News for TV Majors

CableCard Numbers

2012-01-30T23:08:00.000-05:00

Todd Spangler reports: "Through the end of 2011, the 10 largest U.S. cable operators have rolled out more than 32 million CableCard-enabled set-tops -- and just 554,000 standalone CableCard devices for use in TiVo digital video recorders and other devices, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association."

Fewer Can Be Better

2012-01-30T23:06:00.000-05:00

Observing that ratings are up over last year for the shortened NBA season, Wayne Friedman notes that both sports and reality TV can benefit from fewer episodes, avoiding viewer fatigue.

YouTube Gets Food Network Exec

2012-01-30T23:04:00.000-05:00

A Food Network exec has exited to run a YouTube channel.

Fox Likes Kaling

2012-01-30T23:02:00.002-05:00

The Office's Mindy Kaling had her pilot turned down by NBC (even though Universal is producing it) and then picked up by Fox.

Bible Game Show

2012-01-30T23:00:00.004-05:00

GSN is developing a game show revolving around Bible knowledge.

Upfronts Prep

2012-01-30T22:59:00.001-05:00

Jon Lafayette looks at how the networks have to prep months ahead for upfronts.

Middle Product Placement

2012-01-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

David Bauder assesses The Middle's VW Passat product placement from a few weeks ago.

Super Bowl Ads Top $4 Million

2012-01-30T22:55:00.004-05:00

Wayne Friedman reports on a big increase in the cost of Super Bowl ads.

Fear Factor Ep Pulled

2012-01-30T14:17:00.001-05:00

NBC has pulled an episode of Fear Factor planned for tonight due to the gross-out factor one of the challenges. Jaime Weinman puts this in a broader NBC context.

Pay TV Up To Challenge

2012-01-30T14:15:00.001-05:00

David Lieberman finds that pay TV can handle the challenge brought by web competitors.

More Retrans Fights Coming

2012-01-30T14:13:00.003-05:00

RBR-TVBR reports that more brutal retrans negotiations are coming in the next few years.

Super Loophole

2012-01-30T14:08:00.003-05:00

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is trying to take advantage of a loophole in election advertising to get graphic ads on the air in some local markets during the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Ad Trends

2012-01-30T14:07:00.000-05:00

Nielsen charts out Super Bowl ad trends over the past five years.

NBC Programmer Profiled

2012-01-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

Meg James profiles Pete Telegdy, president of alternative and late-night programming for NBC.

Sunday Ratings

2012-01-30T14:04:00.002-05:00

Marc Berman's summary:
-Winners:Undercover Boss (CBS), Once Upon a Time (ABC), The Good Wife (CBS), CSI: Miami (CBS)
-Losers:The Cleveland Show (Fox), Hallmark Hall of Fame’s A Smile as Big as the Moon (ABC)
-Total Viewers:CBS: 11.42 million, NBC: 10.74, ABC: 7.97, Fox: 4.11
-Adults 18-49:NBC: 3.7 rating/9 share, CBS: 2.2/ 5, ABC: 2.1/ 5, Fox: 2.0/ 5

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

CBS Dominates DVRs

2012-01-30T14:03:00.001-05:00

CBS programming ranks high in Live + 7 ratings lists.

RHOBH is Important

2012-01-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

Kate Aurthur argues that this season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is riveting and important TV.

Good Wife Review

2012-01-30T10:12:00.000-05:00

In his review of last night's The Good Wife, James Poniewozik praises the show for respecting the intelligence of viewers and seeming more like a cable drama in that regard. On Twitter, Noel Kirkpatrick lamented that critics always feel compelled to say The Good Wife is like cable drama, which glosses over what most cable drama is really like, an issue which he wrote about previously for In Media Res. And he blogged about it today.

Race & Hollywood

2012-01-30T10:10:00.001-05:00

Alyssa Rosenberg addresses the reactions to Spike Lee's comments about the dearth of African-American influence in Hollywood.

NBCU Value

2012-01-30T10:07:00.003-05:00

David Gelles looks at how Comcast's purchase of NBCU is starting to pay off.

Earnings Preview

2012-01-30T10:06:00.002-05:00

Dow Jones Newswires predicts media company earnings and highlights how their TV properties are doing.

