Hot List: TVREV Is Launching PROXIMITY While NASA Launched Odysseus

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong

Unless you literally just woke up from a 6 day sleep you know there was big news in the TV world, news that did not involve the first American spacecraft on the moon in close to a half century, but let’s start with the big news in TVREV land, around a topic that's much closer to earth.

We are excited to announce the launch of PROXIMITY – covering Local TV and all the innovations happening down to the zip code in TV and streaming. Perhaps more exciting, it will be edited and contextualized by none other than Chicagoland’s own man of many talents: Tim Hanlon.

Tim, who many of you know and some of you might recall, collaborated with us on our groundbreaking report on Local TV last year and is a fountain of knowledge about the innovations happening in media, especially in the local market.?

Check out the topic hub and the Local Links he’s selected to keep you up-to-date on this incredibly important market sector.

The great thing about the TV industry is that everything you know to be true today may not be true tomorrow.

Or even later the same afternoon.

The week’s big bombshell was VIZIO and Walmart agreed to terms of a sale. Sure, there were rumors. And articles talking about those rumors.?

But then it actually happened. And then even more speculation surfaced, especially propagated by competitors who want to take advantage of the regulatory cone of silence. Well played, third tier data guys.?

Minds blown, for sure, but what’s very important, as Alan Wolk kindly points out , is that other than what was said by Walmart directly , and its public filings, we don’t really know details of this deal. So, better to wait and see what is actually happening than to speculate wildly.?

Good luck with that, but you know, at least we’re being the adults in the room.

So that was Tuesday.

Wednesday we learned that Amazon was sunsetting Freevee . And a few hours later we learned that they, in fact, were not . Some interesting speculation on what the real deal with that was in the Week In Review as well . (We could only be the adults in the room for so long.)

And just when you thought you could ease into the weekend, it seems that the man who is the subject of every third Puck headline managed to make Warner Bros. Discovery profitable .?

Okay, the streaming unit, anyway, which marks the first time any of the major media conglomerates made a profit from streaming. And while Team Max and Friends made a respectable $103 million , the company’s “DTC” segments lost $2.1 billion.

So maybe hold off on the champagne for now.

This week on TVREV, ZEASN’s Ronny Lutzi sat down with us to explain why the industry is in dire need of an independent TV operating system , and OpenAP’s Brittany Slattery gave us the lowdown on data privacy in advertising.

Elsewhere, Brandon Katz looks at why streaming services can’t seem to nail the sitcom . And sorry Emmys, but “The Bear” doesn’t count. Unless, as Eleanor Semararo explains, it’s helping Hulu increase its earned media value .?

We looked at sports too, and how, in this post-Super Bowl week, basketball and golf took over from Taylor and Travis, while John Cassillo sounded the alarm about the proposed College Football playoff scheme . (Or was it scam? They sound so similar…)

LATEST FROM TVREV

Flipping And Flopping On Freevee, The Real Story Of The Walmart-VIZIO Deal ?— Alan Wolk

What we’re thinking Amazon’s really going to do with Freevee, and why the real story of the Walmart-VIZIO deal has nothing to do with either company.

Welcome To “Proximity” - Our Take On The Future Of Local TV — Tim Hanlon

Tim Hanlon introduces a new TVREV category - exclusively devoted to the future of local television.

College Football’s TV Goals Are Devouring The Sport — John Cassillo

College Football Playoff changes could be the move that finally eats the sport alive.

FX, ‘The Bear’ Help Fuel Increase in Earned Media Value for Hulu — Eleanor Semeraro

The platform was one of only four streaming brands that saw month-over-month EMV growth in January, per CreatorIQ.

OpenAP’s Brittany Slattery Discusses The Future Of Data Privacy In Advertising - Lorenzo Chiodo

OpenAP’s CMO Brittany Slattery shares its position on the future of data privacy in video advertising.

Basketball, ‘SVU’ and Golf Lead for TV Watch-Time - Eleanor Semeraro

Men’s college basketball games captured a 2.07% viewership share for Feb. 12-18, per Inscape.

Reboots And Reruns: Streaming’s Search For Sitcom Success ?— Brandon Katz

Sitcoms have long been broadcast TV’s strongest product. But streaming services struggle to retain viewers from season to season. Brandon Katz looks at why.

ZEASN EMEA’s Ronny Lutzi Explains Why TV Needs An Independent Operating System — Lorenzo Chiodo

ZEASN EMEA President Ronny Lutzi explains why the TV industry needs a competitive independent operating system, and what he’s doing to disrupt the industry at large.

NEWS TO PERUSE

Across the Industry:

• Walmart Seals $2.3 Billion Deal for TV Maker Vizio - Sarah Nassauer [WSJ]
• Exclusive: Amazon to Sunset Freevee, Streamlining Its Ad and Product Efforts - Mark Stenberg [Adweek]
• Amazon Denies Report Saying Freevee Is Shutting Down - Todd Spangler [Variety]
• Warner Bros. Discovery Becomes First Hollywood Conglomerate to Turn Full-Year Streaming Profit, Hitting $103M - Georg Szalai [THR]
• Amazon Jumps Into Upfronts Fray, Slating An Event During Mid-May Series Of Network And Streamer Pitches To Ad Buyers - Dade Hayes [Deadline]
• Sinclair’s recipe for TV news: Crime, homelessness, illegal drugs - Sarah Ellison [Wash Post]
• Tubi Is Reviving a Lost Joy: Watching Really, Really Bad Movies - Niela Orr [NYT]
• Most viewers don’t mind ads on streaming platforms, survey finds - Ryan Barwick [Marketing Brew]
• EPISODE #8? THE GREAT UNWATCHED: Ad Overload in the Age of Streaming - ADOTAT with Pesach Lattin [YouTube]
• It's Time for Streaming To Put Sports Fans Back in the Game - Alan Wolk [NextTV]

From Our Thought Leaders Circle:

• 5 trends that will dictate the CTV landscape in 2024 - Samsung Ads [The Drum]
• Samsung Ads Aims To Eliminate Linear, Streaming Ads Overlap - Robert Andrews [Beet.TV ]
• Dstillery Integrates Trailblazing Ad Targeting Solutions with Cadent - Dstillery [KRON4]
• Why Hollywood Can't Seem to Solve the Streaming Bundle Puzzle - Lucas Manfredi [The Wrap]
• Innovid Provides Outcome Data Across Platform Ad Buys - Jon Lafayette [B+C]
• BBC, Amagi, Sony, Broadcom among Technology and Engineering Emmy winners - Jenny Priestley [TVB Europe]

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