Tuesday, August 31, 2010
News Corp Key to Rentals
The plan for iTunes TV rentals may hinge on how Rupert Murdoch feels about it.
Emmy Idea
With talk of the possibility of the Emmys splitting into two shows, Cory Barker offers a different idea.
Apps or Browsers
Will Richmond considers whether all th eupcoming internet TVs will rely more on apps or browers.
Movie Marketing
Andrew Hampp takes the pulse of movie execs about marketing, including on television.
TV the New Cinema?
Steven Zeitchik delves into the argument that TV is better than movies these days. AO Scott considers it too: "The traditional relationship between film and television has reversed, as American movies have become conservative and cautious, while scripted series, on both broadcast networks and cable, are often more daring, topical and willing to risk giving offense."
New ABC Family Head
With Paul Lee having left for ABC, ABC Family will now be led by former Radio Disney General Manager Michael Riley.
GSN Profile
Lisa Bernhard profiles GSN, the game show network, and its attempts to bridge TV and online entertainment.
Sons of Anarchy Interview
Alan Sepinwall interviews Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter about the upcoming season (premiering September 7).
Nielsen Settlement Fails
Nielsen has been accused by Sunbeam of preventing competitors from entering the Miami market, and a court-ordered mediation settlement has failed.
Tennis Channel Frustrated
Here at US Open time, the Tennis Channel wishes it was carried more widely.
Get After It, Cable
Dan Frommer says cable better start battling the Googles and Apples out there if it wants to survive.
Deadliest Catch Complaint
The executive producer of Deadliest Catch is angry that his show is lumped in with PBS fare at the Emmys (his show lost to a Ken Burns miniseries on national parks) and wants the Television Academy to create a docudrama category.
Monday, August 30, 2010
New Digital Subchannel
This article is about the Tribune Co. launching a new local digital channel called Antenna TV that will run vintage reruns and movies. But I'm most struck by the names of other area digital channels: This TV, Me TV, and Me Too. Seems very caveman.
Wayne Friedman points out that this is an old strategy, in more ways than one.
Wayne Friedman points out that this is an old strategy, in more ways than one.
Social Media & Product Placement
Brian Steinberg looks at The Vampire Diaries' innovative attempt to mesh together social media buzz and product placement.
Disney-TWC Deal
Disney and Time Warner Cable have made progress on their fee disputes. In fact, Claire Atkinson is reporting that the deal is done.
Viewing Stats & Charts
Some great charts at Tech Crunch illustrating time shifting and online viewing percentages, broken down by age, sources, and devices.
Emmys Rating
The Emmys drew about the same number of viewers as last year, which can be viewed as a victorious result.
Web TV Concern
Internet video is a concern for the Justice Department in regard to the Comcast-NBCU marriage.
Emmy Coverage
A list of the nominees and winners. Aaron Barnhart very rightfully criticizes the Emmys for leaving David Mills out of the "death montage" (and here's another tribute to Mills). Steve Pond yawns, Alan Sepinwall feels refreshed, James Poniewozik is surprised, Eric Deggans is without snark, Myles McNutt was unbored, Cory Barker reflects, Joel Keller is mixed, Alessandra Stanley laughed, Mary McNamara had fun, Robert Bianco was off-balance.
If there are bits you missed, you won't be able to catch them all on nbc.com, but Vulture links to the four best (watch while you can). Paige Albiniak tallies the broadcast v. cable scorecard. Lacey Rose has winners and losers. TV Tattle has many more links.
Brad Agdate: "Sum up Emmys: Broadcast TV did best with comedies; cable TV with dramas, variety shows & pay cable TV with movies." There could be just such splits in Emmy's future, but no more longform in prime time.
The Twitter gimmick flopped.
If there are bits you missed, you won't be able to catch them all on nbc.com, but Vulture links to the four best (watch while you can). Paige Albiniak tallies the broadcast v. cable scorecard. Lacey Rose has winners and losers. TV Tattle has many more links.
Brad Agdate: "Sum up Emmys: Broadcast TV did best with comedies; cable TV with dramas, variety shows & pay cable TV with movies." There could be just such splits in Emmy's future, but no more longform in prime time.
The Twitter gimmick flopped.
ATWT's End
Patrick Irwin talks with media analyst Sam Ford about the coming end of the soap opera As the World Turns (note: the interview has multiple parts; part 2 is here, part 3 is yet to come).
New In Media Res Issue
This week's theme: Children's Culture
- Monday August 30, 2010 – Benjamin Thevenin (University of Colorado) presents: The Wild Child: A Fresh Look at the Pains and Joys of Childhood in Film
- Tuesday August 31, 2010 – Steven Boyer (University of Glasgow) presents: Cuddly Kittens and Chainsaw Bayonets: Where Do Kids Fit into Today’s Video Game Landscape?
- Wednesday September 1, 2010 – Morgan Blue (University of Texas at Austin) presents: Taking Stock & Giving Back: Citizenship in Hannah Montana Forever
- Thursday September 2, 2010 – Allison Butler (Independent scholar) presents: Young People, Social Networking and Qualitative Methods
- Friday September 3, 2010 – Phil Nel (Kansas State University) presents: Metafiction for Children: A User’s Guide
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Emmy Ratings Predictions
There are plenty of people predicting who will win Emmys, but James Hibberd wants to predict the ratings for the Emmys.
Yikes, I had Emmy mispelled up there all night? I need an editor!
Yikes, I had Emmy mispelled up there all night? I need an editor!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Detroit 1-8-7
James Poniewozik considers the responsibility the upcoming Detroit 1-8-7 has toward representing its featured city.
Awesome Ratings Data
Ed at Spotted has completed his summer project, which ends up being an incredibly valuable resource for us. What's he's got now is a relatively complete 18-49 demo ratings history of 51 veteran primetime network TV shows. So much could be done with this info.
Star Wars Uncut
If you haven't heard about Star Wars Uncut, which won an Emmy in the relatively new category of interactive media, do check out its website.
BBC iPlayer International
The BBC is looking to make its iPlayer (which lets BBC licensees watch programming online) available internationally, but there will be staunch opposition to that from independent producers.
Emmy Extras
The Emmys this year will have a live backstage show online and a social media component.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Disney-TWC Sticking Point
Bloomberg reports that holding back the Disney-Time Warner Cable negotiations is Disney's demand to have a fee kicked in for ESPN3.com, an intriguing sign of the retrans fight now being affected by digital properties, not just TV ones.
Joe Flint has more on the rhetoric flying between the two companies.
Joe Flint has more on the rhetoric flying between the two companies.
One Million More Households
Nielsen's estimate of the number of US TV households will climb another 1 million to 115.9 million for the 2010-11 season, an occasion for a great chart of TV household growth since 2000. There are also slight changes in TV market ranks, with Miami passing Denver for 16th and New Orleans dropping a spot due to readjustment for previous flawed assumptions.
Networks Still Have It
Wayne Friedman says digital entities can't market and launch shows the way networks can.
Emmy Coverage
Linda Holmes points to five Emmy stories to watch (Go Coach and Mrs. Coach!), and Myles McNutt tells us why he bothers writing about about Emmys.
New Flow Issue
- "Meaningful Diversity: Exploring Questions of Equitable Representation on Diverse Ensemble Cast Shows" by Mary Beltrán: A thoughtful analysis of television networks' promotional emphasis on diversity and how it may contribute to the belief that television is an equal-opportunity playing field.
- "My Co-Worker is on Big Brother" by Ann Johnson: An academic reflects on her colleague's participation on the reality show Big Brother.
- "So Why Did Everybody Love Raymond?" by Kelli Marshall: A critical look at the similarities between Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond and consideration of how the success of Everybody Loves Raymond is a nod to Seinfeldian conventions.
- "Life: Oprah Gone Wild" by Janani Subramanian: Oprah's flair for creating consumable emotions is situated as a domesticating force underscoring the anthropomorphic narrative in the Discovery Channel series, Life.
Google TV Ads
Peter Kafka highlights Google TV's new ad campaign, which....well, you have to go see it for yourself. Don't watch the ads just before bedtime, though.
M*A*S*H, The Interview
In his latest captivating post in a series on Very Special Episodes of television, The AV Club's Noel Murray analyzes M*A*S*H's "The Interview."
Levitan & Hulu
James Hibberd interviews Modern Family creator Steve Levitan about his online TV concerns.
