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fredfa

08-03-05, 11:45 AM

Telcos Prep Internet TV

By Michael Grebb wired.com Aug. 03, 2005

When it comes to video services, the children of Ma Bell have taken their hard knocks.

A flood of ventures by telephone companies designed to compete against entrenched cable TV operators received much fanfare in the early 1990s, only to fizzle out as failures before the new millennium passed.

But don't count them out just yet. As cable operators increasingly target their data and voice customers, the telephone companies are crawling back from defeat, reinvigorated by a perfect storm of network convergence, broadband technology and the good ol' IP infrastructure.

Coming soon to a screen near you: IPTV.

"It's one of the hot topics in telecommunications," said Steve West, director of product marketing for fixed solutions at Alcatel, a network infrastructure provider. "We've been actively pushing the space since 1999 or 2000. It is absolutely ready for market."

While traditional cable systems devote a slice of bandwidth for each channel and then cablecast them all out at once, IPTV uses a "switched video" architecture in which only the channel being watched at that moment is sent over the network, freeing up capacity for other features and more interactivity.

"The real advantage is that it's very bandwidth-efficient," said Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications in Bethesda, Maryland. "It's catering to the on-demand future, which is what TV will be."

Arlen said other interactive applications, such as multiplayer gaming through a set-top box, work "best in an IP network."

In the United States, big telephone companies like SBC Communications, BellSouth and Verizon Communications plan to start launching IPTV systems as early as this year. But their strategies vary.

For example, Verizon plans to adopt a hybrid model combining traditional cable and IPTV technologies while SBC and BellSouth want to launch full-fledged IPTV networks.

"The IPTV platform allows for very compelling future features that will help us deliver a better TV experience," said SBC spokesman Marty Richter. "It can change the way customers watch TV."

IPTV enables features such as multiple pictures-in-picture, remote programming of digital video recorders, and access to caller ID, digital photos or personalized stock, weather and sports information right on the TV screen. IP technology also can allow various devices in the home to work together more seamlessly.

"We think the true winner here will be the company or companies that integrate services and pull it all together for customers," Richter said. "We plan to use internet protocol to connect these devices in a way that gives customers seamless access across devices virtually anywhere they go."

One global driver of IPTV is Microsoft, which has been pushing its Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software in hopes of dominating the nascent IPTV market. Microsoft has been trying to break into the TV business for years with limited success.

So far, Microsoft has stuck IPTV deals with carriers around the world, including Bell Canada, British Telecom, Reliance Infocomm, Swisscom, Telecom Italia, Deutsche Telecom's T-Online France, as well as SBC, BellSouth and Verizon in the United States. (It's providing a customized version of its Microsoft TV platform with both digital-cable and IPTV features for Verizon.)

According to Microsoft, its telecom IPTV customers (including some yet to be announced) now represent 26 percent of the world's residential fixed-access phone lines (75 percent in the United States) and cover 28 percent of the world's DSL customers.

Carriers seem to be banking on Microsoft's stability as a vendor. "When you're head of procurement at SBC, you want to make sure that your vendor is there in two years," said Hervé Utheza, principal analyst at The Diffusion Group. "They know that Microsoft will be there throughout the deployment."

The carriers also know they need to get IPTV right or risk creating a bad first impression with the public -- so they have moved cautiously.

For example, Australian carrier Telstra and Swisscom both dropped out of Microsoft's early adopter program to work out technology problems. SBC also recently delayed its launch plans.

But Microsoft said that, considering the infancy of IPTV, the pace remains frantic. "We've gone in 24 months from ground zero to commercial launches," said Ed Graczyk, director of marketing for Microsoft TV. "It's not like one day you flip a switch, and 5 million people have it."

Experts said delays and problems are inevitable with brand-new technology. "A lot of these things have never been tested in the field," said Utheza. "They're having to deal with a complex set of systems."

"The technology, like anything else with IP, is not that simple when you're the first one doing it," said Arlen Communications' Arlen.

Graczyk said hardware issues -- not Microsoft's IPTV software -- were behind recent delays, despite "misinformation" in the media blaming Microsoft. In the case of Swisscom, he said the carrier wants to wait until IPTV set-top devices with DVR capability are available. "In software terms, we're considered code-complete," he said.

Meanwhile, the incumbent cable industry has watched the telephone companies' IPTV moves closely. But cable operators have spent roughly $100 billion since the mid-'90s upgrading their networks, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and they face a conundrum of sorts.

"Cable has not been shy about talking about delivering everything in IP," said Graczyk. "The challenge cable has is that they have this huge investment in other technologies. The telcos have a green field."

During a panel on IPTV at a recent cable-marketing conference in Philadelphia, Dallas Clement, senior vice president of Cox Communications, said cable operators are struggling to determine where IP fits into their strategies, with proper prioritization being one of the company's biggest challenges.

Because of their existing investments, Arlen said it could be a decade or more before the cable industry widely adopts IP-based video delivery. But as telephone companies look to launch IPTV in various markets by next year, cable operators may eventually have no choice but to upgrade their networks all over again.

"The entire world is going IP," said Alcatel's West. "If the cable operators don't start investing in IP, they're going to have some significant cost issues over the long haul."

PJO1966

08-03-05, 11:50 AM

IPTV sounds like it may be a viable alternative to D*TV for me. It says that SBC delayed it's launch. Any word on when it was delayed to?

fredfa

08-03-05, 11:55 AM

America slams door on 'Mister Mom'
(Oh, daddy.) NBC reality debut is summer's worst

By Diego Vasquez medialifemagazine.com

NBC extended its long list of summer failures last night with the debut of “Meet Mister Mom,” which had the summer’s worst debut on the Big Four networks.

“Mom” averaged a 1.6 rating among viewers 18-49 in the 8 p.m. timeslot last night, according to Nielsen overnight ratings. The show grew slightly from a 1.5 during its first half hour to a 1.7 for the last 30 minutes.

NBC already has three reality stinkers this season. On June 21, NBC debuted “I Want to be a Hilton” with a 2.5 rating among 18-49s. A week later the network premiered the fourth season of “Average Joe,” earning just a 2.0 rating. "Law Firm" premiered last week to a 1.9.

ABC’s “The Scholar” had the previous worst debut of the summer at a 1.7 rating.

There are a couple reasons “Meet Mister Mom” bombed. First, show’s concept is quite dated. These days many dads share equally in the childcare, and a show about dads struggling to care for their kids seems very 1970s.

Second, reviews of the show hammered it for being too over-produced, something that usually leads to a reality show feeling too scripted, such as “The Casino” or “The Restaurant.”

fredfa

08-03-05, 11:59 AM

A summer of reality? Forget about it.
The networks are down 8 percent in 18-49s

By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com
Last summer it seemed just about any reality show on broadcast attracted viewers, no matter how low concept, like “Last Comic Standing” or “Trading Spouses.”

This year viewers are a lot more discriminating when it comes to reality shows. They are watching less of them, and they are tuning out sooner once they realize a show's a stinker. Case in point: Fox’s recent launch “So You Think You Can Dance,” which dropped right after its debut.

The result: The Big Four networks are down a collective 8 percent among adults 18-49 compared with last summer, from a 9.3 average rating since late May to an 8.6. And they’re off even more, 13 percent, among 18-34s, from an 8.0 to a 7.0.

Last year at this time there were eight shows that averaged a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating or above. This past week, the week ended July 31, only three shows were at a 3.6 or above, and two of them were “CSI” repeats.
Last year eight reality shows made the weekly top 10. That number is down to four.

Does that mean that reality TV is over? No, but it does mean the networks will no longer be able to greenlight anything without a script and expect viewers to tune in.

Viewer turnoff should hardly comes as a surprise, considering the cookie cutter quality of what's on this summer--the contest, the bickering asides, the weekly vote-off, the tears and bitterness among the losers, the often pompous nattering of the moderator.

But certainly another factor is the sheer number of reality shows across both broadcast and cable, and now there's even Fox Reality, a cable channel devoted to the genre.

All this is hurting even those reality shows that have been around for some time. "Big Brother,” for example, is struggling this season. Its Tuesday and Thursday episodes last week averaged a 3.4 and a 2.8, well off the 3.7 and 3.6 for the same week last year.

This summer, in fact, there were only two new reality shows with any heft to speak of, ABC's big breakout hit “Dancing With the Stars” and the just concluded “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox, and the latter averaged only a 3.6 last week.

fredfa

08-03-05, 12:10 PM

Gary Belkin, 78; TV Writer for Sid Caesar, Carol Burnett Won Emmy for PBS Special

By Myrna Oliver Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 3, 2005

Gary Belkin, a comedy writer who honed his skills on Sid Caesar's "Caesar's Hour" and went on to work for such television classics as "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Sesame Street," has died. He was 78.

Belkin died Thursday in Los Angeles of emphysema, said his friend Mona Charles.

The Bronx-born Belkin got into comedy by suggesting ideas for New Yorker cartoons and writing jokes for radio comedians, and soon broke into television on Caesar's variety show, which aired from 1954 to 1957.

He worked as part of a large team of writers, many of whom had written for Caesar's earlier "Your Show of Shows," which ran from 1950 to 1954.

Belkin and his colleagues reunited with Caesar in 1996 for a PBS pledge drive television special called "Caesar's Writers," arranged by the Writer's Guild West. The program featured Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart, as well as Belkin, Sheldon Keller, Aaron Ruben, Simon's brother Danny, and Mel Tolkin.

"The energy of the reunion simulated what actually went on in the writers' room years before," Caesar said in his 2003 "Caesar's Hours" memoir. "The chemistry, respect and affection were still there."

Belkin went on to write variety show scripts for "The Danny Kaye Show" and spent eight years with "The Carol Burnett Show." He also wrote for sitcoms, including "Get Smart," "The Doris Day Show," "Three's Company" and "Newhart" and scripted specials for such celebrities as Frank Sinatra ("Sinatra: Concert for the Americas"), Anne Bancroft ("Annie and the Hoods") and Doris Day ("The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special").

He earned an Emmy for his PBS sex education program "VD Blues" as well as an Emmy nomination for "Sesame Street" in 1985.

He also shared an Emmy nomination for "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1987

Belkin also wrote quips and poetry for Muhammad Ali.

Typical of Belkin's wit was his "The Beverly Hills Philosophy," which The Times reprinted in 1994 in its Laugh Lines column:

"Friends don't let friends drive Yugos.

"There is no such thing as a free brunch.

"Practice random profligacy and senseless acts of spending.

"Less is moronic.

"If you give a man a fish … also give him a lemon wedge and basil."

Belkin had no immediate survivors.

A public memorial service will be planned at a later date.

keenan

08-03-05, 06:23 PM

ABC Rejoins NAB After Two-Year Absence
August 03, 2005
By Todd Shields

ABC has rejoined the National Association of Broadcasters two years after it bolted the trade group in a disagreement over federal media ownership rules, the network and the NAB jointly announced Wednesday.

“With policy differences now behind us, ABC and NAB are once again in a position to work together toward our important common goals,” said Preston Padden, executive vp/worldwide government relations for The Walt Disney Co., ABC’s corporate parent.

“This is great news,” said Eddie Fritts, NAB’s president and CEO. “There is no denying that we are stronger as an industry when we are united.”

The move brings ABC’s 10 TV stations and 70 radio stations back into NAB membership. It leaves the trade association without membership by Fox, NBC, and CBS, which withdrew earlier over the same issues.

ABC withdrew from NAB in mid-2003 as the trade group, dominated by smaller station groups, lobbied against letting large conglomerates own more stations. Since then, Congress has stepped in to limit companies to TV stations reaching 39 percent of the national audience.

From MediaWeek.com (www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001008890)

fredfa

08-03-05, 06:44 PM

ABC Slates 'MNF' Halftime Highlights Package

By Jon Lafayette TVWeek.com

Singer Tim McGraw will provide background music for a new highlights package that will appear at halftime of "Monday Night Football" games on ABC this season.

The highlights represent a return to the earliest days of "MNF," when Howard Cosell would show key plays from Sunday games during halftime of the broadcast, which is entering its 35th and final season on ABC.

Mr. McGraw will be reworking the lyrics of some of his hit songs for ABC. The highlights will in part replace the "You've Been Sacked" feature from last season, in which NFL players punked their colleagues.

ABC Sports and ESPN are also planning two documentaries on the history of "Monday Night Football," which will move to ESPN for the 2006 season.

fredfa

08-03-05, 09:44 PM

B-List Rivals Bring Their A-Game to Reality TV

By LOLA OGUNNAIKE The New York Times Aug. 4, 2005

It's a match made in mud-wrestling heaven: Omarosa, a fire-breathing dragon of a woman, fond of scorching rivals with a whole lot of index-finger-waving attitude, versus Janice Dickinson, a former supermodel with a Birkin bag of bitchiness and a perma-scowl etched into her surgically enhanced face.

But anyone eager to see these reality television veterans go at it in skimpy bikinis will have to settle for this season of VH1's "Surreal Life," which invites has-beens and B-listers to live together for 13 days of D-R-A-M-A.

Part nostalgia trip, part sitcom and part freak show, "The Surreal Life," currently in its fifth season, has become a breakout hit on VH1, which has invested heavily in the notion that celebrities, like roaches and zombies, never really die. This season of "The Surreal Life," which began late last month with new episodes on Sundays at 9 p.m. and reruns throughout the week, arrives at a time when semi-celebrities are enjoying astounding notoriety, thanks to shows like VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," NBC's "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," where the barely established and the washed-up fox-trotted before an average of more than 16 million viewers a week. B-list, it appears, is the new A-list.

"It's easier for viewers to identify with them," said Tom Carson, a critic for GQ. "They seem within reach as a definition of celebrity. Not many people can identify with Tom Cruise, but you can watch someone like J. Peterman and think that's probably what I'd be like if I were famous, there is an accessibility."

In addition to Omarosa and Ms. Dickinson, this season's "Surreal Life" cast includes the retired baseball player and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco; a British model turned lingerie designer, Caprice; Sandy Denton, one third of the seminal hip-hop trio Salt-n-Pepa; Carey Hart, a motocross racer engaged to the singer Pink; and Bronson Pinchot, best known for his starring turns as the dimwitted émigré Balki in the sitcom "Perfect Strangers" and as the espresso-loving art dealer Serge in the film "Beverly Hills Cop."

Three episodes into the new series, cast members have assumed archetypal roles. Mr. Canseco, still looking quite juiced, is the alpha-male father. Ms. Denton is the peacekeeping mother. Mr. Pinchot is the sensitive black sheep. Caprice is the hot, vacant looker, and Mr. Hart is, well, the tattooed, hot, vacant looker. "We always try to assemble a family," said Mark Cronin, the show's co-creator and an executive producer. "We try to start with three cornerstone names - the most famous, pop-culture iconic - and depending on who they are, we balance out the cast."

Though Mr. Canseco, Mr. Pinchot and Ms. Denton were cast first, it is the combustible chemistry of Omarosa and Ms. Dickinson ("the family's evil stepsisters," Mr. Cronin said) that has proved to be the real draw, with each gal dissing and dismissing the other with palpable zeal.

Mr. Cronin said he had hoped that Ms. Dickinson and Omarosa would reveal softer, sweeter sides. "That's what attracted us to them," he said. "Is there more to tell to their stories?" Naturally, he expected some tension between the women. "What we didn't anticipate is that they would really so completely hate each other," Mr. Cronin said.

Before "The Surreal Life," Ms. Dickinson could be found eviscerating aspiring catwalkers on Tyra Banks's UPN series "America's Next Top Model." Ms. Dickinson said she was no longer with that show because of money issues. "I think I was asking for too much," she said over lunch recently at Da Silvano, the downtown Italian restaurant.

Dressed in a low-cut blouse and a plaid H&M skirt the size of a handkerchief, Ms. Dickinson, who says she is 50, discussed her reason for appearing on "The Surreal Life." "For 12 days of work I made enough to pay for two years of my daughter's private school education," she said, plowing through a bread basket (yes, she eats).

Within minutes of being in Ms. Dickinson's presence, it became painfully clear that she is the avatar of reality television: zany, bizarre, at times comical, at times sad and always eager to entertain. Ms. Dickinson even encouraged this reporter to inspect her sizable breast implants. "Touch 'em honey," she urged. "Don't they feel real?" They did indeed. She then gave a shout-out to her plastic surgeons (she's had liposuction and a face-lift) and rattled off their telephone numbers.

It was less a conversation and more a one-woman show, with her squeezing in answers between disjointed monologues. One moment Ms. Dickinson, an author of two memoirs, talked about her future in books ("I want to write cheap, tawdry sex novels") and her P.M.S. ("I only have two good weeks a month and the rest of the time I'm Sybil"), and the next she was torpedoing "The Surreal Life." "It's a trashy show for mindless people," she said. "I'm not even going to watch it." Her worst was reserved for Omarosa, however. Upon first meeting her archnemesis, Ms. Dickinson said, "I thought Rick James had come back from the dead."

In playing the no-nonsense villainess, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth (who has ascended to mononame status) has parlayed her loss on Donald Trump's Machiavellian NBC show "The Apprentice" into appearances on several other reality series, a Burger King commercial and her own talk show, which is scheduled for next spring.

"Because I am business savvy, I've taken the lemons that were handed to me on 'The Apprentice' and made lemonade," Ms. Manigault-Stallworth said by telephone from her home in Washington, D.C. That afternoon not a trace of the bad girl was on display. Ms. Manigault-Stallworth, a former beauty queen, was the sweet, beguiling woman Mr. Cronin said he had been looking for.

So what gives? "I am tough," she admitted. "I've got a bit of an attitude problem. There's no secret there. Being a naughty girl is part of me, but that's not all of me." Ms. Manigault-Stallworth said that long ago she realized that being nasty - ahem, "naughty" - would "allow me to dominate most of the camera time," she said. "Americans love the bad guy. They're more fascinated with Simon Cowell than Paula Abdul. I believe the people that despise me have led to my longevity."

Ms. Dickinson may be one of those people. On the set, the two nearly came to blows. "I was so close to breaking that chick's neck," Ms. Manigault-Stallworth said. "I was just sitting there thinking, 'How many years will I get for killing this old supermodel?' "

Booking stars for the show has not been easy. "Every single person that has done 'The Surreal Life' has initially passed on the project," said Mr. Cronin, who over the years has managed to wrangle Tammy Faye Bakker, Corey Feldman and Charo. Mr. Cronin took issue with the phrase "has-been" to describe his motley casts: "You say has-been and I say icon. You say washed up and I say huge built-in fan base."

Unlike Ms. Dickinson, Ms. Denton said her decision to join the "Surreal Life" gang was not motivated by a check. Instead, the show offered her an opportunity to jump-start her acting career and reintroduce herself to fans. "They get to see how I look when I wake up and when I go to bed," she said. "Before it was only videos and interviews. Now they see that we're real people too." She is currently working on a reality series with castmate Caprice.

Mr. Pinchot, who had been restoring 18th-century farmhouses before Mr. Cronin came calling, said he remained ambivalent about his 'Surreal Life' stint. "Had you known your boyfriend was going to break your heart would you have gone on the first date?" he asked. "I don't know."

Neither Ms. Dickinson nor Ms. Manigault-Stallworth were turned off by their reality-show experiences, they said. And both managed to actually agree on one thing: their mutual hatred was genuine and not the result of tricky editing. Even so, Ms. Manigault-Stallworth, ever the pragmatist, has not completely sworn off working with Ms. Dickinson again. "If it was a good deal, hell, I'm not dumb, I wouldn't rule it out," she said.

fredfa

08-03-05, 10:57 PM

Producer keeps the television hits coming

By Hal Boedeker Orlando Sentinel Television Critic

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Producer Jerry Bruckheimer will have nine series on the fall lineup, from the established CSI and Cold Case to newcomers E-Ring and Just Legal.

The broadcast networks admire Bruckheimer for his hit-making touch. NBC, reeling after a hard season, is banking on his Pentagon drama, E-Ring.

"If it means one less show for CBS from him, I'm happy," says Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group. "He's the Aaron Spelling of today," referring to the producer who dominated prime time with The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Charlie's Angels and Dynasty.

"He [Bruckheimer] has an unbelievable gut, an unbelievable ability to know what the audience will respond to," Zucker adds. "There's clearly nobody as successful in popular culture today."

Bruckheimer, who is 59, is a modest, soft-spoken presence at a cocktail party. He easily chats with strangers. He freely shares his insights into the television business.

His many movies include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop and Pirates of the Caribbean. He says he likes the small screen because of the speed of production.

"And you reach so many people so fast," he says. "It's amazing."

He credits the success of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, TV's highest-rated drama, to creator Anthony Zuiker's research in riding with real-life investigators.

"What happens in any medium, and it happens with our feature writers, they get lazy," Bruckheimer says. "They sit at a computer and make it up. The audience knows it."

The solution is to give viewers an approximation of the real thing, gleaned through study.

"When you put a tape recorder in front of these cops when they're actually working, stuff comes out of their mouth, the gallows humor," Bruckheimer says. "It's phenomenal. A lot of writers don't take time to do it."

Bruckheimer takes time to work on all his projects. They form a good share of the CBS lineup, including Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY and The Amazing Race, the Emmy-winning reality series.

"The success of our company is in large part because Jerry doesn't sit back," says Jonathan Littman, president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television. "We're going on our seventh year of having shows on the air, and there's yet to be a script he hasn't read or a rough cut he hasn't watched. He's very involved."

The prospect of adding more series doesn't faze Bruckheimer. He says it's all about getting good managers to oversee the shows. He cites a WB project called Fearless that never reached the air.

"We didn't have the right people involved," he says. "We pulled out. Unless we have the good team together, we won't do it. We've got great teams."

Bruckheimer and his colleagues are revamping CSI: NY in its second season. The show started as a grim procedural but will have a more vibrant look, more humor and more ripped-from-the-headlines plots.

"We made a lot of changes, which we do on every one of our series after the first season -- sometimes halfway through the season," he says. "All these shows have growing pains. The first couple of episodes of [the original] CSI, I thought I was going to commit suicide. They were just all over the place."

By episode five, the show was on its way. "Those guys just pulled it together and made changes, so it became a huge hit," he says.

His next big hit could be CBS' Close to Home, which casts Bold and the Beautiful veteran Jennifer Finnigan as an effective prosecutor and new mom.

"She gave a reading for us that was brilliant," Bruckheimer says of her audition. "We believed her. That, to me, is the key. If you believe them or not."

fredfa

08-03-05, 11:11 PM

TELEVISION REVIEW
“Weeds”
Stoned in the suburbs
Evan Henerson Los Angeles Daily News

Fifteen minutes into the the first episode of Showtime's pungent comedy "Weeds," viewers may be wondering if they're high.

The series is set in the fictional suburb of Agrestic, Calif., an upper-middle-class community that looks a lot like Calabasas or Stevenson's Ranch, where it is shot. West Hills is its neighbor.

In Agrestic, recently widowed and desperate housewife Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) deals pot in sandwich bags to her toxic, self-absorbed neighbors in order to support her two sons and keep up her own cushy lifestyle.

If Nancy's moral choices seem selfish, she's hardly out of place in Agrestic. Listen to one of her customers, her accountant Doug (Kevin Neelon), gleefully extol a medical marijuana facility he recently visited. It's better than Amsterdam, he enthuses, "because you don't have to visit the Anne Frank house and pretend to be all sad."

Funny, but ... the characters on "Weeds" make the Wisteria Lane crew look like they're living in a "Leave It to Beaver" world.

"Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan, a veteran writer of network comedies and an Emmy award winner for "Tracey Takes On," says she was looking for a vehicle to "float some very flawed characters."

"Pot seemed to be in the air, in the news, and it seemed like a natural," Kohan says. "I thought of a female sort of anti-hero who did something risky, but not too offensive. She couldn't be a coke dealer."

Sensing no network would touch it, Kohan took the project straight to cable where, to her delight, Showtime bit right away, and with no reservation.

"It seemed like exactly the right thing for us," says Robert Greenblatt, Showtime president of entertainment. "It was something that was inherently dangerous and edgy, and we had to approach it in the right way, but we never shied away from it."

And while marijuana is the hook, it's really a way for the dark satire to dig into dysfunctional suburbia, where adults are addicted to their SUVs, lattes and insecurities while their children see their parents' hypocrisies but are speeding toward their own empty adulthoods.

A native Angeleno who lives in Los Feliz, Kohan recalls an incident as a teenager when, while raiding the fridge at a friend's house, she discovered bags of pot in the vegetable crisper. The memory served as fodder for "Weeds."

"It's not like every other mom is dealing drugs, but it's not an unfamiliar concept," she says. "And I don't think this is the most original idea in the world. But TV has never dealt with drugs head on, or at least in a neutral position. We don't vilify. We present them as is, and I'm really proud to have remained neutral."

"When you get to know the show," adds co-star Elizabeth Perkins, who plays Nancy's friend Celia, "the marijuana to me is really used more as a metaphor for the sort of underbelly of this perfect world that all these people are trying to live in. So I don't see it as some other people might interpret it, as titillation."

Parker says she likes the world that Kohan created.

"I just thought it was kind of unapologetically dark and the morality of it was skewed from the beginning. So you can't necessarily make judgments on the characters."

Perkins' hardened Celia is unaware of her friend's dealings, lost instead in her frustrated expectations, her husband's infidelity with a tennis instructor who found an inventive way to use her racket; her 15-year-old daughter Quin's randy sex life ("I've teased him enough," she says about Nancy's son when asking if they can have sex at Nancy's house); and the fact that her younger daughter, who she calls "Isa-belly," overeats. The PTA leader has hardly endeared herself to her family with tricks like substituting chocolate laxatives for Isabel's candy stash, resulting in an embarrassing episode for the poor girl at school.

"My character is more politically incorrect in her extreme attempts to be politically correct," says Perkins. "She's sort of in charge of the moral fortitude of the school and yet is probably the most (expletive)-up of everybody."

But Perkins adds that she really loves playing the character "because she is the uptight PTA mother, and I can then go in and find the layers that are underneath that. I mean, there's always a reason why somebody becomes so closed off and so insular and so in a dome. I happen to think she's just holding it all together because underneath it, there's a lot of chaos and a lot of cracks in the plaster."

There are a lot of cracks in all the characters in "Weeds."

"It's really interesting to me," says Parker, "because a lot of times on TV, the person is the same person at the top of the show as they are at the end. ... It doesn't leave you asking anything. You know what I mean? You sort of feel like you know it already."

That's not the case with "Weeds," which, as Greenblatt puts it, can be really amusing and "then it can really punch you in the stomach."

Kohan says she's amused by the comparisons to "Desperate Housewives," but it was just coincidental. "When we were shooting our pilot, they hadn't come out yet. I think the town's big enough for both of us. We're different enough. We're cable, and we have a drug element."

But "Weeds" doesn't have the frothy soap-opera kitsch of "Housewives" to lure viewers. It's got an edge. In fact, it's got a real kick. And even for an adult-themed show with a late time slot (10 p.m. weeknights), Kohan acknowledges the series won't be an easy sell to audiences.

"There's a certain level of discomfort, but hopefully we cut it with humor and with reality. It's a very realistic show," she says. "And I think people will either say, 'Oh my gosh, that's me,' or, 'Oh my gosh, that's someone I know.' "

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEEDS
Where: Showtime.
When: Preview 11 PM ET/PT Sunday. Regular times 10 PM ET/PT Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

fredfa

08-03-05, 11:14 PM

TV's Barney Fife in failing health”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.(Associated Press)— Don Knotts' failing health has forced his hometown to indefinitely postpone a parade and film festival in his honor that had been scheduled for Aug. 12-14.

A doctor for the 81-year-old Emmy-winning actor advised him not to travel from Beverly Hills, Calif., said Stacey Brodak, executive director of the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"He had hoped to be here for the celebration, but escalating health issues have made it unwise for him to make the cross-country trip at this time,'' she said Tuesday.

Brodak didn't elaborate on the nature of his ailment.

Knotts, a Morgantown native with dozens of film credits, is best known as the bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show'' and as would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on "Three's Company.''

This fall, he'll be the voice of Turkey Mayor in the animated film "Chicken Little.''

Three events will go on as planned — the unveiling of a sidewalk star, the first meeting of the local Don Knotts Fan Club and a display of Knotts memorabilia.

But spokesman Jack Thompson said the visitors' bureau didn't want to mislead potential tourists about Knotts' attendance.

"We got hundreds, if not thousands, of inquiries,'' he said. "But the first question out of everybody's mouth is, `Is he going to be there?' And that's from sponsors, as well as people attending.''

Thompson said no new date for the festival has been set.

keenan

08-04-05, 03:18 AM

From Broadcasting & Cable 8/3/2005 4:20:00 PM (http://http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA632183.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP)

Mouse Back in NAB House

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable

Disney/ABC is rejoining the National Association of Broadcasters.

"ABC believes that the best interests of our industry, our company and ultimately the viewing public can be promoted by returning to the NAB at this time," said Preston Padden, Executive VP/worldwide government relations, for The Walt Disney Company. "With policy differences now behind us, ABC and NAB are once again in a position to work together towards our important common goals,"

Padden will immediately get a seat on the NAB board.

The network exited NAB in 2003-the last of the Big Four to do so--in a dispute over the national TV station ownership cap, which has since been set by Congress at 39%.

For its part, Fox said it had not plans to follow ABC back into the NAB fold. CBS and NBC declined to comment, though CBS is said to have told its affiliates it could be open to rejoining the association depending on its direction under new leadership, including the successor to long-time President Eddie Fritts.

The central issue in the dispute between NAB and the network was the division between the "Big Four" nets and their affiliates over whether or not to raise the 35% ownership cap on a group owner's national audience reach. (NBC and Fox quit the NAB in 2000 and CBS in 2001 over the cap issue.)

The NAB had been lobbying against raising the cap, with stations arguing that allowing the networks to own more stations would give them undue leverage in affiliate contract negotiations.

The networks countered that they need to bulk up to survive, pointing out that some of the non-network groups contain many more stations, simply not in as large markets.

The issue came to a boil for ABC in June 2003, when the NAB TV board voted to endorse congressional attempts to restore the 35% cap, which the FCC raised to 45% in a controversial June 2 vote.

The boil was roiling by then, with Padden labeling the National Association of Broadcasters a weapon in the "jihad" of large affiliate groups against the networks. In a letter to NAB president Eddie Fritts, whom he called one of the victims in this fight, Padden had said the move was made "with genuine sorrow."

Sorrow, yes, but Disney was also angry at what it saw as NAB shots at its stations. At the time, Padden cited NAB's assertion in its lobbying efforts that network-owned stations "lagged behind" affiliates in local public service."

There was genuine happiness Wednesday, with NAB Joint Board Chairman Bruce Reese appearing to directly salve that particular sore spot: "We are proud to welcome ABC back into the NAB family. ABC stations have a well deserved reputation for delivering high quality news and public service, two of the hallmarks of local broadcasting."

Rejoining NAB are the ABC television network, the company's 10 TV stations and 70 radio stations.

keenan

08-04-05, 03:26 AM

From Broadcasting & Cable 8/1/2005 (www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA631117&display=Special%20Repor)

The Early Emmy Line

As ballots are sent, B&C lays out the odds on the nominees

Compiled by Joel Brown

We won't know the winners until Sept. 18 when CBS airs the Prime Time Emmy Awards, but everybody in Hollywood is guessing who'll be taking home the gold. Judging tapes for the awards that will be given out on the telecast (in other words, the big ones) will be sent starting Aug. 8. Here, B&C takes a stab at sizing up the competition in the top categories and handicapping the odds. Next week: The critics weigh in with their picks.
OUTSTANDING COMEDY

Some observers think the 15 nominations for Will & Grace is the funniest Will & Grace moment of the season. That fading sitcom matches ABC's Desperate Housewives for most nominations for a series this year. But the poisoned tarts and horny moms of Housewives could take this category in a walk. CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond might take a farewell win, of course. Another statue for last year's winner, Fox's Arrested Development, might be justified. And everybody loves NBC's Scrubs, but like a brother, if you know what we mean.

ODDS: Desperate Housewives is tops at 2-1 odds to win. Everybody Loves Raymond, 3-1; Arrested Development, 4-1; Will & Grace, 6-1; and Scrubs, 10-1
OUTSTANDING DRAMA

NBC warhorse The West Wing improved when it hit the campaign trail, but not enough to deserve a nomination over FX's Nip/Tuck or The Shield. HBO's Six Feet Under should have won this category when it was better in earlier years. Fox's 24 is pulse-pounding, but it's a parlor trick that doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. ABC's Lost took an old Hollywood-movie concept—marooned strangers thrown together—and turned it into something far weirder. But our vote would go to Deadwood, HBO's &@#$ fantastic frontier series. David Milch's writing was out-&$@#*-standing!

ODDS: Deadwood, 2-1; Lost, 3-1; Six Feet Under, 4-1; The West Wing,5 -1; 24, 6-1
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Tony Shalhoub won in 2003 for USA's Monk. Ray Romano won in 2002 for CBS' departing hit Everybody Loves Raymond. Eric McCormack won in 2001 for NBC's Will & Grace, but now that the gay angle doesn't seem so fresh, he doesn't seem so funny either. NBC's wacko Scrubs star Zack Braff is a funny fellow, and we'd be pleased if he won, but very surprised. Romano could get the sentimental vote, but our Ouija board points to Jason Bateman of Fox's Arrested Development.

ODDS: Romano, 3-2; Shalhoub, 2-1; Bateman, 4-1; Braff, 6-1; McCormack, 10-1
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Hank Azaria was marvelous in a breakthrough role on Showtime hit Huff. The network was also smart to send DVDs of the series to voters before it aired, but it won't be enough. Kiefer Sutherland once again made Fox's 24 riveting. Hugh Laurie is a deserving underdog as Dr. Gregory House on Fox's House and won the award from the Television Critics Association. We're betting on James Spader, who delivers as the deliciously devious Alan Shore on ABC's Boston Legal. But we're hoping for Ian McShane, as the black-hearted tyrant on HBO's Deadwood.

ODDS: Spader, 2-1; McShane, 3-1; Sutherland, 4-1; Laurie, 7-1; Azaria, 10-1

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Patricia Heaton of CBS' Raymond won in 2000 and 2001 and will win again only if Emmy voters go off on a nostalgia jag. Jane Kaczmarek of Fox's Malcolm in the Middle has been nominated five times without a win, and the only way she gets it is if the Desperate Housewives split their vote. Speaking of which: Teri Hatcher's lonely Susan and Felicity Huffman's stressed-out Lynette seem like relatively normal folks acting abnormally, and they're getting the most press. But Marcia Cross as the uptight Bree—”Martha Stewart on steroids”—is way out there in American Beauty-land. She's so over-the-top we want her to land there. We like Cross in this race.

ODDS: Hatcher, 3-2; Huffman, 2-1; Kaczmarek, 3-1; Cross, 5-1; Heaton, 7-1
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Did Emmy voters really think that Glenn Close's season-long gig on FX's The Shield was worthy of nomination and series star Michael Chiklis wasn't? Well, the Emmys can be that way. ABC's Alias didn't draw as many raves this year, which paradoxically means it might be time for tardy Emmy trend spotters to finally notice Jennifer Garner. Both Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Patricia Arquette for Medium star in depressing shows, but Hargitay has star power. We'd like to see the Emmy go to … Frances Conroy, nominated twice before as the lovingly flawed matriarch on HBO's Six Feet Under. But probably this is Close in a cakewalk. Emmys go to big movie stars who show up on TV.

ODDS: Close, 2-1; Hargitay, 3-1; Arquette, 4-1; Conroy, 5-1; Garner, 7-1

fredfa

08-04-05, 10:32 AM

Sinclair Scales Back WB Affil's Newscasts

By Katy Bachman mediaweek.com August 04, 2005

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which three years ago launched News Central, a centralized news operation to bring news to stations at a fraction of the cost of a locally-produced newscast, is finding that news is still an expensive proposition. The group announced Wednesday plans to scale back its newscasts for seven of the group's WB affiliates in seven markets.

Beginning the week of Aug. 22, stations in Raleigh, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Birmingham and Tampa will air a half-hour of news rather than one hour, adding a half-hour of entertainment programming.

The Hunt Valley, Md.-based group, which owns 61 TV stations in 38 mid-size markets, also said it would discontinue its 10 p.m. newscast on WUPN-TV and WXLV-TV, its UPN and ABC affiliates in Greensboro, N.C. beginning Aug. 11.

Where local news has been successful, Sinclair is expanding its newscasts. KABB-TV, the compay’s Fox affilaite in San Antonio which airs an established 9 p.m. newscast with competitive ratings, will add an early morning newscast by the first quarter next year.

Sinclair reported sluggish revenue during its quarterly conference call Wednesday, down 2 percent in second quarter. The group expects the trend to continue the rest of the year in absence of political revenue. For third quarter, Sinclair is looking at revenue decline between 5.6 and 6.3 percent, not unlike other TV groups.

fredfa

08-04-05, 10:42 AM

DirecTV offers NFL fans new bells, whistles
By Michael Hiestand USA Today

NEW YORK — DirecTV unveiled Wednesday the most elaborate, and expensive, way to watch the NFL on TV.

DirecTV is controlled by News Corp., which also owns Fox.

DirecTV's new SuperFan option, which will also be used on DirecTV's NCAA men's college basketball tournament coverage in March, seems custom-made for compulsive channel-surfers.

DirecTV, a satellite TV provider with more than 14.5 million subscribers, is upgrading its Sunday Ticket TV package, which caters to NFL fanatics by delivering the TV network coverage of every NFL game.

Viewers paying for SuperFan will continue to get all of the Sunday afternoon Fox and CBS games, but can also use their remotes to get interactive elements such as being able to call up onscreen graphics showing player and team statistics for games in progress. This will allow fantasy league players to become even more obsessed.

And viewers will be able to see up to eight games at once on their TV screen. The big idea is that viewers can monitor lots of games and call up ones that seem interesting — and set personal records for channel-surfing.

There's even a separate channel devoted to what amounts to perpetual channel-surfing done for you.

On the Red Zone Channel, viewers are automatically taken between games to see key moments unfold. (This season, that channel will only involve games on Fox, but DirecTV plans to add CBS games next year.)

To keep viewers from getting dizzy, an announcer will set up what's happening before viewers arrive at a new game.

And after Sunday night games have ended, SuperFan will offer condensed versions of games that will include every play — shown in less than 30 minutes.

This all comes with an impressive price tag: The SuperFan option costs $99, which comes in addition to the $199-$279 cost of Sunday Ticket and DirecTV's basic monthly charge of about $40.

But Fox Sports chairman David Hill, who also presides over DirecTV, argues that SuperFan is "totally revolutionary."

And DirecTV could use the extra money: In new NFL TV deals taking effect in 2006, DirecTV will pay $700 million annually to carry NFL games. That's comparable to the $712.5 million that Fox will pay annually, and more than CBS' $622.5 million annual fee, in order for each network to put games on free TV.

There have been experiments with interactive TV for years. Hill, while working on British satellite TV provider Sky Sports in the 1990s, predicted its interactive TV wouldn't attract viewers. Now, he says, it's a hit — partly because it allows viewers to use TV remotes to place bets on games they watch.

DirecTV might expand the SuperFan concept to allow viewers to hop between the action in golf and tennis tournaments. Says Hill: "This is just our first baby step."

fredfa

08-04-05, 01:16 PM

Ailes sails in Rupe coop
Exec shifts could bring more muscle to Fox News

By MICHAEL LEARMONTH variety.com

NEW YORK -- Roger Ailes, the bombastic leader of Fox News Channel, has emerged as the most likely successor to Lachlan Murdoch as chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group. Such a move would see Fox News programming assume new prominence on Fox owned-and-operated stations.

Ailes will continue to report to News Corp. prexy-chief operating officer Peter Chernin, to whom previous heads of the 35-station group reported, including Mitchell Stern, who left in 2003 to become CEO of News Corp. satcaster DirecTV.

Under Stern the station group experienced rapid growth, but it was operated as a separate fiefdom that often butted heads with News Corp.'s cable, syndication and network operations.

"News Corp. has suffered from not having synergies in those areas," one former executive said. With Ailes, "The TV channels will definitely have a different tone to them."

Stern, who left DirecTV in April, has emerged as a candidate for topper of the Viacom Television Station Group, a position vacated by Fred Reynolds last month.

Since the departure of Stern, the relationship between Fox News Channel and Fox's 35 O&Os has grown closer, with increasing talks about collaboration on a morning talkshow.

Former Ailes deputy Jack Abernethy was installed as CEO of the station group in December, but he has a news and financial background with very little programming experience.

Before the Abernethy appointment and after Stern's departure, the younger Murdoch ran the TV group in order to gain the operating experience he would need to eventually inherit the company.

Abernethy, who was appointed CEO at Ailes' urging, was frustrated that shows including Fox News productions including "Fox News Sunday" weren't getting adequate promotion by the affiliates, sources told Daily Variety.

After Abernethy came aboard, Lachlan Murdoch found himself cut out of management decisions at the TV group, exacerbating a feeling that his father undermined his management control of his operating units.

On Tuesday, the elder Murdoch officially took over one of his son's positions -- that of publisher of the New York Post.

The Fox-owned stations already are weighing an expansion of new programming that insiders expect to accelerate if Ailes takes control.

Twentieth Century Fox Television already is developing a network morning show under prexy Paul Buccieri that would attempt to maintain the strong numbers Fox stations draw in the morning.

Fox tried a morning talkshow in 1996, "Fox After Breakfast" with Tom Bergeron, then turned the time back over to the stations with the program failed.

But Ailes has shown real skill in identifying talent and developing talkshows that increasingly deliver broadcast-netlike numbers on FNC.

Talks also include repackaging some of that Fox News Channel programming for local stations.

Lachlan Murdoch's departure has sparked much speculation within the company about succession at the divisions that once reported to him.

However, his ankling will not lead to wholesale changes. U.S.-based operating units will report, ultimately, to Chernin.

Chernin, a prominent Democrat, and Ailes, a former Nixon aide, have a distant but cordial working relationship.

Ailes has always reported both to Chernin and to Rupert Murdoch, and Chernin is typically hands-off with the businesses under Ailes' control.

It's a formula that seems to have worked as Fox News Channel has grown from an upstart in 1996 to the leading cable news network.

fredfa

08-04-05, 01:23 PM

Wednesday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Xesdeeni

08-04-05, 03:41 PM

Any idea when CBS announces their fall premiere dates?

Xesdeeni

fredfa

08-04-05, 03:57 PM

To the best of my knowledge, CBS has not made season premiere date announcements yet.

fredfa

08-04-05, 04:04 PM

(Xesdeeni: this will teach me not to leave for lunch!)

CBS Starts With Survivor

By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable

Survivor will lead off CBS’s fall premieres on Thursday, Sept. 15, but the following Monday is when the network will begin to learn whether its Raymond-less Monday night comedy lineup can still outlast and outwitty the competition.

The network announced its 2005-06 premiere dates Thursday, beginning with the debut of Survivor: Guatemala, followed the next night by a special two-hour premiere of new sci-fi thriller, Threshold.

After airing the Emmys Sunday, Sept. 18, the bulk of the premieres roll out the following week, when Raymond heir apparent, Two and a Half Men anchors CBS’s new-look Monday night. New comedies on the night are How I Met Your Mother and Out of Practice. The night leads off with vet King of Queens.

CBS will also give new drama, Criminal Minds, a shot in the plush post-CSI slot on Thursday, Sept. 22, before moving it to its regular Wednesday 9 p.m. slot the following week, when Without A Trace debuts.

Following are CBS’s 2005-06 premiere dates and times:
Thursday, Sept. 15
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA

Friday, Sept. 16
9:00-11:00 PM THRESHOLD (two-hour series premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 18
8:00-11:00 PM 57th ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS

Monday, Sept. 19
8:00-8:30 PM THE KING OF QUEENS
8:30-9:00 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (series debut)
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM OUT OF PRACTICE (series debut)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI

Tuesday, Sept. 20
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM BIG BROTHER 6 (finale)
10:00-11:00 PM ROCK STAR: INXS (finale)

Wednesday, Sept. 21
8:00-8:30 PM STILL STANDING
8:30-9:00 PM YES, DEAR
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY

Thursday, Sept. 22
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS (series debut)

Friday, Sept. 23
8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER (series debut)
9:00-10:00 PM THRESHOLD (time period debut)
10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS

Saturday, Sept. 24
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS MYSTERY

Sunday, Sept. 25
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM COLD CASE
9:00-11:00 PM CBS SUNDAY MOVIE ("Martha Behind Bars")

Tuesday, Sept. 27
9:00-11:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION

Wednesday, Sept. 28
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS (time period premiere)

Thursday, Sept. 29
10:00-11:00 PM WITHOUT A TRACE

Tuesday, Oct. 4
10:00-11:00 PM CLOSE TO HOME (series debut)

fredfa

08-04-05, 04:15 PM

The CBS network prime-time premiere dates for 2005-2006 have been posted near the bottom of Latest News the first item in this thread.

keenan

08-04-05, 07:11 PM

Wow, the fall season a little over a month away, I'm excited, I guess that makes me a confirmed TV geek... :D

fredfa

08-04-05, 08:18 PM

I am with you, Jim!

fredfa

08-04-05, 09:18 PM

Over There Drops, But Still Delivers
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable

FX’s Iraq war drama Over There was down 37% in total viewership this week, earning 2.6 million total viewers Aug. 3.

That’s down sharply from the 4.1 million it earned for its premiere, according to the network.

This week’s episode recorded a 2.1 household rating and 1.5 million adults 18-49.

Nonetheless, the program was still basic cable’s most-viewed show for the day with adults 18-49, FX says. The show’s median age was 38.3, 4.8 years younger than its premiere.

The show, produced by Steven Bochco and Chris Gerolmo, revolves around a platoon stationed in Iraq and how the war affects them and their families.

FX built an audience for the premiere by leading in with the TV premiere of the Vin Diesel action flick, XXX, which earned a 1.9 rating and 2.2 million total viewers. Last night’s episode got a war-themed lead-in from Black Hawk Down, which posted a 0.8 household rating.

Over There, which airs at 10 p.m., is produced by Steven Bochco Productions and Twentieth Century Fox.

FX averaged 1.13 million total viewers in July, down 16% from last year’s July average of 1.34 million.

fredfa

08-04-05, 09:43 PM

Novak Curses, Walks Off CNN Set
Robert Novak Says "Bullshit" And Walks Off The Set Of Inside Politics

mediabistro.com----Robert Novak walked off the set during the "Strategy Session" on the second-to-last day of Inside Politics.

It happened at 4:50pm, during a debate with James Carville.

The two argued, and Carville said: "He's gotta show these right-wingers that he's got backbone. The Wall Street Journal editorial board is watching, show 'em you’re tough."

Novak responded: "Well I think that's bullshit, and I hate that. Just let it go."

Two seconds later, he stood up and walked off the set.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We've Asked Mr. Novak To Take Some Time Off," CNN Spokesperson Says

FishbowlDC---A CNN spokeswoman tells "Bob Novak's behavior on CNN today was inexcusable and unacceptable. Mr. Novak has apologized to CNN, and CNN apologizes to its viewers for his language and actions. We've asked Mr. Novak to take some time off."

keenan

08-04-05, 10:13 PM

Over There Drops, But Still Delivers
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable

Just watched this again on the pilot episode DVD, and I'll raise my price to $20 a month to pay for getting FX programming in HD..

fredfa

08-04-05, 11:00 PM

FX, TNT and ESPN2 (all in HD) would calm me down for a while -- especially once the network seasons begin.

fredfa

08-05-05, 10:39 AM

Smart, not so smart and sci-fi that isn't

By MARK McGUIRE Albany Times-Union Staff writer Friday, August 5, 2005

It's time to review some of what I learned on my recently concluded summer unvacation, also known as the Television Critics Association Press Tour:

* Shaun Cassidy is really smart. Despite his boyish good looks, the 47-year-old producer has left behind his teen idol days, which included TV's "The Hardy Boys Mysteries" stardom and chart-topping ("Da Do Ron Ron"). He's now a respected producer who has delivered hits ("Cold Case") and unique quality programming (1995's "American Gothic," a horror show ahead of its time).

The half-brother of David Cassidy is the creator of "Invasion" (ABC), arguably the best of several sci-fi-ish (see below) shows debuting this fall. Cassidy was able to articulate his vision for the series better than his competitors could.

* But there are no "sci-fi" shows on broadcast TV. "Threshold" (CBS), "Surface" (NBC) and "Invasion" are serialized dramas with science fiction elements. But nobody associated with these productions wants them labeled sci-fi: Instead, they call them family dramas or mysteries. Regardless, the genre's sudden proliferation proves one thing: "Lost" is the most important show on television, and joins the ranks of "Law & Order" and "CSI" as a clone-generator -- not only for its fantastic plot elements, but in the ingenious way it weaves its story together so that viewers tune in week after week.

* That's not gore -- that's fun! The disturbing trend of ever-more-ghastly gore on TV continues. Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori said he didn't have any problem with the pilot of "Killer Instinct," in which a psychopath uses spiders to incapacitate his female victims before raping and murdering them.

"We're gearing those crimes to be almost popcorn-ish," Liguori said. "But the intent there is to actually create creative, fun crimes ... "

He later said he was referring just to the spiders.

* Prepare to be confused by reviews. North America's television critics aren't a homogenous group. Maybe a little older and predominantly white, but still a mixed bag of personalities -- all with strong opinions.

Still, consensus often emerges. Many, if not all, agree Chris Rock's "Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN) is drop-dead funny. NBC's "Thick and Thin" is not. But there will be mixed reviews for almost every new show this fall.

I like "Criminal Minds" (CBS); another critic thinks it's the worst new show he's screened. Some like the Fox drama "Reunion." In my eyes, it's an unwatchable piece of dreck.

In short: Pay closer attention to the description of new shows than the reviews, and sample the ones that may interest you. In other words: Don't blame me.

* Third-World debt could be erased with what networks spend on their parties. Fox rented an entire amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier last Friday to throw a party for actors, producers, executives and critics. A party like that probably costs six figures.

I don't get why the networks do that. It doesn't make "Reunion" any better.

* Pamela Anderson may not be as dumb as her persona suggests. In a news conference Anderson was poised, thoughtful and funny. She also had to explain to a critic that, yes, the name of her Fox sitcom "Stacked" is a double-entendre.

* But Melanie Griffith might be. "Hopefully I'll be able to show other sides besides just being blond and dumb," said the new co-star of the WB comedy "Twins." Then, for some reason, she added: "There's a lot of blond people in America."

It was funny. Dumb, but funny.

Court in session

Reruns of "Night Court," Harry Anderson's NBC comedy that ran from 1984-92, return to television later this month with a 48-hour TV Land marathon beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. The sitcom will air at 11:30 . PM ET nightly starting Monday, Aug. 15.

fredfa

08-05-05, 10:45 AM

TELEVISION REVIEW
In 'Weeds,' puffs of promise ultimately go up in smoke

By Matthew Gilbert Boston Globe August 5, 2005

The idea of ''Weeds" is wonderfully perverse. To solve her money woes, a widowed mother deals pot to the upper-middle-class stoners in her California town. She slips them rolled-up baggies at soccer matches and bakes resinated treats so they can get baked at their poker games. She's Little Mary Jane Sunshine, spreading THC to the PTA on the QT. The Showtime dramedy, which premieres tomorrow night at 11, aims to light up the American suburban myth, to be a sort of ''Desperate Housewives" with roach clips and bongs.

Think of the great potential for moral dodge and dart. Nancy Botwin is a good mother, just as Tony Soprano is a caring father. She's a woman with no skills who'll do anything to keep her family living in the manner to which they're accustomed, even breaking the law. And she claims to have ethical parameters -- no sales to kids, for example. She's also sympathetic as a grieving wife whose husband, whom we see in home videos, was a family man. The title of the series refers to her tragedy as much as to her merchandise, since some cultures require widows to wear ''weeds" -- mourning dresses -- for long stretches.

And most promising of all, ''Weeds" features Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy. Parker is an unusual actress because she can fill the screen with a sweetly recessive presence. She can transform ordinariness into Ordinariness, something iconic and engaging. And underneath her cautious facade, waves of cynicism and irony set her eyes to rolling. She's perfectly cast as the sane one in the ''Weeds" neighborhood of uninhibited nuts, who include Kevin Nealon as her ever-stoned financial adviser and Elizabeth Perkins as her rabidly superficial best friend.

And yet, and yet. ''Weeds" doesn't pull it off. It's a fresh idea cast with good actors that doesn't quite jell into much of anything, at least in the five episodes available for preview. Despite its unique premise, the show delivers little more than network sitcom material tarted up with cable raciness.

It's also disjointed. Creator Jenji Kohan and her writers don't seem to know where to go with the scenario, as the narrative lurches unevenly, dropping characters and subplots as it picks up new ones. Pot does lend unity to the show, but mostly just as an oft-repeated joke, as in ''Look at Nancy chatting about low-carb diets while weighing ounces of marijuana."

Nancy's two sons are integral to ''Weeds," but they're given painfully familiar WB-style plotlines. Will teenager Silas (Hunter Parrish) have sex with his girlfriend? Meanwhile, younger brother Shane (Alexander Gould) misses his dad and gets picked on by bullies. Like too many TV children, both boys talk suspiciously like adults, particularly Shane as he psychoanalyzes his own misbehavior to the school principal. The makers of ''Weeds" don't seem to have a vision for these kids, or whether they'll ever know the secret ingredient in Mom's recipes.

Perkins's Celia, too, doesn't get an engaging plotline, as she learns her husband is having an affair and seethes. Perkins is great fun to watch, stealing scenes as a critical monster of a mother who badgers her daughter to lose weight, even going so far as to replace her chocolate bars with Ex-Lax. She is forever scandalizing the dull folks in the show's town of Agrestic. But after a few episodes, the writers mistakenly try to make Celia sympathetic, and they wind up making her pathetic, saddling her with a third-rate soap opera twist.

Nealon clearly enjoys his role as one of Nancy's more feckless customers, but he's relegated to redundant comic relief. Same goes for Nancy's supplier, a black family that walks the line between stereotypical and endearing. These folks -- including Heylia (Tonye Patano) and Conrad (Romany Malco) -- live in the inner city and do nothing but package pot in the kitchen and ignore gunshots on the street. They're annoyed by the white lady, but also amused by her, with Heylia calling Nancy ''Betty Cracker" after she learns how to cook pot treats.

The show relies on the shock value of pot, but weed makes appearances all over the pop culture world these days, with rock stars chatting openly about using it in Rolling Stone and ongoing riffs about it on TV shows such as ''Arrested Development" and ''Six Feet Under." ''Weeds" needs a richer story line and consistent writing to be more than a drawn-out old novelty. It needs to aim higher.

fredfa

08-05-05, 10:50 AM

In Television Today, The Studio Audience Can't Just Sit There

Ms. Stewart Plans a Show
With a Crowd of Marthas;
Men Who Knitted Ponchos

By BROOKS BARNES Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL August 5, 2005; Page A1

When Charlotte Pope attended a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" last year, the 74-year-old retired teacher unwittingly became a celebrity herself. Sitting in the back, Ms. Pope was caught on camera reacting to a loud dance song by making a face and covering her ears.

