News Brief
Quick stories from the technology, journalism and media industries, updated daily.
FCC Chairman Carr: Government shutdown has impacted agency in negative way
During an industry event, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the multi-week government shutdown is slowing some business at the communications regulator.
Gray Media promotes Nick Hasenecz to GM, WNDU South Bend
Gray Media has promoted Nick Hasenecz to serve as the General Manager of its South Bend, Indiana NBC affiliate, starting in December.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
MSNBC to rebrand as MS NOW in mid-November, executives confirm
The channel is one of several that is being separated from Comcast's NBC Universal next year.
DIRECTV for Business expands soccer access with UEFA Champions League
DIRECTV for Business is expanding the amount of live soccer games offered on its platform with the addition of UEFA Champions League matches.
BitRouter begins testing ZapperBox whole-home NextGen TV delivery
BitRouter has begun a field trial for enhanced software powering its ZapperBox NextGen TV gateway as it seeks certification for whole-home content protection.
Fox News Digital achieves numerous milestones during Q3
The outlet posted 11.4 billion multiplatform minutes and 5.6 billion views, both up year over year.
DATA
LG partners with Stingray on free streaming radio channels
LG is partnering with Stingray Music to expand its free LG Radio+ streaming service, the companies announced on Tuesday.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal invests in NextGen TV group
NBCUniversal has joined the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority as an investor, supporting the Run3TV platform that powers interactive NextGen TV features.
UEFA joins anti-piracy group ACE
The partnership expands ACE’s Live Tier to target illegal sports streaming in real time; UEFA says protecting media rights is vital to sustaining professional and grassroots sports.
The Desk launches Media Earnings portal ahead of Q3 reporting season
The Desk on Monday launch a new portal that centralizes its news articles on quarterly and annual financial earnings from publicly-traded tech, media and telecommunications firms.
Fox Business hires NBC’s Darren Botelho to serve as D.C. correspondent
Fox Business Network has hired Darren Botelho as its newest Washington-based correspondent, the network announced Monday.
TALENT MOVES
Nexxen integrates content recognition data into Yahoo DSP
Nexxen has entered into a data licensing agreement with Yahoo that will integrate its automatic content recognition (ACR) audience segments into the Yahoo DSP, the companies announced this week.