Thursday, March 31, 2011
Netflix Adds
Netflix Instant is adding a bunch of TV on April 1 (No fooling! At least I don't think so!), thanks to the CBS deal.
New MTV Shows
MTV has greenlit a number of new shows, including a remake of The Inbetweeners (because Skins went so well).
Mad Men Agreement
Matthew Weiner and AMC have settled peacefully for two more seasons plus an option for a third (!). Brian Stelter has some deal details, including episode running time agreements, as does Alan Sepinwall, as does Joe Flint. Jaime Weinman gives his thoughts on the deal. Brian Stelter's updated article on the deal.
Hospital News Ethics
Blythe Bernhard reports on the ethics questions involving local TV news health segments sponsored by hospitals. (This with recent news of fines for local sponsored segments)
Premium VOD
DirecTV will launch a premium video-on-demand service in April that will make features available for $29.99 only sixty days after their theatrical release.
Top Chef Women
A Yahoo staffer reports on claims that women contestants find Top Chef to be an especially challenging environment.
TWC Pulls Channels
Responding to major media company demands, Time Warner Cable has pulled some channels from its iPad app. Joe Flint also reports. Elsewhere, a Turner exec defends TV Everywhere's rollout. And ESPN's issue with this is controlling blackouts.
Update: Now TWC has added some channels.
Update: Now TWC has added some channels.
Peabody Awards
This year's Peabody Award winners have been announced. The broadcast networks got only one: CBS for The Good Wife. Public TV and radio outlets won 18 of the 39 awards given out, with PBS leading all outlets with nine. No sitcoms were rewarded, but some great cable dramas were (Justified, Men of a Certain Age, The Pacific, Temple Grandin, Degrassi). Peabody board member Maureen Ryan discusses the winners and the logic behind the choices.
Worldwide Success
Deadline has a list of what it dubs the "most commercial" new network shows, which boils down to which have sold the best worldwide. At the top? Blue Bloods. The bottom? Undercovers.
In Treatment Done (Maybe)
HBO doesn't plan to renew In Treatment, but a vaguely worded statement left open a possibility.
Good TVeets
The utterance of the word "Pepsi" might be the most punk rock thing to ever happen on Idol
This works better without "Show." RT @THR Charlie Sheen Sued for Allegedly Interfering With Reality Show http://j.mp/gqdRPa
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
GH Stir
General Hospital has stirred up fans with a child's death plotline. Update: Ed Martin also covers this controversy and admonishes GH for poor story choices.
The Game Disappoints
After flying out of the gate, BET's The Game has trended downward in both ratings and quality, says Mark O. Estes.
New TV Critics Org
The Broadcast Film Critics Association has birthed a parallel organization devoted to TV, the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, which will host an awards show a few days before Emmy nominations are due. We're supposed to call this BTJA for short, pronounced "betcha." Or we could just never talk about it again.
iPad Dispute
News Corporation has asked Time Warner Cable to remove its channels from the company's TV Everywhere iPad service. A Turner exec insists that such disputes aren't slowing down their efforts.
Amazing Race & Othering
Jonathan Gray discusses the positives and negatives (but mostly the negatives) of The Amazing Race's depictions of global culture.
Mad Men Impasse
Deadline reports that a major obstacle to getting the Mad Men deal done is that AMC wants to implement cost-saving tactics, including product placement and dropping a few cast members. Mark O. Estes follows up with thoughts, as does James Poniewozik.
Update: Brian Stelter confirms that we won't see Mad Men agaim until early 2012 and has Matthew Weiner's reaction. Weiner spoke more to Basket of Kisses. Also coverage from Deadline, Josef Adalian, Maureen Ryan, Tim Goodman, Alan Sepinwall, Jaime Weinman (and more Jaime Weinman), Sean O'Neal, and Brian Steinberg.
Update: Brian Stelter confirms that we won't see Mad Men agaim until early 2012 and has Matthew Weiner's reaction. Weiner spoke more to Basket of Kisses. Also coverage from Deadline, Josef Adalian, Maureen Ryan, Tim Goodman, Alan Sepinwall, Jaime Weinman (and more Jaime Weinman), Sean O'Neal, and Brian Steinberg.
No GE on NBC
Bebeto Matthews questions why NBC News did not cover the widely circulated news about parent company General Electric not owing any federal taxes last year.