Ms. DeGeneres found the footage so hilarious that she replayed it on the air dozens of times over several weeks. She nicknamed Ms. Pope "Kitty," and invited her back as a guest -- six times. Strangers started to interrupt her golf game to ask for her autograph.

So much for just smiling and applauding on cue. From daytime to prime time, television is asking studio audiences to play a bigger part in selling programs to viewers. Just sitting there laughing and heeding flashing "Applause" signs is no longer enough. Nor is having an engaging host -- partly because there are an awful lot of engaging hosts out there.

Rob Dauber, co-executive producer of Martha Stewart's new daytime "how-to" show, sees this new emphasis on the audience as an extension of popular reality shows. Viewers like to see ordinary folks acting spontaneously. On "Martha," members of the audience should be "prepared to participate without notice," Mr. Dauber says. "You could be sitting there one moment and up on stage baking a cake the next."

Ms. DeGeneres's show encourages people in the studio audience to dance wildly at the start of each program. That helps communicate "fun" to folks at home. The age, race and sex of audience members also matter. "Seeing someone like you on a show makes you want to watch," says Susan Lyne, chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. "On a subliminal level, it suggests the show is for you."

The studio audience, of course, has been part of the TV business since its earliest days. Comedy producers started using live audiences in the 1950s after research suggested that people didn't want to laugh alone in their living rooms. In daytime TV, "The Price Is Right" has been inviting random audience members to "come on down" for 33 years. But until recently, audiences were mostly about creating noise, and people rarely appeared on camera for more than a few seconds.

Now, having the right kind of audience is taken so seriously that some shows have "audience wranglers" who cast people to fill seats. On Fox's "American Idol," coordinating producer Patrick Lynn is in charge of "audience animation," which involves cherry-picking people from the ticket line for prominent seats. "These people are on camera a lot, and we want a certain look," he says. "I generally look for energy over attractiveness. We don't want people who will just sit there like a bump on a log."

At "Martha," which premieres Sept. 12, Mr. Dauber is looking for people who fit themes. One episode will feature an audience of women all named Martha Stewart. (The spelling 'Stuart' is permitted.) For another episode, the show plans to bring in people who have crocheted or knitted copies of the poncho Ms. Stewart wore when she was released from prison. Producers say they worked hard to include male knitters in this bunch, a challenge since attendees will be required to wear their handiwork. (The message to folks at home: Ms. Stewart can inspire guys, too.)

It takes a confident man to model a glorified shawl on national TV, but that's nothing compared to the potential humiliation some shows are asking audiences to endure. Putting people on the spot can really spice things up. Supermodel Tyra Banks says she's planning a segment for her new talk show in which she picks women from the audience and asks them to wash off their makeup. Cameras will then film extreme close-ups. Ms. Banks says that by showing the women "so naked and so vulnerable," she can make a point about their essential inner beauty.

Filling a studio audience used to be a simple matter of telling tour-bus drivers where to drop off the retirees, but landing a seat at some tapings these days can feel like making it past the velvet rope at a hot nightclub. Some shows even have dress codes. To watch a live taping of ABC's new reality hit "Dancing With the Stars," men must wear suits and ties; women must be in "classy" dresses. Producers say the outfits are part of their effort to give the show an old-fashioned vibe.

As audiences get more air time, they also get more instruction. At a taping last spring of "American Idol," audience members were ordered to take off any hats, sit up straight, smile and spit out their gum. Before the show, ushers aggressively roamed the crowd with plastic-foam coffee cups looking for errant wads. "Don't make me come in there after that!" one usher barked to a startled chewer. Gum, says Mr. Lynn, "looks ugly on camera."

"Martha" is among new shows that are building sets with audience interaction in mind. Traditionally, audience members are far from the action because a bank of cameras sits between them and the stage. "Martha" producers wanted to seat people much closer to the domestic diva, in part to soften her sometimes overly serious demeanor. "Hearing them chuckle will help her chuckle," says Mr. Dauber.

fredfa

08-05-05, 10:53 AM

CNN Ponders Novak Status
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable

CNN is still deciding on its future plans for syndicated columnist and political commentator Bob Novak after suspending him yesterday..

The conservative columnist, 74, stormed off the set of Inside Politics yesterday after saying “bull----“ during a debate with liberal political strategist James Carville.

Novak, who has contributed to CNN since Jun, 1980, was slated to be a contributor to CNN’s new afternoon Wolf Blitzer-hosted political show, The Situation Room, which starts Monday (Aug. 8). But a network spokesperson was unclear on whether that was still the case.

The news network recommended Novak “take some time off,” yesterday after the incident, which occurred during the show’s Strategy Session segment as Novak and Carville debated Florida Rep. Katherine Harris’ run for the U.S. Senate.

Later in the show, anchor Ed Henry apologized for the incident.

The network issued a statement yesterday saying, “Bob Novak’s behavior on CNN today was inexcusable and unacceptable. Mr. Novak has apologized to CNN, and CNN apologizes to its viewers for his language and actions.”

After Carville interrupted Novak during the segment, Novak said, “Just let me finish what I’m going to say, James, please. I know you hate to hear me.”

Carville said Novak had to “show these right-wingers that he’s got a backbone, you know. The Wall Street Journal editorial page is watching. Show ‘em you’re tough.”

To which Novak replied, “Well, I think that’s bull---- and I hate that.”

Novak has been in the news for several months regarding a federal investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity. Plame’s name appeared in a Novak column on July 14, 2003.

Henry told viewers he had informed Novak that he was going to ask him about the CIA leak investigation during the segment.

fredfa

08-05-05, 11:17 AM

Thursday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-05-05, 08:48 PM

Coach Bob Knight to Star in ESPN Series

By James Hibberd TVWeek.com August 5, 2005

ESPN has ordered a reality series starring famously temperamental basketball coach Bob Knight, the network announced Thursday. Mr. Knight, who was fired as Indiana University head coach in 2000 and currently coaches at Texas Tech, will star in six one-hour episodes of "Knight School." The show will feature 16 unsigned Texas Tech students competing for a spot on the team.

"'Knight School' is filled with the type of inherent drama that makes for a compelling and successful reality show," said Ron Semiao, senior VP, ESPN Original Entertainment. "The stakes are high -- and the emotions run high -- as players give it everything they've got."

fredfa

08-05-05, 11:44 PM

Marquee Games Sought in Flexible TV Schedule

By RICHARD SANDOMIR The New York Times August 6, 2005

The newest wrinkle in televised football will dawn in early November 2006. It will not enhance the quality of a broadcast or have anything to do with a tiny camera embedded in a quarterback's forehead.

But it may make network executives feisty.

The innovation will be in the way the National Football League schedules games in the last seven weeks of each season. It is the flexible schedule - or "Campaign Against Lousy Matchups" - that is designed to help NBC's "Sunday Night Football" but might hurt CBS's and Fox's Sunday afternoon broadcasts.

The notion of flexibility was first pushed by ABC Sports, which saw too many losing teams play in clunkers on "Monday Night Football" in the final weeks of the season. But ABC will be out of the N.F.L. by 2006; the "Monday" series will go to ESPN, but the flexibility will be NBC's.

The flexible schedule's goal is to avoid having a 3-10 team face a 4-9 team in Week 14 of the season in prime time on NBC.

Those teams might have looked good in April when the N.F.L. releases its schedule, but by late November, free agency, injuries and team feuds might have turned both teams into opponents not worth watching.

Conversely, teams that have made surprising turnarounds into playoff contenders could be rewarded. "We want teams to be able to play their way into prime time," said Howard Katz, a senior vice president of the N.F.L., who once advocated flexibility as the president of ABC Sports.

The Pittsburgh Steelers never made it to "Monday Night Football" last season despite their revival with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.

The N.F.L. will spend this year devising a model for flexibility in 2006. But this much is known: At some point, CBS and Fox will be able to protect one game in five of the seven weeks in question.

From that pool of games, the N.F.L. will choose NBC's. But there will be restrictions. No team that is already on NBC's schedule three times can be added via flexibility, unless the league loosens its rules. Teams that play on a Thursday, regardless of how hot they are, would not likely be shifted.

To avoid inconveniencing fans, the league might also be reluctant to shift a hot team to NBC if it has already been moved there once or twice.

"We have to be sensitive to a lot of things," Katz said. "We have to make sure this doesn't interfere with the competitive nature of the schedule."

CBS and Fox will certainly argue against losing games they still want but left unprotected. NBC will push for the strongest game possible.

"We'll say what we want, but it's the league's schedule," said Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports, who admitted that he erred in June when he said that NBC would make the flexible choice.

Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports, said that even if he did not protect a late-season Jets-Dolphins game, he would make the case for keeping it because of the commercial time already sold by the New York and Miami stations that are owned and operated by Viacom, CBS's parent.

"I'd talk about what it would cost if it were taken away," he said. "I'd say, 'Here are the dollars we'd never get back if they took away the game.' "

Despite the expected occasional vigorous debate (CBS will pay an average of $622 million a year and Fox $712 million a year starting in 2006), McManus said the impact of shifting games to NBC would be minimal. He contemplated buying the Sunday night package and in his analysis figured that flexibility might raise the season rating by a slim 0.2.

Similarly unruffled is Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports. He said Fox would keep most of what it wants. "When all is said and done," he said, "our national doubleheader games in 2006 will still be the highest-rated N.F.L. package - in the afternoons, in prime time, on broadcast, on cable."

Ebersol said it was possible that the flexibility cure might not need to be dispensed for all seven weeks. "There will be weeks," he said, "when we will have a strong enough schedule that there'd be no need to flex."

fredfa

08-05-05, 11:57 PM

Not HD, but part of the larger picture: the dance of multimedia giants to control our entertainment future:

F.C.C. Eases High-Speed Access Rules

By STEPHEN LABATON The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 - Federal regulators on Friday eased rules governing high-speed Internet services offered by phone companies, saying they hope it will speed Internet growth.

Handing a significant regulatory victory to the Bell companies, the Federal Communications Commission said the carriers no longer had to provide rival Internet service providers with access to their lines at reduced rates.

The commission said the move would foster competition by putting phone companies on an even footing with cable companies and other sellers of Internet service and would provide more incentive for phone companies to upgrade their networks and offerings.

The change, however, was criticized by consumer groups, which asserted that it could lead instead to higher prices and reduced competition from independent suppliers.

The decision is the latest in a series of victories by the Bell companies in their regulatory march over competitors that had tried, under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, to gain a stronger industry foothold through the low-cost use of the extensive Bell telephone network.

Under the Bush administration, the Bells have prevailed in the regulatory battle. As they have been relieved of their obligations to offer low-cost access to their phone lines, they have pushed aside competition from local carriers as well as long-distance companies like MCI and AT&T.

Still, the Bell companies have complained that they face far greater regulation than cable companies in areas where they compete - including high-speed Internet access and, increasingly, television service - and the commission's decision on Friday aimed to reduce some of those differences.

The rule change was the first major action under the commission's new chairman, Kevin J. Martin, since his appointment by President Bush in March. It was approved with unusual unanimity by the four members after Mr. Martin fashioned a compromise with the agency's two Democrats that limited some of the impact of the ruling on other areas.

The compromise set a one-year transition before the new rules take effect. It also required the telephone companies to continue their contributions to universal service funds, which pay for phone and Internet services in underserved areas.

Critics of the deregulatory action taken on high-speed Internet service - by making new distinctions between such service from ordinary telephone service - had raised concerns that it threatened to undermine the financing of the universal service funds. The commission on Friday imposed a nine-month moratorium on any changes to the contribution rates to allow time to devise a new set of contribution rules.

In a companion decision, the agency adopted a measure requiring providers of Internet-based telephone service, like conventional phone companies, to make their systems accessible to law-enforcement authorities to monitor suspected terrorists and criminals.

The measure, which sets an 18-month transition period, was enacted over the objections of some Internet phone companies, which have said the regulations will impose burdensome costs.

The commission also adopted a policy statement that, while not enforceable as a rule, commits the agency to promote unfettered public access to the Internet - so that no provider can, for example, block certain sites for commercial reasons.

The decision to relax the rules mandating access for rival Internet services was hailed by the Bell companies, which have been pressing for the changes for months. Their cause got a boost five weeks ago when the United States Supreme Court ruled that cable companies do not have to allow rivals to offer high-speed Internet access over their systems.

That decision, a victory for the commission, prompted the agency to move with unusual alacrity so that the cable rules would also apply to the phone companies' technology for high-speed Internet service, known as digital subscriber line, or D.S.L.

"The order that we adopt today is a momentous one," Mr. Martin said. "It ends the regulatory inequities that currently exist between cable and telephone companies in their provision of broadband Internet services. As I have said on numerous occasions, leveling the playing field between these providers has been one of my highest priorities."

His prediction that the decision would lead to increased competition and lower prices was sharply disputed by some consumer groups.

"The Federal Communications Commission continues down the wrong path on deregulation, allowing giant phone companies to tighten their stranglehold on competition, stifle innovation and reach even deeper into the pockets of consumers," said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director at Consumers Union. "Consumers will be forced to pay higher prices for Internet access."

Executives at the Bell companies offered a different perspective.

"The benefits of this ruling will ripple across our communities by encouraging greater investment in and a wider rollout of broadband networks," said James C. Smith, a senior vice president at SBC Communications. "Discarding decades-old requirements and regulatory assumptions that are out of sync with today's competitive broadband marketplace will also spur more innovative products and services for consumers."

Susanne A. Guyer, a senior vice president of Verizon, said the decision "will help accelerate deployment of broadband networks, enabling greater choice and increased access for consumers."

fredfa

08-06-05, 12:00 AM

Cable Enjoys Reality Success Using Star Power

By A.J. Frutkin Mediaweek.com August 05, 2005

Next to this summer's dance craze, celebrity-driven documentary shows are proving to be reality's strongest new subgenre. At least on cable. Bravo's Being Bobby Brown is the net's top-rated launch this season, averaging 1.1 million viewers. VH1 already has renewed its Hulk Hogan series Hogan Knows Best, averaging nearly 1.9 million viewers. And on Aug. 16, the format gets a broadcast test-drive when NBC launches Tommy Lee Goes to College.

Ironically, reality’s initial lure revolved around its focus on regular folks. But most programmers agree that viewers have a near-
insatiable hunger for celebrity. “The deeper access you can find into celebrities’ lives, the greater the appetite it seems to create,” said Bravo president Lauren Zalaznick.

With the continued strength of shows like American Idol and Survivor, viewers may not yet have grown bored with seeing themselves on TV. But several execs observed that celebrity-based shows offer networks a shortcut to success. “In a regular reality series, networks need to take the time to make sure viewers get to know one or more characters,” said Frances Page, principal of strategy and business affairs at Magna Global. “But when you have a well-known personality already installed in a show, they can lean on a character that viewers already know.”

From A- to D-list celebrities, drawing on star power is nothing new to the networks. In fact, Fox has announced plans for a celebrity version of American Idol. Meanwhile, ABC renewed Dancing With the Stars, a show several execs acknowledged might not have been the summer’s biggest hit, had it been titled Dancing With Your Next-Door Neighbor. But the singular focus of celebrity-based docs is a format that remains untried in broadcasting.

Because the bar for success is set higher for broadcast than for cable, Magna’s Page said the caliber of star also needs to be higher. “There are things you have to solve differently for the networks,” she said. “There’s a bigger burden for a compelling story line. So to carry a show, you need someone who’s pretty intriguing.”

Michael Hirschorn agreed. “It would have to be the big kahuna,” said VH1’s exec vp of programming and production. Pointing to celebrity couples like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Hirschorn noted, “It would have to hit a level of spectacle and press-worthiness that is unlikely to happen…but could.”

Whether Tommy Lee can generate interest on par with Cruise is uncertain. But NBC execs remain hopeful that the Mötley Crüe rocker will create at least some buzz. “His name alone will draw viewers,” said Craig Plestis, senior vp of alternative programming at NBC. “And the show delivers. He’s so lovable. There’s a whole other side of him that people don’t know.”

keenan

08-06-05, 01:04 AM

Not HD, but part of the larger picture: the dance of multimedia giants to control our entertainment future:

F.C.C. Eases High-Speed Access Rules

IMO, they made the wrong decision. They should have forced cable to open it's lines to competitors services, not give the telcos the same closed type of system. This is going to kill smaller but often highly efficient internet providers. In this day and age, cable and the telcos, being virtual monopolies are practically public utilities and to give that much control and power to a few companies that will only compete amongst themselves is bad news.

keenan

08-06-05, 01:11 AM

Marquee Games Sought in Flexible TV Schedule

I wonder how far down the road they will actually try and change the matchups themselves to boost ratings... :p

fredfa

08-06-05, 02:00 AM

Novak's outburst, exit stoke CNN's ire

PHIL ROSENTHAL Chicago Tribune

Embattled Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak, who has shown he can keep his lip buttoned when he wants to, apparently couldn't help himself on Thursday's edition of CNN's "Inside Politics," earning an indefinite suspension from the cable network.

Novak may have been concerned about Ed Henry's plan to ask him about the CIA leak case, set in motion by one of his syndicated columns. But he responded to ribbing from fellow commentator James Carville with an eight-letter barnyard epithet and walked off the live mid-afternoon program before Henry could get to that subject.

And, as far as CNN is concerned, he might as well have kept walking for a while.

The network has stood steadfastly by Novak through the controversy he sparked with a 2003 column that identified a CIA operative by name. The probe into the secret sources of that information led to the jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller for refusing to testify.

It's not known whether Novak has testified or refused because he won't say.

But Novak mouthed off Thursday and that apparently was too much for CNN, which has yanked him, at least for now, according to a network spokeswoman. Efforts to reach Novak were unsuccessful.

"Bob Novak's behavior on CNN today was inexcusable and unacceptable," the network said in a statement. "Mr. Novak has apologized to CNN, and CNN apologizes to its viewers for his language and actions. We've asked Mr. Novak to take some time off."

It's a heck of a sendoff for "Inside Politics," which already is scheduled to be swallowed up after Friday's edition by Wolf Blitzer's new three-hour weekday program, "The Situation Room," set to launch Monday.

Already this year, CNN has axed Novak's "The Capital Gang" and "Crossfire." But CNN has expected him to be a regular contributor to "The Situation Room." There's no word yet on whether that now will change.

"He's got to show these right-wingers that he's got backbone," Carville said, needling Novak in a discussion of U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris' chances in Florida. "[The] editorial page is watching you. Show them you're tough."

Novak said he thought that crack was manure, only he didn't use the word "manure." "I hate that," he said. "Just let it go."

But Novak himself didn't let it go. He got up, unhooked his microphone and walked off the set.

His exit wasn't mentioned until the end of the segment. "Bob Novak obviously left the set a little early," host Henry said. "I had told him in advance that we were going to ask him about the CIA leak case. He was not here for me to be able to ask him about that. Hopefully we'll be able to ask him about that in the future."

Even before Novak's off-color remark, he had caught Carville and Henry by surprise. Discussing Harris' allegation that newspapers had tarnished her image by doctoring photos of her, Novak said he had experienced the same thing.

"A lot of my trouble in the world is that they've doctored my makeup and colorized me in a lot of newspapers on my picture," he said. "So, I sympathize with her."

"This is breaking news. I've haven't heard this," Henry said.

"Breaking news. Who did it? What paper?" Carville said.

"Well," said Novak, "I don't ... I can't tell you."

Just last month, CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein and CNN News Group President Jim Walton defended Novak when critics asked if he had become a liability for the network, between the Valerie Plame case and an incorrect report William Rehnquist planned to resign as U.S. Supreme Court chief justice.

"He's one of the most outstanding political reporters this country has ever known," Klein said.

"Bob Novak is a seasoned journalist and he's broken many, many stories over his career," Walton said.

On the June 29 edition of "Inside Politics," Novak told Henry he deplored the idea of reporters going to jail for refusing to name sources, but said, "My lawyer said I cannot answer any specific questions about this case until it is resolved, which I hope is very soon."

Novak bristled under further questioning, especially when Henry said some people believed that if Novak revealed his source, it would spare other reporters from being prosecuted. (One of the reporters under fire, Time's Matt Cooper, eventually did testify after the magazine surrendered his notes. He reportedly named White House aide Karl Rove as a source.)

"Ed," Novak said, "you don't know anything about the case. And those people who say that don't know anything about the case. And unfortunately, as somebody who likes to write, I'd like to say a lot about the case, but because of my attorney's advice I can't. But I will. And there might be some surprising things."

Novak obviously was peeved at the time, but he held his ground without swearing and without walking off.

fredfa

08-06-05, 09:59 AM

Jon Cryer, Settling In To Sitcom Success

By Kathy Blumenstock Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 7, 2005; Y07

He's a fussy father on "Two and a Half Men," but in reality Jon Cryer is much more laid-back. His idea of fun? A friend's combination barbecue-massage party, which he describes as the "most perfect thing -- you're eating all that barbecue and you feel great after a massage, what more could you want?"

A veteran of theatrical movies and television, Cryer will begin his third season co-starring with Charlie Sheen when the CBS Monday night comedy returns in the fall. He plays Alan Harper, a divorced dad who dons skinny belts, plaid shirts, white socks with dark shoes -- anything that is the opposite of cool. At the sitcom's center are the amusing antics between uptight Alan, his playboy brother (Sheen) and his rambunctious son, Jake (Angus T. Jones).

Cryer recently chatted with TV Week about his career, his own life as a single dad and his love of breakfast cereal.

How much like Alan are you?

I am not as neurotic and anal as Alan; it is too much work. I'm lazier than Alan, but I like him. . . . People ask me, 'Don't you want him to dress better?' I feel bad for our costume designer. She has to dress me the same way every week.

What's the schedule on a weekly sitcom?

It's much worse for the writers than for us, because they are nose-to-the-grindstone from June through April. But the actors get breaks. It's fantastic if you have a family. You get to spend time with them. You shoot shows that are on four weeks later so you have a real live theater feeling.

More than on an hour drama in prime time?

Exactly. I was asking why they killed off Sasha Alexander's character in the season finale of "NCIS." I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I was like, "What? Wait! You don't kill off a main character like that!" I know all the "NCIS" guys. Nobody mentioned it, but they work so hard on that show; the hours are insane. And after two years, Sasha was just burned out.

You said your show lets you spend time with your family. Do you have children?

I have a son, Charlie, who's 5, and it's the perfect age. He's into cartoons and will watch "Tom and Jerry" over and over. On Sunday mornings we sit and eat cereal and watch cartoons. Charlie's in his pajamas; I'm in my underwear. It's perfect.

What kind of cereal?

Life cereal. We eat a lot of cereal. And the time I spend with Charlie is really fun time. There are people who work from 8 a.m. till 7:30 p.m., and when do they get to see their kids? It's really sad.

Do you ever bring your son to work?

He's come with me a few times. He loves how fake the set is. You look behind the house and there's no house, and he loves that big picture of the ocean. He really likes Charlie Sheen; they get along very well. Whenever the show is on at home, I'll say to him, "Who's that?" and he says "Charlie Sheen." I say, "No, no, the guy next to him!"

Tell me something funny about Charlie Sheen.

He is superstitious. I think it comes from his sports involvement. He was a baseball fanatic growing up and is quite a talented pitcher. He considers it bad luck if they do something on the set they've never done before, like move a wall. He goes, "Whoa!" I think there has been so much tumult in his personal life, he's aware of little changes.

You had worked with him before "Two and a Half Men"?

We were only in two scenes in "Hot Shots," but we hung out together on the set. He was always an incredibly lovely, friendly guy, and that surprised me, considering he'd just gotten out of rehab. I expected this emotional shell of a human, but he's gregarious and incredibly professional, and surprisingly open, considering he'd been the subject of so many tabloid rumors.

What will happen as Jake, the "half" of the title, grows up? Will it become just "Three Men"?

According to Chuck Lorre [the show's creator], we have a natural eight-year life span. And then I thought, 'Okay, what if Jake goes to Pepperdine [University] and still lives at home?' See, I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'.

What do you do for fun away from the set?

I play ultimate Frisbee, collect memorabilia from the Soviet space program and I am trying to date now. All of a sudden I have a lot of dates, but for a while it was just tumbleweeds blowing through town.

What can we expect to see on the show in the upcoming season?

The same crap. You're just going to see more of the same crap. I have written that out on the writers' board because I am so happy with the show, I don't want them to mess with it.

fredfa

08-06-05, 10:25 AM

Critics’ Emmy Pick
By Rob Biederman Broadcasting & Cable
OK, we admit it: Curiosity (and impatience) got the best of us. The Emmy awards aren’t until next month, but we decided to poll the most informed group we know, TV critics, for their best guesses about the winners in the major categories. B&C’s Rob Biederman brings you the results.

Comedy Series
Desperate Housewives (ABC) 71%
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) 21%
Arrested Development (Fox) 7%
Scrubs (NBC) 0%
Will & Grace (NBC) 0%
Jim Cothran, ONSAT: “Sunday nights have never been so much fun.”
Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The show was a phenomenon and deservedly so.”

Drama Series
Lost (ABC) 59%
24 (Fox) 17%
Deadwood (HBO) 12%
The West Wing (NBC) 7%
Six Feet Under (HBO) 5%
Jeff Hidek, Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News: “Emmy loves rewarding first-year buzz-worthy dramas.”
Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel: “If West Wing wins, the Emmys might as well close up shop.”

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox) 51%
Ian McShane, Deadwood•(HBO) 32%
Hank Azaria, Huff (Showtime) 5%
Kiefer Sutherland, 24 (Fox) 5%
James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC) 5%
Joe Amarante, New Haven Register: “Cranky, brilliant, pill-popping Dr. House is the best new character on TV in years.”
Ken Tucker, New York Magazine: “Voters love those Brits, especially when they can fake an American accent as well as Laurie does.”

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Glenn Close, The Shield (FX) 64%
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) 17%
Patricia Arquette, Medium (NBC) 10%
Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under (HBO) 5%
Jennifer Garner, Alias (ABC) 5%
Bruce Miller, The Sioux City Journal: “When movie stars come to television, Emmy takes note.”
Chase Squires, St. Petersburg Times: “FX gets some love. Finally.”

Miniseries
Empire Falls (HBO) 71%
The 4400 (USA) 13%
Elvis (CBS) 11%
The Lost Prince, Masterpiece Theatre (PBS) 5%
Charlie McCollum, San Jose Mercury News: “It wasn’t good, but it was on HBO.”
Joanne Ostrow, The Denver Post: “In a lackluster year for minis, this adaptation of the bestseller was the best of the lot.”:
Jeff Hidek, Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News: “All those movie stars in one project? How could they resist?”

Reality Competition
The Amazing Race (CBS) 68%
American Idol (Fox) 23%
The Apprentice (NBC) 5%
Project Runway (Bravo) 3%
Survivor (CBS) 3%
Mark Washburn, Charlotte Observer:`“The Amazing Race continues to improve with age.”:
Michael Logan, TV Guide: “It’s the only reality show the industry can unequivocally be proud of.”

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Ray Romano, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) 50%
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development (Fox) 25%
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA) 17.5%
Zach Braff, Scrubs (NBC) 8%
Eric McCormack, Will & Grace (NBC) 0%
Vicki Arkoff, Sweet 16 : “He’s the least showy (and talented) actor of the bunch, but will take it, just because everybody still loves Raymond. Thanks, Ray.”
Joanne Ostrow, The Denver Post: “The nostalgia factor at work.”

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Teri Hatcher, Desperate Housewives (ABC) 46%
Marcia Cross, Housewives 20%
Felicity Huffman, Housewives 15%
Patricia Heaton, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)12%
Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm in the Middle (Fox) 7%
Bruce Fretts, TV Guide: “I think Hatcher will win based on name recognition and the comeback factor.”
David Kronke, Los Angeles Daily News: “She got the most cover stories, so I’ll go with her.”

fredfa

08-06-05, 10:34 AM

For years the Sinclair Broadcast Group has fought the digital transition, claiming the new digital OTA system just doesn’t work well. And the company, apparently, has not stopped yet.

What's Wrong With NAB's Digital Picture?
By Nat Ostroff for Broadcasting & Cable
(Ostroff is VP of new technology for the Sinclair Broadcast Group)

The National Association of Broadcasters, representing itself as speaking for all broadcasters, has given up the good fight and agreed to drop the 85%-penetration rule and turn off analog TV in 2009.

The Senate Commerce Committee has decided that 2009 is a good date but that somehow viewers should not lose their over-the-air receiving capability. The solution is to supply a “magic” set-top converter box to all that need and deserve it. Such a box does not yet exist.

In the meantime, the cable forces are refusing to agree to even carry the complete digital bit stream transmitted by TV stations. They claim no power should be able to tell them what they will carry on their systems.

Finally, Congress wants to make sure that the public can be reached in times of emergency and expects over-the-air TV to play a major role in that effort.

What is wrong with this picture?

The ATSC 8-VSB transmission system simply is not capable of meeting the needs of the average non–cable-connected viewer.

That transmission system, by the very admission of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, is only a rooftop receiving-antenna system and always will be. All efforts to date to make the digital system work as well as the analog system of today in terms of simple antenna reception have failed.

The NAB is between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Years ago, it strongly supported the 8-VSB transmission standard and promised it would be made to work as well as analog TV did as far as ease of reception was concerned. This, of course, was when the NAB and the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) were on friendly terms.

Here we are in 2005, and there is still no demonstration of reception of the ATSC 8-VSB transmitted signal that shows that it has the same ability to be received with simple antennas as today's analog system. CEA member companies, except for one or two, seem to have written off the over-the-air customer altogether, relying instead on cable and satellite penetration to provide the transmission of digital broadcast signals.

Unfortunately, the NAB can't reverse course now and say that the 8-VSB system is a failure. That would be admitting its earlier errors. That never happens in Washington circles.

We as broadcasters face an uncertain future, and the public faces an ever more powerful cable industry that seems to be above any reasonable regulation. The cable industry will be further boosted by the prospect that, in 2009, the ability to receive a TV picture by using an antenna will, for all practical purposes, disappear.

But will Congress be satisfied when it learns that, when the cable is down in an emergency, there will be no way to reach a very large segment of the population? I wonder if a congressional mandate can overcome the current laws of physics.

fredfa

08-06-05, 10:45 AM

Alive, well and funny: New sitcoms refuse to play it safe
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News Aug. 06, 2005

At this time about a year ago, almost no one was praising the television situation comedy. More than a few were ready to bury it.

But obituaries might be a bit premature.

The most promising of the networks' new fall series are all comedies: UPN's ``Everybody Hates Chris,'' NBC's ``My Name Is Earl,'' Fox's ``Kitchen Confidential'' and CBS's ``How I Met Your Mother.'' And this week, cable has launched what will be a string of new comedies, starting with FX's ``Starved'' and ``It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia,'' which made its debut Thursday, and Showtime's ``Weeds'' (11 p.m. Sunday before moving to Mondays at 10.)

For the most part, though, these are not traditional sitcoms in the format and style defined by the likes of ``The Cosby Show'' more than 20 years ago. All of them -- and others are coming along later this year -- try to be different, tackling subjects that aren't normally fodder for laughs and refusing to play it as safe as most recent sitcoms.

For starters, take ``Weeds.'' Its underlying subject is the supply side of substance abuse. The delightful Mary-Louise Parker (``The West Wing'') plays an upscale suburban wife whose husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her with two kids and way too little insurance. So Nancy Botwin, soccer mom and PTA leader, finds a new source of income: dealing marijuana.

Created by Jenji Kohan, a writer who has put in time on a raft of series from ``Sex and the City'' to ``Gilmore Girls,'' the series is an uneven but often wickedly funny and sharply insightful satire on suburban living. What gives ``Weeds'' its real punch, though, is that its characters are rarely one-dimensional.

Parker's Botwin may be a dealer but she nonetheless holds true moral values. Meanwhile, her neighbor Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins) initially comes off as shallow and self-absorbed, only to prove she has a heart and soul. Kevin Nealon all but steals the show as City Councilman Doug Wilson, who decries the moral decline in his town while buying pot from Botwin. And Justin Kirk (``Angels In America'') really gives ``Weeds'' a kick when he joins the cast in Episode 4 as Nancy's too-cool-for-the-room brother, Andy, whose very coolness is a cover for some serious flaws.

``Weeds'' stumbles at times during its first few episodes. It makes some of its points with too little humor and subtlety. But for the most part, this is a nuanced comedy with interesting characters performed by a first-rate cast.

``Starved'' (10 p.m. Thursday, FX) also is about substance abuse, but there's a different substance involved: food.

This series already has taken flack for making fun of people with eating disorders, which it does in sometimes rather rude ways. But its real target is America's great folly of dieting and its obsession with body image. The show is sympathetic to its characters -- all of whom suffer from anorexia, bulimia and various other neuroses -- but never falls into sentimentality.

In a sense, this is a latter-day twist on ``Seinfeld,'' with four twitchy urbanites who are friends even though they share little more than their eating and image issues. Sam (show creator Eric Schaeffer) is a jerky commodities broker who simply can't commit to a relationship, unless it involves a fantasy. Billie (musical theater star Laura Benanti) can't decide whether she wants to be with men or women or both. Adam (Sterling K. Brown) is a cop who pulls delivery men over to steal their food. And Dan (Del Pentecost) keeps avoiding the surgery that might solve his weight problems.

``Starved'' is hardly a subtle exercise in humor. Even its best scenes -- the ones involving a Weight Watchers-like ``support'' group called Belttighteners -- are crude, rude and noisy. But when it's funny, it's so funny that you can forgive the shortcomings.

Pretty much the same thing can be said about ``It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia'' (10:30 p.m. Thursday, FX), which started life as a short film made for $200 by creator Rob McElhenney (who plays Mac) and friends Glenn Howerton (Dennis) and Charlie Day (Charlie.)

Other sitcoms have tried to make fun of the slacker lifestyle, but this is the first that succeeds to any notable extent. It follows three friends who own a down-and-dirty Irish pub in Philadelphia. They think they know it all, but they are expert at almost nothing, including life. They stumble from one bad situation to the next, having dug most of the potholes themselves with their politically incorrect comments and actions.

What keeps ``It's Always Sunny'' from falling into juvenility is that you come away liking these three bozos even at their worst. (You'll also like Kaitlin Olson, from ``Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' who plays Dennis' relatively sane sister, Sweet Dee.) An underlying warmth and a certain charm to the characters mitigate some of the childish jokes and give the series real appeal.

fredfa

08-06-05, 10:48 AM

'Housewives' chase Golden Globes to Monday night

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter)---ABC's "Desperate Housewives" has driven the Golden Globe Awards from their traditional spot in the Sunday night neighborhood.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. said Thursday that the 63rd annual Golden Globe Awards will take place Monday, Jan. 16, a day later than planned, at the Beverly Hilton.

HFPA president Philip Berk said the move was requested by NBC, whose Globes broadcast this year was pummeled in the ratings. While Globes voters were toasting "Desperate Housewives," which won best comedy series, the hit show was helping to drive the Globes' ratings to their lowest viewership since the ceremony began airing on NBC in 1996.

"Speaking on behalf of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., we are not as heavily invested in ratings as they are," Berk said. "We continue to have the second-highest ratings of any awards show on TV, and our concentration is on producing the best show possible."

Added an NBC spokeswoman, "We wanted to offer the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.'s premier event -- the Golden Globes -- a more elevated platform on Monday night. This move will further showcase the Golden Globes and give audiences a better opportunity to watch all the night's glamour without facing Sunday night's intense competition."

Berk was more concerned that the move could affect the availability of stars, but "after doing a bit of research, the response was it would be a wash, and we trust we're going to be able to do the same terrific show we always put on."
The move does shift the show to the date on which the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will be celebrated. Berk said that also presented a concern, but after discussing it with several people -- he specifically cited Samuel L. Jackson -- he decided that the show can pay respect to King by acknowledging the holiday during the broadcast. The American Music Awards which, like the Golden Globes, are produced by Dick Clark Prods., have taken place on MLK Day in the past, with no problems.

Nominations for the Globes will be announced at 5 a.m. PST Dec. 13.

fredfa

08-06-05, 10:55 AM

TV Q&A
with Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV editor

Q: I realize I'm a total geek for this, but still... Every fall I look forward to seeing how the openings to my favorite shows have changed. I like looking at the new pictures and watching the new action snippets and sometimes making fun of the new music (case in point: "The Dead Zone." What were they thinking?)
We're now three weeks into the new season for "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis," and there are no new opening credits for them. There are, in fact, no opening credits at all. Zero. Zip. Nada. The kind of blip that you sometimes get before going to a commercial with a picture of either the Stargate or the city of Atlantis.
I understand they have had some cast shake ups on both shows and I understand not showing the new opening credits until they are ready to reveal all of the new cast members, but this is starting to get annoying. Any idea when they'll finally reveal their shiny new opening credits for the shows? My husband is already tired of me yelling at the TV and asking where my credits are.
-- Rose, Pittsburgh

Rob Owen: Sci Fi Channel is working on it. Some factions would like the credits to return. Others, not so much. Watch to see who will win!
(Personally, I'm bummed that the "Battlestar Galactica" credits no longer segue into propulsive music and a series of quick cuts from scenes in the episode you're about to watch. I don't miss the quick cut scenes so much -- I'm sure that was a lot of extra editing work -- but I miss the more exciting music.)

fredfa

08-06-05, 11:00 AM

The Buzz List : Some new fall shows excite the TV critics

By Diane Werts Newsday

So which new shows were most buzzed about at TV critics' recently concluded fall-season preview tour in Hollywood? These got critics' juices flowing:

Everybody Hates Chris. UPN grows up with this kid-set comedy, a single-camera half-hour in which Chris Rock narrates his own 1980s Brooklyn boyhood. Sly and smart, hard-hitting yet heartwarming, it's a universal family sitcom for whatever we're calling the '00 decade. No coincidence, it's airing in the 8 p.m. Thursday slot made legendary by NBC's "The Cosby Show." (Debuts Sept. 22)

My Name Is Earl. NBC hits a comedic bull's-eye with this spirited single-camera half-hour about a small-town baddie who decides to conquer karma by redressing old wrongs. Jason Lee makes a fine anti-anti-hero, balancing spice and sweetness in leading a vivid crew of other losers. (Sept. 20)

Reunion. Fox goes back in time for this chronicle of six '80s high school friends still entangled 20 years later by the murder of one. Each episode covers one year of their relationships. (Sept. 8)

Prison Break. Love it or hate it, this outre Fox hour kicks off the season with the behind-bars saga of a righteous man determined to free his brother from a wrongful death sentence, which of course involves government conspiracy. It's over the top, but excitingly so. (Aug. 29)

Threshold/Invasion/Supernatural. In this year's spooky-stuff face-off (a la "Lost"), CBS has an alien- arrival suspenser, ABC goes psychological thriller, and The WB offers a youthful road search. Each had its press-tour partisans.

Paul Bigelow

08-06-05, 11:03 AM

If Hugh Laurie won there might be hope for the Emmys yet! ;)

Paul

fredfa

08-06-05, 12:14 PM

Friday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-06-05, 12:15 PM

I agree about Laurie, Paul :)

fredfa

08-06-05, 11:02 PM

Help Wanted
Seeking to reinvigorate crucial segments of its television business,
NBC has been trying to woo some of the media industry’s top names

WEB EXCLUSIVE

By Johnnie L. Roberts Newsweek.com

With both entertainment and news programs in ratings and advertising slumps, NBC has made overtures to at least three top media players in recent weeks, according to executives close to the recruitment efforts. Among those contacted were Susan Lyne, CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia; Patricia Fili-Krushel, a top Time Warner executive, and Mark Shapiro, ESPN’s wunderkind programmer. The outcome of the talks is unclear, and they may or may not be ongoing. Fili-Krushel, who is known to have discussed NBC’s overture with Time Warner colleagues, declined to comment. Lyne, whose office said she is traveling through the weekend, did not return calls seeking comment. An ESPN spokesperson said Shapiro could not be reached for comment. NBC declined to comment.

Bob Wright, chairman and CEO of NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric, has been personally involved in some of the recruitment efforts, the sources said. They described the overtures as directly linked to a yet-to-be-announced plan to restructure NBC’s cable-news efforts and an effort to rethink the company’s entire approach to the news business.

Specifically, these sources said, NBC has been exploring ways to better integrate and coordinate coverage between its CNBC business-news network and its 24-hour general-news network, MSNBC, a joint venture of NBC and Microsoft. (NEWSWEEK and Newsweek.com have a strategic partnership with NBC, MSNBC and with the interactive operation NBC operates with Microsoft, MSNBC.com.) Wright, who also is a GE vice chairman, wants a candidate who can serve as news czar, with overall responsibility for all of the news operations, including the flagship NBC broadcast-news operations, these sources said.

The search, meanwhile, also raises questions about the future role of Jeff Zucker, the company’s top entertainment-television executive. As president of NBC Universal Television Group, Zucker is responsible for all entertainment programming across the spectrum of broadcast and cable networks, with the exception of sports. In 2005, NBC’s entertainment ratings dipped 17 percent, putting the network in fourth place behind FOX, ABC and CBS. “We are going to phase into some entertainment issues at NBC Universal,” Jeff Immelt, GE’s chairman and CEO, told Wall Street analysts in July. “We have got to do a better job on the programming front. That’s what we’re all working on.”

The comments would appear to place Zucker on the hot seat. The executive soared to prominence as the longtime executive producer of “Today” before he was installed as the entertainment boss at the NBC network and later for all of NBC Universal’s television operations. But conventional wisdom says that his longtime and enormous contribution to NBC makes it highly unlikely that his job would be threatened by an inevitable downturn in a notoriously hit-driven and cyclical television business. According to one source, in fact, Zucker has also been involved in some of the recruitment efforts.

Yet speculation about Zucker’s fate inevitably could become more heated with word of the overture to Lyne, who took the top job at Martha Stewart Omnimedia after Stewart was imprisoned last year. She would only be interested in one of the company’s most senior positions—if she found the overture at all enticing in the first place. (Currently, Lyne is working closely with NBC as the network prepares for the prime-time launch this fall of “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.” NBC is also distributing a new daytime syndicated series placing Stewart before a live audience, with segments on decorating, cooking and other Stewart lifestyle topics.)

It’s not difficult to understand why Wright would be anxious to land Lyne. The Martha Stewart chief, who founded Premiere magazine and once edited the Village Voice, is perhaps the single most important factor in the resurgence of NBC’s rival, ABC. Lyne was the champion of the series “Desperate Housewives” at ABC Entertainment. She also supported her executive partner, Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment, who championed the ratings-rich show “Lost.” (Before either series began airing last fall, however, Disney’s beleaguered top brass fired Braun and Lyne.)

The other two candidates, Shapiro and Fili-Krushel, were being pursued for a slot closer to the job currently held by NBC News president Neil Shapiro, who has been reported to be planning to leave the network in the next several weeks or months. His pending departure comes in the wake of a dramatic decline in ratings for “Today,” which remains television’s most profitable show and No. 1 in the morning-news race. But since the beginning of the decade, its lead of about 2 million viewers over archrival “Good Morning America” on ABC has plunged to as few as 45,000 in recent months.

Meanwhile, the audience for network news programming has been declining, aging and fragmenting for years. In addition, the traditional network evening newscasts are in the midst of a transition, with a generational change in anchors. Recently, Brian Williams succeeded Tom Brokaw at “NBC Nightly News,” CBS is searching for a replacement for Dan Rather and ABC's Peter Jennings is battling lung cancer.

On the cable side, MSNBC has been badly underperforming rivals Fox and CNN and has sometimes lagged even CNN Headline News. In addition, NBC is widely rumored to be renegotiating the joint ownership of MSNBC’s cable operations with Microsoft, though Wright has publicly dismissed such reports. At CNBC, profits are enormous, fueled by advertisers’ efforts to reach a tiny, but affluent viewership. But CNBC could face stiff competition if Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns the No. 1 Fox News network, launches a business network. He has pledged to do so if he can secure distribution from cable operators.

Sources close to the situation say the upheaval in the news business is precisely why Wright is seeking a candidate lacking extensive direct experience in news to fill the news-czar post. And that’s why ESPN’s Shapiro and Time Warner’s Fili-Krushel were among his top choices. Shapiro, 35, vaulted to the top of ESPN’s programming ladder, beginning in 1993 as a production assistant. A brash risk-taker, he is widely credited with ESPN’s transformation from a sports outlet into an entertainment platform for series and original movies. “Throw it out there, take a chance,” he told the trade publication Broadcasting and Cable last week in describing his style. “If we fail, we fail.” His daring appeals to ESPN’s parent, Disney, which expanded his job to summer include programming over sports at ABC, another Disney unit.

At Time Warner, Fili-Krushel, 51, is effectively the chief administrative officer. But her background is rich in television, including her historic 18-month stint as the first woman to run a broadcast network, ABC.

The outcome of the talks between NBC and the media executives is unclear and they may or may not be ongoing. Either way, it looks as if there might be a hit reality show in all of this for NBC: “America’s Next Top TV Exec Search!”

fredfa

08-06-05, 11:15 PM

It is hard to get Pay Cable ratings. Here is the most recent I can find:
June Pay Channel Rankings May 30-June 26, 2005
Prime Time
Net Cable Universe Rating
HBO 2.4
Cinemax 1.6
Starz 1.2
Showtime 0.9
Encore 0.8
The Movie Channel 0.4
Total Day
Net Cable Universe Rating
HBO 1.3
Cinemax 1.0
Starz 0.7
Encore 0.5
Showtime 0.5
The Movie Channel 0.3

Cableworld.com Source: Turner Entertainment Research and ABC Cable Networks Group, from Nielsen Media Research data.

fredfa

08-07-05, 11:53 AM

Saturday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-07-05, 12:14 PM

Ripe night for big fight
Rivals square off against returning champ CBS
in battle for coveted Thursday night ratings clown

By RICK KISSELL variety.com

HOLLYWOOD -- Thursday night is where the money is, and after last season's changing of the guard, every broadcaster is looking to get its hand in the till this fall.

It's still primarily a two-net competition -- with a steady CBS now a couple of notches ahead of a fading NBC -- but ABC, Fox and the WB have made bold moves to get in the game as well. And UPN has pinned down a new strategy.

Thursday remains vitally important from a bottom-line standpoint because it's the last big night of viewing before the weekend, and advertisers (including film studios) will pay a pretty premium to get the attention of young adults itching to spend money.

In addition, succeeding on Thursday night burnishes a broadcaster's image beyond what it means in money terms.

CBS and its vet lineup of "Survivor," "CSI" and "Without a Trace" broke through last season and ended NBC's decades-long dominance of the night in key young-adult demos. As a result, the Eye surged to the lead in upfront advertising coin, pocketing more than $2.5 billion from Madison Avenue.

CBS' Thursday was the highest-rated night of television last season with a 7.5 Nielsen rating in adults 18-49. NBC, which sagged without "Friends" and saw hefty falloffs for "Will & Grace" and "The Apprentice," surprisingly is keeping its lineup intact -- playing for second while it tends to more troubled nights.

Despite its declines, though, NBC's Thursday lineup still was the fourth highest-rated night last season (its 6.2 rating in 18-49 was just behind ABC's Sunday and Fox's Tuesday), making it tough for a third net to do much damage here.

Still, Fox, ABC and the WB have all offered up more competitive lineups this season, while UPN is switching gears entirely -- going for laffs after shifting wrestling hit "WWE Smackdown" to Friday.

The nets to keep an eye on here may be ABC and Fox. Whichever establishes itself as No. 3 on Thursday will be best positioned to challenge CBS for the season's demo crown.

Thursday features one each of the fall's best-looking comedies (UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris") and dramas (Fox's "Reunion") as well as a real wild card in ABC's spooky update of "The Night Stalker."

Here's a look at the night:

8-9 PM

There's only one new show (UPN's "Chris"), but two vet dramas with cult followings -- ABC's "Alias" and the WB's "Smallville" -- look to establish something, in the same way Fox planted its flag here a year ago with "The OC."

CBS reality heavyweight "Survivor" remains the show to beat, but don't be surprised to see it finally start to slip. It was telling last season that, even without the youthful "Friends" as competition, "Survivor" skewed older and dropped off among teens.

It should still win the hour, but the dramas will chip away: "Alias" will hit at the reality show's 25-54 aud, "Smallville" could siphon off some young men and "The OC" could grow among young women.

For the first time since Fox's "The Simpsons" took on NBC's "The Cosby Show" 15 years ago, there's the potential for a Thursday comedy clash at 8, as UPN's fresh and funny "Chris" takes on NBC's vulnerable "Friends" spinoff "Joey," entering its second year.

"Joey" settled for roughly half the aud "Friends" delivered in its last year (10.2 million vs. 21.4 million), but where the spinoff really lost the "Friends" aud was among the 12-34 set, tumbling 65%.

That opening gave UPN the confidence to launch a new night of comedy.

The "Chris" pilot provided many more chuckles than any episode of last season's "Joey," but we'll have to see more episodes of the coming-of-age comedy to see how much of an imprint Chris Rock will have on the series he created.

NBC is promising tweaks to "Joey," but they'd have to be fairly substantial (i.e., Matthew Perry as sidekick Chandler) if the show hopes to recruit new viewers. "Joey" will win with about an 11 share, and UPN should consider it a victory if "Chris" can post a 5 or 6 share.

9-10 PM

This is another hour where the leaders are stet ("CSI" on CBS and "The Apprentice" on NBC) while ABC, Fox and the WB all upgrade. "CSI" was up last year (the result of lesser NBC competish) but could slip a notch if either "Reunion" or "Night Stalker" take off.

Fox's "Reunion," a unique concept fronted by a great cast, should hold onto most of "The OC's" lead-in, which would be a big step up for the net. And "Night Stalker" doesn't have to do great numbers for ABC, which was pulling 3 and 4 shares here last season.

The WB's underrated "Everwood" could manage a 4 share on its new night (which would be a slot improvement), while UPN laffers "Cuts" and the new "Love, Inc." could benefit from a lack of comedy competish and post similar numbers.

As for "The Apprentice," NBC should be happy if it's in the same ballpark as last year. Net would be wise to revert to comedies in this hour at midseason, though, to take advantage of the heat "Will & Grace" should generate in its final season.

10-11 PM

There's no sked movement in this hour, where NBC's "ER" ruled head-to-head in demos over CBS' "Without a Trace." Still, "Trace" was up 11% year-to-year while the medical drama fell 21%.

Don't expect any significant change in the numbers here, with "Trace" more competitive in 18-49, occasionally winning in 25-54 and consistently prevailing in total viewers. Keep an eye on the first few weeks of the Noah Wyle-less "ER," as this could be the year its declines accelerate.

And then there's ABC's "Primetime Live," which has been unable to self-start and must perform better or risk cancellation. Net may want to try "Night Stalker" here if it gets overwhelmed at 9.

Bottom line: CBS and NBC should likely slip some but they'll remain well ahead of the other nets. Look for ABC, Fox and the WB to each pick up 1 share point or more, while UPN's fortunes will fall on the shoulders of Rock's laffer.

fredfa

08-07-05, 08:16 PM

You might not be a fan of Fox News Channel, but this one program is rather remarkable week in and week out, if you care at all about journalism.

Eric Burns Keeps Watch over 'Fox News Watch' Panelists

By Jay Bobbin (Zap2it.com)

LOS ANGELES - While reporters keep an eye on newsmakers, who's keeping an eye on the reporters?

Few television programs take on the mission regularly, but one is "Fox News Watch," Fox News Channel's weekly Saturday show on which host Eric Burns and a four-person panel weigh how journalists covered, and sometimes became, big stories of the preceding week.

The exchanges are hardly dry as the other regulars -- media writer Neal Gabler, communications professor Jane Hall and syndicated columnists Jim Pinkerton and Cal Thomas -- engage in conversation peppered with sly asides and the occasional egregious "dig" at a fellow panelist.

"Fox News Watch" has existed for nearly a decade, but Emmy winner Burns says, "I'm told the genesis of the program is something like 30 years old. (Fox News Channel chairman and CEO) Roger Ailes is supposed to have observed some political campaign and was appalled that, in his view, journalists were making the news as much as reporting it. He supposedly said, 'If I ever run a TV network, I want to do a show that examines the role of the press in covering the news, but also in stepping beyond those bounds.' "

Ailes meant what he said, since while he was running the America's Talking cable network (the forerunner of MSNBC) later, ex-NBC News correspondent Burns was pitched such a show. "One of his producers asked if I would be interested in hosting a nightly, one-hour show that reviewed the workings of the media," Burns recalls. "I had just moved to Washington; my wife worked in the first Clinton administration, so there was no way for me to do it then. I'd like to think that because I wasn't available, he figured no other human being could do it ... but that's unlikely."

The idea resurfaced when Ailes became Fox News Channel's chief, but even then, Burns wasn't the host. The job initially went to New York Post columnist Eric Breindel, while Burns appeared on the channel's various programs as an all-around media critic. As "Fox News Watch" neared its two-year mark, Breindel died, and Burns inherited the host position. "I've never had a job in television that I've been more comfortable with, that I've enjoyed more, or that I've thought performed more of a service," Burns reflects. "It just came about under unfortunate circumstances."

The comfort factor extends to all the "Fox News Watch" regulars, since they verbally duke it out with the familiarity of old friends certain that any disagreement will cause no lasting damage. "You know certain comments by Neal are going to bring certain reactions from Jim," Burns says. "It's probably a little like a repertory company doing improvisation. You know each other's rhythms, and although I get surprised sometimes, I do know a given panelist's general point of view."

And through it all, Burns is a witty traffic cop of sorts, making sure everyone gets time to address a topic. "A behind-the-scenes bit of information, which is not necessarily the same thing as an interesting bit of information," he muses, "is that my hands are constantly going throughout the show. As soon as someone starts talking, I look around and see who's getting animated, on the basis of body language.

"Like an orchestra conductor, I'll point at someone [as a cue to speak next]. Especially since the show is so short, and we have so much to cover in 30 minutes, I think it works best if I don't ask a lot of questions."

The closest rival to "Fox News Watch" is CNN's Sunday-morning program "Reliable Sources." Burns' show typically is taped late Friday morning for next-day telecast, and he stays mindful of major news possibly developing within that period as with Sandra Day O'Connor's recent announcement of her retirement from the Supreme Court, which broke just as that week's "Fox News Watch" was going before the cameras.

"We have done shows live when events have changed," Burns says, "but despite doing this a day early, we've been able to not put dated material on the air. We've been both fortunate and alert, but we don't primarily discuss the events themselves, we discuss the coverage of the events. We have a different angle, so any developments in the news would not necessarily cause us to change our opinions of all the coverage. And not every story that's significant in the world is significant from a media critic's view."

