Friday, April 30, 2010
Television's Survival
The Economist has praise for television's survival during a time of technological change.
Streaming Opposition
Fox Sports president Ed Goren is against streaming sporting events online, which he believes will cannibalize their money-making potential on TV.
Affils Worries
Harry Jessell reports that affiliates, NBC's and others, are nervous about the NBCU-Comcast merger.
Report Cards
TV By the Numbers assesses the performances of all the freshmen network shows thus far. And Mediaweek's Alan Frutkin provides a video report on the season's winners and losers.
How Many TVs?
Jim Louderback gives a personal example of how hard it is to count how many TVs are in a home (this in response to the recent Nielsen report).
O'Brien Speaks
Conan will be on 60 Minutes this Sunday; Bill Carter reveals what he'll discuss. James Poniewozik also reports.
Prime-Time Ratings: Thursday
Thursday night's fast nationals: CBS dominated a relatively tepid Thursday again.
Family Guy Interview
Forbes' Lacey Rose speaks with Family Guy producer Kara Vallow about animation, network standards and practices, censorship, and a possible Family Guy movie.
Must-Carry Challenge
The Supreme Court is considering whether or not to deal with Cablevision's challenge to the must-carry rules.
UK Elections & TV
Toby Young and Cornel Sandvoss tie the UK elections to reality TV and political satire, respectively.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
FlowTV Conference
The online journal FlowTV will host its next conference in the fall, and the call for responses -- basically a list of questions Flow contributors proposed which could end up as roundtable discussion topics -- has been posted. Check it out if you'd like to participate or if you'd just like to see what's on TV studies scholars' minds these days. And if you happen to really like the one titled "Til Series Finale Do Us Part? Fan Commitment and the Long-running Series," well, let's just say you have very good taste.
More on South Park
Jonah Weiner says the censored South Park episodes are genius, and seventeen Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists have signed a petition condemning the threats against Parker and Stone.
Lifetime Advice
Joe Flint has some advice for Lifetime: "Perhaps Lifetime could stand out by trying to go after quality as opposed to schlock. Leave the shows about addictions, dating and dysfunction to everyone else and develop some shows that one doesn't have to be embarrassed about watching. There's nothing wrong with the occasional guilty pleasure, but it can't be the only thing on the menu."
Upfront Central
As the network upfronts approach, you'll want to bookmark Broadcasting & Cable's Upfront Central website, with links to all their upfront coverage.
Nielsen Changing With the Times
Joe Mandese looks at how Nielsen has had to change definitions and methods of measurement due to technological developments.
Lead-Ins
Wayne Friedman says that even in the DVR era, program lead-ins and on-air promotion are still key.
TV's Most Influential
James Poniewozik highlights TV people who are part of Time's 100 Most Influential People list.
Web Therapy Assessed
Annie Stamell looks at what does and doesn't work in the online series Web Therapy in terms of its potential to work for Showtime.
Affiliate Fees
Lengthy article from Bill Gurley about the role affiliate fees will continue to play in the digital age (plus he raises a bunch of other topics in connection, such as cable bundling, Hulu, and TV Everywhere).
Upfronts Up
Predictors say the network upfront market will be up 20% over last year.
In related news, Viacom reports that ad profits are up.
In related news, Viacom reports that ad profits are up.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Gender Imbalance
TV By the Numbers has an intriguing ratings analysis of the gender balance of network shows, the vast majority of which lean female.
Another blog has a similar list from last year.
Another blog has a similar list from last year.
Treme's Ratings
HBO's Treme has already been renewed, but with such low ratings that it's clear to TV By the Numbers that it wasn't ratings that drove the renewal (the article also analyzes the ratings for The Pacific). More ratings detail for Treme.
Media Literacy Site
The FTC has launched a media literacy website aimed at helping 8-12-year-olds understand and assess advertising.
Teens + Parents
Amy Chozick looks at why TV shows are increasingly portraying teens and parents getting along.
Cable Up, Broadcast Down
Nielsen figures show ad spending on cable was up 16% last year and on broadcasting was down 10%.
Lost in Hawaii
A Hawaii outlet reports on the money Lost has brought to the state across its years filming there.
Bravo is Bi
Bravo's senior VP of original programming and development, Andy Cohen, says despite the channel's gay-friendly reputation, "We're bi. You don't know who we're gonna go home with at the end of the night."
SOS Campaigns
Myles McNutt looks at the latest Save Our Show campaigns and judges their chances of success.
The New Reality of The Hills
Excellent post from Amanda Ann Klein about the first episode of the last season of The Hills and its very real, very sad, portrayal of the Heidi-monster that it created.
