Fledgling Cable News Networks Suffering

It is not a good time to be a cable news network not named Fox News or CNN right now.

MSNBC's left-wing slant has cost them hundreds of thousands of viewers. The programming strategy was originally established as a voice for anti-Bush supporters who had enough of what was happening with the economy and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But with a Democratic candidate in office, passionate anti-Bush advocates are satisfied with the man inside the White House. Less passion means less viewers.

NBC News eventually hired the former chief of the news division back in his old position with the same mandate he had ten years ago - save MSNBC, keep NBC's shows at number one. So far, his tactics have worked. "Today" is now #1 in the demos while "MTP" and "Nightly News" are now number 1 overall. MSNBC's left-wing shows in the daytime and evening were scrapped and replaced by newscasts anchored by NBC News' Thomas Roberts, Chuck Todd and Kate Snow.

Correspondents from NBC News are featured on the network more often and former Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has been brought in to take the reins during breaking news. The addition of Williams is seen as a rejuvenation for MSNBC's reputation along with his own career. "Morning Joe" contributors Mark Halperin and John Heilmann also have their own show at 6pm, a tape-delayed simulcast of their 5pm Bloomberg TV politics brief.

The new changes have helped improve ratings but MSNBC has not been able to catch CNN yet. In spite of all the difficulties ratings-wise, MSNBC still makes money for Comcast due to retransmission fees. With the upcoming election, ad revenue also doesn't seem to be much of an issue going forward.

The same can't be said for Al Jazeera America and Fusion. Both networks have attempted to make a dent in the news cycle but for the most part have failed. They've each had their moment to shine but faced scrutiny while doing so. Fusion's lead anchor Jorge Ramos was kicked out of a Donald Trump press conference on immigration and subsequently told to leave America in a video that viral. Al Jazeera on the other hand raised allegations about Peyton Manning and his possible usage of HGH in 2011.

Peyton Manning has received the benefit of the doubt from many fans and sports media. During last Sunday's NFL pregame shows and during the game which Manning played, no commentator mentioned the controversy even once. In his podcast, Bill Simmons described the reasoning as a "love affair" between Manning and the press but based on Twitter reactions, there is no brand trust in Al Jazeera.

Deborah Davies, Al Jazeera's investigative reporter behind the story, has made appearances on MSNBC, CNN and "Today" to set the record straight about her story. She even broke some news to CNN's Brian Stelter during last Sunday's "Reliable Sources" stating that Al Jazeera has a second source confirming Peyton Manning received HGH shipments in his residence.

The story was picked up instantly by Deadspin and other blogs and went viral on social media. It didn't stop fans from rooting for him later that afternoon after he stepped onto the field for the first time since being benched. But it makes me ponder whether anyone would've even known about the new detail in Al Jazeera's investigation if she didn't go on CNN in the first place.

If she simply made an appearance on her own network, AJA, and broke these latest details, how long would it have taken for others to pick it up and take notice? This is the problem with AJA. They still don't have a brand or reach in the United States, characteristics which took decades for CNN/Fox/MSNBC to build. The doping documentary was only watched by 25,000 people live on television. Does AJA have enough money to continue being on air past the 2016 election?

Meanwhile, the grass isn't much greener in Miami. Fusion has never been able to find its flavor. Sometimes, its an entertainment network. Sometimes, its a sports network. Sometimes, documentaries. And then maybe some news, here and there. As Fusion struggles to find its television identity, Vice is continuing to strengthen its hold. So much so that Disney announced it would invest $10 million into Vice and leave its joint venture with Univision.

Fusion is currently facing its biggest test as a featured partner on Snapchat Discover. If millenials like what they're reading on Fusion's page, the hope is that they eventually gravitate to the website and television network. The only problem? The TV network isn't available on Comcast and other major cable providers. They're not even rated because no one knows where it is on their dial or even has it in the first place.