Even if it makes him visible only for a half-hour each week, Burns notes that assembling "Fox News Watch" is an all-week job "pretty much like any other but it's the first job I've ever had that on the day of taping, it's a social event. I'm not much of a partygoer, but I do go to one party every week that, to me, is really intelligent and interesting.

"What a wonderful thing to be able to say, that when you walk into that studio, you're going to enjoy the company of four really interesting people. It's a very nice attitude to have."

fredfa

08-07-05, 08:23 PM

TELEVISION REVIEW
Family drama hardly sports a fresh face
A few more wrinkles would add some interest

By Hal Boedeker Orlando Sentinel Television Critic August 7, 2005

The new drama Beautiful People certainly delivers on its title. It presents marvelous moms, drop-dead daughters, stellar students and comely cads.

Most of the beautiful people -- or "BPs," as they are derisively known -- attend a prestigious New York high school. Gideon, an endearing dork, explains the importance of the "BP" title.

"It's just much easier to loathe something when it has a name," he says.

It would be easy to loathe Beautiful People, a family drama that debuts at 9 p.m. Monday on the ABC Family cable channel. This odd, unconvincing show is stuck uneasily somewhere between Gilmore Girls and Melrose Place.

Like Gilmore Girls, Beautiful People offers an ebullient young mother, Lynn Kerr (former Melrose star Daphne Zuniga), who often seems more immature than her offspring. The delightful Zuniga makes Beautiful People somewhat bearable.

Lynn has relocated from New Mexico to New York after her husband left her. Younger daughter Sophie (Sarah Foret), a sophomore, has a scholarship to the ritzy private school where the BPs congregate. Older daughter Karen (Torrey DeVitto), 18, hopes to graduate to big-league modeling.

The first two episodes push the daughters into adult situations that are out of bounds for a channel called ABC Family. The pouty Karen will be forced to make tough decisions after she takes a job as a cocktail waitress.

The earnest Sophie will be challenged by snooty girls, mysterious teachers and sex-crazy boys. Sophie seems to have landed in a plush but very seedy spot. It's The O.C. without the oomph. The teens' sex, drug use and mature talk would make Tony Soprano blush. The straining for provocative effect undermines the show.

Beautiful People drops Sophie between two very different boys who understandably become infatuated with her. Geeky Gideon Lustig (Ricky Mabe) falters in expressing himself. Smooth Nicholas Fiske (Jackson Rathbone) slowly realizes he can open up to Sophie and becomes dissatisfied with his nasty, condescending girlfriend Paisley (Jordan Madley).

In the strange-coincidences department -- especially for a city as large as New York -- Nicholas is the son of big-time publisher Julian Fiske (James McCaffrey), who loved Sophie's mom, Lynn, years ago.

Julian, who is unhappily married, still adores Lynn. That's clear when they meet awkwardly at a swank party. Julian secretly pulls strings to help her land a fashion job.

If only he could help the show find a consistent tone. Beautiful People ranges from daffy to dark. If the show were sweeter, it might make a good family drama.

If the show were funnier, it could offer a charming variation on the timeless fantasy of living in New York. (Most of the filming occurs in far-cheaper Toronto.)

If the show were more tart, it might turn into an addictive soap opera or a guilty pleasure.

Beautiful People is easy to resist, as it stands now. These "BPs" might be ready for their close-ups, but they are not ready to command their own television series.

Ken H

08-07-05, 08:54 PM

What's Wrong With NAB's Digital Picture?
By Nat Ostroff for Broadcasting & Cable
(Ostroff is VP of new technology for the Sinclair Broadcast Group)What a load of misguided propaganda.

fredfa

08-07-05, 09:37 PM

KenH:
You think? :)

fredfa

08-07-05, 09:44 PM

Carville: Novak dodged 'barf bag'
Media Mix: By Peter Johnson USA Today

Nothing gets tongues wagging more than an eruption on live television by a controversial political pundit, especially in the middle of a slow news day during a steamy summer.

As such, conservative CNN commentator Robert Novak set off aftershocks Thursday when he used a barnyard epithet, removed his microphone and stormed off the set of Inside Politics after some needling by liberal jouster James Carville over Rep. Katherine Harris, R.-Fla., and her chances of winning a Senate seat.

Novak's action prompted CNN and him to mutually agree that he take a "time out" for an undetermined period.

On The Daily Show that night, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart mused that Novak's outburst was like an early birthday gift to a satirist. "I wept for joy over receiving it," Stewart deadpanned.

CNN chief Jon Klein said Friday that Novak's action were "just plain wrong. The use of profanity and walking off the set are serious violations of our standards and practices. We just don't tolerate that."

But Klein refused to say what penalty CNN might impose. Asked whether firing was among the possibilities, Klein said, "I don't know. It's not our practice to get into details with our internal personnel matters."

Klein earlier this year canceled Crossfire, on which Novak was a regular, in part because he said he wanted to get away from the shout-fests that have become popular on cable news channels.

But Klein said the comments by Carville that sent Novak over the edge — "He's got to show these right-wingers that he's got backbone. The Wall Street Journal editorial page is watching. You show 'em you're tough!" — did not fall into his category of no-no's. "It doesn't surprise anyone that James Carville throws jabs."

Carville said Friday that he was perplexed by the episode. "It was kind of like having a dream: You're riding a wagon down a hill and all of a sudden you're in a swimming pool, asking, 'How'd I get here?' "

CNN anchor Ed Henry said on CNN after the incident that he had intended to ask Novak about "the CIA leak case." Novak was the first to disclose the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame in a case that has resulted in New York Times reporter Judy Miller being jailed for refusing to disclose her sources in the matter.

Novak has said little publicly about his role in the case, which is under investigation by a grand jury as a potential federal crime. But in a newspaper column last week, he noted that Plame was included under the listing for her husband, ambassador Joseph Wilson, in Who's Who in America.

A copy of Who's Who sat on Henry's anchor desk Thursday, leading some bloggers to speculate that Novak suspected Henry planned to ask him about Plame's name in it and used Carville's remarks as an excuse to walk out.

That's how Carville saw it. "Bob's got a lot going on in his life, and that book was sitting on the desk like a barf bag, just waiting," he said.

But contacted Friday, Novak said that the possibility of being questioned about Plame — a subject that appeared to make him testy when Henry broached it on CNN June 29 — "didn't have anything to do with my reaction." Carville, he said, "was just trying to be funny. I obviously took it as an insult. I overreacted, and I apologize."

fredfa

08-08-05, 12:14 AM

Peter Jennings, Longtime ABC News Anchor, Dies at 67

REUTERS---WASHINGTON - Peter Jennings, former prime-time anchorman for ABC News, died Sunday at his home in New York, the network said. He was 67 and suffered from lung cancer.

fredfa

08-08-05, 12:17 AM

Peter Jennings, Longtime ABC News Anchor, Dies at 67

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Peter Jennings, the suave, Canadian-born broadcaster who delivered the news to Americans each night in five separate decades, died Sunday. He was 67. Jennings, who announced in April that he had lung cancer, died at his New York home, ABC News President David Westin said late Sunday.

''Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him,'' Westin said.

With Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, Jennings was part of a triumvirate that dominated network news for more than two decades, through the birth of cable news and the Internet. His smooth delivery and years of international reporting experience made Jennings particularly popular among urban dwellers.

Jennings was the face of ABC News whenever a big story broke. He logged more than 60 hours on the air during the week of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, offering a soothing sense of continuity during a troubled time.

''There are a lot of people who think our job is to reassure the public every night that their home, their community and their nation is safe,'' he told author Jeff Alan. ''I don't subscribe to that at all. I subscribe to leaving people with essentially -- sorry it's a cliche -- a rough draft of history. Some days it's reassuring, some days it's absolutely destructive.''

Jennings' announcement four months ago that the longtime would begin treatment for lung cancer came as a shock.

''I will continue to do the broadcast,'' he said, his voice husky, in a taped message that night. ''On good days, my voice will not always be like this.''

But although Jennings occasionally came to the office between chemotherapy treatments, he never again appeared on the air.

''He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it with realism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of the fortunate ones,'' Westin said. ''In the end, he was not.''

Broadcasting was the family business for Jennings. His father, Charles Jennings, was the first person to anchor a nightly national news program in Canada and later became head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s news division. A picture of his father was displayed prominently in Jennings' office off ABC's newsroom.

Charles Jennings' son had a Saturday morning radio show in Ottawa at age 9. Jennings never completed high school or college, and began his career as a news reporter at a radio station in Brockton, Ontario. He quickly earned an anchor job at Canadian Television.

Sent south to cover the Democratic national convention in 1964, the handsome, dashing correspondent was noticed by ABC's news president. Jennings was offered a reporting job and left Canada for New York.

As the third-place news network, ABC figured its only chance was to go after young viewers. Jennings was picked to anchor the evening news and debuted on Feb. 1, 1965. He was 26.

''It was a little ridiculous when you think about it,'' Jennings told author Barbara Matusow. ''A twenty-six-year-old trying to compete with Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley. I was simply unqualified.''

Critics savaged him as a pretty face unfit for the promotion. Using the Canadian pronunciations for some words and once misidentifying the Marine Corps' anthem as ''Anchors Aweigh'' didn't help his reputation. The experiment ended three years later.

He later described the humbling experience as an opportunity, ''because I was obliged to figure out who I was and what I really wanted to be.''

Assigned as a foreign correspondent, Jennings thrived. He established an ABC News bureau in Beirut, and became an expert on the Middle East. He won a Peabody Award for a 1974 profile of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

On the scene at the Munich Olympics in 1972, Jennings was perfectly placed to cover the hostage-taking of Israeli athletes by an Arab terrorist group. He and a crew hid in the athletes' quarters for a close-in view of the drama.

Jennings returned to the evening news a decade after his unceremonious departure. In 1978, ABC renamed its broadcast ''World News Tonight,'' and instituted a three-person anchor team: Frank Reynolds based in Washington, Max Robinson from Chicago and Jennings, by then ABC's chief foreign correspondent, from London.

Following Reynolds' death from cancer, ABC abandoned the multi-anchor format and Jennings became sole anchor on Sept. 5, 1983.

Starting in 1986, Jennings began a decade on top of the ratings. His international experience served him well explaining stories like the collapse of European communism, the first Gulf War and the terrorist bombing of an airplane over Lockerbie, Scotland. He took pride that ''World News Tonight,'' as its name suggested, took a more worldly view than its rivals. Fans responded to his smart, controlled style.

''When it's clearly an emotional experience for the audience, the anchor should not add his or her emotional layers,'' Jennings said in an interview with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

Two-thirds of local broadcasters responding to a 1993 survey by Broadcasting & Cable magazine said Jennings was the best network news anchor. Washington Journalism Review named him anchor of the year three straight years.

fredfa

08-08-05, 12:32 AM

NBC Universal Aims to Be Prettiest Feather in G.E.'s Cap

By RICHARD SIKLOS and LAURA M. HOLSON The New York Times August 8, 2005

NBC Universal is readying for a second act nearly two years after being hatched in a $43 billion merger of NBC, owned by the General Electric Company, and Vivendi Universal.

Bob Wright, the chairman and chief executive of NBC Universal, is the first to say that all has not gone according to script at the media company. But if things play out according to Mr. Wright's latest rewrite, the managerial wizardry of G.E. will be applied to demonstrate how a world-beating media giant can be built from a suddenly diminished prime-time television powerhouse and a solid, but middling, movie studio.

When the deal was announced in the fall of 2003, the NBC television network was the nation's most-watched and most-profitable broadcast network. But this year it has slumped to fourth place among prime-time viewers aged 18 to 49, advertisers' most-coveted audience.

As a result of a shortfall in NBC's revenues, last month Mr. Wright ordered up to another $400 million in cost cuts across the company, nearly doubling the savings that have been wrung out of the combined business in its short existence. At the same time, Mr. Wright and top executives at Universal are in exclusive talks to acquire the live-action business of the DreamWorks SKG studio to help shore up the company's film pipeline.

This is going on amid much hurly-burly over how the Internet and other digital technologies are threatening existing media businesses by luring away audiences and advertisers. In addition, Hollywood is facing a stagnant box office and slowing growth in DVD sales.

Moreover, even after nearly doubling its revenues through the addition of Universal's film studio, cable channels, television programs and theme parks to nearly $15 billion a year, NBC Universal is still fairly compact compared to some of its rivals. It is also the smallest of six business units within G.E., an industrial leviathan that expects to generate more than $170 billion in revenues this year.

Will NBC Universal - which G.E. owns 80 percent of, with France's Vivendi retaining the rest - have the scale to compete globally, or even for a seat at the corporate dinner table? "This is not the typical long-cycle G.E. business, like jet engines," said Anthony R. Boase, an analyst who follows the company for A. G. Edwards & Sons.

All of which makes it more noteworthy that Mr. Wright remains convinced that NBC Universal not only has what it takes to navigate the changing times, but also to contribute the kinds of growth promised to shareholders by his boss, Jeffrey R. Immelt, G.E.'s chairman and chief executive.

"I'm not easily frazzled," Mr. Wright, who is also a G.E. vice chairman, said in an interview. "I don't see anything out here that is so shocking that we can't deal with. I see some opportunities behind all this."

Specifically, Mr. Wright and his lieutenants are focusing on dual tracks. One is to continue to own or create original content, from its new Sunday night broadcast deal with the National Football League on NBC; network TV stalwarts like the "Law & Order" franchise, the "Today" show and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"; programs like "Monk" and "Battlestar Galactica" that are shown on its USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel cable outlets; and upcoming Universal movies such as "King Kong" and "The Producers."

The other track is to figure out ways to capitalize on emerging digital business models around the globe for everything from the broadband Internet to mobile phones by mining the companies' libraries of programming and movies, and even by producing original content for these platforms.

"When you put your investment in content - which is what we have done and will continue to do - you're not betting on any one technology," said Mr. Wright, who has been leading NBC since it was acquired by G.E. in 1986. "You're betting on them all."

The first part is already in place: NBC Universal is churning out cash, having contributed $979 million to G.E.'s operating profits - 15 percent of G.E.'s total - in the quarter that ended June 30, compared with $768 million a year earlier. Sales were $3.86 billion in the most recent period, compared with $2.86 billion in the year-earlier period; the increase largely reflects the combination of the two companies last May.

Over all, John Inch, a Merrill Lynch analyst, forecasts that NBC Universal will generate operating profit of $3.33 billion on revenues of $14.9 billion in 2005, growing to $3.91 billion on revenues of $16.7 billion next year.

Out of all the businesses in the G.E. portfolio - from medical equipment to financial services to light bulbs - Mr. Inch expects NBC Universal to deliver the highest operating profit margins this year and next, rising to about 24 percent in 2006.

The question is whether NBC Universal can continue to hit those kinds of numbers through old-fashioned top-line growth, or whether there will be more clever add-ons like the DreamWorks acquisition or belt-tightening. And, more broadly, what is the psychological impact of the loss of NBC's must-see-TV swagger on the company's rank and file?

For now, the merged company's rising profits are the reason NBC Universal's brass are both contrite and defensive in explaining the high-profile plummet in prime-time ratings. "Obviously, it's an incredibly important issue, and we're disappointed," said Jeffrey Zucker, the president of NBC Universal Television, whose purview includes the network, as well as entertainment and news cable channels. "But I think what's been missing is some perspective."

The preferred perspective from NBC Universal executives is that the slump, after a decade of primacy with hits like "E.R.," "Friends," "Seinfeld" and "Frasier," validates their brilliance in diversifying their revenues. NBC's prime-time schedule now accounts for only 15 percent of the company's overall revenues, less than half of its contribution before the merger.

Over all, the broadcast TV network before the merger accounted for 60 percent of the company's revenues, with the remainder coming from its local TV stations and interests in cable channels CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo and the Telemundo Spanish-language network. Postmerger, the network contributes only 30 percent of NBC Universal's annual revenues, roughly the same size as the Universal film business. The Universal cable channels USA, Sci-Fi, Bravo and Trio account for only 10 percent of the parent's revenues, but have much higher profit margins.

No one disputes, however, that NBC Universal is a work in progress. There have been some early nods to cross-pollination - including a ride at Universal's theme parks based on the NBC reality show "Fear Factor" and a promotion for the upcoming remake of "King Kong" that was broadcast across all the company's television outlets.

And the signing last month of a five-year contract by Ron Meyer, the longtime president of Universal Studios, is a sign of his rapport with his boss, Mr. Wright. So is the approval the two received from the G.E. board to hold exclusive negotiations with DreamWorks.

Although DreamWorks has had plenty of attention but mixed success, the deal being contemplated may illustrate one way NBC Universal can achieve its growth ambitions. After all, the negotiations come amid ho-hum summer box-office results for Universal, with releases like the Russell Crowe film "Cinderella Man" and "The Perfect Man" with Hilary Duff failing to draw wide audiences.

The studio has slightly improved its domestic market share this year - rising to fifth place among the seven major studios, from sixth in 2004 - with a 9.2 percent share through July 31, compared with 8.4 percent in the same period a year earlier, according to Nielsen EDI.

But Universal is looking to the holiday season with "King Kong," directed by Peter Jackson; a remake of "The Producers"; and Steven Spielberg's "Munich." More generally, Universal executives are hoping to increase the number of movies they make and distribute, said Stacey Snider, the chairwoman of Universal Pictures.

In the merger talks with DreamWorks, two options are being discussed. One is to have a lean staff that makes movies both marketed and distributed by Universal, said two people who spoke about the talks but requested anonymity because the negotiations were still in progress.

The other, said one of the two people, is a larger production company that makes four or more live-action movies a year, some of them directed by Mr. Spielberg and marketed by a DreamWorks team. DreamWorks has nine films in the works for 2006, and Mr. Spielberg would be asked to commit to make a certain number of films in the future, the two people said.

Mr. Wright, Ms. Snider and other company officials would not comment on or confirm the DreamWorks discussions.

The central issue, aside from personalities, is price, and Mr. Wright is known as a shrewd buyer. The people with knowledge of the negotiations have estimated the cost to be more than $1 billion, which includes DreamWorks' library of 60 releases. What has yet to be worked out is whether Mr. Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, the DreamWorks co-founders, and their largest investor, Paul G. Allen, would be paid right away or be asked to share instead in future revenues.

Away from Hollywood, other pieces of the puzzle are still to be figured out. Mr. Zucker, for instance, has created a separate news group that is looking at ways to more closely integrate the operations of NBC News with the cable channels CNBC and MSNBC, which is 50 percent owned by Microsoft.

Ratings have softened on both of those cable outlets. At the network, NBC has the top-rated nightly newscast, but "Today" - where Mr. Zucker started his career as a writer - has come under increasing competitive pressure to maintain its run as the top morning show and, reportedly, as NBC's most profitable property.

Where the Internet is concerned, NBC has resisted making a sizable acquisition like the News Corporation's recent $580 million purchase of Intermix Media, but Mr. Wright is determined to build its online and digital presence internally. He has created a new unit, NBC Universal Digital Media, headed by Deborah M. Reif, a former GE Capital executive.

At the same time, executives throughout the company are looking at ways to develop new digital offshoots - for example, said Mr. Zucker, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a trash-talking puppet featured on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," could have original bits made just for broadband audiences.

This is a top priority to Mr. Wright, who, like most media chieftains, wants to grab a share of the growing online audience and advertising revenues - while avoiding past missteps. NBC made a serious online foray several years ago through a portal called Snap.com and an umbrella group called NBC Interactive that focused on electronic commerce. Both of those notions proved premature and NBC shut them down after the Internet bubble burst in 2001, only to see Yahoo and Google emerge as clear winners with similar business models.

And, DreamWorks or not, Mr. Wright concedes the company's Hollywood arm has not yet fully embraced the G.E. ways of management. "I don't push them the same way that we would if I were in one of the other businesses," he says. "They have to be treated differently."

One imagines Mr. Spielberg would not have to attend conferences at G.E.'s management training center. Generally, however, Mr. Wright insists that his parent company's methods can be applied to the entertainment business as readily today as they were when he first imported them to NBC nearly two decades ago.

"It may sound odd," Mr. Wright says, "but the designing of a jet engine is a work of art. It's the artistic form of engineering."

fredfa

08-08-05, 12:44 AM

The New York Times Obituary
Peter Jennings, Urbane News Anchor, Dies at 67

By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times August 8, 2005

Peter Jennings, a high school dropout from Canada who transformed himself into one of the most urbane, well-traveled and recognizable journalists on American television, died yesterday. He was 67 and lived in Manhattan.

The cause was lung cancer, said Charles Gibson, who announced the death of his colleague on television in a special report just after 11:30 p.m. Mr. Jennings had disclosed that he was suffering from lung cancer on April 5, first in a written statement released by ABC and later that night on "World News Tonight," the evening news broadcast that he had led since September 1983.

In brief remarks at the end of that night's program, Mr. Jennings, his voice scratchy, told viewers that he hoped to return to the anchor desk as his health and strength permitted. But he never did.

It was a jarring departure for someone who for so long had been such a visible fixture in so many American homes each night. Along with the two other pillars of the so-called Big 3 - Tom Brokaw of NBC and Dan Rather of CBS - Mr. Jennings had, in the early 1980's, ushered in the era of the television news anchor as lavishly compensated, globe-trotting superstar. After the departure of Mr. Brokaw from his anchor chair in December, followed by the retirement from the evening news of Mr. Rather in March, Mr. Jennings's death brings that era to a close.

For more than two decades, the magnitude of a news event could be measured, at least in part, by whether Mr. Jennings and his counterparts on the other two networks showed up on the scene. Indeed, they logged so many miles over so many years in so many trench coats and flak jackets that they effectively acted as bookends on some of the biggest running stories of modern times.

Mr. Jennings's official ABC biography notes, for example, that as a foreign correspondent, he was "in Berlin in the 1960's when the Berlin Wall was going up," and there again, as an anchor, "in the 1990's when it came down." Similarly, he was on the ground in Gdansk, Poland, for the birth of the Solidarity labor and political movement, and later for the overthrow of the country's Communist government.

In addition to reporting from nearly every major world capital and war zone, Mr. Jennings also managed to report from all 50 states, according to the network. He seemed to draw on that collective experience - as well as his practiced ability to calmly describe events as they unfolded live -not long after two hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Over the course of that day, and those that immediately followed, he would spend more than 60 hours on the air in what Tom Shales of The Washington Post, among other critics, praised as a tour de force of interviewing and explanatory broadcast journalism laced with undisguised bewilderment.

"This is what it looked like moments ago," Mr. Jennings said at one point that first morning, as he introduced a piece of videotape recorded moments earlier in Lower Manhattan. "My God! The southern tower, 10:00 Eastern Time this morning, just collapsing on itself. This is a place where thousands of people worked. We have no idea what caused this."

The coverage of all three broadcast networks that week underscored a maxim of the television news business: that however much the audience of the evening news programs might have eroded in recent years, viewers usually return during moments of crisis.

At the peak of his broadcast's popularity, in the 1992-1993 television season, Mr. Jennings drew an average audience of nearly 14 million people each night, according to Nielsen Media Research. He reached that milestone midway through an eight-year ratings winning streak, during which his audience sometimes exceeded those of both Mr. Brokaw and Mr. Rather by two million or more viewers. (For nearly a decade since, to his periodic frustration, his broadcast had lagged behind that of NBC's, even after Mr. Brokaw yielded to Brian Williams in December.)

Though the audience for the evening news has fallen precipitously in recent years - a casualty of changes in people's schedules and the competition offered by the cable news networks and the Internet - Mr. Jennings's broadcast (and those on CBS and NBC) still drew a combined audience of more than 25 million viewers this past year.

And however much his audience had aged - the median age of a Jennings viewer this past season was about 60, according to Nielsen - advertisers still spend in excess of $100 million annually on each of the evening news programs. Like Mr. Brokaw, Mr. Rather and now Mr. Williams, Mr. Jennings was well paid for his efforts: he earned an estimated $10 million a year in recent years. His most recent contract with the network was due to expire later this year , but at least until he became ill, the network was preparing to extend Mr. Jennings's time in the anchor chair for "several years to come," according to David Westin, president of ABC News.

Mr. Jennings's broadcast training had begun at an astonishingly young age, a function at least partly of his family background. Peter Charles Jennings was born July 29, 1938, in Toronto. His father, Charles, was a senior executive of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and a pioneer in Canadian radio news.

In "The Century" (Doubleday, 1998), one of two history books that he co-wrote with Todd Brewster, Mr. Jennings recalled an early exercise that his father put him through to sharpen his powers of observation. "Describe the sky," his father had said. After the young boy had done so, his father dispatched him outside again. "Now, go out and slice it into pieces and describe each piece as different from the next."

By age 9, he had his own show on Canadian radio, "Peter's Program." He dropped out of high school at 17, and by his early 20's, was the host of a dance show similar to "American Bandstand" called "Club Thirteen."

His rise to the pinnacle of Canadian television news, and later its far larger counterpart to the south, was swift. In 1962, at age 24, he was named co-anchor of the national newscast on CTV, a competitor of his father's network, a job that he held until 1964.

That year, he moved to the United States to begin work as a correspondent for ABC. Barely a year later, the network named him an anchor of "ABC Evening News," then a 15-minute newscast, which put him, at age 26, head-to-head with Walter Cronkite on CBS and the formidable tandem of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC. Though he would serve ABC in that capacity for nearly three years, Mr. Jennings said in an interview last year that he was ill-suited for the job and unhappy in it.

"I had the good sense to quit," he said.

What followed was more than a decade of postings abroad as a foreign correspondent for ABC, during which, Mr. Jennings said last year, he got an on-the-job introduction to the world with a tuition bill effectively footed by his employer.

"I have no formal education to speak of," Mr. Jennings said. "ABC has been my education and provided my education. ABC has enabled me to work everywhere in the world and has ended up paying me beyond handsomely."

From 1968 to 1978, Mr. Jennings traveled extensively, including to Vietnam, Munich (where he covered the hostage-taking at the 1972 Summer Olympics) and Beirut (where he established the network's first news bureau in the Arab world.)

In 1978, he began his second tour as an anchor for the network, serving as one of three hosts of "World News Tonight," along with Frank Reynolds and Max Robinson, in a format devised by Roone Arledge, the sports programmer who had added the news division to his portfolio. Mr. Jennings was the program's foreign anchor and reported from London until 1983.

Three weeks after Mr. Reynolds's death from bone cancer, Mr. Jennings was named the sole anchor (and managing editor) of the broadcast, titles that Mr. Jennings continued to hold at his death.

As an anchor, Mr. Jennings presented himself as a worldly alternative to Mr. Brokaw's plain-spoken Midwestern manner and Mr. Rather's folksy, if at times offbeat, Southern charm. He neither spoke like many of his viewers ("about" came out of his mouth as A-BOOT, a remnant of his Canadian roots) nor looked like them, with a matinee-idol face and crisply tailored wardrobe that were frequently likened in print to those of James Bond.

Though his bearing could be stiff on the air (and his syntax so simplistic at times as to border on patronizing), Mr. Jennings was immensely popular with his audience.

During a trip last fall through Kansas, Pennsylvania and Ohio in the weeks before the presidential election, he traveled at times aboard a coach customized by the news division to trumpet its campaign coverage and frequently received a rock star's welcome when he decamped.

For example, in the parking lot of a deli just outside of Pittsburgh, where he had come to interview a long-shot candidate for Congress whose threadbare headquarters was upstairs, Mr. Jennings found himself on the receiving end of several hugs from loyal viewers.

"He's so handsome," one of those viewers, Vilma Berryman, 66, the deli owner, observed immediately after meeting him. "He's taller than I thought. He speaks so softly."

"I feel like I know him," she added. "He's just so easy."

Like all of the Big 3, Mr. Jennings was not without his detractors. Some critics contended he was too soft on the air when describing the Palestinian cause or the regime of the Cuban leader Fidel Castro - charges he disputed. Similarly, an article published in July 2004 in the National Review portrayed him as a thinly veiled opponent of the American war in Iraq.

The article quoted Mr. Jennings as saying: "That is simply not the way I think of this role. This role is designed to question the behavior of government officials on behalf of the public."

Mr. Jennings was conscious of having been imbued, during his Canadian boyhood, with a skepticism about American behavior; at least partly as a result, he often delighted in presenting the opinions of those in the minority, whatever the situation.

And yet he simultaneously carried on an elaborate love affair with America, one that reached its apex in the summer of 2003, when he announced that he had become an American citizen, scoring, he said proudly, 100 percent on his citizenship test.

In a toast around that time that he gave at the new National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, he described his adopted home as "this brash and noble container of dreams, this muse to artists and inventors and entrepreneurs, this beacon of optimism, this dynamo of energy, this trumpet blare of liberty."

Mr. Jennings's personal life was at times grist for the gossip pages, including his three divorces. His third wife, the author Kati Marton, whom he married in 1979 and divorced in 1993, is the mother of his two children, who survive him. They are a daughter, Elizabeth, and son, Christopher. He is also survived by his fourth wife, Kayce Freed, a former ABC television producer whom he married in December 1997. Having prided himself on rarely taking a sick day in nearly 40 years - and being dismissive, at times, of those well-paid colleagues who did - Mr. Jennings had missed the broadcast and the newsroom terribly in recent months.

In a letter posted on April 29 on the ABC news Web site, excerpts of which were read on that night's evening news, Mr. Jennings described how treatments for his cancer had proven more debilitating than he had expected.

"Yesterday I decided to go to the office," he wrote. "I live only a few blocks away. I got as far as the door. Chemo strikes."

"Do I detect a knowing but sympathetic smile on many of your faces?" he added.

About a month later, Mr. Jennings did make a rare visit to the ABC News headquarters on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. With a gray sweater draped over his shoulders, and his feet clad in thick wool socks and moccasins, Mr. Jennings held court for about a half hour late one morning from his desk, in what is known as "the rim," a newsroom one floor below the "World News Tonight" studio.

His voice soft and his body as much as 20 pounds lighter than usual, Mr. Jennings told several dozen staff members who had gathered around his desk about the doctors and other patients he had been meeting and of a first-time radiation treatment that he had just received, according to one veteran correspondent who did not wish to be identified so as not to offend Mr. Jennings's family.

Mr. Jennings brought himself and many of his colleagues to tears when he turned to Charles Gibson, one of his two principal substitutes on the program, and thanked him for closing each night's broadcast with the phrase, "for Peter Jennings and all of us at ABC News." Mr. Jennings then put his hand over his heart and said, "That means so much to me," according to his colleague.

But whatever maudlin feelings were in the air quickly evaporated, Mr. Jennings's longtime colleague recounted, when the anchor brandished a familiar black calligraphy pen and began marking up the rundown for that night's broadcast. "No, that's not a good one," he could be overheard telling Jonathan Banner, the program's executive producer, about one segment. Of another, he added, "You want to move this higher up."

For his closest colleagues, the reassuring sight of the anchor-as-editor provided a fleeting moment of normalcy in what had been a disorienting and heartbreaking few months.

fredfa

08-08-05, 12:51 AM

The ABC News.com Obituary
Peter Jennings Dies at 67
'World News Tonight' Anchor Since 1983

(ABC News) Aug. 8, 2005 - ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings died today at his home in New York City. He was 67. On April 5, Jennings announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Kayce Freed, his two children, Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23, and his sister, Sarah Jennings.

"Peter died with his family around him, without pain and in peace. He knew he'd lived a good life," his wife said.

In announcing Jennings' death to his ABC colleagues, News President David Westin wrote:

"For four decades, Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him.

"As you all know, Peter learned only this spring that the health problem he'd been struggling with was lung cancer. With Kayce, he moved straight into an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it with realism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of the fortunate ones. In the end, he was not.

"We will have many opportunities in the coming hours and days to remember Peter for all that he meant to us all. It cannot be overstated or captured in words alone. But for the moment, the finest tribute we can give is to continue to do the work he loved so much and inspired us to do."

Reported World-Shaping Events

As one of America's most distinguished journalists, Jennings reported many of the pivotal events that have shaped our world. He was in Berlin in the 1960s when the Berlin Wall was going up, and there in the '90s when it came down. He covered the civil rights movement in the southern United States during the 1960s, and the struggle for equality in South Africa during the 1970s and '80s. He was there when the Voting Rights Act was signed in 1965, and on the other side of the world when South Africans voted for the first time. He has worked in every European nation that once was behind the Iron Curtain. He was there when the independent political movement Solidarity was born in a Polish shipyard, and again when Poland's communist leaders were forced from power. And he was in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania and throughout the Soviet Union to record first the repression of communism and then its demise. He was one of the first reporters to go to Vietnam in the 1960s, and went back to the killing fields of Cambodia in the 1980s to remind Americans that, unless they did something, the terror would return.

On Dec. 31, 1999, Jennings anchored ABC's Peabody-award winning coverage of Millennium Eve, "ABC 2000." Some 175 million Americans watched the telecast, making it the biggest live global television event ever. "The day belonged to ABC News," wrote The Washington Post, "... with Peter Jennings doing a nearly superhuman job of anchoring." Jennings was the only anchor to appear live for 25 consecutive hours.

Jennings also led ABC's coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks and America's subsequent war on terrorism. He anchored more than 60 hours that week during the network's longest continuous period of news coverage, and was widely praised for providing a reassuring voice during the time of crisis. TV Guide called him "the center of gravity," while the Washington Post wrote, "Jennings, in his shirt sleeves, did a Herculean job of coverage." The coverage earned ABC News Peabody and duPont awards.

Overseas, and at Home

Jennings joined ABC News on Aug. 3, 1964. He served as the anchor of "Peter Jennings with the News" from 1965 to 1967.

He established the first American television news bureau in the Arab world in 1968 when he served as ABC News' bureau chief for Beirut, Lebanon, a position he held for seven years. He helped put ABC News on the map in 1972 with his coverage of the Summer Olympics in Munich, when Arab terrorists took Israeli athletes hostage.

In 1975, Jennings moved to Washington to become the news anchor of ABC's morning program "A.M. America". After a short stint in the mornings, Jennings returned overseas to Rome where he stayed before moving to London to become ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent. In 1978 he was named the foreign desk anchor for "World News Tonight." He co-anchored the program with Frank Reynolds in Washington, D.C., and Max Robinson in Chicago until 1983.

Jennings was named anchor and senior editor of "World News Tonight" in 1983. In his more than 20 years in the position he was honored with almost every major award given to television journalists.

His extensive domestic and overseas reporting experience was evident in "World News Tonight's" coverage of major crises.

He reported from all 50 states and locations around the globe. During the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 War in Iraq, his knowledge of Middle Eastern affairs brought invaluable perspective to ABC News' coverage of the war in Iraq and the drug trade in Central and South America. The series also tackled important domestic issues such as gun control policy, the politics of abortion, the crisis in funding for the arts and a highly praised chronicle of the accused bombers of Oklahoma City.

"Peter Jennings Reporting" earned numerous awards, including the 2004 Edward R. Morrow award for best documentary for "The Kennedy Assassination -- Beyond Conspiracy."

Jennings also had a particular interest in broadcasting for the next generation. He did numerous live news specials for children on subjects ranging from growing up in the age of AIDS, to prejudice and its effects on our society. After the events of September 11, and again on the first anniversary, he anchored a town hall meeting for children and parents entitled, "Answering Children's Questions."

Jennings was honored with many awards for news reporting, including 16 Emmys, two George Foster Peabody Awards, several Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards and several Overseas Press Club Awards. Most recently, "World News Tonight" was recognized with two consecutive Edward R. Murrow awards for best newscast, based on field reporting done by Jennings on the California wildfires and the transfer of power in Iraq.

Jennings was the author, with Todd Brewster, of the acclaimed New York Times best seller, "The Century." It featured first-person accounts of the great events of the century. In 1999, he anchored the 12-hour ABC series, "The Century," and ABC's series for The History Channel, "America's Time." He and Brewster also published "In Search of America," a companion book for the six-part ABC News series.

fredfa

08-08-05, 01:00 AM

The Washington Post Obituary
Peter Jennings Dies at 67
ABC News Anchor Was a Voice of the World

By Patricia Sullivan Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 8, 2005; A01

Peter Jennings, 67, the urbane anchorman of ABC's evening newscast for the past 22 years, died yesterday at his home in New York, his network announced.

Jennings had not been on the air since April 5, when he revealed he had lung cancer. He had been conspicuously absent from the coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral in Rome. A smoker until about 20 years ago, he said he relapsed under the pressure after Sept. 11, 2001, but later quit again.

The Canadian-born Jennings was a familiar face in millions of households for more than 40 years. His well-rounded tones, world-savvy air and matter-of-fact delivery led "World News Tonight" to the top of the ratings for 11 of the past 20 years, even as all the networks lost huge numbers of viewers to cable television, to the Internet and to the longer workdays and busier lives of those who used to watch the news over the family dinner.

Throughout the years, Jennings traveled the world as a reporter and anchorman, specializing in the Middle East long before many domestic viewers knew much more about the region than the location of Jerusalem.

He was at the Summer Olympics in Munich on Sept. 5, 1972, when Arab terrorists seized and killed Israeli athletes. Familiar with the history and goals of the Black September terrorist group, Jennings filed a series of reports and moved his camera crew close enough to get clear pictures of the terrorists, a risk that "displayed considerable moxie," Barbara Matusow wrote in "The Evening Stars: The Making of the Network News Anchor." She called the reports "among the most gripping episodes ever shown on live television."

Twenty-nine years later, Jennings was on the air within minutes after two airliners crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and stayed on the air for more than 12 consecutive hours, part of 6o hours of airtime for him that first week, ABC News said in its biography of the anchor. His steadiness and "Herculean" work during that period was widely praised.

"We watched Peter Jennings' beard grow, and we were somehow reassured that he did not shave, that through morning, afternoon, evening and on into the night, he did not leave the desk, that he confided in us his uncertainties, that he shared the confusions of each hour," Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher wrote. "He grew more pale and more vulnerable, as if he knew that we needed him to be human, so that we could be together."

During that devastating day, as all activity stopped and Americans were glued to their televisions, Jennings's trademark cool warmed as he faltered just a bit.

"We do not very often make recommendations for people's behavior from this chair," he told viewers, "but as [one ABC News correspondent] was talking, I checked in with my children, and it -- who were deeply stressed, as I think young people are across the United States. So, if you're a parent, you've got a kid" -- he paused and smiled awkwardly -- "in some other part of the country, call them up. Exchange observations."

He became a citizen of the United States in 2003, 39 years after he left Canada. "There's no explaining the timing," he told USA Today. "Did 9/11 make a difference? Yes, it did make a difference. Did working on [his book] 'In Search of America' for the last several years, which kept me on the road a lot and dealing with both contemporary and historic national issues -- about which I felt very deeply? That made a difference."

His death capped a period in which the evening anchors of all three major broadcast networks left the anchor's chair. NBC's Tom Brokaw retired in December 2004, and CBS's Dan Rather stepped down from the anchor's job in March.

Born in Toronto, the son of pioneering Canadian broadcaster Charles Jennings first broadcast "Peter's People," a radio show for children, as a young boy. He dropped out of high school, worked briefly in a bank and then entered broadcasting. He became a radio news reporter in Brockton, Ontario, and worked briefly for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. before switching to co-anchor CTV National News at Canada's first privately owned network in 1962. While covering the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, Jennings attracted the attention of the then-president of ABC, Elmer W. Lower, who offered him a job. Jennings turned it down but three months later reconsidered and reversed his decision.

Based in New York City, he was immediately seen as a rising star. A year later, at age 26, he was named co-anchor and then sole anchor of ABC's evening 15-minute news broadcast. His inexperience showed, especially in comparison to veteran competitors Walter Cronkite at CBS and Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC. Widely derided as a "glamorcaster" and "anchorboy," Jennings was ridiculed for his Anglicized diction and ignorance of American history and culture. After three years, he returned to the ranks of domestic news correspondents.

He was sent to the Middle East in 1969 to establish the first American television news bureau in the Arab world, and there he found his niche. For seven years, based in Beirut, he traveled to virtually every Arab country and built up a store of knowledge he would draw upon for years. His reporting during the 1973 Israeli-Arab war earned the respect of viewers. He conducted the first television interview with Palestine Liberation Organization's Yasser Arafat, and his 1974 profile of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat won his first George Foster Peabody award. He was the first U.S. reporter to interview the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini, then in exile in Paris.

Jennings returned to the U.S. in 1975 as Washington correspondent and news reader for the predecessor to "Good Morning America." After 10 months, he was reassigned overseas as chief foreign correspondent, based in London.

From that seat, he returned to the anchor's chair. ABC executive Roone Arledge created a three-anchor broadcast, with Frank Reynolds in Washington, Max Robinson in Chicago and Jennings in London. In 1983, after Reynolds died of cancer, Jennings was called back to the U.S. to retrieve his role as ABC's sole anchorman.

His years at the helm were not without glitches. He, along with the other major networks, prematurely and erroneously reported that Democratic nominee Al Gore won Florida in the 2000 presidential election. Jennings was frequently accused of liberal bias by conservative media watchdog organizations, and pro-Palestinian bias by Israeli partisans. A 2004 commentary in a journalism trade magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, dismissed criticism that ABC's newscast was "anti-war," noting that "despite the pressure to be a cheerleader, World News Tonight with Peter Jennings was more probing during the war than its rivals. The center's anti-war label is looking like ABC's red badge of courage."

Washington Post television critic Tom Shales, who is no fan of Jennings, in 1994 praised his special on the Bosnian war, writing "You have to hand it to Peter Jennings. He has managed to maintain his dignity and his stature even as network news has grown increasingly tabloidian all around him. He has stayed above the fray, and as frays go, this one is particularly unsavory... It isn't lurid or sexy and it probably won't get big ratings, but it's the kind of thing a network news division ought to be doing just for the sake of doing it. . . . It could easily be argued that CBS News remembers [Edward R.] Murrow in words, whereas ABC News remembers him in deeds -- deeds like tonight's Jennings report."

He was five times was named the country's best anchorman in a poll of readers of another trade magazine, Washington Journalism Review. He won Harvard University's Goldsmith Career Award for excellence in journalism and the Radio and Television News Directors Paul White Award, chosen by the news directors of all three major networks. "World News Tonight" was honored with the Edward R. Murrow award for best national newscast in 2004. He won 14 national Emmys, two George Foster Peabody awards, several Overseas Press Club awards and several Alfred I duPont Columbia University Awards for journalism.

In addition to anchoring, he covered issues in depth on hour-long primetime specials, called "Peter Jennings Reporting." Begun in 1990, the show ranged from historic issues such as the Kennedy assassination to religious controversies to the crisis in arts funding to a chronicle of the bombers of Oklahoma City, as well as international crises. He anchored live news specials for children, and co-wrote "The Century" (1998) with Todd Brewster, which later became a 12-hour ABC series. He and Brewster also collaborated on "In Search of America" (2002).

His marriages to Valerie Godsoe, Annie Malouf and Kati Marton ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife, Kayce Freed of New York; and two children from his third marriage, Elizabeth and Christopher.

fredfa

08-08-05, 01:44 AM

ABC anchor Peter Jennings dies

By Verne Gay Newsday Staff Writer August 8, 2005

Peter Jennings, one of just three men who came to symbolize television news for a generation of viewers, died yesterday at the age of 67.

Jennings, who announced in April that he had lung cancer and stepped down as anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight," died at his Manhattan home, ABC News President David Westin said late last night.

"Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him," Westin said.

At the time of his announcement, Jennings said he would return to the air on occasion, but never did, and instead maintained contact with viewers through a rare message read at the end of his broadcast. One of the most recent was in early July, when Jennings wrote in response to the terror attacks in London that "we are all Londoners."

Details of Jennings' bout with his illness were not available, although he had been in touch with friends and colleagues in recent weeks. Even so, there's been a prevailing sense at ABC that his health had gone into a steady decline after initially responding well to his chemotherapy in the spring. When not undergoing treatment, Jennings was believed to have spent most of his time at his home on the East End.

For a generous span of his 22-year career in the "World News" anchor chair, Jennings was the most popular of the three major anchors, and in the early '90s, the anchorman and his broadcast were the most dominant one-two combination since Walter Cronkite and "The Evening News" of the '70s.

While that dominance may have eroded in recent years -- a function of the shifting fortunes of ABC News as well as the shifting news diets of most Americans -- Jennings remained for many a powerful emblem of the last quarter century.

Like his competitors, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, he became an itinerant figure, jumping around the globe and the country from the scene of one major story to the next.

On screen, he invariably exuded calm and authority which was enriched by a certain elegance and the driest sense of humor on occasion.

Born into a wealthy and particularly influential family in Toronto Jennings dropped out of high school and literally spent the rest of his life trying to overcome what he considered his severe educational handicap.

Indeed, Jennings struggled to emerge from the shadow of his news anchor father and at times was variously known as a playboy, ne'er-do-well and golden boy.

Then, the prototypical life-altering event: He was fired as anchor of "ABC Evening News" in 1968, ending an inglorious three-year stint. Jennings had been inserted in the job in the first place because he was a good-looking boy-anchor and ABC was desperately seeking young viewers.

Jennings himself derisively referred to his role at the network he had joined on Aug. 3, 1964, as "the Gidget anchor."

He was dispatched to the Middle East, where he became one of network TV's most productive and knowledgeable reporters.

After his long stint in the Middle East, he became the network's chief correspondent and its London bureau chief. In the late '70s, he would also return, uneasily, to the anchor chair as part of a three-part anchor team that included Frank Reynolds (based in Washington) and Max Robinson (in Chicago.) Jennings was based in London.

When Reynolds had to step aside due to illness, Roone Arledge decided on a single-anchor format for "World News," and picked Jennings for the role. Perhaps Jennings' supreme professional moment arrived the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Like Brokaw and Rather, he took -- and held -- the air for most of the next three days. It was also at this time, he later admitted, when he took up smoking again.

fredfa

08-08-05, 01:47 AM

Reaction to the Death of Peter Jennings

By The Associated Press

"He always had the courage to ask the tough questions and demand answers. He set a high standard for TV journalists and his influence will be felt for generations to come." -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

"No one could ad lib like Peter. ... You would think that it was all scripted, he was so poetic, but it wasn't." -- Barbara Walters.

"He was a student for the rest of his life even though he had dropped out (of school) so early, not even, because he had dropped out so early. I think if there was one message he would like to leave with young people today it is, 'Don't do what I did.'" -- Ted Koppel.

"He really did make us raise our sights." -- Diane Sawyer.

"Kayce (Jennings' wife) told me earlier this evening that 'Peter died with his family around him, without pain and in peace. He knew he'd lived a good life.'" -- ABC President David Westin.

fredfa

08-08-05, 01:58 AM

ABC News Video Obituary

You can see an ABC News video obituary of long-time anchor Peter Jennings here:

http://abcnews.go.com/

fredfa

08-08-05, 02:12 AM

P L E A S E N O T E: If you haven’t yet watched Sunday night’s episode of “Six Feet Under” and don’t wish to know details of the program, DON’T READ THIS POST!!!!!

On 'Six Feet Under,' Grief and Authenticity

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN The New York Times Aug. 8, 2005

For those of us who have been trying to come to terms with the death a week ago of Nate Fisher (Peter Krause), the hero of HBO's "Six Feet Under," last night's ambitious episode of the upper-middlebrow melodrama offered several alternative ways to grieve.

There were, of course, drugs. Nate's mother and sister - both panicked with misery as the episode opened - turned to pills and pot, respectively. But when Nate's pregnant widow, Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), was offered shots of edge-eroding vodka, she declined, saying, "I don't want to take the edge off."

Then there was the poetry: three kinds. First, the Republican lawyer who last week saw Claire (Lauren Ambrose) through her brother's sudden hospitalization made the case for pop music, as treacly ballads, including the Dixie Chicks' version of "Landslide," played in his car. "I love Top 40," the lawyer admitted. "I'm sorry. It just sounds so good sometimes."

Next came an extremely pretty, slightly anodyne poem by the 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi that Nate had requested be read graveside. It entreated the assembly, "Regarding him, say neither bad nor good."

"Mystical, maudlin'' stuff, said Brenda, whom Nate had dumped on his deathbed.

Finally, the episode took its title, "All Alone," from a lyric to the Nirvana song "All Apologies," which could be heard twice as Claire reflected on her brother. The first time, the music came with a memory: Nate in 1994, stoned, weeping at the suicide of Kurt Cobain, whom he called "too pure for this world." The music's reprise came later as Claire herself lay grieving, the acoustic version of the song back on the stereo, and then on the show's soundtrack, with Cobain's echolalic "All alone is all we are" repeating and repeating and repeating through the closing credits.

In choosing among these idioms of mourning, Lionel Trilling's great series of lectures, "Sincerity and Authenticity," published under that title in 1972, comes to mind. Sincerity - what Trilling calls "congruence between avowal and actual feeling"- once seemed (to the Romantic poets, x say) like an exalted state of existence that could be achieved only with conscientious attention to the heart.

But the ideal of sincerity has long ago been devalued, rendered commercial or quaint. Today, for example, it is associated with Coldplay, mewling God-and-country Republicans and weepie cable-television dramas like "Six Feet Under" that appeal mostly to women and gay men.

Authenticity, on the other hand, is regarded as rougher stuff, a man's job. Authenticity is gin to sincerity's chardonnay. (Look for it on "The Sopranos" and "Deadwood.") It suggests, as Trilling puts it, "a more strenuous moral experience" than does sincerity, as well as "a less acceptant and genial view of the social circumstances of life." Authenticity, in other words, is a confrontation not with the self, which its practitioners regard as elusive and false, but with death, horror, being, nothingness.

On "Six Feet Under" these days, authenticity's name is Brenda, the Woman Who Won't Take the Edge Off. On last night's episode, she looked with contempt on a gift bought by Maggie (Tina Holmes), Nate's recent concubine and the show's avatar of sincerity.

"What is this, some sort of Quaker thing?" she asked, continuing her challenge with profanity: you have sex with someone's husband till he dies, "and then you bring them a quiche?"

In a caustic, near-Jamesian dressing-down (the episode was written by Kate Robin), Brenda went on: "He certainly wasn't in love with you, even if he said he was. Nate could be very convincing that way. All he ever wanted was someone who could make him feel like he was a better man than he actually was. It could have been anyone."

The dutiful brother, David (Michael C. Hall), by contrast, has so far dodged the imperatives of sincerity and authenticity both; these ideals are the prerogatives of authors, and David has typically been too afraid of gay-bashing and too busy with make-work to assume real authority. On last night's episode, he was more scared than ever, abandoned by his handsome, straight older brother, whose presence - we see now - David had conceived as his hedge against mortality. With Nate dead, the specter of the menacing hooded hitchhiker from last season appeared again to David. He fell apart. At last, for solace, he admitted needing the ministrations of "smooth jazz," shorthand for the show's (and everyone's?) lowest form of aesthetic experience.

There were other outlets, speeches and bromides. The ones by Sarah (Patricia Clarkson) seemed especially fatuous, even manipulative; the one by crazy George (James Cromwell) - about Nate the idealist - seemed passably good.

But only Nate's colleague at the funeral home, Rico (Freddy Rodriguez), managed to get Nate's virtues just right. Like Fortinbras in "Hamlet," Rico told his wife that he intends to concentrate on bottom-line business now that the melancholy heir is out of the way. But even while scheming, he recognized that Nate in his dreaminess brought something to the art of death that was good for the enterprise and - who knows? - maybe even good for souls.

"He had a natural sense of what to say to people when they were grieving," Rico said. For this viewer, at least, that clicked. Nate may not have been able to face death and tell the truth, in the cold and unadorned way that Brenda idealizes, but he was able to speak to survivors from the heart.

When confronting the dead, as characters on this show often do, anything but an idiom of absolute authenticity ("all alone is all we are") sounds hollow. But in life's much more familiar experience - speaking to the bereaved - we could do worse than to be sincere.

keenan

08-08-05, 03:36 AM

NFL may ban 'Vegas' promos during games

By Steve Friess, special for USA Today (http://http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2005-08-04-las-vegas-ads_x.htm)
Posted 8/4/2005 8:57 PM

LAS VEGAS — The NFL may bar NBC from promoting one of its hit shows, Las Vegas, when the network begins carrying Sunday night football next year because of the league's ban on advertising related to the nation's gambling capital.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league couldn't rule out extending the ban to the TV series, set at a fictional Sin City casino-resort and centering on casino security chiefs played by James Caan and Josh Duhamel.

"It is an issue we may have to address," Aiello said. "We do have general restrictions on what can and cannot appear" in ads on NFL telecasts.

Such a ban would be a blow to NBC, which is paying an average of $600 million a year for the football rights. Las Vegas is a persistent top-20 hit entering its third season that would need to remain on through the 2006-07 season to produce enough shows to fulfill an already-signed syndication deal.

"We still have 13 months before our first game, so we haven't even discussed these issues with the league yet," NBC Sports spokesman Mike McCarley said in an e-mail.

Las Vegas executive producer Gary Scott Thompson ridiculed the notion of the NFL banning promotion of his show during games. Thompson told the Las Vegas Sun last month he was excited his show, which airs Mondays, would not only cease to compete with ABC's Monday Night Football but also receive heavy promotion during NBC's Sunday night games.

"I don't see that there's any reason not to promote it," Thompson said Tuesday. "NBC should have something to say about that, because they are paying a ton of money for these games. The whole thing is absolutely absurd. My show is fiction. It's not real life."

Yet the drama also dwells around gambling, something the most recent ads from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority don't do. None of the "What Happens Here Stays Here" ads the NFL bans shows gambling or images of a casino floor. But NFL officials have said the association with the city is too close for comfort.

The dispute between Las Vegas and the NFL erupted publicly in 2004 when the league rejected ads the city wanted to buy for the Super Bowl. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told USA TODAY at that time: "Las Vegas is synonymous to the public with sports betting. Public perception of the integrity of our game is critical, and this could negatively impact that perception."

Las Vegas officials, who have railed for years against the ad policy, are taking a wait-and-see attitude. Mayor Oscar Goodman, noting the NBA is bringing its 2007 All-Star Game to Las Vegas, said the NFL should work with the city and begin exploring prospects of locating a team here.

"If they ever want to make peace with us, this is a good place to start," said the mayor, who is also chair of the tourism board.

Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of the ad firm R&R Partners, which creates and places ads for the tourism board, said if the NFL allows Las Vegas to be promoted, he wouldn't need to run Las Vegas ads because the show itself is a huge boost.

"I think we'll just stand on the sidelines of this one," he said.

jim tressler

08-08-05, 08:24 AM

What a joke.. "NFL may ban 'Vegas' promos during games" - talk about the pot calling the kettle black :) Can you imagine the NFL with no gambling.. lol

fredfa

08-08-05, 10:43 AM

Nat Geo Goes HD

By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable

National Geographic Channel will launch a high-definition network by early 2006.

