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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 3/19/21

 Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week!

#1 - NFL LOCKS UP RIGHTS FOR THE NEXT DECADE
One of my other hobbies besides TV is the NFL and occasionally the two worlds mix as the NFL made big TV news this week. The NFL has lined up the ten years of broadcast rights through 2032 and there is much that will be staying the same but also some changes. The biggest change is Amazon Prime will carry the Thursday Night Football broadcast exclusively starting in 2023. That's a big moment because it's the first time a streamer will have exclusive rights to a regular weekly game. CBS will continue with the AFC package and FOX will continue with the NFC package while NBC will continue to have Sunday Night Football. Streamers Paramount Plus and Peacock will also carry the CBS and NBC games respectively. Finally, ABC will return to the Super Bowl rotation in 2026 for the first time in twenty years as they will share the big game and some Monday Night Football airings with ESPN. The biggest trend is that most NFL games will be shown in multiple places across broadcast, cable and streaming. It only makes sense but the more fragmented it is, the less that Broadcast TV has one of its final trump cards.


#2 - CHRIS HARRISON WON'T HOST "THE BACHELORETTE"
In the continued drama with Chris Harrison and his franchises, it was announced that he won't host the upcoming edition of The Bachelorette. While Harrison has not lost his job yet, it's clear that ABC is exploring its options. Harrison defended a contestant on The Bachelor when photos surfaced of her attending an "antebellum themed party" in 2018. He has since expressed regret for his statements and was banished from the after show for The Bachelor. We'll see if he can hang on long term. It wouldn't really surprise me either way. I wouldn't be shocked to see him recover or to see him gone for good.

#3 - DRAMA AT "THE TALK"
The Bachelor isn't the only show dealing with behind the scenes turmoil. CBS's daytime talk show The Talk has been off the air all week as it investigates some workplace issues. The issues started during a heated on-air exchange about Piers Morgan between Sheryl Underwood and Sharon Osbourne. Osbourne was defensive online leading to former co-hosts calling her out for racist behavior. It seems very unlikely that Osbourne will return to the show, but I guess we will see. I'm actually a little surprised we haven't heard about a firing yet. Maybe a Friday news dump announcement is coming?

#4 - MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY RETURNING TO HBO
Now from backstage drama to scripted drama, HBO is back in business with Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey will reprise his film role from 1996's A Time to Kill in a sequel series titled A Time for Mercy. Based on the John Grisham novel, the series marks McConaughey's return to the small screen for the first time since the acclaimed first season of HBO's True Detective.

#5 - "KILLING EVE" ENDING WITH SEASON 4
BBC America is ending Killing Eve after its upcoming fourth season. The Emmy-nominated drama received tons of acclaim early on but it seems to be waning some. It's a show I haven't gotten around to yet. Also cancelled this week was NBC's World of Dance after four seasons.

Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
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