Monday, October 31, 2011
Trend Pieces
Jaime Weinman expresses skepticism over claims that comedy and fantasy are popular right now because people want escapism: " There is something going on; there is a heightened audience interest in TV fantasy. But I wonder if it might be partly a sign that hits help create other hits."
DirecTV-Fox Settle
Fox and DirecTV have settled their carriage fee dispute, so no blackouts. The deal includes money for channels that weren't threatened tonight, like Fox News. Joe Flint has more details.
Mutlicasting Touted
The NAB is promoting the idea that digital multicasting can help stations better serve minority populations, with Bounce TV as an example.
OTT Field
Will Richmond gives an overview of the major over-the-top distribution players and their strategies.
Sunday Ratings
Marc Berman's summary:
-Winners: 60 Minutes (CBS), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Once Upon a Time (ABC), The Simpsons (Fox)
-Disappointing: Allen Gregory (Fox), The Cleveland Show (Fox)
-Losers: Pan Am (ABC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
World Series Game 7 was huge for Fox Friday night.
-Winners: 60 Minutes (CBS), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Once Upon a Time (ABC), The Simpsons (Fox)
-Disappointing: Allen Gregory (Fox), The Cleveland Show (Fox)
-Losers: Pan Am (ABC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
World Series Game 7 was huge for Fox Friday night.
Fox Sports & Dodgers Bankruptcy
The future of a Fox Sports regional network is tied up with Frank McCourt's Dodgers mess.
Rock Center Starts
NBC's new news magazine show Rock Center starts tonight with modest ratings expectations.
Disney on Amazon
Disney is licensing a raft of non-current shows, like Lost, to Amazon's Prime streaming service.
Fee for iPlayer
The BBC may soon close the loophole that makes it ok for British viewers to watch TV on the iPlayer without paying the traditional license fee.
UK Product Placement
Viewers in Britain will see their first prime time product placement, a branded ATM during Coronation Street.
Cable Surviving
Brian Stelter reports that cable companies are still holding up well against online competition.
Taxi TV Changes
Passengers will now have more control over the TV in NYC taxis, such as with volume.
Good TVeets
The Walking Dead: After 50 min. trying to develop character
through Meaningful Stories & pop psych, ending does it through pulp.
Finally.
I miss Andy Rooney. Now episodes of "60 Minutes"
just... end. Surely Morley Safer is grumpy about something?
Someone should make an amazing documentary about Eddie Murphy's
tranny hooker before December 31 so it can win an Oscar when he hosts
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PBS Ads
The PBS documentary America in Primetime, which is worth checking out but has some problems, includes 30-second ads for Dove, who helped underwrite the series.
New In Media Res
Theme: AMC
- Monday October 31, 2011 – JP Kelly (University of Nottingham) presents: Nostalgia 2.0: AMC and the Development of Original Retro Programming
- Tuesday November 1, 2011 – Rossend Sánchez Baró (Pompeu Fabra University) presents: Created by AMC
- Wednesday November 2, 2011 – Cory Barker (Bowling Green State University) presents: Quality television-by-numbers: Veena Sud and AMC’s failed products and faulty assumptions
- Thursday November 3, 2011 – Andy Daglas (Chicago Now) presents: Sunday driver: What does AMC’s scheduling say about its branding?
- Friday November 4, 2011 – David J. Loehr (Riverrun Theatre Company) presents: WWDDT: What Would Don Draper Tweet?
Jersey Shore Conference
Jon Caramanica describes the proceedings at an academic conference on Jersey Shore held at the University of Chicago.
Good Wife PSA
During tonight's episode of The Good Wife, CBS ran a PSA instructing viewers to pad their recording by an hour to account for football overruns. The ad directed viewers to a webpage, which includes comments from Good Wife fans who are clearly not happy about this issue. (Also Good Wife-related, the episode that aired tonight was the one being broken when Jace Lacob visited the writers' room.)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Interactive Ads
Interactive ads are coming to cable, but Alex Sherman says their time may have already passed.
Bubble Watch
Robert Seidman's discussion of shows on the bubble indicates how important program ownership and syndication are to deciding which shows live and die.
Good TVeets
Halloween is the best. It's just comic-con for drunk people.