Gay Portrayals
A WGA panel discussion last night highlighted gay portrayals on TV, especially on Showtime series (because a number of the panelists work for Showtime series).
Univision Change
More management changes at Univision, with an exec who got a promotion last week now leaving.
Prime-Time Ratings: Tuesday
Fast nationals: ABC and CBS have the most to brag about, though The Good Wife's series low is a concern. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
Powell Letter
Kevin Powell, best known in the TV world for being on the first season of The Real World, has penned a heartfelt and compelling letter to singer Chris Brown. In the course of encouraging Brown to get his emotions together, Powell also discusses the power of mediated images of black men.
Broadband Bill
Mtthew Lasar highlights a North Carolina bill backed by cable that could limit broadband competition.
Oprah Tweets
Oprah turned to Twitter to help OWN ratings. Also, Piers Morgan did an hour on Twitter.
Viewing By Race
Nielsen has released a study on TV viewing trends organized by racial groupings. (Full report .pdf here)
Good TVeets
Mad Men off air until 2012. If you want to see men in suits stuck in the past, you're stuck with GOP presidential field.
BREAKING: Obama declares Season 5 of Mad Men a "vital national interest," orders military intervention in AMC.
I vote Tim Kring as the new Mad Men showrunner. #Auteur
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Repeat Viewing
Nielsen will now count repeat DVR viewing of episodes (meaning if a Nielsen household viewer watches an episode once live and then again on the DVR, both will be counted, as long as the repeat happens before 3am same day).
Musical Episodes
With a Grey's musical episode on tap, Mary Elizabeth Williams wonders if it's time to retire the gimmick.
British Drama
The next installment in the Guardian's look at the state of British TV: drama. (Though one should note that many of the article's observations about American TV are pretty off)
Parenthood Struggles
USA Today laments how Parenthood hasn't caught on with many viewers on despite high quality.
Community Writing
Splitsider presents an interview with Community writer Megan Ganz (who you can also follow on Twitter: @meganganz), which contains a good description of the writers' room process.
BitTorrent TV Series
A ongoing viewer-funded TV series called Pioneer One has been available at BitTorrent.
Profanity Appeals Pause
We'll be waiting even longer to see how the Fox and NYPD Blue profanity cases will end.
The Kennedys Debuts
Dave Itzkoff looks at the factors that raised controversy surrounding The Kennedys, which debuts on Sunday.
iPad Viewing
Brian Stelter assesses the battles brewing over making TV content available for viewing on iPads. More on iPad TV from Ryan Lawler.
Good TVeets
What ever happened to that guy we used to talk about here? Charlie something? Had some kind of blood that was different than ours?
Ruined by 15 minutes of Secret Life of the American Teenager. Cured by 15 minutes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.#tvantidotes
@ShawnRyanTV has won the Twar.
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Internet TV Standards
The official standards organization for the web has made recommendations for Internet TV standards.
2.5 Men Promos
Drew Grant wonders if recent Two and a Half Men syndication promos are playing up Charlie Sheen's alleged substance abuse issues.
Praise for NHK
Washington Post's Chico Harlan praises Japanese broadcaster NHK's coverage of the earthquake and its aftermath.
Dexter's Lessons
Will Richmond identifies seven things that Dexter taught him about the future of TV.
Sitcom Pieces
Joanna Weiss says we might have seen the rise and fall of the mean sitcom, while Jaime Weinman offers a defense of the multi-camera sitcom.
CNN's Problem
Brian Lowry points out CNN's ongoing challenge: keep viewers coming back once all the breaking disaster coverage has cleared. (Another one behind Variety's paywall.)
Targeting Young Women
Cynthia Littleton looks at how The CW and ABC Family have courted young female viewers, which has also resulted in new opportunities for female writers and producers. (Note: this is behind Variety's paywall. In a totally and completely unrelated tip, you should get to know how the "stop" button on your browser works. Just give it push, say, right after the Variety article loads up. Handy button, that one.)
Prime-Time Ratings: Sunday
Fast Nationals: A nice night for CBS, many shows up from last week. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
British News
A collection of items from Britain: ITV is boosting drama and sports investments; ITV's morning show hasn't worked; Sam Leith supports the idea of the BBC dropping overnight programming; and the Guardian launches a week-long look at the state of British TV, starting with reality entertainment television (I highly recommend following the link in there and watching the clip of Sing If You Can).