The channel, co-owned by National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks, has been stockpiling HD programming for a year or more in anticipation of the new offering.

Nature footage, along with sports programming, is some of the most impressive HD footage, often used to demonstrate the sets in retail stores.

The new network will run more than 90% of National Geographic Channel’s prime time programming in HD at launch.

Since its own January 2001 launch, National Geographic Channel has grown from 10 million to 55 million subscribers, fueled lately by shows like Naked Science, MegaStructures, and Seconds From Disaster.

It has also doubled its upfront ad dollar volume over last year.

fredfa

08-08-05, 10:53 AM

Remember all those stories upon stories (upon blogs) from the Summer Press Tour?
Having withdrawal problems?
Then here’s one final look back at the madness, and a longer range view from Marc Berman:

Sizzle Fizzled

Mr. Television: By Marc Berman Mediaweek.com August 08, 2005

Well, I finally did it. I actually managed to impress my 13-year-old daughter, whom I seem to embarrass on a daily basis. I introduced Jackie and her brother Brandon to Jackie's idol, that "fashion girl from Flushing," Fran Drescher, at the WB's TCA party in Hollywood. That was the highlight of the Summer Press Tour. And, heck, shaking Geena Davis' hand wasn't bad either!

But, that was about as far as it got in terms of anything making an impression on me during the network portion of the TCA press tour. The shows just didn't have the sizzle I've come to expect from a new fall schedule.

Don't get me wrong. There were some interesting moments, like when NBC, once a hotbed of arrogance, admitted defeat. "Last season was like a colonic for us," said Kevin Reilly, entertainment president of the now fourth-place NBC. "It wasn't a lot of fun to go through at the time, but it's going to be healthy in the long run." Particularly ironic was what Reilly had to say about sitcom Joey, which would have been put out of its misery had the network not been mired in mediocrity.

"I've heard the stories pitched for the first batch of episodes this year," said Reilly. "I wish I heard ideas this good last year."

It was also interesting to see Fox entertainment head Peter Liguori field a torrent of questions about the future of Paula Abdul on American Idol, a controversy that I thought had gone away. Did she have an affair with Corey Clark? Is the investigation moving forward? Will she be returning as a judge?

Liguori did confirm that Abdul will indeed be back. "We are in the television business," he said. "I don't think anyone should be held to a standard higher than the judicial system. At this point, we have nothing that says she shouldn't be showing up for work."

ABC, which had plenty to smile about, also had plenty of explaining to do, given its surprising decision to pull Welcome to the Neighborhood before it aired. According to ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson, the decision was the network's own and not based on pressure from outside groups. "If I stopped airing things just because advocacy groups had issues with it, we would run a test pattern," he told journalists. "The show was just not right. We knew it would be provocative, but we did not anticipate that the episodic nature of it would be as problematic as it was."

New cable network Fox Reality—which will air the remaining episodes of Fox's canceled The Princes of Malibu—is considering picking up Neighborhood.

Also oddly controversial at ABC were accusations that voting for Dancing With the Stars was fixed. Speculation arose after three perfect scores from the judges lifted Kelly Monaco and her dance partner Alex Mazo to victory. (Monaco stars in one of ABC's daytime soaps.) McPherson was genuinely perplexed by this so-called scandal. "Controversy breeds ratings," I told him, right after the Q&A session. "People are talking, and that's a good thing." His response: "I hear what you're saying, but this is truly unbelievable."

WB head Peter Janollari told assembled journalists that the network, which is hoping to move beyond high school dramas, plans to "make sure we are also a destination for the 25-34 demographic, not just viewers 12-34. For every Don Johnson, there's a Jay Baruchel. For every Melanie Griffith, there's Sara Gilbert."

And for every former fan of Dawson's Creek looking for the next wave of angst-ridden WB dramas, there is always the remote. As the WB learned last season, broadening your target demographic does not happen overnight (just ask CBS). Expanding your audience requires more than one programming season.

But, as far as actual programming goes, there was very little for journalists to write home about (and because we were in Hollywood on our publications' dimes, we were required to write home often).

Although UPN might benefit by housing what could be the hottest new show of the season, Chris Rock's Everybody Hates Chris, and there was buzz for NBC's My Name Is Earl, what was lacking at the press tour this summer was The Next Big Thing. Last year, we had Desperate Housewives, Lost, CSI: NY, Joey, Kevin Hill and Veronica Mars, all shows the critics couldn't stop talking about. This year, we have Out of Practice, Surface, Freddie, Head Cases, Just Legal and Love, Inc. that will probably—hopefully —vanish by midseason.

Shaking hands with a few stars is a nice perk, but it's summer, and the press expects sizzle. Maybe that will come in midseason.

fredfa

08-08-05, 01:12 PM

Sunday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

CPanther95

08-08-05, 06:52 PM

keenan

08-08-05, 06:56 PM

Using fredfa's Fall data, I've updated my Excel spreadsheet showing the networks Fall lineups in a single matrix. If anyone knows a convenient way to distribute it, or post it online, PM me and I'll email you the file.
Can you do it in PDF format? For Excel, can't you just post it as an attachment? Or zip it and post it?

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:13 PM

I wish I could figure out a way to do that and keep it as a permanent, updated part of the Latest News section.
:(

(Maybe someday I'll learn some basic computer skills.)

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:20 PM

A poignant e-mail from Jennings: 'I'll see you soon'

By Dusty Saunders Rocky Mountain News August 8, 2005

I have an e-mail that will never be destroyed.

Last April, upon learning that Peter Jennings had been diagnosed with lung cancer, I sent him a message expressing my concern and wishing him the best.

He replied, thanking me, adding: "Two old guys hanging in there. I'll see you soon."

I'm not pretending we were bosom buddies.

But I did know Peter Jennings.

You couldn't interview Jennings without feeling that you knew him.

And I did that a lot in the course of 35 years.

His direct, look-you-in-the-eye style made you want to ask questions, get involved in a dialogue, exchange ideas, tell a few journalism war stories.

The numerous tributes flowing in will praise Jennings' worldly knowledge, intelligence, dignity and urbane demeanor.

All were part of Jennings' makeup - integral assets to his success.

We saw them regularly on his network newscasts and his documentary specials.

Still, it was Jennings' one-on-one, direct attitude that made you instantly relate to him.

Like any other high-profile electronic news star, Jennings was savvy enough to play the game, realizing the advantages of getting favorable press from the nation's TV critics.

But his ability to communicate one-on-one want far beyond the media game.

I last interviewed Jennings in the fall in the lobby at 7News.

He was making one of his regular "on- the-road" stops, anchoring his newscasts from major cities around the country - his way of breaking away from the Eastern establishment.

It was election season and Jennings was interested in the Ken Salazar-Pete Coors race. Part of his report was a Coors interview and background on the beer company.

He asked me questions - not because I was anything close to being a political expert. But he knew I was a native who might give him a bit of insight not found through the traditional political channels.

That's how Jennings worked.

Any personal mention of Jennings has to include his remarkable career.

More than any other high-profile network journalist, Jennings understood the volatile Middle East because of his extensive reporting in the area.

This historical insight was responsible for several biblical specials including a widely watched ABC prime-time documentary about the relationship between Jesus and Paul.

The response was tremendous - most of it positive.

He grinned that day in the 7News lobby. "We put Jesus and Paul on the air for three hours in prime time. And people watched!

"I'm proud of that."

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:24 PM

Some thoughts about the state of TV as a long-time critic leaves his post:
In signing off, all the best

On Television: Noel Holston Newsday August 9, 2005

As you read this, I should be about one week into a new life in Athens, Ga., where I plan to work on a book, freelance a bit for Newsday and - who knows? - try my hand at peanut farming. As I write, I am in the process of packing up my house, excavating my work space and taking a sort of memory inventory.

It's been 32 years since editors at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida decided that if I was game to cover concerts by Lawrence Welk and Jefferson Airplane, write an occasional book or movie review and interview a big star like Bob "Gilligan" Denver when he came to town to do dinner theater, I might be just the sort of pop-culture omnivore to watch over the many-headed beast known as television.

I am reminded, as I take stock, of Garrett Morris' signature character on "Saturday Night Live" - Chico Escuela, the Dominican major-leaguer whose catchphrase was,

"Baseball ... been berra berra good ... to me." That's how I feel about television.

Not that it has been all "M*A*S*H" and "Masterpiece Theatre," mind you. Every arts-entertainment beat is about three-fourths effluvium. But after so many years and so many shows, what once seemed like searing affronts to intelligence and civility are as hard to recall clearly as old parking tickets. It's the good stuff that imprinted itself, and the catalog of enriching and entertaining programming I've gotten to watch would fill page upon page.

Have no fear. I wouldn't attempt a full accounting even if the space were available. But I would like to mention a few things from my watch that I believe underscore what television is capable of.

I'm thinking about "Hill Street Blues" and the door it opened for earthier, honest, provocative dramatic series and "dramadies" - from "St. Elsewhere," "thirtysomething," "Frank's Place," "NYPD Blue" and "The Job" to "The Sopranos," "The Wire" and "Deadwood." I'm thinking about escapist wonders such as "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," the Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby shows, "Barney Miller," "Cheers," "The X Files," "The Simpsons." "Twin Peaks" and "Northern Exposure."

I'm thinking about made-for-TV movies that ennobled the unfairly maligned form - movies such as "Green Eyes," with the great Paul Winfield returning to Vietnam in search of the biracial child he fathered when he was a GI; "Promise," with James Garner as a middle-aged man who reluctantly shoulders responsibility for his mentally ill brother; and "Sybil," which revealed Sally Field as an actress to be reckoned with.

I have fond memories of miniseries from the genre's heyday - the British imports, such as "Upstairs, Downstairs," that started the trend, and homegrown sagas, such as "Roots" and "Shogun," that followed. PBS' "The American Short Story," dramatizing works by writers such F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Thurber and Katherine Anne Porter, remains one of the most exceptional anthologies TV ever produced.

On the nonfiction side, television allowed me to experience the Watergate and Iran-contra hearings and live coverage of two wars in Iraq. There were those cage-rattling "ABC News Close-Ups" of the 1970s and the ongoing journalistic ambition of "Frontline," Bill Moyers' reports on subjects as diverse as the devastation of the South Bronx and the origin of "Amazing Grace," Ken Burns' "The Civil War," his brother Ric's magnificent documentary about Coney Island, "American Masters" biographies about artists as diverse as Hank Williams and Julia Child.

Small, individual moments stand out as well. I still smile at the recollection of Gilda Radner's Emily Littella saying, "Never mind," or William Daniels' Dr. Craig on "St. Elsewhere" head-butting Ed Begley Jr.'s inattentive Dr. Ehrlich across an operating table. But the most indelible moment for me came at the end of a remarkable "All in the Family" in which Archie Bunker invested in a get-rich-quick scheme, a remote-control doorbell-ringer. He believed it was the ticket to his American dream. Alas, the inventor died before the device was perfected - it rang bells indiscriminately. In the final moments, Archie - the late, great Carroll O'Connor - stood on his stoop in Queens, hitting the button again and again. Up and down his street, doorbells went off, a dissonant symphony. Arthur Miller wrote no better for Willie Loman, yet this - this! - was weekly television.

I feel a little like Archie as I leave this astonishing, educational, maddening beat. I've tried in my reviews and columns to encourage networks to be more ambitious and responsible, and viewers to be more demanding. I hope I occasionally rang your bell.

CPanther95

08-08-05, 07:28 PM

Not sure if this will work but here's a zip file.

f44

08-08-05, 07:32 PM

fredfa,

For "N B C 2005-06 Prime-Time Schedule
and Season Premiere Dates ", a correction:

Three Wishes and Dateline NBC on Fridays have switched timeslots.

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:38 PM

Nielsen, Long a Gauge of Popularity, Fights to Preserve Its Own

By LORNE MANLY and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ The New York Times

As it does every Father's Day, Real Men Cook, a charity devoted to encouraging African-American men to stay involved with their families, held its annual street fair this June in about a dozen cities across the country.

Amid the grills and stoves serving up delicacies, corporate sponsors like State Farm Insurance and Volvo were on hand, seeking to entice new customers. And in eight of the cities, handing out pens, balloons and T-shirts from its booth, was a company that does not sell anything to the public - Nielsen Media Research, the television ratings arbiter.

Nielsen's sudden interest in Real Men Cook - along with the $100,000 it says it spent to help sponsor the Father's Day event - underscores the efforts the company has undertaken to remake its image after an industry dispute turned into a public contretemps with racial and ethnic overtones.

The fight - centering on whether Nielsen's new local ratings system severely undercounted minority viewers and ultimately hindered the developments of shows geared at those audiences - has given the company a crash course in Washington and street politics.

Since the early spring of 2004, the company has spent more than $4 million to hire some of the nation's premier lobbyists to counter a savvy campaign conducted by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, a team of longtime Clinton strategists hired by the media conglomerate, and a coalition of black and Hispanic community leaders. Before 2004, Nielsen had not spent a dime on lobbying. Nielsen has also sprinkled more than $200,000 among minority organizations like the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the Dragon Boat Festival in San Francisco, according to Nielsen officials.

The lobbying and outreach efforts represent a remarkable departure for Nielsen, a company not particularly known for its responsiveness to complaints and which prefers to settle disagreements with television network and advertising clients in private.

But Nielsen executives say they had no choice. "It's pretty rare for a business issue to turn into a long-term political attack by one of your clients," said Susan D. Whiting, president and chief executive of Nielsen.

Nielsen has experienced some success in the public relations wars, picking up the support of prominent black leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and working out reconciliations with former adversaries like Univision Communications, the Spanish-language broadcaster.

But Nielsen still faces a battle in Washington, where lawmakers are considering measures that would complicate its business.

Nielsen's wake-up call came in the early spring of 2004. The company, a division of the Dutch company VNU, was in the early stages of introducing a new way to measure local television audiences, and the system had just arrived in New York.

The technology, called local people meters, replaced set-top boxes and paper diaries, and offered advertisers and TV networks something they had never had before: detailed local demographic data every day of the year about who was watching which shows and in what numbers.

But the test results in New York alarmed executives at News Corporation. The Fox and UPN affiliates that the company owns suddenly found themselves staring at seemingly inexplicable drop-offs in viewing, particularly double-digit percentage declines among minority audiences. Those two station groups carry shows that attract significant minority audiences.

With television advertising revenue in local markets nearing $22.5 billion a year, any ratings decline would wreak havoc on the station groups' bottom lines as local people meters reached the country's largest markets.

The News Corporation asked Nielsen to postpone the official start of the service in New York and to fine-tune the technology. Nielsen declined, arguing that while certain programs may have lost minority viewers, the meters more accurately measured actual viewing choices than before, and those viewers had just migrated elsewhere, mainly to cable networks.

But the News Corporation and its allies - whose ranks have grown to include corporations like the Tribune Company - said that explanation did not answer a more fundamental question: Why were the people meters failing to register the viewing preferences of many black and Hispanic homes?

Nielsen executives said these omissions had nothing to do with race or ethnicity, but occurred in homes with the greatest number of people and TV sets, where viewers fail to key in their preferences.

Nielsen soon found itself overwhelmed by public criticism. A newly formed coalition called Don't Count Us Out appeared in the spring of 2004, attacking Nielsen in print and television ads, at news conferences and demonstrations, and in phone calls and e-mail messages. The Rev. Al Sharpton berated Ms. Whiting in her office.

"There was so much controversy in the local press in New York, it was beginning to impact our business," said Ms. Whiting, citing in particular articles in The New York Post, a Murdoch paper. While Nielsen's customers are the advertisers, their agencies and the broadcast and cable networks, the company needs viewers who agree to be monitored, and the buzz saw of negative publicity could endanger the company's recruitment of Nielsen families.

Nielsen turned to a coterie of experienced lobbyists and media strategists, including those with ties to Democrats and minority leaders around the country, according to Nielsen and those it hired.

One of the first people Nielsen approached, according to company officials, was Bill Lynch, a veteran political operative in New York City Democratic circles who was once a senior political adviser to the city's first black mayor, David N. Dinkins.

In 2004 alone, Nielsen paid nearly $1.35 million - about half of the $2.8 million total it spent that year - to Mr. Lynch's firm, Bill Lynch Associates, according to federal filings.

Mr. Lynch did not return phone calls, but Ms. Whiting called him "an invaluable resource" who introduced Nielsen executives to elected officials and helped them decide which black and Hispanic leaders they needed to approach. Mr. Lynch phoned one of his closest associates, Representative Charles B. Rangel, a Manhattan Democrat and one of New York's most prominent black politicians. Mr. Lynch asked him to meet with Ms. Whiting, Mr. Rangel said.

He did, and ultimately - along with Ms. Whiting - announced the creation of an independent task force that would look into ways of assuring the accurate counting of African-American and Latino viewers.

"They've done a whole lot of things to show that their intentions are sincere," Mr. Rangel said.

Nielsen's counteroffensive did not stop there. The company also turned to Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, a lobbying firm in Washington that coordinated the campaign in the capital, where the Nielsen critics originally found receptive hearings from Democrats and, as the battle has shifted to the legislative front, from leading Republicans.

In one victory for Nielsen detractors, Senator Conrad Burns, Republican of Montana, recently introduced the FAIR (Fairness, Accuracy, Inclusivity and Responsiveness in Ratings) Act, which would require that any new services offered by ratings companies -namely Nielsen - be accredited by the Media Ratings Council, a relatively weak industry oversight organization, before they can be put in place.

In 2004, Nielsen paid Wexler & Walker $260,000.

Nielsen also took its campaign to California, where it hired Joseph R. Cerrell of Cerrell Associates in Los Angeles to handle its media and lobbying campaign there. In turn, Mr. Cerrell hired several consultants, including Karen Waters, the daughter of Representative Maxine Waters, one of Los Angeles's most prominent black Democratic leaders, who people on both sides say is a Nielsen defender.

Nielsen critics have privately questioned whether the hiring of Karen Waters was intended to please the congresswoman. Mr. Cerrell dismissed that notion, saying he had hired her for her strong ties in the black community. "The mother was already on Nielsen's side before I got involved," said Mr. Cerrell.

Neither the congresswoman nor her daughter returned phone calls seeking comment.

Nielsen's allies have also sought to play to wariness among minorities toward Mr. Murdoch, whose News Corporation owns the Fox News Channel, a cable news network that appeals to conservative audiences. "It's interesting that News Corporation is taking an interest in protecting minorities," said Mr. Jackson. "It's not their reputation."

Gary Ginsberg, a News Corporation spokesman, disputed that contention, saying: "News Corporation has been a consistent supporter of minority opportunity in hiring, programming and philanthropy."

The advice Nielsen collected appears to have paid off, in some cases. Mr. Jackson noted approvingly that Nielsen had made efforts to reach out to blacks and Hispanics - including the sponsorship of a workshop on its new ratings system at a recent Rainbow/PUSH convention in Chicago. Nielsen, whose monopoly status has frustrated its television and advertising clients for decades, has become increasingly vigorous in finding out what concerns clients may have. Last Thursday, Ms. Whiting was in Chicago for the first meeting of a new group of eight of the biggest advertisers in the country.

Despite Nielsen's moves, the sniping shows no signs of abating. Nielsen has accused Don't Count Us Out of being little more than a front organization for News Corporation. The founders of the coalition deny that.

Tom Herwitz, president of station operations for the Fox television stations group, said Nielsen's local people meter system posed a potential barrier to the success of shows geared in part to minority audiences, like UPN's forthcoming "Everybody Hates Chris," produced by Chris Rock.

"One of the biggest obstacles to 'Everybody Hates Chris' becoming the breakout television show of the year is the fact that 40 percent of its core audience isn't being measured by Nielsen in these top markets," said Mr. Herwitz, noting that the News Corporation owns nine UPN affiliates in cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Mr. Herwitz said Nielsen should find better uses for its money than a media and lobbying campaign. "The reason they have to spend so much money is that they are so wrong on the facts," he said. "If they had spent the money fixing the problem, then all their other problems would have gone away."

keenan

08-08-05, 07:38 PM

Not sure if this will work but here's a zip file.
That works perfect.

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:45 PM

Thanks, f44, got it now.

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:51 PM

BC Recuses 'The Law Firm' After Two Weeks

By Brian Ford Sullivan

LOS ANGELES thefutoncritic.com---NBC has quietly yanked its David E. Kelley-produced reality series "The Law Firm" after just two weeks on the air.

Repeats of "Will & Grace" and "Scrubs" are set to fill the Thursday, 9:00/8:00c hour this week and next according to scheduling updates released by the network today.

A lackluster 5.08 million viewers tuned into "Firm's" premiere on July 28, building off its repeat lead-ins "Joey" (4.22 million) and "Will & Grace" (4.37 million). Said numbers dipped to 4.04 million (or 20.47%) for its second episode on August 4, according to preliminary Nielsen data, down from both "Joey" (4.36 million) and "Will & Grace" (4.09 million).

It's not clear if NBC plans to reschedule the show's six remaining installments for a later date or burn them off on cable sibling Bravo, which has been repurposing the episodes.

fredfa

08-08-05, 07:59 PM

UPN Announces “Veronica Mars” Start Date

UPN today announced that “Veronica Mars” will begin its season at 9 PM ET/PT Sept. 28.

This minor change has been incorporated in the UPN schedule near the bottom of Latest News, the first post in this thread.

fredfa

08-08-05, 10:23 PM

AN APPRECIATION
Shaped by, and for, the news
Field reporting prepared Peter Jennings to be an analytical anchorman.
It's hard to imagine his like coming along again.

Regarding Media: Tim Rutten The Los Angeles Times August 9, 2005

Peter Jennings' untimely death Sunday put a period to the era in which network anchors derived their "authority" from journalistic experience, as well as on-camera presence.

If television viewers are unlikely to see his equal again, it has less to do with Jennings' unique personal qualities — formidable as they were — than with the melancholy state of the three broadcast networks' news operations. Years of shortsighted and unremitting cost-cutting by their corporate proprietors have made them shells of what they once were. Among the network and cable news divisions, only CNN maintains anything like a full-service foreign reporting operation; increasingly, even the others' commitment to comprehensive domestic coverage is withering.

So if ABC wanted to cultivate another Jennings — someone with a sophisticated reportorial background and an engaging broadcast persona — it simply lacks the organizational ability to do it.

In 1965, for example, when the then-26-year-old Jennings had a disastrous first go at anchoring ABC's nightly newscast, he described himself as "simply unqualified." To remedy that, he spent more than a decade reporting from ABC bureaus in the Middle East and Europe. By the time he was named as one of three co-anchors of the network's "World News Tonight" in 1978, he was ABC's chief foreign correspondent.

Can anybody name the person who occupies that assignment today? Perhaps more important, can anyone imagine one of the current crop of television news "personalities" admitting he or she is unqualified to do anything from brain surgery to stand-up comedy?

Though wealth and celebrity came with his anchorman's chair, Jennings never lost his field reporter's legs. It seems a commonplace observation to make, but constantly gathering facts and, then, thinking about them in some systematic way is what prepares journalists to respond intelligently to the demands of breaking news. Most recently, many Americans saw Jennings do just that in the more than 60 hours of sober and reflective broadcasting he did in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 atrocities.

Monday, his former colleague Barbara Walters was among those who singled out Jennings' nearly unmatched ability to ad lib smartly and often eloquently while covering developing stories. Canadian news anchor Lloyd Robertson said that "Peter brought a high quality of literature to electronic journalism. There was nobody who could put things together on the air as easily and as rapidly as he did."

'You never know when'

Part of that was mental agility, part unremitting attention to his work. During the mid-1990s, my wife, Leslie Abramson, was a legal analyst for ABC News. While on business in New York, she ran into Jennings, who invited her to join a group of network executives and broadcasters that night at the Committee to Protect Journalists' annual dinner.

During the course of the essentially ceremonial evening with its introductions and speeches, Leslie noticed Jennings repeatedly reaching into an inside coat pocket for a small, bound notebook in which he made notations.

"Are you taking notes on this?" she asked.

"No," Jennings replied. "I write down thoughts as they occur to me. You never know when you're going to need a good idea."

Relentless and inquisitive preparation was one thing that distinguished Jennings' journalism, but so did a perspective that actually was quite singular. The cool engaged-but-somewhat-apart persona that Jennings brought to his on-screen work was as much as matter of intellect as it was temperament. If you had commissioned his portrait, the ideal artist would have been one of those early German romantics — say, Caspar David Friedrich — whose subjects were neither too close nor too far off. Jennings the journalist was quintessentially a man of the middle distance.

Some of that may have been attributable to his Canadian origins. American attitudes toward the rest of the world tend to oscillate between hysterical triumphalism and lacerating self-loathing. Around both poles, what tends to be lost is the fact that there are other people in the world who live their own lives and act for reasons of their own. As a physically vast nation with a tiny population, most of which lives hard up against the United States, Canadians tend to approach other peoples and countries with a wry combination of self-deprecation and self-assertion. Those qualities were among the things that made Jennings a superb foreign correspondent.

Shortly after 9/11, Jennings became a naturalized American, though he retained his Canadian citizenship. In an interview with the Canadian Press at the time, he explained his decision: "I am a Canadian. My mother, like many of her generation, always found a reason to resent the United States and defined herself as a Canadian by being not American." In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, however, Jennings experienced his connection to other Americans in an urgent new way. "I felt more attached to them than I perhaps had anticipated in emotional terms," he said. "This is my home."

As television news increasingly trades on attitude and entertainment rather than reporting and analysis, one of the things that will be missed most about Jennings and his work is the respect he showed for American viewers. Without intending to, he once summed that quality up in an interview with the Toronto Star:

"There are a lot of people in this business who believe that part of our job is to reassure the public every night. I subscribe to leaving people with essentially a rough draft of history. Some days it is reassuring. Some days it is absolutely destructive."

One of the tragedies of our time is that the corporate time-servers who now direct the course of broadcast journalism do not share Peter Jennings' faith that American viewers are entitled to that respect.

fredfa

08-08-05, 10:32 PM

Reluctant ABC Faces Its Nights After Jennings

By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times August 9, 2005

It is known in the news business as an advance obituary - a report that can be published or broadcast on short notice should an important figure die on deadline.

Yet, as it became clear to his closest colleagues at ABC News that Peter Jennings appeared to be losing his battle with lung cancer, the network chose not to begin assembling an extended video compilation in anticipation of his death.

Indeed, after Charles Gibson announced on ABC just after 11:30 Sunday night that Mr. Jennings had died, his colleagues on "Good Morning America" worked through the night to prepare the two-hour morning program that would pay tribute to his four decades at the network.

When asked to characterize the news division's collective attitude in recent days and weeks, Paul Slavin, a senior vice president, said, "There was a combination of hope and not wanting to hurt the family."

Senior ABC executives, as well as those of the network's parent, the Walt Disney Company, have adopted a similar wait-and-see approach in seeking to address the most crucial question facing the network - who will succeed Mr. Jennings as anchor of "World News Tonight."

A colleague of Mr. Jennings's who has been apprised of the network's efforts said that while there had been some discussions in recent weeks, no succession plan had been drafted. But it was not just that the executives - including Robert A. Iger, the incoming chief executive of Disney; Anne Sweeney, president of the ABC-Disney Television Group, and David Westin, president of ABC News - did not want Mr. Jennings or his family to believe they had lost hope.

They are also of the belief, this colleague said, that the calculus involved was incredibly intricate.

"We'll be addressing quite directly the succession issue at the appropriate time," Mr. Westin said yesterday. "Right now is not the time."

For the foreseeable future, the news division will compensate for Mr. Jennings's absence in much the way it has since he departed his broadcast on April 5.

Mr. Gibson will keep his morning duties while alternating in the evening with Elizabeth Vargas, an anchor of "20/20," and, to a lesser extent, Bob Woodruff, who is the anchor of the network's Saturday news broadcast, and Terry Moran, the network's chief White House correspondent and anchor of its Sunday-evening news broadcast, Mr. Slavin said.

But Mr. Gibson, who is 62 and has at times appeared weary on the air in recent weeks, can only keep up that pace for so long, as Mr. Slavin himself acknowledged in an interview in April.

At stake, ultimately, are tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue, to say nothing of the viewing habits of several million people. However it resolves its dilemma, ABC will be signaling whether it believes the center of power within its news division has shifted from the evening news program to "Good Morning America."

No one in a position of authority at ABC was willing to talk for attribution yesterday about possible successors to Mr. Jennings. But those who spoke on the condition of anonymity, so as not to offend Mr. Jennings's family, said that the front-runner was probably Mr. Gibson, who is among the most recognizable anchors within the news division.

But moving Mr. Gibson from the morning shift to the evening would be fraught with risk, not least from a business perspective. For two years, "Good Morning America" has been steadily whittling away at the once commanding lead held by the "Today" program on NBC - a lead of nearly two million viewers a day, on average, four years ago, that dwindled to 45,000 viewers for one week this spring.

This fall - buoyed by the hit shows "Desperate Housewives' and "Lost" - "Good Morning America" is arguably better positioned than it has been in a decade to overtake "Today," at least for a week in the ratings, if not more. The prize for any sustained victory would be lucrative: with annual, estimated profits of nearly $250 million annually, "Today" is the most valuable program on television. "Good Morning America" is believed to lag behind by tens of millions.

The evening news programs are nowhere near the profit centers that the morning shows are.

That financial reality would argue for keeping Mr. Gibson where he is, in the morning, alongside his co-hosts, Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts, and leave it to someone else to do battle with Brian Williams of NBC in the evening. Should it decide to do so, however, ABC would be acknowledging that the morning programs had supplanted the evening news in the pecking order of network news.

At least for now, the belief within the network is that Ms. Sawyer is so intent on overtaking Katie Couric and Matt Lauer of "Today" in the ratings that she is not seeking the evening news job.

In the interview yesterday, Mr. Westin acknowledged that the profile of "Good Morning America" within the news division had risen mightily.

"In the last five or six years, particularly when Charlie and Diane went to 'Good Morning America,' morning programs have become more important in relation to other news programs than they had before," Mr. Westin said. "That doesn't take anything away from 'World News Tonight' or 'Nightline.' "

For now, viewers can expect the network's news lineup to remain unshuffled. Much to the network's relief, the platoon substituting for Mr. Jennings has remained within striking distance of Mr. Williams on NBC, the ratings leader. Bob Schieffer, the interim anchor on CBS, is a distant third. "There's no level of urgency because things are going well," Mr. Slavin said.

Another factor working against moving Mr. Gibson permanently to the evening is his age. At 62, he is five years younger than Mr. Jennings, and outside the demographic that advertisers most want to reach. By contrast, Ms. Vargas is 42; Mr. Woodruff, 43; and Mr. Moran, 45. Mr. Williams is 46.

Ultimately, the decision of how to replace Mr. Jennings will be made by Mr. Westin and Ms. Sweeney, in consultation with Mr. Iger, their colleague said.

And one question they are expected to consider is which of the candidates could best be expected to approach Mr. Jennings's marathon performance in the aftermath of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Beginning that day, and continuing for several days thereafter, Mr. Jennings logged more than 60 hours in the anchor chair.

By that standard, the executives could settle on a compromise, the colleague said yesterday: Mr. Gibson would remain in the morning, but serve as "the face" of ABC News on big, breaking stories. That notion was broached in an article in last week's New Yorker .

In ABC News headquarters yesterday, though, discussions of such contingencies were supplanted by meditations on Mr. Jennings's legacy. At 3 p.m., work at the news division essentially halted, as hundreds of employees flocked to Mr. Jennings's empty anchor chair on the building's third floor to hear informal remarks by Mr. Westin.

As bureaus in Los Angeles, London and Washington tuned in by satellite, Dr. Timothy Johnson, the network's medical correspondent, and an assistant minister at a Boston-area church, offered a benediction.

A few hours later, Mr. Gibson led the network's evening newscast, which was mostly an obituary. Though it retained its title, "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings," the network said it had not resolved what the program would be called beginning tonight.

fredfa

08-08-05, 10:34 PM

Among the Chatty Anchors, a Voice of Civility

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY The New York Times August 9, 2005

He was not warm or cozily familiar. He was cool and even a little supercilious. If you invited Peter Jennings into your living room, he would be likely to raise an eyebrow at the stains on the coffee table. He was not America's best friend or kindly uncle. But in an era of chatty newscasters, jousting analysts and hyperactive commentators, he was a rare voice of civility.

That old-school formality is what will most be missing on the network news. On ABC, Mr. Jennings was a smooth, sophisticated anchor who could gracefully wing his way through the rawest breaking crises, from the Challenger explosion in 1986 to the Sept. 11 attacks. But so can many of the men and women who have been groomed to take his place someday.

What Mr. Jennings had that will be harder to replace was a worldliness that was rooted in his personality and also in his rich background of experience in the field.

Mr. Jennings, who died on Sunday, worked hard his entire life to overcome a flighty beginning: he never attended college, and got his start on Canadian television with the help of his father, a senior executive at the Canadian Broadcasting Company. Mr. Jennings became famous as the host of a dance show for teenagers and was only 26 when ABC News recruited him to be an anchor, more on the basis of his good looks and smooth delivery than anything else. He made up for it later, working as a correspondent in Vietnam, Beirut and Europe. His colleagues teased him about his dashing trench coats, but nobody looked better in Burberry or in black tie.

He took himself and the news seriously, so seriously that after the networks cut back on convention coverage in 2004, he insisted on anchoring those events gavel to gavel on ABC's tiny digital cable channel.

When bad things happened to the country, he was reassuringly calm and self-possessed, delivering live coverage of Sept. 11 without alarm or emotionalism. (And those few moments when he let some feeling show, choking a little and urging viewers to "call your children," brought home the gravity of the attack all the more poignantly.)

When bad things happened to him, he showed the same aplomb. When Mr. Jennings announced that he had to step down to be treated for advanced lung cancer in April, he shunned any hint of self-pity, thanking viewers for their support in the most reticent way possible.

"I will continue to do the broadcast; on good days my voice will not always be like this," he said, straining to sound jaunty. "Certainly, it's been a long time. And I hope it goes without saying that a journalist who doesn't value - deeply - the audience's loyalty should be in another line of work."

Mr. Jennings was not the last of the great white male news presenters, though it might have seemed that way after Tom Brokaw retired from NBC, Dan Rather resigned from CBS and CBS's chairman, Les Moonves, declared that the era of Voice of God anchors was over.

Brian Williams on NBC is as natty, self-possessed and buttoned-down as Mr. Brokaw and Mr. Jennings combined. Charles Gibson, who stepped in most often to replace Mr. Jennings when he began cancer treatment, proved a comfortingly familiar, competent face. For now at least, Bob Schieffer at CBS has introduced a no-nonsense note of the elder statesman after the nightly roller-coaster ride that was Dan Rather.

All of them remain in the classic anchor mold, but not one of them has the hauteur and dignity that Mr. Jennings brought to the news. Network newscasts have lost much of their audience and authority, but throughout all the setbacks, erosions and even his own fatal illness, he never lost his uncommon touch.

fredfa

08-08-05, 10:38 PM

Death took ABC News 'conscience'
Jennings' colleagues recall the late anchor as exacting, sensitive and insatiably curious

By Matea Gold Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 9, 2005 (Times staff writer Henry Weinstein contributed to this report)

Anchor Peter Jennings' death was met Monday with a cascade of sorrowful appreciations from national leaders, colleagues and viewers around the country as anguished ABC employees struggled to absorb the impact of his loss on the network.

Jennings — who died at home in New York Sunday night four months after he was diagnosed as having lung cancer — was hailed as a fiercely determined newsman who infused his broadcasts with a sophisticated sensibility honed by years as a foreign correspondent. Often demanding, he occasionally frustrated co-workers with his relentless probing, an approach many credit with raising the standards of ABC News.

He was lauded by everyone from President Bush — who called him "a part of the life of a lot of our fellow citizens" — to more than 25,000 viewers who posted messages on the ABC News website expressing their grief at his death.

"One word describes Peter Jennings on air: Class," wrote one. "He shall be missed."

With Jennings' death, retired NBC anchor Tom Brokaw said that he felt "as if I've lost a member of my family," while former CBS anchor Dan Rather praised Jennings as "one of the most talented, caring and successful electronic journalists of all time."

The debonair broadcaster anchored "World News Tonight" for the last 22 years, half of his four-decade-long career at ABC. As managing editor of the evening broadcast, he oversaw each story that went on the air, personally editing nearly every story script.

"In many respects, Peter is the news division," said Paul Slavin, senior vice president of worldwide news-gathering for ABC News. "There was never a decision that was made without considering what Peter thought about it.... He was, in a way, the persistent conscience."

Jennings' death forces ABC to confront a challenge that NBC and CBS have faced in the last year: settling on a successor for an established anchor. Brokaw's handoff of the "NBC Nightly News" to Brian Williams in December was long-planned and widely praised as a seamless transition. CBS has tapped veteran Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer to temporarily replace Rather, who left the anchor desk in March, while the network mulls over a new format for its broadcast.

ABC executives said Monday that no decisions have yet been made about who will take over for Jennings. For now, "Good Morning America" co-host Charles Gibson and "20/20" co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas will continue to anchor "World News Tonight" on a temporary basis.

Network officials had hoped that the changes at the other networks this year would give Jennings a chance to regain the title of the top-rated evening newscast, a position he held from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. But after the anchor, a longtime smoker, learned he was fighting lung cancer in April, he immediately began chemotherapy.

"He has left us with a phenomenal foundation, and it is a foundation that we will move forward with," Slavin said. "The corporeal part of Peter may not be here, but his thoughts and his ideas, his demands for excellence and his heart will stay here."

"Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel, a longtime friend who joined ABC a year before Jennings did, called his death "the passing of an era."

"You can't possibly overstate the loss to ABC News, yet at the same time there are a lot of very talented young people who work at the network," Koppel said. "I hope people who take over his desk will always keep Peter's example in mind."

As an exacting editor, Jennings pushed himself and those around him relentlessly, often asking correspondents to repeatedly rewrite their story scripts.

"He drove everyone very hard, including and perhaps especially, himself," said congressional correspondent Linda Douglass. "He involved himself in every detail of our news coverage, from deciding which stories were covered to how they were covered to how the stories were written. At ABC News, it felt as though he was in our bloodstream."

Paul Friedman, a longtime executive producer of "World News Tonight," said Jennings had an "insatiable curiosity."

"He was a perfectionist, which made him terrific to work with in the sense that it was challenging all the time, and occasionally difficult," Friedman said.

Jennings' drive was rooted partly in his embarrassment that he never completed high school or college, according to friends and former colleagues. Wherever he traveled for stories — which was often — the anchor brought with him a suitcase full of books to read.

"He felt he had to prove himself," said CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman, who worked with Jennings for more than a decade as a senior producer at ABC. "You always got the impression that he felt he was going to be exposed as a fraud any minute because he didn't finish school. He just couldn't rest. He never realized how good he was."

Colleagues said Jennings also brought a sentimental, compassionate approach to stories that he rarely let viewers see. Slavin said the anchor would push producers to home in on the emotional core of the news, his voice breaking as he discussed a mother's loss of her son in Iraq, for example.

"He is one of the most sensitive, emotional anchors in the business," said Slavin, repeatedly referring to Jennings in the present tense.

Up until his final days, Jennings believed he could win his battle with lung cancer, friends said.

"Frankly, I thought he would as well, because I knew what a brave, fierce competitor he was," Rather said. "But the odds were too long."

f44

08-08-05, 11:57 PM

The tribue to Jennings has been moved to Wednesday at 8-10pm ET.

fredfa

08-09-05, 12:06 AM

Cable closes in on reality-saturated networks

By Gary Levin USA TODAY

Summer doldrums have spread from the multiplex to living-room TVs.

The major broadcast networks are flopping with nearly every reality series they can find, and they're counting down a long six weeks to the fall season.

Meanwhile, cable programmers continue to gain ground by doling out their biggest helpings yet of network-style series: The Closer, The 4400, Monk, Rescue Me, Into the West and Over There.

While broadcasters revel in cheesy reality series, "the place in summertime for original scripted shows is cable," says Turner Broadcasting research chief Jack Wakshlag. "It's almost like a flip" from the regular TV season, when cable often takes a back seat.

And their bets are paying off. Although the major networks still outdraw most cable programming, more aggressive summer lineups at TNT, USA, FX and MTV are in some cases beating new broadcast shows, a previously unthinkable trend. And the top cable channels now outdraw WB and UPN.

"Cable networks have gotten stronger in introducing original content," says analyst Shari Anne Brill of media firm Carat.

An analysis of Nielsen Media Research data shows that the six broadcast networks are down 5% in viewership from last summer, while basic cable channels collectively increased their audience by 6%. However, the networks, which always lose audience after May, are down the same proportion this year as last (about 40%).

It's not that broadcasters are completely rudderless. But the few shows that did work — such as ABC's surprise hit Dancing with the Stars— came and went quickly, providing only a modest overall boost.

Others, such as Brat Camp and So You Think You Can Dance, opened strongly but faded, while high-profile shows such as CBS' Rock Star: INXS never gained traction.

CBS' reliable Big Brother, now in its sixth season, is off an average 10% from last summer. And last summer's top show, CBS' The Amazing Race, is being saved as a weapon for the regular season.

"It all comes down to hits, both in season and in summer," says ABC researcher Larry Hyams, noting the lack of a Survivor or American Idol that ignited summers past. "The only big show has been Dancing with the Stars, and that's been off the air for (five) weeks."

The biggest losers for June and July were NBC — down 12% from last summer, reflecting the network's overall collapse — and CBS, off 10% because of Big Brother's slippage and bigger declines for repeats of shows such as CSI: Miami and Everybody Loves Raymond, each down about 20%.

But ABC and Fox are up. Both networks share the top five series among their target young-adult viewers: both dancing shows, Brat Camp, Hell's Kitchen and Family Guy.

Top original summer series

Network Show: Total viewers (millions)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC) 16.8
Brat Camp (ABC) 9.8
So You Think ... Dance (Fox) 9.3
Big Brother (Tue) (CBS) 8.2
Big Brother (Thu) (CBS) 7.8

Cable Show: Total viewers (millions)
The Closer (TNT) 5.3
Monk (USA) 5.1
Into the West (TNT miniseries) 4.5
Real World XVI (MTV) 3.9
Wanted (TNT) 3.7
Source: Nielsen Media Research; networks May 30-July 31; cable through Aug. 3

adash66

08-09-05, 02:29 AM

zap2it.com
(Monday, August 08 05:13 PM)
By Daniel Fienberg
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) As viewers of the most recent season of "Project Greenlight" will recall, Matt Damon came across as the great defender of quality over commerce, fighting a legion of studio suits to try to select the best script and director for show's third film. Although Damon's support helped land the eccentric, but talented John Gulager the directing gig, he was powerless to prevent Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton's "Feast" from winning the script competition.

Many months after the choices were made, Damon has softened somewhat on his losses.

"Even though, by their own admission, the people who voted for that script didn't think it was the best script, it probably was the smartest movie to choose because it does, in an odd way, give the project the greatest chance of surviving, because the movie might actually make money," says Damon, on the promotional circuit for his upcoming Terry Gilliam romp "The Brothers Grimm."

Despite the long delay between the show's completion and the pending "Feast" release (previous "Greenlight" movies were rushed into theaters almost immediately after the shows ended), Damon has already heard what constitutes enthusiasm from Dimension Films bigwig Bob Weinstein.

"Bob's gonna bring it out at Christmas and he was like [transitions into a spot-on Bob Weinstein impression], 'I released this movie 'The Darkness' last year at Christmas. It's the worst movie I've ever seen in my life, this f***ing 'Darkness,' but it's a great slot. 'The Darkness' made 22 million. So I'm putting 'Feast' in the 'Darkness' slot,'" Damon is clearly getting into it now, as he continues to mimic the Weinstein brother. "'F***ing 'Feast' is 'Citizen Kane' compared to 'The Darkness.'"

Several points of clarification: The most recently announced release date for "Feast" is Jan. 20, 2006, though it may yet get the Yuletime spirit. Weinstein did, indeed, release "Darkness," which starred Anna Paquin, last Christmas, over a year-and-a-half after it came out in the rest of the world. The negative pick-up, which was budgeted at just over $10 million, did manage to make $22 million domestically. As for Weinstein's critical appraisal of the film, it has a robust 95 percent "Rotten" rating over at RottenTomatoes.com.

It would be very difficult for "Feast" not to surpass "Stolen Summer" (roughly $119,841 domestic) and "The Battle of Shaker Heights" ($279,282 domestic) as the most successful film in "Project Greenlight" history. However, the transition from HBO to Bravo wasn't a smooth one for "Greenlight." Bravo never figured out how to promote the show and had difficulties keeping it in a stable time period and the resulting ratings were painfully low.

"The show was really good this year and yet we had horrible horrible ratings," Damon acknowledges. "When we were in conversation with Bravo, they were like, 'Look, the show is good,' we got the best reviews of any show on television, and they said, 'But there's a certain number,' and they showed us the number and I'm not a TV guy, but they said, 'Look, this number, no matter what, we can't bring the show back... This is just terrible, we can't justify keeping it on air.'"

A recent Emmy nomination in reality television category may give the show a minor boost and if "Feast," a creature feature starring Navi Rawat and Krista Allen, can turn a profit, Damon thinks "Project Greenlight" might somehow be salvaged.

"It's up in the air right now," he says. "I suspect if the movie does well enough, maybe Bob would help with it, maybe there's some way to get them all to do it one more time, but it's on a respirator."

adash66

08-09-05, 02:33 AM

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It seems fitting that someone who lives out of a custom-built bus for nearly half the year should change employers frequently.

Yes, football analyst John Madden is on the move again, jumping from ABC to NBC for the 2006 season, thanks to the Peacock network's new six-year deal to broadcast Sunday-night NFL contests as well as Super and Pro Bowls in 2009 and 2012.

This move is only the latest in what has turned out to be a well-traveled broadcasting career for the former Oakland Raiders coach. After quitting the Raiders following the 1979 season, Madden signed to do four games as an analyst for CBS in 1980, a stint that lasted 14 years. During this time, Madden established a reputation as an insightful and entertaining color man and won 13 Emmys as Outstanding Sports Personality/Analyst.

When FOX landed the NFC package in 1994, Madden, boothmate Pat Summerall and just about the entire CBS production team followed. Madden's stint at Fox ended in 2003, when he jumped to ABC to pair with Al Michaels on "Monday Night Football" telecasts.

This Monday, Aug. 8, he begins his final season in the "MNF" booth with ABC's annual telecast of the Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio, a contest that pits former NFL rushing champion Ricky Williams and the Miami Dolphins against the Chicago Bears, who hope they have a hotshot runner of their own in top draft pick Cedric Benson.

At this writing, it was unknown whether Michaels would be joining Madden at NBC.

"I didn't even imagine that I would do it the next year," Madden said in a recent conference call with reporters of his original decision to give broadcasting a try in 1980. "It was something -- when I first got out of coaching I was going to just kind of take a year off and do nothing. And then, I decided that I would do a few games. I think my first contract at CBS was for four games.

"And I did those four games with different broadcasters and production groups, and then CBS had the Super Bowl, and I was part of the pregame show, and I really enjoyed it. And I think because I enjoyed it so much, that's the reason I never went back to coaching. But you know, as coaches, we always take everything one year at a time. And I guess I did -- no, I never saw any of this coming, really."

At 69, Madden is at an age when most have been retired for several years. But his well-known passion for football remains unwavering, and that led to his decision to sign a contract that will take him through his 75th birthday.

"This is something that I love," Madden explains, "and I've loved it all of my life, and it's part of me. I mean, it's what I do, it's who I am. And my whole, you know, life is based around six months of football, six months on the road, six months away from football. And it's something that's real. It's something that's true. It's a feeling that goes through your body. It's not just something that you have to say, 'Now I have to do this, I have to go to work. I have to talk myself into this.' I never have to talk myself into this."

Also coming aboard at NBC is former Fox analyst and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, who will work as a studio analyst and co-host alongside Bob Costas.

fredfa

08-09-05, 02:38 AM

Reality Check: Players', Butkus' season begins in front of ESPN cameras

By Chico Harlan Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Eighty-odd players formed orderly rows, a giant grid of teenage sweat. They stood and stretched, and coaches paced through the rows counting off every movement. All orderly. All fresh. All hopeful. The quintessential snapshot of high school sports, unfailingly familiar, generation to generation.

This is how high school football season begins -- quietly and anonymously, in the August heat. Only yesterday, when the Montour Spartans began summer two-a-days, a few differences poked into the snapshot.

Three camera crews, on site to begin filming for an ESPN reality television show (debuting Sept. 20, titled "Bound for Glory") that follows Montour throughout the season, aimed to capture every moment. When the team huddled, oversized microphones lurked overhead.

At one point, a Montour equipment manager approached the team kicker, practicing his field goals, and told him, "If it's not a Reebok football, put it in the bag." Every player donned a practice jersey with his last name on the back. And perhaps most important, NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus paced from drill to drill, spending his first day as Montour's official head coach.

The Spartans practiced for nearly six hours yesterday, all for the sake of winning football games. They churned through sprints and slammed their bodies into sleds and never slowed to more than a jog -- even when going to get drinks of water. But it became tangibly apparent yesterday: This year, Montour's mission -- to rebuild a team than managed one win last season -- will double as entertainment for millions.

"I don't think we can honestly say we gave it 100 percent today," Butkus told the team after practice, as microphones leaned in.

During most of the afternoon practice, Butkus remained quiet, almost subdued. He admitted, when the players jogged to the locker room, that he still needed some time to develop comfort with his new job. After all, he's cautious about encroaching on the territory of Lou Cerro, who was Montour's official head coach until the reality show installed Butkus. The head coaching position, players, the playbook -- everything's new for Butkus.

"I know about 12 players so far," Butkus said, "but I don't know how to pronounce any of their names."

Only as the second practice session ended did Butkus become more animated. He'd spent the first hours of the day watching and evaluating, "trying not to step on any coach's feet." Then, Montour broke into an 11-on-11 drill, mostly with first-string players. Butkus took a spot in the middle of the field, positioned behind the secondary. His job? Watch the defense. And suddenly, he was no longer an uncertain rookie coach. His legend certified his authority.

"The first half [of the day] I was just trying to get my bearings, because I don't know how well this is perceived -- that I'm here, that there's this show," Butkus said. "But then I just said screw it, and if I saw something, I'd tell them."

Still, he stayed calm. The yelling erupted from other coaches, but Butkus -- his thick mustache shadowed by a white Reebok hat -- opted mostly for subtle one-on-one instruction. At least for the day, he played good cop. "Well," Cerro said, chuckling, "it's early yet."

When one cornerback was beaten badly on a deep pass, Butkus ambled toward the embarrassed player and asked what happened. The player had frozen on a pump fake. Butkus put one hand on the player's back and said, encouragingly, "Forget about it."

"I think with kids it gets old, the screaming," Butkus said. "It's best to keep it for when you really mean it." But then, true to his reputation as a player who once needed intensity as if it was air, Butkus thought back to the drill. All afternoon, his defensive backs had struggled with communication. "I mean, the ball is thrown and nobody says anything," Butkus said, shaking his head. "Jesus cripes."

Following practice, players were greeted with another reminder about the uncustomary path the upcoming season figures to take. Butkus, using his own money -- roughly $8,000, one producer estimated -- had paid for his personal cardiologist, Dr. Larry Santora, to come from Orange County, Calif., and perform heart screenings for all the Montour players. The three-part test -- which included an electrocardiogram -- was designed to test for congenital heart abnormalities, which have caused several deaths on football fields in recent years.

Earlier, Butkus had even asked players to fill out five-part questionnaires, designed to help him identify and learn about Montour's shortcomings in recent years. In the questionnaire, players said last year's team lacked proper coaching and motivation.

So Butkus aimed to take away their excuses.

"You've already got a better offseason program," Butkus told the players. "You've already got a better coaching staff. Now, it's on you."

fredfa

08-09-05, 03:24 AM

Great work on the Excel file, CPanther95!

A few schedule notes: of next season's 208 half-hour segments of network programming, 152 of them will be delivered in HD. That is 73.1% of network programming in HD

At 10 PM ET/PT, when only three networks broadcast, there are just three programs scheduled in SD. So 36 of the scheduled 42 network half-hours are in HD at 10 PM, and there are never fewer than two HD choices. On four nights, all three networks broadcast HD at 10 PM ET/PT.

At 9 PM ET/PT, there are never fewer than three HD choices; Monday all six networks broadcast in HD at 9 PM, and at 9 PM on three other nights five HD choices are available..

And that, of course, does not include ESPN HD, HD Net, HD Net movies, the premium channels, Discovery HD, Universal HD, TNT HD, and others.

(And still some reporters still write there is "nothing on in HD".

It seems to me we have come a very long way in not that long a time.

fredfa

08-09-05, 03:40 AM

ABC News reaches a crossroads
Net keeps Jennings' name alive

By MICHAEL LEARMONTH Variety.com

NEW YORK -- ABC News isn't ready to let the late Peter Jennings go just yet, saying its nightly news program, "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings," will retain that title for the near future. But Jennings' death Sunday from lung cancer raises complicated succession questions for the news division, which has poured its energy into helping Jennings fight the disease.

His passing comes in a year of unprecedented transition for the networks' evening newscasts, with all three having switched anchors since December.

It also marks a crossroads for ABC News. Jennings had been with the network since 1964, and another star anchor who has been with the net just as long, "Nightline's" Ted Koppel, has announced he plans to leave ABC at year's end. Both long-running broadcasts thus will go into 2006 with new anchors.

ABC declined to say how long it would stick with the combination of Charles Gibson and Elizabeth Vargas, who have filled in on "World News Tonight," splitting the anchor's duties since April, when Jennings told America in a weak and raspy voice that he'd been diagnosed with lung cancer.

"There will be a day when we address the question of what comes next; we are not close to that day now," spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said.

ABC News is under less pressure to make a decision on Jennings' permanent replacement, as Gibson and Vargas have held Jennings' audience and even made some gains in the adults 25-54 demographic since April.

Tough choice

But the network will be forced to make a tough choice in September, when its primetime sked kicks in; "Good Morning America" is planning a push to unseat "Today" as the top ayem newscast.

Gibson, Jennings' most logical successor at least for the near term, is considered crucial to the success of "GMA" if the network is to mount a serious challenge to NBC's "Today," which just celebrated its 500th week in first place.

While there is no ratings prize that carries the prestige of the evening news, much more advertising revenue is at stake in the morning, making ABC's decision more difficult. A top-rated evening newscast can bring $100 million in revenue to the network; NBC's "Today" brings in a reported $250 million.

At the same time, the anchor shifts of the past year have brought very little ratings fluctuation and no changes in the pecking order.

Network evening news auds are down across the board this summer, falling 4% at ABC and NBC and 7% at CBS, but all three attributed the losses to national elections last year, which drew bigger numbers for the newscasts.

