Friday Ratings

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

Analysis from Spotted.

Super Bowl Ad Rates

Brian Steinberg reports that NBC is asking a record ad rate for the next Super Bowl.

Enlisted Fights On

Though Enlisted has been cancelled, its creator, Kevin Biegel, is hoping more people will watch its final episodes, airing on Sunday nights this month, which may convince another outlet to pick it up.

Good TVeets

Finally watching "Orphan Black" and I'm enjoying it but it's Canada so I know everything will be OK and everyone will be insured.
— Chris Regan (@ChrisRRegan) May 31, 2014

Six months ago we had Dave and Craig and Arsenio but now we've got nothing to do after 11pm but sleep which is okay b/c we're old
— Jason Wojciechowski (@jlwoj) May 30, 2014

how drunk should i get before watching the pilot for katherine heigl’s CIA drama (reminder: her character is named Charleston Tucker)
— pilot!!!!!!!!!! (@pilotbacon) May 30, 2014

Hall Show Cancelled

The Arsenio Hall Show has been cancelled, despite previous word of renewal.

BBC Trust Job

With his academic tongue planted in cheek, Toby Miller offers a letter of application to head up the BBC Trust.

TV v. Wireless

Harry A. Jessell says wireless operators have become a TV nemesis.

Clipper Sale Impact

Brian Lowry says Los Angeles cable subscribers are likely to see bills rise in the wake of the Clippers sale.

More Reilly Coverage

Kevin reilly talked to Michael Schneider about his departure from Fox. Tim Goodman has analysis of Reilly and the job. Jethro Nededog notes that Reilly struggled to get reality TV right. Lisa De Moraes looks at how the search for a successor could operate, and Lacey Rose considers who could be next. Andy Greenwald considers what this means for Fox and for network TV. Scott Collins looks back on Reilly's tenure. Ken Levine says Reilly just didn't do the job well enough.

Thursday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 5.90 million, NBC: 4.26, Fox: 3.83, ABC: 2.86, CW: 829,000
- Adults 18-49: CBS, NBC and Fox: 1.3 rating/4 share each, ABC: 0.6/ 2, CW: 0.3/ 1
 ———
- Winners: The Big Bang Theory R (CBS), Hell’s Kitchen (Fox), Two and a Half Men R (CBS), Last Comic Standing (NBC)
- Respectable Sampling: Undateable (NBC)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Gang Related (Fox), Black Box (ABC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

Technology & Quality

Frank Beacham interrogates the idea that better TV technology leads to higher quality TV.

Women in Doctor Who

Rebecca Moore presents research and an infographic on the representation of female companions in Davies-era and Moffat-era Doctor Who.

Wolf Interview

The Media Industries Project talked to Dick Wolf about Chicago Fire, social media, and market research.

Music Specials Return

Stuart Elliott looks at the revival of live, music-centered TV specials.

Netflix Data

Sarah Lacy praises Reed Hastings's insistence that it won't impose creative decisions on its original productions that are driven by data.

AMC & Ownership

Keach Hagey highlights the risks and rewards for AMC of owning the shows it airs, as opposed to airing a show like Mad Men, owned by Lionsgate.

Summer Action

Melissa Block and Eric Deggans discussed the increase in summer programming on NPR.

Scheduling Battles

Daniel Fienberg is running a series this week on fall scheduling matchups: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Upfronts Pricing

Brian Steinberg says the upfronts market is stalled, as advertisers are expecting rates to be lower than last year, while networks want them to remain even or even increase.

Good TVeets

"Could you use it in a meme?" #spellingbee
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) May 30, 2014

AHS: What Happens to Kids When They Get Home After Losing the National Spelling Bee
— itsonlyzach (@itsonlyzach) May 30, 2014

Oh, you spelled out barbecue as a full word? CARE 4 A CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2 WASH DOWN YR BULLSHIT, DR FRASIER CRANE FROM THE TV SHOW FRASIER?
— Helena Bottom-Farter (@solikebasically) May 29, 2014

Reilly Leaving

Kevin Reilly is out at Fox. Josef Adalian has details on what's behind this departure.

Netflix Expansion

One research analysts sees expansion success for Netflix in Europe.

Cable News Ratings

Bill Carter says May was a tough month for the cable news outlets.

Wednesday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 6.33 million, Fox: 5.30, NBC: 4.66, ABC: 4.10, CW: 1.30
- Adults 18-49: Fox: 1.6 rating/5 share, NBC: 1.2/ 4, ABC and CBS: 1.0/ 3 each, CW: 0.4/ 1
 ———
- Winners: Nothing
- Lowest Season-Opener to-Date: So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
- Honorable Mention: The 100 (CW)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Motive (ABC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted.

Dish Accepting Bitcoin

You can pay your Dish Network bill in bitcoins now.

Portrayal of Veterans

A military veterans group is pushing for better portrayals of veterans in movies and TV shows in order to help improve their public perception.

Fullscreen Plans

Sahil Patel reports on Fullcreen's plans to pull away from YouTube and start its own OTT service and considers what role, if any, the Chernin Group is playing in this.

Musical Red Flags

Kelly Kessler has concerns about the networks' live musical plans.

Antihero Empathy

Randee Dawn looks at how shows featuring antiheroes lead viewers to empathize with difficult characters.

Cox Featured

Laverne Cox is on the cover of Time magazine for a feature on the transgender movement, and she is also interviewed in the magazine.

Enlisted's Cancellation

Producer Mike Royce talks about dealing with the consequences of Enlisted's cancellation.