These Chevy electric car commercials make me want to punch
electric cars in the face.
Jimmy Fallon sells three sitcom scripts to NBC. It will be his
first venture into comedy.
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday Ratings
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers: Strong finish for baseball, good start for Grimm, rough start for Chuck. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
New YouTube Channels
YouTube is prepping a slew of new channels, most of which have no ties to traditional TV channels. Many will be anchored to celebrities. More from Business Insider.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday Ratings
Marc Berman's summary:
-Winners: The Big Bang Theory (CBS), The World Series, Game 6 (Fox)
-Honorable Mention: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown R (ABC)
-Competitive Players: Person of Interest (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), The Mentalist (CBS)
-Fading Fast: The Office (NBC)
-Losers: Community (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Whitney (NBC), Prime Suspect (NBC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
-Winners: The Big Bang Theory (CBS), The World Series, Game 6 (Fox)
-Honorable Mention: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown R (ABC)
-Competitive Players: Person of Interest (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), The Mentalist (CBS)
-Fading Fast: The Office (NBC)
-Losers: Community (NBC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Whitney (NBC), Prime Suspect (NBC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
Branded Entertainment
ESPN Deportes is airing a new show with heavy brand integration: "There are scenes depicting a late-night visit to Burger King, a shopping trip to Home Depot and a phone call to American Airlines by a character who may be leaving for Miami."
Disney Channel in Russia
Russians will soon be able to watch the Disney Channel, joining the only other nationwide foreign channel, MTV.
Unions v. IMDb
SAG's Ken Howard wants IMDb to stop listing actors' birthdates on their entries, due to the prevalence of age discrimination in Hollywood (which thus would seem to be the real problem here).
Good TVeets
We call that "Chuck Luck"...
If Fox had any balls, they'd do a Sopranos ending during the
Pujols at-bat and go to black... #WorldSeries
Just remember, America: the Surgeon General strongly advises
against being exposed to Tim McCarver for more than four hours.
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
Social TV Experience
A company called KIT Digital has extensively studied the spectatorial experience of watching TV while using social media, including consideration of different stages of viewing (decision making, watching, reviewing) and different program genres.
DirecTV Complains
DirecTV has complained to the FCC about Fox's ad tactics in regard to their carriage fee dispute.
The Value of NBC
Jaime Weinman notes that while we mock NBC for its ratings struggles, they're at least helping to keep some creative shows on the air, leaving future questions: "The collapse of the WB and UPN into the CW, and the lack of real estate on the Cowell-dominated Fox, could make NBC the last place for shows like Community and Parenthood – shows that would be different, and probably not as interesting, if they were on cable, but couldn’t really fit into any of the other networks at the moment."
ESPN Still Into 3D
Even though it hasn't been embraced by the public yet, ESPN is still backing 3D TV.
Showtime Turns Macho
Showtime appears to be shifting away from female-skewing shows and toward male ones in development.
Wednesday Ratings
Marc Berman's summary:
-Winners: Survivor: South Pacific (CBS), The Middle (ABC), Suburgatory (ABC), Modern Family R (ABC), Criminal Minds R (CBS), Revenge (ABC)
-Losers (excluding repeats): America’s Next Top Model (CW)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers: A good night for ABC.
-Winners: Survivor: South Pacific (CBS), The Middle (ABC), Suburgatory (ABC), Modern Family R (ABC), Criminal Minds R (CBS), Revenge (ABC)
-Losers (excluding repeats): America’s Next Top Model (CW)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers: A good night for ABC.
NBC Development
NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt is spending big gobs of money to develop shows people might want to watch and thereby resurrect the network: "Rivals have quietly criticized NBC, along with ABC -- another ratings-challenged network with a relatively new chief, Paul Lee -- for jacking up prices by bidding on so much product this season, according to sources. Some of the projects attracting NBC's attention have even irked cable executives because Greenblatt is believed to be infringing on their territory."
Time Warner Losses
Time Warner Cable is losing subscribers (but denying cord cutting) and trying to make up for that by boosting its broadband service. More details from Bloomberg.
BBC4 Cuts History & Science
Due to the ongoing budget cuts, BBC4's budget for history and science programming is being stripped.
