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fredfa

01-03-06, 12:00 PM

The Business of TV
The New Deal

How TV executives will find digital dollars in the coming year
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable

Last year, the TV industry discoverd a variety of new ways to deliver their shows - on iPods, on video phones, even online. This year, they vow to figure out how to make money off of them. It was almost unthinkable only a year ago. Consumers can now pay to see TV's best shows in a variety of new ways. Starting this month, some Comcast subscribers can watch the previous night's CSI for just 99 cents on video-on-demand (VOD). Fans can also download an episode of Lost to an iPod, dial up ESMN's sports highlights on a cellphone or log on to wath Two and a Half Men via Yahoo!

Programmers thrive when new distribution pipes open, but some TV executives cutting the deals say they are making it up as they go along. While it is still unclear whether consumers will pay to watch TV on a small screen, execs are already struggling to construct the proper template to make big profits if they do. With each new announcement, many say privately they fear being left behind. When Apple and ABC set the market by announcing their $1.99-per-download deal last October, it set off a flurry of number crunching, as broadcast networks and studios tried to come up with the right set of rules to make money.

Now dealmakers are desperately trying to value everything from cellphone clips of 24 to old episodes of Adam 12. Some of these execs still quietly maintain that last year's announcements amount to little more than hype.

The short-term nature of the deals reflects many companies' experimentation. While NBC U's current deal with Apple is multiyear, CBS's VOD deal with Comcast, for instance, only goes through the end of next summer.

There is a reluctance inside CBS to enter into long-term agreements because things in the industry are moving so quickly that, what appears to be equitable today, might not be a year or two down the road.

As they try to pin down prices and values, TV executives acknowledge that, in the coming year, several business trends will emerge as guides for these new deals:

1. SMALL SCREENS=SMALL BUCKS (FOR NOW)

While network deals with companies such as Apple have attracted big media attention, big dollars have yet to follow.

NBC U, for example, says that it will only generate about $10 million from iTunes sales in 2006—or the rough equivalent of ad revenues for one typical Thursday night on NBC. And Apple says it has sold more than 3 million video downloads, so only about $6 million in revenues have come in altogether, with the majority of that number reportedly generated by music videos and not TV shows.

“If I were to categorize what happened this year, it's a bunch of announcements that don't mean anything,” says one studio chief, speaking anonymously because he is involved in a recent new-media deal. “No one has been able to show me that viewers are looking for this, and where's the money? Everyone is just trying to look smart. I still think the biggest game-changer is high-definition.”

Besides high-definition TV, no one is sure what the impact of VOD services over TV will be, given that sector's growing number of titles. After all, once you can call up any show on TV anytime, why watch it on a small screen?

One reason some analysts are optimistic is the plethora of consumers with devices capable of receiving video. “There are 30 million iPods, but there are 600 million cellphones out there, and over time all of those get upgraded,” says Nielsen Entertainment Senior Corporate Analyst Larry Gerbrandt. “So the potential of that is much larger than we are seeing right now. This is literally day one in this future.”

Just 1% of mobile subscribers accessed video in September, but 10% they're likely to do so in 2006, according to a study by research firm M:Metrics.

Given the potential, networks and studios are rushing to figure out how to capitalize if and when demand takes off. The worst-case scenario they envision is a repeat of what happened in the music business, when consumers wanted to download individual songs and the industry was not ready.

“Anyone who sticks their head in the sand on this is really short-sighted,” says Warner Bros. Television Group President Bruce Rosenblum.

2. DVD SALES COULD FALL; RATINGS COULD RISE

The ability for consumers to buy on-demand, download and own both new and classic television shows could signal a challenge ahead for the red-hot TV-on-DVD market.

Sales of TV shows on DVD have shot through the roof. Previously the only non-DVR means of digital ownership for a consumer, the TV-on-DVD market is projected to generate $3.3 billion in 2005, up from $2.3 billion in 2004 and more than eight times the $400,000 in sales in 2001, according to Home Media Retailing.

NBC U's Frederick Huntsberry, who was involved in the Apple deal as NBC Universal president of television distribution and Universal Pictures Group president of international operations, says he expects 90% of revenues from new-media applications in 2006 to be incremental, meaning $1 million of NBC U's $10 million in iTunes revenues this year would be poaching money from another TV-related business.

Many TV executives believe that if on-demand products—on TV or ipod—take off, the DVD market would take the biggest hit. Cable operators continue to expand the library of movies and TV-show titles to subscribers on-demand. Consumers can watch current shows through such sites as Yahoo! and Google—CBS recently struck a deal with Yahoo! to stream Two and Half Men and How I Met Your Mother. Some TV executives worry a consumer will pay to download and own every episode of a show when they want to rather than wait months for the DVD to come out.

In fact, TV-on-DVDs helped establish the retail price point for digital downloading of television shows. An analysis by Nielsen Entertainment's Gerbrandt shows that, when a show is bought for $1.99 on iTunes, the content provider receives $1.39 after Apple takes its 30% cut, roughly the same a studio gets per episode from a 22-episode DVD box set that commands $30 wholesale.

Ratings of original-run shows could actually benefit from quick downloading. Despite affiliate worries about shows being available just a day after airing, network execs are quick to point out they believe the downloading actually helps to build audience, especially in more-serialized shows.

For instance, an executive from a rival network said that ABC's deal to put Lost on iTunes turned him into a fan. He hadn't watched from the beginning, and when the show got hot, he felt it was too late to start watching first-run episodes due to its serialized nature.

“I downloaded all the old episodes, caught up, and am now hooked and I'll watch it on ABC when the next first-run comes out so I can be part of the social experience,” he says. “So that platform has created a viewer that would never have been.”

And those iPod-wrangled viewers may be part of the reason that, for new episodes since the ABC-Apple deal, viewership for Lost and Desperate Housewives is up 17% and 8%, respectively, from the year-ago episodes.

3. MORE HITS WILL BE AVAILABLE AS COPYRIGHT ISSUES ARE SETTLED

Look for more hit shows to download in 2006 as networks and non-aligned studios cut their first deals in this space.