Sitcom Links

Todd VanDerWerff argues that current sitcoms are suffering from a lack of conflict. Christy Grosz talks to Chuck Lorre about creating sitcoms. Daniel Fienberg talks to Bill Lawrence about the state of TV comedy, Lawrence talks about stand-up comedy, as performed on a tour promoting Undateable, and Myles McNutt shares thoughts about the series. The LA Times has a roundtable of comedy actors.

Good TVeets

What if Community comes back, but now it's angry?
— emilynussbaum (@emilynussbaum) May 29, 2014

My favorite headline of the week: “@intelligencer: Fox News Hires Clueless Actress http://t.co/9Log5zcRbL”
— Jason Mittell (@jmittell) May 28, 2014

Thank you FOX affiliate for letting us know the deceased Maya Angelou will not be appearing in Houston pic.twitter.com/fPnXHTcb4c
— Adrian Dater (@adater) May 29, 2014

Modern Family Absence

Nellie Andreeva reports that Modern Family co-showrunner Christopher Lloyd appears to be involved in a contract dispute with 20th Century Fox TV, as he hasn't shown up for production on the new season yet.

Nielsen Sample Increase

Nielsen plans to install more People Meters in certain cities, resulting in a 30% sample size increase.

Reading Rainbow Kickstarter

LeVar Burton looks to be successfully rebooting Reading Rainbow for the web with a Kickstarter that quickly reached its goal. But Caitlin Dewey has some questions.

Louie's Style

Forrest Wickman analyzes Louie's cinematic use of long takes.

Hulu in Community Talks

Hulu is reportedly talking with Sony about picking up a new season of Community. Josef Adalian has analysis, as does Myles McNutt.

Piracy Appeal Successful

Comcast, Verizon, and other ISPs were victorious in a court appeal that will prevent them from having to reveal the identities of subscribers who obtained movies via BitTorrent.

Cord Cutter Satisfaction

Will Richmond highlights research claiming that cord cutters are mostly quite happy with their TV situations.

Roberts Defends Comcast

Peter Kafka reports on comments made by Brian Roberts defending Comcast's plan to merge with Time Warner Cable.

Handler's Show Ending

Chelsea Lately will end in August. Brian Stelter has analysis.

Downton Simulcast Hope

Julian Fellowes wishes Downton Abbey would air in the US at the same time as in the UK, like Doctor Who has done.

Tuesday Ratings

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted.

High-Paid CEOs

The list of highest-paid CEOs is dominated by media moguls.

Summer Trends

Toni Fitzgerald pinpoints some summer network programming trends.

CBS Sitcoms Pulled

CBS has dropped Friends With Better Lives and Bad Teacher from the schedule, and the remaining episodes won't air.

Netflix Gets The Queen

Netflix has its first UK original in development, as it successfully beat out the BBC and ITV to nab the rights to a series about Queen Elizabeth II.

Disney's Copyright Stance

Andrew Leonard notes that Disney has slightly relaxed its copyright stance, particularly in regard to Frozen fan activity online.

OITNB Roundtable

Dave Itzkoff has a roundtable interview with some of the stars and creators of Orange is the New Black. The second series will be released on June 6, and you can rent a hotel room in DC to binge it with friends in high style (Netflix password not included).

File Sharing Figures

Janko Roettgers says new P2P figures show that file sharing is rising, not declining.

Grey's Impact

Dylan Matthews reports on a study finding that medical dramas, and Grey's Anatomy in particular, have a negative impact on public attitudes about organ donation.

Scripted Rise

A Morgan Stanley chart depicts the 20% rise of scripted shows in 2014-15 over this past season.

Good TVeets

/@LAPD I was trhing to read a book to my son and bill Murray came in and is sitting on my chest & will not leave
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) May 28, 2014

Saw that DirecTV commercial with the guy in bed talking to the marionette in lingerie and I now know the patriarchy is real
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) May 28, 2014

I heard ABC optioned the #YesAllWomen hashtag and is developing it into a mid-season replacement. Several men tapped to write it.
— Miles Kahn (@mileskahn) May 28, 2014

Netflix-Sony Deal

Netflix has picked up pay TV-window rights to Sony animated features.

Chinese TV

Michael Keane shares observations about the state of the Chinese television industry.

TCA Awards

The Television Critics Association has announced this year's crop of award nominees. James Poniewozik has analysis.

Cable Ratings

Josef Adalian analyzes Sunday night's modest ratings for Mad Men and The Normal Heart.

Court Cases

The Supreme Court ruled that a Fox News reporter shouldn't have to divulge her sources, while HBO is headed to court over a libel lawsuit against Real Sports.

Mad Men Style

Tom and Lorenzo analyze costuming in "Waterloo."

Bodenheimer Exiting

Longtime ESPN exec and current executive chairman George Bodenheimer is leaving the company.

Dish Network's Options

With DirecTV apparently coming into the AT&T fold, Peter Suciu considers what could come next for Dish Network.

Monday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: ABC: 5.28 million, CBS: 5.00, Fox: 4.94, NBC: 4.12, CW: 1.32
- Adults 18-49: Fox: 1.5 rating/5 share, ABC and NBC: 1.3/ 4 each, CBS: 1.0/ 4, CW: 0.3/ 1

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

TV & the Internet

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes insists that TV is taking over the internet, not the other way around. And Mary Clare Fischer reports that TV news internet outlets are seeing increased traffic.

Comcast Lobbying

Megan R. Wilson says Comcast is going big in its lobbying efforts for the TWC merger. But the NYT editorial board insists the merger should be blocked.

Sunday Ratings

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Fienberg.