Gawker pleads with us not to watch: "Please join us in saying no to this awful, awful thing. Trust us when we say that we know it was silly to have ever watched in the first place. But it's gone past silly now. Something has tilted sideways and darkened. This is grim territory we are entering and rather than abandon all hope, we'd prefer to turn around and walk back up to higher ground."
Gawker pleads with us not to watch: "Please join us in saying no to this awful, awful thing. Trust us when we say that we know it was silly to have ever watched in the first place. But it's gone past silly now. Something has tilted sideways and darkened. This is grim territory we are entering and rather than abandon all hope, we'd prefer to turn around and walk back up to higher ground."
Sets Statistics
The number of TVs in the home has increased, according to a Nielsen report: "This year the number of US homes with three or more TV sets increased to 55%, 28% have two sets and 17% have one set." NeeTeeVee reports on the findings, which include a 34% household DVR usage rate. And Aaron Barnhart reports.
The full report contains this fantastic chart, which will take me a while to figure out but which I instantly admire visually:
The full report contains this fantastic chart, which will take me a while to figure out but which I instantly admire visually:
Senior Exposure
Rob Owen writes about the increase in shows focusing on senior citizens, a possible change in TV's younger demo obsession. Perhaps there's something to that; as Aaron Barnhart points out in connection with the recent Nielsen audience study, the percentage of 50+ viewers has grown.
Defense of TV
NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith told Senate committee members that broadcasting is still an important communications format, and broadband and broadcasting are not mutually exclusive.
Prime-Time Ratings: Tuesday
Tuesday night's fast nationals: CBS was solid with NCIS's return, but Idol was stronger and Glee held up.
Lost in 140
Fun Twitter thread going on: summarizing Lost in only 140 characters for those who haven't seen it, i.e. @ErikaJL: ppl w/daddy issues crash on mysterious island, timey-wimey insanity ensues, quips are made, nicknames given.
Crowdsourced TV
Al Gore's Current cable channel will be moving toward something he's calling Crowdsourced TV. Joe Mandese reports, "During his speech, Gore implied that the next iteration of Current TV would expand on its users' ability to create information and entertainment content, as well as advertising on behalf of marketers and brands."
Startups Concessions
Bloomberg reports that government regulators may demand that Comcast make concessions that would favor Web startups like Boxee and Roku after the NBCU merger in order to help foster a level playing field in online video.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Glee Auditions
Nearly 28,000 people have uploaded audition videos to MySpace in hopes of snagging a role on Glee, and over 85 million votes have been casts for those videos.
Columbian Grey's
Futon Critic has a cast picture and press release describing the Columbian adaptation of Grey's Anatomy, whose first episode earned a 48 share (!). In line with the telenovela format, A Corazón Abierto (With Open Heart), will run for 80 episodes.
Hulu UK Abandoned
Talks have broken down between Hulu and British broadcasters, so there will be no Hulu UK in the foreseeable future.
Comcast the Worst
A consumer advocacy group has named Comcast the worst company in America, just edging out Ticketmaster.
NBC Upfronts
After trying other options, NBC is now returning to traditional upfronts. But Brian Steinberg says the network is still using some nontraditional measures. John Consoli also reports.
Reclaiming the Multi-Cam
Michael Newman has posted the paper he delivered at the recent Console-ing Passions conference, in which he defends the multi-camera sitcom. Newman writes, "The idea that single-camera comedies are an improvement on the traditional sit-com rests on some questionable assumptions about television history and aesthetics, which I wish to interrogate. Most importantly, I want to insist that if TV scholars are to turn to questions of aesthetics (which I think is a really good idea!), we do so in a way that appreciates all of television history in aesthetic terms rather than just the most recent Quality TV that appeals to folks like us, and that we do so in a manner attentive to the cultural functions of aesthetic discourses."
Kurt in Focus
Emily Nussbaum assesses Glee's Kurt: "With his arched eyebrow and disciplined moisturizer regime, Kurt has brothers across network and cable television, including Justin from the recently canceled Ugly Betty and Marshall from United States of Tara. It’s no coincidence that both shows are, like Glee, highly stylized, with little interest in boring old realism. They are jewel boxes of attitude, perfect nesting grounds for their characters’ teen-queen sensibility, the mix of self-pity, self-mockery, and elbows-out self-assertion that is the purview of a certain kind of coming-out story." (Note: some spoilers for tonight's episode in the article.)
Six-Act Damage
Jaime Weinman highlights problems with the commercial break-driven six-act structure currently undergirding many network drama hours these days.