Learning From NBC
NBC surveyed viewers to see how much they learned about a public health issue (HPV and cervical cancer) from an episode of Law and Order: SVU. The result was chartastic.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Party Down People Returning
If you miss Party Down, you'll be happy to hear it's sort of coming back.
NFL Extension
Joe Flint considers what a possible extension of the NFL regular season to 18 games could mean for the television industry.
Digital Pennies
Wayne Friedman reminds us that for all the excitement about online TV, no one's figured out how to turn the video stream into a revenue stream yet. (Though I recall he also reported Dawn Ostroff's claims a month ago that The CW had figured it out.)
Emmy Uncertainty
The Emmys might have a competitor in the Paley Center Awards in 2012, part of future uncertainty for the Emmys, a future that could even include cable. Alessandra Stanley thinks the Emmys future should include more new winners.
Hendricks Ad Campaign
Christine Hendricks is appearing in a Mad Men-appropriate ad campaign for London Fog coats, but it's apparent they have retouched her figure for it.
Salacious Scenes
The Daily Beast has clips of eight groundbreaking TV sex scenes. Because you can never get enough of seeing Dennis Franz's ass.
Gay TV Now
Mediaweek's Alan Frutkin has a video interview with TV creatives like Greg Berlanti and Ryan Murphy about the state of gay content on TV.
One Company to Rule Them All
China wants to create a single company to integrate together its 1,700 cable TV operators.
Conan's Clauses
Matthew Belloni digs into Conan O'Brien's contract as far as what he is and isn't allowed to say about NBC if he gets on stage at the Emmys this Sunday.
True Blood v. TVD
Kristina Busse compares and contrasts True Blood, which has the status of quality TV, and The Vampire Diaries, which doesn't.
BBC Waits on 3D
Julian Clover reports that the BBC is hesitant to embrace 3D until a standard format is settled on.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Online TV News
Janko Roettgers reports on a study finding that almost half of all consumers watch TV content online every week (charts included!); Joe Flint thinks networks should think twice before they make streaming rental deals with Apple, though Philip Elmer-DeWitt argues that the networks' real boogeyman is not Apple but BitTorrent; Georg Szalai reports that Yahoo might buy a stake in Hulu; and a survey of a week in August found only about 14% more shows available on Hulu Plus than on free Hulu.
Emmys Backstage
You'll be able to live stream Emmys backstage action this Sunday. And oh yeah, the Emmys are on Sunday, don't think I've mentioned that here.
The View For Guys
Barbara Walters is developing a version of The View targeted more toward men. (How quickly we've forgetten The Other Half.)
Local News Salaries
Good news for news reporters, bad news for sports reporters in a survey of local TV news salaries.
Cable's Summer Dip
Cable's share of our eyeballs has declined slightly this summer over last. Gary Levin reports that summer ratings were mostly stable overall.
Conan Money
Conan O'Brien's writers might have to take a pay cut to work for TBS, even though the show is drawing ad rates in the ballpark of broadcast figures. Also, what will his show be called? Dunno yet.
Schedule
Just a programming note: I teach on Monday/Wednesday, so blog updates might come late on those days or sometimes not til the next day.
TiVo Research
TiVo is expanding its audience research scope, looking into the impact of time-shifting on ad effectiveness and the effectiveness of TV promos.
Sunday Ticket Online
You'll now be able to get DirecTV's NFL Sunday ticket online, even if you're not a DirecTV subscriber, for the mere price of $350 and proof that you can't get DirecTV's satellite service.
Bad News for CBS News
The CBS Evening News hosted by Katie Couric just earned its lowest rating in 20 years. The low came in the midst of a two-day feature from Afghanistan.
Vampire Value
In case you hadn't noticed, vampires are in; the Hollywood Reporter says you could fund a small nation on the revenue from vampire-themed properties.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Television Academy Online Archive
Karen Herman profiles the fantastic Television Academy Foundation's Archive of American Television
TV For Rent
Bloomberg reports that iTunes might soon offer TV shows on a 48 hour rental basis for 99 cents. The New York Times also reports. And Dan Frommer writes about the subscription idea Apple dropped in favor of this because networks would never go with it.
Cable's Defense
The latest in what is turning out to be National Cord Cutting Discussion Week, Andrew Hampp reports that cable execs say the decline in subscribers isn't about them, it's the economy (and I would have to assume they added "stupid" too). But David Houle suspects it's the start of a long-term trend.