ESPN Soccer Package

ESPN is reportedly considering offering online subscriptions to MLS games to consumers without pay TV subscriptions. Peter Kafka says one could view this as ESPN still valuing the bundle.

CBC's Needs

Tony Wong says Canada's public broadcaster CBC is facing programming problems.

Lawrence Interview

Ryan McGee talks with Bill Lawrence about the challenges of producing TV in 2014.

YouTube in Asia

Jon Russell delves into YouTube's development across Asia.

Greenblatt's Success

Cynthia Littleton highlights Robert Greenblatt's success at helping NBC back to the top of the ratings.

Brooklyn Production

Vivian Yee chronicles the growth in film and TV production happening in Brooklyn, accompanied by a list of series based in Brooklyn.

May Sweeps

Toni Fitzgerald summarizes the May sweeps results.

Weiner Q&As

Matthew Weiner talked to a number of critics about Mad Men, including Alan Sepinwall, Cynthia Littleton, Michael O'Connell, and Denise Martin.

Good TVeets

If I could have dinner with anyone in the world, living or dead, there's still a pretty good chance I'd order in & watch Netflix by myself.
— Liana Maeby (@lianamaeby) May 27, 2014

If I didn't have cable, I never would have watched that 10 minutes of The Growing Pains Movie, so just try to tell me cable isn't worth it.
— Justin Fowler (@JustinFowler) May 26, 2014

The American Ninja Warrior contestant just snuck up behind the hosts on the air and slit their throats. #Awesome
— Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) May 27, 2014

Good TVeets

This has been the best week for scripted television since I became a TV critic. One milestone episode after another.
— Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz) May 26, 2014

Very sad for Peggy that the technology for her to text pics of both outfits to Joan is like forty years away. #MadMen
— Tara Ariano (@TaraAriano) May 26, 2014

Mad Men is the only show that can borderline endear me to an open racist by way of a song and dance number.
— Michael Neal (@slapclap) May 26, 2014

Good TVeets

Because every time a women does comedy she feels the reputation of her entire gender on her fucking shoulders #YesAllWomen
— Rachel Bloom (@Racheldoesstuff) May 25, 2014

"In Ukraine, I was police detective. I shot many criminals." WRITE THE FIC OF THIS, PLEASE, INTERNET #OrphanBlack
— Stephen (@steosphere) May 25, 2014

A person in a black latex body suit is bathing in a bathtub of milk. Did Ryan Murphy direct this? pic.twitter.com/fMoutyFozP
— Holly (@hollye83) May 25, 2014

Friday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 5.26 million, ABC: 5.25, NBC: 5.23, Fox: 1.32. CW: 942,000
- Adults 18-49: ABC and NBC: 1.2 rating/5 share each, CBS: 0.7/ 3, Fox: 0.3/ 1, CW: 0.2/ 1
 ———
- Winners: Dateline (NBC), What Would You Do? (ABC), 20/20 (ABC)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Hannibal (NBC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

Analysis from Fienberg.

Sports & Native Ads

Michael McCarthy looks at how ESPN and Fox Sports are making effective use of native advertising online.

Fox Now Update

Todd Spangler reports that the Fox Now video app now includes a recommendation engine.

MLB's Territorialism

Wendy Thurm lays out Major League Baseball's legal argument for its determination of broadcast exclusivity in local markets.

The GISHWHES Experience

Louisa Stein discusses the experience of virtual and in-person fandom via a Misha Collins-sponsored contest.

Dish Offering Free Netflix

Todd Spangler reports on a Dish Network offering of six months of free Netflix.

TV Everywhere Viewing

A new study from Viacom finds that TV Everywhere availability leads viewers to watch more TV and increases their allegiance to pay TV. But Todd Spangler thinks pay TV is still doomed in the long run. Will Richmond analyzes the state of TV Everywhere.

Hannibal

Todd VanDerWerff walks through the season's final episode of Hannibal with Bryan Fuller. VanDerWerff also highlights the effectiveness of suspense and "slow-motion tragedy" in the series. Libby Hill discusses the show's relationships and theology.

Good TVeets

Ain't no party like a #Hannibal party because a #Hannibal party.... *gurgle*
— Ryan McGee (@TVMcGee) May 24, 2014

once i asked someone to explain the appeal of Doctor Who and i bet they are still in that same spot still talking
— pilot!!!!!!!!!! (@pilotbacon) May 23, 2014

I searched "NCIS: Los Angeles" on Twitter to see if anyone has ever discussed it and all that came up were bots and an old pack of gum.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) May 24, 2014

New CST

Check out a new online issue of Critical Studies in Television featuring:

• David Levente Palatinus with The King is Dead; Long Live the -- Celebrity? Television, Discourse, Participation 
•  Richard Hewett with Putting the Accent on TV: Poor Projection, Dodgy Diction, and Rip RP 
• Keith M. Johnston with Has Britain Got Transmedia Talent? 
• Simon Brown with For the Love of "For the Love of Cars"

Ads That Follow You

Barry Levine looks at new ad technology that will trigger an ad campaign online if a viewer avoids it on TV.

Viacom Blocking

Janko Roettgers notes that Viacom's blocking of online content in a dispute with Cable One is getting the attention of the FCC, which is reportedly growing concerned about such tactics.

Comcast Concerns

ABC affiliates may express concern to the FCC about the Comcast-TWC merger, and Patrick Gottsch says the needs of rural audiences must also be considered.

SNL Cast Contributions

Erik Voss breaks down the screen time for Saturday Night Live cast members this past season.

Unplugged Matters

David Brusie argues that MTV's Unplugged has continued to matter across its lengthy life.