Traditionally, a network licenses a TV show from a content supplier, and buys a bundle of rights, which once was as simple as a couple of airings over the network. Now, deals need to include new-media rights.

This past year, networks made in-house shows available for download, as dealing with corporate-cousin studios was essentially taking money from one pocket and putting it into the other. In 2006, a deal template will develop to allow all shows to find their way to the latest gadget.

Some studio executives believe the true template for such deals will be a part of a larger copyrights package. “If we were to make a deal with one of the Big Four networks, it would be a template deal that would cover a lot of other areas in the digital-distribution world including rental, VOD, SVOD, broadband, wireless and iPod. I don't think we'll do it as one-off deal.”

And studios may want more than just larger license fees for these rights, as compensation could also include bargaining chips such as moving up off-net syndication and DVD windows. NBC U's Huntsberry says such deals will come sooner than later. “In the next six months, the first deal will be struck, and once the precedent is set, then the domino effect will come after that,” he says.

4. TV COMPANIES WILL REALIGN OR GET LEFT BEHIND

As technology evolves ever more rapidly, one of the biggest challenges for TV programmers will be getting different divisions of the company on the same page.

“In a lot of companies, the digital piece of a business is in a separate place than network production, so it's going to rely on a lot of people getting along within their own companies,” says one studio chief. “It's going to be a mess figuring this out.”

CBS the week of Dec. 12 held an internal digital-media summit, in which the network brought together all of its new-media divisions from different business units to streamline strategy across the new CBS Corp.

NBC U also is among those setting an early example, implementing several organizational initiatives to position itself to adapt to the evolving marketplace. While the recent executive reshuffling that left GE CMO Beth Comstock overseeing digital got the headlines, some lower-level moves also demonstrate practical day-to-day strategies.

For instance, NBC U has a designated person just to manage the NBC U section on iTunes and supply all NBC U units with news on Apple's current businesses and innovations. The company has also hired an engineer trained in Six-Sigma, a quality-measurement and improvement program, whose job it is to redesign processes within the organization to deal with new-media opportunities.

“We are now investing in new media and beginning to affect the DNA structure of our organization,” says Huntsberry. “How do I license content to hundreds of on-demand customers around the globe who want to do business with me? I can walk away from them and only deal with the top 10 big ones, or change my processes whereby I can do business with the bulk of them, collect my money faster and be able to go into business with more people.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6295747

fredfa

01-03-06, 12:07 PM

Monday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

fredfa

01-03-06, 12:12 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Tuesday, January 3, 2006 Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
Ad-Supported Cable Ratings: Highlights of Note and Top 10 Rankings in 2005

With 2005 now a memory, what follows are annual highlights (alphabetically by network) for ad-supported cable through Dec. 25, 2005, followed by the top 10 rankings:

ABC Family:
Ignited by its recent 25 Days of Christmas themed programming, ABC Family rose to its best yearly ratings among total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 in both primetime and total day.

Primetime:
Viewers: 1.13 million
Adults 18-49: 510,000
Adults 18-34: 227,000

Total Day:
Primetime: 741,000
Adults 18-49: 306,000
Adults 18-34: 159,000

Lifetime:
Lifetime Television will finish the year ranked No. 1 among all ad-supported original cable movies in households, total viewers, women 18-34, women 18-49 and women 25-54. In total, 12 Lifetime movies in 2005 (including Human Trafficking, Odd Girl Out, Murder in the Hamptons and Dive from Claussen’s Pier) cracked a 3.0 household rating or above.

Sci Fi Channel:
Sci Fi will end the year with its highest household rating ever in primetime (1.03), and record viewing levels among adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and adults 25-54 (See rankings). For the fourth consecutive year, Sci Fi averaged over one million viewers in the daypart.

TNT:
Top-rated TNT broke yearly records in primetime delivery of households, total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, with the best ever household delivery for an original scripted series on ad-supported cable (The Closer on June 13, with 5.26 million households). Based on total day, TNT had its highest delivery of adults 18-49 (674,000) and adults 25-54 (692,000).

USA Network:
USA Network was home to three of the top 6 rated series -- Monk, The 4400 and The Dead Zone -- among both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

What follows are the top 10 ranked ad-supported cable networks in primetime (by delivery) based on data from Dec. 27, 2004 through Dec. 25, 2005:

Total Viewers:
TNT: 2.57 million
USA: 2.33
Nick at Nite: 1.88
ESPN: 1.84
Fox News: 1.77
Lifetime: 1.75
TBS: 1.69
Cartoon Network: 1.66
Spike TV: 1.53
Sci Fi: 1.51

Adults 18-49:
TNT: 1.16 million
USA: 1.06 million
TBS: 991,000
ESPN: 866,000
Spike TV: 801,000
Lifetime: 698,000
FX: 673,000
MTV: 615,000
Sci Fi: 603,000
Comedy Central: 575,000

Adults 18-34:
TBS: 496,000
TNT: 486,000
MTV: 477,000
USA: 466,000
ESPN: 410,000
Spike TV: 361,000
Comedy Central: 343,000
FX: 327,000
Lifetime: 274,000
Nick at Nite: 258,000

Adults 25-54:
TNT: 1.24 million
USA: 1.09 million
TBS: 911,000
ESPN: 865,000
Spike TV: 807,000
Lifetime: 767,000
Sci Fi: 688,000
FX: 634,000
Discovery: 573,000
A&E: 525,000

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

fredfa

01-03-06, 12:15 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Tuesday, January 3, 2006 Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )

Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not

ABC’s In Justice Gets Sampled:
The Sunday 10 p.m. preview of new ABC legal drama In Justice led the hour with a 7.0/12 in households, 10.75 million viewers and a 4.1/11 among adults 18-49 according to the fast nationals. Even so, tune out in the second half-hour and erosion from repeat lead-in Desperate Housewives was somewhat disappointing. In Justice declined by 7 percent in households (7.2/12 to 6.7/11), 690,000 viewers (11.10 to 10.41 million) and 9 percent among adults 18-49 (4.3/11 to 3.9/10) at 10:30 p.m. Lead-in Desperate Housewives averaged a season-low 8.1/13 in households, 12.64 million viewers and a 4.7/12 among adults 18-49.