Black Antagonists
Ronald Laird looks back on what predecessors have led up to the black antagonist characters on The Good Wife and The Chicago Code.
Telenovela Integration
Univision telenovela Eva Luna thoroughly integrates General Motors product placement into its setting (an ad agency) and storylines.
New Football Plays
Networks are making plans to work around NFL strife, while FX will carry college football games on Saturday nights next season, which Joe Flint says is part of the channel's push to up its subscriber fee for carriage.
Good TVeets
Spoiler: On tonight's very special "Amazing Race," teams learn that India is a crowded country. Hilarity ensues.
I have a crush on an actress who's in 3 ads, and I despise another actress who's in 3 ads. Turning on the TV is like emotional roulette.
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Community & Fandom
Jeffrey Sconce offers a provocative reading of last week's Community and what it (or at least one segment) says about its own fanbase. A response from PJ Rodriguez. And a response from Sconce to the flaming responses.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Mildred Pierce & Structure
In his review of HBO's Mildred Pierce, which launches tonight, Myles McNutt addresses issues of miniseries scheduling and the place of segmented short-form storytelling in a time-shifting world.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Whither the Adult Network Drama?
BigTVFan wonders exactly that when looking at The Good Wife's ratings.
Prime-Time Ratings: Friday
Fast nationals: CBS had a good night with basketball; Fringe saw a slight renewal bump.
Fringe & DVRs
Robert Seidman tries to determine if DVR viewing had anything to do with Fringe's somewhat surprising renewal.
Korean Jersey Shore
MTV just can't commit to K-Town, a pilot version of Jersey Shore featuring Korean-Americans that may not get picked up.
News Fines
The FCC has fined two stations for not disclosing when news segments were supplied by corporate sponsors. More from James Rainey.
Good TVeets
Excited for #OprahLiveTweet this weekend. Wonder if she'll try and tweet 1,815 characters without stopping. #TCA
Christina Aguilera started Tweeting. So the order is: 1) personal meltdown, 2) drinking/drug problem, 3) Twitter account. Worked for Sheen.
I've decided that the emoticon :/ should be called the Blais, named for @RichardBlais - 50% of the time he is making that face on #topchef
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Friday, March 25, 2011
Affiliate Advice
Harry Jessell suggests to Fox affiliates that they take better advantage of their leverage over the network in terms of retrans revenue sharing.
Prime-Time Ratings: Thursday
Fast nationals: Idol yeah, but also lots of "up"s in TV By the Numbers' summary. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings: Jersey Shore dominated everything on TV in 18-49 except Idol.
The Killing, Original & Remake
Janet McCabe writes about the success of the Danish import The Killing on BBC4, part of a trend of European imports on the channel, while the US remake of the show is soon to air on AMC.
US Sitcoms Abroad
The Russian How I Met Your Mother promo made the viral rounds a few days ago; now Slate has a few more clips of foreign sitcom remakes.
TWC Fight
Sam Schechner details the battle brewing between Time Warner Cable and major media players over the live streaming iPad app.
Good TVeets
So happy #Fringe got renewed. It's currently the only thing satisfying my need for the multiverse soap opera apocalypse genre.
marisaroffman Marisa Roffman
I haven't stopped smiling. At some point I should probably start to get alarmed that I've lost control over my smile. #fringe
I go off twitter for a little while and come back to a #Fringe renewal. Awesome, if I go away for a week can #Terriers come back?
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Election Ad Info
The Media Access Project wants the FCC to require more disclosure of funding behind election ads.
Starz Delay for Netflix
Netflix Instant now won't get Starz originals until 90 days after they air. More from Joe Flint and Janko Roettgers.
Addressable Ads on Weather Channel
Home Depot will begin running addressable ads customized by region during Weather Channel programming.
Hulu International
Hulu is finding international content rights a problem as it strives to develop global access.
Broadcast Up, Cable Down
Nielsen ratings data shows that broadcast TV is down while cable viewing is up, and Fox is the 18-49 leader.
Google TV Challenges
Google TV isn't doing so well, and Microsoft may be developing its own answer to Google TV.
