Emmy Awards

• The Fab Four’s last concert had been eight years earlier in San Francisco, and the band had stopped recording together in 1969.
• Michaels addressed the band members by name – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – and then acknowledged rumors that the group might get back together.
• “It’s also been said that no one has yet to come up with enough money to satisfy you,” Michaels said.
• “Well, if it’s money you want, there’s no problem here.” Michaels then held up a check.

‘It’s like he created Yale or NASA’

• “Caricatures,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “are often the truest history of the times.” Tina Fey, who appeared on the program from 1997 to 2006, reportedly might succeed Michaels as its producer when he retires.
• “Lorne created a show that’s impacted culture for decades,” Fey said of the man who has been the program’s producer, showrunner and mastermind for most of the program’s nearly half-century run.
• “It’s like he created Yale or NASA.”

Unmatched track record

• He also won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. He’s also been nominated for 102 Emmy Awards, setting a show business record, and he’s won more than 20 of them.
• Michaels’ long list of awards includes the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, two Peabody Awards and the Kennedy Center Honors.
• Whether it was John Belushi gruffly taking orders at a dive that’s only serving cheeseburgers at breakfast time, Fey impersonating Sarah Palin or James Austin Johnson caricaturing Donald Trump, “SNL” has served as the nation’s laugh track through the last half-century.
• “There has never been anything in show business like his track record for discovering stars,” said Doug Hill, the author of “Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live.”

No reunion necessary

• But then again, how many college football coaches have remained at the top of their game for a half-century?
• At some point, Michaels, who turns 80 on Nov. 17, 2024, will retire.
• When asked about retirement rumors in January 2024, he said he intended to remain with the program for at least another year.
• But neither “Saturday Night Live” nor Michaels, as it turned out, needed a Beatles reunion to make their mark on popular culture.

Chris Lamb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• Brinx.TV and AFFL Join Forces to Elevate Flag Football, Offering Unmatched Free To Play Gaming Experience
  ATLANTA, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a dynamic leap forward for the sport of flag football, Brinx.TV, the revolutionary sports and entertainment platform founded by 6-time Emmy Award winner and ESPN Sport Science maestro, John Brenkus, has clinched a landmark agreement to become "The Official Free To Play Platform" for the American Flag Football League (AFFL), the nation's premier professional flag football league.
• Through Brinx, users earn while they engage, accumulating loyalty points—dubbed Brinx Bux—for every minute spent watching and every engagement on the platform.
• "Flag football is inclusive, dynamic, and ubiquitous, and the sport's unprecedented international growth will continue with its inclusion in the LA28 Games.
• Brinx.TV will start airing AFFL games on April 27, marking a new era for fans to engage with flag football through an unparalleled interactive experience.

• Like previous installments, SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS will premiere in celebration of Earth Day on April 21, and streaming next day on Hulu and Disney+.
• Octopuses are like aliens on Earth: three hearts, blue blood, and the ability to squeeze through a space the size of their eyeball.
• “If you’re going to dive deep into natural history, you have to do it with National Geographic.
• For National Geographic, Pam Caragol is executive producer, and Tom McDonald is executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content.

• Brightcove (NASDAQ: BCOV), the world’s most trusted streaming technology company, today announced Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT), one of Brazil's most prominent TV networks, has chosen Brightcove as its official streaming technology partner to power its new AVOD app, +SBT.
• Selected for its Emmy Award-winning technology, Brightcove’s reliability, scalability, and security will help SBT stream content from its more than 100 broadcast stations directly to audiences throughout Brazil.
• “Today’s consumers demand instant access to news and content, making streaming an integral part of any media organization’s strategy.
• With their robust streaming solutions, we can trust that our audiences will be able to consume high-quality and secure video streams.