NBC spent three years orchestrating a highly scientific succession plan before Tom Brokaw retired in December, slowly integrating Brian Williams into the newscast and into American homes. The plan worked, and "Nightly News" has been the No. 1 newscast for the past 56 weeks.

In contrast, CBS and ABC had anchor transition forced on them. Dan Rather pushed up his retirement in the wake of the flawed story on the president's National Guard record, and Jennings fell ill.

Yet the outcome has been virtually the same, highlighting the fact that in the world of evening news, ratings shift slowly, almost imperceptibly, over a long period of time.

Rather held Walter Cronkite's lead for nine years before he was unseated by Jennings during the 1989-90 season, and Tom Brokaw had been anchor of "Nightly News" for 12 years before he took the mantle from Jennings.

Anchor tributes

Network and cable news observed Jennings' passing Monday with an outpouring of tributes that began with the morning shows and extended past midnight with an episode of ABC's "Nightline."

As for the name, Schneider said, "The show will be called 'World News Tonight With Peter Jennings' tonight; when it feels appropriate, that will be changed."

Gibson, who announced Jennings' death Sunday night, anchored the newscast.

"Peter believed his voice would improve and that he would beat the disease and return to work," Gibson said. "He could not remember a life without work, and we could not imagine a life without him."

At the end of the newscast, Gibson walked off the set, leaving the anchor's chair empty.

CBS' "Evening News" brought back Rather for its segment on Jennings. Former NBC "Nightly News" anchor Brokaw appeared on ABC's "World News Tonight" and joined NBC's Williams for a Jennings seg that led "Nightly News."

"Peter was a friend as well as a competitor for 40 years -- and I treasured both relationships," Brokaw said.

Rather and Brokaw were scheduled to appear together on ABC's "Nightline" with Koppel, as well as on CNN's "Larry King Live." ABC's "Primetime Live" is planning to air a Jennings tribute Tuesday at 8 p.m., and the net is planning a two-hour special on Jennings, "Peter Jennings: Reporter," Wednesday at 8.

fredfa

08-09-05, 03:46 AM

NBC Drops 'The Law Firm' Reality Series oads

By Scott Collins Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 9, 2005

NBC has delivered a quick verdict on "The Law Firm," dumping the legal reality series from producer David E. Kelley that debuted to low ratings last month, the television network said Monday.

The show, which features celebrity legal analyst Roy Black judging litigators vying for a $250,000 cash prize, delivered a paltry 3.9 million viewers for its second episode Thursday, a plunge of 24% from its July 28 premiere.

"NBC will no longer be broadcasting episodes of 'The Law Firm,' " the network said in a statement. The six remaining episodes will air on Bravo, NBC's sister cable network, on dates that are "yet to be determined," the statement said.

On Thursday, the network will replace "The Law Firm" with repeats of the sitcoms "Will & Grace" and "Scrubs." Starting next week, NBC will fill the slot with two back-to-back repeats of "Scrubs" starting at 9 p.m. Then on Sept. 22, the fourth season of NBC's "The Apprentice" will premiere in the slot.

"The Law Firm" was the first reality series for Kelley, best-known for such scripted series as "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice." The producer's spokeswoman said he was out of the country and unavailable to comment.

Increasingly, networks are yanking reality shows that deliver poor ratings right away, leaving the few viewers who were engrossed in the competition to wonder what might have been. CBS pulled "The Will," about scheming heirs battling for an inheritance, after just one episode in January.

Xesdeeni

08-09-05, 09:00 AM

Not sure if this will work but here's a zip file.Great spreadsheet! Some notes (for reference, see this online schedule (http://www.geocities.com/xesdeeni2001/TVFall2005.html), which also includes premiere dates and links to show descriptions):

- The fall Monday night schedule on ABC starts with Wife Swap (not in HD). The Bachelor begins in January.
- The Bachelor is not in HD.
- Veronica Mars is in HD.
- Dateline is on before Three Wishes on Fridays.

Xesdeeni

CPanther95

08-09-05, 10:20 AM

Great spreadsheet! Some notes (for reference, see this online schedule (http://www.geocities.com/xesdeeni2001/TVFall2005.html), which also includes premiere dates and links to show descriptions):

- The fall Monday night schedule on ABC starts with Wife Swap (not in HD). The Bachelor begins in January.
- The Bachelor is not in HD.
- Veronica Mars is in HD.
- Dateline is on before Three Wishes on Fridays.

Xesdeeni

Got 'em.

Thursday at 8 & 9 are gonna be a problem for me - 4 shows in each timeslot I want to see.

CPanther95

08-09-05, 10:36 AM

Started a new thread for the schedule so it doesn't get lost among all the news.

fredfa

08-09-05, 11:14 AM

Monday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Xesdeeni

08-09-05, 11:49 AM

Started a new thread for the schedule so it doesn't get lost among all the news.Which one?

And I agree about conflicting programs. Even with two HD capture cards, and an SD PVR, I'll still miss shows on at the same time. (And I am stubborn enough not to watch an HD show in SD.)

My worst times:

Tuesday: The Office vs. House vs. Supernatural
Wednesday: Lost vs. Criminal Minds vs. Head Cases vs. Veronica Mars
Thursday: The Night Stalker vs. CSI vs. Reunion
Friday: Threshold vs. Killer Instinct vs. Reba

I haven't looked close enough at the dates yet, but hopefully the premiere dates are staggered enough that I can audition the new shows and eliminate the clunkers early.

Xesdeeni

CPanther95

08-09-05, 12:04 PM

Here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=568010

I also have The Apprentice on Thursday.

Thursday at 8pm I've got: Alias, Survivor, The OC, Smallville

fredfa

08-09-05, 01:09 PM

There are some very tough choices: there are far too many conflicts.

(At least until we see how some of the new shows aren't all that good, and others -- often our favorites -- are quickly yanked because of lousy ratings.)

With DirecTV cutting off the east coast HD DNS in two weeks, I'm having the urge to see what Expressvu or Star Choice offer.

keenan

08-09-05, 01:14 PM

I can't believe the new season is only a few weeks away... :)
http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Penguin.gif

fredfa

08-09-05, 01:16 PM

For us the crunch times appear to be:
Wednesday at 9: Criminal Minds, Head Cases, E-Ring, Veronica Mars
Wednesday at 10: CSI:NY, Invasion, Law & Order
But nothing else with more than two at a time -- unless we finally give in and try Lost.
Maybe if we get a chance to get the DVD and catch up we'll add that, too.

keenan

08-09-05, 01:17 PM

fredfa

08-09-05, 01:20 PM

I agree, jim.
When you add some of the (many) cable offerings: The Shield, Closer, Sopranos etc, we are in a period of some pretty entertaining TV.
And then almost every game of whatever sport you enjoy is available somehow.
I am not sure I would call it a resurgent TV Golden Age, but there sure seems to be a lot to watch -- and vastly more of it in HD than just two-three years ago.

keenan

08-09-05, 01:21 PM

But nothing else with more than two at a time -- unless we finally give in and try Lost.
Maybe if we get a chance to get the DVD and catch up we'll add that, too.
I recommend it, Lost has arguably the best PQ on TV, you really should give it a look. Get the Lost DVDs(7 discs) in a Netflix queue now so you'll be caught up when the season starts.

fredfa

08-09-05, 01:36 PM

Peter Jennings: Reporter
By Joel Meyer Broadcasting & Cable

ABC will air a two-hour tribute to Peter Jennings on Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. Jennings, the longtime anchor of ABC's World News Tonight, died Sunday from lung cancer.

Peter Jennings: Reporter will look back at Jennings' 40-year career as a correspondent and anchor. It will include interviews with friends and colleagues.

ABC News' Charles Gibson, Ted Koppel, Diane Sawyer, Elizabeth Vargas and Barbara Walters will contribute reports to the special.

fredfa

08-09-05, 01:38 PM

Comcast, NHL on verge of 2-year, $100 million deal

By Tim Panaccio and Don Steinberg Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writers

Comcast and National Hockey League negotiators have worked out a two-year deal for more than $100 million to televise games beginning this fall, according to sources directly involved in the discussions.

The agreement must be approved by the league's Board of Governors.

The deal calls for Comcast to televise two games a week nationally. The cable giant plans to put the games on its Outdoor Life Network (OLN).

The agreement with Comcast brought to an end 10 days of intense negotiations, some of which were conducted at Comcast's offices in Philadelphia.

Participating in the discussions were NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Comcast president of programming Jeff Shell, Comcast Cable president Steve Burke, and Alan Singer, an attorney for the company.

A spokesman for Comcast, Tim Fitzpatrick, declined to comment on the company's interest in the NHL yesterday.

NHL officials also declined to comment, but the league could announce its new TV deal by this weekend. The deal would contain the following:

Comcast would televise games nationally twice a week. On one of those nights, Comcast would retain exclusivity in U.S. markets as the only game available on TV at that time.

The NHL would retain the right to exit the agreement at the end of the two years. The right is contingent upon Comcast's fulfilling certain responsibilities related to advertising-revenue growth and reaching a specific number of homes.

If the league opts to stay, then Comcast has a one-year option, followed by a three-year option.

An undetermined number of games would be broadcast in high-definition TV.

If the NHL approves the deal - and that is considered a formality at this point - the contract will be forwarded to ESPN. In April, ESPN opted to not renew its $70 million option to televise NHL games for 2005-06 and 2006-07, but the network retains the right to match the new offer, according to a source. ESPN has carried NHL games in the United States since 1985.

The league's previous five-year TV deal with ABC and ESPN was worth $600 million.

There are two directions Comcast could go from here: an overhaul of OLN or an initial change to accommodate hockey, with a future, stand-alone network that would carry NHL games. The former is the preferred method among Comcast executives.

It is unclear whether Comcast's SportsNet channels around the country would play a role. Flyers games on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia will have their own separate schedule.

OLN is available in about 61 million households, compared with more than 70 million for ESPN2 and 80 million for ESPN, but the new programming should help OLN expand its reach.

A repositioning of its focus shouldn't be difficult. Just as Kentucky Fried Chicken officially became KFC, OLN has been identifying itself by its initials so that customers won't limit their thinking about its programming.

NHL games are not played outdoors, but "initials can stand for anything," said Lee Berke, president of LHB Sports, who consults with professional teams on TV deals.

Berke pointed out that OLN has picked up several sporting events that used to be on ESPN, including the America's Cup yacht race and the Boston Marathon. OLN maintains a long-term agreement to carry the Tour de France bicycle race. Comcast gave ESPN's X Games a boost by hosting them at the First Union complex in Philadelphia in 2001 and 2002, but in 2004 OLN bought the Gravity Games, a rival action-sports competition, and has been expanding that franchise.

"They've settled on sports as a major source of content," Berke said of Comcast. "There's still speculation that they could go for the late-season NFL package [Thursday and Saturday nights beginning in 2006]."

The NHL, meanwhile, needs to resurrect its own image after a lockout wiped out last season.

"You have the world's largest cable company - that's a big plus," Berke said. Comcast, he said, will be able to pair NHL telecasts with its HDTV capabilities and Video on Demand.

The NHL will have some other TV exposure. In a two-year deal with NBC that starts this season, the network will televise seven regular-season games, six playoff games, and Games 3 through 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. In that deal, the NHL is guaranteed no rights money; NBC and the league will share some advertising profits.

When the NBC deal was announced in 2004, before the missed season, Bettman said: "If anybody thinks that we're going to get zero [from NBC], I don't anticipate that, and I would be very, very surprised."

In Canada, the NHL has TV deals with CBC and the Sports Network.

fredfa

08-09-05, 01:41 PM

Wow: first the NCAA gets rid of Native-American names and symbols.
Now it wants to get rid of alcohol advertising.
Division I Football and basketball players better watch out: they’ll be expected to actually go to class soon.

NCAA Recommends Alcohol Ad Limits

By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's executive committee has recommended that its over 1,000 member colleges limit TV and radio ads for beer, wine and malt beverages (so-called alcopop) to 60 seconds per hour, up to a total of 2 minutes per game, and to ban distilled spirit ads altogether.

The NCAA already imposes those limits on the 88 collegiate championships it oversees, but Friday the board voted to recommend that all schools adopt the policy for their college sports contests.

The association has been under pressure to ban all alcohol ads from college sports, and the announcement was a suggestion, not an ultimatum, so the news for the alcohol instury could have been worse.

In April, the board of directors said it would review its alcohol-advertising policy after the American Medical Association called for a ban, and former college football coach and current Nebraska Congressman Tom Osborne reintroduce his "sense of the House" resolution urging a ban.

Representatives of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) and American Association of Advertising Agencies were not immediately available for comment, but when Osborne introduced his resolution, the AAF countered that Nielsen numbers indicated 87% of all college football and basketball TV viewers are over the legal drinking age of 21, and that advertisers already voluntarily reject or modify alcohol ad content that could target minors.

A representative of the Distilled Spirits Council was still reviewing the NCAA position at press time, but the group has consistently argued that beer, wine, and spirits should be treated equally and that any suggestion that one is less potent than another is a fallacious one.

Alan Gordon

08-09-05, 01:46 PM

With DirecTV cutting off the east coast HD DNS in two weeks, I'm having the urge to see what Expressvu or Star Choice offer.

I know, with DirecTV cutting off my West Coast feeds of ABC and CBS, I'm going to have to cut some shows off my list, watch some in SD, and wait for Summer or DVD releases until I can get an HD-DVR.

I guess that's the one good thing about not having a WB, otherwise I'd REALLY have to cut some shows...

~Alan

dturturro

08-09-05, 02:42 PM

fredfa

08-09-05, 02:47 PM

Actually, it took a lot longer.
There were very few color shows in the first decade of the color era (starting around 1955), finally from the mid 60s to the mid 70s, the content grew -- and so did the number of homes with color TV sets.
Obviously HD is coming faster -- at least in terms of available programming.
Remember that back in the early days of color, there were two or three stations in most markets -- and the really big cities had some independents as well.
The average home, I remember reading somewhere, had fewer than five stations to watch in the late 50s.
I suspect the TV sales line will be a bit brisker for HD, too. We seem to be right on the cusp of the sales explosion. Altrhough, in fairness, I have felt that in the past, too.

Alan Gordon

08-09-05, 02:52 PM

The average home, I remember reading somewhere, had fewer than five stations to watch in the late 50s.

Growing up, we could pick up five stations (sometimes). I was born in 1981.

~Alan

Xesdeeni

08-09-05, 03:05 PM

I also have The Apprentice on Thursday.But that's SD. Any old VCR will handle that one.Thursday at 8pm I've got: Alias, Survivor, The OC, SmallvilleSurvivor is also SD. But the other three will be a problem. You did say you can record 2 and watch 1?

We, on the other hand, never get to watch live TV. So our limit is 2 HD. 1 SD can go to the PVR. Any more have to go to (ech!) tape.

Xesdeeni

CPanther95

08-09-05, 03:15 PM

Never use my VCR, and don't even have one hooked up to my theater or LR. Plus, although I can watch one show live on the TV's tuner, I prefer not to if at all possible (exceptions being LOST, 24, & Alias which we watch in the theater.)

fredfa

08-09-05, 05:33 PM

CPanther, if you can tell me how to convert the program from an .xls to a .zip, I'll post your schedule updated with start dates.

keenan

08-09-05, 05:44 PM

CPanther, if you can tell me how to convert the program from an .xls to a .zip, I'll post your schedule updated with start dates.
Try Winzip.

CPanther95

08-09-05, 05:52 PM

fredfa, I'll add a worksheet tab with start dates and repost.

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:06 PM

Time Warner, Comcast fight DirecTV proposal

(Bloomberg News—Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., which made a joint bid on smaller rival Adelphia Communications Corp. in April, are fighting a proposal by DirecTV Group Inc. that they be banned from signing exclusive contracts for regional sports programs after the transaction.

The Federal Communications Commission "should reject requests that it prohibit" the cable companies "from entering into exclusive arrangements," Time Warner and Comcast said in a filing with the FCC.

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:08 PM

A story on last week’s network prime-time ratings has been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.
(The full ratings list will be posted later.)

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:12 PM

Tax Gain Boosts EchoStar's Profit
By ANDY PASZTOR Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Satellite-broadcaster EchoStar Communications Corp.'s second-quarter net income soared more than tenfold including a large, one-time tax benefit, but customer acquisition costs rose and the rate of customer growth slowed.

EchoStar reported net income of $856 million, or $1.89 a share, versus $85 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago period, buoyed by a non-recurring tax benefit of $1.31 a share stemming from previously reported losses. Revenue climbed 18% to $2.1 billion, even as the company faces stepped-up competition from cable-television providers, telephone companies and rival satellite-broadcasters with deeper pockets or broader offerings.

Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Ergen said the Englewood, Colo., company remains in "a kind of holding pattern" and is positioning itself for "quite a bit of transition" in the marketplace as its partnership with SBC Communications Inc. unravels. With subscriber acquisition costs climbing 16% and net new customers adds off roughly 35% from the year-ago quarter, EchoStar increasingly is relying on higher monthly charges and more-focused marketing efforts.

The company picked up 225,000 net new subscriber in the latest period, or 50% of U.S. satellite-TV growth. That was less than many Wall Street analysts initially projected, but still equal to the customers gains of larger rival DirecTV Group Inc. At more than $58 a month, average revenue per subscriber slightly exceeded some Wall Street projections and showed a healthy increase from last year.

Sounding a cautious note about future growth during a conference call with analysts -- Mr. Ergen described the current partnership with SBC as one that "really hasn't worked for either one of us." Echoing comments by SBC executives last month, Mr. Ergen said efforts are underway to scale back and renegotiate the arrangement.

Not only are SBC's own video offerings emerging as direct rivals in many geographic markets, but Mr. Ergen acknowledged that he may have been "a little asleep at the wheel" by allowing EchoStar to cut back advertising and marketing efforts in some areas where SBC was supposed to take the lead in attracting shared customers. Despite such stumbles, Mr. Ergen said he remained "cautiously optimistic" that a new, long-term deal with SBC can be hammered out.

On the much-discussed topic of Internet-via-satellite offerings, Mr. Ergen reiterated that EchoStar remains content to sit on the sidelines until it comes up with a business plan that "makes some sense" and can produce a profit. "We believe that's possible," he added without elaborating, suggesting that a decision is still many months away.

Expressing the same caution about the near-term promise of interactive programming, Mr. Ergen said "we're not trying to swim upstream" in trying to persuade customers to purchase interactive services when they aren't interested in such features. The whole area of interactive services "should be more exciting than it is," he said, explaining that many customers want faster and easier-to-use features before they will agree to spend money on them.

dturturro

08-09-05, 06:15 PM

Remember that back in the early days of color, there were two or three stations in most markets.

No wonder there was a baby boom :rolleyes:

keenan

08-09-05, 06:15 PM

Speaking of Comcast, it's a local issue although I'm sure it will or has happened in Comcast systems everywhere. The last 2 lines are intriguing..
From Multichannel News (www.multichannel.com/article/CA632528.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP)
Comcast: Sci Fi to Digital in Chicago

By R. Thomas Umstead 8/5/2005 5:05:00 PM

In a surprise move, Comcast Corp.’s Chicago system is moving the highly rated Sci Fi Channel from its basic service to its digital-basic tier beginning next week.

The 1.7 million-subscriber system will move Sci Fi -- which has been on a ratings roll with the success of such series as Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Atlantis -- to its digital-basic tier, which is in front of about one-half of the system’s subscribers.

Comcast Chicago vice president of communications Patricia Andrews-Keenan said Sci Fi was already on a digital tier in a number of areas within the Chicago DMA, so the move will make the tier uniform throughout the whole system.

The MSO will replace Sci Fi on its analog tier with Comcast-owned The Golf Channel.

Sci Fi representatives would not comment on the matter.

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:27 PM

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:32 PM

To the end, he was part of ABC News

By Gail Shister Philadelphia Inquirer TV Columnist

We all knew it was coming, but the knowing did little to soften the sudden reality of Peter Jennings' passing.

ABC had known of Jennings' inescapable fate since April. Still, it did not make a single move to begin planning for his successor. He was so much a part of the network's DNA, so deeply respected as its leader, ABC would not accept any outcome other than his returning to the anchor position he had served so nobly for 21 years.

His name remained on the World News Tonight newscast. Each night, fill-in anchor Charlie Gibson or Elizabeth Vargas signed off with: "For Peter Jennings and all of us at ABC News, goodnight."

He participated in daily conference calls, when he was able, and wrote e-mails to the staff. He spoke frequently with his executive producer. When a big story broke, he brainstormed about coverage and offered encouragement to the troops.

Peter Jennings loved ABC News, and ABC News loved him back.

On July 29, the staff celebrated his 67th birthday by hiring a plane to fly a banner over the Long Island home in which he would succumb to lung cancer nine days later. He was so tickled by the gesture, he had ice cream sundaes delivered to the newsroom.

The last of the Big 3 anchors still on the job, Jennings was unique.

NBC's Tom Brokaw, who stepped down in December after 21 years, was the unaffected Midwesterner with a passion for the outdoors and "the greatest generation."

CBS's Dan Rather, under the cloud of Memogate, was forced in March from the anchor chair after 24 years. He was the tightly wound Texan whose folksy metaphors belied an unceasing intensity that ultimately led to his downfall.

Jennings was the urbane, sophisticated one.

Movie-star handsome and impeccably dressed, he projected the cool elegance of a European count. He sounded like one, too, but occasionally, his clipped cadence revealed his Toronto roots, with about becoming aboot.

He was a man of many contradictions.

A voracious reader with a fierce intelligence, he was a high school dropout.

A hardened reporter, he wept easily, whether over the death of a colleague or a sappy movie. Shortly after Jennings became the nightly anchor for ABC in 1983, his colleague Ted Koppel told this reporter: "Peter's the kind of guy who will bump into a panhandler on the street and actually listen to the guy's story and adopt him rather than just give him a quarter. He becomes deeply involved with almost everyone whom his life touches."

A proud Canadian, he had a "love affair with America" and became an American patriot who carried a miniature version of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket. He hosted the dedication in 2003 of the National Constitution Center here, where he told Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia that he'd secretly become a U.S. citizen. Still, Jennings had waited until after his mother died before obtaining dual citizenship.

A notorious ladies' man, he was a devoted father. He had found true contentment with ABC producer Kayce Freed, his fourth wife.

Jennings had a robust appetite for just about everything. Outside of his family, however, his strongest allegiance was to the news. A longtime foreign correspondent and an expert on the Middle East, he was most happy covering stories in other countries.

In this country, his calm demeanor and steady presence helped reassure viewers during the horrors of 9/11. Like his competitors, he was on the air virtually nonstop the first 24 hours.

In a 9/11 clip that was shown endlessly yesterday, Jennings' voice breaks and he is close to tears as he tells viewers that he has spoken with his son, Christopher, and daughter, Elizabeth, and that they are fine. He urges all parents to check on their kids.

Later, he told ABC not to send a crew when he toured ground zero with New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.

As recently as November, Jennings said in an interview that he had no plans to retire. "Why should journalists have timetables?" he asked. "My father [Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s Charles Jennings] died at 65. I've already lived longer than him. These are wonderful jobs, which hold enormous promise."

Just days after Jennings' illness was diagnosed, ABC bought hundreds of Lance Armstrong's yellow "Livestrong" wristbands for the staff in New York and Washington. All of them, including news division president David Westin and Gibson, were still wearing theirs yesterday.

You lived strong, Peter, though for too short a time. You will be missed.

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:34 PM

ABC's rerun jumble is a 'Lost' cause

The New York Daily News Tuesday, August 9th, 2005

How many times can ABC take a hot new hit show that everybody loves, and frustrate old fans and repel potential new ones with its astoundingly stupid programming moves?

The answer, in recent years, is at least three - and the third is happening right now, with the maddening way ABC is rerunning episodes of "Lost" this summer.

It wasn't that many years ago that ABC made its first stunningly self-destructive move by taking its white-hot "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" show and using it to fill so many hours in the network's prime-time schedule that viewers deserted in droves - and ABC tumbled out of first place.

Last season, after the surprise and very welcome popularity of "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" vaulted ABC back to prominence, the network - under new management - again risked the ire of loyal fans by stalling the momentum of those serialized stories with literally months of reruns.

We're all aware of the economics of commercial broadcast television, but why anger the very viewers you've just won back?

Fox started "24" last season in January, but was able to show that series sequentially from then on without a single pre-emption or rerun. I was very frustrated by the seemingly endless rerun cycle for "Lost" and "Housewives" at midseason, and letters from readers proved I was far from alone.

But in the summer, just when ABC should be nurturing new fans of "Lost" in particular, what it's doing these days is annoying them instead - and really upsetting long-time fans who have tried to bring new viewers to the series during ABC's "See it all, from the very beginning" summer cycle.

The catch - and the flat-out dumb move - is that with "Lost," a series that relies on an intricate sequential story structure, ABC isn't showing it all. With the second-season premiere scheduled for Sept. 21, the network has begun trimming rerun episodes from its summer cycle, rather than double up in other time slots.

Last Wednesday, ABC aired the 11th episode of "Lost," the one in which Jack (Matthew Fox), in flashbacks, confronted his alcoholic surgeon father. That was after skipping episode 10. Tomorrow night at 10, "Lost" jumps to episode 14, the one in which we find out about the past, and the psychic powers, of little Walt. It turns out he can, among other things, move things around unexpectedly and violently - just like ABC is doing with "Lost."

"I worked really hard pulling some friends of mine into the loop," complained a typically irate fan on one "Lost" fan site message board, "and now I have to explain missing episodes to them?"

The solution, and the salvation, arrives Sept. 6, when the loaded-with-extras boxed-set DVD of the first season of "Lost" is released.

But while that event alone would have been enough to reward fans and stoke them for the start of season two, the August rerun cycle - and its nonrerun herky-jerky approach - is muddying the waters.

ABC should have lived up to its slogan and rebroadcast every episode, or not gone the summer rerun route at all.

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:38 PM

The Week’s DVD Releases:
Back to the '70s, but in no-frills trips
"McCloud," "McMillen and Wife" and "The Muppet Show" make it DVD, but only the Muppets bring on the extras
By Susan King Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Television series are pouring out of studios' vaults for the DVD market — and the cash flow — but the majority offer few extras. This week's entrants are no different: A couple have some decent added treats, but most are of the bare-bones variety, such as Universal's set of the first two seasons of the NBC detective series "McCloud" ($40).

Dennis Weaver played a wily marshal from Taos, N.M., who goes to New York to recapture an escaped prisoner. Afterward, he found himself on temporary assignment at Manhattan's 27th Precinct. The series first aired in 1970-71 as a quartet of themed TV movies called "Four-in-One," with "San Francisco International Airport," "Night Gallery" and "The Psychiatrist" rounding out the foursome. In 1971, "McCloud" joined "Columbo" and "McMillan & Wife" in the "NBC Mystery Movie" rotation.

After starring in movies for two decades, Rock Hudson headed to the small screen in 1971 in "McMillan & Wife." The premiere season of the lighthearted mystery is making its DVD bow (Universal, $40). Hudson played the rugged new San Francisco police commissioner, and Susan Saint James (fresh from "The Name of the Game") was his much younger wife, Sally, who always helped him solve the crimes. John Schuck played McMillan's sidekick; Nancy Walker was their acerbic maid, Mildred. Patterned after the "Thin Man" movies, "McMillan" never achieved that level of wit and sophistication.

Thankfully, there are a few fun extras on "The Muppet Show — Season One" (Buena Vista, $40). It's hard to believe that this award-winning syndicated musical variety show, starring Jim Henson's furry puppets, began nearly 30 years ago. It is just as funny as it was when it premiered in 1976, and it's a kick to see the parade of guest stars back in the first season, among them Joel Grey, Rita Moreno, Twiggy and Valerie Harper.

The 24 episodes have been pristinely restored and remastered. Extras include the original pilot, which doesn't hold a candle to the series; a clever pitch reel; a promo gag reel; and trivia for each episode.

Also on tap is the Muppets' latest TV movie, "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" ($25), which premiered earlier this year on ABC. It has some funny moments, but the songs are dreadful and the script is weak. The DVD includes bloopers, an amusing behind-the-scenes featurette hosted by Pepe the Prawn, and the prawn's interview with costar Quentin Tarantino.

For aficionados of high camp, there's the first two-season set of the 1982-87 police series "T.J. Hooker" (Sony, $50). William Shatner, whose line readings are so deliberate and serious that he seems to be doing a parody of himself, plays the title character — a former detective who has turned in his gold shield for duty as a uniformed police officer. Adrian Zmed played his new partner, Vince Romano; also starring were Heather Locklear and James Darren. A handful of TV promos are the only extras.

The 1991 British miniseries "Clarissa" (Acorn, $40), which originally aired on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre," is a well-crafted bodice-ripper based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson. Sean Bean plays a rich rake named Lovelace who is determined to seduce and thereby destroy a noble virgin (Saskia Wickham). The two-disc set includes outtakes, screen tests, cast filmographies, a photo gallery and production notes.

Rarely does it take nine years to discover the outcome of a TV series, but that's the case with the cult 1996 Fox series "Profit." Anchor Bay is releasing all seven hours of the dark dramatic series ($30), including the four episodes that never saw the light of day because the network canceled the show.

Sort of a modern-day "Richard III" tale, "Profit" stars Adrian Pasdar as Jim Profit, an amoral, ambitious Machiavellian type who has set his sights on becoming president of acquisitions of a multinational conglomerate. It took creators David Greenwalt and John McNamara several years to get any studio interested in the project — an executive at CBS was so appalled during their pitch he kicked the pair out of his office.

The two-disc set includes informative audio commentary with Greenwalt, McNamara and Pasdar, and an above-average retrospective documentary.

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:54 PM

Rita Cosby: #1 On MSNBC Primetime

Mediabistro.com--- Rita Cosby has hosted one evening of Live & Direct, but she has already claimed the title of #1 show on MSNBC's primetime. Her Monday night premiere averaged 665,000 viewers. Rita delivered MSNBC's best numbers in the tough 9pm timeslot for a "regular" news day in over two years, according to a network spokesperson.

Of course, you could call the glass half-full or half-empty. "After NBC spent zillions on ads for Rita in every newspaper in the US. she still only got a .6 to Greta's 2.2!," an e-mailer says. Nancy Grace (and Paula Zahn) beat Cosby, too. But MSNBC is now #3 in the time slot, since Prime News averaged 367,000 viewers last night. In primetime, FNC averaged 2.4 million viewers, while CNN had 1.24 million and MSNBC had 477,000.

Hosts frequently see a spike on day one, though. What will Rita be averaging by the end of the week? Will her #'s swing back and forth depending on her "gets?" We'll see...

fredfa

08-09-05, 06:58 PM

Gamers Watch Less TV -- But More HDTV
Ziff Davis study of video game players finds that they are spending increasingly little time in front of the tube
(Special to TVPredictions.com)

Washington, D.C. (August 9, 2005) -- Nearly a quarter of video game players watched less TV in the past year and plan to watch even less in the next year.

That's the conclusion of a study of 1,500 video game enthusiasts conducted by Ziff Davis Media.

However, the Ziff Davis study also found that interest in High-Definition TV is gaining among what it calls, "core gamers." In that group, HDTV viewing rose to 18 percent, compared to just seven percent in 2004.

In its report, entitled "Digital Gaming in America," Ziff Davis notes that next-generation video game consoles will provide games with high-def images, which could further increase HDTV viewership in the category.

"The new high-definition capabilities promised
in next-gen home consoles has raised core gamers' expectations for high quality gaming," said John Davison, Vice President and Editorial Director of Ziff Davis Media
Game Group.

According to the study, 76.2 million people in the United States play video games, up from 67.5 million a year ago. Twenty-four percent reduced their TV viewing over the past year, with another 18 percent saying they expect to do in the next 12 months. Video gamers said they watched 16 hours per week in 2005, compared to 18 hours per week in 2004.

The Ziff Davis results will likely raise anxiety levels among TV executives who have expressed fears that new devices and technologies, such as the Internet and video gaming, will lead to a decrease in TV watching.

fredfa

08-09-05, 08:12 PM

Cable News Numbers: 'Rita Cosby' Debut Promising; 'Situation Room' Struggles

By Michele Greppi TVWeek.com August 9, 2005

Of the two major cable news programs that debuted Monday, MSNBC's "Rita Cosby: Live and Direct" got off to a promising ratings start, while CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer did not.

According to data from Nielsen Media Research, "Rita Cosby" averaged 665,000 viewers, which is up 159 percent from what the 9-10 p.m. time slot averaged in July and is the best number MSNBC has done in that hour with regular programming in more than two years.

In the key news demographic of 25- to 54-year-olds, "Rita Cosby" averaged 245,000 viewers, up 206 percent compared with July and only about 20,000 viewers shy of MSNBC's total-viewer average for its entire prime-time lineup last week.

Meanwhile, CNN lost some ratings ground from 3-6 p.m. with the debut of "The Situation Room." For the three hours, CNN averaged 410,000 viewers, down 15 percent from the previous Monday, down 6 percent compared with July and flat compared with the comparable day in 2004.

In the demo, "Situation" was down 8 percent compared with the three hours the previous Monday and down 14 percent compared with both July and the comparable day in 2004.

On a big night in cable news, "Rita Cosby's" performance was not enough to boost MSNBC out of fourth place in total viewers for the hour, but the new show starring the former Fox News personality did beat CNN Headline News phenom "Nancy Grace" by 4,000 viewers in the demo.

MSNBC's "The Situation With Tucker Carlson" moved to 11 p.m. Monday and improved the time slot by 3 percent in the demo compared with the same hour in July while bringing in 19 percent fewer total viewers.

For the 9 p.m. hour, Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" was the clear winner with 2.128 million viewers. CNN's "Larry King Live" averaged 1.79 million viewers. Headline News' "Nancy Grace" averaged 855,000 viewers.

Fox News Channel dominated the three afternoon hours with 976,000 viewers, even with the previous Monday, down 8 percent from July and up 6 percent year to year.

In third place for the three hours was MSNBC, with an average 155,000 viewers, which was down 9 percent from the previous Monday, down 3 percent compared with July and down 11 percent year to year.

keenan

08-09-05, 08:33 PM

This is the kind of self-serving foolishness the FCC, were it in any way guardian of the public, would forbid.

I hope NBC-U comes back and screws Comcast royally when it comes to renewing the NBC OTA stations or NBC-U cable networks.

(Of course the problem is that the NBC-U cable networks generally just don't get too many viewers. But rasing the price for the OTA stations could hurt Comcast -- especially with the NFL next year and the Olympics every two years.)
The thing that's curious to me is, it's hard for me to believe Comcast would be making a move like this without the blessing of NBC/Uni, that analog tier is like gold to content providers and to have Comcast arbitrarily switch it to a higher cost tier would seem a bit odd.

fredfa

08-09-05, 08:35 PM

I agree, it seems really dumb.

CPanther95

08-09-05, 08:36 PM

fredfa:

Try this:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6008460&&#post6008460

Added a couple of tabs using premiere dates (and best-gueesing those with missing dates)

fredfa

08-09-05, 09:09 PM

Academy changes course on Emmy acceptance speeches

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter)--Writers and directors, prepare your extemporaneous thank-yous.

Emmy organizers have done an about-face on a previously announced plan to shift to pre-taped acceptance remarks for winners in writing and directing categories during next month's Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on CBS.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' board of governors voted Monday night to scrap the plan to have all of the nominees in top writing and directing heats pre-tape acceptance remarks well in advance of the Sept. 18 ceremony. The academy adopted the plan in April in an effort to quicken the pace of the show and allow for more variety.

In a statement issued Tuesday morning, academy officials noted that the plan to pre-tape remarks from dozens of nominees in major categories had proved unwieldy and cost prohibitive. The plan had been reluctantly endorsed by the unions representing Hollywood's writers and directors -- as a compromise to a more draconian proposal to shift all writing and directing award presentations to the lower-profile Sept. 11 Creative Arts Awards ceremony. But many of the industry's top producers and directors have not been shy about voicing their disdain for the idea.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" creator Phil Rosenthal, who earned an Emmy nomination for comedy writing for the series finale episode, made no bones about his distate for the pre-taped remarks plan last month when this year's Emmy nominations were announced. "It seems a little insulting, doesn't it," he quipped at the time.

In the statement, academy officials noted that Emmy telecast executive producer Ken Ehrlich "carefully reviewed the production logistics and elements of the Primetime telecast to see if we were accomplishing our stated goals. What we found was that some of the initial assumptions were not accurate in light of the way the show was being constructed. In effect, the amount of time being saved was not as much as originally thought and the costs incurred would be in excess of original projections. The board decided that based on this new evaluation, the acceptance speeches would be reinstated in their original fashion."

fredfa

08-09-05, 09:14 PM

Remembering Peter: Stop Smoking
mediabistro.com

If you are quitting smoking to honor Peter Jennings, ABC News wants to know. The network is asking people who are trying to quit to submit their contact information to ABC producers for an upcoming report...

> Also on ABCNews.com: "ABC News anchors said they hope if anything positive can be taken from Jennings' death, it is a greater awareness of the dangers of smoking. "I want to give a message," Barbara Walters said. "If you have kids who are smoking, for heaven's sake, tell them that we lost Peter."

> MSNBC.com blog: NBC News correspondent Mike Taibbi is questioning his smoking habit. "A lot of journalists used to smoke...or, as I must admit, still do...especially under the pressure of a big story deadline," he said on Monday's Nightly News...

fredfa

08-09-05, 10:55 PM

Weekly Ratings are late

Usually I am able to post the weekly Nielsen ratings by 5-6 PM PT.
Not this week.
Sorry.
I’ll post them when I get them.

fredfa

08-09-05, 11:03 PM

NDS Says Issues With New DirecTV Box Mostly Resolved

By ELLEN SHENG Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -- Issues that delayed the launch of DirecTV Group's (DTV) new digital video recorder have been "mostly resolved" though there are still some issues, said Abe Peled, chief executive of NDS Group PLC (NNDS). NDS is one of the companies helping to develop DirecTV's new home media box.

The chips and software being used have seen "more than the usual share of problems," Peled told Dow Jones Newswires. Moreover, engineers have also been extra careful to "make sure it is a product we can all be proud of." The combination of the two factors pushed back the product's release date to October from summer, he explained.

DirecTV has said the new box will include new interactive services such as video on demand.

NDS, which, like DirecTV, is controlled by News Corp. (NWS), makes set-top boxes and digital TV software. The U.K.-based company gets most of its revenue from its conditional access products - contributing 61% of revenue in fiscal 2005. But the company has made efforts to expand its product base - creating technology for interactive TV, digital video recorders, digital rights management and IPTV.

"For a technology company, it's very important to expand the product line," he said.

He said the company has been working with two major telecommunications carriers - one in the U.S. and another in Europe - on IPTV.

fredfa

08-10-05, 03:01 AM

The Persistence of the News-and-Cocktail Hour

By STUART ELLIOTT The New York Times August 10, 2005

The changing of the guard among the anchors of the three evening network newscasts could accelerate the shifts in audience that have already led Madison Avenue to reconsider how advertising dollars are spent.

With the illness and death of Peter Jennings, the longtime anchor of "World News Tonight" on ABC, the faces that front all three TV newscasts have changed in less than a year. With so many viewers deciding who will deliver their daily 22-minute dose of news, agency executives say, the almost $500 million spent each year on "World News Tonight," "CBS Evening News" and "NBC Nightly News" could be up for grabs.

"As far as advertisers are concerned, it's always going to be about the ratings," said Michael D. Drexler, chief executive at Optimedia International U.S. in New York, part of the ZenithOptimedia media agency unit of the Publicis Groupe. "And who watches network news now is as much about the personalities reporting the stories as it is about the stories."

But ad dollars are unlikely to leave ABC for CBS or NBC - or any other permutation or combination of choices among the three, for that matter. Instead, the trend that has lasted for decades of declining - and aging - viewerships for the newscasts is expected to continue.

That would mean ad money will continue to move to alternatives like the broadcast networks' morning news shows, which are enjoying growing audiences; news magazines like "60 Minutes" and "Dateline," which are shown during prime time, when more viewers are home to watch; news programming on cable networks, which include CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, Headline News and MSNBC; and Web sites that specialize in news. It is not unlike a sea change that has remade the newspaper industry as readers of evening editions migrated to papers that publish in the mornings.

"There is still a generation served their news nightly with their cocktails, and they like it," said Bill McOwen, executive vice president and managing director for national broadcast at MPG in New York, a media agency owned by Havas. "And till that generation moves on, there will be clients who want to reach them.

"But my generation, and anyone younger, is not getting news then. And marketers know that."

The nightly newscasts "are storefronts for their news organizations," Mr. McOwen said, "and every network needs a storefront." For one thing, the reputations for accuracy and reliability that the newscasts have earned through the decades can lend credence to the news the networks deliver in other realms, he added.

Even so, Mr. McOwen said, "there's no question people are getting more of their hard news in the morning or online," meaning that an "expiration date" for the nightly newscasts may not be too far off.

Already, said Mary Gerzema, executive vice president and communications planning director at Universal McCann in New York, "broadcasters are trying to be in so many platforms" like the Internet, podcasts and video on demand, "to deliver the news product in as many forms as they can."

So it is not too far-fetched to predict that someday a "CBS Evening News Call" could be sent to cellphones, she added. Universal McCann is part of the McCann Worldgroup unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

That is not to say the era of the three nightly newscasts will end immediately.

"I'm a big fan of evening news" as an advertising vehicle, said Andy Donchin, executive vice president and director for national broadcast at Carat Americas in New York, because "it has a stable audience, a loyal audience."

"And if you buy all three newscasts, you are getting a huge unduplicated reach," he added, meaning the viewers of one newscast do not tend to watch the others, which makes purchasing commercial time more efficient.

Mr. Donchin, whose agency is part of the Carat Americas division of the Aegis Group, acknowledged that the audiences for the evening newscasts had declined in the last decade. "But as the media world gets more fragmented," he said, "even with the numbers down the newscasts are still valuable."

Data from the Nielsen Media Research division of VNU show that from Sept. 20, 2004, through July 29, 2005, the three newscasts still reached a total of 25.9 million viewers ages 2 and up: 9.7 million for "NBC Nightly News," almost 9.1 million for "World News Tonight" and 7.1 million for "CBS Evening News."

Viewership for the evening newscasts is concentrated in the older demographic groups. While most advertisers covet younger viewers, there are still many marketers that seek to reach older shoppers.

That is evidenced by a list of the top five advertisers on the three newscasts as compiled by TNS Media Intelligence, a unit of Taylor Nelson Sofres. Almost all are drug makers like AstraZeneca, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis. Other major advertisers on the evening news programs include automakers and sellers of packaged foods.

The nightly newscasts "are still viable for a number of products that use them and will continue to use them," said Larry Orell, executive vice president and general manager of the New York office of Initiative, a media agency owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Still, marketers that buy commercial time during the shows are doing so "complementary with all the other options," he added, with "each one taking a little bite" from the budgets once previously devoted exclusively to the network newscasts.

Rich Hamilton, chief executive for the Americas at Zenith Media in New York, also part of ZenithOptimedia, said: "Nobody denies it's not the same as it used to be. But I don't think these three shows will go away.

"There are still a lot of people who watch these newscasts, just older people, and fewer of them."

fredfa

08-10-05, 03:07 AM

AN APPRECIATION:
That Soothing Voice
When News Got Stormy, Peter Jennings Was Calm

By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer

During a rambling conversation on the Saturday shuttle from New York last fall, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings said it was no accident that he granted fewer interviews than his longtime rivals, CBS's Dan Rather and NBC's Tom Brokaw.

He just wasn't comfortable talking about himself, he confided, and besides, he wasn't particularly good at it.

How ironic that this man who could speak with great eloquence for hours, whose soothing voice helped calm the country in times of war and tragedy, was the least interested in explaining and promoting himself. Jennings had an understated quality that he learned from his broadcaster father, said ABC News President David Westin, and in covering state funerals "he would make everyone be quiet . . . and allow the audience to hear the horses' hooves."

Jennings, who died Sunday from lung cancer, was a man of contradictions: A high-school dropout who got his education around the globe as a foreign correspondent. A Canadian who came to love America and tearfully got his citizenship after 9/11. A fiercely disciplined journalist whose personal life encompassed four marriages. A hugely successful anchor who joked about how awful he had been during his first tour of duty in that coveted chair, when he was in his twenties.

I remember hanging out in the ABC skybox at the Democratic convention in Boston last year as Jennings, in shirtsleeves, anchored a two-hour digital cable broadcast also available to America Online and cell phone users. He reveled in the spontaneity of it, without knowing whether the audience would be hundreds or hundreds of thousands, and boasted that the program would kick off with music by Jimi Hendrix.

Jennings sent me a personal e-mail only once, and it wasn't about him. It was to thank me for an article about a colleague of his who he felt was being unfairly pilloried by some commentators.

While Brokaw radiated midwestern earnestness and Rather a Texas tenaciousness, Jennings was smooth, witty, urbane -- too detached for some people's tastes, but to others a welcome antidote to the cacophony of network hype. In less than a year, the Big Three have all departed -- Brokaw by retirement, Rather by stepping down under pressure after a botched story about President Bush, and Jennings by the tragic illness that we all heard in his raspy voice when he announced the diagnosis, with typical grace and humor, last April.

It is in the nature of television fame that an anchor touches masses he has never met; as of yesterday afternoon, 25,000 people had posted online messages on ABC's Jennings message board. We remember such people through images and moments. Jennings's longevity -- he was there when the Berlin Wall went up and when it came down -- was such that, electronically speaking, we grew up with him.

I recall the discursive ease with which Jennings spoke to Ted Koppel two years ago during the invasion of Iraq, telling the embedded correspondent amid the advancing tanks in Kuwait to take his time, as if the two were just casually chatting over cocktails. I remember as well him interviewing young kids in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, eliciting their concerns as naturally as he might converse with world leaders.

And I was riveted last year when, during an interview in which former president Bill Clinton said he didn't care what critics thought of his personal misconduct, Jennings brought him up short: "Oh yes you do, sir. Excuse me, Mr. President, I can feel it across the room. You feel it very deeply." Clinton narrowed his eyes and lectured Jennings that "you don't want to go here, Peter," not after what ABC did in reporting "every sleazy little thing" from Ken Starr's probe -- thus underscoring Jennings's point.

I spoke to Jennings during the Monica Lewinsky frenzy, and he defended the media's behavior. "Some of us have been plumbing people's private lives with such vigor that they are saying, 'Enough already!' I don't know how to account for the fact that the public is clearly fed up but continues to watch." It was like a car wreck, he said, and "rubbernecking is part of the human condition."

Colleagues say Jennings was a tough taskmaster as managing editor of "World News Tonight," peppering correspondents with questions, rewriting scripts and insisting that the show live up to its title by highlighting foreign coverage. "He wasn't averse to surprising you on the air as a kind of tough love," said former ABC correspondent Chris Wallace, now a Fox News anchor.

When Wallace jumped from NBC to ABC in 1989, Jennings was "very curious about Brokaw" and "always looking for a competitive edge," he recalled. On a personal level, "there was also a certain amount of hazing. You weren't going to come in as some hotshot from NBC without paying your dues at ABC. He called me the leader of the brat pack."

Jennings often drew criticism from those who felt he was biased about the Arab world, where he launched ABC's first bureau, in Lebanon, or just another liberal talking head. Jennings was depressed when he got 10,000 angry calls and e-mails after the 9/11 attacks when Rush Limbaugh reported -- erroneously, later retracting his comments -- that "this fine son of Canada" had criticized President Bush for not returning more quickly to the White House.

Despite anchoring full-time since 1983, Jennings, who won 14 Emmys, hosted numerous specials on topics such as the search for Jesus, the Kennedy assassination, the turn of the millennium and, rather weirdly, UFOs. He was never wild about such tabloid tales as the O.J. Simpson saga, and when that case went to the jury in 1995 amid an orgy of prediction and pontification, he told viewers: "We've all agreed we're not going to speculate at all on this broadcast about what the jury ought to do."

Jennings was "first and foremost a reporter," Westin said. "He valued his time as a reporter much more than his time as an anchor. He did this by a combination of wonderful curiosity and openness to new facts while maintaining a healthy skepticism toward everything he was hearing. He brought such an energy and vitality to all of his reporting. He leaves a void we will not be able to fill."

Tributes came pouring in yesterday. Bush: "He became a part of the lives of a lot of our fellow citizens." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her "close personal friend": "A man of conscience and integrity" who "represented all that was best in journalism and public service." Brokaw: "He set the bar high and expected everyone around him to measure up." Rather: "A lion of a man, a very decent man." Brian Williams: "Our profession will not be the same."

In an emotional video conference transmitted to several bureaus yesterday, Westin, surrounded by hundreds of staffers, praised Jennings, and medical correspondent Tim Johnson recounted his final battle. A moment of silence gave way to two minutes of sustained applause.

Jennings has been the face of ABC News for so long that his passing at 67 leaves a gaping hole at a news division that never planned for a succession before his illness and deflected the question while he struggled through chemotherapy and continued to provide off-air advice until the end.

While ABC and industry insiders say the logical choice is Charlie Gibson, 62, the co-host of "Good Morning America" and one of two principal substitutes on "World News Tonight" during Jennings's illness, that is by no means assured. Elizabeth Vargas, 42, who has also regularly filled in for Jennings, is considered a contender -- she would be the first woman to serve as a solo nightly news anchor -- and there may be others. Westin told the New York Observer last year that he "absolutely" could envision Vargas as the network's anchor.

"One way is the continuity way, which is Charlie Gibson," said Steve Friedman, a former morning show producer for NBC and CBS. "The other way is to say our father is gone, let's really change the family business."

Andrew Tyndall, a New York television analyst, said ratings for "World News Tonight" were not "hurt in the slightest when viewers don't know whether Charlie or Elizabeth is anchoring from one day to the next, and that tells me in that time slot, the anchor is not that important."

For the season to date, "NBC Nightly News" remains the leader, with 9.7 million viewers, despite the handoff from Brokaw to Williams in December. "World News Tonight" has averaged 9.1 million, despite Jennings's absence. And "CBS Evening News" has lagged at 7.1 million viewers, despite positive reviews for Bob Schieffer since he took over in March. All the newscasts suffered slight dropoffs after the changes, in part because of reduced interest following the 2004 campaign.

The morning shows are now profit centers for the networks, and Gibson and Diane Sawyer have "Good Morning America" nipping at the heels of "Today." The question for Westin, said Tyndall, is "do I want to sacrifice Gibson, who's part of the team I've crafted, so he can fulfill his life's ambition to be a nightly news anchor?" He said Vargas is "an absolutely competent news anchor" but that "Charlie's better prepared than she is" in terms of experience.

With the evening newscasts steadily losing audience share amid mounting competition from cable, talk radio, Web sites and blogs, Jennings's passing does have an end-of-an-era feel.

"It's a tough choice, but not as tough as it used to be because it doesn't seem to matter as much these days," said Lawrence Grossman, a former president of NBC News and PBS. "Picking anchors is a complete matter of judgment and luck, just like picking television shows. It's a crapshoot."

"Eras come and eras go," Friedman said. "People who look like they're not replaceable are replaceable."

ABC executives concede that Jennings would not have wanted "Good Morning America" and "Nightline" to air program-length tributes to him yesterday or tomorrow night's scheduled prime-time special on his life. Said Westin: "One of the things Peter leaves behind is a little voice in my ear I can hear constantly: 'Okay, enough of that, let's get back to the news.' "

I can still hear that mellifluous voice, too, and so, I suspect, can millions of others.

fredfa

08-10-05, 04:50 AM

Last week’s top 20 network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.
(The full ratings list will be posted later.)

fredfa

08-10-05, 09:42 AM

Nielsen: The Week’s Winners and Losers
Story of the Self-Contained Serial-Killers

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Wednesday, August 10, 2005; C07

Eight of last week's 10 most watched programs were rerun episodes of "self-contained" series -- ones in which the story line is resolved each week by the end of the episode -- as opposed to "serialized" shows, in which stories carry over from week to week. Broadcast network suits have ordered a slew of new serialized drama series for fall. And all those hot new reality series that were supposed to solve their summer-rerun ratings blues -- like filling in for serialized dramas that don't repeat well -- continued to collect at the bottom of the ratings pile.

Here's a look at the week's top and bottom:

WINNERS

"Hell's Kitchen. " The only non-rerun in last week's Top 10 list was also the only reality series in last week's Top 10 list. After the final broadcast of this series nearly cracked 9 million viewers last week, Fox announced it had ordered another season of the culinary boot camp starring Head Chef Screamer Guy.

"The Girls Next Door"/"Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive." Two new reality series -- the first about Hugh Hefner's latest bevy of bunnies, the second about a bunch of trust-funders on a cattle drive, increased E!'s performance in their time periods by more than 100 percent in their Sunday debuts. "Girls" averaged 990,000 viewers while "Cattle" attracted a crowd of 816,000. Let's put those numbers in perspective: The much-ballyhooed debut of Rita Cosby's new MSNBC show this past Monday averaged 665,000 viewers.

LOSERS

"Law Firm." Turns out any idiot can't make a successful reality TV series. David E. Kelley, who a couple of years ago famously ranted against the genre ("I believe there are studio executives and network heads out there who would rather make a show with an Aaron Sorkin than have lunch with the next contestant on 'How to Marry a Terrorist,' but those voices have gone silent for now," he said, among other things), tried his hand at the genre with this show, in which pretty, young, real lawyers compete while trying actual cases in front of real judges and juries. After it hacked up a sickly 4 million viewers in NBC's once-formidable Thursday 9 p.m. hour, the network put "Law Firm" out of its misery; remaining episodes will be buried in NBC's cable cemetery, Bravo.

"The Cut." This so-you-want-to-be-a-fashion-designer reality series clocked a pathetic 3 million viewers last Friday at 9 -- CBS's smallest audience on record in the time period. The network has tried to foist this reality series on viewers in three different time slots, each time with no luck because, no matter where it airs, it still stars Tommy Hilfiger.

fredfa

08-10-05, 10:12 AM

Ratings for Basic Cable Network Shows

Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Aug. 1-7. Each ratings point represents 1,096,000 households. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.
1. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 4.0, 4.4 million homes.
2. "Real World XVI" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 3.9, 4.24 million homes.
3. "Monk" (Friday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.5, 3.82 million homes.
4. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Spike, 3.2, 3.54 million homes.
5. Movie: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.0, 3.3 million homes.
6. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), Spike, 2.9, 3.2 million homes.
7. "Family Guy" (Thursday, 11:30 p.m.), Cartoon, 2.8, 3.06 million homes.
8. "Law & Order" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 2.5, 2.75 million homes.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.72 million homes.
10. "That's So Raven" (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.), Disney, 2.5, 2.71 million homes.
11. Movie: "Scooby-Doo Movie" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.4, 2.66 million homes.
12. "Family Guy" (Wednesday, 11 p.m.), Cartoon, 2.4, 2.64 million homes.
13. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Tuesday, 1 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.4, 2.64 million homes.
14. "Law & Order: SVU" (Friday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.4, 2.58 million homes.
15. "Family Guy" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Cartoon, 2.4, 2.58 million homes.

fredfa

08-10-05, 10:13 AM

Mean streak clouds political talk shows

By Timothy McNulty Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tuesday, August 09, 2005

While conservative columnist Robert Novak's meltdown on CNN Thursday gave liberals their own version of the Howard Dean scream -- an embarrassing public gaffe with a long Internet afterlife -- it could have a much more important impact, which both sides of the political aisle can agree upon.