New SportsCenter Look

Also sporting a new look is ESPN's studio set for Sportscenter.

New Disney Channel Logo

Disney Channel has a new logo meant to better fit with widescreen TVs.

Thursday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 5.76 million, NBC: 4.89, Fox: 3.60, ABC: 3.06, CW: 1.33
- Adults 18-49: NBC: 1.5 rating/5 share, CBS: 1.3/ 4, Fox: 1.2/ 4, ABC: 0.7/ 2, CW: 0.4/ 1
 ———
- Winners: “The Big Bang Theory” R (CBS), “Last Comic Standing” (NBC)
- Losers (excluding repeats): “Hollywood Game Night” (NBC), “Labyrinth,” part one (CW), “Gang Related” (Fox), “Black Box” (ABC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

Residual Value

Russell Adams looks at how television airings have turned The Shawshank Redemption into a very valuable property.

Fire Trial

Richard Greenfield explains the significance of Amazon offering a 30-day trial of its Fire box.

Net Neutrality Coverage

The Pew Research Center notes that net neutrality is getting little coverage on TV news and in newspapers.

Hannibal Review

With its finale airing tonight, Todd VanDerWerff praises Hannibal's second season: "If the second season of Hannibal has had more flaws than the first, it’s easy to forgive them—both because of the finale (which is one of the best pieces of television to be broadcast so far this year) and because the flaws in the program are the kinds of flaws more TV (including that first season) could stand to have."

Bachelorette Takes

The NYT presents four perspectives on the current run of The Bachelorette.

2013-14 Series Rankings

The series ratings rankings for 2013-14 have been finalized, from Sunday Night Football at the top to Friday airings of The Originals at #181.

Spartacus on Syfy

Syfy has picked up the basic cable rerun syndication rights to Spartacus.

Good TVeets

I know I'm biased but believe tonight's #Hannibal is supremely memorable TV. Assuming you remember things like "soiling yourself". NBC 10pm
— Aaron Abrams (@MrAaronAbrams) May 23, 2014

High-speed car chase now live on CBS, but because it’s CBS at midseason, I expect it to end soon.
— Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) May 23, 2014

What's a good TV show about a white guy who doesn't have his shit together other than fucking all of them?
— Aaron Blitzstein (@BlitznBeans) May 23, 2014

Mad Men Style

Tom and Lorenzo analyze "The Strategy."

Variety Emmys

Michael Schneider considers how changes in late night and sketch comedy could affect the Emmy race in the variety/music/comedy series category.

Chinese Ban

Ying Zhu and Frances Hisgen follow up on the online banning of shows like The Big Bang Theory and The Good Wife in China, which appears to be economically motivated.

Showrunner Conversation

From last week, Jarret Wieselman talked to producer Bill Lawrence about launching and keeping shows afloat today.

Binge-Viewing for Kids

Amazon Studios' head of children's programming defends the streaming service and its kids' shows against concerns that binge viewing would be unhealthy for children. And Amazon's first kids' show is now available.

Mixology Analysis

In his review of the final episode, Myles McNutt explores why Mixology's experiment with sitcom form ultimately didn't work.

Mad Men Split

Josef Adalian explains why the final season of Mad Men is split in two.

Wednesday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: Fox: 10.14 million, CBS: 8.89, ABC: 6.24, NBC: 5.57, CW: 1.11
- Adults 18-49: Fox: 2.6 rating/9 share, CBS: 2.4/ 8, ABC: 1.8/ 6, NBC: 1.4/ 5, CW: 0.4/ 1
 ———
- Winners: Survivor (CBS), Modern Family (ABC)
- Honorable Mention: The Middle (ABC)
- Down but Not Out: American Idol (Fox)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Revolution (NBC), Mixology (ABC), Motive (ABC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

Netflix Expansion

Netflix has officially announced its European expansion plans for this year. Mark Scott notes some of the hurdles Netflix will face.

Writing Credits

Ken Levine answers a question about the distinction between the "story by" and "teleplay by" writing credits.

Tweet Analysis

Martin Beck looks at a social TV analytics company's attempts to more deeply analyze what people think of TV shows based on their tweets.

Fox's TV Powerhouse

Paul Bond looks at what Rupert Murdoch is trying to create with a new global TV production joint venture.

Chromecast in the UK

Some in the UK see Chromecast as a threat to pay TV.

Dead Pilots Site

Todd Spangler reports on a new online service that will showcase international pilots that weren't picked up.

Redbox's Struggle

Ben Fritz details Redbox's problems.

Peabody Awards Perspective

Henry Jenkins, now a member of the Peabody Award jury, discusses the awards selection process and praises the Peabodys for the wide range of winners.

West Wing Project

Alex-Aad Santos talked to the man who spent eighteen months designing a tribute website to an episode of The West Wing.

ABC Sweeps Win

ABC won May 18-49 sweeps for the first time since 2000, followed by CBS and NBC.

The Americans Finale

The Americans' showrunners walked through the state of the show's characters this season with Todd VanDerWerff, and they talked about the season with Alan Sepinwall.

Good TVeets

I thought I wouldn't like Game of Thrones because I was annoyed by it's fans, but I love it. Maybe I should also try Christianity & heroin.
— Susan Burke (@ThatSusanBurke) May 22, 2014

Orange Is The New I'M SORRY I JUST HAVEN'T GOTTEN OVER HOW TERRIBLE WEEDS BECAME
— LaToya Ferguson (@lafergs) May 22, 2014

When I finish a series on netflix pic.twitter.com/RoQPlbolpr
— Tareik (@TareikSterling) May 21, 2014

Media Industries Journal

A new academic journal focusing on the media industries has launched.