Fusion recently produced an excellent episode of "Nightline" which aired in late December on ABC about cocaine. I expect Fusion and ABC to continue as partners with some of Fusion's reporting occasionally featured on ABC News and vice versa. But with the cord-cutting fears that ESPN's subscription numbers are causing, it is no surprise that Disney doesn't have enough patience to wait for Fusion to blossom. Univision still believes in the plan and will likely take on Disney's stake but before they do, they really need to have a vision for what Fusion really stands for.

An upcoming presidential forum will be Fusion's chance to prove itself on the national stage. Jorge Ramos and Alicia Menendez, Fusion's biggest stars, will be moderating. Will they be able to capture millennials or capture headlines?

How Will Wanda's Deal With Legendary Entertainment Affect Players Tribune

In 2014, Derek Jeter launched an evolutionary sports media outlet exclusively produced by athletes known as The Players Tribune. The venture was created together with Legendary Entertainment.

Two years later, Jeter's partner is being acquired by a Chinese behemoth known as Wanda. Here is an analysis of why the acquisition is happening from Variety:

Like other Chinese players, Wanda has wanted to have a presence in Hollywood for several years. Its chairman Wang Jianlin has previously made statements about buying either Lionsgate or MGM, and is understood to have looked into acquiring DreamWorks. (Lionsgate last year tied up a major production finance deal with another Chinese company, Hunan Television.)

While it has been poring through the books of those companies, Wanda has also been eyeing film projects in Hollywood. Progress here has been slower, with indie boxing picture “Southpaw” its most recent co-investment. Legendary, which had a mixed 2015 with hits including its 25% interest in “Jurassic World” and flops including “Black Hat,” has a pipeline of movies going forward several years, and would represent a major scaling up.

Owning the majority of Legendary would be transformational, not just for the two companies concerned. It would be the first time that a company whose stock-in-trade is the tentpole movie business is owned by a Chinese parent.

Wanda owns AMC Theaters in the United States as well as a giant movie theater chain in China. Wanda is also heavily invested in international sports. They recently a European sports media company known as Infront Media, a stake in soccer team Atletico Madrid and the owner of Ironman Triathlons. The Wall Street Journal described what Infront Media does in a recent article:

Wanda would take on uncharted business territory with its move for Infront, which has held World Cup production rights, represents Olympic winter-sports federations and provides media and marketing services for the Chinese Basketball Association.

Infront is the exclusive sales representative for distribution of broadcast rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to Infront’s website. The company also has sales-representative rights for FIFA events in 26 Asian territories, including China and India, from 2015 to 2022, Infront said. 

Wanda even owns a major movie studio complex in Qingdao, China worth $8 billion according to The Guardian. The company originally was founded as a real estate company but has rapidly transformed into a force to be reckoned with in the media world.

Legendary Entertainment has invested in both rounds of The Players Tribune's fundraising efforts. If they continue to have a role with the website after Wanda takes control, the ownership's capabilities could work to their advantage.

The ability to reach China could be the edge TPT provides versus other media outlets when an athlete decides where they want to post video or articles about their lives and careers. Wanda's relationships in the soccer world and Olympics could also help expand the kinds of athletes expressing themselves on TPT which would help further its international reach.

Wanda's movie theaters also give TPT a unique venue to distribute their video pieces before hit movies begin. Even though TPT is probably not at this point of development yet as an entity, if it decides to produce a theatrical documentary, the site would have access to physical venues worldwide where the movie could be released. A movie studio complex in China would TPT investor Kobe Bryant after retirement as he seeks to become a storyteller. Bryant could take advantage of his popularity in China to create a cross-border story.

The connections with FIFA do raise red flags because as we've discovered over the past couple of months, the business of soccer is extremely corrupt and dirty. It is unknown whether Infront or Wanda was involved in any extent and any suggestion at this point is only pure speculation. But it is something to keep in mind as more revelations about FIFA's wrongdoings continue pouring out.

Believe or not though, Wanda might be The Players Tribune's best bet in becoming an international force to be reckoned with if all the puzzle pieces end up coming together.

