As cable audiences disappear, legacy cable media properties need to adapt. Most just die, however, including the original vision for so many of the original cable brands like TNN, MTV, VH1. Even A&E, Disney Channel and BBC America have strayed so far from original brand promises that they have confusedMORE HERE
The news that MSNBC will shed its peacock and NBC branding is nothing short of an identity crisis for the struggling cable channel. The network will reemerge as MSNOW, shorthand for New Opinion World. It’s baffling. The “MS” once had a clear lineage to Microsoft and its joint work with NBC, butMORE HERE
For fans of the first Home Alone, brands that appear in the movie are part of the nostalgia. Each year, as we see the movie, we are transported back to the Reagan era. In spite of the three decades, however, the brands are fairly consistent. The brands help define theMORE HERE
Consolidation has ruined the radio industry, destroying the legacy of generations of independent radio stations, and local radio voices. But a new (but very old) idea has come back to possibly rescue the industry. It is the advertiser owned radio station. Over a century after the founding of radio inMORE HERE
BURBANK – A new exhibition on the history of Warner Bros. has debuted to celebrate the centennial of the Warner brand. The exhibition features Warner Bros.’s “impact on storytelling” from Casablanca to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The tour is not only about movies; one of the more popularMORE HERE
LONDON – The Wilbur Smith Estate and Leopard Rock Studios has hired ACF Investment Bank to handle the sale process of the intellectual property of the late South African author Wilbur Smith (1933-2021). Smith, born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), wrote about colonial Africa, and lived most of his lifeMORE HERE
TEANECK, N.J. — As a promotion for the centennial of Walt Disney, the camera maker Leica Camera AG has released a special edition Leica Q2 “Disney 100 Years of Wonder” camera. The camera is decorated with sketches from early Mickey Mouse cartoons. The Leica company said in a press releaseMORE HERE
CHICAGO – Radio and television stations such as WDIV in Detroit are in a flurry of 75th and 100th anniversaries, as radio arrived in the 1920s and television arrived in the 1940s. These anniversaries are the perfect opportunity for legacy broadcasters to celebrate their histories and call letter equity inMORE HERE
OMAHA – Mutual of Omaha will release a new television version of the classic Wild Kingdom this January 2023. The series, subtitled “Protecting the Wild,” premieres on Jan. 2 at noon CST on RFD-TV. The series, hosted by Peter Gros, will be available for free on WildKingdom.com starting Jan. 4.MORE HERE
DETROIT – The television station WDIV will celebrate its 75th anniversary tonight with a two-hour documentary narrated by radio’s Dick Purtan, former WDIV Sportscaster Eli Zaret, and current WDIV Anchor Devin Scillian. Today, the station is taking a nostalgic tour; this morning anchor Jason Carr was on their internet feedMORE HERE