Pitch Advice

Cable programming executive Michael Cascio shares things to know if you're pitching shows to programming execs.

Production States

David Robb says tax incentives have helped Georgia, Louisiana, and New Mexico become key centers for film and TV production.

Struggling Singing Competitions

Josef Adalian notes the declining ratings for singing competition shows.

Facebook Sharing

A new Facebook app will let your friends know what TV you're watching and music you're listening to.

Producing Catfish

Denise Martin shares information on how Catfish develops and films its stories.

Survivor's Sustained Success

Dalton Ross looks at how Survivor has kept the series going for so many seasons.

Comcast CDN

Jon Brodkin explains the relevance of Comcast starting its own content delivery network service.

Corner Gas Crowdfunding Promo

Myles McNutt argues that the Corner Gas Kickstarter is a cynical move to fund promotion, not production. Others are also questioning its incentives.

Windowing Lawsuit

Eriq Gardner reports on an FX Networks lawsuit that will test Hollywood's movie release windowing system.

Upfronts & NBC

Brian Steinberg says overall upfronts sales likely will depend on what NBC can get.

Viewing Patterns

Nielsen offers info on viewership by days of the week and average time spent watching TV via various devices.

SNL in Review

Andrew Wallenstein says this season of Saturday Night Live was better than you probably think it was. Dustin Rowles also defends the show's relevance.

Customers Hate Providers

Brian Stelter reports on a business customer satisfaction survey in which cable providers scored very poorly, while satellite and telecom providers did somewhat better. Jenna Goudreau also reports.

Merger Analysis

Ken Fang looks at the possible impact of an AT&T-owned DirecTV on sports. Alex Ben Block raises major questions about the deal, and Justin Bachman wonders where this leaves Verizon.

Tuesday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: ABC: 13.72 million, NBC: 10.18, CBS: 4.86, Fox: 4.33, CW: 1.74
- Adults 18-49: NBC: 2.8 rating/9 share, ABC: 2.1/ 7, Fox: 1.2/ 4, CBS: 0.9/ 3, CW: 0.8/ 3
 ———
- Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), “The Voice” (NBC)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Judge Judy Primetime (CBS), ACM Presents: An All-Star Salute to the Troops (CBS), I Wanna Marry Harry (Fox)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

2013-14 Ratings

NBC won the 2013-14 season in 18-49 viewers, while CBS won again in total viewers. And the NFL and The Big Bang Theory lead the list of the top 50-rated programs of the season.

Good TVeets

Are any game show hosts not Xtreme GOP or did I just learn that making people fight for cash as entertainment is fundamentally conservative?
— Charles (@Ugarles) May 20, 2014

I feel like there's a decent chance Pat Sajak mixed up Neil deGrasse Tyson with Mike Tyson and ended up with bad information.
— Vanessa Ramos (@thatRamosgirl) May 21, 2014

I'm hearing strident #Cannes buzz about today's @Variety industry panel: 'Women in Film: Why So Pushy?' #fakeCannes2014
— Lisa Schwarzbaum (@lisaschwarzbaum) May 21, 2014

Sony Directors Program

Sony is launching a program to help train TV directors of diversity.

Peabody Ceremony

Peabody Awards were handed out last night.

Tumblr Debut

The first episode of AMC's new series Halt and Catch Fire is now available on Tumblr. Sam Thielman considers the strategy here.

Bafta Winners

British Academy Television Awards were given out tonight, with Broadchurch and Breaking Bad among the winners. Breaking Bad's win counts for Netflix. Jonathan Bignell says the shows awarded illustrate that British TV hasn't changed much since the 1960s in terms of the genres in which it excels.

Walking Dead Suit

Eriq Gardner reports on the latest from Frank Darabont's Walking Dead lawsuit against AMC, which involves Darabont's side demanding documents related to the licensing of AMC's shows that will help determine the fair market value of the series.

Monday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: ABC: 11.02 million, NBC: 10.06, Fox: 5.83, CBS: 5.76, CW: 657,000
- Adults 18-49: NBC: 2.8 rating/8 share, ABC: 2.2/ 7, Fox: 1.6/ 5, CBS: 1.5/ 4, CW: 0.2/ 1
 ———
- Winners: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), “The Voice” (NBC)
- Honorable Mention: The Maya Rudolph Show (NBC)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Movie: District 9 (CW)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted.

AT&T, DirecTV & Regulation

Edward Wyatt considers the regulatory questions an AT&T/DirecTV combo would raise, Marguerite Reardon says the entity will have to pitch bundled services as an advantage to sway regulators, Meghan Neal argues this would douse a la carte dreams, Klint Finley says it would douse free internet dreams, and Leonid Bershidsky raises the idea of content monopoly.

NimbleTV Service

Peter Kafka describes the TV Everywhere service NimbleTV is trying to bring to pay TV subscribers and explains why pay TV providers may have a problem with it.

Trebek Profile

Noreene Malone tells us all about Alex Trebek.

UK Binge Viewing

A new Deloitte study finds that just under a quarter of British viewers prefer watching TV episodes in quick succession rather than according to the weekly schedule.

Good Wife Finale

The Good Wife's showrunners tell us about the season finale, and Neil Drumming points out the show's underhanded feminism. Cory Atad and Brian Lowry have praise for the season as a whole. Joshua Rothman explores what makes the series great. Matthew Gilbert notes how well the show survived a major character death.

Fall Analysis

Robert Bianco picks the most promising and puzzling new shows for fall. Lynette Rice highlights what actors are now available due to rejected pilots. And Ed Martin has an upfronts summary analysis. Brian Steinberg summarizes upfronts trends.