LBBT-Inclusive Viewing
Nielsen reports: "Audiences and advertisers alike are flocking to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT)-inclusive programs. Representing 24 percent of broadcast primetime scripted and reality shows last season, these series garnered 28 percent of broadcast primetime TV viewing and 22 percent of ad dollars." It includes a chart of age demographics and ad spend categories.
Showrunners Defend Fox
FX showrunners are getting behind Fox in its dispute with DirecTV, which may see FX and other Fox channels pulled on Tuesday due to a carriage fee dispute.
iPad Apps
You can now watch Bloomberg TV on an iPad, as well some DirecTV channels, if you're at home and have an HD DVR.
Good TVeets
bexmader
Follow @GoodTVeets
Best TV quote of the night, "God gave you Melons, make
Melonade #HappyEndings
Best comment at end of a US Nielsen family story: "We need
to not let 1% of the country control 100% of television. Occupy Nielsen."
#WorldSeries postponed,
so to get effect of listening to Tim McCarver, I'm banging my head against my
coffee table
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Traditional & Digital
CBS's president of Local Digital Media says it's important for media companies to integrate broadcasting with online and mobile technologies. He said CBS's success on TV was boosting it online too.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
NBC Wins!
Something went right for NBC: the network beat out the other three major networks for a hot new single-cam. (Also, The Wrap needs to teach its writers what "notoriety" means.)
New Flow Issue
Check out new Flow pieces from Michael Kackman with Waking People Up! Conspiracy Radio and the Contemporary Public Sphere, Melinda Barlow with Who Was That Masked Woman? Rediscovering the Hidden Mother, Herman Gray with Representation, Politics and Publics, Sasha Torres with Watching While Depressed, and Nicole Starosieleski with Underwater Flow.
Factual Types
Peter Hamilton charts out a spectrum of factual programming channels from earnest and content-driven (like PBS) to comedic and entertainment-driven (like TruTV) and notes the increasing flow toward the latter and male-driven targeting.
Cable Challenge
Toni Fitzgerald highlights how cable is no longer trying just in summer to battle the networks; now they're pitting shows directly against the nets' top fall shows.
PEG Challenges
A new report details the challenges facing Public, Educational and Government (PEG) channels.
YouTube Rivals Cable
Janko Roetters reports that the number of people watching YouTube's top five channels rivals the volume of daily viewers for the top five cable channels. Will Richmond has more on YouTube's efforts.
Tuesday Ratings
Marc Berman's summary:
-Winners: NCIS (CBS), The X Factor (Fox), Last Man Standing (ABC), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
-Losers: The Biggest Loser (NBC), Man Up (ABC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. The X Factor is maybe catching on. NBC is maybe not. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
-Winners: NCIS (CBS), The X Factor (Fox), Last Man Standing (ABC), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
-Losers: The Biggest Loser (NBC), Man Up (ABC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. The X Factor is maybe catching on. NBC is maybe not. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
Studio 60's Problems
In his ongoing look at flops, Nathan Rabin takes on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Telemundo Language
Fighting to catch up to Univision in ratings, Telemundo will now incorporate some English language dialogue and subtitles to attract a bilingual audience, which tends to be more affluent than the Spanish-speaking audience.
Good TVeets
tvoti
Follow @GoodTVeets
This is far more Paula Abdul
than I've been prescribed.
In order to make it more
bombastic, loud and flashy than ordinary episodes, the X FACTOR finale will be
held on the sun.
Writing's tough. I should have tried harder on the
Amazing Race. I should have dragged my dad's body through the rice paddies of
China.
Follow @GoodTVeets
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Twitter & TV Synergy
Brian Stelter looks at how Twitter and TV are trying to help each other out, with The X Factor as an example. More from John Paul Titlow.
Sports By Race
ESPN broke down a survey of sports fans by race: "The National Football League is the most popular sport among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites, but the National Basketball Association is king of the court for African-Americans, according to a recent ESPN sports poll."
Netflix Challenges
David Kaplan outlines the challenges ahead for Netflix, while the company is having to slow down global expansion as it struggles with challenges now.
Facebook Time
Facebook is increasingly rivaling TV in terms of time spent using it. More from Cory Bergman.