In Justice moves to it’s regularly scheduled Friday 9 p.m. time period this week.

TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest

Michael Davies and SPT Join Forces:
Sony Pictures Television has signed a three-year deal with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire creator Michael Davies and his company Embassy Row to develop programming, scripted and unscripted, for both primetime and syndication.

Cold Squad and Stone Undercover from Program Partners:
Program Partners, the home of sleeper hit Da Vinci’s Inquest, is packaging two additional original Canadian forensic crime solving dramas -- Cold Squad and Stone Undercover -- in an off-network syndication package available next fall themed Crime Watch. For more information, contact Josh Raphaelson at 310/399-4499

Samantha Harris Named Co-Host of Dancing With the Stars:
E! Entertainment correspondent Samantha Harris (E! News) has been named co-host of ABC’s returning Dancing With the Stars. Effective, Friday, Jan. 6, Harris and Tom Bergeron will co-host the live half-hour results show, which combines the scores from the audience and judges and one couple is eliminated. Go, Tatum O’Neal!

Debuting Tonight:
ABC News’ revamped World News Tonight with Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff.

I Don’t Hate Chris:
In the listing of the 10 best and worst shows of 2005 last Thursday, there was a major omission, UPN’s nostalgic Everybody Hates Chris, which deserves a spot among the best.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

fredfa

01-03-06, 01:32 PM

The 2005-2006 Season: Part Two
New shows, lineup changes will shake up viewing plans

By Ed Bark The Dallas Morning News Tuesday, January 3, 2006

We're at halftime, not only in the myriad college football bowl games but in the long, winding march through the 2005-06 TV season. January as always will be home to a small army of notable new and returning series on broadcast and cable networks. Look for some show shuffling, too. Ready for all the see changes? Here are your road maps.

(NOTE: All times are Central.)

FIRST-TIMERS

THURSDAY

Dallas SWAT (9 p.m., A&E) – The perilous careers and "tempestuous personal lives" of the Dallas PD's Tactical Unit are chronicled in a six-episode reality show whose first hour features "Hottie SWATie" Rich Emberlin and hard-driving old-timer Robert Cockerill.

Four Kings (7:30 p.m., NBC) – From the creators of Will & Grace comes a sitcom about a quartet of young buds sharing a Manhattan apartment in this attempted "honest exploration of life-term friendship."

FRIDAY

The Book of Daniel (7 p.m., NBC) – Aidan Quinn (bottom right) stars as troubled Episcopal priest Daniel Webster in an irreverent drama full of family travails. Garret Dillahunt, formerly a prostitute mangler on HBO's Deadwood, segues to NBC as a robed Jesus who periodically chats and commiserates with vexed Rev. Webster.

In Justice (8 p.m., ABC; regular time-slot premiere following Sunday's sneak preview) – A new "procedural" crime drama whose heroes right wrongs caused by a triple threat of "sloppy police work, false testimony and biased juries."

SATURDAY

Murder 101 (8 p.m., Hallmark Channel) – Dick Van Dyke's back as "slightly bumbling" criminology professor Jonathan Maxwell in this first in a series of mystery movies. Son Barry Van Dyke assists in the crime solving as private eye Mike Bryant.

JAN. 9

Emily's Reasons Why Not (8 p.m., ABC) – Jenny McCarthy-esque Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) stars in her first TV series (above) in this comedy centered on single and single-minded author Emily Sanders. SMU grad and Dallas theater veteran Khary Payton co-stars.

JAN. 10

Anything to Win (8 p.m., GSN) – The network of grand-prize game shows tries a new tack with a13-part documentary series on both cheaters and fair-playing champs. Subjects range from Boston Marathon rule-breaker Rosie Ruiz to oddball chess champ Bobby Fischer.

JAN. 11

South Beach (7 p.m., UPN) – Two horndog Brooklyn-bred pals head to Miami and quickly dive into the "glamorous local scene at the Hotel Soleil's hip club Nocturnal." Vanessa Williams plays the hard-driving hotel owner, with Giancarlo Esposito as her sometimes shady partner.

JAN. 12

Crumbs (8:30 p.m., ABC) – TV vets Jane Curtin, William Devane and Fred Savage (left) star as Suzanne, Billy and Mitch Crumb in yet another sitcom built on the shaky foundation of a fractured family.

JAN. 17

Love Monkey (9 p.m., CBS) – Tom Cavanagh (Ed) plays another newly jilted dude, only this time he's record company exec Tom Farell instead of attorney Ed Stevens. Beverly Hills, 90210 alumnus Jason Priestly is also in the mix as best buddy Mike Freed, who's married to Tom's pregnant sister.

JAN. 18

Skating With Celebrities (8 p.m., Fox before moving to regular 7 p.m. Monday slot) – Slippery semistars such as Todd Bridges and David Coulier are put on ice with professionals in this retort to ABC's Dancing With the Stars and NBC's upcoming Winter Olympics telecasts.

JAN. 22

Bleak House (8 p.m., PBS) – An ambitious six-chapter adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel is presented under the Masterpiece Theatre banner.

JAN. 23

Courting Alex (8:30 p.m., CBS) – Four years removed from ABC's Dharma & Greg, Jenna Elfman returns to sitcom-ville as a "semi-alcoholic" single attorney looking for true love without sacrificing her day job.

STAR RETURNEES

TUESDAY

Scrubs (8 p.m., NBC) – The Zach Braff comedy at last returns for its fifth season, with back-to-back new episodes each Tuesday.

THURSDAY

Dancing With the Stars (7 p.m., ABC) – Second-season premiere, with a new collection of celebs hoofing and puffing for your amusement and amazement. Participants include Jerry Rice, Tatum O'Neal, George Hamilton and Giselle Fernandez. Results shows on Fridays at 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

Battlestar Galactica (9 p.m., Sci Fi Channel) – Third-season premiere of the acclaimed follow-up to ABC's short-lived 1978 original.

