Statement: ABC’S Indira Naidoo's New Hosting Gig, ‘Ziwe’ Cancelled
Tamron Hall - Joy Malone / Stringer
Broadcast: ABC’s very own Tamron Hall, the syndicated daytime talk show, has been renewed for a fifth season. Broadcast groups like Cox Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst, Scripps, etc. who have joined the list of ABC-owned television stations followed suit in the renewal of Hall’s show. Kim Goodwin, ABC News president, made the announcement after Hall’s success in ratings averaging 1 million+ viewers daily – increasing total viewership by 9%. “We are thrilled by Tamron Hall’s momentum in season four and can’t wait to see what the show brings in season five,” said Goodwin.
“Tamron is a daytime powerhouse, bringing heart and gravitas to every story and issue she covers and the people she profiles. Having our leading broadcast groups on board for next season is a testament to our continued successful partnership that is connecting with audiences across the country.”
Indira Naidoo, previous host for ABC Radio Sydney, is now hosting Compass, a current affairs program on ABC TV. Naidoo plans to add to her list of achievements by running for a staff-elected director position on the ABC Board. Nonetheless, Naidoo will be facing competition to fill the Board’s vacancy—8 candidates to be exact. Naidoo’s competition includes 7:30’s Laura Tingle, Four Corners reporters Paul Farrell and Stephen Long, ABC news presenter Dan Bourchier, along with business reporters Dan Ziffer and Peter Ryan. With Naidoo’s vast experience she hopes to win the support of her colleagues, she states,
“I have a guess a very unusual pathway in that there are so few 55-year-olds who started at the ABC when they were 21, still at the organization. I may be one of the handful. So that is, I think, an amazing breadth of experience and exposure. I started at the ABC in Adelaide. So, I understand what it’s like to come from divisions outside Sydney, and a lot of the divisions feel that Sydney does get all the attention and all the resources.”
Standard General, a hedge fund, proposed, over a year, $8.6 billion for the acquirement of Tegna, a media services provider that has since been wrapped up in a review by the Federal Communications Commission causing a delay in approving the transaction. The FCC directed the transaction to an administrative law judge to review the deal, a process that would no doubt pass the Final Extension Date of May 22, 2023. According to Standard General, the Media Bureau still approved broadcast transactions even amidst actions taken by the FCC. Soo Kim, managing partner of Standard General stated, “A decision delayed is a decision denied.”
Brya Berry has been hired by KMBC Kansas City as their weekday co-anchor for its 4pm newscast. Prior to her new role, Brya worked for KFOR Oklahoma City as an investigative reporter. Berry will be superseding Haley Harrison, who resigned to be the media relations director for Trozzolo, a public relations firm in Kansas City. KMBC news director, Dan O’ Donnel stated, “Brya's extensive experience as an anchor and reporter will help us continue to provide our viewers with the most up-to-date and accurate news in the Kansas City area,” KMBC news director Dan O’Donnell states. “We look forward to the energy and expertise that she will bring to our newscasts."
Gray Television named Valerie Russell general manager of the company’s station in Dothan, Alabama, WTVY and WRGX, and Robby Thomas general manager of WIS Columbia, South Carolina effective as of February 13. Thomas will be succeeding Lyle Schultze who has parted ways with the company. Prior to his promotion, Thomas was the GM at WTVY and WRGX for three years and is now being succeeded by Russell. Before her promotion, under Russell’s management in general sales, she led the station to post records for direct business and digital revenue according to Gray.
News broke on Thursday morning, by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and E! News Executive Vice President, Tracie Wilson, that Karamo Brown’s syndicated talk show Karamo Brown will be renewed for Season 2. Karamo, sold in 85% of the country, has appeared on several leading station groups across the nation like Tegna, Sunbeam, Nexstar, Weigel, Hearst, Sinclair, Capitol, and more. When asked about manifesting his dream as a talk show host Karamo stated,
“My ultimate goal since day one. Only thing that I ever wanted. Only thing. Everything was always with the purpose of, how can I get here? And to know that we got there — we got a second season.”
