Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, November 19th, 2024

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, November 19th, 2024:

THE GREAT CABLE TV MELTDOWN CONTINUES
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Comcast is expected to announce on Wednesday that it plans to spin-off the NBCUniversal Cable TV channels into a separate company. 

There are a couple of interesting things about this move and the way that it is being done. Unlike Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast is not writing down the cable networks yet keeping them inside the company. Instead, the spinoff will most mostly controlled by current management and shareholders, but it will also be removed from Comcast's financial results. There are also some weirdly complicated tax reasons for doing it this way instead of simply writing down the value.

It's notable that Comcast is retaining several key, interconnected assets: the NBC broadcast network, the NBC owned-and-operated TV stations, the Telemundo-owned TV stations, the streaming service Peacock and NBC's digital news business. It is also keeping one cable TV channel: Bravo.

This is an all an indication of where Comcast sees the television business headed moving forward. It needs NBC in part because NBC has long-running sports right deals that it wants to be able to share with Peacock. And keeping NBC News and the NBC News digital arm in the same company makes strategic sense. As for Bravo, the simple truth is that Peacock's most sticky non-sports programming is Bravo programming. So Comcast wasn't inclined to let it go.

I do want to caution those of you arguing that this new cable spin-off will need to combine with other channels in order to survive. That "merge or die" mantra is a familiar refrain proclaimed by investors. But mergers make even less sense in this context.

Adding more channels to the NBCU lineup won't provide any help in revenue flow or even marketing. There is only way reason to combine NBCU's channels with ones from another company: the hope that the even larger mass of channels can jam cable providers and force them to continue to accept even larger increases in carriage fees.

The downside of all of this from consumers is that it's now even less likely NBCU will shut down any of its zombie networks and save cable subscribers a bit of money. The primary asset this new company will have are the cable channels and even the least useful ones can extract a small monthly carriage fee. 

For the record, here is a current rundown of NBC Universal's non-Bravo cable channels: E!, Syfy, USA, Universal Kids and Oxygen.

It's not clear what will happen with the NBC Sports channel assets, other than the Golf Network, which will apparently be part of this new endeavor. 

It's also not clear from the Wall Street Journal reporting if this spin-off will be comprised of just U.S.-based cable channels or if will include some or all of NBCU's extensive international cable channels. 

CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER REPLACED
The Penske Media Corporation announced on Tuesday that The Hollywood Reporter co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody is exiting the outlet, to be replaced by Shirley Halperin, who most recently was editor of Los Angeles Magazine. Moody had been at THR for 4 1/2 years, and had previously spent 22 years at The Associated Press:

Moody's exit is just the latest in a string of high-profile exits from the outlet, most of them involuntary. There have been reports over the last few months that the relationship between Moody and co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan has been strained due to editorial changes at the outlet. And according to sources I spoke with this afternoon at THR and the parent company, this move is seen by some at the outlet as yet another indication The Hollywood Reporter will continue its evolution towards being a more celebrity and general entertainment-centric publication.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that they replaced someone who had strong news instincts with someone who spent much of her career covering the music beat," one THR employee said in a message to me today. 

And for what it's worth, the prepared statement released by PMC head Jay Penske certainly suggests those instincts might be correct:

“Shirley brings deep experience in entertainment journalism to this role, and is one of the industry’s finest. We are excited to welcome her back and know her contributions will be key to THR’s growth and evolution.”



MAN FINED FOR OVERSTATING BENEFITS OF FAT-BURNING PILLS WILL RUN MEDICARE IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
In the category of "a bank robber is the best person to run The National Association Of Bank Security Professionals," President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will be selecting former daytime TV Host Dr. Oz to serve as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:

Aside from his many other achievements, in 2018 Dr. Mehmet Oz notably reached a $5.25 million deal in a false advertising class action accusing him of overstating the benefits of dietary supplements promising weight loss:

A trio of plaintiffs filed the case in February 2016, alleging that Dr. Oz and related corporate entities promoted products such as Labrada Garcinia Cambogia Dual Action Fat Buster and Labrada Green Coffee Bean Extract Fat Loss Optimizer as a “magic weight-loss cure” and “revolutionary fat buster” on his eponymous talk show, when in fact no scientific evidence existed to back up the claims.

ODDS AND SODS
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* In an indication of just how many people are watching some of the smart TV platforms, The MAMA Awards, a major global showcase for k-pop, will stream live exclusively on Samsung TV Plus in the U.S. and other territories. 

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH:
Adam Ray's Dr. Phil Comedy Special (Netflix)
Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises On Wicked (NBC)
Interior Chinatown Series Premiere (Hulu) - [first look video] [photo gallery]
Jeff Dunham's Scrooged-Up Holiday Special (Prime Video)
Making Manson (Peacock)
Night Court Season Two Premiere (NBC)
Night Is Not Eternal (Max) - [first look video]
Tales From Oak Island Series Premiere (History)
The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills (Bravo)
Vegas Lights & Country Nights: Countdown To The CMA Awards (ABC)
Zombieverse: New Blood (Netflix)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH:
Adoration (Netflix)
Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy (Netflix)
58th Annual CMA Awards (ABC)
GTMAX (Netflix)
Midnight Family Season Finale (Apple TV+)
Mystery At Blind Frog Ranch Season Premiere (Discovery)
Nothing To See Here (Netflix)
Our Oceans (Netflix)
Rhythm + Flow Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Surveilled (HBO)
The Merry Gentlemen (Netflix)
Wish List Games Series Premiere (Prime Video)

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY!