Monday, February 28, 2011
Oscar Tweeting
TechCrunch has a neat infographic on Oscar tweets, and Lost Remote has determined that a mere 1% of viewers tweeted during the broadcast.
Streaming Options
Comcast says it doesn't plan to offer a streaming option for consumers outside of its footprint, but Dish might be working on just that, while recognizing concerns about undervaluing content.
Talk Show Under Fire
The FCC has received a heavily-documented decency complaint about a Spanish-language talk show from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
Renewals
Showtime has picked up Shameless and Episodes for second seasons, and TV Land wants more Hot in Cleveland.
Sheen TVeets
I'm testing out Storify a new way to present Good TVeets, so I offer a beta attempt here with some tweets from the last hour related to Charlie Sheen. Enjoy the bonus TVeets after the jump (and it's in chronological order from top to bottom this time). Let me know in the comments or @GoodTVeets what you think of the format.
Sheen Coverage
Charlie Sheen appeared on two morning shows today; James Poniewozik and Eric Deggans watched so I didn't have to. And David Carr notes how Sheen's violence against women repeatedly got a pass, and it was only after he bit the hands feeding him that he was sidelined.
Update: Sheen went live on TMZ just a bit ago. His publicist resigned immediately thereafter (really). Brian Stelter has a list of Sheen's "best" quotes.
Update: Sheen went live on TMZ just a bit ago. His publicist resigned immediately thereafter (really). Brian Stelter has a list of Sheen's "best" quotes.
Prime-Time Ratings: Sunday
Fast nationals: Early numbers say Oscars were down from last year; Fox repeats beat CBS. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
TV Piracy
Cory Doctorow highlight's Abagail De Kosnik's work on how piracy is often preferable to legitimate online TV options.
Game of Thrones Marketing
Myles McNutt assesses the next stage of HBO's Game of Thrones marketing campaign, a transmedia initiative.
Oscar Reviews
Oscar telecast reviews from Alan Sepinwall, James Poniewozik, Ken Tucker, Toni Fitzgerald, Rob Owen, Eric Deggans, Mary McNamara, Dominic Patten, Ken Levine, and Matt Zoller Seitz (this one is must-read).
Oscar TVeets: Part II
Backstage James Franco just turned an #Oscar into a bong to get him through the rest of the show #LateShowWriters #Oscars
AMBER ALERT reported in LA. Little boy named Oscar taken from rightful owner David Fincher. Culprit believed to be foreigner.
So we just go back to Charlie Sheen jokes? Is that how this works?
Oscar TVeets: Part I
So many tweets, one post couldn't hold them all. Part I is pre-show through Chuck singing.
Follow @GoodTVeets
the oscars are just a fake award made up by the oscar companies to sell more oscars.
Libyan rebels approaching Kodak Theatre red carpet area. Billy Bush clings desperately to power... #Oscars
pattonoswalt Patton Oswalt
Is anyone watching the Puppy Oscars on Animal Planet?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Rating Numbers
Robert Seidman has a helpful chart of how many million viewers a 1.0 rating translates to based on demographic breakdowns, which is also a helpful list of how many people are in each demo.
Good TVeets
i pray that someone can help Charlie Sheen before he becomes more successful, richer and happier.
I already have my lead for Sunday's Oscars: "This drivel, this pukefest that everyone worships..."
"she overhashtags!" "what do you mean she overhashtags?!" "everything is a hashtag with her!" Ep. 2034 The Trender #BadSeinfelds
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Oscars Online
If you're not near a TV tomorrow night but do have a computer handy, you can watch an official live stream of the Academy Awards broadcast, plus you can pay for some behind-the-scenes extras.
Prime-Time Ratings: Friday
Fast nationals: The genre shows were all steady, CBS dominated in total viewers but tied 18-49 with Fox. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
Good TVeets
How f---ed up is Charlie Sheen that the guy who CREATED Two and a Half Men is now seen as the good guy?
I think the SPN and Fringe fandoms have broken Twitter. Three trends apiece? POWER OF GENRE TELEVISION.
Sitcoms have taught me to never want anything too badly, because when you do, you'll fail, and people will laugh.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Ownership Limbo
The loosening of FCC rules against newspaper and broadcast cross-ownership is being contested.
Live Well Model
Harry Jessell points to ABC's Live Well multicast plan as a model for future broadcasting success.
30 Rock & Feminism
Interesting 30 Rock analysis from Rebecca Traister, who assesses what last night's episode says about women, comedy & feminism.
Community = Glee
Todd VanDerWerff offers 5 reasons why Glee & Community are basically the same show.
Sheen Coverage
Now Charlie Sheen says it's all-out war between him and CBS/Warner Bros. This would seem to be career suicide, or at least it seems certain he won't be back on Two and a Half Men. Joe Flint tries to calculate the financial hit from shutting down production, as does Bill Carter, and Paige Albiniak outlines what this means for the show's syndication broadcast outlets. Ken Tucker wonders if we should have some sympathy for Sheen.
New Flow Issue
- "'My Wife Calls Him My Boyfriend": Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams' Reconciliatory Bromance" by Hannah Hamad: This article explores the media narrative and constant scrutiny of the "bromance" between Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, members of the "boy band" Take That.
- "Screen Text" by Julia Lesage: A consideration of how the iPad and other new media products facilitate on-screen reading and change the face of both academic research and leisure time.
- "The Visual Style of Jet Lag in the Work of Fiona Tan" by Konrad Ng: An exploration of jet lag as fragmented pulls of disorienting imagery in the work of visual artist Fiona Tan.
- "Never Say Never, Insurge Pictures, and the Future of Independent Film" by Robert C. Sickles: The "independent" film Never Say Never, the initial production of Insurge Pictures, signals the difficulties faced by independent filmmakers attempting to break into the film industry.
- "R.I.P., F.N.L." by Janani Subramanian: The final season of Friday Night Lights has concluded on DirecTV but will be resurrected in April, 2011, on NBC. This column is equal parts clear eyes and full heart in delivering the show's eulogy.
Prime-Time Ratings: Thursday
Fast nationals: As Idol rolled, some stalwarts, like Grey's and CSI, took big dips. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
Academy Internships
NfTVM's student readers will find this of interest: the Television Academy Foundation offers great summer internships; the deadline to apply is March 15. More info at the link and after the jump.
Univision Rising
Univision's revenues are up, and its CEO reiterated his prediction that Univision will surpass the five major broadcast networks in ratings within five years.
Longer Breaks
New rules will allow for lengthier ad breaks during films and one-off dramas in the UK, and Mark Lawson wonders how that will affect programs.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Teen Barbies
Anne Helen Peterson looks at the current network TV teen stars and finds that they look like they've all been selected from the same Barbie doll stock.
Pay TV Doing OK
Ryan Lawler looks at subscriber numbers and proposes that pay TV is making a comeback.
Emmys Changes
Miniseries and TV movies will now compete in a single category at the Emmys, while the cinematography award will be split into multi-camera and single-camera categories.
Breakout Kings' Journey
Cynthia Littleton gives us a great glimpse into industry operations by tracing out how 20th Century Fox TV-produced Breakout Kings made its way from failed Fox pilot to A&E show launching in March. (Note: The article is behind Variety's paywall)
Zero Men
When I left LA this morning, Two and a Half Men was still an active TV show. Now that I've finally arrived back home, I learn that it is no longer the case, thanks to the increasingly unstable Charlie Sheen, who now won't be paid.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Traditional Viewing Strong in UK
Janko Roettgers reports that traditional, linear, industry-scheduled watching of TV is more prevalent than ever in the UK, with the BBC's online iPlayer seen as actually helping to bolster traditional viewership.
Public Media Importance
PBS has created a great infographic explaining why it's worth funding, and Emily Badger explains why public funding of media is such an important alternative to commercial funding.
Retrans Views
DirecTV pines for retrans reform, while ABC is enjoying the extra revenue stream from affiliates' retrans money.
BBC Production Site
The BBC has launched a site with instructive TV production resources, though the clips are only available to UK users.
CST Relaunched
An excellent online resource, Critical Studies in Television, has just launched a redesigned site.
FNC Top Value
Fox News Channel ranks as the most valuable non-sports cable channel in a survey of cable operators.
Prime-Time Ratings: Tuesday
I haven't been following ratings while out of town, but this one caught my eye: NCIS beat Glee in 18-49 last night. Also, The Good Wife hit a series low, which is just so wrong.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Ivi Halted
A judge has ordered the ivi TV streaming service to shut down due to copyright violations. Update: Ivi is not deterred and will appeal. Also, Joe Mullin sees the decision as short-sighted. But Katy Bachman says it looks like ivi is doomed.
YouTube Sports Live
YouTube is in talks with the NBA and NHL to stream some live games. Update: the NHL is denying this story, and it should also be noted that this is being discussed for the Asian market, not the US.
Pilot Scripts
Great resource: The TV Writing script collection site has 2010-11 season comedy and drama pilot scripts available (plus much more).
Al Jazeera Meetings
Al Jazeera English execs are holding meetings with pay TV operators about obtaining US carriage for the channel.
Streaming Competition
Amazon is launching a Netflix-like streaming program, starting with its Prime subscribers, featuring content from 2 major studios and 13 others. But both Ryan Lawler and Peter Kafka say it's not a Netflix killer. In other streaming news, CBS has selected Netflix over Hulu as an outlet for older shows. Andrew Wallenstein says Netflix can do better than this, though. Brian Stelter also reports.
Update: PaidContent has a nice chart comparing various streaming options.
Update: PaidContent has a nice chart comparing various streaming options.
Viewers Arrested
In Zimbabwe, a group of people watching BBC and Al Jazeera coverage of events in Tunisia and Egypt and discussing the implications of the uprisings were arrested on suspicion of plotting to overthrow Pres. Mugabe.
Spectrum Use
The government wants to shift some spectrum space over to broadband use, and broadcasters who refuse to give over that space could face fees. Meanwhile, broadcasters have their own ideas for spectrum use, such as ABC's Live Well multicast plan.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Gendered Ad Remixer
Jonathan McIntosh presents an app that lets you "re-combine video from ads directed at boys with audio from ads directed at girls (and vice versa) to create hilarious and insightful fair use mash-ups."
Nielsen Problems
Nielsen's testing of a new measurement system to count viewers watching online is not going well, reports Claire Atkinson.
Comcast v. Writers Guild
Members of the Writers Guild claim that Comcast does not support their efforts.
Offending Comedy
In the wake of some controversial incidents, BBC and Channel 4 execs insist that comedy has to take chances of offending.
The Morals Clause
Referencing Charlie Sheen, Scott Collins explores the concept of the morals clause in contracts, as they apparently aren't implemented much anymore and might not matter in Sheen's case anyway, given his financial value.
The 10pm Problem
Bill Carter outlines the networks' struggles to attract viewers to dramas at 10pm, as cable continues to eat away at ratings, especially with reality TV in that slot. Jaime Weinman adds some thoughts.
TV & Social Media
Brian Stelter reports on the networks' encouragement of social media use among viewers. Mark Smith also covers the issue.
Rural Cuts
Joe Garofoli notes that the elimination of public broadcasting funding being driven by the GOP will disproportionately hurt rural broadcasters, including many that identify as conservative in orientation.
Mixed Representations
Eric Deggans questions The CW's representation of women on Top Model and the new Shedding for the Wedding, and he also questions how socially advanced TV's new trend of mixed-race couplings really is.
MSNBC Branding
David Phelps profiles the agency behind MSNBC's Lean Forward branding campaign. (Fun fact: the TV spots were directed by Spike Lee).
SAG-AFTRA Hurdles
Many expect a SAG-AFTRA merger, but Jonathan Handel says there are a number of obstacles still in the way.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
James Murdoch Profile
Tim Arango profiles Rupert Murdoch's son, James, and his future leadership role with News Corp.
Internet TV Advances
Steve Smith reports on Internet TV's advancement and says bandwidth infrastructure companies, not just content companies, stand to capitalize greatly.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
BBC News US
The BBC hopes to expand carriage of BBC World News in the US, simultaneously removing the BBC World News America broadcast from BBC America and boosting investment in the US edition of the BBC News website.
AllVid Battlelines
Matthew Lasar outlines the sides being taken in the FCC's bid to implement the "AllVid" gadget that connects devices.
Pilot Directors
Nellie Andreeva observes a trend in development: feature film directors helming pilots.
PBS Passed
As expected, the House passed a budget bill that, among many other things, eliminates funding for PBS and NPR; PBS has released a statement in response.
Cancellation Odds
Metacritic charts out the likelihood of show cancellations based on a few expert predictions. Paige Albiniak also looks at endangered shows.
Friday, February 18, 2011
On Wisconsin
This isn't TV-related but it is TV Major-related: Jonathan Gray describes how Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting plans could impact the University of Wisconsin's Dept of Communication Arts (where the Media Studies program is housed and where I got my PhD).
Arrested Friends
Jeffrey Sconce checks in on the post-Friends stars' sitcoms, as well as Two and a Half Men, and offers insights into the arrested development of the men in particular.
Retrans Money
Disney and ABC affiliates have agreed on retrans money sharing, while CBS, whose revenues been boosted by retrans money collected so far, is planning to fight for even more of it from affiliates.
iPlayer Expansion
The BBC's VOD iPlayer is now available for commercial outlets to partner with, making the iPlayer a kind of hub for British TV. But BSkyB doesn't like the exclusive iPlayer restriction.
Red Carpet Merchandising
E! has signed marketing deals for products branded with their Red Carpet coverage, part of a larger trend of nontraditional licensing agreements networks and channels are trying.
PBS News Online
PBS journalist Michelle Minkoff offers a brief inside look at how PBS News' web operations work. Vaguely related, PBSKIDS.org won a KidScreen award for Best Channel Website.
Station Investigation
The FCC is investigating a Fox O&O in New Jersey over staffing and local programming issues. Brian Stelter reports.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Cablevision News
Cablevision is shifting to offering customers remote-storage DVRs, and the company has been losing subscribers.
Blue's Clues
Noel Murray offers an intelligent (and touching) analysis of Blue's Clues and why kids enjoy it so much.
Canadian TV
Jim Henshaw writes about the state of Canadian TV and offers suggestions for improvement.
Comcast/NBCU News
NBCU's Steve Burke says it will take years to turn around NBC, and Comcast may bring major spending cuts to NBC Sports, possibly including dropping the Olympics.
TV Criticism
Josh Levin discusses the nature of television criticism today, how the critics view their duties, and the role of fandom. James Poniewozik has chimed in with a response, as has Alan Sepinwall. And Myles McNutt offers an alternate history of 21st Century TV criticism. Update: Listen to a podcast discussion of the issue with Maureen Ryan, Ryan McGee, Myles McNutt and Noel Murray.
Sky Drama
Greg Grimmer highlights how Sky Atlantic, with its lineup of American "quality TV," stands to change the landscape of British TV, and he praises the new outlet's branding efforts.
Storyline by Jury
The British soap opera Hollyoaks is asking a jury of viewers to decide the outcome of a rape storyline, as a catalyst to explore issues of consent.
Long-Term Winners
Michael Bush charts out which Super Bowl advertisers have enjoyed sustained buzz for their ads.
Commercial Cuts
A British House of Lords committee recommends cutting the amount of ad time per hour on British TV to improve viewer experience, but broadcasters fear the resulting drop in revenue. BSkyB, Discovery and MTV have expressed major concerns about the proposal.
Product Placement Toppers
Nat Ives charts out the top brands and shows in terms of product placement.
Sports Impact
The new Time Warner Cable channel for the Lakers is bad news for other pay TV distributors, says Joe Flint, and bad news for pay TV's non-sports fans, says Will Richmond. In somewhat related news, Janko Roettgers discusses the rise in live sports piracy.
Piracy & Pricing
Survey results suggest that if film and TV shows were cheaper to download, they would be pirated less.
Distribution Landscape
Laura Rich lays out some of the players in the battle for online distribution supremacy.
Comcast News
Comcast's earnings rose last quarter; now it has to figure out what to do with its new self. The company apparently thinks cord cutting is no big, and the lack of concern might be because TV Everywhere seems to be working so far.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Logan Attacked
News is emerging that CBS's Lara Logan was brutally attacked last Friday in Tahrir Square.
Cord Cutting's For Kids
Also from the TV Summit, Liz Shannon Miller relays the Nielsen attitude that cord-cutting isn't a significant phenomenon, while noting that this ignores the stats about younger audiences.
Monetizing Challenge
The takeaway for Andrea Domanick from a "State of the TV Industry" summit was that "keeping viewers satisfied while finding a way to monetize content is the biggest challenge facing programmers today." More themes from Stephanie Robbins: attracting audiences and consistency.
Prime-Time Ratings: Monday
Fast nationals: Sad news for Chicago Code, numerous lows across the board. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
Meta-Community
Drew Grant explores Community's metatextuality, currently playing out on showrunner Dan Harmon's Twitter feed.
Lowest-Rated
Aaron Barnhart identifies the lowest-rated cable channels, then asks why they get carriage and Al Jazeera doesn't, then gives a reason why.
ABC Ad Swap
ABC Affiliates Board chairman Bill Hoffman discusses (albeit rather vaguely because it's still in the evaluation stages) a new system wherein ABC and its affiliates swap ad inventory rather than cash.
Skins Ad Watch
Clearasil is back on Skins, as B&C fills us in on what aired during ad breaks on the controversial show last night.
ESPN Endorsements
A mild controversy has emerged over ESPN personalities having shoe endorsements. Eric Deggans calls for more transparency.
Jeopardy Disappoints
Alessandra Stanley was let down by the first-day matchup between humans and a computer on Jeopardy.
New Survivor
Max Dawson preps us for Wednesday's return of Survivor with a focus on the contentious Russell Hantz and the possibility he can help the show overcome its recent slump.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Lakers Channel
Time Warner Cable will launch a regional sports channel in 2012 that will feature Los Angeles Lakers basketball games, thus taking most Lakers games off free (broadcast) TV. Joe Flint also reports.
Justified Narrative
I missed this Maureen Ryan interview with Justified showrunner Graham Yost last week (and here I was just complaining about Maureen Ryan being overlooked). But I've got it now, thanks to Jaime Weinman's response, especially his thoughts on the standalone episode v. serial arc issue with the show's seasonal narratives.
Glee Changes
Matt Zoller Seitz adds to the chorus of voices offering advice for fixing Glee, while the show's music supervisor says next season might feature some original songs (read: rights-free songs = more money). Also, it was announced today that Fox will syndicate Glee to its owned-and-operated affiliates.
Prime-Time Ratings: Sunday
Fast nationals: The Grammys on CBS were dominant -- in fact, the ceremony drew its largest audience in a decade. NBC might not want to look. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
Nets Missing Out
A Google search study finds that the networks could do much more to exploit opportunities to connect with viewers online.
More BBC Drama
Maggie Brown says there have been some stellar examples of BBC drama lately, but not enough episodes of them, as the institution struggles with cutbacks and entrenched modes.
By the way, if you've noticed there are more posts about British TV around here lately, it's because I've just started a research project comparing contemporary British and American TV, so some of that stuff will show up here.
By the way, if you've noticed there are more posts about British TV around here lately, it's because I've just started a research project comparing contemporary British and American TV, so some of that stuff will show up here.
FCC Agenda
David Oxenford outlines the many broadcasting issues the FCC will deal with at their March 3 meeting, including retrans and the supplement of audio descriptions for the visually impaired.
Product Placement Logo
British viewers will soon see a "P" on their screens during any UK-produced program that contains product placement, part of relaxed regulations that will bring product placement (and thus more revenue) to British TV for the first time.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Good TVeets
i loved jumping the shark !!!!!!
A: SNL. Q: Where can you see a 4-hour opening monologue about trousers and a wife beater croon love songs just in time for Valentine's Day?
Your life is going pretty smoothly if you can work up actual anger over a TV show that is free and optional.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Prime-Time Ratings: Friday
Fast nationals: Nearly everything was down, for some reason, including Fringe. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
Glenn Beck as TV Entertainment
Todd VanDerWerff offers a fascinating analysis of Glenn Beck's Fox News show, pinpointing the ways in which it functions as TV entertainment, concluding that it's "some sort of weird amalgamation of a daytime soap opera, a televangelist show, and a mystery show like Lost." His discussion of the spectatorial experience compared to Lost is especially compelling.
Good TVeets
Can't say there's nothing to watch today. There's a *revolution* on TV.
People of Egypt, get ready to be circled and connected to all manner of insanity on the blackboard of @GlennBeck.
Al Jazeera still covering Egypt, might have to tune into CNN or Fox to find up what is up with Lindsay Lohan.
Friday, February 11, 2011
AllVid Fears
Michael Wolf explains why cable execs are afraid of a new video delivery hub technology called AllVid, but insists they shouldn't be. .
Pepsi Ad
Eric Deggans writes about another controversial Super Bowl ad, for Pepsi Max, which stirred up discussion in only a handful of unlikely places.
Support CPB
If you're troubled by the GOP's plan to eliminate funding for the CPB (and by extension funding for PBS), you can sign a Free Press petition, and I also recommend the 170millionamericans.org website.
And I'll just happen to mention here that ratings for PBS's recent airing of Downton Abbey were strong.
And I'll just happen to mention here that ratings for PBS's recent airing of Downton Abbey were strong.
Wireless Future
President Obama delivered a speech yesterday outlining the plan to reallocate broadcast spectrum to help make wireless internet widely available; wireless groups are pleased, broadcasters are uncertain.
New Flow Issue
- "You Haven't Seen Avatar Yet" by Charles R. Acland: The DVD set for the film Avatar invites viewers to "extend the journey," exemplary of the elasticity of the film's boundaries.
- "The Problem of YouTube" by Aymar Jean Christian: Aymar Jean Christian dissects what's wrong with everyone's favorite video channel.
- "Drunk History and Displaced Vocality" by Lisa Coulthard: An examination of displaced voices in Drunk History.
- "Problems, Potential, and Place in Portlandia" by Esteban Del Rio: Can the enviro-slacker audience of IFC's Portlandia laugh at themselves?
- "It's Okay to Watch a Show Called Cougar Town" by Lucas Hilderbrand: Lucas Hilderbrand celebrates the pleasures of the ABC sitcom Cougar Town and assures us, "It's okay to watch."
- "Black Swan, Cinematic Excess and the Full Body Experience" by Amanda Klein: In this piece, Amanda Klein explores how Black Swan employs the conventions of art cinema in order to engage the mind, and uses the conventions of horror, melodrama, and pornography to engage the body.
- "'Who Lives?': Notes on a Cinematic Moment" by Murray Pomerance: In the true, unfolding experience of watching cinema, in our actual presence with the image, our sense of being struck depends on our relation to telltale moments.
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