Many political talk shows have become maddening shoutfests, where reasonable debates on public policy matters get drowned out by meaningless arguments and noise. When Novak cursed on-air Thursday and CNN subsequently suspended him, it was a natural next step for the talk show species.

Analysts from liberal and conservative media organizations say they are fed up with the shows -- and their deadening effect on public discourse in the United States -- though their views of the Novak incident itself differ.

Cliff Kincaid, the editor of Accuracy in Media in Washington D.C., has appeared on talk shows as a conservative commentator since the early 1980s.

"There is nothing wrong with sharp debates, but at least allow people to complete a thought. Stop the obnoxious, rude interrupting," Kinkead said in an interview yesterday.

Rich Noyes, the research director for another conservative group, Media Research Center in Alexandria, Va., called on networks to look back to the formats of "Washington Week in Review" or the original "McLaughlin Group" for a model.

"On the earlier roundtable shows you had journalists who were informed about the issues, informed about their beats, and could expound upon their beats. Those were discussions worth listening in on," Noyes said.

On Thursday's "Inside Politics" show, Novak, a longtime Chicago Sun Times columnist and television commentator, was paired with Democratic consultant James Carville. While Novak gave his views on a Florida Senate race, Carville interrupted, saying Novak had "to show the right-wingers he's got backbone."

"I think that's bull---- and I hate that," Novak replied. "Just let it go." As CNN anchor Ed Henry started asking another question Novak stood up, pulled off his microphone and left the live broadcast.

Henry said later in the show that he planned to ask Novak about his 2003 column unveiling the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, and the subsequent federal investigation, which has led to jail time for New York Times reporter Judith Miller and grand jury testimony for Time reporter Matthew Cooper.

Novak apologized, but told a Reuters interviewer that the outburst was not related to the Plame matter. Indeed, conservative voices such as Kincaid and the Wall Street Journal editorial page have said that Novak -- while wrong for cursing -- deserves an apology from Carville for baiting the 74-year-old man, and that CNN overreacted by suspending him.

Novak and CNN have a long, complicated history. He joined the Ted Turner-owned network in 1980 and has long been the main conservative voice on a station contending with a severe identity crisis as it battles Fox News.

Novak stuck with CNN's "Crossfire" from 1980 until this January, when CNN President Jonathan Klein canceled it, criticizing the program as "a bunch of guys screaming at each other" that did "nothing to illuminate the issues of the day."

Paul Waldman, a senior fellow at the liberal Media Matters for America, pointed to the cancellation of "Crossfire" as the first nail in the coffin for the argumentative shows.

"That was the granddaddy for these shows and the template for the typical cable shoutfest that is carried out today. ... It is a real indication the genre is getting tired. The shows are almost never edifying," Waldman said.

Research backs up that notion. A 2001 Ohio State University study showed television viewers remembered both sides of political talks when they were done in a civil manner. Those watching argumentative shows only remembered the side they already agreed with -- and showed more negativity toward the American political system.

Still, programmers clearly worry they will lose ratings among viewers with short attention spans. "They're just trying to grab some viewers for a few seconds, maybe for few minutes in a 15-minute segment," said Kincaid. "On that basis you have to say what you think quickly and if not be cut off for being too long or too boring."

"It's hard to fill 24 hours with real reporting," said Noyes. "If [talk shows] are done more carefully, they can still be useful. They can talk more about what's going on, with more analysis."

Ironically, Novak was supposed to be a commentator yesterday on the debut of a new CNN show geared more toward news than opinion, called "The Situation Room." The throwback-style show has a lot of hard news (both national and international), graphics and rat-a-tat hosting by Wolf Blitzer.

Early in the show Blitzer lost a live feed to a Middle East reporter. Turning to the camera Blitzer said, "Get used to it if it isn't pretty -- as pretty as it always should be."

fredfa

08-10-05, 10:24 AM

TELEVISION REVIEW
Empire Rising

By Linda Stasi New York Post

If ABC's "Empire" soured you so badly on ancient Rome that you'd sooner watch an epic about the rise and fall of Bucksnort, Tenn., I think I've found an ancient anti-dopey antidote — HBO's "Rome."

Yes, it's another serialized epic and, yes, it too is about Julius Caesar and heroic Everyman men who are caught up in his wake, but the difference between the two Roman epics is like the difference between, well, Rome and Bucksnort.

Unless you've been living with the Taliban, you can't have missed all the hoopla about this show because it's one that the cable giant has pinned a lot of hope, hype and hysteria on. In fact, HBO has given it the primo 9 p.m. Sunday "Sopranos," "Carnivale," "Six Feet Under" slot.

HBO so believes in it that "Rome" is the one that will replace "Six Feet Under" after "Under" goes under Aug. 21.

Tragically, without even a respectful mourning period, the "new wife" will move in just one week (Aug. 28) after the Fisher family buys the farm.

But can a bunch of long-dead Romans be able to win our black hearts the way newly dead people and the Californians who embalmed them did?

According to my family, yes, yes, yes. In fact, shamed as I am to admit such a thing, members of my family who've watched the first four episodes have all given it the thumbs up, which is better than a Hail Caesar-giant-wave or something.

Historically correct (in terms of events in the life of Rome and of Caesar, Marc Antony, etc.), it is also a triumph of authenticity. The set for the Forum, for example, is almost 60 percent the size of the original, the fabrics are silk, cotton, wool, linen only, and the marble buildings are painted in colors (no — they weren't left white!).

The epic begins in 52 B.C., as Julius Caesar is finishing off Gaul after eight years of war and preparing to return to Rome. The senators, fearing that the triumphant general would return and want to become emperor, conspire against him. (In fact Caesar never did become emperor, although he did declare himself dictator, which undermined the republic and paved the way for a monarchy.)

"Rome" (like the greatest miniseries of all time, "I, Claudius") weaves history around the intricacies of deception, betrayal, life, death, slaves, masters, lovers and the killers who loved them.

The story, the characters, and the writing back up the authenticity of the sets and costumes, and with one notable exception the casting is perfetto.

Four episodes left us hungry enough for eight, and while we didn't forget the Fishers, we sure didn't miss their incessant whining either. Insanity without power (Fisher style) is interesting for only so long, but insanity mixed with tremendous power makes for powerful TV.

fredfa

08-10-05, 11:33 AM

Tuesday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-10-05, 11:41 AM

50% of TV Households Will Have Digital TV by 2007

MONTEREY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2005--A recent study from Kagan Research indicates the transition from analog to digital broadcasting has cost broadcasters billions of dollars, and lays out 50 ways for them to profit from the new digital spectrum.

In the new report titled HDTV Spectrum Monetization 2005: The Economics of Datacasting and Multicasting, Kagan's forecast calls for 20.4% of TV households to be digital by end-2005, growing to 34.7% in 2006 and 51.5% by 2007.

In the transition to a digital world, consumer-electronics companies, cable operators, satellite operators and programmers naturally stand to benefit -- but comparatively little attention has been paid to TV station owners. They have borne a large financial burden in pushing the transition along, but have seen little to no return for their efforts. The answer may lie in using the digital spectrum in ways unavailable to broadcasters in the analog world.

"With over-the-air HD channels becoming increasingly ubiquitous, the industry is at the beginning of a hockey-stick growth curve that could positively impact a number of industries," reports Kagan Research Associate Patrick Johnson. "For station owners, the question is, what is the most profitable use of their 6MHz of spectrum, given the 19.4 Mbps of throughput available?"

fredfa

08-10-05, 11:47 AM

SIMON COWELL SUED OVER NEW ABC TV SHOW

From Matt Drudge at drudgreport.com

**Exclusive**

A lawsuit to be filed in Federal Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday claims AMERICAN IDOL star Simon Cowell and ABC Television Network conspired to steal the trademarked brand “Million Dollar Idea”, copy the entire premise of a show already airing in national syndication on over 125 television stations, and market that idea as their own.

The DRUDGE REPORT has learned, the federal case is being brought by original “Million Dollar Idea” creators/hosts Jean Golden and Todd Walker. It is a direct response to ABC’s July 13, 2005 announcement of a new show of the same name, “created” by Cowell and “packaged” by CAA.

“From stem to stern, each and every detail of Simon Cowell and ABC’s mock ‘Million Dollar Idea’ is a patent rip-off of Todd and Jean’s four-year labor of love,” said attorney Pierce O'Donnell.

ABC did not return calls for comment early Wednesday.

The lawsuit calls for immediate injunctive relief and unspecified damages.

“It is incredibly ironic that our show, the premise of which is to promote, protect and reward small-town American ingenuity, was itself the victim of corporate theft and greed,” said Jean Golden, co-creator of Million Dollar Idea. “What has happened to us is every inventor/entrepreneur’s worst nightmare: having your idea stolen. The arrogance of Simon Cowell and ABC is beyond comprehension. Can you imagine stealing an idea and not even bothering to change the name of it?”

“We are outraged that Simon Cowell, and ABC Network think that they are above the law,” said Todd Walker. “We were taken aback to see our brand so brazenly stolen by corporate giants.”

HDTVChallenged

08-10-05, 12:51 PM

fredfa

08-10-05, 02:08 PM

Last week’s network prime-time ratings have finally been posted near the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-10-05, 02:13 PM

And this summer's sleeper is: 'NCIS'

Show's rising ratings may foretell a far stronger fall
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com

Every year there’s a show that gains momentum during the slow summer months and becomes a hit when new episodes return come fall. Two years ago it was CBS’s “Without a Trace.” Last year it was ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

This year's summer sleeper may be CBS’s “NCIS.”

Repeats of the show are gaining in total viewers and adults 18-49 compared with last summer. It’s one of CBS’s only shows to do so this summer, with most of the network’s schedule in a slump compared with last year.

“NCIS” averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating last week, compared with a 1.9 rating the same week last year. It was up 26 percent. It also rose among total viewers, from 7.95 million to 9.39 million, good for a tie for No. 4 for the week.

Tuesday, where “NCIS” anchors CBS’s lineup at 8 p.m., is one of only two nights the network is not falling compared with last year among 18-49s. It is flat, even though 9 p.m.’s “Big Brother” is down from last season.

“NCIS” has gotten lots of buzz this summer after unexpectedly killing off one of its main characters in the season finale. That has driven casual fans to catch up this summer and try to spot any clues that Sasha Alexander was on her way out.

“NCIS” has received lots of press coverage because of that death, including the recent announcement that “Picket Fences’” Lauren Holly will join the cast this fall as a potential love interest for lead actor Mark Harmon.

The second-year “JAG” spinoff may also be grabbing “JAG” viewers looking for a new military forensics fix now that their show is off the air.

“NCIS” bettered its first-year numbers substantially last season, averaging a 3.1 18-49 rating, up 19 percent from its year one average of 2.6. Among total viewers it averaged 12.8 million, also up from year one.

If it can move up to 15 million this coming season, it would go from a top 20 show to top 15, putting it in TV’s elite tier.

fredfa

08-10-05, 02:18 PM

Over the edge for FX's new comedies
No, call it a headlong tumble, with dismal debuts

By Abigail Azote medialifemagazine.com

With highly rated shows like “The Shield,” “Nip/Tuck” and “Rescue Me,” FX rightly earned its reputation as basic cable’s home for edgy, high-quality dramas. The network had hoped to extend that reputation to comedy with two new shows premiering last week, “Starved” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

But with its new shows FX may be trying too hard for edge at the expense of quality. Both are suffering the double whammy of mixed reviews and low viewership.

“Starved” drew 1.5 million viewers at 10 p.m. Thursday, and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” averaged 1.4 million at 10:30 p.m. Neither made cable’s weekly top 50 in any demo, and they were well below FX’s three original drama premieres this year, which all averaged at least 2.9 million total viewers.

This does not bode at all well for either show or, for that matter, FX's entire foray into comedy. Consider that FX's most recent attempt at a scripted comedy, “Lucky” in 2003, averaged 2.5 million total viewers. It was canceled after one season.

In panning the two new shows, some critics seem to concur that the comedies try too hard to be outrageous. This appears to be especially the case with “Starved,” which chronicles the lives of four pals with eating disorders. In the first episode, one character, a cop with bulimia, uses his nightstick to make himself throw up.

In “Philadelphia,” about three friends who own a bar in Philly, the guys go to a pro-choice rally to pick up chicks.

"Both shows knock themselves out trying to be the 'Deadwood' of sitcoms," writes The New York Daily News' David Bianculli. "This isn't funny, and most of these characters aren't even remotely likable or entertaining."

FX knew moving away from drama was risky, especially at a time when media people were already nervous over former president Peter Liguori’s exit to head up Fox. With its new drama “Over There” already dropping audience rapidly, they can only be more nervous.

Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Aug. 7:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TNT, Spike, TBS, FX

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TNT, USA, Nick at Nite, Fox News, Spike

Top movie (18-49s): FX’s “Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo” (Sunday 8 p.m.) 1.6 million

Top sporting event (total viewers): Spike’s WWE Entertainment (Monday 10 p.m.) 5.2 million

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: MTV’s “Real World: Austin” (Tuesday 10 p.m.); Spike’s WWE Entertainment (Monday 10 p.m.); Spike’s WWE Entertainment (Monday 9 p.m.)

Show on the rise: “Hi-Jinks,” Nick at Nite, Tuesday 9:30 p.m. The premiere of “Punk’d” for kids, Nick at Nite’s hidden camera show, averaged 2.8 million total viewers and a 2.4 household rating. According to the network, that’s up 117 percent and 100 percent, respectively, over the same time period last year. Among 18-49s, the show averaged 593,000 viewers, up 113 percent versus the same time period last year.

Show on the decline: “Over There,” FX, Wednesday 10 p.m. When “Over There” premiered July 27, it was the fifth-highest-rated show of the year among 18-49s, averaging an impressive 2.4 million viewers. In its second outing it fell off sharply. Last week’s episode averaged 1.5 million viewers in that demo, down 36 percent.

fredfa

08-10-05, 08:38 PM

This is probably not good news for uncompressed HD transmission at NBC stations in the future;
NBC Universal TV Stations Creates Digital Unit

By Katy Bachman mediaweek.com August 10, 2005

NBC Universal Television Stations Tuesday became the latest mainstream broadcaster to create a new digital unit. The new Digital Media and Strategic Marketing unit will be headed by Ric Harris in the new position of executive vp and general manager of digital media and strategic marketing.

Harris comes to NBC Universal from Scripps Howard Broadcasting, where he served as vp and gm of WEWS, the company’s ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. While there, WEWS took the lead in new media initiatives, growing the station’s Web site into an online profit center, launching the area’s first TV Web site devoted exclusively to wether, and creating the market’s first news podcast.

In his new position, beginning Aug. 29, Harris will be responsible for the overall digital growth strategy for the TV stations group, including its Internet, broadband and wireless efforts, as well as all of the division’s non-broadast media initiatives.

Reporting to Jay Ireland, president of the NBC Universal TV group, Harris will work closely with the general managers of the 30-station group to coordinate the local efforts with the NBC Universal Digital Media Group.

“As the broadcast industry continues to change and the digital landscape continues to grow and evolve, it is imperative that our stations continue to embrace this new technology and capitalize on the many opportunities it presents,” Ireland said in announcing the unit's formation.

In addition to Harris, the new digital group will also include new hires Mark French, as director of multimedia sales and strategic marketing, and Brian Duffy, as director of interactive sales. Both will report to Harris.

French most recently served as WRNN-TV, an independent TV station in New York, where he served as vp of sales and programming.

Duffy was most recently director of sales for the NBCU TV group’s national sales office in Dallas.

fredfa

08-10-05, 08:59 PM

OBITUARY
Barbara Bel Geddes -- formidable actress known for 'Dallas', 82

By Steven Winn San Francisco Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Barbara Bel Geddes, the genteel stage and screen actress best known as Miss Ellie, the forbearing matriarch on the 1970s and '80s television series "Dallas," died Monday at her home in Northeast Harbor, Maine.

The cause of death was lung cancer, according to her second cousin, Lewis Bennett, of San Francisco. She was 82.

Long before sighing through the misdeeds of her Texas brood at TV's fictional South Fork, Miss Bel Geddes originated the role of Maggie, the caustic, sexually starved wife in Tennessee Williams' 1955 Broadway play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." She earned an Oscar nomination for the 1948 film "I Remember Mama" and played James Stewart's plucky girlfriend in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 "Vertigo." In a memorable 1958 episode of TV's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," Miss Bel Geddes played a housewife who murders her unfaithful husband with a frozen leg of lamb, roasts the murder weapon and serves it to the detectives.

She was born into a theatrical family in 1922 in New York City. Her father was the noted theatrical set designer and architect Norman Bel Geddes. Educated at private schools, she made her stage debut at 18, in a summer-stock production of "The School for Scandal." A year later, Miss Bel Geddes was on Broadway, in "Out of the Frying Pan." She won the first Clarence Derwent Award, a prize for outstanding young performers, as well as a New York Drama Critics Award, for "Deep Are the Roots" (1945).

Miss Bel Geddes made her feature film debut, opposite Henry Fonda and Vincent Price, in the "The Long Night" (1947). She gained wider acclaim as the daughter-narrator of "I Remember Mama," the memoir of a Norwegian immigrant family living in San Francisco. Other film roles include the 1948 Western "Blood on the Moon," "Caught" (1949) and "Panic in the Streets" (1950). Following her testimony before the McCarthy-era House Un-American Activities Committee, Miss Bel Geddes found no work in Hollywood until Hitchcock cast her in "Vertigo."

She overcame Tennessee Williams' misgivings about her appearance to win the role of Maggie in "Cat," according to her cousin Bennett. "He (Williams) told her she was too homespun," said Bennett. "But (director Elia) Kazan said that since everyone in this play is so horrible, we need someone people can relate to."

It was that quality of warm, grounded likability that Miss Bel Geddes brought to Miss Ellie, the "Dallas" role she originated in 1978. For the years she played the part, Miss Bel Geddes may have been the most famous and long- suffering public mother in America. With her wistful, enigmatic smiles and level-headed advice about all things dysfunctional, her Miss Ellie was the Ewing family's revered and ineffectual moral compass. She won an Emmy in 1980.

Miss Bel Geddes became embroiled in an offscreen soap opera plot after Donna Reed replaced her as Miss Ellie in 1984. Miss Bel Geddes had withdrawn to have heart surgery. Viewers never accepted Reed in the role. When Miss Bel Geddes returned to the series in 1985, Reed sued the producers and settled out of court. Miss Bel Geddes played Miss Ellie until 1990 but acted very little over the last 15 years of her life.

Bennett remembered his cousin as a modest, nature-loving woman who "loved ducks and geese and ravens. She got after me once when I complained about the pigeons."

Miss Bel Geddes was married twice, first to engineer Carl Schreuer, from 1944-51, and then to Broadway director Windsor Lewis, from 1951 until his death in 1972. She is survived by two daughters, Susan and Betsy.

fredfa

08-10-05, 09:13 PM

Anchor's drive helps her thrive in new position with MSNBC

By Pat Berman Knight Ridder Newspapers

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rita Cosby figures you can either be overwhelmed by the highly competitive demands of TV news or you can thrive on them.

Cosby seems temperamentally unsuited to do anything but thrive.

With her energetic manner, husky voice and blonde mane, Cosby has the requisite flash and fire of the talking heads who dominate cable news shows. But she also brings credibility to the table. A three-time Emmy winner, she has earned a reputation for nailing down exclusive, hard-to-get interviews — from elusive pop star Michael Jackson to Yugoslavian president and war criminal Slobodan Milosevic.

Since graduating from the University of South Carolina in 1989, Cosby also has covered plane crashes, hurricanes, hostage-takings and battlefronts.

"I'm a news junkie. I love a story. I love the business," she said this week.

Cosby is running full tilt, squeezing in a phone call between changing planes. She launched her nightly news show, "Rita Cosby: Live & Direct" at 6 p.m. Monday on MSNBC.

Cosby seems to have been on the move since her days as a student, when she told her journalism professor, the late Lee Dudek, that she wanted to "cover the world." Dudek, in whose name Cosby helped establish and finances a South Carolina scholarship, knew what hard-to-get interview subjects such as Jackson or Milosevic would learn: Cosby is persistent.

"I'll wait days, weeks or years for an interview," she said. "Milosevic took years."

And she's tireless. Literally.

"I don't need a lot of sleep. I can live on none if I have to," she said.

While at South Carolina as a full-time student, Cosby rolled out of bed at 4 a.m. to work at her job operating the master controls at WACH, the Fox affiliate in Columbia. At a stint on a summer-school production, Cosby's work ethic got the attention of actor Patrick O'Neal, who passed along her résumé to Diane Sawyer.

The résumé led to an interview with Sawyer; after graduating in 1989, Cosby earned a coveted internship on "The CBS Evening News."

A news job followed in Bakersfield, Calif., where she won a regional Emmy for investigative reporting. The next job was at the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. Her career with Fox News began in 1995.

She has been called "a tabby" — one critic's shorthand for tabloid-style reporters — and "chunky," but she blows off the cheap shots.

"I think newswomen get more comments on their appearance and what they do than newsmen. ... This is not a business for someone with thin skin. You pay a price for getting into this arena."

The time slot Cosby takes has not been kind to previous occupants, including — most recently — "The Situation with Tucker Carlson," who has been bumped to 8 p.m. (11 p.m. EST, out of prime time on the East Coast).

But with her 16 years of experience, and a format that follows the news of the day, promising fresh faces, energy and unpredictability, Cosby is confident.

"I think our show is going to be different," she said.

Cosby left a successful position as a weekend news anchor and a senior correspondent at Fox News Channel. She said that when MSNBC, an also-ran in the cable news network ratings, offered her a nightly show, she couldn't refuse.

But what matters most to Cosby is her reputation as a journalist: "I'm not the person to go to for the soft interviews. I'm going to be respectful but fair."

Cosby said the compliment that pleased her most was when those with opposing positions agreed that whether they liked her questions or not, they were treated fairly.

"You keep critiquing your-self through the years," Cosby said. "You learn how to part psychologist to understand the person. You learn to be better with time. You learn when a world leader or a president only has 10 minutes, what the three or four key questions are.

"You have to hit all the buttons and not lose sight of the fact our job is to tell the story and make it interesting."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On TV
"Rita Cosby: Live & Direct," 6 PM ET weekdays on MSNBC.

fredfa

08-10-05, 09:19 PM

"Rita Gets It," But Not As Many Viewers
mediabistro.com

In between the "Rita Gets It" promos, MSNBC is calling Live & Direct the "big new cable hit." But on her second MSNBC night, Rita Cosby lost 38% of her premiere audience -- and more than half of her younger viewers.

Rita recorded 665,000 total viewers on Monday, but it dropped to 414,000 on Tuesday. She had 245,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo on Monday, but it declined to 126,000 on Tuesday, a drop of 49 percent. Her 18-49 viewership dropped by 52% and her 18-34 #'s dropped by 71%.

She was still the #1 show on MSNBC's primetime, and has helped boost the network's primetime average. But look at her competition; It's obvious she has a long way to go...

> Update: 5:40pm: "Scarborough (201k) and Abrams (130k) had a bigger 25-54 audience than Cosby (126k) Tuesday night," a tipster notes.

The Scoreboard: Tuesday, August 9
Total viewers:

Total day:
FNC: 1,130,000
CNN: 552,000
HLN: 289,000
MSNBC: 221,000
CNBC: 131,000

Primetime:
FNC: 2,260,000
CNN: 1,001,000
HLN: 619,000
MSNBC: 371,000
CNBC: 95,000

25-54 demographic:

Total day:
FNC: 335,000
CNN: 177,000
HLN: 107,000
MSNBC: 86,000
CNBC: 32,000

Primetime:
FNC: 596,000
CNN: 312,000
HLN: 235,000
MSNBC: 137,000
CNBC: 58,000

The hourlies:

7pm:
Shep: 1,446,000
Cooper: 628,000
Showbiz: 149,000
Hardball: 282,000
Conan: 150,000

8pm:
O'Reilly: 2,355,000
Zahn: 679,000
Grace: 810,000
Countdown: 315,000
CNBC: 109,000

9pm:
H&C: 2,205,000
King: 1,402,000
Prime News: 480,000
Rita: 414,000
Mad Money repeat: 73,000

10pm:
Greta: 2,220,000
NewsNight: 921,000
Grace repeat: 568,000
Scarborough: 384,000
Deutsch: 103,000

11pm:
O'Reilly repeat: 1,177,000
Dobbs repeat: 455,000
Showbiz repeat: 247,000
Situation: 152,000
CNBC: 69,000

fredfa

08-10-05, 09:28 PM

Bad Blood At MSNBC: Olbermann Erupts

By Lloyd Grove New York Daily News

It might be a good idea for Keith Olbermann and Rick Kaplan to give each other a wide berth until things cool down.

I hear that MSNBC staffers in the Secaucus newsroom-studio watched in horror Monday night as the volatile Kaplan, the president of the cable outlet, publicly laced into the eccentric Olbermann, anchor of the 8 p.m. show "Countdown," after the latter eulogized lung-cancer victim Peter Jennings with a graphic rant about his own cancer scare.

Olbermann - a former pipe and cigar smoker - is said to have looked stunned as Kaplan raced onto the set and shouted at him after he signed off.

Olbermann had urged viewers to quit smoking and repeatedly mentioned "spitting blood" and "spitting globs of myself into a garbage can" while discussing his bout with a benign tumor in in his mouth.

I'm told that Kaplan erupted angrily and at length, calling Olbermann "out of control" and "not to be trusted," and accusing him of driving away viewers from the 9 p.m. debut of Kaplan hire Rita Cosby's show, "Live and Direct."

Kaplan - a friend and former ABC News colleague of Jennings, and a frequent cigar smoker - apparently got even angrier when Olbermann suggested that the reason he was upset was that "this is about you."

I'm told that the anchor quietly asked the news exec to move the discussion to a private location, but the enraged Kaplan wouldn't hear of it.

"I don't care if you don't come to work tomorrow," Kaplan told Olbermann, according to my spies.

Olbermann - who yesterday defended his much-criticized remarks on Jim Romenesko's media gossip Web site at www.poynter.org - did come to work, but he didn't return my phone call.

Kaplan told me: "I'm not going to discuss it. It's between me and Keith."

fredfa

08-10-05, 09:38 PM

If Hall of Fame level narcissism interests you, you might want to read this (it's near the bottom of the transcript)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8883271/

It is Keith Olbermann turning the death of Peter Jennings into an avenue to tell how hard he (Keith) had it when he was operated on for a benign tumor -- caused by smoking -- in his mouth.

It was Keith's taking the occasion of Jennings' death to shine the spotlight on himself which apparently made Rick Kaplan go ballistic.

keenan

08-11-05, 12:41 AM

From the Boston Herald (business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=97488)

Comcast costs consumers

By Greg Gatlin/ The Messenger
Thursday, August 11, 2005

A $150 cable bill has been mocking me from the kitchen table for over a week.
I now understand why Comcast's second-quarter earnings skyrocketed 64 percent.
Comcast charges me $150 for a month of digital cable television, Internet access, a couple of ``premium'' channels and a digital video recorder.
I'm not even sure what some of the line items mean.
That doesn't prove the cable giant has become so big that it has a stranglehold on consumers.
But it doesn't exactly ease my concerns.

Comcast may find itself at the center of the next big media ownership battle. As the Herald reported earlier this week, a trio of consumer activist groups have put Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, along with Time Warner and other cable giants in their cross hairs, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to limit Big Cable's growth.
Activists, who argue that consumers are being overcharged billions of dollars a year, are calling for an ownership cap between 20 percent and 30 percent of the national market. They claim such a cap would force Comcast to divest some holdings in key markets. And, they say, it would force the FCC to rule against Comcast and Time Warner's proposed purchase of Adelphia's cable operations. (Comcast says its market share would still be under 30 percent, even after absorbing Adelphia.)
Comcast isn't shaking in its boots. And given cable's powerful lobby in Washington, Comcast may be right not to worry – that is unless there's a consumer backlash. Activist groups say 15,000 Americans have already filed concerns about the Adelphia purchase.
Consumer activists argue that Big Cable's media dominance has become ``overwhelming.'' Cable giants, they say, have gained too much power over programming and price.
Monthly bills have doubled in the past decade. And while cable companies have claimed programming expenses are driving up prices, profits are also soaring.
Comcast counters that big is not necessarily bad and emphasizes its investments in services, including HDTV and video on demand. It says satellite providers DirecTV and EchoStar together have 26 million customers compared to Comcast's 21.5 million.

``This is a competitive marketplace and consumers have more options available to them than ever before,'' said Comcast spokeswoman Shawn Feddeman.
But Tim Karr, campaign director for media advocacy group Free Press, says the comparison with satellite looks at only one service - television programming - and misses the point of where media is going. The future of cable is as a conduit for all things media, including high-speed Internet, telephone service and television.
Free Press released a report yesterday that found the United States ranks 16th in the world in broadband penetration and growth rates. A key reason: Many people can't afford it. Free Press argues that big cable companies are squashing competitors who would make broadband affordable.
Comcast downplayed a report in the Wall Street Journal last month that the cable company would turn its Outdoor Life cable channel into a sports network to rival ESPN.
But this week reports surfaced that Comcast has worked out a $100 million deal with the NHL to televise hockey games.
Airing big games exclusively on Comcast channels might push more consumers to pony up the ever-increasing subscription price.
``The bad guys here aren't Comcast management,'' said Robert McChesney, founder and president of Free Press. ``The bad guys are the politicians that allow a single company like Comcast to gobble up such a large percent of monopoly licenses in this country then do what they will rationally do – exploit that power.''

fredfa

08-11-05, 12:55 AM

I must say I agree with almost everything in the article, but in all fairness, the Boston Herald has a strong history and very tight relationship with NewsCorp.

Nonetheless this story at least is a good read :)

fredfa

08-11-05, 01:33 AM

After Uproar, the Emmys Return to the Same Old Script
The TV Column
By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Thursday, August 11, 2005; C07

The television academy has rescinded plans to make this year's Primetime Emmy Awards more interesting.

It all started months ago when the academy, still reeling from the second worst audience ever scored by last September's trophy show, began looking for ways to jazz up the broadcast.

What evolved was a proposal to move all directing and writing derbies, as well as awards for best miniseries, best TV flick and best variety/music/comedy special, off the broadcast ceremony, which is carried each year by one of the major broadcast networks -- this year it's CBS, on Sept. 18.

Winners in those races would instead be announced during the so-called "creative arts" portion of the Primetime Emmy Awards, a ceremony held several days before the broadcast ceremony.

(The creative arts ceremony, during which a lot of tech awards are handed out, as well as the Emmys for guest acting, is telecast in a severely edited form on cable network E!)

Moving the movie and miniseries derbies out of the broadcast night of competition would also have greatly reduced the number of cable wins that night. Cable networks tend to mop up in those races, owing in part to the fact that the broadcast networks are largely out of that business.

This side effect no doubt pleased suits at broadcast networks that air the show, even though, as trade paper Variety noted back in January, it would severely reduce the trophy show's star wattage. That's because big film stars will occasionally condescend to do a flick or miniseries so long as it's on cable, for which they can count on snagging an Emmy nom. Al Pacino, for example, showed up last year and won an Emmy for his performance in HBO's "Angels in America." Ah, well, you can't have everything, reasoned broadcast network suits.

Even so, the planned change knotted enough knickers in Hollywood that the idea was reconsidered and a compromise reached in which the abovementioned categories would remain in the broadcast, but all the nominees would pre-tape acceptance comments.

Winners' comments would then be played as they walked down the aisle and up onstage to pick up their trophies.

The academy announced the change in April, estimating it would cut 20 minutes from the ceremony, which could then be used for production numbers.

Because if there's one sure-fire way to attract millions more viewers to a trophy show, it's a production number.

It seemed good to go. But under that thin veil of calm and solidarity, writers and directors were stewing.

And plotting.

They knew -- because they are, after all, in the business of show business -- that canned thank-yous to agents, managers, publicists, personal trainers and Kabbalah instructors do not resonate in the same way as do live thank-yous to agents, managers, publicists, personal trainers and Kabbalah instructors.

According to recent press reports, some of them finally came out into the open and said -- anonymously, of course, because that's how strong positions are taken in Hollywood -- that they would refuse to prepare their tapes, thus depriving viewers of their moving thank-yous to their agents, managers, publicists, personal trainers and Kabbalah instructors.

Here at the TV Column, we call that kind of fit-throwing "good."

Some, trade paper TV Week reported, even threatened to prepare tapes that mocked the Emmys. Which we like to call "even better."

Still others threatened to boycott the Emmys altogether, TV Week continued. Which is, of course, the "best of all possible worlds."

And yet, inexplicably, it appears to have caused the TV academy's board of governors to vote this week to forget the whole thing.

In a statement, the academy insisted that it was scrapping the plan because when this year's Emmy show executive producer Ken Ehrlich and the academy carefully reviewed the plan, they discovered that "the amount of time being saved was not as much as originally thought."

foxeng

08-11-05, 06:49 AM

...the Boston Herald is a NewsCorp-owned newspaper.

Really? That might be news to Mr Murdoch! (Don't you mean the New York Post?)

keenan

08-11-05, 10:33 AM

Today's Boston Herald

Today's Boston Herald came into existence on December 20, 1982, when Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of News American, Inc. bought the tabloid from the Hearst Corporation and changed its name from the Herald American back to the Boston Herald.

For the next decade, the Herald continued to grow in size and circulation, expanding its commitment to cover local news, increased its local sports coverage and strengthened its business and feature sections. This resulted in a strong increase in both advertising revenue and circulation.

In February of 1994, Patrick Purcell, Publisher of the Boston Herald and a News Corp. executive., purchased the Daily Advertiser from Murdoch's News American, Inc. to establish it as an independent newspaper

http://www.heraldmedia.com/history.bg
HERALD MEDIA

keenan

08-11-05, 11:18 AM

From Marc Berman's Programming Insider (www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp)

Sopranos Fans, Take Note:

Series creator David Chase is in conversations with HBO to extend the upcoming sixth season (which is slated to launch next spring) by as many as 10 additional episodes. The original order was an estimated 13. Considering how long we have had to wait for new episodes, that is the least he can do!

archiguy

08-11-05, 11:27 AM

Wow! So they're thinking of a commercial network full-season-length order of 23 episodes, eh? That sounds great on the surface for Sopranos fans, but will Tony and his ill-mannered friends wear out their welcome with a season twice as long as any in the past? And how will the very long shadow of HBO's biggest hit affect the fortunes of it's other high-minded offerings like Rome and Deadwood which will undoubtedly be competing for viewers' attention at the same time?

Ken H

08-11-05, 11:30 AM

CPanther95

08-11-05, 11:52 AM

I would guess they'll break up the 23 into two seasons worth, one in the spring, one in the late fall.

.... two years later. ;)

fredfa

08-11-05, 12:03 PM

Wednesday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-11-05, 12:14 PM

You are right, foxeng.
I am sorry for the sloppy error.
I had forgotten Murdoch spun the Herald off in the 90s.
I've changed my post.

fredfa

08-11-05, 12:22 PM

'West Wing’ Plans To Go Live

The New York Post---”The West Wing" is planning a rare, live episode this fall that will feature a presidential debate between the show's two candidates, played by Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda.

"We are in negotiations with NBC to do a live debate," the show's executive producer, John Wells, tells TVGuide.com.

The live show would likely air sometime in November.

The hard-charging political drama is being built this season around a heated presidential election campaign to replace the show's longtime star, Martin Sheen, who plays President Josiah Bartlett.

In the show, Bartlett must step down after eight years in office.

"West Wing" this fall will compete with another White House drama, ABC's "Commander in Chief," a new show about the first female president.

fredfa

08-11-05, 12:26 PM

A Couple of Notes
By Joel Meyer BCBeat.com

David Frost, Al-Jazeera Host?

Al-Jazeera is in talks to sign veteran British broadcaster David Frost for its new international channel set to debut next year, reports the UK Guardian.

The Divine Right of TiVo Owners

Folks, David Bianculli is just doing his job.

The NY Daily News TV critic writes today about the effect DVRs have had on "spoiling" surprise elements of television shows. Appointment viewers who still watch live TV have become spoilers, ruining plot elements for friends with TiVos, who tend to watch TV hours or days after it originally aired.

"...a few weeks ago, when I was stunned by the character Nate's unexpected death on HBO's "Six Feet Under," I wrote about my reaction, and the implications for the remaining few episodes in the series, in a column published two days after the episode was televised. For every E-mail I got from a reader thanking me and appreciating my analysis, I got another one chastising me for revealing a secret the writer had yet to discover because he stored it on TiVo."

To the complainers: Big Pussy is dead, too. Start using your $300 piece of entertainment equipment, you dunderheads.

fredfa

08-11-05, 12:32 PM

DirecTV's Plans Pressure TiVo
By VAUHINI VARA THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE August 11, 2005 12:23 p.m.
TiVo fell 39 cents, or 6.5%, to $5.60 Thursday after DirecTV Group confirmed plans to stop marketing TiVo's digital video recorders this year and replace them with its own product.

Since News Corp. took control of DirecTV in December 2003, talk has swirled that TiVo's relationship with its main distribution partner would end. In January, DirecTV solidified the speculation when it unveiled a new digital video recorder at a trade show and said it expected to roll it out by the end of the year.

DirecTV Chief Executive Chase Carey said the company plans to stop marketing TiVo boxes later this year when its new DVR comes out - echoing comments he's made for the past year. DirecTV inched up 7 cent to $16.26 on the New York Stock Exchange.

To brace itself, TiVo has emphasized its independent product by adding new home network capabilities, slashing prices and advertising more. It also signed a partnership deal with Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable operator with 21.5 million customers.

keenan

08-11-05, 01:28 PM

I would guess they'll break up the 23 into two seasons worth, one in the spring, one in the late fall.
Like Battlestar Galactica is doing on SciFi.

fredfa

08-11-05, 01:32 PM

Breaking "The Sopranos" up might give HBO more time to try to come up with something, anything, to succeed it.

I know "Deadwood" has its devotees, but based on pure ratings, it has been a pretty barren time for HBO since "Sex and the City" left.

(And, as I recall, we haven't seen a new "Sopranos" episode since Clinton --or was that Carter? -- was president!) :)

fredfa

08-11-05, 01:43 PM

Letterman in HD

BroadcastingCable.com---High-definition broadcasts of The Late Show with David Letterman will begin on Monday, Aug. 29, according to a show spokesman.

fredfa

08-11-05, 01:51 PM

WB's Garth Ancier on the fall season
Its challenges and plans for bouncing back
By Kevin Downey medialifemagazine.com

The WB went through a major overhaul in its executive suites last summer when network founder Jamie Kellner retired and CEO Jordan Levin stepped down, leaving Garth Ancier, the network’s chairman, with full responsibility for the WB. The network has since been transitioning from one largely focused on teenage girls into one seeking a mass audience, albeit primarily in the 12-34 demographic. The transition has been bumpy. The WB’s ratings were down in all key demographics last season, including a year-to-year tumble of 8 percent in households, 19 percent among teenagers and 6 percent in the 18-34 demographic. The network renewed only two of last year’s new shows--“Blue Collar TV” and “Living with Fran”--while axing six. Ancier speaks with Media Life about the challenges facing the WB, how it hopes to bounce back, and efforts to establish a clearer brand identity for the network.

Q: Why has the WB been transitioning into a network with broad demographic appeal, especially when the previous young-skewing focus worked well for many years?

A: We have been very clear about taking what we view as our core 12-24 audience and extending it to 25-34. I think you see that in our selection of shows this year.
The previous strategy, which was really Jamie [Kellner’s] strategy, was to stand out to advertisers in a world where most networks view themselves as 18-49 or 25-54 vehicles.
Jamie’s [point], and it’s still the right one, is those networks – ABC, NBC and CBS, in particular – tend to skew to the older end of that spectrum. While you are getting an 18-49 or 25-54 number, the [viewers skew to] the older end of the spectrum.
Jamie’s argument to the sales community was always that we could be a complementary network by over-indexing on the younger end of that spectrum. The [younger end] of that spectrum to me and to Jamie was always 18-34.
There is no problem being seen as a young network. The concern we had is that people kept seeing us as a network solely for teenagers and not for viewers if they were older than 23 or 24 years old.
It’s frustrating to all of us because we have shows like “Everwood” and “Gilmore Girls,” which qualitatively and from an adult-interest standpoint are very well suited to the 18-34, and probably beyond the 18-34, age range.
But if the audience perceives that these shows are not for them, they will not check out your network as they otherwise would.

Q: Last season was a transition period for the network, with David Janollari coming in as entertainment president. Does this coming season mark the end of that transition?

A: This was a transition period, but I look at it slightly differently.
David came in last June, which was right after the upfront, so all the planning and program development in comedies and dramas was completely done. There was really nothing David could do other than introduce a reality show, which he did, [summer hit] “Beauty and the Geek.” That is the kind of show you can ramp up in a short timeframe.
This season all the development is the handy work of David and his team.
The demarcation line is the fall season. Up to now, it’s pretty much been Jordan [Levin’s] work in development of scripted programs and even reality programs, outside “Beauty and the Geek.”
David is a multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner. He’s a celebrated producer. And he has terrific relationships in the creative community.
What he’s done is take people like Marta Kauffman, who he helped develop “Friends” with, Max Mutchnick from “Will & Grace,” Jerry Bruckheimer, who developed a pilot for us that never got on the air, McG, who has developed programs for us before but not successfully, and gave them shows that make sense and that are well done.
What I’m seeing at this point is all the scripts and dailies of the shows in production.
While I think advertisers had a very positive reaction to the schedule, as the cost-per-thousand increases we got in what was a difficult upfront [ad-selling season] for everybody suggest, I think they will have an even more positive reaction when they see the series.

Q: The WB has reworked every night in its primetime lineup for the fall season. Advertisers and media buyers often see that as a sign of trouble. What’s your take on it?

A: There is certainly more movement of shows around the schedule than we would have preferred. But we needed to freshen up the schedule and give the new shows every chance they can have to succeed.
We also had to get more aggressive on Thursday nights, where we had not been aggressive before.
So we made a number of changes. But, frankly, most of the networks made about as many changes as we did.

Q: UPN is getting a lot of buzz for shows like comedian Chris Rock’s “Everybody Hates Chris” and press coverage for “Veronica Mars,” which is getting airtime on CBS this summer. How do you compete with other networks for buzz?

A: You don’t compete with buzz on another network by focusing on the other network. You focus on your programs and try to make them buzz worthy.
The fact is that Chris Rock and this idea have resonated with people. If the show can live up to the promise of the pilot I think they will have a successful show on their hands.
I think we have generated a pretty good amount of buzz with [drama] “Supernatural.” But it’s a little too early for the other ones because they haven’t been out there as much in promotion yet. The early lead promotion for “Supernatural” is just starting, so what you’re seeing is the awareness stage. “Supernatural” is the first show to premiere, so it’s a natural place to put our emphasis.

Q: Most of the WB’s shows that have premiered in the fall the past two years and this coming season have come from the WB’s sister studio, Warner Bros. Some media people say that relying so heavily on a related studio stifles creativity. What’s your response to that criticism?

A: I’ll tell you what the challenge is.
We did a number of pilots with a number of studios this year, and some were good and some were not so good. Which is always the case. We are in a situation where our sister studio is by far the dominant studio in scripted television. There’s not much you can do when their shows actually are better.
We’re not going to work with other studios simply to have diversity on our fall schedule.
And “Pepper Dennis” would have made it to the fall schedule because it’s that good, and that’s from [Twentieth Century] Fox. But the lead (Rebecca Romijn) is doing “X-Men 3,” so she was not available.

Q: If you don’t mind trying to predict the future, how do you think the WB will do this coming season, in terms of solidifying its brand identity?

A: What we’re trying to do is clearly be an 18-34 network that does not exclude viewers that are past their teenage years. We are trying to be viewed in the advertising community as not just a teen and twenty-something play but something with a bit broader appeal.
I think advertisers have gotten that.
This is the first year we’ve had every single automaker on our schedule. We’ve had 17 new advertisers.
We’ve always done well in wireless and health and that type of advertiser, but auto has been one of those areas where we have not been strong until this year. I think automakers look at who has the capital to go buy a car.
And coming off a somewhat down year for us, we had comparable [upfront] CPM increases to Fox and CBS, and we were right behind ABC, which obviously had a stellar year.
That’s not just attributable to the programming or sales departments. Clearly, the industry thinks there is something going on here that they want to be part of.
And we’re seeing a lot of major broadcasters expressing interest in owning WB affiliates.
For example, Clear Channel bought its first WB affiliate in Salt Lake City [this week]. You’re seeing a lot of groups that have started dipping their toe in the WB like Belo and Hearst, now Clear Channel, and others are seriously looking at our stations and deciding which ones make sense to acquire.

fredfa

08-11-05, 04:29 PM

"The Contender" to begin second season on ESPN

ESPN--- "The Contender," the reality television series about professional boxers, will begin its second season in April 2006 on ESPN.

The network, Mark Burnett Productions, and DreamWorks Television made the announcement Thursday.

"The Contender" is an unscripted drama about the lives of 16 professional boxers as they compete for the chance to change their lives. The show will air as part of ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) programming and be executive produced by "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sylvester Stallone. Casting and production on the series, which will air in primetime beginning April 2006, will begin immediately.

" 'The Contender' has all of the elements that make it the right fit for ESPN: compelling storylines, dynamic characters and suspense over the outcome," Mark Shapiro, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production, said. "This series speaks to our viewers' love for competition and their appreciation for triumph over adversity, and it goes without saying that the track record of Mark Burnett is exemplary -- a perfect match for the critical and ratings successes EOE has delivered in both scripted and unscripted drama."

Said Burnett: "Our vision from the onset was to improve the entertainment experience of televised boxing for the fans. What better platform to achieve that vision than on the network that pioneered sports television programming."

After being introduced to the contestants in the first episode, subsequent shows will see one or more boxers eliminated through ring competition. Viewers will see contestants training in the ring, living together in one house and witness their personal interactions, while learning the details of these men's lives and what led them to pursue their dreams.

ESPN has options to renew the series for two subsequent seasons.

foxeng

08-11-05, 05:34 PM

You are right, foxeng.
I am sorry for the sloppy error.
I had forgotten Murdoch spun the Herald off in the 90s.
I've changed my post.

You can't keep up without a score card, I am here to tell you! Something is always coming and going in News! ;)

fredfa

08-11-05, 06:26 PM

Eight More Hits for Sopranos
By Joel Meyer Broadcasting & Cable

HBO announced Thursday it will produce eight additional episodes of The Sopranos that will air in January 2007.

The mob drama is currently shooting 12 episodes for its upcoming sixth season, which will debut in March 2006.

"When something is as remarkable as The Sopranos, our audience would like to see it continue as long as possible,” said Chris Albrecht, HBO Chairman and CEO, “so we are thrilled that David Chase felt there are more stories to be told."

The cast's contract negotiations for additional episodes could be an issue. In 2003, star James Gandolfini battled with the network over a deal for the fifth season. HBO does not publicly discuss specific contracts, but a spokesman said HBO is confident that the cast will be comfortable finishing the full 20 episodes.

In May, series creator David Chase hinted to a crowd at a Newhouse School of Public Communications event that more Sopranos might be in the works.

Chase said that he could extend the show without having to alter the sixth season, which had already been charted.

fredfa

08-11-05, 06:31 PM

Eye's Got a Secret ESPN
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable

After a one-year hiatus, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is returning to CBS this fall.

CBS aired the scantily-clad supermodel parade in 2002 and 2003 after ABC aired the first show in 2001.

Last year, the retailer decided against producing a show, which reportedly costs about $10 million to produce.

“We’d always intended to bring the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show back,” said Victoria’s Secret spokesperson Monica Mitro.

The show was also an annual target for activist groups due to its content, and has come under FCC investigation on multiple occasions. Complaints against the 2002 show were included when Viacom paid the FCC a reported $3.5 million to settle all outstanding indecency complaints in 2004, but those complaints would have likely been denied, since the FCC had already said the show wasn't offensive in response to complaints filed when it was on ABC.

While CBS is planning on airing the special in late November or early December, it has not been well-supported by viewers, with total audience steadily dropping from 12.3 million in 2001 to 10.5 million in 2002 (against ABC’s Bachelor finale) to 9.4 million in 2003.

According to CBS, the behind-the-scenes special will be taped in New York City at the Lexington Avenue Armory.

fredfa

08-11-05, 06:36 PM

Is Satellite TV In a Slump?
Both DIRECTV and EchoStar report a sharp sub growth decline -- and it may not be a coincidence
By Phillip Swann TVPredictions.com

Washington, D.C. (August 10, 2005) -- For more than a decade, the satellite TV industry has been dishing it out, stealing customers from cable with a dazzling array of innovative features and services. DIRECTV and EchoStar, the nation's top two satcasters, each have amassed more than 10 million subscribers and done so at a breathtaking pace.

But there are signs that satellite's wild ride may have finally hit a roadblock. EchoStar this week reported that it added approximately 225,000 net subscribers in the second quarter, a 33 percent drop from the 340,000 subs it added in last year's second quarter. EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen cited increased competition from telcos, cable and DIRECTV as one reason for the loss.

However, DIRECTV reported last week that its 2005 second quarter net subscribers dropped 45 percent to 225,000.

It should be noted that both satellite TV services also reported a profit for the second quarter despite the subscription dips. (Although the profits were largely the result of one-time tax and accounting benefits.) In addition, DIRECTV now has 14.7 million subscribers while EchoStar is at 11.4 million. The two companies are hardly headed to the poorhouse.

But the subscription drop shouldn't be dismissed as either a one-time occurrence caused by increased competition or a seasonal glitch related to consumer spending and interest. The satellite TV industry is facing three serious challenges, perhaps the most serious in its history:

1. Digital Cable

For years, many people purchased satellite dishes from either DIRECTV or EchoStar simply because they provided more channels than cable -- a lot more channels. In the 1990s, when cable carried 50 channels or less in most markets, the satellite providers offered more than 200. When I was publisher of Satellite DIRECT magazine in the 1990s, I commissioned Nielsen Media Research to conduct four major studies over three years, asking consumers why they were buying dishes. The number one reason in each study: more channels.

However, thanks to new digital cable set-tops, cable TV operators can now offer as many channels as the satcasters. Satellite's best weapon of the past decade has been taken out of its arsenal.

2. New Technology

In the last few years, there has been an explosion of new TV technologies, such as High-Definition TV, Digital Video Recording and Video on Demand. Both cable and satellite operators have struggled to find more bandwidth to add these new features. However, the battle has been more taxing for the satcasters because they beam their signals from satellites in the sky,which have finite capacity.

Consequently, DIRECTV and EchoStar have been slow of late to expand their HDTV lineups (although EchoStar did add 10 HD channels from Cablevision's Voom satellite service, which has been closed.) and they still do not provide Video on Demand service, which cable does.

DIRECTV is launching four new satellites over the next two years to add capacity for HDTV and other services -- and EchoStar promises to expand as well. But satellite's recent subscription dip could be a byproduct of the industry's current technology gap. More consumers now see cable as offering more choice, which used to be satellite's most attractive selling point.

And while DIRECTV is attempting to close this gap with the new satellites, cable operators are expanding their capacities as well -- and more cheaply than launching rockets in the sky.

3. The Law of Diminishing Returns

The satellite industry now has more than 25 million subscribers, but future growth could be limited simply because people can't get the signals where they live. Unlike cable, whose wires can bypass pesky obstacles such as trees and buildings, the satellite dish must have a clear view of the southern sky (where the satellites are positioned) to display the signals. Many consumers live in an apartment building with no place to install the dish or in a house whose southern view is blocked. They might want to get the dish, but can't.

The satellite industry has done a terrific job implementing programs that permit multiple apartments to share one dish. But the southern sky problem could become a larger one in the coming years as the industry tries to expand its base.

DIRECTV and EchoStar, of course, are aware of these three challenges, which explains why they are busily adding new services and investing in the infrastructure necessary to add even more. And the two satcasters have demonstrated extraordinary courage and creativity in the past when facing similar battles. They shouldn't be counted out, particularly when you consider that DIRECTV is owned by the deep-pocketed and resourceful News Corp. (Under the crafty Ergen, EchoStar has also baffled the naysayers.)

But the satellite industry may soon find that it can no longer count on rapid subscription growth -- no matter how much it spends.

fredfa

08-11-05, 06:43 PM

foxeng:

The one constant about NewsCorp is that when it gets in a battle it will spend whatever it has to (and often more!) -- and it almost always comes out a winner.

keenan

08-11-05, 07:37 PM

..and when you have over 6 billion in cash, as reported today among the other outstanding 4Q numbers News Corp put up, you can do just about anything you want... :)

foxeng

08-11-05, 07:43 PM

foxeng:

The one constant about NewsCorp is that when it gets in a battle it will spend whatever it has to (and often more!) -- and it almost always comes out a winner.

Not everyone buys into that, but it is true more times than not and that is a historical fact.

Interesting times we live in!

Ken H

08-11-05, 08:11 PM

I would guess they'll break up the 23 into two seasons worth, one in the spring, one in the late fall.I was close, but should have asked the M8B.

fredfa

08-11-05, 09:33 PM

Unfortunately a lot of that $6 billion will have go to John Malone to get him off Rupert's a**.

Too bad it couldn't go directly to Fox for programming and/or DirecTV for hardware.

Droford

08-11-05, 09:48 PM

The satellite industry now has more than 25 million subscribers, but future growth could be limited simply because people can't get the signals where they live. Unlike cable, whose wires can bypass pesky obstacles such as trees and buildings, the satellite dish must have a clear view of the southern sky (where the satellites are positioned) to display the signals. Many consumers live in an apartment building with no place to install the dish or in a house whose southern view is blocked. They might want to get the dish, but can't.

The same can be said about Cable. I tried to get Comcast to run a cable down the road I live on for several years, to no avail. Given that there are only like 3 other houses down the road, and no one else wants cable (they all had big C-Band dishes or now the little dishes), so Comcast said it wasn't worth it to run cable about 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile for 1 person, even though as recently as 2 years ago I said I was willing to subscribe to the top package and cable internet for as long as it would take for them to recoup their costs. They said no and I got Directv. Still does nothing for my slow internet as I live too far out for anything but slow (21kbps) dialup and I've heard too much bad things about Sat Internet to even consider it. But the stuff I've been hearing on WiMax technology has me curious and hopeful.

