Madison Avenue: Last News

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe hottest place to be in TV may not be traditional television, but Paramount Global was able to make the medium seem pretty cool.Paramount Global has largely completed its upfront sales negotiations. And while the company saw its volume of advance advertising commitments rise most significantly for digital venues like Pluto and Paramount Plus, ad dollars committed for the traditional primetime schedule on the CBS broadcast network rose as well, according to a person familiar with current negotiations  The company expects at least a 10% rise in volume for its primetime schedule, this person says.  In 2021, CBS may have seen its primetime commitments total between $2.03 billion and $2.64 billion, according to Variety estimates, compared with $2.03 billion and $2.51 billion in 2020.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s upfront market is starting to close and ad dollars seem harder to collect.NBCUniversal expects the volume of advance advertising commitments secured in the annual haggle to be “in the same range as last year,” according to Jeff Shell, CEO of the Comcast owned unit. He said that declines due to “cord cutting were offset by pricing and Peacock for us,” during remarks made at an investor conference organized by Credit Suisse.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticIn “Mad Men,” Jon Hamm had his corner office: the room with a view, overlooking Madison Avenue, where Don Draper could work, drink and brainstorm in peace. Maybe that’s why the actor was drawn to playing a lowly paper-pusher with a bad mustache and big dreams of occupying such a space in “Corner Office,” a low-key, screw-loose workplace satire that offers audiences a side of Hamm they’ve never seen before — and might not be in such a hurry to experience again, unless the toil-from-home blues of the pandemic have made them receptive to the call of cubicle life.Premiering at the Tribeca Festival, “Corner Office” is director Joachim Back’s slightly taxing cinematic take on “The Room,” a slender novel by Swedish actor-cum-author Jonas Karlsson, unread by me, that bills itself as “a short, sharp and fiendish fable in the tradition of Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett and Charlie Kauffman.” Check, check and check, insofar as those three absurdist writers are concerned, though I’d quibble with the other descriptors in that pitch.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBefore finalizing Discovery’s purchase of WarnerMedia from AT&T, David Zaslav spent months holding friendly conversations with Hollywood moguls and influential agents. Now he’s locked in contentious discussions with Madison Avenue.Warner Bros. Discovery is making what media buyers and other executives say are  severe demands on advertisers in the course of discussions around the industry’s annual “upfront” market, when TV networks try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s “upfront” ad-sales market is starting to move — and earlier than expected.Just days after the networks wrapped glitzy programming presentations to Madison Avenue executives, Walt Disney Co. is said to have written some business with at least one major media buying agency, according to three executives familiar with recent discussions.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorHow did the simple act of counting TV viewers become so controversial? David Kenny thinks he knows.The CEO of Nielsen has been under fire for months, ever since some of his company’s biggest customers — the nation’s TV networks — began to complain about how Nielsen tabulated viewers during the coronavirus pandemic. They are still complaining.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterComedy “Pivoting” has been canceled after just one season at Fox, Variety has confirmed.The midseason single-cam sitcom starring Eliza Coupe, Ginnifer Goodwin and Maggie Q, concluded its 10-episode first season March 10.Set in a small, middle-class town in Long Island, NY, “Pivoting” follows close-knit childhood friends Amy (Coupe), Jodie (Goodwin) and Sarah (Q) as they cope with the death of the fourth member of their group. When faced with the reality that life is short, these women pivot, and alter their current paths, by way of a series of impulsive, ill-advised and self-indulgent decisions.

Lea Michele and Tommy Dorfman stepped out to attend a celebration of Balmain‘s flagship store on Madison Avenue.

In a fast-moving, 40-minute pitch to media buyers on Day 1 of the NewFronts, NBCUniversal’s Peacock touted its advertising DNA at a moment when some streaming rivals are just now cozying up to Madison Avenue.

Anne Hathaway enjoyed a brief reprieve from her hectic schedule after working on four projects since the spring of 2021, including the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed.Having wrapped on three of the jobs by February,the Oscar-winning actress was able to get in some retail therapy on Saturday in New York City.Hathaway made a stop at Stubbs & Wootton, which is located on NYC's world famous Madison Avenue. Retail therapy: Anne Hathaway, 39, took advantage of a brief reprieve in her hectic schedule and made a stop to buy luxury slippers at the Stubbs & Wootton shoppe in New York CityThe company, which prides itself by having anattention to detail and an emphasis on craftsmanship,produces ready-to-wear luxury slippers.With spring in the air, Hathaway, 39, opted for a more conservative look in khaki trousers and a blue short-sleeve sweater over a blue denim shirt.She matched the fitted pants with white sneakers, and donned stylish, wide-frame sunglasses on the sunny Saturday.

Estelle Harris, who played George Costanza’s (Jason Alexander) mother Estelle on the popular NBC sitcom “Seinfeld” has died days before her 94th birthday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFor at least one evening, worlds are colliding in late-night TV.Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel decided to switch up their hosting duties on April 1, with Kimmel traveling to New York to lead NBC’s “Tonight Show” and Fallon journeying to California to host ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The studio audiences attending each broadcast were not informed of the move ahead of time, leaving them just as surprised as the TV viewers who tuned in Friday night. The Red Hot Chili Peppers served as musical guests for both programs.While such stunts are rare — each late-night program vies with the others for viewership and social-media activity — they are becoming less unique.