SUNDAY

The L Word (9 p.m., Showtime) ¬ Third-season premiere of the lesbian-driven drama.

JAN. 9

Antiques Roadshow (7 p.m., PBS) – Here comes the 10th-season premiere of public television's answer to The Price Is Right.

Jake in Progress (8:30 p.m., ABC)– Second-season premiere of the revamped John Stamos comedy.

The Bachelor (9 p.m., ABC) – A rose is a rose is a rose is a ... Sorry, lost count. Anyway, this latest edition originates from Paris, with a 33-year-old ER doc named Travis playing the field.

American Chopper (9 p.m., Discovery) – Father and son Paul Teutul Sr. and Jr. return for new adventures in bike building.

JAN. 10

The Shield (9 p.m., FX) – Fifth-season premiere of the rogue cop drama, with Forest Whitaker joining the cast and Glenn Close leaving.

JAN. 12

Beauty & the Geek (8 p.m., The WB) – Second-season premiere of the nerds-meet-bimbos reality competition.

JAN. 13

Monk (9 p.m., USA) – Tony Shalhoub returns for his fourth season as "defective detective" Adrian Monk.

JAN. 15

24 (7 p.m., Fox; two more hours follow on Jan. 16 before the real-time drama moves to its regular 8 p.m. Monday slot) – Agent Jack Bauer returns from the presumed dead to save the world for a fifth successive season. It's all in a day's work.

JAN. 17

American Idol (7 p.m., Fox; results shows on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.) – Fifth-season premiere of the Fox smasheroo, with the top 12 finalists scheduled to perform together for the first time on March 14. This year's talent searches took the show to Austin, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Chicago, Denver and Greensboro, N.C.

JAN. 21

Miss America Pageant (7 p.m., CMT) – Desperate Housewives star James Denton hosts from the Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Yes, you read that right. ABC, Atlantic City and September are out of the picture.

WHERE'S MY SHOW?

January invariably is a jigsaw puzzle of schedule changes and long-awaited new episodes of popular shows after a seeming eternity of reruns. We can help: Here's an alphabetical listing of what's where and when.

America's Next Top Model (UPN) –Cycle 6 begins in the spring; in the interim, South Beach inherits its 7 p.m. Tuesday spot on Jan. 11.

The Amazing Race (CBS) –It goes on hiatus until a ninth edition premieres sometime in March.

The Apprentice (NBC) – The Donald Trump original has been evicted from Thursdays, but a fifth edition is due on another night sometime after February's Winter Olympics telecasts on NBC

Bones (Fox) –It moves to a higher-profile slot on Jan. 25, following results editions of American Idol at 8 p.m. Wednesdays.

Desperate Housewives (ABC) – Jan. 8 brings a new episode, the first since Dec. 4.

Everwood (The WB) – It goes on hiatus until sometime in March, with the second season of Beauty & the Geek temporarily taking the 8 p.m. Thursday slot.

Invasion (ABC) – It's been struggling in the ratings, but the first-year creature feature will return with a new episode on Jan. 11 after briefly bequeathing its post-Lost slot to Alias, which goes on hiatus until spring.

Lost (ABC) – After a six-week layoff, new episodes resume on Jan. 11.

My Name Is Earl (NBC) – The acclaimed freshman comedy goes to Thursdays at 8 p.m., beginning this week.

The Office (NBC) –It's also moving to Thursdays this week, following Earl at 8:30 p.m.

Prison Break (Fox) – It resumes second season with new episodes on March 20.

Supernanny (ABC) –It's on hiatus, replaced at 7 p.m. Fridays with a Dancing With the Stars results show and Hope & Faith, which moves up a half-hour to 7:30.

Survivor (CBS) – A new 12th edition is scheduled for March at 7 p.m. Thursdays.

That '70s Show (Fox) –Back-to-back episodes will air on Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m., beginning Jan. 12. The O.C. moves back an hour to 8 p.m. Thursdays, supplanting the canceled Reunion .

Will & Grace (NBC) –It moves up a half-hour to 7 p.m. Thursdays this week, with Joey going away until sometime after the Olympics telecasts.

http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/television/stories/DN-newshows_0102gl.State.Edition1.20d6da75.html

fredfa

01-03-06, 04:45 PM

Tate, Copps Sworn in as FCC Commissioners

By Doug Halonen TVWeek.com

Republican Deborah Taylor Tate and Democrat Michael Copps were officially sworn in as commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

The term of Ms. Tate, formerly a director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, runs until June 30, 2007. The new term of Mr. Copps, an incumbent commissioner, expires June 30, 2010.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9109

fredfa

01-03-06, 04:49 PM

Critic’s Notebook
On broadcasterly courage

By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star oh his TV blog Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Thanks to Keith Olbermann and the "Countdown," I have now seen clips from "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" and witnessed what Paul Harris and others were talking about yesterday: Clark's struggle to broadcast on the air through the effects of what was obviously a crippling stroke.

Mark Evanier's reaction was similar to Paul's and, I suspect, many other people. Watching Clark slur his words Saturday night, Evanier wrote:

...I could feel sad. ... He was all energy with a great sense of humor, and it's heartbreaking to see him with slurred speech, struggling (but succeeding) to get his dialogue out. Or I could feel happy. The rumor mill, including word from a friend who saw him last March, suggested he might not make it to New Year's Eve, let alone be well enough to return to work. But there he is, not letting a little thing like partial paralysis stop him from doing what he's always done so well. There's something inspirational there.

Well, that's one way to look at it. Here's another.

Dick Clark spent four decades trying to preserve his youthful good looks from the 1950s, even though all he had to do was look around and see plenty of men aging gracefully before the cameras. But he kept the hair dye going because he knew -- earlier than a lot of people in the business recognized it -- that television was a medium geared toward youth. He produced dirt-cheap TV shows (game shows and "Bloopers," most famously) because he knew networks were looking for filler and because he, Dick Clark, was always looking for action.

