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  • Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021
NBC Sports Network to shut down at end of 2021
In this Aug. 8, 2017, file photo, Peter Bevacqua, then CEO of the PGA of America, speaks during a news conference at the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. NBC will shut down the NBC Sports Network at the end of the year. NBC Sports Chairman Bevacqua announced the move Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, in an internal memo to staff. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
By Joe Reedy, AP Sports Writer

The NBC Sports Network, which is best known for its coverage of the NHL and English Premier League, will be going away at the end of the year.

NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua announced the channel's shutdown on Friday in an internal memo to staff.

"At the conclusion of 2021, we have decided that the best strategic next step for our Sports Group and the entire Company is to wind down NBCSN completely," Bevacqua said in the memo.

NBCSN is available in 80.1 million homes, according to Nielsen's latest estimate, which is less than ESPN (83.1 million) and FS1 (80.2 million).

The channel was launched by Comcast in 1995 as the Outdoor Life Network. It was best known for carrying the Tour de France until it acquired the NHL in 2005. It changed its name to Versus in 2006 and then to NBC Sports Network six years later after Comcast bought NBC Universal in 2011.

Bevacqua said in the memo that Stanley Cup playoff games and More

  • Friday, Jan. 22, 2021
"Baba Yaga" introduced via a virtual reality movie premiere
This image released by Baobab Studios shows avatars representing Jennifer Hudson, left, and Daisy Ridley at the VR premiere of their short film "Baba Yaga." It’s being called the first ever VR movie premiere. And consumers can experience the premiere space and the film now through Oculus Quest.(Baobab Studios via AP)
By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer

Last week Daisy Ridley and Jennifer Hudson went to a movie premiere together. They posed for photos and made remarks from a stage while an audience watched quietly. 

Or, more accurately, their avatars did. 

The actors were actually on different continents, brought together for a few minutes through virtual reality headsets to walk a red carpet, pose for photos in front of a step and repeat and to speak to a crowd of other avatars on behalf of their short film "Baba Yaga." It's being called the first ever VR movie premiere. 

"I truly feel like I went to a premiere," Hudson said later. "But I didn't leave home! I think it's a cool way to do it, especially right now."

She especially liked seeing her team and how much their avatars looked like themselves. 

Virtual movie premieres have become standard in Hollywood since the pandemic started. The "events" typically just involve a start time for the film to broadcast on your More

  • Friday, Jan. 22, 2021
Bond film "No Time to Die" delayed again because of virus
In this Thursday, April 25, 2019 file photo, actors from left, Lea Seydoux, Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris and Lashana Lynch pose for photographers during the photo call of the latest installment of the James Bond film franchise, in Oracabessa, Jamaica. Producers of the forthcoming James Bond thriller say the film's release has been delayed again, until the fall of 2021, because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The official 007 Twitter account said late Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 that the 25th installment in the franchise will now open on Oct. 8. (AP Photo/Leo Hudson, FIle)
LONDON (AP) -- 

It's still not time for "No Time to Die."

Producers of the forthcoming James Bond thriller say the film's release has been delayed again, until the fall of 2021, because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic

The official 007 Twitter account said late Thursday that the 25th installment in the franchise will now open on Oct. 8. 

"No Time To Die" was originally slated to open in April 2020 but was pushed back to November of that year as the virus swept around the world. It was then delayed again to April 2, 2021.

The film from director Cary Joji Fukunaga stars Daniel Craig as 007, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas.

It's one of a slew of major releases to be pushed back or moved to streaming services as Hollywood studios grapple with coronavirus-related restrictions that have shuttered cinemas in markets around the world.

While mass-vaccination programs in many countries give hope that theaters can More

  • Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021
CNN, MSNBC viewers flip for Biden; Fox audience slumps
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, as their children Ashley and Hunter watch.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Nothing illustrates the political passions of a television network's audience quite like ratings for a presidential inaugural.

The 6.53 million people who watched President Joe Biden take the oath of office and deliver his inaugural address on MSNBC Wednesday was a whopping 338% bigger than its audience for Donald Trump's swearing in four years ago, the Nielsen company said.

On the flip side, Fox News Channel's audience of 2.74 million for Biden on Wednesday represented a nearly 77% drop from its viewership for Trump in 2017, Nielsen said.

A preliminary Nielsen estimate shows Biden's inaugural viewership on the top six networks beat Trump by 4%. Nielsen said it doesn't have a complete estimate for inaugural viewing because it is still counting people who watched on other networks or outside their homes.

CNN, with 10 million viewers, easily beat ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC and Fox during Biden's big moment, Nielsen said. That's 196% More

  • Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021
Film Independent Spirit Awards To Break From Its Norm With Evening Ceremony
Josh Welsh, president, Film Independent
LOS ANGELES -- 

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, announced that this year’s awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 22, at 10pm ET, in a primetime ceremony to be televised on IFC, a one-time break from the show’s usual tradition as a live daytime event occurring on the Santa Monica beach the Saturday before the Oscars.

Nominees for the 36th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be revealed in a video announcement premiering Tuesday, January 26 at 10am ET/7am PT on Film Independent’s website and YouTube channel. Presenters will include Laverne Cox (Disclosure, Promising Young Woman) and Spirit Award winners Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk, Moonlight, The Underground Railroad) and Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling). The January 26 nominations will also include the addition of several new television categories.