Netflix Original

2012-01-30T09:58:00.001-05:00

Alexandra Cheney profiles the first Netflix original series, Lilyhammer.

Looking Back on TRL

2012-01-30T09:31:00.003-05:00

Genevieve Koski reviews a new documentary on MTV's TRL.

Early Jon Stewart

2012-01-30T09:30:00.003-05:00

Ramsey Ess checks out Jon Stewart's early TV work.

New In Media Res

2012-01-30T09:29:00.002-05:00

Theme: Niching: Past and Present

Monday, January 30, 2012 - Rachel Mizsei Ward (University of East Anglia) presents: The guy watching is HOW old?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Kimberly Owczarski (Texas Christian University) presents: "Like Shooting Nerds in a Barrel": Exploiting the Fanboy Niche
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - Caroline Leader (Independent Scholar) presents: Storytelling and the role of imagination in educational children’s TV of the 1980s
Thursday, February 2, 2012 - Ethan Tussey (University of California- Santa Barbara) presents: Finding Your Niche on the New YouTube
Friday, February 3, 2012 - Darcey West Morris (Georgia State Univesity) presents: Widercasting: Cable Networks Abandon the Niche

Transparency Objections

2012-01-30T09:28:00.001-05:00

Steven Waldman wonders why broadcasters are objecting to a new FCC proposal to put documents detailing their public interest obligations and fulfillment online.

Sky Adding VOD Services

2012-01-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

In Britain, the Sky satellite service is adding video-on-demand services from the BBC and ITV.

Spanish-Language Nets

2012-01-30T09:24:00.002-05:00

Many believe Fox will succeed with its new Spanish-language network, MundoFox, and Univision's upcoming sports channel Univision Deportes is also lining up big advertisers.

Good TVeets

2012-01-30T09:21:00.003-05:00

TVMcGee

If Sarah McLachlansings the National Anthem at this year's Puppy Bowl, I will straight up killmyself.

HitFixDaniel

The average age of SAGvoters is 175. #GoBettyWhite #SAG

AndyDaglas

Want to fund the next20 years worth of pledge drives, PBS? Raffle off a chance to join Maggie Smithfor high tea at Downton. Boom.

Murdoch & Twitter

2012-01-29T23:14:00.007-05:00

David Carr delves into Rupert Murdoch's Twitter feed.

The Office Spinoff

2012-01-29T23:14:00.003-05:00

Rainn Wilson revealed more about the potential Office spinoff tonight.

SAG Awards

2012-01-29T23:13:00.003-05:00

HBO was a big winner at the SAG awards.

Showtime Gains

2012-01-29T23:12:00.003-05:00

Bill Carter looks at how Homeland has helped boost Showtime closer to HBO territory.

SAG Tweeting

2012-01-29T16:43:00.001-05:00

SAG members will be tweeting from the awards ceremony tonight, and TNT has a handy seating chart to show who's joining in.

Being Human & Twitter

2012-01-29T16:10:00.001-05:00

Liz Shannon Miller delves into how Syfy used Twitter and a hashtag theme to bring new viewers to Being Human.

Amazon's Potential

2012-01-29T16:08:00.001-05:00

Tim Carmody analyzes Amazon's potential to take on Netflix and iTunes in streaming.

ESPN Mobile

2012-01-29T16:06:00.003-05:00

Mark Walsh says ESPN is looking at mobile as a first screen these days, not a third screen.

Media Industry News

2012-01-29T09:57:00.004-05:00

Over at Antenna, my latest collection of media industry news links is up.

DGA Awards

2012-01-29T09:42:00.000-05:00

The Directors Guild Awards were handed out last night; in the TV categories, awarded shows included The Biggest Loser, General Hospital, The Kennedys, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Killing.

Good TVeets

2012-01-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

catmolicious

I wish I were as goodat anything as Kyle Chandler is at looking put-upon.

JohnFugelsang

Next on Hannity, whycan't Hollywood Celebs just shut up? Sean finds out with Jon Voight, VictoriaJackson & Chuck Norris!

DamonLindelof

The Cheers theme songis really sad when you realize the only place where everybody knows your nameis packed with alcoholics.

NBC Balks at Romney Ad

2012-01-28T23:34:00.001-05:00

NBC News has asked Mitt Romney's campaign to pull an ad mostly made up of Tom Brokaw reporting on Newt Gingrich's legal problems. The Romney campaign thinks it has a fair use right to the footage.