I keep wanting Comcast to decide to call and go "We'll run a cable to you now" just so I could tell them "sorry, Im not interested anymore"

fredfa

08-11-05, 09:53 PM

fredfa

08-11-05, 09:56 PM

zap2it's Sopranos story:

'Sopranos' Adds Extra Episodes, Then That's It

By Rick Porter zap2it.com

The long-running saga of "The Sopranos" -- not only the show itself, but also the endless speculation on how much longer it will last -- may finally have an ending.

HBO announced Thursday (Aug. 11) that in addition to the 12 episodes for the Emmy-winning show's sixth season next year, creator David Chase and Co. would produce eight "bonus episodes" to air in 2007.

But that's it. A network representative tells Zap2it.com that the series will end with the last of those eight extra installments.

Of course, fans of the show have heard that before. A couple years ago, season five was pegged as the last one for the series. Then it was the coming season -- until earlier this year, when Chase left the door open for a potential seventh year.

"We are obviously delighted that we will be able to extend 'The Sopranos' series beyond its slated 12 episodes," HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht says. "When something is as remarkable as 'The Sopranos,' our audience would like to see it continue as long as possible, so we are thrilled that David Chase felt there are more stories to be told."

The eight added episodes can't quite be called a seventh season, as the cast and crew will continue in production after finishing season six. "Sex and the City" followed a similar pattern in its final year, airing 12 episodes in the summer of 2003 and returning for its final run in early 2004.

The sixth season of the show picks up about two years after the death of Adriana (Drea de Matteo) and the FBI raid on Johnny Sack's (Vincent Curatola) house that nearly ensnared Tony (James Gandolfini) -- mirroring the time it's been off the air. It's scheduled to premiere in March 2006, with season 6.5 following in January 2007.

Droford

08-11-05, 10:07 PM

You might want to check satellite internet again Droford.

We've been looking into it for a home we are building in AZ, and some of it looks promising -- though admittedly expensive by cable terms.

We have talked to some folks who have it who say it is great and in the past year or so I have stayed in about half a dozen hotels/motels which use satellite internet and I never had a problem..

The few things that turn me against it are the fact that you can't really play games or use VOIP over it, the initial cost and the their fair access policies which limit the ammount of data you can download until they throttle your speed back down to as slow as dialup for a set time period. The VOIP/online gaming thing is the biggest issue for me though, and there isn't anyway to solve that problem given the lag time that satellite internet is saddled with.

fredfa

08-11-05, 10:14 PM

Not being a gamer, that never entered into my mind (I didn't even know about it!)

The lack of VOIP is a problem, you are right.

foxeng

08-11-05, 10:16 PM

Unfortunately a lot of that $6 billion will have go to John Malone to get him off Rupert's a**.

Chump change to Mr M! :D

fredfa

08-11-05, 10:23 PM

Which Mr. M? :)

fredfa

08-12-05, 01:49 AM

Tony Soprano and Crew Will Return for '07 Season

By BILL CARTER The New York Times August 12, 2005

In a deal that will extend the run of the most successful series in the history of cable television for another year, HBO announced yesterday that "The Sopranos" will not end with its next season starting in March, but will continue with an additional eight episodes starting in January 2007.

The drama about a New Jersey mob family has won more Emmy awards than any other show on cable TV and has frequently drawn audiences larger than programs competing against it on broadcast networks, even though HBO is available in only about a third as many homes.

Chris Albrecht, chairman of HBO, said yesterday that the network had been talking with David Chase, the creator of "The Sopranos," for several months about his plans for the coming season.

"Seasons for 'The Sopranos' have always been organic," Mr. Albrecht said.

Indeed, unlike conventional broadcast network series, there have been no set intervals between the production cycles of "The Sopranos" and they have started at several different times of the year.

Mr. Albrecht said Mr. Chase had at one time indicated that he was coming to the end of his creative ideas and would produce only about 10 more episodes and then sign off on the series.

"But David was just really reinvigorated by the reception the show got last year," Mr. Albrecht said.

Brad Grey, the new Paramount chief, who retained his title of executive producer on "The Sopranos," said that Mr. Chase, when he got into the storytelling for the coming season, decided it was still so rich it could be continued, a decision Mr. Grey said that was endorsed by everyone involved in the production.

"For the people on the show, this has been the greatest creative experience of everyone's life. Why wouldn't you want that to continue?" Mr. Grey said.

For HBO, the business incentives were equally great. The series has been the most popular program the pay cable channel has generated.

Now HBO will get the opportunity to add 20 episodes of "The Sopranos" instead of the 12 that had been planned. Mr. Albrecht said that HBO did virtually the same thing with its second-most successful series, "Sex and the City." That comedy had an eight-episode final run a year after its last full season was completed.

And as "Sex and the City" did, "The Sopranos" will shoot all its remaining episodes in one production cycle, holding over the last eight for what HBO is calling a "bonus season." The break between the end of May 2006, when the 12-episode run ends, and January 2007, when the final eight episodes will be begin being broadcast, will be by far the shortest break between cycles of "The Sopranos" in the show's history. Mr. Albrecht said that short break was crucial to Mr. Chase.

Beyond the advantages HBO will get out of having two cycles instead of one (the channel, like the broadcast networks, tries to package "The Sopranos" with new series it would like to build audiences for), keeping the show in continuous production now means that for technical and contractual purposes it will remain the show's sixth season. That is relevant because the show's actors signed contracts that committed them to the series for six seasons.

Mr. Grey said another advantage of staying in production for 20 episodes is "everybody will stay in the same rhythm."

Asked if this was truly an announcement that signaled the series would indeed produce a finale to the Soprano family saga, Mr. Albrecht hedged just a bit. "I'll know it's the final episode if David shoots a final episode," Mr. Albrecht said.

fredfa

08-12-05, 02:01 AM

'Rome' is vital to HBO TV empire

By Gloria Goodale Christian Science Monitor Staff writer August 12, 2005

LOS ANGELES - The Roman "soldiers" standing guard at the outdoor launch party for HBO's pricey new series, "Rome," are stone-faced. Perhaps this isn't surprising, given the fact that they are marooned outside the torchlit festivities - where guests are giddily trying on togas, talking with fortune-tellers, and devouring grape leaves and chocolates from the buffet.

On the other hand, a serious face may be appropriate, given the stakes for HBO. Unfettered by the networks' restrictions on violence, language, and sexuality, this onetime purveyor of movie reruns and cheap pulp entertainment ("Tales from the Crypt" was one of its early series in the 1980s) has become an industry leader, offering edgy original series.

Now, like the ancient Italian city, HBO is facing questions about its own decline in importance.

Its two top shows ("The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under") are in their final seasons, and "Sex and the City" now lives only on DVD and in syndication. But most damaging, the channel that built its reputation by having the hottest shows on TV does not currently have a breakout show that people talk about around the water cooler the next day.

HBO may have set new creative standards for the rest of TV, but its competitors have caught up and surpassed it, says Ed Robertson, a television historian and author. Recently, competing shows on other channels received multiple Emmy-award nominations, such as "Huf" on Showtime, "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck" on FX, and "Monk" on USA, demonstrating that the kind of high quality, adventurous dramas and comedies HBO pioneered are turning up with increasing regularity elsewhere on basic cable and premium cable.

"The challenge HBO faces at the moment is coming up with another sort of cachet show like 'The Sopranos,' that can be part of the HBO mantle - or brand - that is used to attract new subscribers," says Mr. Robertson.

HBO's second act is taking place against a much more competitive background, one in which Hollywood's favorite pastime - imitation - has raised the bar for cable and network shows alike.

"People are used to the 'Sopranos,' " says the executive producer known simply as McG, who is working on "Supernatural," a fall drama for WB. The show's quality has been widely copied. As a result, he says, "people are used to shows that have a lot of cinematic weight."

And audiences now expect much more, says Jon Harmon Feldman, executive producer for "Reunion," a new drama this fall on Fox. "HBO set the mark pretty high. They reminded us how great ... scripted TV can be. They reminded us of the kinds of ambitions we could still have for TV."

The hardest HBO ingredient to copy is that ephemeral thing called "buzz." "Buzz is almost more important than Emmys or ratings or anything else," says Mr. Feldman. "Even though it might not keep [a show] on the air, it tells you you're relevant and that's pretty important."

Many industry believers say that HBO is short of new buzzworthy shows, a claim that Chairman Chris Albrecht disputes. "There are a lot of water coolers in a lot of different places," he says. "People at the water cooler in Pittsburgh might not be talking about the same thing as the people at the water cooler in Beverly Hills." He is also quick to point out that premium cable relies on subscriptions, not ratings, to float its schedule.

Currently, HBO's subscription base is still growing, with some 28 million paying customers, the largest of any premium channel. In the television business, however, there's more than one way to lead the pack, says Mr. Albrecht. With that in mind, HBO is positioning itself to be out front in the way people consume entertainment programming.

"We are sitting on the next wave of technological innovation,"Albrecht says. "Television and technology is going to be going in the direction that Tivo was taking people, which is the viewer in control of their own network. HBO is committed to making sure that we are part of that," he says, pointing to the emphasis on its HBO On Demand business.

Combined with the channel's connections through parent company Time-Warner, and what Albrecht calls its unique brand name awareness, he says that HBO is better positioned than any network to take advantage of that change.

Finding a new creative direction isn't always the most important skill for a mature media company, says Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

"HBO's best bet is not to try to reinvent itself creatively, but to continue to deliver the same high quality shows it's been doing," he says. "That has almost become a genre in itself, and the good thing is ... they've taught the whole industry an aesthetic model that's all to our benefit."

'Rome' is truly epic TV

Westwood, Calif.---Actor James Purefoy stands beneath the flickering torch lights at the launch party for HBO's "Rome," politely declining a duo of clothiers eager to drape him in a toga for the evening. But he is not averse to the costume altogether. The British star, who portrays Marc Antony in the new series, has a six-year contract for the role. "I have great hopes for the series," he says.

Clearly, so does HBO, which is investing a reported $100 million in the most expensive series in its history. Shot entirely in Italy on the largest standing set in the world, "Rome," boasts a film crew similar in size to that of a major feature film. "It is a series that charts entirely new ground in terms of scope and ambition," says Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO Entertainment.

The series went into development seven years ago and the current writer, Bruno Heller, has worked on it since 2000. Yet, as it comes out at the end of August, it is only one of a number of TV treatments of the ancient Romans. ABC's recent "Empire," also filmed in Rome at the same time as the HBO series, covered roughly the same historical period. The History Channel debuts "Rome: Engineering an Empire," and the National Geographic Channel has announced its own series, "Hannibal v. Rome."

While Hollywood is often full of copycat ideas, the subject of empire is a hot topic for obvious reasons, says HBO's historical consultant, Jonathan Stamp. "There's something particularly resonant about that particular point in Roman history, maybe particularly in the United States," says Mr. Stamp. "[Rome] is wrestling with all the problems of whether or not it should expand, have an empire. If it does have an empire, how it should run that empire...?"

HBO won't know whether the fall of the Roman Republic lifts its fortunes till the end of this month, but at least one trend is evident. While many of the current HBO shows are set in and around the entertainment industry ("Comeback," "Entourage," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and the imminent comedy series titled "Extras"), "Rome" plays out against a vast canvas, one we could all benefit from understanding more clearly, says Mr. Heller.

"It was a moment that was pivotal in Western history," says Heller. "If things hadn't turned out the way they did at this particular point, the world that we live in now would be very different."

fredfa

08-12-05, 03:16 AM

ESPN Comes Calling, but Nantz Is CBS's Man

By RICHARD SANDOMIR The New York Times August 12, 2005

The untold story of the shift of "Monday Night Football" to ESPN from ABC next season is how much ESPN wanted to hire CBS's Jim Nantz.

Until now, the tale stayed quiet because as soon as ABC lost the rights to "Monday Night Football" in mid-April, speculation focused on where John Madden and Al Michaels would go. Would they go as a pair to ESPN or to NBC Universal Sports when it starts "Sunday Night Football" next year?

In June, Madden signed with NBC; almost six weeks later, Michaels rejected NBC's offer, choosing to follow "Monday Night" to ESPN for $4.1 million a year (as well as $2 million annually to call pro basketball for ABC).

That Nantz was coveted by ESPN was, in a way, CBS's fault. After the 2003 season, Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports, moved Nantz to the game booth, calling the No. 1 games with Phil Simms, from the studio as the host of "The NFL Today." Greg Gumbel replaced Nantz in the studio.

Nantz excelled in the one-season showcase. Despite not having called football for years, he showed he was still in the top echelon of play-by-play announcers, adding to his reputation in calling golf and college basketball.

ESPN thus had strong options in Nantz and Michaels as it considered whether to retain Mike Patrick as the network's play-by-play announcer next year, when its N.F.L. package moves to Monday night from Sunday.

The Nantz flirtation started soon after ESPN became the new home of "Monday Night Football" and continued through the first two weeks of May.

"I knew Jim and ESPN were talking, but I always felt that deep in my soul, he was a CBS guy, the face and voice of CBS Sports," Les Moonves, the chairman of CBS, said yesterday at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., where CBS and TNT are televising the P.G.A. Championship.

Moonves was not surprised at outside interest in Nantz, who had one year left on his CBS contract at the time. "I fully expected ESPN to talk to him and for NBC to talk to him," he said.

In the meantime, Michaels was considering ESPN's offer and one from NBC for $2.9 million a year. He had as strong an ally as possible to persuade him to go to ESPN: Robert Iger, the president of the Walt Disney Company, the parent company of ESPN and ABC Sports.

Nantz might not have had Iger on his side, but he would have done more events at ESPN than Michaels. Yet none would equal what he would call at CBS if he re-signed with the only network he has worked at.

Figures provided by television executives familiar with the suggested financial terms, who chose not to speak publicly because a formal contract was never tendered to Nantz, indicated that ESPN was willing to pay $3.5 million to $4.5 million annually, pending Iger's approval.

Two of the main players in the negotiations, Mark Shapiro, ESPN's executive vice of programming and production, and Barry Frank, Nantz's agent, declined to comment.

Moonves and McManus were hoping that loyalty, and a bump in his current salary to about $3.5 million a year, would keep Nantz around as the lead voice of the Masters, the N.C.A.A. Final Four and the National Football League.

If he called "Monday Night" for ESPN, he would not call Super Bowls, as he will continue to do at CBS; if he called golf or college basketball at ESPN, he would not encounter the drama of Augusta National or of a national championship game beside Billy Packer.

"I can't contemplate a CBS Sports without Jim Nantz as our primary announcer," McManus said by telephone yesterday, "so no matter what the interest was from another party, I would have made sure he stayed."

And he did. But first, Nantz met with Moonves, who recalled, "He came to me mano a mano, and wanted to hear how important he was to us."

And on May 19, two months before Michaels's deal with ESPN was announced, Nantz signed a seven-year extension to stay at CBS. By making his deal at that time, he was left out of the speculation about who would take the play-by-play job at NBC or replace Patrick at ESPN.

Observing him at Baltusrol, watching TNT's coverage in a CBS trailer with Gary McCord, Peter Kostis and Bill Macatee, is to watch someone happy in his surroundings and pleased with his decision.

"I have really strong relationships with the people I work for and with," Nantz said, sitting on a golf cart at the CBS compound. Among them are McManus, who was once one of his agents at IMG, and is the son of ABC's Jim McKay, whom he idolizes. "And, with arguably the strongest schedule of events that anyone could ask for, it's almost impossible to tear me away."

fredfa

08-12-05, 03:23 AM

A Soured Relationship Could Be Sweet Again
TV-RADIO: By Mike Penner Los Angeles Times August 12, 2005

At least hockey fans are familiar with the strategy ESPN is using in its off-again, on-again interest in NHL television rights.

It is called dump and chase.

Dump the contract in April, let Comcast do the dirty work and make the NHL a tangible offer, then chase the contract again.

Comcast dropped the puck this week with its two-year, $100-million offer to televise the NHL on its Outdoor Life Network, which is the kind of found humor Gary Bettman's league seems to pride itself in.

Ice hockey, the quintessential indoor sport, on the Outdoor Life Network?

That makes as much sense as having more NHL franchises south of Kentucky than in Canada, but that's the NHL.

Of course, the Outdoor Life Network prefers to cloak itself behind its initials, OLN, a handle that became popular among cycling enthusiasts, who came to know the channel as the Only Lance Network. The NHL on OLN? It does have a ring. Say it fast enough and no one will have the chance to make any more outdoor hockey jokes.

Then again, the issue could be moot if ESPN exercises its right to match any offer. Earlier this week, the network, which declined an option to televise NHL games on ESPN2 for $60 million this season, issued a statement, saying: "We have a matching right and remain interested in continuing our relationship with the NHL, as long as the deal is commensurate with the value of the rights being offered."

Now ESPN has a number to work with — a smaller number — and the NHL and ESPN have motivation to reach an accord.

For the NHL, the incentive is obvious. For better or worse, ESPN is the leading brand name in American sports television. In today's media culture, the ESPN logo has a legitimizing effect on any activity — even non-sports — it chooses to air. Look what the network has done for poker, fishing and competitive eating.

Without its long-standing ESPN rubber stamp, the NHL risks becoming more of a niche sport tucked away on a niche network.

But ESPN also needs the NHL. What kind of "Worldwide Leader in Sports" allows the sport of Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull to leave the building, quit the family, vacate the premises without a fight?

Keeping the NHL makes economic as well as promotional sense for ESPN, which has had a virtual monopoly in the national cable sports market ever since it squashed Fox's challenge. Let the NHL slip away to OLN and ESPN will essentially assist in birthing a new cable rival.

At the moment, OLN is available in about 61 million U.S. households. That figure lags behind ESPN2's 70-million-plus homes, but OLN should be able to increase its range by adding the NHL to its portfolio.

Comcast has big-time aspirations for OLN, which earned recognition and respectability among sports fans with its outstanding Tour de France coverage. OLN has already acquired such former ESPN properties as the America's Cup and the Boston Marathon, and its Gravity Games are an obvious rival to ESPN's X Games.

Journalistically, ESPN benefits by keeping the NHL. Unlike certain other higher-profile sports, ESPN knows how to cover hockey. It has 20 years of experience to bank on, and over that time it has assembled the network's most impressive roster of single-sport commentators: Barry Melrose, Bill Clement, John Davidson, Darren Pang, Gary Thorne.

ESPN needs to do more of what it does well, not less.

To paraphrase the old industry axiom: If it ain't broke, don't let it traipse off to OLN.

Familiar Strategy

Terms of the Comcast deal call for two nationally televised NHL games a week on OLN for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. The NHL would have the right to opt out of the agreement after the 2006-07 season. Should the NHL decide to stay on after two seasons, Comcast has a one-year option followed by a three-year option.

Comcast's interest in the NHL extends beyond its desire to pump up OLN's profile. Comcast is a major owner of the Philadelphia Flyers. Its designs on the NHL echo those of Disney's a decade ago, when the owner of the Mighty Ducks had a vested interest in propping up the sport, eventually signing off on an outrageous five-year, $600-million deal to televise NHL games on ABC and ESPN.

That agreement wound up harming the NHL more than helping it, creating the false impression that the NHL was a "boom" league in the United States when in fact it had legs only until Gretzky put aside his skates.

It also contributed in an increase in player salaries, which led to the 2004-05 lockout, which led to ESPN's dumping the television contract in April, which led to Comcast's jumping into the game, which led everyone to where we are today — waiting for ESPN to make the next move.

foxeng

08-12-05, 07:16 AM

Which Mr. M? :)

Good point! There are two of them! MY Mr M! :cool:

Xesdeeni

08-12-05, 09:09 AM

Eye's Got a Secret ESPN#^@$!, fredfa...I saw "Eyes" and I got all excited...then I saw ESPN and thought "WTF?" ;)

Xesdeeni

fredfa

08-12-05, 10:38 AM

I agree -- I think ABC has made a couple of really dumb moves in the past couple of seasons (and obviously a few really good ones, too!)

IMO "Eyes" and "Karen Sisco" were both the kinds of shows that could have had far more appeal than most -- but....

I'm still waiting for the final "Eyes" episodes. I guess we'll end up seing them on UHD or HDNet.

Xesdeeni

08-12-05, 10:41 AM

It's too bad foxeng doesn't know someone in high places (hint, hint) :-)

Xesdeeni

fredfa

08-12-05, 10:43 AM

HD gets NFL exhibition workout

By Bill Griffith Boston Globe August 12, 2005

The high-definition conversion keeps gaining momentum, more often than not driven by sports programming.

When the NFL Network announced last month that it would air replays of 15 preseason games in HD, the immediate question was: ''Who's producing them?"

The answer, for at least three of the games, is the Patriots, one of four teams doing all their preseason games in HD. The others are the Redskins, Giants, and Buccaneers.

The Patriots' preseason opener tonight at Cincinnati will air in HD (Channel 5, 7:30). The production is a collaboration of Kraft Sports Productions and WCVB. Channel 5 will do a ''SportsCenter 5" preview show at 7 and follow the game with a ''5th Quarter" wrapup show. The NFL Network will rebroadcast the game Saturday at 3 p.m. On WBCN (104.1-FM), Gil Santos (29th year of calling Patriots games) and Gino Cappelletti will be working together for their 22d season.

The same format will apply for the team's final two preseason games, against the Packers (Aug. 26) and Giants (Sept. 1). Those games also will be shown the following Saturday on the NFL Network. The team's second game, against the Saints next Thursday (Fox, 8 p.m.) will be broadcast nationally in HD. Fox's top broadcast crew of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and reporter Pam Oliver will work that game.

It's the 11th season the team's games have been on WCVB and the 11th season that CBS play-by-play man Don Criqui will warm up for the season by doing the team's preseason games. He'll be joined by CBS analyst Randy Cross for the third season. Channel 5's Mike Lynch will work the sidelines for the 11th year.

Criqui and Cross, who were in New York a week ago for a CBS Sports preseason NFL orientation, followed that visit with a two-day trip to Foxborough to familiarize themselves with the 2005 edition of the Patriots.

''Nationally, we've all heard about the Patriots' personnel losses, but the first thing you notice at training camp is how good a player you have to be to make this team," said Criqui this week.

Criqui also was struck by the untold (nationally) story of quarterback Matt Cassel, the team's seventh-round draft pick out of USC, where he was the backup to two Heisman Trophy winners -- Carson Palmer and Matt Leinert. ''I suspect he'll get a lot of time against Cincinnati," said Criqui. ''The parallels with Tom Brady [a sixth-round pick] are hard to overlook."

''It was good to see their respect for the game, their enthusiasm for the coming season, and some national perspective on what's happening in the league," said Matt Smith, executive producer for Kraft Sports Productions.

Meanwhile, the NFL Network will be debuting its ''No Huddle" edition of ''NFL Total Access" with whip-around coverage and look-ins from six ongoing preseason games around the league.

Next tier

DirecTV introduced a preview of its expanded ''Superfan tier" for the ''NFL Season Ticket" package this week at the News Corporation offices in New York City.

Fox Sports chairman and DirecTV Entertainment president David Hill, a big fan of Britain's Sky TV interactive features, put his R&D people to work on new elements.

What subscribers will get for the additional $99 they'll pay on top of the $239 Season Ticket fee:

+++ A screen that gives a snapshot [small picture] of eight games, along with real-time score and game clock information, plus an arrow that shows which team has the ball and where it is on the field.

+++ Click on one of the boxes to ''highlight" it and you get that game's audio feed, too. Hit select, and that game fills the screen.

+++ Hit the red button on the remote and you get scores and stats of all games in progress along two edges of the pictures.

+++ Highlight one of the stats boxes and hit the green button (there is a color key across the bottom of the screen to guide you). Click it again and it cycles through expanded team stats and, for fantasy football players, individual stats and all scoring plays.

+++ Access to of all of DirecTV's HD games. More than 100 will be in HD this season.

+++ Click on Red Zone and there's a continuous highlights show and cut-ins to games in progress as the director in LA pushes the buttons for you and a studio host provides the audio.

+++ After the game, starting at midnight Eastern time, two channels begin reairing ''Shortcuts," a 30-minute rapidcast of every play in the game. For those who don't wish so much, DirecTV will download a shorter highlights package (three minutes per game) into your DVR overnight. Clearly, that's the satellite company's answer to cable's Video on Demand (VOD) initiatives.

Hill sent Eric Shanks, senior vice president of advanced services and content, to Italy for a year, working on ''Diretta Gol" (literally, Live Goal), that country's enhanced version of Season Ticket for soccer.

Both say we're only seeing the baby steps of this technology.

''The eight pictures on the home screen deliberately were left small," said Shanks, ''to encourage viewers to use them as a map to the game they want to see on the full-sized screen, thereby benefiting the NFL's broadcast partners." Such as DirecTV's corporate sibling Fox.

As small steps (and small pictures) go, this isn't bad . . . especially when Fox's brass have their eyes on the big picture.

Of course, it may never get as big here as Sky has in England, where viewers can place bets on soccer games via their remote controls. That's one picture the NFL isn't interested in seeing.

fredfa

08-12-05, 10:54 AM

I LOVE studies like this one. (And you can bet some client paid through the nose for it.
Digital homes to reach 111 million by 2009? Well, Duh, analog will be cut off by then!
Anyway, it is a fun read:

eMarketer: Digital TV House to Hit 111 Million in 2009

By Mike Shields Mediaweek.com August 11, 2005

TV is going digital, and consumers and vendors have no choice but to adapt.

Nothing about TV will ever be the same, says eMarketer, which in a new report predicts that 90 percent of all households in the US will have digital TV by 2009, skyrocketing from 51 million homes today to over 111 million in a four year period.

According to the researcher, adoption of digital TV will surge because analog TV signals will be shut off, and thus consumers will be faced with choosing between digital TV or no TV.

This rapid penetration of digital TV promises to dramatically effect the delivery of TV content as well as the current broadcast network sales model, says the report.

And while reports sounding the death knell for commercial TV are nothing new, eMarketer's predictions are rather aggressive in their time frame and scope. "Digital TV is reshaping whole industries, and almost everything is about to change," says the report.

For one, along with Digtial TV will be widespread adoption of TV functions which eMarketer refers to as "Advanced TV." The researcher predicts that nearly 50 percent of households will begin using both digital video recorders and or video on demand services by 2009 - throwing a major wrench into the appointment TV business model.

"Advanced TV users are more likely to watch TV outside of scheduled times and avoid more commercials," says the report. The result will be a substantial loss of TV ad dollars if advertisers do not adjust their media allocations: "tens of billions of dollars of TV advertising will miss the mark."

The report sternly warns against sticking with a traditional programming schedule. "The challenge for traditional media and advertising companies is to ensure that the form and structure of their companies is not wedded to the functions and consumer behaviors of the past. It would be perilous to assume that TV norms such as "prime time," the 30-second ad break, passive TV and linear entertainment will remain the same."

The other big ramification from the shift to digital TV will be the much rumored convergence on all media on the Internet, says eMarketer. More and more TV content will be consumed on devices other than TV sets, and virtually every form of entertainment will be distributed through broadband pipes in the digital TV world.

"We continue to live in a parallel universe where the PC/Internet world is separate from the TV/broadcast world, but their future is inexorably intertwined," said Ben Macklin, eMarketer senior analyst, and the report's author. "All movies and all music will eventually be distributed via the Internet."

fredfa

08-12-05, 10:57 AM

TV: Coming Attractions
By Ann Oldenburg USA Today

Chuck Norris, 65, is returning to TV as Cordell Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, a new TV movie for CBS that wraps up filming this week in Dallas. It's slated to air in October.

The TV film marks Norris' first time back in the Walker, Texas Ranger role since the show ended its eight-season run in 2001.

"It's like old home week," he said this week from the set. His brother Aaron is the director and son Eric is an assistant director.

Ranger was a top show on Saturday nights for CBS, peaking in the 1995-96 season with an average audience of 19.4 million viewers.

Series stars Sheree J. Wilson (Alex Cahill), Judson Mills (Francis Gage) and Clarence Gilyard (James Trivette) also return for the movie, which has Walker seeking a teenager who is on the run from a dangerous crime syndicate.

Additions to the cast include Janine Turner as a forensics expert. And Norris says to look for his real-life daughter Danilee to make an appearance as his on-screen daughter.

Adam Tyner

08-12-05, 11:25 AM

I'm still waiting for the final "Eyes" episodes. I guess we'll end up seing them on UHD or HDNet.I believe it was produced by Warner, so that probably puts UHD out of the running, but hopefully they do show up somewhere, sometime.

fredfa

08-12-05, 11:28 AM

Thursday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-12-05, 11:44 AM

The End of 'The Sopranos'? Fuhgeddaboudit

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Friday, August 12, 2005; C01

Great news for fans of HBO's "The Sopranos." There will be a seventh season after all.

Sort of. Just not officially.

In addition to the 12-episode sixth-and-billed-as-final season of the mob drama -- which is scheduled to debut in March of 2006, ending a 1 1/2 -year dry spell -- the pay cable network announced yesterday it would produce eight "bonus episodes," which will debut nearly one year after that, in January of '07.

Why the network is not calling this an abbreviated seventh season instead of "bonus" episodes, which sounds suspiciously like DVD boxed-set-speak, is beyond us.

HBO offered no explanation other than Chairman Chris Albrecht's canned comment that they were thrilled that "David Chase felt there are more stories to be told."

Last month, at Summer TV Press Tour 2005, the Reporters Who Cover Television, who were understandably confused having also been told that the show's sixth season would be its last, quizzed Albrecht about the possibility of a seventh season.

He responded: "I don't know. I read what you read."

That Albrecht, such a kidder.

Albrecht then hinted that he believed Chase feels like there's more to tell than just what he had planned for the sixth season.

He'd probably read that in the New York Times, which in June quoted Chase as saying that he had been publicly expressing nostalgia for the show, which "kind of got transmuted into that there would be another season, which doesn't mean there wouldn't be a seventh season; it's just that's not the plan right now," adding, "I've got it all planned out now in six seasons, but everyone loves doing it and we can probably -- might be -- able to do another few episodes."

The "bonus" episodes will be shot immediately after the episodes for the sixth season, which are in production.

HBO did something similar for the final season of "Sex and the City." Twelve episodes of the final season ran between June and September of '03; eight more ran from January through February of '04.

fredfa

08-12-05, 12:03 PM

Mob ties: Another 'Sopranos' season
Series stretcher as HBO searches for a new hit
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com

HBO has been struggling to come up with a hit show after “The Sopranos.” It has yet to do so, but yesterday it was able to buy a bit more time, at least another year.

The pay-cable network announced that there will be eight bonus episodes of the mob epic tacked onto the sixth and what was long presumed to be the hit series' last season.

The eight added episodes will air in 2007.

There had been speculation for months that HBO would extend its biggest hit’s run, especially after new shows such as “The Comeback” and “Carnivale” flopped and people began to question HBO’s reputation for top-quality TV.

The “Sopranos’” sixth season will premiere in March 2006 with 12 episodes. The eight bonus episodes will debut in January 2007, though the network is not calling it a new season as such.

HBO employed a similar strategy for the final season of “Sex and the City,” running 12 episodes of season six in the summer of 2003 and then returning with eight more in January 2004.

The move gives HBO more time to figure out a post-“Sopranos” programming strategy, which will no doubt include premiering as many shows as possible out of the mob drama to take advantage of its big audience.

HBO has not launched a successful new show independent of “Sopranos” or “Sex” in years. It canceled drama “Carnivale” after two seasons, and Lisa Kudrow’s much-derided post-“Friends” show “The Comeback,” which debuted earlier this summer, seems like a goner.

Though critical favorite “Entourage” has been renewed, its viewership is off from its first season. “Deadwood’s” numbers were down by about a third without a “Sopranos” lead-in. And “Six Feet Under” ends its five-season run this month.

With eight more episodes of “Sopranos,” HBO gets a bit of breathing room. The drama averaged nearly 10 million viewers last season, more than triple any of HBO's current shows’ average. The fifth-season finale of “Sopranos” aired in June 2004, drawing 11 million viewers.

“Sopranos” creator David Chase had said for years that he would end the series when he felt he had run out of fresh ideas, and for a long time it looked as though the 12 episodes set to air next year would be the last. But in recent months Chase has hinted that he might extend the series after all, and speculation has increased over recent weeks, leading up to yesterday's announcement.

Extra episodes will mean extra money for HBO, which earlier this year sold syndication rights to the show to A&E. With a price tag of $2.55 million per episode, it became the most expensive per-episode show to ever enter syndication.

Few details about the new season have slipped out, though one gossip column reported earlier this year that there will be a wedding. Chase killed speculation about a “Sopranos” movie earlier this year, saying he’d wrap up his storylines during season six.

George Thompson

08-12-05, 01:29 PM

LIBRARY POWERS NBC UNIVERSAL LAUNCH OF FREE-TV CHANNEL
By Scott Roxborough, Hollywood Reporter, 8/12/2005

HAMBURG, Germany -- NBC Universal Global Networks, the international TV division of NBC Universal, will launch a new free-TV channel in Germany on Sept. 29, airing U.S. movies and series from the media giant's massive programming library, NBC Uni announced here Thursday.

The new channel, Das Vierte (The Fourth), will broadcast simultaneously on cable and over the Astra satellite system in Germany, reaching 28.5 million households.

The launch will mark the first major international cooperation between NBC and Universal since the two companies merged in May 2004. Universal currently operates two pay TV channels in Munich -- 13th Street and Sci-Fi -- while NBC Europe runs a free-to-air niche games channel out of Duesseldorf called NBC Giga. NBC also airs an early-morning block of programming from its business news net CNBC, while Universal's Studio Universal brand has a similar agreement on German pay TV.

In a separate agreement, NBC Universal on Thursday announced it has signed a deal with A&E to launch a German pay TV version of A&E's History Channel as a 50-50 joint venture.

For Universal, the move into free-TV will dramatically increase the studio's corporate presence in Germany, Europe's largest television market.

Universal will be the third major Studio to set up shop in the German free-TV market, alongside Disney, which holds stakes in RTL2 and kids channel Super RTL, and Viacom, which controls three music channels -- MTV, Viva and Viva Plus -- and will launch a local version of Nickelodeon in Germany next month.

The new NBC Uni channel, Das Vierte, will broadcast round-the-clock on satellite. On cable, it will air from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, with business news channel CNBC airing in the morning slot (5 a.m-1p.m.) and NBC Giga filling the 1 p.m.-4 p.m. slot. The channel will be based in Munich.

NBC Uni Germany head Wolfram Winter will be co-managing director of Das Vierte along with Olaf Castritius, currently managing director of NBC Giga.

Das Vierte hopes to attract German viewers with a promise of all Hollywood, all the time. The new channel will air two feature films a night in primetime and a minimum of 18 films a week. The focus will be on such Universal-owned classics from the 1970s and '80s as "The Sting," "Gorillas In the Mist" and "Born On The Fourth Of July." The channel will also strip U.S. series Monday through Friday, reviving old favorites like "Magnum, P.I.," "Knight Ridder" and "Quincy."

"U.S. programming has all but disappeared from German primetime, replaced by this German reality show, that German soap or this German police show, that leaves a gap that we think we can fill," Wolfram Winter said in an interview. "On the financial side, the output deals (between the studios and German broadcasters) have run out or are running out soon and they aren't being renewed. License fees have come down and have stabilized. The German free-TV market is still very competitive, but it is a lot more open than it was just 3-5 years ago."

On Wednesday, NBC Universal signed a multimillion dollar licensing deal with leading German commercial channel RTL for a handful of Universal's top titles, including "King Kong" and "Van Helsing" (HR 8/11). While RTL paid top dollar for the films, the deal did not include the reams of B- and C-class ware that used to be part of every big German TV licensing agreement.

Similarly, leading German rights trader Herbert Kloiber recently inked a $100 million agreement with pubcaster ZDF for rights to top Warner Bros. titles, including "Troy" and the second and third films in the "Harry Potter" franchise. Unlike previous multiyear deals, however, ZDF only bought a series of runs for each film, not the blanket agreement of years past.

"For the first time, we are seeing the 'windows business,' people are buying 1-2 runs instead of locking up everything for years, even if it just sits in a cellar somewhere and never gets shown," Winter said. "For the first time, programming is available. That wasn't the case in the German market just five years ago."

At a Thursday press conference in Hamburg, Winter and Castritius also unveiled the new Das Vierte management team. Stefan Ritsche, formerly TV program director at Sony BMG in Germany, was named content director in charge of programming; Corrinna Scholz will be program director in charge of acquisitions; former ProSiebenSat.1 creative director Barbara Simon will take on the same post at Das Vierte and ex-MGM Germany executive Stefan Barchfeld has been named commercial director at the new channel.

Winter is making conservative forecasts for the new channels, targeting a 1% market share for Das Vierte by the end of 2006 and a 2% share by 2007.

"We aren't talking huge numbers here, but with that sort of market presence we should be able to generate healthy returns for our parent company in New York," Winter said.

Das Vierte's main competitor will be Munich-based Tele 5, which just last month announced it will be rejigging its programming to put a Hollywood film in primetime every night. On Thursday, the channel announced it has acquired a package of 70 films from licensers Kineos and Intertainment that includes films like "Robocop," "Throw Mamma From the Train" and "The Patriot."

fredfa

08-12-05, 01:42 PM

George, if I could interest a CBS, ABC and Fox poster to be as diligent as you are, we would really be on top of things!

keenan

08-12-05, 02:30 PM

I'll second that, I definitely appreciate George posting here.. :)

dline

08-12-05, 04:41 PM

FCC Seeks Info On Competition In Video
Written and posted by dline

(August 12) -- The FCC announced today that it will seek information for its annual report to Congress on video competition.

Its Notice of Inquiry (.pdf (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-155A1.pdf)) "seeks information that will allow the FCC to evaluate the status of competition in the video marketplace, changes in the market since the 2004 Competition Report, prospects for new entrants to that market, factors that have facilitated or impeded competition, and the effect of competition on industry groups and most importantly, consumers," the commission said in a press release (.pdf (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-260525A1.pdf)).

The "video marketplace" the FCC is examining has certainly broadened in recent years. Cable, satellite, "wireless cable", local phone exchange carriers, utility-owned systems, internet protocol networks and retail DVD sales are just some of the areas the commission wants to look into -- along with broadcast stations, of course.

"This year, we should again strive to make sure that we are doing all that an expert agency can to adequately grasp and relay to Congress the dynamic aspects of the video programming delivery market," said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein in a separate statement (.pdf (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-155A3.pdf))

But despite the fascination with how far we have come, there's concern about how much it is costing the viewers.

In another separate statement (.pdf (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-155A2.pdf)), Commissioner Michael Copps said he hopes this study will "... increase our understanding of the market and the consequences for consumers at a time when we are seeing not only new services, technological advances and expanding competition, but also continuing rate increases."

fredfa

08-13-05, 12:18 AM

I hate to be cynical, but here is today’s major surprise from the world of broadcasting:
Fox Clears “Idol” Judge Abdul After Investigation
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable

FremantleMedia, Fox Broadcasting Company and 19 Entertainment released a statement today saying that after an internal investigation, Paula Abdul has been cleared of any wrongdoing regarding the alleged relationship with American Idol contestant Corey Clark, and she will continue in her role as a judge on the show.

According to the statement, “there is insufficient evidence that the communications between Mr. Clark and Ms. Abdul in any way aided his performance.Further, we are confident that none of these communications had any impact on the outcome of the competition.”

The statement also says that Clark’s allegations of a sexual relationship with Abdul, the subject of an ABC sweeps special this year, “have not been substantiated by any corroborating evidence or witnesses, including those provided by Mr. Clark, and Ms. Abdul expressly denies that any such relationship ever existed.”

The statement does say that Abdul “acknowledges that she had telephone conversations with Mr. Clark while he was a contestant,” and therefore the show will implement “an enhanced non-fraternization policy aimed at preventing any future incidents that could even appear to call into question the relationships between contestants and judges.”

According to the release, the three-and-a-half-month inquiry was conducted by outside counsel Marcellus McRae, a partner at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and a former federal prosecutor, and Ivy Kagan Bierman, an entertainment and labor partner at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP.

fredfa

08-13-05, 08:09 AM

Evening News Looks Long-Term
Evening news can make money despite audience declines
By John M. Higgins Broadcasting & Cable

The cold statistics of TV suggest that the replacements for the Big Three nightly news anchors may never enjoy their predecessors' stature because the evening newscasts aren't as vital as when Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather first took their anchor chairs.

Charlie Gibson and Elizabeth Vargas are expected to help fill the chair that has been left vacant by Jennings, at least temporarily. But the future of news is what is on the minds of network executives. And the question that's been kicking around the TV business for years—“Is the end of the evening newscast at hand?”—seems to finally have an answer.

Yes, evening news audiences have plunged, as viewers tune into Seinfeld reruns and catch the news on cable or the Internet. Momentum in TV news right now is in the morning shows, which generate far more money than their evening siblings. Plus, the TV-news audience is aging and becoming less attractive to advertisers. And it's hard to imagine that the 18-34s surfing Google News will suddenly start watching the NBC Nightly News.

Yet things aren't quite that dire. The financial story is not as bleak as the Nielsen ratings might suggest. And executives are looking to take advantage of new distribution methods—digital broadcast, broadband Internet and cellphones—to spread the expenses of newsgathering across more sources of revenue, softening the blows to the evening newscasts.

“Hard to be No. 3”

While the demise of the nightly news has been predicted for many years, the money is actually not bad for the No. 1 and No. 2 newscasts, says a network executive, but “it's awfully hard to be No. 3.” Today, that distinction falls to CBS. Perhaps the network might make more money by dropping its evening newscast and giving that precious time back to its owned-and-operated stations for an extra half-hour of local news.

But CBS News President Andrew Heyward believes reports about the death of evening news are exaggerated.

Says Heyward, “You're not going to see any network dialing away from the evening news, even as the morning news becomes more important.”

The evening newscasts still command a sizable audience, and all of them are at least marginally profitable. Furthermore, they help support the bigger moneymakers in the morning. Says Heyward, “Evening news is not only viable, but critical to the mix.”

The evening newscasts are far from the institutions they were before the age of cable TV and the Internet. In the 1960s and '70s, the newscasts, along with a handful of major newspapers, had the ability to set the nation's news agenda.

No more. According to Nielsen Media, back in the '70s, 35% of all households tuned into Walter Cronkite or John Chancellor on an average night. A decade ago, the evening news' share was still 24%. Today, just 18% watch Bob Schieffer on CBS and Brian Williams on NBC.

In recent years, the evening-news audience has sunk 3% to 4% annually, falling from 32 million per night in 1996 to 25.8 million today.

But while the audience has plunged, revenues have not. Despite the shrinking audience, broadcast networks each year generally coax more money out of advertisers for the viewers who do tune in.

Even the weakest newscast, CBS Evening News, reaches about three times the audience of Fox News Channel's highest-rated show.

Nielsen Ad-Monitor estimated that evening-news ad sales totaled $466 million last year. That's just $10 million less than the $478 million in 1999 estimated by the Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual State of the News Media report. Network executives say those numbers are a bit high, but correctly note that there's been no big downturn.

And despite the rise of the morning shows, evening-news shows account for an even higher portion of broadcast news revenues than in 1999. That's because prime time newsmagazines—once a thriving billion dollar business—have largely been displaced by reality shows. So the evening news now generates around 22% of broadcast-news revenues, up from 19% in 1999.

All eyes are on ABC's and CBS' choices for new anchors and, at CBS, a new format for the show. But if you want to see the long-term future, study NBC. That's because NBC News has the structure that every network finance executive envies.

Thinking Long-Term

Forget that NBC is No. 1 in both the evening and morning. That, presumably, will change someday. What won't change is NBC's long-term advantage—spreading newsgathering costs across so many viable outlets, including the broadcast shows, MSNBC network and online, CNBC, Telemundo and, to some degree, its O&Os.

CBS and ABC missed out on cable news networks. That's a big reason they're aggressively trying to start new networks distributed by other means, such as broadband and digital broadcast. If they can make those meaningful sources of revenue, then that will be one more place over which to spread the cost of those Middle East correspondents. Spreading those costs is at the heart of the talks CBS and ABC have periodically conducted about combining with CNN.

One thing is clear: Network executives need to think forward, to build a newsgathering operation rather than take the typical path to short-term profits: cut, cut, cut.

fredfa

08-13-05, 01:24 PM

DeGeneres to Be Host of Primetime Emmys

By Meg James Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 13, 2005

Hoping to reverse the slide in ratings for the Primetime Emmy Awards show, CBS said Friday that it had tapped comedian Ellen DeGeneres to be the host of this year's telecast.

"You know me," DeGeneres said in a statement, "any excuse to put on a dress."

The Viacom Inc. network will air the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards program Sept. 18 from the Shrine Auditorium. The program — which has lost its luster in recent years — has long served as the unofficial kickoff of the fall TV season.

Last year's event, broadcast by Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network and hosted by comedian Garry Shandling, was the lowest-rated Emmy telecast in 14 years, attracting an average of 14 million viewers. The 2003 show, on Fox Broadcasting, was also a disappointment, drawing fewer than 18 million viewers and negative reviews for its unconventional tag team of 11 comedians sharing emcee duties.

The Big Four networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — rotate the broadcast.

Emmy telecast producers and CBS executives are betting that DeGeneres will prove popular, particularly among women who typically watch Hollywood award shows. They point to the success of DeGeneres' syndicated daytime talk show and knack for ad-libs.

Industry executives also are hoping that the success of broadcast network programs, including ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," will spark interest in the Emmys. In recent years, HBO shows and movies have hauled in the statuettes, leading some to speculate that viewers who don't subscribe to premium cable had little incentive to watch the Emmys.

DeGeneres last hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards on CBS in November 2001. The show was postponed that year because of the 9/11 attacks.

fredfa

08-13-05, 01:34 PM

Friday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-13-05, 01:47 PM

Kathie Lee Back in the Game
Philbin’s old sidekick lands Insider gig

By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable

Five years after tearfully bidding farewell to morning talk to pursue a singing and acting career, Kathie Lee Gifford will return to television Sept. 12 to cover Broadway and conduct interviews for Paramount’s syndicated entertainment-magazine show, The Insider.

Gifford, who signed a one-year deal with the show, will be a special correspondent. The addition of the popular former co-host of Live With Regis and Kathie Lee is intended to “up the ante further in the competitive arena” of entertainment and celebrity news, Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of both The Insider and Entertainment Tonight, tells B&C.

Bell Blue says she chose Gifford, a familiar face on Broadway, because a number of major film stars, including Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, are working in theater. Says Bell Blue, “It is the perfect time for us to cover this.”

“Timeless Icon”

The Insider, which is one of only two freshmen syndicated shows returning for a second season, has a 2.6 average audience rating through July 31, up from its 2.4 debut last September. It finishes ahead of veterans Access Hollywood and Extra, thanks in part to airing in tandem with the top-rated magazine ET (5.0 rating season-to-date) in such markets as New York and Los Angeles.

Referring to Gifford as a “timeless icon of television,” Bell Blue says she will be the ideal fit for The Insider’s core audience, women 25-54. Bell Blue notes that Gifford’s fan base is in sync with the demographics for both The Insider and ET. Gifford “was on TV for years and had a huge imprint with female viewers,” she says. “She became habitual viewing for viewers, and I think they miss seeing her.”

While Bell Blue praises the work of The Insider’s anchors, Lara Spencer and Pat O’Brien, she says her job is to evolve and grow the show: “I think that bringing in [Gifford] is an excellent way to do that.”

Having exited the top-rated morning talk show she hosted with Regis Philbin in July 2000 after 15 years on the air, Gifford agreed to return to TV on a regular basis after being pursued by Bell Blue.

Gifford says, “This is the first thing that worked for me both professionally and personally.”

Rehearsals for Gifford’s second Broadway play, Hurricane Amy, start Sept. 6, and Gifford says Bell Blue has been “very accommodating” in agreeing to work around her schedule; the season premiere of The Insider is slated for Sept. 12.

Gifford started her Insider duties last week, taping a three-part interview with red-carpet style maven (and Insider co-correspondent) Steven Cojocaru. Bell Blue expects her to appear on the show twice a week, but Gifford hints that it could be more or less than that, depending on her schedule.

“We don’t know how it will work out; it’s sort of an experiment,” she says. “We will find our rhythm as we go along. I might find that I’m having such a good time that I may want to do more. … If they’re happy and I’m happy at the end of the year, we’ll talk.”

A Comfortable Interviewer

Having filled in occasionally over the past several years as a guest host on CNN’s Larry King Live and Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends, she is comfortable wearing an interviewer’s hat.

“I have been interviewed a lot,” says Gifford, who has endured the slings and arrows of the tabloid press. “I have empathy for the person who is being interviewed and written about with all kinds of misperceptions and misconceptions and flat-out lies. So I feel for them, I feel their pain. I know what that is like.”

Marcus Carr

08-13-05, 08:30 PM

It's ridiculous that the Emmys aren't in HD yet.

fredfa

08-14-05, 03:03 AM

Thirteen Episodes to Life

By KATE AURTHUR The New York Times Aug. 14, 2005

THE plot: a man purposely gets himself sent to prison in order to break someone out.

That was the bare-bones gimmick around which the producing team of Marty Adelstein and Dawn Parouse asked Paul Scheuring to write a television series in September 2003.

"I thought it was a pretty good idea," Mr. Scheuring recalled during a recent interview at the Fox offices in Los Angeles. "It was just a matter of why would anybody do anything that stupid? And why would they believe they could do it?" Charged with answering those questions, Mr. Scheuring (a co-writer of the 2003 Vin Diesel movie "A Man Apart") began crafting an elaborate narrative that would eventually become "Prison Break," the Fox series that, in an early start to the fall television season, has its two-hour premiere on Aug. 29.

Peter Liguori, Fox's new president of entertainment, has programmed an early and ambitious slate of new and returning shows before the network turns most of its prime-time hours over to postseason baseball in October. And "Prison Break" was the first show he ordered last spring, even before he announced the rest of the schedule. In an interview, he called the show "one of those rare, visceral, exciting roller-coaster rides for TV."

It certainly starts with a bang. In the show's premiere episode, an inscrutable man named Michael, played by Wentworth Miller (recently of "Joan of Arcadia," in which he played the devil, and two Mariah Carey videos, in which he stole her away from Eric Roberts) robs a bank with the clear aim of being caught. Ignoring the entreaties of Veronica (Robin Tunney), his friend and lawyer, he pleads guilty and is sentenced to maximum-security prison. By the end of the first hour, the audience has learned that Michael has deliberately landed in the clink in order to rescue his brother, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell of Fox's "John Doe"), who is to be executed in a month for killing the vice president's brother. Michael has reason to be confident about this seemingly crazy plan: he knows he can break them both out because he is an engineer who worked on the prison's blueprints.

Every other part of the story, especially Michael's strategy, is a mystery. How do the other characters in the prison - a mob boss, a cat-loving criminal, the warden - fit into his scheme? Why does he gaze so meaningfully at drains? And most important, what conspiracy will Veronica uncover as she begins looking into whether Lincoln was framed for the murder?

Speaking from Chicago, where "Prison Break" is being shot, Ms. Tunney - whose film credits run from the populist ("End of Days" and "Vertical Limit") to the indie ("Niagara, Niagara" and "The Secret Lives of Dentists") - described the pros and cons of her role. "I get all the exposition," she said. "Which is challenging for an actor, I'll tell you that. The one saving grace for me is that I'm not supposed to be good at it. I love the idea that when I'm knocking on people's doors and meeting freaky people, that it's not what I do for a living."

Meanwhile, within the prison walls, a little bit more of Michael's plans come into view each week - only, however, for those who know where to look. Mr. Miller said, also from Chicago: "Each episode is going to have a number of puzzles for viewers to solve, and there are six or seven different subplots swirling around. It's really going to be something that rewards the attentive and patient viewer."

Because of such intricate plotting, Mr. Scheuring said, the show was "in development for a long time." In part, that time was spent trying to figure out how to make a finite story like a prison escape into an ongoing, open-ended tale. "They didn't know what to do with the beast," he said. "They were trying a lot of different things - possibly a mini-series, a limited run. And then when 'Lost' finally came out last fall with big numbers, all of a sudden everybody wanted to get that unorthodox narrative. So right away we got greenlit and went to pilot."

Craig Erwich, Fox's executive vice president of programming, developed this show under Gail Berman, the network's former entertainment president. On the telephone from Los Angeles, Mr. Erwich steered the credit away from crediting "Lost," which, after all, is on ABC. "I would say before 'Lost,' there was '24,' " he said, referring to Fox's hit action series, with its unique timetable and highly structured plot. "Quite frankly, 'Prison Break' was put in development because we thought, 'How are we going to top ourselves from '24?' "

One way was to have a feature film director take it on. "We thought it was an incredible piece of material that could attract a major directing talent," Mr. Erwich said. "It really needed to have somebody who could bring the suspense and tension of it, and make it feel like it was a $50 million feature."

Speaking from Vancouver, where he is directing "X-Men 3," Brett Ratner, the director of the first episode, said that Fox had sent him the script in October to gauge his interest. "I read the script and flipped out," Mr. Ratner said. "I thought it was fantastic." But until he met with Mr. Scheuring, he couldn't imagine how a story about a jail break could be a series. Nevertheless, he signed on as an executive producer as well, and brought in Dante Spinotti - the cinematographer of atmospheric films like "The Insider" and "L.A. Confidential" - to shoot the pilot with him in Chicago last December.

Mr. Ratner now sees the concept's built-in problems as assets. "People are going to be saying, 'How are they going to do this?' " he said with a laugh. "Even if they don't like the show, they're going to say, 'Where are they going with this?' "

So is there a plan to take "Prison Break" beyond its flashy premise? "We definitely have a template," Mr. Scheuring said, citing "The Shawshank Redemption" as a model for the first year, and "The Great Escape," his favorite movie, as inspiration for the second.

Ms. Tunney, for one, is not worried about the future. "If Paul knew exactly what was going to happen with everybody, then the audience kind of would, too," she said. "I think there's something to be said for surprising both yourself and the audience."

Mr. Liguori of Fox, a little more cautious, calls this uncertainty "nerve-racking" but "also refreshing." If "Prison Break" is a success, how many seasons can it last? "My most forthright answer is: I don't know," he said. "Look, I'm excited by the prospect. I'm excited about the show today and tomorrow. And that's a good start."

fredfa

08-14-05, 11:54 AM

TV SEASON PREVIEW: SUNDAY

Networks far from 'Idol': 'House,' 'Earl,' 'Supernatural' taking on Tuesdays

By RICK KISSELL Variety.com Aug. 15, 2005

HOLLYWOOD -- Fox dominates Tuesdays when "American Idol" is in session, but the night's a jump ball every fall.