China Limits TV
The Chinese government is ordering cutbacks in TV entertainment in favor of "morality-building programming." The state orders include: "For every satellite TV station, no more than two entertainment programs can be aired during prime time from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every night," with the other time slots featuring shows that "promote harmony, health and mainstream culture."
More Episodes
There will be a third season of The Walking Dead and full seasons of Unforgettable and Person of Interest.
TV Relationships
Amanda Ann Klein addresses how couples can live together and watch TV together happily: "Yes, differences in TV preferences are a part of any couple’s life. They cannot be avoided. But there are ways to keep your TV relationship as stable and functional as possible. This is important because, as the old saying goes, the family that gazes together, stay-zes together. To that end, here are some tips for promoting the longterm health of your TV relationship."
Web Service & Cord Cutting
In what Michael Learmonth says could be a glimpse of the future of web TV, a new service called RadixTV offers live streaming of four cable news channels to business users. Learmouth follows up with more on these specialty packages, which could encourage cord cutting.
Advertiser Predictions
Ed at Spotted analyzes AdAge's ad rates chart in a very intriguing way, by comparing what they're paying for new shows to speculated demo ratings, which gives a rough approximation of how advertisers predicted the shows would do. Exceeding expectations? The multi-cams and New Girl. Underachievers? The X Factor & CW shows.
Monday Ratings
Marc Berman's summary:
-Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 2 Broke Girls (CBS), The World Series, Game 5 (Fox), Two and a Half Men (CBS), Mike & Molly (CBS), Hawaii Five-O (CBS)
-Losers: The Sing-Off (NBC), Gossip Girl (CW)
Network numbers from Hitfix: CBS and ABC split. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
On Starz, Boss is off to a slow start.
-Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 2 Broke Girls (CBS), The World Series, Game 5 (Fox), Two and a Half Men (CBS), Mike & Molly (CBS), Hawaii Five-O (CBS)
-Losers: The Sing-Off (NBC), Gossip Girl (CW)
Network numbers from Hitfix: CBS and ABC split. Final ratings. Cable ratings.
On Starz, Boss is off to a slow start.
DVR Research
Media Life talks with a research analyst about his study of DVR use, including "misconceptions concerning DVRs, their growth timeline, and how they have impacted traditional TV viewing."
UK Teen Survey
An Ofcom survey finds that young teens say they care more about their mobile phones and the internet than TV, though they're watching more TV than ever before (presumably on their phones and the internet). Kids age 5-7 still care most about TV.
Depicting Politics
Alyssa Rosenberg judges how accurately certain shows tackle politics. And Jaime Weinman discusses shows that are evasive about characters' political party affiliation, with Boss as a new example.
Network Drama Advice
Sarah Hughes thinks the broadcast networks should quit trying to compete with cable when it comes to edgy dramas.
Authentication Platform
A cable organization called the National Cable Television Cooperative "launched a plan to create a centralized authentication platform for multi-screen services like HBO Go or those planned around the the 2012 Summer Olympics in London."
Value of Local
The public television outlet in Nashville gains major benefits from local programming.
Kids' Screen Time
A study says children are spending more time in front of screens than ever: "The report also documents for the first time an emerging “app gap” in which affluent children are likely to use mobile educational games while those in low-income families are the most likely to have televisions in their bedrooms."
Good TVeets
EricStangel
Follow @GoodTVeets
NCIS: LA visits 5-0 HAWAII and the universe ticks 60 minutes
closer to the end of all existence.
Watching cable news because you want to be
informed is like going to Olive Garden because you want to live in Italy.
Follow @GoodTVeets
Monday, October 24, 2011
Good TVeets: #StratfordonHellmouth
Sometimes crazy things just happen on Twitter. When they do, GoodTVeets is there to pick it all up. Tonight, for all the Whedonites and Shakespeareites out there, this one's for you.
@AndyDaglas: We now live in a
world where, at any given moment, Joss & Co. could be off making a secret
Shakespeare movie somewhere.
@RowanKaiser: Nathan Fillion as
Macbeth! Jewel Staite as Cordelia! Anthony Stewart Head as King Lear!