IMG Model Ashley Graham pampered herself with a restorative facial appointment with skincare specialist Mzia Shiman in Manhattan's Lenox Hill neighborhood on Wednesday.The 34-year-old mother-of-three bundled up in New York's 40F-degree spring weather with a black double-breasted maxi-coat over a matching zip-up knit turtleneck, Alo-brand pants, and Nike high-tops.Ashley - rocking Saint Laurent sunglasses and hoop earrings - wore her hair in a ponytail and toted an oversized leather bag while strolling down Madison Avenue. Pamper session: IMG Model Ashley Graham treated herself to a restorative facial appointment with skincare specialist Mzia Shiman in Manhattan's Lenox Hill neighborhood on WednesdayShiman applied a golden face mask on Graham - and her other celebrity clientele includes Hayden Panettiere, Erin Wasson, Amber Valletta, Elsa Hosk, and Martha Hunt.On Tuesday, the Nebraska-born, Brooklyn-based beauty took to TikTok to vent about being judged for breastfeeding in public.

In its heyday Figure of Eight Park drew tourists from across the country to marvel at its rides, illuminations and a 100-tonne stuffed whale known as Eric.

She rose to fame starring on the Real Housewives of New York City, but pivoted into a real estate career after stepping away from television.And Kelly Bensimon beamed with pride at the launch of her fourth outerwear collection, EnVille by Pologeorgis, at the newest Blue & Cream location on Madison Avenue.The 53-year-old model bundled up in gorgeous furry coats created to reflect her 'extensive travels' and was joined by her former RHONY co-star Luann de Lesseps for the fashionable affair in Manhattan. Friends forever: Kelly Bensimon beamed with pride at the launch of her fourth outerwear collection, EnVille by Pologeorgis, at the newest Blue & Cream location on Madison Avenue with former RHONY co-star Luann de Lesseps.Kelly teamed a funky brown bomber jacket which featured white sleeves and a black racing stripe with a classic black leather skirt and matching nylons.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBCUniversal has pushed in recent months to change the way TV audiences are measured and to shake up the methods Madison Avenue uses to place ads, but at least one thing about the Comcast-backed media conglomerate will remain the same: the location of its main upfront presentation.NBCU pledged to hold forth from Radio City Music Hall once again, just as it has for many years before the coronavirus pandemic scuttled the in-person extravaganzas that have become so much a part of the TV networks’ annual pitch to advertisers. The owner of the NBC, MSNBC and USA networks said it would kick off the industry’s annual Upfront Week on May 16, with an evening event aimed at promoting Spanish-language outlet Telemundo, marking a return to at least some of the traditions of the annual market, when U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox is shaking up the way it talks to Madison Avenue.After years of highlighting sports programming and primetime options on its flagship broadcast network, Fox Corporation plans to abandon its longtime roost at New York’s Beacon Theater during the industry’s annual May week of upfront presentations and start putting a bigger spotlight on ad-tech, streaming and its broader portfolio of media properties. The shift takes place as many traditional purveyors of TV make changes in their business to accommodate a growing interest by consumers in on-demand streaming and new demands from prominent sponsors to align commercial messages with the viewing patterns of narrower groups of potential customers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen has a new proposal for TV networks that have been threatening for months to find other means of measuring their audiences: Stick with the yardstick you already use.The company, which has for decades offered viewership counts that are at the heart of how TV outlets set advertising rates, plans in 2022 to overhaul one of its most critical tabulations. Since 2007, Nielsen’s “commercial ratings,” or measures of the viewership of ad breaks on TV, have been at the foundation of advertising negotiations between media companies and Madison Avenue.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe TV industry, long measured by Nielsen, continues to offer up new yardsticks to Madison Avenue.ViacomCBS said it would take a more active role in the TV industry’s ongoing quest to develop new audience-measurement alternatives by teaming up with data company VideoAmp and developing a new means of tracking the reach of advertising among linear and digital viewers.

Dancing with the Stars couple Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy packed on the PDA after reuniting in Manhattan on Wednesday.The 35-year-old Kiwi-born Aussie and the Ukrainian 41-year-old could not keep their hands or their lips off each other as they window shopped on Madison Avenue.Peta wore a hot pink bikini top beneath a white maxi-dress while Maksim wore an orange T-shirt with white-striped pants and $55 Vans 'Checkerboard' slip-ons.

Daily Star's biggest headlines straight to your inbox!A high-flying millionaire is accused of committing shocking acts against women in a sex dungeon.Wall Street financier Howard Rubin, 66, allegedly beat paid BDSM partners and “became more violent” if they screamed or protested.The money manager – who denies the allegations – is said to have kept hidden a luxurious penthouse apartment in New York’s glamorous Madison Avenue, kitted out with blow-up photos of Playboy models and bondage equipment.It is in the secret sex lair that Rubin is accused of having committed violent acts and sexual assault against a number of women, including Playboy playmates.A civil trial, with six of his seven alleged victims seeking at least $18 million [£12.9m],