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The number of commercial breaks on Fox’s broadcast of next February’s Super Bowl LIV will drop, but the length of each of those breaks is going up, according to a report on Deadline. While there will be five breaks per quarter—up from four in recent broadcasts—the net number of ads will not change. The shift, an attempt to speed up the pace of the game, is at least partly due a response to changing viewer habits. This year’s Super Bowl pulled in 98.2 million viewers, the lowest number in 11 years. The newly downsized Fox is expected to depend more on live events like the Super Bowl to maintain profitability. When the company is holds its annual upfront presentation to media buyers on May 13, Deadline reported, the NFL is expected to be a cornerstone of that pitch.
 Lisa Granatstein |
Lisa Granatstein and Stephanie Paterik are jointly taking over from Adweek editorial director Jim Cooper, who has been in the position since 2011. Cooper will become editor-at-large, assisting CEO Jeff Litvack with special projects as well as having the opportunity to pursue other opportunities outside of the company. Granatstein will head up event programming and the magazine, while Paterik will oversee editorial strategy and the operations of the newsroom. Granatstein started at Adweek in 2011 as the managing editor, before moving into the role of editor and VP of content and events. Paterik has been with Adweek since 2015, most recently serving as managing editor, a position in which she oversaw the integrating of the publication’s print and digital staffs. Both Granatstein and Paterik will report to Litvack.
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Bill and Chelsea Clinton are getting into the podcasting game. “Why Am I Telling You This?,” co-produced by the Clinton Foundation and At Will Media, will feature conversations with President Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Foundation staff, partners and special guests. The series will cover issues related to the Foundation’s work such as the ongoing hurricane recovery needs in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the greater Caribbean region; how to combat climate change and the opioid crisis; and new ways to improve early childhood literacy. The series will also include conversations on global leadership and reflections on the Clinton Administration. The podcast, which is published without commercials and has no subscription fee, is currently available on Apple Podcasts, with other podcast platforms set to come on soon.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