Screens Everywhere
Judy Shapiro says marketers should be aware not just of three screens (TV, computer, mobile), but six screens (I won't tell you what the other three are; you have to check for yourself).
Ovation Growth
The arts and culture-focused Ovation is a rare specimen as an independent cable channel (i.e. one not part of a conglomerate portfolio), and it's starting to appear in more living rooms. Meg James writes, "One problem is that, because it's a stand-alone channel, Ovation doesn't have the clout to pressure cable operators to add it to their programming lineups. So it has relied on a straightforward pitch: Ovation's more thoughtful programming is a distinct alternative to the cookie-cutter channels offering movies, sports and reality shows."
Lost S6 DVD
The DVD set of Lost's sixth season is out today, and Linda Holmes tells you (some of) what's in it and reflects on the love put into the whole project.
Emmy Tweets
Acknowledging the value of tweeting during Event TV (i.e. it means people are actually watching, and watching live), the Emmys will be looking for a few good tweets to read off during the awards show.
Real-Life Mad Men
Adam Curtis has a fascinating presentation of Madison Ave. advertising men and women and campaigns from the 1960s (unfortunately it's a British site and some of the clips won't play in the US).
X Factor Controversy
The British singing competition show The X Factor has been accused of using Auto-Tune to improve or even ruin certain contestants' voices (the producers cop to the improving, saying it's necessary due to mic problems in the live space, but not to the ruining). The LA Times has a clip of one of the show's performances, and wow, that's pretty Auto-Tuney.
Update: Simon Cowell has banned Auto-Tune use in X Factor.
Update: Simon Cowell has banned Auto-Tune use in X Factor.
The WB circa 2000
Kirthana Ramisetti has just launched a new weekly feature highlighting network promos from the past. First up, The WB in 2000, "Oh What a Night."
I've embedded the clip here because it's so amazing, but please visit the link after viewing to see what Kirthana has to say about it.
I've embedded the clip here because it's so amazing, but please visit the link after viewing to see what Kirthana has to say about it.
British Time Shifting
A survey of British TV viewers using DVRs finds that 86% always fast-forward through ads (which sounds closer to my experience than the percentages many US DVR user surveys claim).
Indecency Status
John Eggerton reports on the latest wrinkle in the indecency regulation saga: "The FCC and Justice Department as much as conceded Monday that the commission's indecency policy is unconstitutionally vague, instead telling the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that it should hold off on reaching that decision until the U.S. government decides whether or not to appeal the same court's ruling that the commission's Fox profanity finding was unconstitutionally vague."
Update: The FCC has appealed the Fox ruling.
Update: The FCC has appealed the Fox ruling.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Comedy Comeback
Mark Dawidziak describes the apparent resurrection of the sitcom...and hey! There's a cool chart! Also, Aymar Jean Christian follows up on the article, which he is quoted in.
MLB Figures
Deadspin has obtained recent financial documents (part 1 and part 2) for five Major League Baseball teams, including TV revenue figures, and Maury Brown has begun to analyze what it all means.
Community Viewing
Wayne Friedman considers the state of real-time community viewing in a time-shifted world.
Sorry, Cable
Ryan Lawler says cable TV is doomed: "The $100 cable bill is dead. The cable industry just doesn’t know it yet. What killed it was not just a combination of ad-supported online video sites and cheap subscription video services, but a fundamental inability on the part of TV programmers and cable companies to reach the next generation of consumers." Mark Joyella offers additional thoughts.
Related, a newly released SNL Kagan study says subscription TV lost subscribers last quarter, with cable taking the biggest dip. NewTeeVee has a great chart of this.
David Poland says it's more complicated than new technology replacing old, though.
Related, a newly released SNL Kagan study says subscription TV lost subscribers last quarter, with cable taking the biggest dip. NewTeeVee has a great chart of this.
David Poland says it's more complicated than new technology replacing old, though.
Jersey Shore Success
Jersey Shore hit a ratings high last week, and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino will have made $5 million by the end of the year. (Insert spit take here)
Brian Stenberg and Adnrew Hampp follow up on the story.
Brian Stenberg and Adnrew Hampp follow up on the story.
Network Falls
Broadcasting & Cable has started looking at networks' falls (seasons, I mean, not demises): Melissa Grego talks to Fox's Marcy Ross, and Michael Malone gauges NBC affiliate excitement.