Filming Made

2012-01-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

Another behind-the-scenes view of a reality TV production, this one from a teacher whose high school was featured on MTV's Made.

Big Brother Controversy

2012-01-28T23:29:00.002-05:00

Brazil's Big Brother has been rocked by allegations of sexual assault captured live on camera but not initially acknowledged by producers.

AFTRA Approves

2012-01-28T23:27:00.001-05:00

The SAG-AFTRA merger is closer to a done deal after an AFTRA board approved it.

Friday Ratings

2012-01-28T12:54:00.003-05:00

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers.

Viacom Pay Packages

2012-01-28T10:18:00.001-05:00

Viacom's head execs make a lot of money.

Pilot Orders

2012-01-28T10:16:00.001-05:00

ABC and CBS have announced pilot orders.

Good TVeets

2012-01-28T10:09:00.003-05:00

weinmanj

Huh. Big Bang onceagain got better ratings than IDOL in the Coveted Demographic™. If ModernFamily does it next week, it's the New Trend™.

katbat67

Sure Chuck isjuvenile, cheesy, contrived, sexist, etc. But at its best, charming, witty, andrefreshingly unserious. I've enjoyed the ride.

TVMcGee

"Subway ClosesDown All Branches, Cites Lack of #Chuck As Reason forPlummeting Sales." #TomorrowsHeadlinesToday

Top Chef Taping

2012-01-28T00:07:00.002-05:00

YiMay Yang describes what it's like to be a diner at a Top Chef taping: "You could tell from Padma's expression that she was not adapting well to the Texas summer. She looked like she might melt as her assistants touched up her makeup and cooled her neck down with wet rags. But as soon as the cameras went on, her scowl disappeared."

Social Growth

2012-01-28T00:04:00.002-05:00

As a sign of the growth of social media TV commenting, Simon Dumenco reports, American Idol's mentions have grown 557% over last season, Jersey Shore grew 612%, and Parks & Rec grew 739% (I'd love to see Ron Swanson's mentions in particular parsed out).

SAG Approval

2012-01-28T00:01:00.003-05:00

SAG has voted overwhelmingly to approve the AFTRA merger.

Globes Testimony

2012-01-27T23:58:00.003-05:00

In the Golden Globes rights trial, NBC exec Marc Graboff testified that NBC screwed up the deal negotiations and overpaid. (Oh, NBC.)

SOTU Viewing

2012-01-27T23:54:00.002-05:00

Ratings numbers on the State of the Union address show that a good number of people only stuck around for the first five minutes (They missed the milk joke!) and their preferred subsequent destinations were TBS, USA, and ESPN.

OUAT > Grimm

2012-01-27T23:51:00.001-05:00

Alyssa Rosenberg thinks Once Upon a Time works better than Grimm.

NAB Criticizes TWC

2012-01-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

The NAB has responded to Time Warner Cable's big earnings statement with retrans rhetoric. An NAB spokesman says: "Given that Time Warner Cable just announced a quarterly net income increase of 44% and annual profits of $1.3 billion, it's time for pay TV's poster child for skyrocketing rates to come clean on retransmission consent. The fact is that local TV station carriage fees account for less than 1 percent of the cost of a monthly cable bill. It's laughable to suggest that broadcasters are responsible for higher cable rates."

The CW + 7

2012-01-27T18:02:00.004-05:00

John Consoli points out that The CW gains significant viewership when looking at Live + 7 ratings, but unfortunately that's not what advertisers pay for.

Stealing Downton Abbey

2012-01-27T18:00:00.002-05:00

John Sellers defends the practicing of illegally accessing Downton Abbey versus waiting til it airs legally in the US.

Homeland & War on Terror

2012-01-27T17:58:00.000-05:00

Pamela Aucoin argues that Homeland validates the war on terror and a security state. UPDATE: Alyssa Rosenberg thinks Aucoin is misreading the show.

Also related to Homeland, Todd VanDerWerff concludes his walk through the series with co-creator Alex Gansa, part two and three and four.