Schur Interview
AV Club interviews Parks & Rec producer Mike Schur about the show's development, growth, and characters. Elsewhere, Willa Paskin says Parks & Rec displays the comedy of niceness.
New Ad Model
Jack Neff reports on CBS's ideas for a new model of TV advertising, which involves a focus on viewer behavior and attitudes rather than demo info like age and sex.
Showtime Pulling From Netflix
Showtime has pulled most of its shows from Netflix streaming, mindful of the potential impact on channel subscriptions. Meg James and Ben Fritz have more on the move, and Will Richmond thinks Showtime might be making a mistake.
Good TVeets
jasonmustian
Watching 'Glee' doesn't make kids gay, Victoria Jackson. It makes them gayER. Get it right.
20 hours ago
sportsguy33 Bill Simmons
My son watches Wow Wow Wubbzy with the same intensity I had for the Wire. I wish 3 year-old @sepinwall wrote Wubbzy recaps.
fymaxwell Max Dawson
The downside to #Survivor's budget cuts: more one challenge episodes. The upside: they had to lay off the staff psychologist. #gorilla #lion
TheTweetOfGod God
Rebecca Black on Jay Leno: The ultimate meeting of the unintentionally hilarious and the unintentionally unhilarious.
16 hours ago
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
BBCA Plan
Kent Gibbons outlines BBC America president Herb Scanlan's five-year plan for the channel.
Female Comedy Writers
Abigail Pesta interviews Conan O'Brien's lone female comedy writer and lists off the paltry number of female comedy writers on late night shows.
Big 4 Down 10%
Daniel Frankel reports on the ratings decline for the major networks over the past year.
Profanity Crusade
A former NBC exec is now president of the PTC and leading an anti-profanity crusade.
Reiser Problem
Matt Zoller Seitz has a revealing take on why NBC might actually be ok with The Paul Reiser Show, which premieres Thursday, failing.
Surnow on Kennedys
Producer Joel Surnow claims prejudice against his conservative political views explains why The Kennedys struggled to find an outlet. Dave Itzkoff also has a Surnow interview.
TV Everywhere Pass
Adobe has innovated a technology to help ease TV Everywhere log-ins. Will Richmond also reports.
CNN Advantage
CNN is enjoying ratings growth from its international coverage, which is helped by its international infrastructure and sustained focus on news more than politics.
Glee Censored
The Glee scene in which Kurt and Blaine kiss was cut out of a Philippines broadcast of the show, and now a petition is circulating to express objection.
Good TVeets
Did Obama accidentally order the bombing of @Netflix?
CNN denies its reporters used as human shields. However, says nothing about rumors Wolf Blitzer used as human ShamWow.
FACT: The internet was invented to globalize complaining.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Mad Men Uncertainty
Brian Stelter reports on negotiations for Mad Men's fifth season, which may not happen this year.
BBC Cuts
Details about possible BBC budget cuts are coming out, with overnight programming threatened, more repeats scheduled, and continued declines in soap funding.
Prime-Time Ratings: Monday
Fast nationals: DWTS was big (though well down from last year) and gave Castle a boost. Broadcast finals. Cable ratings.
Carey Profile
The LA Times looks at how News Corp. president Chase Carey is securing new media revenue streams for the corporation.
Women in News
An International Women's Media Foundation study found that women hold less than one-third of the decision-making positions in global news organizations.
Public Media Concerns
Jessica Clark fears that the fervor to defund public broadcasting will cripple public media's abilities to innovate new digital initiatives.
Digital Distribution Detail
Max Dawson defines a mysterious aspect of digital distribution, the content delivery network, also thus clarifying what the Comcast/Level 3/Netflix kerfuffle was about.
DirecTV Inserting Ads
DirecTV is launching new technology this year to insert addressable ads onto subscriber DVRs.
Competition for Kids
Multichannel News highlights the intense multichannel competition within kids' television and offers a downloadable guide to the primary players.
Bravo Upfront
Bravo plans for an elaborate multi-city upfront presentation incorporating Top Chef and getting ad execs on camera for live cut-ins during Bravo programming.
Kelley Interview
Josef Adalian interviews TV creator David E. Kelley about his career. Added link: June Thomas isn't a fan of Harry's Law, but at least appreciates that it acknowledges that poor people exist, unlike most of the rest of TV.