Twitter TV Demographics

Nielsen has released some of its Twitter ratings demographic info, such as the gender of age of who is tweeting about what shows. Sarah Perez reports.

Good TVeets

Andi pulls her diploma from the wall and heads off to find love on reality TV and I weep for America and fear for my daughters.#bachelorette
— Jennifer Weiner (@jenniferweiner) May 20, 2014

my strategy in a reality competition dating show would be to become friends with the women and convince them to all help kill the guy
— pilot!!!!!!!!!! (@pilotbacon) May 19, 2014

Most appropriate Bachelorette close-caption “[Indistinct Talking]"
— DJ Gristle (@djgristle) May 20, 2014

Netflix Predictions

Jeanine Poggi shares predictions from Netflix's chief product officer that TV in the future will be unbundled and commercial-free and that 4K will soon be ubiquitous. Issie Lapowski also covers these ideas.

AT&T Buying DirecTV

AT&T has announced that it has purchased DirecTV for about $48 billion. More details from Variety and BuzzFeed. Peter Kafka looks at the regulatory case AT&T is making to push for approval. Peter Lauria says this deal helps Comcast. The deal has an NFL Sunday Ticket clause, and Roger Cheng considers who could potentially step in there. Will Richmond says this deal misses the broadband boat. Brian Stelter considers the consumer implications of the deal. Sam Gustin reports that critics are having a field day with this one. Al Franken, for one, is skeptical, and Karl Bode says AT&T's claims about the deal's benefits are misleading. Peter Lauria looks back on a previous AT&T acquisition that didn't work out so well. Mashable charts out the potential subscriber breakdown.

Sunday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: ABC: 9.49 million (#1), CBS: 9.17, Fox: 2.99, NBC: 2.14
- Adults 18-49: ABC: 3.0 rating/9 share, CBS: 1.4/ 4, Fox: 1.3/ 4, NBC: 0.6/ 2
 ———
- Winners: The 2014 Billboard Awards (ABC) -Honorable Mention: Family Guy (Fox)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Coldplay: Ghost Stories (NBC), Bob’s Burgers (Fox), American Dream Builders (NBC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

New Flow Issue

Check out a new Flow featuring:

• Ralina L. Joseph with Oprah Winfrey Framed as Angry Black Woman
• Madhavi Mallapragada with The Market of the Future…and Now: Media Industries in the US and the Race to Capitalize on “Multicultural” Consumers
• Lisa Parks with Media Infrastructures and Affect
• Kevin Hamilton with The Social Imaginaries of Buffered Media

Digital Strategy

The leaked report on the New York Times' struggles with digital strategy is being hailed as one of the key documents of the media age.

UK Showrunners

Gerard Gilbert looks at the rise of the showrunner role in British drama production.

Digital Impact on Peabodys

Peabody Awards director Jeffrey P. Jones explains how the explosion of content in the digital era has impacted the awards process.

Fighting & Embracing Piracy

Anne Thompson reports from a Cannes panel that the major studios continue to fight piracy, while independents lean more toward embracing all digital options.

Scandal's Diversity Effect

Kate Aurthur credits Scandal's success with spurring on greater diversity in fall shows.

More Upfronts Analysis

Toni Fitzgerald identifies five trends from the upfronts and quantifies the upfronts results. Sam Thielman highlights five fall time slot battles. Stuart Elliott notes that political procedurals will be prominent in the fall.

YouTube Acquiring Twitch

Todd Spangler reports that YouTube is buying the video game streaming company Twitch. If you don't know much about Twitch, Tracey Lien recently profiled it. Dan Rayburn explains why YouTube wants Twitch. Janko Roettgers says this could be big for live streaming.

Good TVeets

I just want to have as much fun in my whole life as TV/film critics seem to be having on Twitter on any given day.
— John Gallagher, Jr. (@JohnGallagherJr) May 19, 2014

You know in Price Is Right when they let the crowd all simultaneously yell prices at the person? Twitter is that for everything
— Dan Hopper (@DanHopp) May 18, 2014

Twitter.jpg pic.twitter.com/vAsBEAfGBA
— Ernest Luckman Esq. (@ErnieLies) May 19, 2014

Backdoor Pilots

With a number of backdoor pilots resulting in series recently, Lee Goldberg looks back on his experience with the format.

Sex on Reign

Louis Peitzman argues that the depiction of sex on The CW's Reign is socially important.

TV Everywhere's Path

Janko Roettgers analyzes the problems and promise of TV Everywhere. Mike Farrell also covers this.

Global Positioning

Mark Sweney looks at how global TV companies are consolidating to control more of the worldwide audience.

Friday & Saturday Ratings

Friday and Saturday network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

Good TVeets

New York Times is like Westeros right now.
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) May 18, 2014

Let's borrow the Orphan Black technology so Tatiana Maslany can replace the entire SNL cast
— Matt's Graduating! (@digifreak642) May 18, 2014

If you'd told me as a kid that being a writer meant staying indoors on hot days, I'd have been all "shut up, Doctor Who is on"
— James Moran (@jamesmoran) May 18, 2014

Cable Pricing

The FCC has released a report on cable industry pricing that shows cable prices going up at four times the rate of inflation in just the last year.

Walking Dead Advertisers

Brian Steinberg looks at how advertisers have embraced The Walking Dead despite its gore.

AT&T + DirecTV Coming

BuzzFeed reports that AT&T will announce its acquisition of DirecTV tomorrow.

Sam Show Shelved

In the wake of a backlash against it, OWN's planned reality series featuring NFL rookie Michael Sam has been postponed.

