual festival for Real Housewives fans), which is followed by the Rockefeller tree lighting, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star, and the World Cup. 'It's such an incredible opportunity for advertisers to tell their stories on the largest stage there's ever been,' says Levin. Nina The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune's daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today's edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Wicked' live musical event with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande coming to NBC
Pink goes good with green — and with NBC. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will perform in a live TV musical event in November before the release of Wicked: For Good. More from GoldDerby 'I didn't think he was a jerk': Paul Giamatti on finding the humanity in his standout 'Black Mirror' episode Charlie Cox teases 'sense of oppression' and 'slightly different genre' for 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 11 Oscar contenders with the most to gain at this year's Cannes Film Festival Director Jon M. Chu made the announcement Monday during NBCU's Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall. "This fall, our stars, the wonderful Cynthia Erivo and incandescent Ariana Grande, will be joined by their castmates and some wonderful surprise guests in a one-time only event from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. They will perform live many of the songs from the first movie and maybe, just maybe, a little bit from the second one as well," Chu said. SEE Wicked: For Good trailer premieres at CinemaCon The special will air on NBC and stream on Peacock the next day. "We cannot wait to bring this event to our Wicked fans on broadcast and streaming this fall before the release of our movies, so get ready," Chu continued. Erivo and Grande first performed Wicked tunes live at the Oscars earlier this year. Just like last year's Upfront, when the trailer for Wicked played for advertisers, Chu also shared the trailer for Wicked: For Good for the lucky ones in the room. The Wicked: For Good trailer, which also played at CinemaCon, is not yet publicly released. Wicked: For Good hits theaters Nov. 21. Best of GoldDerby 18 best Oscar-winning actress mother performances ranked Dennis Hopper movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Bill Paxton movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Click here to read the full article.