HR Interview
Richard Beckman, the man who will guide the Hollywood Reporter into the future, says of his plans for the new HR: "I want to create a product that is the crack—the drug crack—of the industry, whether it’s digitally or in print. I just ask that they be patient with us while we do it." Well, ok then. Who isn't willing to wait for crack?
Asked about competing with Variety, he says, "If I’m setting the bar at where Variety is—and this is going to sound really caustic—I’m setting the bar too low."
Asked about competing with Variety, he says, "If I’m setting the bar at where Variety is—and this is going to sound really caustic—I’m setting the bar too low."
Prime-Time Ratings: Monday
Monday night's fast nationals: Fox won the favored demo; ABC won total viewers.
Happy Town Memo
TV critic Maureen Ryan didn't enjoy Happy Town much, but her review is an innovative joy: a mock network memo summarizing the executive thinking she assumes went into programming the show.
Google TV
There are rumors that Samsung is working on a TV set that will incorporate the Google TV platform.
Martin's New Role
Kevin Martin helped to dismantle conglomerate regulation when he was FCC chairman; now he's backing the forces fighting against Comcast-NBCU.
One of the groups Martin is advising demands that Comcast carry more African-American-owned cable channels.
One of the groups Martin is advising demands that Comcast carry more African-American-owned cable channels.
Letterman Stings Leno
Letterman unloaded on Jay Leno during an interview with Dr. Phil (naturally) last night.
Gaming With the Doctor
The BBC is releasing a series of Doctor Who video games. Matt Martin reports, "Each episode is designed as a true extension of the hugely popular Saturday night TV show, with Sumo, BBC Wales Interactive and BBC Online collaborating with Broken Sword designer Charles Cecil to create what it calls 'new forms of drama.'" Martin also interviewed Sumo's studio head about the game development process.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday Night Lights Returns
Friday Night Lights will return to NBC soon, and David Carr profiles the show.
Sports on Cable
John Ourand and Michael Smith detail how the new NCAA basketball championship TV deal developed, Wayne Friedman says sports mostly already are on cable (read it to see what he means), and Robert Seidman questions the assumption that sports on cable automatically leads to higher cable rates, which encourages some productive comments section discussion (as far as such a thing can actually exist).
A&E CEO Interview
Multichannel News talks with A&E Television Networks CEO Abbe Raven about the struggles of Lifetime, History re-branding, A&E demographics, and VOD possibilities.
UPDATE: Lifetime has a new president, borrowed from History.
UPDATE: Lifetime has a new president, borrowed from History.
TBS Microseries
TBS is running another microseries, a short episodic series with product placement run in place of a traditional ad break. Alex Weprin reports, "The microseries will premiere during Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns April 28. Two new episodes will air every Wednesday for five weeks, and will be available online after their airings."
Prime-Time Ratings: Sunday
Sunday night's fast nationals: CBS started strong, but faded down the stretch when it turned to a made-for-TV movie (which offers a reason why the networks so rarely schedule those anymore.)
Kids Upfront
Mediaweek offers a special report on what the upfronts for children's programming tell us about the state of cartoons, marketing, food and health issues, and the psychology of design.
Network Programming Trends
Halfway through his analysis of broadcast network programming trends over the past five years, Cory Barker today offers a look at Fox (previously he looked at CBS and ABC).
TV Toys
B&C interviews Hasbro Studios president Stephen Davis about integrating toys into a TV network.
Network Model Struggles But Stays
B&C's Marisa Guthrie analyzes the struggling yet dogged survival of the broadcast network model.
TV Debates
NYT's Stephen Castle reports on the impact that televised debates have had on the British political process.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Lowe Casting
Josef Adalian claims that Rob Lowe was added to the cast of Parks and Recreation at NBC's behest in order to goose ratings next season.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
New Flow Issue
- "Sweatin' Out the Shame" by Lucas Hilderbrand: A look at classic VHS workout tapes.
- "What Big Ambitions You Have!: ABC's 1965 Revision of 'Little Red Riding Hood'" by Quinn Miller: An examination of "The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood? or Oh Wolf, Poor Wolf" and its role in the camp sensibility emerging within U.S. media culture in the mid-1960s.
- "Introduction to Oogabooga Studies" by David Parry: As a follow-up to discussions of the "new" and "media" aspects of "new media" studies, Parry proposes the name "Oogabooga Studies" to ameliorate the overuse of the phrase "new media."
- "The Return of the Digital Native: Interfaces, Access and Racial Difference in District 9" by Kevin Hamilton and Lisa Nakamura: An analysis of "digital natives" and similar representations within science fiction films.