Comcast-NBC Anniversary

2012-01-27T17:57:00.000-05:00

It's been nearly a year since Comcast wed NBC, and Harry A. Jessell praises Comcast's efforts at supporting the broadcasting side of the merger. However, R. Thomas Umstead points out that there's still nothing created in terms of promised multicultural channel launches.

Global Educational Soaps

2012-01-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

Sarika Bansal highlights some of the soap operas around the world that serve also as educational tools about social issues.

NZ Summer TV

2012-01-27T12:09:00.002-05:00

Geoff Lealand describes how little good TV there was to watch in New Zealand over its summer period: "For a moment there, I did wonder whether this might spell the end of television, as we know it, as days went by and I didn't bother switching on the set."

Thursday Ratings

2012-01-27T12:07:00.000-05:00

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. Big Bang Theory surpasses Idol again. More on that from Bill Carter. Final ratings. Cable ratings.

Indie Films as Pilots

2012-01-27T12:03:00.002-05:00

Writing from Sundance, IFC president Evan Shapiro laments how little attention great indie films get and proposes that some, like Welcome to the Dollhouse, would be better off as TV series.

Super Bowl Plans

2012-01-27T11:27:00.000-05:00

EW lays out NBCU's Super Bowl programming plans across the dial.

Critic Diversity

2012-01-27T11:25:00.001-05:00

Eric Deggans laments that media critics are overwhelmingly male and white.

OWN Needs Oprah

2012-01-27T11:24:00.003-05:00

Toni Fitzgerald says what OWN is suffering from is too little Oprah.

TDS on Indecency

2012-01-27T11:22:00.001-05:00

Jon Stewart tackled the Supreme Court's deliberations on the FCC's indecency regulations last night. The last minute is especially good.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

A Love Supreme

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

Cable Apps

2012-01-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

Cable channels are developing their own apps and integrating them with shows.

Watching for Dollars

2012-01-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

A new app gives you financial rewards based on how much TV you watch.

Friday Fun

2012-01-27T09:51:00.000-05:00

Every Doctor Who Story 1963 to Now

Netflix Overseas

2012-01-27T09:49:00.001-05:00

Netflix is looking at overseas losses as it builds its business in various countries.

Chuck Interview

2012-01-27T09:47:00.004-05:00

Chuck ends tonight; Alan Sepinwall has a five-part interview with creators Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz. The interview starts here, and links to the others on today's final post. Sepinwall also highlights his favorite moments from the show.

Moral Vigilante TV

2012-01-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

A reality show in Pakistan has raised controversy for acting as moral police.

Smaller Packages

2012-01-27T09:41:00.002-05:00

Jamie Sturgeon says the era of the big cable channel package is ending.

Good TVeets

2012-01-27T09:27:00.000-05:00

hodgman

I am watching 30 Rockon actual TV--AS IT AIRS. Commercials too! I feel like I am at Colonial Williamsburgh.

canthavnicthngs

Are you there,Chelsea? It's me -- Nielsen #NBC

weinmanj

Fox has a pilot called"Prodigy Bully," following CBS's "Widow Detective." I knowtitles will change, but can "Police Cops" be far away?

Thank You, Gossip Girl

2012-01-27T01:42:00.002-05:00

Upon its 100th episode, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the set of Gossip Girl to honor the show for being a Big Apple ambassador.

Gaming & Soaps

2012-01-27T01:38:00.002-05:00

John Vanderhoef delves into the ways in which soap opera and video game fandom are similar in terms of being tied to denigrated media cultures.

Retrans Deal Reached

2012-01-27T01:36:00.002-05:00

DirecTV has solved its retrans impasse with Sunbeam stations.

Netflix Threat

2012-01-27T01:34:00.003-05:00

Anna Heim says Netflix's top threat is TV Everywhere.

Leno Complaint

2012-01-26T17:54:00.000-05:00

India is unhappy about a Jay Leno joke.

UPDATE: The State Department is defending Leno. And the issue continues to snowball.

Analyzing Catherine

2012-01-26T17:53:00.003-05:00

June Thomas profiles the departing Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) on CSI.

BBC Boss Leaving

2012-01-26T17:51:00.001-05:00

BBC General Director Mark Thompson says he will step down after the Olympics. Dan Sabbagh sees this decision as good timing, and the Guardian considers possible successors.