Intel Investing In The Future of Sports

During their CES presentation this year, computer processing company Intel announced some new endeavors involving the world of sports that could be transformative.

Its first announcement addressed new ways to watch a sports match-up. freeD technology would give sports fans at home or spectators at an arena the ability to watch a sporting event in any angle you want. Fans would have the ability to control their view and create a custom made clip based on their view. The technology has been used in the past at Yankee Stadium and Braves Stadium.

There were no announcements made at the presentation about whether any of the major sports networks would be willing to make this technology available to its consumers online but the example used was an NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. With Turner making its presence known at CES on Thursday, a potential partnership could be at bay if the two sides meet this week. Intel is already co-producing an unscripted show alongside Turner known as America's Greatest Makers.

Intel also announced a partnership with another NBA rightsholder, ESPN. The network's president John Skipper even made an appearance at the event to promote the value of Intel to ESPN's X Games coverage. Intel will install chips onto snowboards which will measure real-time data that can be used on air and by the athletes for personal usage. Intel also made a similar deal with Red Bull Media, a company that has a great deal of extreme sporting events of its own.

Could ESPN's close relationship with Intel lead to freeD technology and data accumulation being implemented in its other major sports broadcasts? One can only hope so.

The most exciting announcement from Intel for me was their partnership with the Grammy's and Lady Gaga. The group is collectively producing a performance during the show in February that is expected to mix technology with music in "ground-breaking" ways. No one knows what it means yet but it sounds like must see TV.

Here is more from Intel's press release:

• Intel announced a collaboration with ESPN to showcase the latest technology set to add new levels of data-powered insights to the feats of athleticism at X Games Aspen 2016. The tiny, low power Intel® Curie™ module will be integrated into the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle and Men’s Snowboard Big Air competitions to provide real-time data on athlete performance such as in-air rotations, jump height, jump distance, speed, and force on landing. This access to new data will provide athletes with greater insights into their performance, provide additional metrics for on-air analysts, and change the fan experience both at home and in the stands. The competitions will be televised on ESPN and ABC***.
• Intel and Red Bull Media House announced a global partnership that will extend into multiple genres and platforms. Red Bull Media House CTO Andreas Gall joined Krzanich on stage to demonstrate how athletes and spectators can get information about the performance instantly with the help of Intel Curie technology, with the promise of more announcements to come in 2016 and beyond.
• Intel is working with Replay Technologies* to deliver completely new viewing experiences for sports fans on broadcast, in the stadium, and in the home. Using Replay’s freeD™ technology optimized for Intel platforms, sports fans will be able to re-watch key moments of sporting events from nearly every conceivable angle and share a custom created clip with the world. FreeD takes advantage of 6th Generation Intel® Core™ processors and Intel server technology that has been optimized to deliver this immersive entertainment experience.

Changing the Landscape of Health and Wellness:

• Intel and New Balance announced a strategic collaboration to develop wearable technologies that connect athletes with technology to improve their athletic performance as part of New Balance’s newly formed Digital Sport division. Krzanich and New Balance CEO, Rob DeMartini, wore running shoes featuring customized 3-D printed midsoles enabled by Intel® RealSense™ technology and disclosed plans to develop a smart sport watch available for the 2016 holiday season***.
• Oakley and Intel previewed the first look at “Radar Pace” – smart eyewear featuring a voice-activated, real-time coaching system. Oakley is the first Luxottica Group* brand that Intel is working with to fuse premium, luxury and sports eyewear with smart technology. Engineered with Intel Innovation and crafted with Oakley’s high-quality design and materials, the smart eyewear is designed to provide runners, cyclists and workout enthusiasts with in-the-moment feedback and analytics, helping to track progress and improve real-time performance***.