New Feud
No, not another retrans fight or corporate spat...this one's about the revamped Family Feud, which is developing an online presence.
Sons of Anarchy Ratings
Kurt Sutter and Robert Seidman consider the ratings expectations for season 3 of Sons of Anarchy.
Political Ad Spending
Steve McClellan reports that political ad spending is expected to soar for midterm elections this year, news that makes broadcasters happy.
Disney-TWC Battle
Just over a week to go until Time Warner Cable subscribers might lose ESPN and ABC.
TV Alternatives Everywhere
The New York Times has a number of articles today on coming alternatives to traditional television, or the Sofa Wars, as they dub the series: web video on TV, Dish Network's TV Everywhere plans, Time Warner's TV Everywhere plans (follow-up commentary from Robert Seidman), Sony and web shows, the future for 3D sets, and cord cutting issues.
Elsewhere, Kevin Rose speculates on the impact Apple's iTV could have, Georg Salazai reports that TiVo will begin tracking web content usage on TVs, R. Thomas Umstead covers the rise of streaming sports plus Starz' move to put Party Down episodes online, plus Fox's foray into VOD, and Todd Spangler interviews a Netflix exec the growth of the outlet's streaming services.
Elsewhere, Kevin Rose speculates on the impact Apple's iTV could have, Georg Salazai reports that TiVo will begin tracking web content usage on TVs, R. Thomas Umstead covers the rise of streaming sports plus Starz' move to put Party Down episodes online, plus Fox's foray into VOD, and Todd Spangler interviews a Netflix exec the growth of the outlet's streaming services.
New In Media Res Issue
This week's In Media Res focuses on media policy:
- Monday August 23, 2010 – Bill Kirkpatrick (Denison University) presents: Please Feed the Trolls: 4chan and Vernacular Media Policy
- Tuesday August 24, 2010 – Joshua Heuman (Texas A&M University) presents: Unsettling Accounts: The Cultural Life of Hollywood Economics in Johnson v Rysher, Celador v Disney, and so on
- Wednesday August 25, 2010 – Jennifer Holt (University of California, Santa Barbara) presents: Access of Evil: Google, Verizon and the Future of Net Neutrality
- Thursday August 26, 2010 – Allison Perlman (New Jersey Institute of Technology/Rutgers University-Newark) presents: The Politics of the "Same Level Playing Field": Race, Citizenship and Net Neutrality
- Friday August 27, 2010 – Tom Streeter (University of Vermont) presents: Law in the Text
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Niche Channels
Jon Caramanica checks out some of cable's more niche-oriented channels, like Halogen, which is focused on empowerment. And Andrew E. Kramer profiles Russia Today, a cable news channel financed by the Russian government and available to about 20 million American viewers.
HSN Interview
Andrew Hampp interviews the executive vice president of programming, marketing and business development for HSN, which was recently revamped from its former Home Shopping Network identity and is now focused on "lifestyle editorial-programmed commerce" (which sounds like television to really get excited about).
USA Arcs
Cory Barker criticizes USA's cursory attempts to build ongoing arcs into its scripted dramas.
Creative Emmys
Gold Derby lists the winners of last night's Creative Arts Emmys, and Alan Sepinwall gives you the good and mostly bad of the evening.
Tosh Profile
Brian Stelter profiles comedian Daniel Tosh and the success of his Comedy Central show, Tosh.0.
Friday, August 20, 2010
TV Outlooks
Is TV's glory fading or is its greatest yet to come? (The latter is from the British perspective, by the way).
Google TV Interface
Janko Roettgers highlights StuffWeLike's detailed glimpse at Google TV's interface.
Last Call Renewed
You may have forgotten that Carson Daly has a late night show, Last Call. I did. I also didn't even realize that it has been on for 10 seasons. But it's been renewed, so I'll get more chances in the future to remember all that.
Iraq Coverage Comparison
David Bauder compares and contrasts how the cable news networks covered the Iraq pullout.
Network Sports Ratings
Spotted gives us a detailed look at network sports ratings, including across the last NFL and college seasons and a handful of championships.
Endemol Troubles
Reality TV production company Endemol is having financial problems; Peter Lauria considers what this means for both Endemol and network reality TV's future.