Top Stories

LOS ANGELES: Keshet International has established Keshet Studios, a brand-new outfit based in Los Angeles that will oversee the development, production, packaging, promotion and sales for the company's scripted-programming activities. Peter Traugott has been named president of scripted at Keshet Studios, while Rachel Kaplan serves as executive VP. Both will …

SAN FRANCISCO: The use of alternative viewing platforms by U.S. consumers is poised to eclipse cable and satellite TV, with nearly half of consumers already using streaming video services such as Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Hulu. The Zogby Analytics survey, commissioned by CALinnovates, found that "cord cutter" platform adoption …

NEW YORK: NBCUniversal’s multicast networks COZI TV and TeleXitos are set to air the popular ’90s series Baywatch starting next month. COZI TV will premiere classic episodes of the series starting with a marathon from August 1 at 6 a.m. until August 2 at midnight. Baywatch chapters will then air …

NEW YORK: CBS Corporation’s digital subscription, VOD and live-steaming service CBS All Access is expanding its live local feeds to 75 percent of the U.S. The affiliate agreements span 124 markets across the U.S., with 40 affiliate groups having inked deals to participate in the CBS All Access service to …

MONTEREY: U.S. broadcast station M&A volume reached $223.3 million in Q2 2015, nearly twice the total for the first quarter, according to SNL Kagan. TV registered deals came in at $98.2 million for the second quarter. Even though the Q2 total of $223.3 million was nearly double Q1's reported $120.5 …

NEW YORK: The absence of ad dollars from last year's World Cup impacted major U.S. networks on a year-on-year basis, with TV ad revenues down 6 percent in Q2 compared to the same period in 2014, according to Standard Media Index (SMI) data. The global advertising data company estimates that …

LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO: Music-talent platform StarMaker is set to launch next year an audition app for the final season of American Idol. The app will give aspiring artists the opportunity to reach callback auditions with the executive producers for the singing competition, which launches its 15th and final season on …

NEW YORK: Emmy-winning production company Left/Right (Odd Mom Out) has appointed Olivia Wingate to its scripted team, while also extending its creative partnership with producer/director Michael LaHaie. Wingate has been named senior VP of scripted development for Left/Right. In that role, she is charged with developing and supervising new scripted …

ATLANTA: Turner Broadcasting's TNT and TBS have established their creative development and production teams following the announcement earlier this year that the channels' original programming teams would be divided into two separate units. Joey Chavez has been appointed as TNT's senior VP of original programming. He is responsible for the …

LOS ANGELES: HBO has signed a multiyear, multiplatform agreement with sports media figure Bill Simmons that is led by a new weekly series slated for broadcast next year. HBO will be the exclusive TV home for Simmons. The deal, which takes effect in October, will involve a comprehensive partnership on various …