Unleashing Creativity:

• Six-time GRAMMY®-winning global music icon Lady Gaga announced today her first collaboration with Intel, in association with Intel's announcement of a multiyear partnership between Intel and The Recording Academy® as part of the official "Next Generation of GRAMMY® Moments" program that will launch during Grammy week February 2016. Lady Gaga commented: "Intel has enlisted Haus of Gaga to work together on a project that will showcase technology through creativity at the highest level. The partnership culminates in a ground-breaking collaboration that inspires to remind the world of the seed of innovation." While Lady Gaga will not perform new material as part of the program, she promises to deliver an experience not to be forgotten.
• MGM Television Group* and Digital President Mark Burnett joined Krzanich onstage to provide a sneak peek at the innovators vying to turn their ideas into reality – from improving health monitoring to communicating in new ways to testing the limits of our imagination – in the new competition series, America's Greatest Makers. Premiering this spring on TBS*, America’s Greatest Makers is part of a larger initiative that includes coverage on CNN.com*, Bleacher Report* and other Turner* digital brands. They also launched the Digital Hub at www.americasgreatestmakers.com, which spotlights inventors, new innovations and tech tutorials, as well as unique, weekly digital content.

Snapchat Stories on TV?

As part of the NFL's official agreement to curate fan and player Snaps into one live story, the NFL Network has the ability to show the NFL Live Story on their postgame show. NFL teams have also been allowed to temporarily post their own respective Snapchat stories on their websites.

Snapchat is much different from television because the video segments are not professionally shot. To make matters worst, video is exclusively filmed vertically creating blank space on the sides of the screen. This has not stopped NFL Network from airing these Snapchat Live Stories during their broadcasts as they did in Week 3, Week 5 and Week 17.

While the experience doesn't feel as personal as it would on your mobile device, it does make me think about another way for Snapchat to create revenue for itself. Create TV clip shows. It is much easier said than done but I believe it is possible.

First, Snapchat would need to find a television production company to help them. Snapchat is already struggling to produce content for its own app so producing TV content on its own isn't a solid bet. Next, find a host and put them in front of a green screen or get a narrator to provide transitions between Snaps. Finally, create a narrative.

If this was a clip show based on NFL fan Snaps, producers could find common themes among the various submitted Snaps to create segments on. For example, the show could feature best fan dances, best fan rants, funniest tailgate moments, cool locker room moments etc. With the amount of video the app receives on a consistent basis from various stadiums across the country, I doubt they would ever run out of video to use. The clip show could take a humorous approach similar to America's Funniest Home Videos and help promote the app as it strives to continue growing its user base.

Imagine being able to view the best Snaps on the campaign trail from throughout the week that you may have missed? It would provide viewers with an all access pass that doesn't feel invasive and normally wouldn't happen anywhere else. You could also play around with the layout of what you see on the screen. Place the vertical Snap on the left or the right of the screen rather than the middle with a fancy graphic describing what you're seeing, who it was submitted by and when it happened.

If Snapchat created this kind of show about a sport or the election, I don't doubt that they could sell it to a league-specific sports network or news network easily. Both types of networks are always looking for content to fill their schedules and a show such as this would be cheap to create. Snapchat could split revenue with the network and production company and then maintain online rights of the show to be posted on YouTube or another video platform available on both mobile and desktop.

Woj Bombs Will Have Their Own Site in 2016

Adrian Wojnarowski is without a doubt one of the best sourced reporters in the NBA ranks.

The Woj is turning his abilities to break news into a site of his own with help from Yahoo. The Vertical aims to be a site that covers all aspects of basketball from the business side to shoes to the Draft to player's mental state and so much more.

Wojnarowski is bringing aboard former Wizards beat reporter Michael Lee along with 21-year-old journalism phenom Shams Charania, who gained experience and sources through volunteering at Real GM. The Woj is also bringing experts who can provide a glimpse into the culture of basketball and Yahoo is giving him free rein to partner with other sites and entities to provide this perspective.