Good TVeets
Now that Lost and the Wire are over, my favorite TV show is Celebrity Apprentice.
GretchenMarg Gretchen Gavett
There is surely a dissertation to be written about tonight's Bethenny Ever After. I'm only 25% joking.
10 hours ago
There is surely a dissertation to be written about tonight's Bethenny Ever After. I'm only 25% joking.
10 hours ago
Now, whenever someone refers to “The Franco Regime,” I’m obligated to ask, “Francisco or James?”
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Monday, March 21, 2011
Community Formula
Will Hines claims to have pinpointed Community creator Dan Harmon's narrative formula.
Outsourced Defended
Outsourced writer Geetika Tandon Lizardi defends the show against charges of racism.
Screen Madness
The NCAA tourney has been a multi-screen success so far. Also, some on-demand numbers from Multichannel.
Affiliate Model Safe
One media analyst says that the network-affiliate model isn't going away anytime soon.
Web Shows
New York's public broadcaster WNET is launching a local news show on the web, with possible future rollout to TV. And Sam Schechner says web shows are looking more like TV shows in their ambitions (note: behind WSJ paywall).
Titanic Miniseries
A major international miniseries about the Titanic disaster is on tap for airing next year, on ABC in the US and ITV in Britain.
Glenn Beck Plans
Mediaite points to another clue that Glenn Beck will leave Fox News: he's apparently poaching a Fox News exec for his production company.
Cancellation Factors
Rob Owen talked with a handful of network execs about what catalysts can cause show cancellation.
GLAAD Media Awards
GLAAD recognized True Blood and 30 Rock, among others, with awards that "honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives."
Foreign Coverage
Brian Stelter reports on how foreign news has become a top priority for American television news.
New In Media Res
Theme: Race and TV
- Monday March 21, 2011: Richard Newton (Claremont Graduate University) presents: Gleaning Alex Haley’s Scriptural "Roots"
- Tuesday March 22, 2011: Kristen Warner (University of Alabama) presents: "’It’s Tough Being Different’": The Pitfalls of Colorblindness in CW’s The Vampire Diaries
- Wednesday March 23, 2011: Alfred L. Martin, Jr. (University of Texas, Austin) presents: Hottentot Venus 2.0?: Still Gawking at the Black Woman’s Buttocks
- Thursday March 24, 2011: Jane Chi Hyun Park (University of Sydney) presents: Yellow Voice and the Chinese International Student: Ricky Wong in "We Can Be Heroes"
- Friday March 25, 2011: Shilpa Davé (Brandeis University) presents: Calling the Working South Asian: American Accents and Outsourced
New Lear Needed
BigTVFan says what sitcoms need today is for the networks to court this generation's Norman Lear.
Anchorless News
The anchor-less news has premiered in Houston, and if the newscast featured on KIAH's website is really what it's going to be like, it's going to be terrible. It comes across as TMZ covering real news.
Good TVeets
Big Love finale predictions: the sister-wives wake up to discover that they've been married to Bill Pullman all along.
You know you're a media scholar when you have to go rent a whole season of a tv show just to get some work done.
Pretty sure people in those Progressive commercials are shopping for insurance in heaven.
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Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sitcom Premises
Robert Lloyd says that sitcoms today often morph away from their starting premises quite quickly: "[I]t seems to me we've come to a time in which the disposability of the original concept is not only acknowledged but expected. Call it "post-premise comedy.""
Media Industry News
My Antenna media industry news links post has some entries of TV-related interest, like Netflix and the public broadcasting funding battle.
Mildred Pierce Profile
Dennis Lim digs into the backstory behind Mildred Pierce, the miniseries starring Kate Winslet that starts on HBO next Sunday.
Character Building
Brian Stelter looks at how Body of Proof producers and star Dana Delaney have formulated the medical drama's main character.
CNN Criticism
Andrea Morabito criticizes CNN for not covering President Obama's announcement of air strikes on Libya live.
Good TVeets
Yeah, yeah, the super moon is cool but still not as cool as the one that looked like Jackie Gleason.
This Butler Pitt game was definitely manipulated by the Buffalo Wild Wings people... #NCAA
I wish Brandon Walsh was real.
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