“The Spirit Awards are a More

  • Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021
Facebook's oversight board to rule on Trump ban
President Donald Trump speaks to crowd before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. Facebook’s quasi-independent oversight board will decide whether the company’s decision to ban Trump indefinitely from its platform for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol was the right one. The social media giant said Thursday that it is referring the final decision on Trump’s account to the board, though it believes it made the right choice. ,(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
By Barbara Ortutay, Technology Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- 

Facebook is passing the buck for its indefinite suspension of former president Donald Trump to a quasi-independent oversight board, setting up a major test of the recently established panel.

The social media giant said Thursday that it believes it made the right decision to suspend Trump after he incited his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in a deadly assault on Jan. 6. But it said it's referring the matter to the oversight board for what it called an "independent judgment" on upholding the decision.

Facebook's panel is intended to rule on thorny content issues, such as when posts constitute hate speech — or if the decision to ban a world leader was the right one. It is empowered to make binding rulings — that is, ones that can't be overturned by CEO Mark Zuckerberg — on whether posts or ads violate the company's rules. Any other findings will be considered "guidance" by Facebook. The board does not set Facebook policies or decide if More

  • Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021
Football, Drama Franchises Top Ratings; Nielsen Week In Review
Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside linebacker Devin White (45) sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) during the second half of an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla., in this Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, file photo. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken, File)
By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

An unprecedented impeachment hearing failed to keep TV viewers from settling back into familiar, escapist habits last week.

NFL and college football and sturdy drama franchises including the "Chicago" shows on NBC and the "NCIS" group on CBS were among the week's ratings winners, according to Nielsen figures out Wednesday.

The second impeachment of now-former President Donald Trump drew viewers to news shows, but not in the numbers that tuned in the prior week to bear witness to rioting inside the U.S. Capitol and gave CNN get its biggest single-day audience ever.

CNN had last Wednesday's most-watched impeachment hearing coverage and again claimed the weekly lead among cable news channels.

CBS' news magazine "60 Minutes," which included reports on the Capitol attack and security measures for President Joe Biden's inauguration, was the week's top non-sports broadcast despite competition from a NFL divisional playoff game. More

  • Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021
Rape charges denied by lawyer for "That '70s Show" actor Masterson
Danny Masterson appears at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn. on June 7, 2017. An attorney for Masterson has pleaded not guilty on his behalf in a Los Angeles court to the rapes of three women in the early 2000s. Attorney Tom Mesereau entered the plea for the 44-year-old actor, who was not in court, to three charges of rape by force or fear. Masterson has been free on bond since his arrest in June. Prosecutors allege that he raped a 23-year-old woman sometime in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April of 2003, and a 23-year-old woman between October and December of 2003, all at his Hollywood Hills home. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)
By Andrew Dalton, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

An attorney for "That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson pleaded not guilty on his behalf Wednesday to the rapes of three women in the early 2000s. 

Defense lawyer Tom Mesereau entered the plea for Masterson, who was not present in court, to three charges of rape by force or fear in Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

The frequently delayed hearing coincided with the inauguration in Washington of President-elect Joe Biden, resulting in far less media attention than Masterson's initial court appearance in June. His arraignment has been postponed several times since. 

Prosecutors have alleged that Masterson, 44, who has been free on bond since his June 17 arrest, raped a 23-year-old woman sometime in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April of 2003, and a 23-year-old woman between October and December of 2003. All of the alleged rapes happened at his Hollywood Hills home. 

Masterson could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted.  More

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021
Motion Picture Academy names Fernando Garcia EVP, Member Relations & Awards
Fernando Garcia
LOS ANGELES -- 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named Fernando Garcia as its executive VP, Member Relations and Awards.

Garcia will lead engagement and outreach initiatives for the organization’s worldwide membership of over 10,000 artists, filmmakers and executives, and oversee Academy Awards® processes for submissions, nominations, voting and balloting.  Garcia will also work with the Academy’s Office of Representation, Inclusion and Equity and the Branch Executive Committees on member representation and inclusion efforts, heightening awareness of diverse filmmakers worldwide who meet membership criteria.  He will report to Academy COO Christine Simmons.

“Fernando is an innovative thinker with a deep passion for movies and a true appreciation for the people who make them,” said Simmons.  “He joins the Academy’s leadership at a pivotal time, and we are confident he is just the person to lead our global membership forward and further More

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021
Netflix's big 4Q lifts video service above 200M subscribers
This Aug. 13, 2020 photo shows a logo for Netflix on a remote control in Portland, Ore. Netflix Inc. (NFLX) on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 reported third-quarter net income of $790 million. The Los Gatos, California-based company said it had profit of $1.74 per share. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
By Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) -- 

Netflix's video streaming service has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time as its expanding line-up of TV series and movies continues to captivate people stuck at home during the ongoing battle against the pandemic.

The subscriber milestone highlighted Netflix's fourth-quarter results released Tuesday. The service added another 8.5 million subscribers during the October-December period, capping Netflix's biggest year since its inception as a DVD-by-mail service in 1997. Netflix ended the year with nearly 204 million worldwide subscribers.

The fourth-quarter gains easily topped the projections of the roughly 6 million additional subscribers projected by Netflix's own management and Wall Street analysts, even as the company began  rolling out price increases of 8% to 13% in the U.S. Netflix's stock surged by more than 12% extended trading after the latest subscriber numbers came out.

After upending the DVD-rental More

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