More Upfronts Coverage

Alan Sepinwall presents takeaways from the upfronts, THR collected studio chief reactions, Scott Collins also talked to TV execs, Lynette Rice names the best and worst decisions of the upfronts, Jeanine Poggi predicts the hits and misses for 2014-15, and Eric Deggans hopes the networks won't screw up the diversity they've fostered for next year. Poggi also noted how ABC and ESPN's ad sales teams appear willing to work together going forward.

AMC Unscripted Pickups

AMC has picked up three unscripted series, including a celebrity bowling show and a wrestling series from Billy Corgan.

Good TVeets

There are 3 basic storytelling conflicts. Jamaican Bobsled Team vs Man. Jamaican Bobsled Team vs Nature. Jamaican Bobsled Team vs Self.
— dan guterman (@danguterman) May 16, 2014

"................................................................yeah, why the fuck not, we give up." -the NBC S&P guy assigned to #Hannibal
— Andy Daglas (@AndyDaglas) May 17, 2014

Watching the season finale of @abcsharktank. Who will die!?
— Ben Siemon (@BenjaminJS) May 17, 2014

Writing for Community

Andy Bobrow discusses getting his job writing for Community, and he offers up an initial and a later draft of the script for "Mixology Certification."

24 in London

Tom Steward offers an early take on the new 24's London setting.

Auction Rules

Overshadowed by their net neutrality rules proposal, the FCC also proposed rules for the upcoming spectrum auction. The NAB does not approve.

Set-Top Box Demise

Buyside believes the cable set-top box business is in trouble.

Tribune Disappointed in CW

Tribune Company's CEO is frustrated at The CW's low ratings. He's also excited about converting the WGN superstation into the WGN America cable channel.

K-Drama Fever

Christopher Heine details the burgeoning online popularity of South Korean dramas among English- and Spanish-speaking audiences on sites like DramaFever and Hulu.

Staffing a Room

Once Upon a Time's showrunners discuss the logistics of staffing a writers' room. And another producer talks about how to get hired.

FX's Success

Robert Marich highlights FX's rise to success in its 20 years of cable life.

Cable Fast Lanes

Richard Greenfield asks those who object to internet fast lanes to consider a comparative cable example.

WWE Disappointment

Investors aren't happy with the WWE's new deal with NBCU. Joe Lucia also reports.

Yet More on Upfronts

I'm still playing catchup: Cynthia Littleton covers Adult Swim's upfront, Jeanine Poggi covers TNT, Michael O'Connell covers NBCU. EW has a fall TV schedule grid. Lesley Goldberg features producers with multiple shows. Goldberg tallies upfronts numbers of dramas, comedies, and renewals and cancellations. Jeff Yang covers ABC's attempts to diversify. And from the archive, Anthony Crupi took us back a few years ago to the early days of upfronts.

Thursday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 8.99 million, Fox: 6.66, ABC: 5.47, NBC: 3.47, CW: 1.41
- Adults 18-49: CBS: 2.2 rating/7 share, Fox: 1.9/ 6, ABC: 1.4/ 5, NBC: 1.0/ 3, CW: 0.6/ 2
 ———
- Winners: The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
- Losers (excluding repeats): Rosemary’s Baby, part 2 (NBC), Reign (CW), Black Box (NBC)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

Big Watchers

A Nielsen study finds a small group of viewers doing a lot of the TV watching, as Jon Lafayette reports: "Nearly 50% of all TV watching is done by 20% of TV viewers. These heavy TV viewers spend an average of 705 minutes a day in front of the tube, or almost 12 hours."

Post-Comcast Frenzy

Bloomberg looks at how the Comcast-TWC merger could kick off a wild year of telecom and internet deal-making.

Digital News Channel

CBS is developing a 24-hour digital news channel.

Walters' Legacy

In the wake of her retirement, Eric Deggans considers Barbara Walters' impact on journalism, and Jonathan Mahler says the big TV interview is leaving with her.

Amazon's Kid Shows

Amazon will soon roll out its summer children's programming.

Hannibal Scripts

Bryan Fuller's website has all of the Hannibal scripts from season 1.

More on Upfronts

Stuart Elliot and Bill Carter pinpoint the highlights and lowlights of this year's upfronts. NPR looks at the new shows and trends. Kate Aurthur has an updated renewal/cancellation/pickup scorecard, while Nellie Andreeva tells us which pilots are still being shopped. The Mediatwits podcast discusses the NewFronts and online video ad competition with TV. The Broadcasting & Cable staff argue that upfronts needs to be reined in.

Good TVeets

What was your favorite Choose Your Own Adventure book? Mine was TV Guide.
— Aaron Fullerton (@AaronFullerton) May 16, 2014

Are we still going to be laughing when Macaulay Culkin shows up to a gig wearing a jacket made from Ryan Gosling's skin?
— Brian Heater (@bheater) May 15, 2014

USA: come for the medical dramas, stay for the other medical dramas
— pilot!!!!!!!!!! (@pilotbacon) May 15, 2014

Upfronts Trends

Spotted highlights some compelling fall schedule matchups, Meg James says one takeaway from upfronts is how the networks are pushing for C7 as a commercial ratings standard, and James Poniewozik notes the rise in diversity within network lineups.

Global Production Partnership

Joe Flint reports that 21st Century Fox and Apollo Global Management of working on a joint venture collection of global television production companies.

OWN to Follow Sam

OWN is planning a reality series following the life of NFL rookie Michael Sam.

Legit & Chozen Cancelled

FX and FXX are dropping Legit and Chozen respectively.