....front office insider Bobby Marks, a 20-year NBA front office executive, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of Draft Express, the industry leaders in global information and content revolving around the NBA Draft, Nick DePaula of NiceKicks.com, the pre-eminent journalist on the basketball shoe industry, Tim Grover, longtime trainer of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant who will provide content centered around the players’ mind and body

Marks is well known in the basketball universe for his analytical insight on free agency and front office duties fans may not be aware of. His perspective will be unique because he's been a decision maker for a long period of time. He is also a client of a management firm that has access to a plethora of other significant figures in the league. Givony and Schmitz are well known among hardcore fans for their in-depth study of prospects year-round. Its a good idea to bring them on as contributors rather than blowing the bank up and acquiring Draft Express.

DePaula is probably basketball's preeminent sneaker journalist and has the scoop on many negotiations happening between the major shoe companies and athletes. He excelled during Under Armour's pursuit of Kevin Durant being the first reporter to bring that story to the forefront before mainstream networks like ESPN and Yahoo picked up the story. NiceKicks and Draft Express also draw a sizable share of loyal fans and their ability to cross promote The Vertical will help the site easily become a daily destination.

Brian Scalabrine will be offering video content to the site. As of now, Scalabrine has a show known as "The White Mamba Minute" where he weighs in on the hot topics of the season. The compelling series showcases Scalabrine's high octane personality and weird humor in short snippets. It wouldn't be a shocker to see this video series expand further once The Vertical launches. Yahoo has struggled making viral content in the past but depending on the way the season's storylines develop, Scalabrine could be the person who gets Yahoo over that hump.

Scalabrine has a busy schedule due to his reps as a Boston Celtics commentator but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him filming episodes on the road at various NBA arenas interviewing players. It wouldn't be a bad idea to send him on the road to do behind the scenes videos with a comedic flair in the style of Vice News. He has access to players not many journalists have because he was a player.

Yahoo announced this week that they would Yahoo Screen and scrap a chunk of their original productions. I don't expect this announcement to affect The Vertical's video efforts. Given the kind of access many of The Vertical's contributors have, it shouldn't be a surprise to see interviews, workouts, play breakdown, debate and behind the scenes video surrounding the written work.

Native advertising may even play a role in The Vertical's plans. The Woj was the first person to tweet out video from State Farm's Christmas Day campaign "The Hoopers," which featured Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Kevin Love among other players. He tweeted the video while introducing State Farm as an official sponsor of the site. State Farm, which recently renewed its sponsorship deal with the NBA and featured Chris Paul in a trending Dude Perfect video last week, seems committed to investing in basketball through media. This could open an avenue for compelling content that promotes its product. State Farm could post future short videos of "The Hoopers" or other campaigns featuring NBA athletes exclusively on Woj's site which could help draw a mainstream audience.

The Big Lead is reporting that Woj is targeting Chris Mannix and Zach Lowe as the next big acquisitions for his site. Woj is also widening the scope of his work by entering the podcasting world together with DGital Media. The podcast, named after his website, has already featured NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Detroit Pistons shooting guard Reggie Jackson. As the world of podcasting grows and becomes a dominant medium, expect Woj to learn from his own show to launch other podcasts for his site.

Despite the good outlook, there are still some major concerns. The future of Yahoo as a company is unknown. By this time next year, the company could be sold. There are also indications that the company wants to focus less on content and more on technology no matter what happens over the next year. It also can't be discounted that Woj will be pulling double duty as a content creator and administrator of the site. Not to mention, Woj is also an NBA insider on FS1 during the All Star Game, trade deadline, playoffs and Finals. How does he balance it all? The Big Lead has reported that The MMQB's Peter King is having second thoughts about managing and writing at the same time.

Speaking of Fox, will they be involved with the site at all? Will Woj's TV reports be posted on The Vertical? Will Fox and The Vertical share each other's content on social media or on TV? This is an awkward set-up considering Woj's time constraints and Yahoo Sports' partnership with NBC Sports.

Something else to follow is how involved The Vertical will be in promoting Yahoo Sports' Daily Fantasy basketball games.

Overall, it seems like The Vertical and Yahoo Sports as a whole is one of the few bright spots in Marissa Mayer's empire.

