TV News Roundup: NFL Network Added to YouTube TV Roster
In today’s TV news roundup, YouTube TV added the NFL Network to its roster of content, and Showtime shared a premiere date and trailer for its new documentary, “Kingdom of Silence.”
FIRST LOOKS
DreamWorks has shared an exclusive first look into the animated “Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy Part 2” with Variety, introducing a new character named Eleanor (Cassidy Huff). Eleanor is a young rider who uses a wheelchair to get around, with the clip showing her and her horse, Beans, racing to a close finish against Lucky and her horse, Spirit. On disability representation in television, Huff said, “I have always said that my ultimate mission in my career is to be what I didn’t have growing up. I want someone to look at me performing in whatever capacity and think to themselves: ‘Well, if she can do it, I can do it too!’ If I can genuinely inspire or motivate one person, I have done my job.”
DATES
Showtime released a new trailer for “Kingdom of Silence” and announced that the documentary will premiere on Oct. 2. The film, which will premiere on the 2-year anniversary of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Arabian consulate, explores decades of history between the U.S and Saudi Arabia while sharing Khashoggi’s story. It will also touch upon comments made by the Trump administration when interacting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The documentary is directed by Rick Rowley. Alex Gibney, Lawrence Wright, Stacey Offman and Richard Perello are the film’s executive producers. Watch the trailer below.
PROGRAMMING
Disney has unveiled plans to air Halloween-themed content on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD starting Oct. 2. Of the programs slated to run, the season 4f premiere of “Raven’s Home” will take place on Oct. 9 with a trip to a supposedly haunted apartment, and a new sketch comedy show called “Disney Channel Halloween House Party” will air Oct. 16. The sketch show is hosted by Tobie Windham and features stars from other shows like “Bunk’d.” Disney Junior will present “Mickey’s Trick or Treats” and other themed programming, while Disney XD will air a new episode of “DuckTales.”
Telemundo has launched a Snapchat series called “Politi¿QUÉ?” as part of an effort to better inform U.S. Hispanics and encourage eligible voters to get involved. Hosted by multimedia journalist Miriam Arias, the series aims to make understanding the political process more simple and is part of “DECISION 2020,” which is a Telemundo non-partisan initiative to provide Latinos with comprehensive political news. Topics to be covered by the series include the difference between the popular vote and electoral college, how to register to vote, and need-to-know information a month from the 2020 election.
YouTube TV announced the addition of the NFL Network to its content collection and the creation of a new add-on package called Sports Plus. The sports network has been added to the basic package, making it available to all YouTube TV members, while the Sports Plus package will provide more content for an extra monthly fee. NFL Network content available will include “NFL Total Access,” “Good Morning Football” and game coverage. The Sports Plus Package includes NFL RedZone, Fox College Sports, GolTV, Fox Soccer Plus, MAVTV Motorsports Network, TVG, and Stadium.
“Tamron Hall” announced the first week’s guests ahead of the show’s Sept. 14 season two premiere, including former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, his wife R. Jai Gillum, Samuel L. Jackson, his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Kassen, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Naomi Campbell, Stassi Schroeder and Melissa Etheridge. Host Tamron Hall will also be the focus of the Wednesday episode, as it is set to celebrate her 50th birthday through the appearance of various guests and surprises. The first episode focuses on Gillum and his rehabilitation experiences after he was linked to an incident involving an overdose earlier this year.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
NBCUniversal News Group announced that Emma Carrasco has been hired as senior vice president of corporate affairs. She will partner with the company’s news organizations on strategy and work alongside the its government affairs and community relations teams. Prior to making the shift to NBCUniversal, Carrasco worked as the senior vice president of global engagement at National Geographic Society. She also held positions at NPR and Nortel Networks, as well as McDonald’s, where she served as the director of communications.
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