Meg James
Meg James is a corporate media reporter for the Los Angeles Times, covering the business of television and advertising. She has been a member of the Company Town team for more than a decade. She previously wrote for the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post. A native of Wyoming, she is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Columbia University.
Recent Articles
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Animal Planet to join HGTV? Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks' shares jump amid merger talks
Shares in cable television programmers Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive jumped late Tuesday in after-market trading following reports that the two companies were once again trying to merge. The Wall Street Journal first reported talks between Discovery, which owns the Discovery...
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TV networks sell a record $19.7 billion in advertising at surprisingly strong upfront market
Television networks are benefiting from surprisingly strong demand for their commercial time. Despite falling viewer ratings and fears over cord-cutting, major advertisers in the just-concluded upfront ad sales market placed orders for $19.7 billion worth of prime-time commercial spots on cable...
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AT&T veteran, John Stankey, is expected to lead entertainment operations after Time Warner takeover
Telecommunications colossus AT&T already is making plans for its management structure after it completes its proposed $85.4-billion takeover of media giant Time Warner Inc., including expanding its operations in Los Angeles. It is widely expected that AT&T will turn to 30-year phone company veteran...
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After years of playing catch-up, NBCUniversal closes revenue gap with other TV networks
NBC six years ago was reeling from the collapse of its prime-time schedule and years of meager investment from its corporate owner. The NBC broadcast network was generating an average of $1 billion less a year in revenue than its rivals ABC, CBS and Fox. “We had performance and monetization issues,”...
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In Hollywood, Asian American actors see few lead roles, and pay discrepancies when they land one
Korean American actor Edward Hong has played characters in dozens of TV shows and movies over the years, including as “Math Olympian Dude,” “Chinese Man #2” and, in a top-rated network sitcom, “Male Night Nurse.” Soon, he will appear in the independent film “Please Stand By” as the “Cinnabon Guy.”...
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Another sexual harassment scandal for Fox as it fires its head of sports programming in L.A.
Rupert Murdoch’s media company has been struggling for nearly a year to contain a sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed its Fox News unit in New York. Now, fresh allegations of a boorish workplace culture are dogging yet another unit — this time in Los Angeles — as Fox Sports announced that...
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AMC tests an ad-free channel as the TV industry struggles to please viewers who hate commercials
Advertising-supported TV is taking another step to becoming “The Walking Dead.” AMC Networks Inc., the cable programming company that is home to the zombie apocalypse drama, on Thursday became the first major ad-supported network to offer a commercial-free version through a traditional television...
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Fox's pursuit of European pay-TV giant Sky hits a new roadblock
Rupert Murdoch and his sons’ bid to expand their media empire by acquiring full control of the European pay-TV giant Sky for $15 billion was dealt a setback Thursday. Britain’s secretary of state for culture, Karen Bradley, told members of Parliament that she was considering recommending a more...