Sure enough, five newbies, including some of the season's highest-profile entries, will bow on this night prior to the arrival of the tsunami that is "Idol."

Fox starts the season with a pair of dramas, including the hot "House." By mid-January, however, the music talent show will comprise more than half of Fox's Tuesday lineup and significantly affect other nets through May.

NBC, last year's fourth-quarter leader in Nielsen's 18-49 ratings thanks to unscripted hit "The Biggest Loser," leads with that reality skein at 8.

Peacock is pinning its comedy hopes on "My Name Is Earl," which follows "Loser" at 9. In the same hour, ABC bows political drama "Commander-in-Chief" and the WB has its best-looking fall skein in drama "Supernatural."

CBS, the most improved net on Tuesdays last season, adds promising drama "Close to Home" at 10.

Here's a look at the night:

8-9 p.m.

"Biggest Loser," the top-rated new reality show of last season in 18-49, should stay on top, but CBS' growing military crime drama "NCIS" will be competitive while ruling in adults 25-54 and total viewers.

New forensics crime drama "Bones" is a changeup for Fox, which has gone with reality here for most of the past year. "Bones" could chip into the aud for "NCIS," but anything above a 7 share seems unlikely.

Coming off a great season creatively, the Frog's "Gilmore Girls" is poised for a strong start this fall, cleaning up among young femmes.

ABC has shifted laffers "According to Jim" and "Rodney" here, where they should do OK -- although they're hardly the right lead-in for the net's dramas.

9-10 p.m.

This is the fall's most intriguing hour, as three new dramas and one new comedy oppose hits "House" on Fox and "Amazing Race" on CBS.

In an interesting twist, the two oldest-skewing major nets (CBS and NBC) will offer up what should be their youngest hours, while the two younger-skewing nets (Fox and ABC) play older with adult dramas.

Geena Davis starrer "Commander-in-Chief" is a solid drama whose pilot mixes both political and familial elements without being too earnest. It will have a better shot at attracting a femme following starting with its second episode, when Fox switches from "House" to baseball for October.

"House," meanwhile, gives Fox a great chance for titanic Tuesday growth, as the medical mystery floundered last fall before taking off behind "American Idol" in winter. It's hardly a coattails hit, though, creating its own buzz and loyal audience.

Like ABC's "Commander," NBC's "My Name Is Earl" could shake things up; pilot was likable enough and certainly more original than most recent Peacock laffers. It also will get a big push from NBC -- and most critics -- and is well-positioned on the sked, behind "Loser" and facing no comedy competish. It may also pick up some "According to Jim" viewers as ABC abandons laffers here.

The WB's "Supernatural," although tonally much different than its "Gilmore Girls" lead-in, should work very well in this hour, holding much of the "GG" femme aud while adding some males.

But UPN will be swimming upstream with its new soap "Sex, Love and Secrets."

10 to 11 p.m.

Three femme-friendly dramas do battle here, where NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" has won the last two years and remains the slot favorite.

"Boston Legal," a fragile frosh success following "Desperate Housewives," will be dependent on a strong lead-in. If it gets it, ABC could be sitting pretty with a nice upscale block; but if "Commander" craters, the case could unravel for "Legal," too.

Jerry Bruckheimer's "Close to Home," a look at crime in the suburbs, should pick up much of the Eye's "Judging Amy" aud while keeping more of its "Amazing Race" lead-in. "NCIS" and "Amazing Race" draw sizable male auds, but this entry should skew very female.

Bottom line

Even if "Earl" is a middling performer, NBC will be the net to beat on Tuesdays this fall, with CBS a solid second and Fox the most improved. The WB should also have a strong night, and ABC is a dark horse.

fredfa

08-14-05, 12:58 PM

Saturday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-14-05, 09:37 PM

TV SEASON PREVIEW:
From critics' target to sitcom savior?

By Suzanne C. Ryan Boston Globe

Desperate to replace classic comedies such as ''Friends" and ''Frasier," NBC has turned to a most unlikely savior this fall: a low-profile TV producer named Greg Garcia.

Garcia is the co-creator of one of television's most critically disliked sitcoms, CBS's ''Yes, Dear." In a burst of inspiration, he put together a completely different type of show, the offbeat ''My Name Is Earl," which NBC is now saying tested better with focus groups than any other comedy in 15 years, including ''Friends."

Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, said at the Television Critics Association summer conference here last month that the comedy ''manages to be both subversive and yet sweet at the same time."

Jason Lee stars as a dimwitted but likable thief who wins $100,000 in the lottery. Ecstatic about his win, he runs into the street and is promptly knocked to the ground by a car, helplessly observing as his lottery ticket blows away. Later, watching an episode of ''Last Call With Carson Daly," Earl is convinced that karma is at the root of his problems. He sets out to right all of the 258 wrongs he's done over the years.

Critics have reacted favorably to advance copies of the pilot, calling it reminiscent in tone and character of the Coen brothers' feature film ''Raising Arizona."

The positive buzz is something Garcia can't get used to.

''It's very strange to hear from the same critics who slammed 'Yes, Dear,' " he said during an interview at the conference. Harsh reviews of ''Yes, Dear," which is based partly on his life at home with his wife and two young sons, ''fueled" him to be funnier, he said.

But after creating 109 episodes drawn from events in his life, Garcia said, he was ''tapped out." For the upcoming television season, he is on leave from that show. ''My Name Is Earl," which Garcia created while on vacation in North Carolina two years ago, has his full attention.

''We're concentrating on finding those big, funny moments that are going to make people laugh and talk about the next day," said Garcia. ''Earl is going on quite a journey here. He's going to learn a lot of things, and he's going to become enlightened a little bit each week."

Garcia is someone who buys lottery tickets himself. He's a fan of Carson Daly. And, yes, he believes in karma.

But the producer never intended to take his business to NBC. He pitched the show to Fox initially, but the network passed.

''I thought it was over. And then I had lunch with some people at NBC who complimented me on the script, and I said, 'Well, let's do it.' "

Unlike a lot of NBC's veteran producers, Garcia has only been in the business for 12 years, doing stints as a writer on ''Family Matters" and as a producer on the animated ''Family Guy."

He grew up in Arlington, Va., where his father was a cab driver and his mother a realtor. Glued to the television most nights, he would faithfully watch sitcoms such as ''Good Times," ''The Jeffersons," and ''Happy Days."

''At dinnertime, I would record the audio of my shows with a tape recorder and then listen to them after dinner," he said.

A class clown, Garcia negotiated a deal with his eighth-grade teacher in which he was allowed to do a stand-up routine in front of his class during the last five minutes of every day provided he was quiet the rest of the school day. ''It worked," he said.

Garcia, who majored in speech communication at Frostburg State University because it was ''easy," took a television writing course as a fluke. It inspired him to apply after graduation to a one-week Warner Bros. writers program in Los Angeles in 1993.

''I looked at it as a vacation," he said. ''I couldn't believe people were paid to sit in a room and tell jokes."

To be sure, NBC's reputation for making comedies is pretty shaky these days. ''Joey" was a disappointment last year. The heavily marketed ''Father of the Pride," ''Committed," and ''Come to Papa" are all now off the air.

In a defensive move, NBC deliberately scheduled ''My Name Is Earl" for Tuesdays at 9 p.m., rather than on the higher-profile ''must-see" TV Thursday night programming block. The show is set to premiere Sept. 20.

''Comedies, as you know, historically need time to grow, need time to nurture," said NBC's Reilly.

For star Jason Lee, the pressure is building, although he tries not to think about it. ''I can't show up on the set every day with that in my mind. It would just be too distracting," he told critics at the TCA meeting. ''All I can do is show up and work and try to make the best show that I can make as an actor."

Garcia agrees, placing his faith in some good one-liners and, yes, karma.

He jokes, ''I'm going to continue to try to do good things in my life so this show can stay on the air."

fredfa

08-14-05, 09:46 PM

Friday TV fading like Saturday TV?

By Diane Holloway Austin American-Statesman

Saturday night, with the lowest viewership of the week, is the graveyard of network programming. In recent years, networks have packed the night with reruns and feature films. Any producer knows a Saturday time slot is the kiss of death.

In the not too distant future, Friday nights, where many a new show has died, may go the way of Saturday nights.

“We won’t always waste original programming on Fridays,” NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly told me in Los Angeles recently.

The remark (delivered in casual conversation after a press conference) made me wonder how the producers of NBC’s two new Friday night series, “Three Wishes” and “Inconceivable,” would feel about that. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to ask them, but I’m betting they wouldn’t be happy.

“Three Wishes” is Amy Grant’s new reality show, an allegedly uplifting hour in which one small town will be granted wishes for three of its citizens. “Inconceivable” is the new drama starring Jonathan Cake, Ming Na and Angie Harmon, that takes place in a fertility clinic.

While no one has predicted that either series would be a break-out hit this fall, it would be disconcerting to hear the head of a network express so little confidence in Friday night’s potential.

Fridays used to be home to hit sitcoms on ABC and “The X-Files” on Fox. It hasn’t always been a semigraveyard for network programming. But it’s the same old story of cable and movies-on-demand gobbling up the audience. And you’ve got to wonder what other night will be abandoned next.

Feel-good reality show backfires

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is supposed to be one of those reality shows that makes you smile (or softly weep), not cringe and gag.

But the orphaned Higgins siblings, ages 15 to 22, are showing us what happens when good intentions gone bad. The family is suing ABC, the show’s production company, the firm that built the lavish nine-bedroom house and the couple (Phil and Loki Leomiti) who took them in after their parents died. The house, by the way, replaced the Leomitis’ old house, which was torn down, and is deeded to the Leomitis.

Apparently sparks began to fly in March, when the two families moved into their new mansion. The Higgins claim they’ve been kicked out of the house that was built for them, and now they’re homeless. The Leomitis say the “kids” got mad and left.

If reality TV is going to tap into the goodness in people, it should be ready for the greed and unpleasantness that exist, too. Not every makeover has a happy ending.

fredfa

08-14-05, 09:54 PM

Is "Nightline" As We Know It Doomed?
On Media: By Phil Rosenthal Chicago Tribune columnist

Accepting the latest of the countless honors "Nightline" has earned over the last 25 years, retiring anchor Ted Koppel seemed a bit peeved.

Koppel, on tape, chided a group of television critics (including this columnist) for giving ABC News' late-night institution the programming equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, inferring it signaled they thought his exit at year's end spelled the program's end, as well.

True enough, ABC has not indicated it plans to drop "Nightline." The show might even expand from a half-hour to an hour under a new host or hosts. But even so, there is reason to believe the "Nightline" that last month scored the Television Critics Association's Heritage Award--Koppel's "Nightline"--might not survive the transition.

The death last week of ABC's Peter Jennings, coming so soon after the departure of peers Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw from their respective nightly broadcasts at CBS and NBC, occasioned much hand-wringing over the future of the 5:30 p.m. network news.

These men not only fronted their newscasts for more than 20 years, they shaped the tone and agenda, fighting to balance their networks' need for ratings and revenue against the public's need to be well-informed.

But between Jennings and Koppel, ABC will lose a combined 85 years of experience at the network by year's end, and an ABC News without their leadership may well turn out to be a very different ABC News as two of its showcase programs enter a new era.

The immediate concern here is less what ABC intends for "World News Tonight" without Jennings, though obviously it's something to monitor, than what it already has shown signs of doing to "Nightline" once Koppel and executive producer Tom Bettag are gone.

"Nightline" has lost 1 million viewers over the last four years and now averages about 3.4 million. On nights when Koppel isn't on, the show has been experimenting with a multistory format and there have been off-air prototypes tried, as well.

Invaluable as the show remains to its viewers, the network was poised to dump the program just three years ago when it courted CBS "Late Show" host David Letterman. But it failed to land Letterman and further aggravated "Nightline" supporters with a New York Times quote from an unnamed ABC exec during that courtship saying the show was no longer relevant. Then there's the $100 million annually some in the industry believe ABC sacrifices by not running an entertainment program after the late local news.

So what of the next generation of "Nightline," the one Koppel doesn't want critics to write off? Will it still report in a way no one else in TV does on subjects few will touch? Or will it trade depth for pace and soften in the chase for beer ads and younger viewers?

"Nightline" under Koppel deserves the praise it gets for reporting on topics such as the catastrophe in the Congo and famine in North Korea. But it's just as valuable when it digs into less challenging subjects that might not initially seem so meaningful.

Last week, for example, it did a terrific half-hour looking back at a South Carolina youth baseball team that tried to integrate the Little League World Series 50 years ago but was not allowed to play. It's a story that no doubt could be done by any number of TV news programs, and many probably will do it as the team is scheduled to be honored at this year's Little League World Series.

But none is likely to capture it with the poignancy and panache of correspondent Dave Marash and Koppel, who used these men's story to reflect on the segregation of their childhood.

Certainly Koppel is no sports nut--he referred to players as "colleagues" not "teammates." But he and his program are drawn to stories that promise to resonate, such as his jaw-dropping 1987 interview with Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Al Campanis, which spurred a wave of affirmative action through Major League Baseball.

Will the next host or hosts share that mind-set and have the muscle to advance it? Will James Goldston, Bettag's replacement as executive producer?

Goldston's resume includes running Britain's version of "Nightline" and producing Martin Bashir's "Living With Michael Jackson" special, suggesting a range of possibilities.

Those who care about what ABC and Koppel have established with "Nightline" over the last 25 years, including Koppel himself, hope for the best.

Critics are understandably wary.

fredfa

08-14-05, 09:57 PM

Where you go for news has been shifting

Chicago TribuneAugust 14, 2005

If you're looking for a sharp increase in the way people get their news, take your measure on the Internet.

Although local television news continues to be at the top of the charts, news consumption behaviors are continuing to shift, according to a study released earlier this summer.

About three in 10 Americans now say they regularly go online to get news, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & The Press.

Pew researchers noted that only a few years ago, just one in four people got their news from the Internet. The percentage of people who go online for news on a typical day has increased by half over the last four years, from 12 percent to 18 percent.

The response was stronger when people were asked whether they had used the Internet for news purposes on the previous day, the question that produced the roughly 30 percent estimate. Those numbers are also affected by the kinds of events that occur during the day.

About six in 10 Americans say they regularly watch the local news in their areas. That is a significant decline from the 75 percent of Americans who said they watched local news regularly in the early 1990s, but the number hasn't changed much since 2000.

Network news broadcast viewership has slowed its steep decline.

About a third of the public now watches one of the broadcasts on CBS, ABC or NBC.

Network audience size declined by about half from 1993 to 2000, but it has been "fairly steady" since, the researchers said.

fredfa

08-14-05, 10:02 PM

“The Sopranos”: Defining a 'season'

By Alan Sepinwall Newark Star-Ledger

Like a certain Danish prince whose story he's no doubt read, David Chase is a man who can't make up his mind -- and because of that, people keep dying.

First he wanted "The Sopranos" to end after 13 episodes. Then he insisted he would do five seasons, no more. Then he briefly considered doing a movie version. Then he consented to doing a sixth season, again swearing this was it, the end, finis, no more.

The sixth season may still be the end, but only if you're being technical, since HBO has just announced that, in addition to the 12 episodes that will begin airing next March, the sixth season will contain eight "bonus episodes" set to premiere in January '07.

Cue Silvio Dante for his Michael Corleone impression. ("Every time I think I'm out ...")

Rumors had been flying about Chase committing to more episodes for months. Production on the sixth season began in late April, and from the start, the cast and crew all refused to accept the party line that this would be the end.

"I think I'll believe it when I'm told it, when we're on the set and they say, 'That's it. Don't come back,'" writer/producer Terence Winter said on the set in early May.

Winter added that the writing staff was five scripts into the season at that point, and "probably by the time we get up to episode eight or nine, there's going to be a fork in the road where David's going to need to make a decision."

HBO sent out a press release yesterday about the additional episodes, but no one in either their camp or Chase's was willing to talk beyond that. Considering that silence, there are two interesting things to read into that release.

First is that these two groups of episodes are being referred to as part of the same "season." This is a semantics game often practiced in cable. USA, for instance, will air eight episodes of "Monk," wait a couple of months, then air eight more as part of the same batch. And the final "season" of "Sex and the City" featured a dozen episodes in the summer and eight more the following January.

But in most cases, only two or three months will separate the halves, while these two groups of "Sopranos" episodes will air about six months apart. The insistence on calling the January '07 shows "bonus episodes" instead of a seventh season may be to allow Chase to insist he was telling the truth all along about not wanting to go past six seasons.

More importantly, the press release no longer refers to the sixth season as the final one. This could also be a word game, and an HBO source guessed these additional eight episodes would absolutely, definitely, almost assuredly be it for "The Sopranos."

But maybe HBO and Chase have given up on the use of the word "final" because they know that after all these reversals and extensions, the only way anyone will believe that Chase and company are finally done is when they see Tony Soprano dead or in jail -- and maybe not even then.

fredfa

08-14-05, 10:08 PM

Turner's Classic Host Robert Osborne Brings Film Gems to Life on TCM

By Adam Bernstein Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 14, 2005; Y07

If Robert Osborne, the dapper host of Turner Classic Movies, were introducing his own life story, he might tell you he came to Hollywood to be an actor and wound up in the 1962 pilot episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies."

The silver-haired Osborne, so suave that he appears to glide into his entrances, had been acting in television for a few years. His mentor was comedian Lucille Ball. And he hoped to be the next Cary Grant.

Instead came "The Beverly Hillbillies," a rags-to-riches CBS sitcom about an Ozark clan that buys a Beverly Hills mansion. There was talk of a recurring role for Osborne, as an assistant to the greedy bank manager. But he left after the pilot to act in commercials for cars, coffee and insurance.

"The show itself seemed so loony and unimportant," he said. "I was sure the pilot would never sell." It became one of the longest-running programs of the era, peaking at 60 million viewers and leaving Osborne to respond: "So much for my psychic powers."

At Ball's suggestion, he abandoned acting for writing and eventually became a columnist and critic for the Hollywood Reporter, a show-business trade publication. He also has published official Oscar histories, which he updates every few years.

Osborne joined TCM just as it began in 1994, and he helps choose among the 6,000 films TCM can air. Knowing that not everyone is a film historian, his introductions often include stories that turn a classic movie into something fun. This month's "Summer Under the Stars" festival on TCM, which highlights one entertainer each day, draws greatly from Osborne's Hollywood years.

Richard Schickel, a filmmaker and Time magazine movie critic, praised Osborne: "You feel like it's not just a guy up there reading copy that people prepared for him to read. That's a good quality and increasingly rare in the television climate of our times. He's something a lot more than just a talking head."

Osborne recently renewed his contract as TCM's primary host for three more years. His hobby is now his career. "All I ever wanted to do was go to movies," he said.

Growing up in the 1940s, Robert Jolin Osborne found movies a major source of pleasure, an escape from the wheat, pea and lentil fields of his native Colfax, Wash. He studied journalism and advertising at the University of Washington and while in Seattle was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout while playing the whistling psychopath in a thriller, "Night Must Fall." He came under contract to a television production company run by Ball and husband Desi Arnaz.

Osborne's knowledge of the old supporting actors impressed Ball. He became part of Ball's small entourage, traveling to New York and Las Vegas. Sometimes the group spent evenings at her house, and Osborne, foreshadowing his work at TCM, selected movies for the group to see. Meanwhile, he said, "Desi was out chasing his girlfriends."

Knowing Ball gave Osborne insight into the loneliness of the great stars and provided a way to meet some of his favorite actresses, he said.

He once was actress Bette Davis's date to the Academy Awards. He also accompanied her to Pickfair, the estate of silent film actress Mary Pickford, where, he said, "I remember Olivia de Havilland in the kitchen talking to Rita Hayworth, and Rita was so vague. At the time, everyone thought she drank. Olivia afterward was so depressed." Hayworth, it later became known, had Alzheimer's disease. In 1977, he moved to New York and joined the Hollywood Reporter, for which he still writes his "Rambling Reporter" column.

"I turned out to be very bad as a columnist," he said, "because I would be told secrets, and I would keep the secrets. I knew Rock Hudson had AIDS long before that came out. I had a big argument with an editor about that, and I said, 'This is not a politician and not something that will affect our lives. And it's something this man wants to keep secret.' "

In his TCM interviews with former stars, he respects their privacy on personal subjects but can often get them to speak tantalizingly of their career. The raucous musical-comedy performer Betty Hutton broke a silence of many decades to tell Osborne how miserably she felt she was treated on the set of "Annie Get Your Gun" (1950). "They wanted Judy Garland, and they never let me forget it," she said of fellow cast members.

Osborne said he has a lively correspondence with viewers, including composer Stephen Sondheim, who "is wonderful about correcting my pronunciations." Another thing about Sondheim, Osborne said, unable to resist the irony, "He loves all kinds of movies except for musicals."

fredfa

08-14-05, 10:19 PM

Cable’s New Movie Players
E!, Bravo step up feature-film acquisitions

By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 8/15/2005

The E! network’s recent move to snag a feature-film package is clear evidence that emerging cable networks are determined to expand their brands—and boost their ratings—through popular movies.

Besides watching washed-up actors’ tawdry tales, Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends and other E! programming staples, viewers will soon see such films as Mystic Pizza and The Birdcage. E!’s move represents an industry-wide trend: As broadcast networks have shunned weekend movie nights to rerun originals, and major cable networks scoop up more first-run films, emerging cable players are increasingly acquiring second-, third- and, in some cases, even first-run features.

Studios have always pitched their films to newer cable clients. But both startups and established networks are taking those pitches seriously now and experimenting with small film packages.

“Every time broadcasters don’t cherish these staples, cable steals their thunder and builds a business on their back,” says John Weiser, president of distribution for Sony Pictures Television.

In the past two months, Sony reports film deals with six cable startups. Newbie martial-arts channel Blackbelt TV bought hundreds of classic films from Sony, such as Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master.

Paramount recently sold Bravo a package of major movies, including some cable premieres, and is wooing AMC to purchase first-run films, says Executive VP of Domestic Cable Distribution Scott Koondel. Warner Bros. is in “ongoing negotiations” with “a number of widely distributed niche networks,” says Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution President Eric Frankel.

Warner Bros. says that, through June 26, 15 of basic cable’s 25 programs most viewed by adults were feature films. Armed with such research, studios show how movies perform for networks’ competition and pitch films’ ability to attract new viewers, change audience composition and build awareness of originals.

“A Great Carrot”

In most cases, the packages spell ratings boosts. E! averaged 390,000 total viewers during prime in July, a 5% jump from last year. On Oxygen, which bought its first major package last December from Warner Bros., movies held six of the top 10 programming slots between September 2004 and June 2005. That included cable premieres of Ocean’s Twelve and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous. Flicks are “a great carrot to lure a new audience” to originals, says Oxygen President of Programming/Marketing Debby Beece.

Studios also cite movies’ ability to repeat strongly, and show networks how to package films to fit their personality. E!, for example, plans to add film trivia in interstitials. The package’s first film, Fargo, will air later this month, and E! will debut a movie every two weeks.

But while small networks might test low-budget films (for $20,000-$220,000), cost still prevents many from buying first-run movies. And enticing them is “very bureaucratic and slow-moving,” says Frankel, adding that one deal can take up to two years to complete.

Still, some networks consider such deals essential to their long-term goals. “Movies are a futures business,” says E! and Style Senior VP of Programming Salaam Coleman Smith. “To get access to really great titles, you have to jump in for future windows.”

Movie Packages

Network: E!

Studio: Sony Pictures Television

Date: August 2005 Number of movies: about 10

Big titles: Fargo, Mystic Pizza, Desperately Seeking Susan, The Birdcage

Network: Bravo

Studio: Paramount Domestic Television Distribution

Date: July 2005 Number of movies: about 30

Big titles: Crossroads, School of Rock, How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Network: Oxygen

Studio: Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution

Date: December 2004 Number of movies: 12

Big titles: Ocean’s Twelve, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous, Million Dollar Baby

fredfa

08-15-05, 12:46 AM

Sorrow is sweet as show dies
The creator of "Six Feet Under" is pleased with what his series has said about death and grief

By Greg Braxton Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 15, 2005

The mourning has finally broken. Alan Ball is contemplating life after death — five seasons' worth.

Ball is coping with the final throes of HBO's "Six Feet Under," his black-humor-laced drama about a family-run funeral home that will end its run Sunday. "Six Feet Under" is one of the flagship components, along with "The Sopranos," "Sex and the City" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," that have made the pay-cable network a critical favorite and powerhouse.

The 48-year-old Ball, who scored an Oscar for writing "American Beauty," is very much alive and kicking as he prepares to tackle new projects, including a play, a couple of screenplays and a novel he is adapting for a film he hopes to direct later this year.

For Ball, who says his characters are so real to him they haunt his dreams, fading out "Six Feet Under" is a mixed blessing.

"It's like having seven kids, and they all go off to college at the same time," Ball said in an interview. "This show is very dear to me. I'm letting go of something that felt very safe and familiar. It's definitely bittersweet, a growth experience, and not without some pain. But I'm really excited about moving on and doing something different."

The show's signature opening sequences — the mostly untimely demise of a future client of the Fisher family mortuary — spotlighted its exploration of how the living deal with the complicated layers of grief. The dramatic odyssey of "Six Feet Under" has been sprinkled with generous doses of sex, violence, surrealism and emotional turmoil.

Throughout the series, Ball and the writers did not shy away from pushing the envelope. One installment last season revolving around the brutalization of David, one of the Fisher brothers, provoked such outrage that some fans swore never to watch the series again. And Ball saved his most shocking twist for this season, killing off one of the series' lead figures — Nate Fisher (Peter Krause), the handsome, conflicted co-director of the funeral home — with three episodes left in the season, no less.

Fisher collapsed into open-eyed unconsciousness just minutes after cheating on his pregnant wife, Brenda (Rachel Griffiths). His subsequent death and the Fishers' grief in burying one of their own — their emotions ranging from tenderness to rage — has fueled emotional discussions in TV chat rooms and around water coolers.

Addressing the overall theme and meaning of "Six Feet Under," Ball paused.

"What the series is all about is: We die," Ball finally said. "So while we're here, let's live fully. There are lots of things that masquerade as having the key to life — religion, culture. But ultimately we have to make decisions on our own. And we will make mistakes. And that's OK, because we're human. It's a struggle to find meaning, but that struggle is the meaning."

Much of Ball's inspiration for the series was based on a painful adolescent memory. His sister was killed on her 22nd birthday in a traffic accident while driving the 13-year-old Alan to a piano lesson. Ball recalled the funeral and how his mother reacted as she approached his sister lying in an open casket.

"My mother leaned forward, kissed my sister on the forehead and started to weep," Ball said. "One of the funeral directors gently guided her away from the casket and took her behind a curtain. The implication was that grief is ugly and shouldn't be seen, it's so personal. But we need to know that everyone feels the same way."

A TV veteran, Ball previously wrote for series such as "Grace Under Fire" and "Cybill." But "Six Feet Under" evolved in ways that surprised even him.

"When I wrote the pilot, I was in an intense state of mind," he recalled. "I had had another show canceled, and I was exhausted. I knew HBO was interested in a show about a funeral home, I was two years into my TV deal, and I didn't want to write another network sitcom. I wanted to exorcise some demons while opening as many doors as possible. Although I had some ideas about what this show should be, it really became an entity of its own. I had to realize where the show wanted to take us and get out of its way."

Killing off Nate was part of that process. In Ball's mind, the character was doomed since the third season when he became afflicted with arteriovenous malformations, a brain disorder.

"Nate was always moving a step closer toward his own mortality. I got a lot of resistance from the other writers, but I always felt that nothing was as organic or as appropriate as Nate dying. And I didn't want to do that in the final episode. I wanted to have the Fishers grieve, to have them go through that loss and come out the other side. Life isn't about happy endings."

Despite the show's devoted fans, continuing bravos from critics and a mountain of Emmy nominations, some observers believe it has been overshadowed by its HBO brethren.

Tim Brooks, co-author of "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," said, "The audience for 'Six Feet Under' is very loyal, but the show has never had the breakout appeal of 'The Sopranos' or 'Sex and the City.' "

Brooks noted some of the criticism from fans last season for the episode in which David picked up a man who claimed to be out of gas and needed help. Though David thought his passenger might be game for some casual sex, the man turned on him and proceeded to terrorize him — robbing and beating him, forcing him to take crack, putting a gun in his mouth and threatening to set him on fire after dousing him with lighter fluid.

Instead of backing away from that episode, Ball has continued to refer to it in subsequent installments, notably the one with Nate's funeral, when David was nearly paralyzed with fear by visions of his assailant.

"I try to reflect life as much as I can," Ball explained. "When you are traumatized, it stays with you the rest of your life. To gloss over that would be a disservice. People don't want to look at what's painful. But it's dysfunctional to deny the impact."

Putting together the final episodes was a cathartic experience for the cast and crew, Ball said. "Yes, it was painful, but all of us love these characters so much it wasn't hard to access the feelings we needed to do the shows. Lauren Ambrose [who plays Fisher sibling Claire] told me that I made it possible for her to grieve the end of the show. All of those feelings were right there."

Fans hoping for revivals of "Six Feet Under" would be, well, dead disappointed. Ball promises that the end of the show really will be the end.

"I don't think you'll be seeing a Fisher family reunion or 'The Fishers Go to Hawaii,' " he said. "This is the final chapter."

Xesdeeni

08-15-05, 09:18 AM

FCC Seeks Info On Competition In VideoAnd not one #@^&$ request for CONSUMER opinions! Can't the FCC at least PRETEND they still work for us!?

They need to understand that consumers will resist these new technologies that introduce ridiculous limitations: can't watch HD DVD on component-only TVs, can't archive shows, etc.

Xesdeeni

fredfa

08-15-05, 11:36 AM

Sunday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-15-05, 11:43 AM

Cable Is Up Late, Plotting TV Talk Shows' Demise

By Scott Collins Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 15, 2005

For nearly half a century, late-night TV has been ruled by hosts whom viewers came to know on a first-name basis: Johnny, Jay, Dave, Conan. But now the after-hours dial is appealing to a younger audience with cable programs that bear little resemblance to the traditional talk show — and the trend could shake up TV for years to come.

This fall, Comedy Central will aggressively chase late-night viewers with a full slate of new shows, including an 11:30 p.m. spinoff of its popular fake-news broadcast, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" — a late-night block of edgy animated series — is drawing more viewers aged 18 to 34, a key category for advertisers, than CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman."

Meanwhile, ratings for NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," for years late-night's No. 1 program, have slipped 5% this year, to an average of 5.7 million viewers, though that's still more than four times the viewership for Stewart.

Although the networks still attract far more viewers between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., their primacy is slowly being eroded — with potentially worrisome results. Cable steadily nibbled away at broadcasters' share of the lucrative prime-time audience over the last 10 years. Yet late night remains one of the few times of the day when big networks keep a commanding lead (another is 7 to 9 a.m.). If the trend continues and viewers keep fleeing to cable after 11 p.m., analysts say, advertiser dollars will follow.

It could represent a cultural change as well. Young viewers, TV veterans say, are increasingly migrating to cable because the programming isn't subject to content restrictions from the Federal Communications Commission and is often spicier — if not necessarily raunchier — than that found on traditional networks.

During its late-night block, Comedy Central allows profanity it doesn't permit during other times of day. The 11 p.m. "Daily Show," for example, ran a clip of columnist Robert Novak's recent on-air tirade on CNN — and didn't bother to bleep the expletive he uttered before storming off the set.

The message in all this seems clear: As in so many other arenas, the old media paradigms are crumbling.

Late-night TV "is starting to shift," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president at Horizon Media, an advertising and media services firm in New York. "The cable networks have started to effectively counter-program the broadcast networks. And they can get away with more [daring content]. They're starting to go after young adults."

Cable executives, not surprisingly, say the late-night talk show — or at least the host-behind-a-desk format pioneered by Steve Allen on the original "Tonight" show in 1953 — has simply worn out its welcome.

"With all due respect to Jay and Dave and everybody out there, they're doing very similar kinds of shows in formats that are nearly as old as television," said Doug Herzog, president of Comedy Central and Spike TV, a sister network aimed at young men. "I do believe those traditional formats are growing tired, and younger viewers are growing tired of them."

"The 40 minutes of talk time on these shows are basically the same on every program," said Robert Morton, a former Letterman producer whose latest project is Comedy Central's "Weekends at the DL," a talk show with stand-up comic D.L. Hughley that premiered last month.

Morton pointed out that Comedy Central can afford to take risks partly because its programs cost less than network rivals'; thus, they face less immediate pressure to succeed.

None of this means that networks should start panicking. Leno's "Tonight Show" and Letterman's "Late Show" remain the gold standards, gushing tens of millions of dollars in annual profits and attracting every major celebrity with a project to hype. And both hosts still attract a far bigger total audience than anything the cable networks can muster.

Leno has had the top-rated program at 11:35 p.m. for 10 straight years among adults 18 to 49, though CBS, thanks in part to its strong prime-time lineup, narrowed the gap considerably this season. CBS also points to improved ratings this year, especially among women, for its 12:35 a.m. "The Late Late Show," where host Craig Ferguson replaced Craig Kilborn.

Broadcast executives say their programs do well precisely because they are geared toward mainstream sensibilities.

"If [cable networks] really believe that men aged 18 to 34 watching cartoons at 1 in the morning are a primary audience, I think they're wrong," said David Poltrack, executive vice president for research and planning at CBS.

Rick Ludwin, NBC's senior vice president in charge of late-night programming, said giving viewers more options would increase the total audience that shows up in the wee hours. "It doesn't necessarily cannibalize what we're doing," he said.

Furthermore, the rise of popular cable shows is hardly all bad news for the networks' corporate parents, all of which operate multiple channels. For example, Viacom, which owns CBS and UPN, also owns Comedy Central.

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Since the 1950s, late night has served as a kind of electronic forum — and sometimes public pillory — that mocked the pompous and ridiculed the ridiculous. To be sure, even since Allen's day there's been zany comedy in late night. Johnny Carson hosted an eclectic array of writers, politicians and plain folks who had made brief headlines; he also promoted the careers of countless comics, including Jerry Seinfeld and George Carlin. Until a few years ago, pundits often turned reflexively to Leno or Letterman as harbingers of public opinion.

But now that role increasingly falls to the more acerbic Stewart, who for many young viewers provides both a summary of, and running commentary on, the day's events. "The Daily Show" is no typical talk show: At least half the program is devoted to Stewart's riff on headlines and various in-studio and taped comedy bits; the guest interview in the last segments seems almost an afterthought.

At its peak, NBC's "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" averaged 10 million to 15 million viewers. These days, the combined ratings for Leno and Letterman barely reach those levels. Cable channels are beginning to attack the networks in late night the same way they did in prime time — by finding one series that clicks and then growing other programs around it.

That's what Comedy Central hopes to do by adding a program starring Stephen Colbert, a popular contributor to "The Daily Show," at 11:30 p.m., making it directly competitive with Leno and Letterman. The program is scheduled to premiere Oct. 17.

Colbert said his show would be similar to Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" — except it will star the pompous alter ego that the performer has made famous on "The Daily Show." "My character is an idiot who's not aware he's an idiot," Colbert said. "He thinks very highly of himself."

Some broadcasters say cable's new late-night entries have a tough hill to climb.

"What's extraordinarily valuable in TV right now [are] brands," said Rob Burnett, executive producer of "The Late Show." "It's a lot harder for newcomers to gain the audience that someone like Dave has."

Poltrack, the CBS researcher, said the broadcast talk shows had proved notably resilient over the years, fighting off challenges not just from cable outlets but syndicated sitcoms like "Cheers" and "Seinfeld." But he acknowledged that young men — whom TV executives have found difficult to reach at other times of the day — are the "low-hanging fruit" for cable networks. "That's what the competition will be going after," he said.

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All of the network talk shows are facing upheavals that are likely to sow further doubt. Later this year, Ted Koppel will leave ABC's "Nightline" after a quarter-century as anchor. The network recently hired a new executive producer for the program but has not settled on a new host. "Nightline's" ratings this season dipped 8%, to 3.5 million viewers. Meanwhile, the program that follows it, a talk show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, has not posed a serious threat to Leno or Letterman.

At NBC, Leno will hand the reins of "The Tonight Show" over to "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien in 2009. Ludwin said the switch would undoubtedly bring changes to the show, although it was far too early to discuss details. Much of O'Brien's humor is off-kilter and even nonsensical. Some industry veterans say O'Brien will have to make his comedy more accessible to work in the earlier time slot, but not everyone agrees.

"They said that David Letterman couldn't work at 11:30, either," Morton said.

The long-term status of Letterman is unclear. After spurning an offer to jump to ABC, the host renewed his CBS contract in a deal that the network says will carry him through 2007. "How long he will continue is entirely up to Dave," said Burnett, the show's executive producer. "I don't see any sign of him stepping down."

At 58, Letterman probably best symbolizes the generational shifts underway. Twenty years ago, on NBC's "Late Night," Letterman reinvented the late-night talk show by ridiculing conventions like the scripted celebrity interview. Such irreverent humor proved especially popular on college campuses.

But now Letterman is part of the TV establishment. His program relies on a familiar repertoire of comedy bits and lately has revived relics from the Carson era, such as "Stump the Band," in which audience members are picked to sing obscure tunes. Letterman makes little effort to hide his age and frequently jokes about the heart bypass surgery he underwent in 2000, a topic that probably has more relevance for aging boomers than for channel-surfing college students.

Poltrack says Letterman has hung on to a large number of young adults even as he's grown older. But some analysts say Leno and Letterman spend too much time chatting with stars when younger viewers are more interested in seeing skits or monologues. Their guest lists too are largely limited to the same personalities who make the talk show rounds when hyping their latest projects; by contrast, legendary talk show hosts such as Allen, Carson and Jack Paar thrived on unscripted moments.

The network talk shows are "more celebrity interview now than they are comedy," said Jack Myers, editor and publisher of mediavillage.com.

"The Late Show's" Burnett disputed that assessment.

"Most nights, we're not bringing up the first guest till midnight," he said. "The first 20 minutes of the show are pure comedy."

Still, Comedy Central executives believe that the time is ripe for growth, especially among the network's core audience of young men.

"At the very least, we're hoping to stretch the audience 'The Daily Show' attracts — which is a very fair amount of people by cable standards — later in the night," Herzog said. "What we've got with 'The Daily Show' is an incredible beachhead." Between January and July, it has averaged 1.4 million viewers, up 24% compared with the same period last year.

Whether Stewart's success can extend to new series remains to be seen. Comedy Central's late-night plans were jolted somewhat by the unexpected loss of "Chappelle's Show" after comic Dave Chappelle stopped reporting for work in May, leaving the show in limbo. "Chappelle's Show," which aired at 10:30 p.m. Wednesdays, was the network's second-highest-rated program after "South Park."

In addition to Colbert's spinoff, Comedy Central has "Weekends at the DL," which airs at 11 p.m. Fridays through Sundays ("The Daily Show" runs in that slot the rest of the week). The show features Hughley and guests engaged in freewheeling conversation, interspersed with taped comedy pieces.

The early ratings for "Weekends" have been disappointing, however. The July 29 premiere had 789,000 viewers, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research, compared with 1.2 million viewers for "The Daily Show" the previous night (TV watching is often lighter on Fridays than on any other night of the week). Comedy Central executives say the show will need time to build an audience.

On Mondays at 11:30 p.m., Comedy Central has "Too Late With Adam Carolla," starring the comedian and "Loveline" host, who recently announced he would take over Howard Stern's morning broadcast in Los Angeles and other markets after Stern moves to satellite radio.

And for 13 weeks starting Sept. 15, Comedy Central will roll out a 10:30 p.m. series starring David Spade, a "Saturday Night Live" alum. Spade describes the series as similar to "The Daily Show" but devoted to show business instead of politics.

For Spade, the freedom to do edgier material than the networks would allow clinched the deal. "If I'm going to do a show like this," Spade said, "this is the best place to do it."

fredfa

08-15-05, 04:52 PM

Roger Ailes to Take Reins of Fox Television Stations

By Michele Greppi TVWeek.com

Two weeks of speculation came true Monday with the announcement that Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes will add to his plate the post of chairman of the Fox Television Stations group, a position that also will give him oversight of Twentieth Television, producer of first-run syndicated programming and distributor of off-network programming.

Mr. Ailes fills the oversight position left empty by the unexpected resignation Aug. 5 of News Corp. Deputy Chief Operating Officer Lachlan Murdoch, who held responsibility for the stations group.

Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations, will report to Mr. Ailes. Mr. Ailes will report to News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch and to News Corp. President and COO Peter Chernin.

The group owns and operates 35 stations in 26 markets that represent nearly 45 percent of the TV universe in the United States. The group includes nine duopolies, five of them in top 10 markets.

fredfa

08-16-05, 01:18 AM

Dick Clark passes the New Year's torch
'Idol' host Seacrest is 'Rockin''

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER Variety

"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest is about to replace another broadcasting icon, signing on to eventually take over the "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" franchise.

Seacrest has signed a multiyear deal to co-host this year's special with Clark before taking over in future years as the broadcast's solo host.

As part of Monday's announcement, Clark said he would be back in position Dec. 31 for the 34th edition of "New Year's Rockin' Eve," having missed last year's show while recovering from a stroke. (Regis Philbin subbed for Clark as 2004 turned into 2005.)

Seacrest will also join the special as an executive producer, along with Clark and Allen Shapiro.

Seacrest is no stranger to celebrating New Year's on live TV, having hosted a rival special on Fox for several years through his Ryan Seacrest Prods. label.

Besides "Idol," Seacrest also took over the "American Top 40" syndicated radio show from countdown king Casey Kasem and replaced morning drive vet Rick Dees on Los Angeles' KIIS-FM, which has seen its Arbitron ratings rise since then.

Seacrest has also hosted "The Radio Music Awards" and "The Billboard Music Awards," among other specials.

fredfa

08-16-05, 03:55 AM

PGA Ratings Up

The Los Angeles Times---Overnight ratings for CBS' shortened final-round PGA Tournament coverage Sunday was still up 20% to a 5.9 over last year's 4.9. The two-day weekend average earned an overnight rating of 5.2, up 27% from last year's 4.1.

fredfa

08-16-05, 11:10 AM

NBCU Tightening Belt in Wake of Upfront Loss

By Andrew Wallenstein The Hollywood Reporter August 16, 2005

With NBC Universal Television Group suffering through a fiscal downturn, the division's president, Jeff Zucker, is implementing cost-cutting measures affecting everything from travel expenses to the snacks served at meetings, according to an internal fiat obtained by The Hollywood Reporter that sources say he issued to key execs this month.

In addition, a second memo sent companywide this month by Zucker and Ron Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios, indicated that NBC Uni is evaluating its real-estate needs at its 100 Universal City Plaza headquarters, prompting rumors that the peacock could leave the perch it has called home -- its 44-acre campus in Burbank -- since the early 1950s.

"There's a lot of speculation that that's the ultimate plan," said a source within NBC Uni. "From every division you hear people whispering that that's what they're hearing."

An NBC spokesman would not address any memos, commenting only, "Just as we said at the press tour, we are cutting back on discretionary spending as part of doing business."

In a press conference with reporters in July, NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly disclosed that "belt-tightening" was looming.

"There's going to be some natural attrition, I think, in areas, probably some freezing in areas where we would maybe have added heads," Reilly said.

Increasing efficiency is nothing new at NBC Uni, with disciplined parent company General Electric always trimming financial flab under the patented Sigma Six strategy to which it subjects all of its assets. The company also has been particularly aggressive about the integration of operations at its entertainment division since NBC's $14 billion acquisition of Vivendi Universal in May 2004.

But NBC executives acknowledged publicly last month that they were under pressure to rein in expenses in the wake of the broadcast upfronts in May, when the network was thrown for a projected loss of nearly $1 billion in advertising revenue after seeing its ratings plummet throughout the 2004-05 season.

The first memo sent by Zucker addresses mandatory "cost controls" within the TV Group aimed at "reducing our discretionary and noncommitted expenses for the remainder of 2005 and all of 2006." In the memo, Zucker notes he is taking his cue from NBC Uni chairman and CEO Bob Wright.

The measures, which are effective immediately, impact a broad range of areas. Travel and entertainment expenses "unrelated to productions or sales activities" are prohibited. The memo encourages meetings to be conducted via conference calls or video teleconferencing and warns that "discretionary travel" must be approved by a division chief financial officer and "strictly adhere" to corporate guidelines.

Howard Averill and Andy Warren, chief financial officers at NBC Uni, also are mentioned in the memo as the source of approval for "outside professional fees," including consultants, lawyers and accountants. In addition, they are charged with reassessing any open jobs at NBC Uni TV, with all hirings requiring their imprimatur for the remainder of the year.

"Approval preferences will be given to positions that drive revenue growth or maintain the integrity of critical operations," the memo reads.

Curtailments also are called for on overtime (the memo discloses that the TV Group spent $10 million here in the first half of the year), with overtime not related to production eliminated.

In classic GE style, no line item is apparently too small for excision, with prohibitions ordered on the acquisition of any office supplies, furniture and electronic equipment including BlackBerrys for the rest of the year. The memo also stipulates that any food or snacks served at off-site meetings would be restricted to "those in which an outside guest or customer are present."

Even car services and magazine subscriptions will feel the squeeze. "There is surprisingly real money here when managed effectively," the memo notes.

A second memo from Zucker, which is dated Aug. 4 and co-authored by Meyer, turns its attention to NBC Uni's real-estate holdings. The memo announces that a team of advisers was hired to help the company "analyze the future operational business needs of our Universal City property" and "gain an in-depth understanding of the Los Angeles real estate market and to evaluate our future options."

The memo has triggered speculation that GE might be looking to pull stakes out of Burbank. GE already put one property from the campus on the block, an 875,000-square-foot office tower informally known as the Catalina building, located off Burbank's Alameda Street. Many of the estimated 1,000 employees based there have since relocated to Universal City.

One scenario being tossed around envisions NBC Uni's Burbank-based operations moving to 100 Universal City Plaza as well as other Universal Studios-owned land. Much of the 400-plus acres at the disposal of Universal Studios remains undeveloped; the company eyed a billion-dollar expansion during the 1990s that never materialized.

Zucker's memo anticipates and attempts to discourage the rumor mill from addressing NBC Uni's plans. "You may hear or read speculation about our real estate assessment. ... While we will be looking at many different strategic options, the company has made no decisions and we are taking our time to consider many different possibilities for the property."

Burbank has been the heart of NBC's operations for decades, home to everything from "The Tonight Show" and "Access Hollywood" to local station KNBC and Spanish-language station Telemundo. However, sources indicate that an ambitious long-term expansion plan for Burbank approved in 1997 has barely been realized.

Should GE rethink how far-flung its entertainment division's operations are across Southern California, it wouldn't be the first media conglomerate to do so. Walt Disney Co. plucked ABC out of its Century City headquarters and tucked it into its own Burbank bailiwick not long after acquiring the network from Cap Cities.

NBC Uni's projected upfront haul this season is about $1.9 billion, down from $2.9 billion in 2003-04. However, NBC Uni still reported profits of $979 million in the second quarter of this year, up 27% from a year ago on the strength of a newly diversified set of assets contributed by Vivendi, which still owns 20% of the division.

fredfa

08-16-05, 11:34 AM

Monday’s network prime-time ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

fredfa

08-16-05, 11:44 AM

The TV Column
Acid Redux? Ashlee Simpson Wants Another 'SNL' Gig

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Tuesday, August 16, 2005; C07

One year later, Ashlee Simpson may return to "Saturday Night Live" to host -- and perform. Get ready for a hoedown -- Yee haw!

The gig on the NBC late-night show would coincide with the October release of her new album, "I Am Me, Except When I'm Singing Live and Then I'm Actually the Voice on the Backup Tape."

Okay, it's just called "I Am Me."

"It's not confirmed yet, but I want to do it," she told music trade publication Billboard.

"I've battled those demons," she added, referring to the Acid Reflux Demons who forced her to lip-sync her "live" performance on "SNL" last October.

At least, that was her story: Acute indigestion had robbed her of her vocal talent, necessitating the cheat recording -- about which the world might never have known if not for a tape mix-up. The prerecorded song she had "performed" earlier in the live show began to play again as she started her second song. Recovering quickly, Simpson performed a brief hoedown, and then walked offstage.

* * *

In a desperate attempt to salvagze their ratings-starved "Friends" spinoff, as it prepares to face the most-talked-about new comedy of the fall -- Chris Rock's "Everybody Hates Chris" -- the producers of "Joey" have given Matt LeBlanc's character an actual friend of color.

Miguel Nunez Jr. has been allowed into the exclusive, all-white "Friends" club, playing an actor who becomes Joey Tribbiani's new . . . well, friend.

"We missed that camaraderie he had with Chandler and Ross. . . . We needed a best friend for him," executive producer Kevin Bright told trade papers, referring to the white guys Joey palled around with on "Friends."

The first season's focus on Joey's family -- specifically, his skanky sister and her smothering and borderline-obsessive relationship with her young-adult son -- were "too narrow," Bright said.

Not to mention creepy.

Also gone is the apartment Joey shared with this nephew. This season, Joey becomes a big acting success, gets a lead role in a summer flick, ditches the apartment (and, hopefully, the nephew) and buys a house.

The role of the show's most talented thespian (Jennifer Coolidge, who plays Joey's agent) is being beefed up; Coolidge will appear in every episode this season.

Drea de Matteo's sister-of-Joey character begins working at the agency, which hopefully means fewer of those Oedipal scenes where she coos over her son.

And Nunez, who starred in the 2002 flick "Juwanna Mann," will be added to the cast, playing an actor who thinks he's better than he is.

* * *

ABC News last night dropped Peter Jennings's name from its evening newscast. Instead of "ABC's World News Tonight With Peter Jennings," it's now just "ABC's World News Tonight."

Jennings's last appearance on the show was April 5. He died of lung cancer on Aug. 7 at age 67, but ABC kept his name on the broadcast all last week.

"After consulting with [Jennings's wife] and the family, we concluded that leaving the broadcast's title as it was through last Friday was an appropriate tribute to Peter," ABC News President David Westin said yesterday in a memo to staffers.

"But, of all people, Peter insisted on accuracy. As much as we would have it otherwise, from now on 'World News Tonight With Peter Jennings' will be known simply as 'World News Tonight.' "

* * *

Because, so far as we can tell, everything he's created for TV has failed -- except, of course, the interesting pregnancy story line on ABC's "Alias" -- Ben Affleck is "in talks" to write a new drama series about a second American Revolution.

"Resistance," which might be produced by Disney's in-house TV production division Touchstone TV, would be set in a near future in which the United States has been cut up into separate countries after terrorist attacks, the trades report.

Affleck was co-creator of ABC's drama-cum-reality series "Push, Nevada," in which a viewer could win more than a million dollars by watching each episode and collecting clues to a mystery. And yet, no one watched. And it was canceled after just seven episodes.

Affleck is also one of the partners on the let's-make-a-low-budget-flick reality series "Project Greenlight," which used to run on HBO until even that network couldn't pretend it was working. After that, it went to Bravo network where, according to Web site Zap2it.com, producing partner Matt Damon said recently it's on a respirator.

fredfa

08-16-05, 01:14 PM

This coming season is Fox's to lose
Report: Best positioned of the Big Four networks

By Kevin Downey medialifemagazine.com

The broadcast season ended in May with a now familiar story: Fox was No. 1, CBS continued to surge, ABC rebounded and NBC slumped.

Expect much of the same for the fall season kicking off on Sept. 19, with Fox in the strongest position.

In a report released yesterday, Magna Global outlines the challenges and strengths of of the Big Four networks.

Here's the breakdown:

Fox

Fox for the past few years has been stymied by the bite Major League Baseball takes out of its fall schedule, leaving it with weak ratings until “American Idol” premieres in January.

Baseball attracts a decidedly older audience than Fox’s core viewers, which limits Fox’s ability to promote its shows, points out Steve Sternberg, author of the Magna report and executive vice president of audience analysis at the media buying agency.

But this season Fox will premiere virtually all its series before baseball post-season games, presumably building up enough interest for viewers to watch again when the shows return after baseball.

“I think premiering shows early is smart,” says Sternberg. “They should do better with their regular lineup debuting on time.”

Sternberg notes that Fox is also addressing a recurring problem: its recent lack of new scripted hits. In the network's favor, Sternberg notes that at least three of its upcoming scripted programs are strong enough to find enough audience to return next season: "The network could find itself alone in first place among adults 18-49," the report says.

C B S

CBS was last season’s most-watched network, and this fall it is all about stability, making few changes to its lineup. CBS’s stability isn’t likely to be a problem, though one concern is that viewers will eventually grow tired of its forensic-heavy lineup and seek fresher content elsewhere.

“The fact that their schedule has been the most stable with the least amount of juggling has served them well,” says Sternberg.

One concern is Thursday night.

CBS last season toppled NBC on the night in 18-49s, but competition this year will be more intense, particularly at 8 p.m.

One CBS show that Sternberg sees as vulnerably is “Survivor.” Last season it did well against NBC’s “Joey” and Fox’s “The O.C.,” but this coming season it will also compete with ABC's “Alias,” UPN’s new and much-talked-about “Everybody Hates Chris” and the WB’s “Smallville.”

Another concern for CBS is Monday night, where this season it is without its longstanding hit “Everybody Loves Raymond.” It could be vulnerable here as well, and on a night that has been one of its strongest.

ABC

On the strength of shows like “Desperate Housewives, ”ABC ended last season up 16 percent in 18-49s, ranking a competitive No. 3, and that puts it in good stead this season.

But Sternberg believes ABC needs to build on the success of last season while fixing glaring holes, such as its lack of hit sitcoms.

Further, warns Sternberg, ABC's continued recovery isn’t certain. There's no assurance that “Desperate,” for example, won't fade as quickly as it soared. Sternberg points to such brief hits as “Twin Peaks,” which was all the rage and then suddenly wasn't.

ABC, unlike CBS, is also shifting around many of its returning series, moving “Alias,” for example, to Thursday, where all six networks are aggressively competing. And that's a risky strategy, Sternberg notes.

Perhaps ABC’s greatest strength, he says, is that it will have more episodes of hit dramas “Boston Legal” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” “Boston” had an abbreviated season last year to make way for “Grey” episodes in midseason.

N B C

NBC’s troubles last season are easily summed up in its last-place finish and 17 percent year-to-year decline in the 18-49 demographic. NBC’s problems going into this season are many, according to Sternberg.

He notes that NBC’s returning hits, both scripted and unscripted, have been losing viewers while newer hits, notably “Medium,” haven’t been strong enough to make up for the losses.

Sternberg sees nothing promising in NBC's new shows. Like ABC before it, NBC needs just one or two hits for a turnaround. Going into last season media buyers were talking up the long-struggling ABC's new shows. "We saw potential in both ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Lost.’"

That's not the case this season for NBC, says Sternberg. "We don’t see any scripted series that fit the bill.”