Ronny Chieng - Jon Kopaloff / Stringer
Cable: Gayle King and Charles Barkley are close to finalizing a deal to host CNN primetime show as two joint figures for an hour each week. The transaction has not been finalized, leaving room for the arrangement to not come to fruition. It is known that CNN has been considering the two joint figures; as well as others, for the primetime spot. This move could serve to save CNN’s plunging viewership numbers and unstable rotation of topics, anchors, and more.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has been relying on celebrity guests like Leslie Jones and Sarah Silverman to bring in ratings since the departure of Trevor Noah last year. The network has decided to try something new—giving its correspondents a chance to lead the program for the next few weeks. These correspondents include Ronny Chieng, Dulcé Sloan, Roy Wood Jr, and more will start hosting duties between the weeks of April 3 and May 8, according to Comedy Central’s announcement on Friday. Roy Wood Jr. starts off the rotation during the week of April 3 and Dulce Sloan the week of May; Ronny Cheing’s week has not been assigned yet.
MSNBC’s Symone Sanders has switched agencies from UTA to WME for representation, according to sources. Sanders, whose contract with MSNBC ends in early 2024, launched a new Sunday program in May of last year bringing in her experience as a former media strategist whose proficiency aided two Democratic presidential campaigns. Sanders’ aide to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is what brought Sanders to MSNBC directly; leading her to host a Sunday program on MSNBC and anchor on MSNBC’s streaming hub on Peacock.
Rob King, a senior executive at Walt Disney’s ESPN, has abruptly left the multinational sports media conglomerate. King stated on Twitter, “After nearly 20 years with ESPN, I have decided the time is right for me to leave the company…I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and friends, and wish the company continued success.” King’s decision comes after complaints were filed to ESPN concerning harassing social media posts.
BET has just announced their new partnership with iHeartMedia to air the nationally syndicated radio show ‘The Breakfast Club’. The daily broadcast, hosted by Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy on New York’s Power 105.1 and VH1, will launch a one-hour edition of the show starting at 9 A.M. ET starting April 17. “We’re thrilled to partner with iHeartMedia to bring The Breakfast Club and their unique brand of entertainment and cultural commentary to our audiences,” says BET CEO and president Scott Mills in a statement.
“We recognize the show’s influence and popularity, and we are confident that the partnership will be meaningful to our viewers and to our partners. Hosts Charlamagne and DJ Envy are longtime members of the BET and Paramount family, so we couldn’t be more excited to welcome The Breakfast Club home to BET.”
Ana Cabrera, who left CNN in late 2022, worked as a correspondent and was the former anchor for one of the hours of general news reporting for CNN Newsroom Live, has officially joined CNN's rival network MSNBC as the host of Ana Cabrera Reports. The news program, which will air Monday-Friday at 10:00 AM, will focus on news reporting instead of opinion and analysis. This move comes as MSNBC is changing its daytime lineup to have anchors move away from the toxic opinion-based programming they believe has helped to contribute to America's decline in trust in media.
Showtime has announced the cancellation of the AHS Award-winning talk show Ziwe hosted, and executive produced by comedian Ziwe Fumudoh. The move comes as Showtime has been rebranded around three core programming groups: franchises, diverse cultures, and antiheroes. The move ties into Paramount's focus to closely tie the content from Showtime to their streaming platform Paramount+. With the cancellation of Ziwe, Showtime is officially out of the late-night talk genre with no plans to return.
Trevor Noah - Robert Smith
Streaming: Trevor Noah will be hosting Amazon Prime Video’s first South African original LOL: Last One Laughing, an unscripted comedy series. The unscripted six-part series will be available in early 2024. In the series, Noah creates a showdown between South African comedians and entertainers to see who can keep a straight face the longest while the opponents try to make them laugh. All contestants are competing for 1 million Rand (over $50,000 USD) that will be donated to the winner’s charity of choice. “I’m excited to be back home to host Prime Video’s first South African Original, LOL: Last One Laughing, and to have a chance to connect with my home audience,” says Noah.
“I am equally delighted for the opportunity to be working alongside my fellow home-grown comedy stars on a show that not only entertains but gives back to the South African production and charity communities.”
Ahmad Rashad, the host for NBA Inside Stuff, will be launching NBA Rewind exclusively on the NBA app. Rashad’s exclusive content will feature interviews with current NBA players as well as legends in the game. The series’ debut episode will feature Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors along with future episodes hinting at the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Dominique Wilkins to be featured in future episodes. “NBA Rewind with Ahmad Rashad will provide an inside look at some of the NBA’s current greats along with legends themselves,” states Rashad.
“Throughout the four decades that I have covered the league, I have learned that fans deeply appreciate my perspective on the game and the players, and NBA Rewind with Ahmad Rashad will provide it to them on the NBA App.”