Luck Interview

2012-01-26T17:48:00.001-05:00

Alan Sepinwall talked with Luck producers David Milch and Michael Mann. Also, Stuart Levine talked with HBo's programming head about Luck, as well as HBO's cancelled and new comedies. Andrew Wallenstein is pessimistic about Luck's odds.

Making Cord Cutting Harder

2012-01-26T17:47:00.001-05:00

Dow Jones Newswires explains how studios and pay TV operators are trying to keep viewers from cutting the cord in favor of online options.

Cable Raising Rates

2012-01-26T17:43:00.001-05:00

Andrew Wallenstein reports on the risk major pay TV operators are taking in raising subscriber fees.

CNN Excels Online

2012-01-26T17:40:00.002-05:00

Lucas Shaw conveys CNN's boasting that while it lags behind in traditional TV ratings, it leads cable news outlets online. UPDATE: Daniel Frankel explains why this could be a problem for Fox News.

Local NFL Ratings

2012-01-26T17:39:00.002-05:00

Harry A Jessel says while the media has focused on big national NFL playoff ratings, the local ratings are even more impressive.

Subscriber Numbers

2012-01-26T17:37:00.003-05:00

Peter Kafka analyzes Time Warner Cable subscriber losses in a larger context to determine if it's cord cutters having an impact or just people choosing other providers.

OWN Shakeup

2012-01-26T17:35:00.003-05:00

OWN fired an exec who has been with Oprah Winfrey for 18 years and brought in a new programming and development exec.

Wednesday Ratings

2012-01-26T17:34:00.001-05:00

Network numbers from TV By the Numbers. The early preview of Touch did well, as did Marg Helgenberger's CSI exit. Cable ratings.

Debates Made for TV

2012-01-26T10:28:00.002-05:00

Jeremy W. Peters describes how the election debates have been made for TV.

India-Pakistan Reality

2012-01-26T10:22:00.004-05:00

Radhika Bhirani describes how India and Pakistan relations are playing out in reality TV.

Starz Prez Leaves

2012-01-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

The president of Starz is stepping down.

More Netflix News

2012-01-26T10:18:00.003-05:00

More Netflix news I missed yesterday: Netflix reached 4th quarter earnings expectations, but Will Richmond says you need to dig deeper to see the consequences of the company's poor decisions; Netflix agreed to the Warner Bros. DVD delay, and it says the UK launch was successful.

Good TVeets

2012-01-26T10:06:00.001-05:00

FrankConniff

To ensure that theidentities of Seal Team 6 members remain secret, they've all been givenprimetime shows on NBC.

AndyDaglas

Ever wonder what happened to lovable bailiff Bullafter Night Court ended? No? Well, tough shit, NBC's got a Wednesday night toprogram.

corybarker

NBC has ordered a spin-off about that trivia nightcontestant that Steve Carell didn't play a few weeks ago.

arrabin56

Proving TVBTN right, NBC cancels "Harry'sLaw." In unrelated news, NBC has picked up a new Kathy Bates series,"Harry's Order"

Office Spinoff

2012-01-25T21:02:00.002-05:00

Nellie Andreeva reports that Dwight Schrute might get his own show. Or not? James Poniewozik sees this as a terrible idea.

Netflix News

2012-01-25T20:58:00.001-05:00

In addition to the DVD/streaming profit disparity I posted about earlier, there was much more Netflix news today: Netflix has given up on video games, is planning to give up on DVDs, considers 3D a possibility, and has twice as many streaming subscribers as DVD ones.

Academy Summer Internship

2012-01-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

Students should check out the Television Academy Foundation's Summer Internship Program: "The summer Student Internship Program provides more than 40 industry-wide internships to college and graduate students from across the country, and has been hailed for more than a decade as one of the top ten internships in the country. The program is designed to provide college students with in-depth exposure to professional television production during an eight-week summer period in Los Angeles...The competitive eight-week program is based in Los Angeles and provides students with real-world work experience and in-depth exposure to the television industry, focused within their specific field of interest...All submissions must be postmarked by March 15, 2012."

National TV Awards

2012-01-25T20:52:00.000-05:00

The UK's National Television Awards were given out tonight in London. Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, and Outnumbered were among the shows honored.

USA Reality

2012-01-25T20:44:00.002-05:00

USA Network has picked up a reality show featuring Kurt Warner and the theme of second chances.