And here he was again, on New Year's Eve, looking for action on a TV special that he conceived in 1972 to appeal to young audiences. Paul Harris tried to convince me that we have seen Clark doing the Times Square ball drop for the last time. I say: Don't bet on it. First of all, he's probably got a clause in his deal with ABC that prevents the network from making it the Ryan Seacrest show without his say-so. Second, what makes anyone think that Clark is ready to leave the stage? Yes, it was unusual for someone so debilitated to command half an hour of live network TV. But does anyone really think Clark hadn't calculated this in his head? Don't you think he knew that the New York Times and other newspapers would write reviews the next day calling him a model for stroke victims?

At the same time, I don't agree with others -- like most of the "Imus in the Morning" crew -- who said Clark's performance was "a mistake" because it "bummed us out" during what's supposed to be one of the most festive moments of the year. That's ridiculous. TV is hard-wired for schizophrenia: poignant one moment, hap-hap-happy the next. Think Neil Postman's "Now....this" syndrome, the news anchor able to whirl her chair 45 degrees and follow a death notice with wacky news video.

The fact is, television is a medium of communication, and much of that is non-verbal. And there was something truly interesting, and yes, perhaps inspirational to some, about Dick Clark's return to TV on the program that he created. He had a point to make, and he made it. From now on, however, ABC should not let him on the air again unless his speech improves significantly.

***

For me, the measure of all on-air recoveries is that of Roger Ebert. No one who has watched the most famous movie critic in the world over the past few years can fail to notice the change in his on-air appearance and speaking style. As Carol Felsenthal reports in her terrific Chicago magazine profile of Ebert:

Lately, when people see Ebert on television, some are alarmed by his appearance. In the past few years, he has dropped about 100 pounds with the assistance of the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa, formerly in Santa Monica—“Chaz took me there the first time kicking and screaming,” Roger says—and by adhering to the 10,000-steps-a-day program. He keeps a pedometer attached to his waistband and works out with a trainer three days a week. Gone is the box of Good & Plenty that he used to eat during screenings—replaced by a Pritikin sandwich and diet peach Snapple. Between movies, he walks around the block.

He is frustrated that people do not believe that the weight loss was deliberate and hard won; that they think it is related to his three bouts with cancer—once thyroid and twice salivary gland. Repeated surgeries in the neck and chin area, affecting the muscles, have caused the left side of his mouth to droop, and some viewers say they wonder if he has had a stroke.

Roger has moved to a new plane of celebrity, and I miss our occasional e-mails that date back to August 1994, when he received his first issue of LATE SHOW NEWS and wrote, "Where has this been all my life?" But I did stand with him on line at Sundance Film Festival three years ago, and we talked about, among other things, the diet Chaz had put him on. He strolled over to a vending machine and ticked off various items and why he couldn't eat them (including one low-fat goodie that "makes me fart"). I'm embarrassed that my best Roger Ebert anecdote is that one, but it does settle in my mind that he has, in fact, been trying to lose weight for some time, and we should not be alarmed that he has finally had a breakthrough.

These days, Roger Ebert slurs words on the air. His mouth droops. Viewers, Felsenthal writes, are concerned. I'm not so sure. After all, this has been going on for more than a year. It's not like we can't clearly understand what he's saying. He's still reviewing 260 films a year and making it to all the festivals, and the production schedule at his show is as heavy as it ever was. (By the way, according to Felsenthal's sources, "Ebert and Roeper and the Movies" is not a moneymaker for its syndicator, Buena Vista.) Now that I've called attention to it, you may notice his imperfections again the next time you watch his show. But regular viewers haven't noticed them for months.

That should be the standard Dick Clark holds himself to. Unless he can improve 100 percent from Saturday night, he should stay away from any TV cameras. For the other thing about Dick Clark, for all his media ubiquity, is this: He may be one of the least conspicuous personalities TV has ever created. Even Hugh Downs, the invisible man who logged 10,000 hours on the air, was occasionally allowed to do stories about his personal interests and hobbies. Do we know anything personal about Dick Clark? Well, we now know he's recovering from a stroke. I hate to put it this way, but he's had a moment now for himself. From this point on, it had better be about the audience. And unless he can make us, the audience, forget about his stroke or anything else that has to do with Dick Clark -- in other words, unless he can be the easygoing, meld-into-the-woodwork TV host he always was -- his comeback isn't going to work.

http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2006/01/on_broadcasterl.html#more

fredfa

01-03-06, 06:57 PM

TV Newswire
Disney Expands iTunes Content

By Jay Sherman TVWeek.com January 3, 2006

The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it has expanded the content available on Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store, with plans to offer sports content, additional television shows and vignettes from the classic "School House Rock."

Using the model launched in October in which Disney offered episodes of "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" for $1.99 each, the company is including for the same price programming from ABC Sports, ESPN and Disney cable networks Disney Channel, ABC Family and SoapNet. The latest expansion also includes content produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Among the sports content available for download are condensed versions of all the BCS Bowl Games aired by ABC Sports as well as ESPN content from the its X Games telecasts, interviews from the series "SportsCentury," "This is SportsCenter" commercials and select original entertainment, such as "Knight School," a reality program featuring Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight.

In addition, Disney will make available episodes of ABC Family's "Wildfire," Disney Channel's "Kim Possible" and "The Proud Family" and SoapNet's biography series "Soapography." Also included are episodes of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Ebert & Roeper."

Disney said it will offer free downloads of ad-supported video podcasts of content from ABC News' "Good Morning America" and "World News Tonight" as well as segments of ABC News Now's "Money Minute," "Medical Minute" and "Buzz Cut."

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9108

Comment:

Is Disney nuts? This sounds just like a family which decides to clear everything out of the garage and basement and have a garage sale -- figuring if anyone buys the stuff (for any amount) they'll be ahead of the game. If the junk doesn't get bought, it can be thrown out. No loss.

(Just using the words "classic" and "School House Rock" in the same sentence should send Jay Sherman of TV Week to mandatory journalism retraining school.)