ESPN Acquires Super Bowl from CBS

ESPN has always been a reputable source to rely on for Super Bowl coverage during the week of the big game.

SportsCenter along with a plethora of other shows change location once a year to cover every angle except for the actual game from the host city. Finally, after being in existence for over 30 years, ESPN will get their shot at broadcasting the action with a twist - a Spanish twist.

CBS and the National Football League have reached an agreement with ESPN Deportes to televise Super Bowl 50 in Spanish on Sunday, February 7 at 6 pm ET, live from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. 

This is the first Super Bowl telecast for ESPN Deportes, which also presents weekly Monday Night Football games in Spanish throughout the NFL regular season, as well as a Wild Card Playoff game, and the Pro Bowl. The network also features comprehensive news and information coverage, including studio shows NFL Live and NFL Esta Noche.

Fox and NBC have previously aired the Super Bowl on separate Spanish-language networks they own - Fox Deportes and NBC Universo - while CBS normally offers Spanish speaking commentators through the SAP option available on most television sets.

It is not known what caused the change in heart from previous procedure but it is a move that makes sense. Fox and NBC set the precedent for producing a separate Spanish language telecast over the past two seasons. Because CBS does not own any Spanish language networks, it made sense to give the broadcast to another network.

CBS Sports Network or Pop!, two of CBS' biggest basic cable channels, could've used the Spanish broadcast to boost their own respective networks but it is unlikely the move would've been approved by the league. Latino fans do not normally rely on those networks for live sporting events in their native language and ESPN Deportes is already the home for Monday Night Football games throughout the season.

There are still many murky details including whether the ESPN broadcast will use the same graphics and camera angles as CBS, if advertisers will create new commercials specifically for Spanish language viewers as has occurred in previous years and whether ESPN paid the NFL or CBS a rights fee for the telecast.

In reference with advertisements, according to Advertising Age:

While Deportes reps did not immediately respond to inquiries about the deal terms -- ESPN announced the agreement during halftime of Monday's Bengals-Broncos game, at around 10:30 p.m. EST -- it is likely that the majority of the advertisers represented in CBS's Super Bowl broadcast also will appear in the Spanish-language feed. How the final creative will shake out is anyone's guess. Last year, roughly two of every three spots that aired in the Universo simulcast targeted Spanish speakers.

No matter what the case may be though, this is a groundbreaking event in the network's history. Super Bowl 50 will be the first Super Bowl telecast to air on an ESPN network in the United States. It will also be the first Super Bowl broadcast on a Disney-owned network in 10 years (ABC in 2005). Previously, ESPN's international affiliates have aired the big game around the world including ESPN Deportes in Latin America.

Cross-promotion between CBS and ESPN was not divulged in tonight's press release. But as an announcement was made about the new deal during the last MNF game of the year by Lisa Salters and John Sutcliffe, Mike Tirico mentioned that CBS would air the English language version of the game while name-checking Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. It wouldn't be surprising if more mentions of CBS are made throughout the week on ESPN programming deliberately as part of this deal.

To complement the live Super Bowl telecast, ESPN Deportes will present comprehensive, week-long multimedia coverage beginning Monday, Feb. 1. The lineup on Super Bowl Sunday will feature coverage leading up to the game, live from San Francisco, including a 90-min pregame special at 4:30pm and a postgame show.

It might be a good idea for ESPN, ESPN Deportes and CBS personalities to cross paths through digital segments in both English and Spanish which promoted both telecasts and were aired during ESPN's complementary programming throughout the week. I also wouldn't be shocked to see a flurry of CBS personalities appear as interview guests on ESPN's programs during Super Bowl Week.

In order to get fans ready for the big game, ESPN Deportes should also consider adding a well-known former NFL player with some kind of role for promotional purposes. My idea? Chad Ochocinco.