Wednesday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 9.94 million, Fox: 8.77, ABC: 5.77, NBC: 5.12, CW: 2.05
- Adults 18-49: CBS: 2.2 rating/7 share, Fox: 2.1/ 6, ABC: 1.7/ 5, NBC: 1.4/ 4, CW: 0.7/ 2

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

Net Rules Process Launched

Ted Johnson reports on this morning's action at the FCC, which involved starting the process of proposing rulemaking for net neutrality. Jon Brodkin reports that the FCC proposal vote favored "fast lanes," but the group now invites public comments. Adi Robertson says the fight has only just begun.

Unbundling Economics

Josh Barro insists that unbundling cable channels wouldn't save pay TV subscribers money.

The CW 2014-15 Schedule

The CW has announced its 2014-15 schedule. Brian Steinberg has analysis, and Spotted gets his CW questions answered.

Good TVeets

It's not too late for Fox to change the title of GOTHAM to LIL WAYNE.
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) May 14, 2014

CBS is killing the phrase “midseason,” following FOX’s murder of "pilot season” and NBC’s attempted murder of “upfront."
— Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) May 14, 2014

How I Met Your Dad is going to be…… wait for it……. Seriously, wait for it, because it may not happen.
— Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) May 14, 2014

Louis CK Interview

NPR talked to Louis CK, including about his motivation for writing "So Did the Fat Lady." Lisa Respers reports on the big response to that episode.

Gannett Grows

Gannett is buying six more television stations.

Making Amazon TV

Amazon Studios director Roy Price talks about making TV for Amazon.

CBS's Decisions

Todd VanDerWerff has analysis of CBS's new schedule, while Josef Adalian gets the story behind the network passing on How I Met Your Dad. CBS upfronts analysis from Alan Sepinwall and James Poniewozik.

Comcast, Verizon, & Net Neutrality

Todd Spangler reports on Comcast's belief that it has a right to create internet "fast lanes" for paying partners. And Ben Popper says Verizon is playing games with regulatory rules for phones and the internet.

Sports Rights

Eriq Gardner highlights a recent court ruling related to compensation rights for college athletes that could throw into uncertainty the concept of exclusive licenses for airing sporting events.

TNT/TBS Trailers

Vulture has trailers for the new TNT and TBS Series.

Title Advice

Daniel Fienberg offers advice to ABC about the problematic titles for some of its new comedies.

Tuesday Ratings

Marc Berman's summary:
- Total Viewers: CBS: 14.12 million, NBC: 8.06, ABC: 3.82, CW: 2.10, Fox: 1.62
- Adults 18-49: CBS: 2.3 rating/7 share, NBC: 2.0/ 6, ABC: 1.3/ 4, CW: 0.9/ 3, Fox: 0.6/ 2
 ———-
- Winners: NCIS (CBS), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), Chicago Fire 9NBC) 
- Losers (excluding repeats): Glee (Fox), Riot (Fox)

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Analysis from Spotted and Fienberg.

Mad Men Style

Tom and Lorenzo analyze "The Runaways."

Marketing Public TV

Paul Greeley discusses ways in which public television can market itself.

Fixing TV

Ken Levine says networks need to turn to great writers to fix what ails TV comedy.

Network Quality

Mike Hale argues that Person of Interest is evidence of the continued resilience of the broadcast network model for drama.

TV Praise

As part of a British Television Academy awards celebration, producer Richard Osman explains why he loves British TV: "We don't watch so many shows – despite what some people might say on Twitter – because we are "morons" or "brain dead"; we watch so much TV because we have the greatest television industry in the world (and also because we're good at stealing all the best American and Scandinavian stuff, too)."

Bandwidth Use

Peter Kafka reports on a new study on bandwidth use, which concludes that cord cutters dominate traffic. Also, Netflix is still the dominant driver of internet traffic, while YouTube has dropped.

Teen Sex

Sarah Todd analyzes an episode of Switched at Birth in the context of typical depictions of teen sex on TV.

AT+T-DirecTV Analysis

Peter Kafka thinks AT+T's desire to acquire DirecTV is about cash flow, not TV. John McDuling also considers what might be the logic behind this.

Edgier TNT

Brian Steinberg looks at TNT's plan to go edgier with its dramas in order to seek the kind of success FX and AMC have had with younger audiences.

Conan Extended on TBS

Conan O'Brien has signed on with TBS for four more years.

CBS's 2014-15 Schedule

CBS has announced its 2014-15 schedule. Spotted looks at the answers to his CBS questions. How I Met Your Dad was not picked up, and Alan Sepinwall explains why. More CBS analysis from Sepinwall, Daniel Holloway.

Good TVeets

Sometimes when I don't want to get out of bed, I imagine Olivia Pope lecturing me on my responsibility to the people of this country.
— shannonwoodward (@shannonwoodward) May 13, 2014

Women directors who have actually directed things can't get blockbuster jobs but Orci never directs ANYTHING and gets STAR TREK 3.
— Devin Faraci (@devincf) May 14, 2014

the internet's thoughts on Mad Men have convinced me that Charles Manson murdered every actress in Los Angeles
— Garrett Martin (@grmartin) May 14, 2014

Mad Men Emmys Posters

Mad Men's new Emmys campaign consists of vintage ad posters.

ABC Upfronts

ABC had its upfronts presentation today; analysis from Alan Sepinwall, Josef Adalian Brian Lowry, Erik Adams, Lacey Rose, Norman Weiss, James Poniewozik. ABC is defending airing Grey's Anatomy at 8pm. James Poniewozik looks at ABC's cast diversity.