IMO people want the option to DL shows -- but how about making them shows they care about?

fredfa

01-03-06, 07:02 PM

The Disney Press Release:

ABC SPORTS AND ESPN CONTENT, PLUS ABC NEWS AND
MORE ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING FROM DISNEY
COMES TO THE iTUNES MUSIC STORE

New Offerings Include Condensed BCS Bowl Games from ABC Sports,
ESPN Sports and Entertainment Content, News and Entertainment Content
From Disney-ABC Television Group and Walt Disney Feature Animation

The businesses of The Walt Disney Company, well-positioned to take advantage of new technologies by leveraging their outstanding creative content, will now offer additional programming from ESPN and ABC Sports, ABC Entertainment and Touchstone Television, ABC Family, ABC News, Buena Vista Television, Disney Channel and SOAPnet, as well as content produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation on the iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com).

ESPN and ABC Sports are the first to offer sports programming on the iTunes Music Store, bringing fans a host of sports content. Condensed versions of all four BCS Bowl Games from ABC Sports will be available on the iTunes Music Store. Condensed versions of yesterday’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Nokia Sugar Bowl will be available today. Today’s Orange Bowl and tomorrow’s Rose Bowl Presented by Citi (the national title game, matching USC against The University of Texas) will be available the day after they air.

Later this month ESPN will make additional content available, including the Best of the X Games; “SportsCentury” interviews from ESPN Classic’s award-winning biography series; the popular “This is SportsCenter” commercials; and select ESPN Original Entertainment programs – including “Knight School,” the forthcoming reality program featuring Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight, which will premiere on iTunes.

“Our mission is to serve fans wherever they are by delivering high-quality content across dozens of multi-media platforms, now including the iTunes Music Store and viewing on the iPod,” said George Bodenheimer, ESPN and ABC Sports President and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks. “We are thrilled to be the first content provider to offer sports content on iTunes.”

In addition to the ESPN and ABC Sports content, more programming from Disney ABC Television Group will also be available later this month on the iTunes Music Store, including such cable programming as ABC Family’s original series “Wildfire,” Disney Channel’s popular animated series “Kim Possible” and “The Proud Family” and SOAPnet’s original biography series “Soapography,” as well as ABC Entertainment and Touchstone Television library product, including “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” and the popular 1970s Saturday morning “School House Rock” vignettes and episodes of Buena Vista Television’s “Ebert and Roeper.”

Additionally, free, ad-supported video podcasts from ABC News will be available, including daily segments from “Good Morning America” and the “World News Tonight” webcast, as well as ABC News Now’s “Money Minute,” “Medical Minute” and “Buzz Cut.”

“We look forward to building upon the success of our initial iTunes offerings and are dedicated to providing consumers with a variety of high quality entertainment and news content that they can view at their convenience, regardless of time, place or platform,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney ABC Television Group. “We believe that making our content available on iTunes results in incremental viewing opportunities and also furthers awareness of our programs and brands.”

Classic animated shorts produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and featured on Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s upcoming “Disney at the Academy Awards,” including the 1933 Academy Award-winning “The Three Little Pigs” and the 1935 Academy Award-winning “The Tortoise and the Hare,” will also be available.

“Our animated product has always been the touchstone of The Walt Disney Company,” said Dick Cook, chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “We are pleased that in addition to offering our classic animated shorts on DVD, we will now reach an even broader audience with programming on Apple’s iTunes Music Store. It is certainly gratifying to know that consumers of all ages will get to experience first hand the remarkable and award-winning works from some of the most gifted animators in history.”

Available for purchase for $1.99 per episode, all of this new content joins the other Disney ABC Television Group programming, including “Commander In Chief,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost,” “That’s So Raven” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” currently available for purchase on the iTunes Music Store.

fredfa

01-03-06, 09:29 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Post-holiday TV grab bag

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune TV blog

• “Everwood” fans, check out the Jan. 12 episode of the new NBC comedy “Four Kings.” Sarah Lancaster, who played Madison on “Everwood,” turns up on “Kings” ¬–- as a brunette.

• Best band name mentioned in the premiere of “Love Monkey,” the drama-comedy starring “Ed’s” Tom Cavanagh as a record-label scout: Scab Inferno. By the way, I’d watch Cavanagh read the phone book, but “Love Monkey,” which debuts Jan. 17, is actually pretty good (you have to like a show that casts Eric Bogosian as an evil music executive), and, despite being a CBS drama, does not feature any corpses, lawyers, evidence technicians, otherworldly/undead visitors or cops. Discuss.

• I caught up with a few “Office” episodes I’d missed over the holiday, and I’ve been converted from casual “Office” fan to fanatic. The Christmas episode of the NBC comedy, in particular, was a gem, and the final scene, in which a female co-worker, er, surprises Michael in his office, was genius. If you haven’t checked out this comedy yet, do yourself a favor. It’s gotten really, really good.

• And speaking of being converted, I watched several “Office” episodes via a video iPod, and I just have to rave about that for a second. The picture was amazingly good, and though I’d never want to watch something epic such as “Lost” on a video iPod, watching 21-minute comedy on an iPod screen was much more enjoyable than I’d have guessed it would be. Sadly, it wasn’t my video iPod, it belonged to my brother, who was not at all a good sport (shades of the Yankee Trading gift game on “The Office”) and wanted his shiny new iPod back before he left town on Christmas Day. Killjoy!

• Just a tiny teaser for fans of “The Shield,” which returns Jan. 10: I have the distinct impression that Ronnie Gardocki, the consistently underused David Rees Snell (some of us call him Fourth Guy), has a few more lines than usual this year. But what I really want to know is, will this be the year that Dutch has a relationship that lasts longer than 20 minutes? The first four episodes of the cop drama offer no clues in that direction, sadly.

• E! Entertainment Television has announced its red carpet team for the Jan. 15 Golden Globes: Ryan Seacrest, Guiliana DePandi and Isaac Mizrahi. Not thrilling. No Kathy Griffin in sight, sad to say (though there is good news to report about Griffin: According to RealityBlurred.com, she’s signed on to do a second season of her Bravo reality show). Let’s just hope Mizrahi is better than “Queer Eye’s” Carson Kressley, who was terrible on last year’s Emmy red carpet broadcast. But let’s also count our blessings: No Star Jones!