- "An Empty Set" by Megan Sutherland: A consideration of theoretical applications to the apparatus of television against the presence of cable signal frequency.
- "Tiger! Tiger! Burning Bright" by David L. Andrews: A look at the (crumbling) star identity of Tiger Woods.
- "Bing: An Illiterate Cure for Search Overload" by Daren C. Brabham and Annie Brabham: A consideration of how the search engine Bing "decides" for its users.
Doctor Who Appeal
At Antenna, Derek Kompare writes about the cross-generational, cross-genre, whimsical appeal of Doctor Who, the likes of which doesn't exist on American television.
Web Series Pickup
Lisa Kudrow's online series Web Therapy has been picked up by Showtime; will many others follow?
News Package Disappearing
Deborah Potter writes about the disappearance of the package on local TV news.
Friday, April 23, 2010
BBC Budget Allocation
Just came across this striking infographic breaking down how the 2008-09 BBC budget was allocated across various categories. You can also see the data in spreadsheet form.
(This material was put together by a website, Information is Beautiful, that regular News visitors won't be surprised to learn I fell instantly head-over-heels in love with, because it translates all sorts of info into creative chart and infographic form.)
(This material was put together by a website, Information is Beautiful, that regular News visitors won't be surprised to learn I fell instantly head-over-heels in love with, because it translates all sorts of info into creative chart and infographic form.)
Stewart v. Fox News
Brian Stelter reports on Jon Stewart's relentless focus on Fox News.
Fox News has a transcript of O'Reilly and Goldberg responding.
Fox News has a transcript of O'Reilly and Goldberg responding.
Muslim South Park Debate
CNN catalogs an array of reactions among Muslims to the South Park controversy.
Commenter rvaen offers a link in the comments that I'll also highlight here: a rousing defense of Parker and Stone's intents from Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams.
Commenter rvaen offers a link in the comments that I'll also highlight here: a rousing defense of Parker and Stone's intents from Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams.
One-Brand Strategy
Laurie Sullivan writes about Nickelodeon's so-called one-brand strategy to define the network.
Hulu Reactions
More reaction to Hulu's subscription plan: this is coming too late; its potential for success is up in the air; this is exactly what Hulu needs to do.
Transmedia Presentations
Presentations from last month's Transmedia, Hollywood: S/Telling the Story symposium ("a one-day public symposium exploring the role of transmedia franchises in today's entertainment industries") hosted by Henry Jenkins and Denise Mann are now online.
Prime-Time Ratings: Thursday
Thursday night's fast nationals: CBS carried the night, but ratings overall were down likely due to NFL draft coverage on cable. John Ourand tweeted: Draft ratings off the charts. ESPN's 5.4 metered-market rating is +26% from last year. NFL Net's 0.95 metered-market rating is +44%...Another example why NFL is king: ESPN draft coverage pulls 5.4 metered-market rating. TNT NBA playoffs was a 2.1."
More on CNN Solutions
It's been the subject of a million articles already, but anything by James Poniewozik is worth reading, so here's his latest on CNN's ratings struggle and an ingenious suggested solution: "CNN should focus not on both-handedness but on truth. It should let the chips fall where they may, not make sure that the chips, over time, aggregate around the middle. The slogan for my ideal CNN — or any news outlet — would be "The news: whether you like it or not.""
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Leno Falling
Jay Leno's ratings are starting to fall, putting him on a path that TV By the Numbers observes is quite similar to Conan's.
Reagan and Dean, Together Again
The Atlantic has resurrected a clip of James Dean and Ronald Reagan in a scene from General Electric Theater.
Glee Backlash Timeline
I'm late to this one, but it's worth catching up with: New York Magazine's predicted timeline of the Glee blacklash.
Reality Panel
A group of reality TV producers gathered yesterday for a panel called Unscripted on Cable: The State of the Business, and Mediaweek has a video excerpt.
Cable Daytime
Wayne Friedman pinpoints daytime as the daypart battleground cable will next try to fight broadcasting on.
Madness Changes
The new TV contract for NCAA tournament basketball will give broadcast rights to CBS and Turner (TBS, TNT and truTV), pushing the Final Four to cable television every other year starting in 2016. Further, the field will be expanded to 68 teams next year. JB Flint also reports, and adds the note that Turner will likely use this to try and jack up its channels' carriage fees, especially for truTV. And Brian Sternberg explains why this change is happening. More analysis from the AP. Harry Jessell sees this as a big blow to broadcasting.
Tilda Controversy
Matthew Belloni reports on the brewing controversy over HBO's Tilda, whose script only thinly veils its apparent subject, Deadline's Nikki Finke.