Afghanistan War
Brian Stelter previews a new G4 show on an explosives disarming platoon in Afghanistan, part of small trend of depicting the war in Afghanistan on TV.
News Corp Vote
A majority of News Corporation shareholders apparently support Rupert Murdoch but not his two sons.
Netflix Dip
As expected, Netflix has lost stock value and subscribers. Brian Stelter and Nick Wingfield look at how Netflix has lost its mojo.
State of NBC
In part one of a look at how the networks are doing this fall, Josef Adalian assesses NBC.
More Ad Spending
Jon Lafayette reports that marketers say they intend to increase television ad budgets.
Occupy Real World
MTV is looking for Occupy Wall Street participants to be on The Real World and will air a True Life special about the protests.
Teen Remakes
Aymar Jean Christian warns us that American TV is going to ruin Misfits and other youth-oriented British shows being remade, due to industrial and cultural differences.
Backing Rock Center
Brian Steinberg explores why NBC is excited about Brian Williams' upcoming news show, Rock Center.
Nielsen Problems
Aymar Jean Christian delves into the challenge Nielsen and the TV industry have with incorporating web and mobile viewing into ratings measurement.
Comedy Analysis II
Ryan McGee and Myles McNutt offer part two of their discussion of television criticism and comedy.
Sunday Ratings
Marc Berman's overnights summary:
-Winners: The OT (Fox), The World Series, Game 4 (Fox), 60 Minutes (CBS), Once Upon a Time (ABC)
-Honorable Mention: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
-Fading Fast: Desperate Housewives (ABC)
-Losers: Pan Am (ABC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. We finally found something that could slow down football ratings: the Indianapolis Colts. Once Upon a Time started strong. Cable ratings.
-Winners: The OT (Fox), The World Series, Game 4 (Fox), 60 Minutes (CBS), Once Upon a Time (ABC)
-Honorable Mention: Sunday Night Football (NBC)
-Fading Fast: Desperate Housewives (ABC)
-Losers: Pan Am (ABC)
Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. We finally found something that could slow down football ratings: the Indianapolis Colts. Once Upon a Time started strong. Cable ratings.
Ad Prices
AdAge is back with its awesome annual chart of what advertisers (roughly) pay for primetime ad slots during particular shows: "The results continue to bolster the notion that the shows most in demand are those viewers tend to watch live, rather than play back days later with a DVR or via video-on-demand. When millions of viewers tune in live, marketers pay a premium." Some analysis from Ed at Spotted.
NBC Sports Moving
NBC Sports is relocating from New York to Connecticut for tax breaks and cheaper rent.
Grass-Roots Newscast
Brian Stelter profiles Democracy Now!, a public radio news show: "The newscast distinguishes itself by documenting social movements, struggles for justice and the effects of American foreign policy, along with the rest of the day’s developments."
New In Media Res
Theme: Mediating Baseball
- Monday October 24, 2011 – Elizabeth Rawitsch (University of East Anglia) presents: Melting Pot or Multiculturalism? Mediating Ethnicity in Baseball
- Tuesday October 25, 2011 – Pellom McDaniels III (University of Missouri-Kansas City) presents: “I is Unruffable”: Rereading African American Sports Performances as Unique Expressions of Dissent
- Wednesday October 26, 2011 – Annie Dell’Aria (City University of New York) presents: Tagging Fans, Tweeting Beards: Major League Baseball, social media, and the body
- Thursday October 27, 2011 – Nicholas David Bowman (West Virginia University) presents: Major League Brouhaha: Boosting ratings with bad blood?
- Friday October 28, 2011 – Jeremy Groskopf (Georgia State University) presents: “I Found Kong”: Naturalizing the National in Baseball Fiction
Closed Captioning Waivers
Scott R. Flick explains how the FCC is making it more difficult for program producers to be granted closed captioning waivers, which could heavily affect local stations and cable systems.
Fox Gets FIFA
Fox has won the bidding rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, which is apparently a stunner, because ESPN was widely expected to keep airing them. Telemundo will have Spanish-language rights. Anthony Crupi discusses how this deals a blow to ESPN and Univision.
Good TVeets
hellresidentNY
AMC: Hating the women married to the
protagonists on all of our shows matters here. #MadMen #BreakingBad #TheWalkingDead