• Warning: You have a new hourlong drama to add to your TV schedule. NBC’s “The Book of Daniel,” which stars Chicago's own Aidan Quinn and premieres Friday, is excellent. The family drama, the religious element, Garret Dillahunt of “Deadwood” as the Jesus that appears to Quinn’s troubled Episcopal priest -– all these things are worth watching and show a ton of potential.

• Now for the rant: Why is NBC stranding "Daniel" on a Friday night? That is a sin. Especially when the network has so many other prime-time berths filled by less-than-compelling content Why are we living in a world where “Surface,” “E-Ring” and “Fear Factor” get more high-profile slots than the terrific “Book of Daniel”? Heaven help us.

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

fredfa

01-03-06, 10:53 PM

Critic’s Notebook
“World News Tonight”

By PJ Bednarski (Executive Editor of Broadcasting & Cable) at bcbeat.com

There's something to be said about not judging a daily news product by its initial effort. I'll say it again. ABC's new version of World News Tonight which premiered Tuesday night was, in a word, unremarkable, unless you're paid by the word to remark. I'm not.

Some quick observations, however. NBC Nightly News murdered WNT on the top story of the night--the fate of the missing West Virginia coal miners. ABC was adequate, and harder on the coal mine's owners than NBC was, but ABC was lapped in its coverage by Brian Williams and Co.

Elizabeth Vargas, who is co-anchoring the new World News Tonight, got to fly solo, with her cohort Bob Woodruff off in Iran reporting on that nation's increasingly defiant insistence on playing with nuclear energy. (NBC didn't touch that story at all.)

Want the dishy part on WNT? It looks like big spotlights are aimed at Vargas, who seems lit up like one of those blow-up Christmas ornaments that just last week made us feel so un-holiday-like. To make this an equal-opportunity review, Woodruff was clean shaven in his prepared packages, but kinda swarthy by the time he did his standup. Send a Norelco, ASAP. They're on sale now.

Back to the NBC murdering ABC bit. Since these two networks are or have been in sort of a Nielsen dogfight, it's worth noting ABC was the slower dog Tuesday. NBC trotted all around ABC on lobbyist Jack Abramhoff's decision to plead guilty to federal bribery charges, though ABC won the Most

Embarrassing Piece of Exclusive Footage Award--video of woe-begotten Republican Tom Delay wearing a silly cap at an Abramoff-sponsored 'fun'-raiser in the South Pacific that the network claimed was exclusive footage. Very embarrassing.

On my way home to watch the debut, I heard not even one person between the ages of 18 to 49 on the subway exclaiming they were in a big rush to get home to watch the debut of ABC's newscast anchored by a man and woman who might better know U2 as a rock group than a Cold War crisis.

And advertisers seemed to sense this too. In the debut half hour, the commmercials included prescription aids for diabetes, sleeplessness, chronic dry eye and high cholesterol. I suppose middle-aged folks have the same aches and pains but this still seemed like a newscast aimed at the older demo, despite the younger anchors.

One great thing-- at 3 p.m. each afternoon, Vargas or Wooodruff, or both, will anchor a Web cast that highlights the day's news. But the 24/7 news cycle probably isn't going to go down that easy with correspondents. While ABC's David Kerley was giving the lowdown on the mine disaster, he noted a news conference was taking place elsewhere that, obviously, he wasn't attending.

Still, the afternoon break and new blogs on the Web site are good things. And WNT, by and large, debuted without doing something really stupid, which after all, is what everybody thinks some network will eventually do to attract the younger audience. Last night, World News Tonight more or less gave the world news of the night.

http://www.bcbeat.com/

fredfa

01-03-06, 11:10 PM

TV Notebook
Networks primed for midseason

By Andrew Wallenstein The Hollywood Reporter Jan. 04, 2006

Why wait for the Olympics to begin in February to witness grueling competition -- just watch the broadcasters roll out their midseason primetime schedules this month.

CBS and ABC might be running neck and neck for gold and silver medals in most major demographics, but the return of "American Idol" on Jan. 17 likely will propel Fox Broadcasting Co. into contention with the momentum of a downhill skier.

"January is going to be a lot more interesting than it usually is," said Kelly Kahl, senior executive vp programming operations at CBS. "Everyone is anxious to make a statement before the Olympics come in. The intensity is greater than in the past, with some big shows on the move."

Among the shows trying new time slots in January are ABC's summer hit "Dancing With the Stars" and NBC's hottest new half-hour, "My Name Is Earl." They join nine new series rolling out before the Olympics commence Feb. 10.

Fourteen weeks into the season, the race in key demographics is as close as expected: CBS is just one-tenth of a rating point ahead of ABC among viewers 18-49 (4.0 to 3.9), and the networks are tied with an 11 share. CBS still maintains tight leads over ABC in total viewers, households and 25-54. ABC is a hair ahead of Fox among viewers 18-34.

Meanwhile, NBC is down by double digits in all major demos except households (-7%). Younger-skewing broadcasters WB Network and UPN are either flat or down in 18-49, but UPN has improved its numbers in 12-34 and 18-34; WB is flailing across the board.

The slightest midseason time-slot shift could influence the outcome of the 2005-06 horse race, which will determine how billions of advertising dollars will be divvied among the broadcasters when the season ends in May. Most execs envision a three-way deadlock in which CBS, ABC and Fox would be separated by one- or two-tenths of a rating point in the 18-49 demographic.

Of all the midseason programs likely to make a difference, Fox executive vp strategic program planning Preston Beckman noted that the Super Bowl, which airs this year on ABC and on CBS in 2007, could add a tenth of a point by itself.

"I think the Super Bowl is going to be in the next couple of years the difference between possibly winning or losing a season," he said.

Jeff Bader, executive vp of ABC Entertainment, professes that ABC isn't as concerned with winning the season as it is with building the schedule for the long term. More important, he believes, is the composition of the audience; ABC supplanted NBC this season as the top-rated network among upscale viewers 18-49 (though NBC still reigns among shows with highest upscale index).