Ochocinco has attended previous Super Bowls acting as a "journalist" during Media Day and even established his own network of player-reporters with Motorola known as OCNN. He previously served as a guest analyst for ESPN Deportes' NFL Live when they opened up their new studios in Mexico City and could contribute segments for ESPN, ESPN Deportes or ESPN.com.

This is not the first programming addition that has been announced this week for ESPN Deportes. The network will also air each College Football Playoff semifinal game and simulcast it on ESPN2. As of now, there are no plans to simulcast the Super Bowl on ESPN2 as well.

ESPN has found innovative ways to expand their NFL empire from re-inventing the pregame shows fiasco (Fantasy Football Now, NFL Insiders) to airing the Wild Card game on ABC. This might be their most innovative idea yet.

Will ESPN find a way to air the Big Game in English anytime soon? Extremely unlikely given that CBS, Fox and NBC have all extended their deals recently leaving ESPN out of the cycle. But never say never.

2016 Media Predictions

Click on the link to see how I did with my 2015 Media Predictions!

1. Tribune will leave CW Network, re-run WGN America shows and older shows available in Tribune's library.

2. Starz and Lionsgate will merge

3. Sinclair will launch their own version of Vice News

4. IOC will speed up the launch of their network, NBC/Discovery and other rightsholders will partner with them

5. Viceland will suffer in the ratings in the beginning, start to air more unique, live programming towards the end of the year

6. Showtime and Bloomberg Politics' The Circus will break news on the campaign trail, CBS and NBC News will both have video from documentary series and will be able to show the video first

7. Bloomberg Politics will partner with an online outlet to further distribute its content, create some exclusive content for the online outlet; some question whether Halperin and Heilmann are spreading their wings too thin

8. Time Warner buys Mashable. Time Warner and Discovery will merge to prevent AT&T or Fox from buying it.

9. AT&T buys Sony in order to increase its ownership of content

10. Colbert will continue to suffer in the ratings, change the format of his show. Super Bowl postgame slot will help his ratings

11. Samantha Bee's TBS show will rate low against Comedy Central's @midnight

12. Jimmy Kimmel will expand Cisco Wall of America feature to include live webstream exclusive broadcasts

13. Jimmy Fallon will continue to dominate ratings, experiment with more online content

14. Periscope will add more features to make live broadcasts more professional such as graphics, hardware for live streaming

15. Google buys Twitter in order to fill their social media void, improve their search capabilities

16. HLN will re-air CNN documentaries, add more live newscasts aimed at viewers on the go

17. CNN, Fox News and MSNBC's schedules will not change

18. Snapchat will introduce live streaming with CNN being one of the first partners

19. Sidewire app will also break news regarding the election

20. Twitter will host a presidential forum

21. Snapchat will launch a Discover channel with election content, presidential Q&As with user submitted Snaps will be major part of the channel

22. Snapchat will surprisingly break news from the election process as well

23. GMA will increase online exclusive content to increase engagement with viewers including livestreams, extra video

24. Today Show will beat GMA in the ratings

25. Josh Elliott will leave NBC Sports, re-join GMA/ESPN. His first assignment? Awkwardly covering the Olympics which was allegedly the reason he left GMA

26. Neil Patrick Harris will contribute to NBC's Olympics coverage

27. Rio Olympics will be the highest rated Olympics in NBC's history

28. Periscope will be added onto Twitter Moments, debut during the Olympics

29. Team USA, NBC and the IOC Channel will produce compelling video for Facebook including 360 video

30. CBS will renew Thursday Night Football, acquire equity stake in NFL Network, co-produce programming with the league including entertainment programming for Pop!

31. Yahoo will acquire Thursday Night Football nonexclusive streaming rights

32. Apple will produce interviews with sports stars for their TV service

33. ESPN and Fox will share Big Ten rights

34. ESPN will launch their own OTT network with NBA

35. ESPN will acquire more live sports rights exclusively for their app, increase live talk shows exclusive to their app

36. ESPYs will air again on ABC, NFL playoff game will continue to air on ABC

37. Mike Francesa will move to MSG

38. ESPN will acquire rights to League of Legends championships

39. Turner's new ELeague Counter-Strike competitions will rate low

40. Rich Eisen Show will leave Fox Sports Radio affiliates, Yahoo Sports Radio will pick it up with Sirius/XM

41. Keith Olbermann will return to MSNBC in 2016 while Brian Williams gets his own hour of news at 1pm.

42. Simon Cowell will bring back X-Factor to the United States

43. Dan Patrick will be offered Alex Trebek's job and say no, Meredith Viera gets it instead after her show is cancelled

44. Skip Bayless leaves ESPN for Fox Sports 1, Stephen A. leaves First Take which will continue with two new cohorts

45. Jason Whitlock's FS1 show debuts to poor ratings

46. Yahoo will be bought by Verizon or IAC, Marissa Mayer will leave to start her own company

47. BuzzFeed and Vox will provide in depth Olympics coverage

48. Apple will launch their own television service with NFL games at the center

49. Alibaba buys a stake in Verizon

50. AXS TV will merge with Palladia

51. 7am SportsCenter will have a weekly segment on GMA

52. More sports, entertainment and news live events will be streamed in VR and 360 video including the conventions

53. Samsung will buy Tidal

54. Fusion will shut down TV channel after 2016 election and focus on website, channel will become Univision Noticas Network

55. Bloomberg will buy Time Inc.

56. Sinclair buys a TV network for American Sports Network

57. Peyton Manning replaces Phil Simms

58. C-USA TV rights will be acquired by Fox, Sinclair

59. Pac 12 Network gives up a stake to Fox Sports, increases programming synergies

60. ESPN invests in player-POV programming by teaming up with The Players Tribune, airing live player-POV perspectives on their app. Vice Sports also airs specials on ESPN

61. Vin Scully will retire

62. Donald Trump will launch an online commentary website with video after he drops out before the convention

63. Fox News and NBC News will win their respective cable/broadcast ratings for election coverage as Hillary Clinton wins the general election

64. Donald Trump will live stream during election night

65. CNN will experiment with virtual reality/360 video on election night

66. VR/360 will go mainstream

67. David Letterman resurfaces with interview podcasts

68. Ellen continues to grow her online empire

I'll add more as I think of them before the year ends

69. Kobe signs with ESPN to do studio work for 10 games including Christmas Day. Disney also invests in his new film studio 

70. NBC invests in e-sports programming 

71. Comcast buys controlling stake in MASN

72. Katie Couric leaves Yahoo after 2016 election, takes a break from daily grind to make documentaries 

73. Spotify or Tidal or another entity will launch a radio station or podcast network with shows hosted exclusively by famous music artists to rival Beats 1

74. Beats 1 interviews air on TV via Apple's new TV service on a channel called Beats TV. Viceland also airs Beats 1 interviews

75. Beats also invests in long form video featuring their endorsers for TV and YouTube

76. Snapchat forces users to watch ads

77. Nate Silver and 538 leave ESPN after election to join Washington Post

78. Reelz Channel is sold to a conglomerate 

79. Howard U shuts down WHUT

80. Snapchat adds a feature for verified users and snaps in your local jurisdiction to be publicly seen

81. Snapchat will finally let you upload your camera roll

82. Snapchat will create a Discover channel with the best and most viewed user generated content of the day not seen in the stories/content created by internet stars like Jerome Jarre

83. Snapchat will create a new page to make some Snaps appear publicly - possibly a Tumblr page

84. Food Network's Discover channel will be removed 

85. Revolt will launch their own awards show, partner with IHeartMedia

86. Billy Bush will join "Today Show"

87. Mark Cuban invests in e-games

88. Disney uses its library to start a diginet

89. WHDH-TV will lose NBC affiliation

90. CBS and Turner expand March Madness deal with new rights added on such as VR/360 video, ability to launch March Madness streaming service, creation of documentaries around big March Madness events

91. Hulu acquires live content of some type, possibly sports