"What's the difference if you are first, second or third if it's by one- or two-tenths of a point?" Bader said. "The upscale network brings different advertisers. That is what makes the biggest difference."

As for NBC, even a two-week ratings bump from the Olympics likely won't be enough to pull out of the cellar this season. Mitch Metcalf, executive vp program planning and scheduling at NBC, sees the peacock's midseason changes as the foundation for 2006-07.

"I think what this does is establish us for the long haul and building for the future," he said.

No night will be under greater scrutiny than Thursday, which attracts the lion's share of marketers, including movie studios intent on getting consumers into theaters during the weekend.

"People see the pot available there, and they want to get some," Kahl said. "Thursday has a lot of economic sway."

With NBC down a whopping 33% on Thursday in 18-49 during the first 13 weeks of the season vs. the same period the previous year, the peacock will introduce a overhauled lineup for the night in January sans "Joey" and "The Apprentice."

"Will & Grace" will complete its final season in the 8 p.m. slot, allowing a new comedy, "Four Kings," to get a test run at 8:30 p.m. In addition, in what might be January's boldest gambit, NBC will take primetime's top-rated new comedy, "Earl," and move it along with its Tuesday companion "The Office" to the Thursday 9-10 p.m. slot.

Metcalf acknowledged that transplanting a first-year hit to brutally competitive Thursday is a gamble -- but one with big potential payoff.

"I feel like there's an element of risk to it, but it feels like exactly the right time to establish a strong comedy footprint on the night," Metcalf said.

In addition to facing down CBS powerhouse "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Earl" will take on the last half-hour of "Dancing," which returns in an expanded 90-minute format (new comedy "Crumbs" comes in at 9:30 p.m.).

Fox also could hurt NBC's new Thursday lineup by adding a third installment of "Idol" on Thursdays from Feb. 23-March 9, pushing "The O.C." to a new 9 p.m. time slot.

Last season, the network played down its expectations for how "Idol" would perform, only to watch it return bigger than ever -- to the tune of roughly 27 million viewers on both Tuesday and Wednesday. It's hoping that a third edition will be stronger on Thursday than it has fared on Mondays in the past.

With the emergence of healthy new series including "Prison Break" and "Bones," Fox might seem a world away from its troubles in fall 2004, when a fleet of new unscripted series flopped. But Fox is actually down 9% in 18-49 so far this season because the viewership drawn by its postseason baseball coverage paled in comparison to 2004.

However, its nonsports primetime programming is up about 15%, according to Beckman. "We go into the January wars with more weapons and in better shape than we were a year ago," he said.

Fox also is getting aggressive on Monday after futilely attempting to establish comedies "Arrested Development" and "Kitchen Confidential." The debut of the unscripted series "Skating With Celebrities" will serve as lead-in for another season of "24." CBS also will make an adjustment Monday, replacing "Out of Practice" with "Courting Alex" to see if it can better capitalize on its "Two and a Half Men" lead-in.

ABC also is attacking Monday with a new postfootball lineup, including returning series "Jake in Progress" and new entry "Emily's Reasons Why Not." Bader believes the network's female-friendly juggernauts, "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy," will provide a perfect promotional base for the following night.

"We're hoping to use our great Sunday numbers with women to help launch Monday," he said.

ABC also is rebooting on Friday, dismantling its comedy block to give a new drama, "In Justice," a try at 9 p.m. CBS is staying with "Close to Home" in that slot, where it is performing better than it did in the Tuesday berth where it began the season.

The Big Four also could see a boost from any of the slew of new series sitting on the bench awaiting post-Olympics time slots. CBS has the comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine," drama [B]"The Unit" and an untitled game-show franchise in the hopper. ABC has the comedy "Sons and Daughters," dramas "What About Brian" and "Evidence," as well as reality series "Miracle Workers" and "American Inventor."

Fox has two comedies, "Free Ride" and "The Loop." NBC has the comedy "Teachers," dramas "Conviction" (working title) and "Windfall," as well as the unscripted series "Treasure Hunters."

Another midseason addition that could be a factor in May is Nielsen's new ratings measurements that launched last week, which incorporate separate tallies for viewing with or without digital video recorders (either later that day or one week after the original airdate). Don't be surprised if two different networks declare victory in May -- citing different figures.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001773368

fredfa

01-03-06, 11:49 PM

Sports Media and Business
When It Comes to N.F.L., CBS and Fox Claim No. 1

By Richard Sandomir The New York Times January 4, 2006

The networks' bold declarations make no mistake about which is No. 1 among National Football League viewers.

CBS claims, in its promotions, that "more people watch the N.F.L. on CBS than on any other network." Fox asserts that it is the "most watched" N.F.L. network. Each network means what it is saying. Who wouldn't want the prestige of being the most watched - or the one with more people watching?

Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports and CBS News, wondered whether anyone but Fox and CBS cared. But he liked the idea that by his network's calculation, CBS is No. 1 with viewers.

"It's pride and perception," he said, sounding eager for some type of victory for CBS's historically weaker American Football Conference package over Fox's more expensive National Football Conference deal.

In this game of claim and counterclaim, CBS and Fox are both correct, because they used authorized, but different measurements from Nielsen Media Research, the arbiter of ratings and audience counting.

CBS used a statistic called total audience, one that Nielsen does not employ much, except during the Super Bowl and the Olympics when networks want to flaunt the largest possible audience numbers. Total audience refers to the cumulative number of viewers - none of whom are counted more than once - who have watched at least six minutes of coverage some time during the season. That's not a lot of viewing, but it acts as a minimum; CBS says its average viewer this season had dipped into some parts of 5.8 games.

By this measure, CBS led Fox through Week 16 of the N.F.L. season, with 143.9 million viewers to Fox's 138.3 million.

But Fox has rejected this methodology since CBS first touted it last month in promos. "You can only laugh," said Ed Goren, the president of Fox Sports. "I've heard desperate living is never pretty. Madison Avenue cares about two things: ratings and demos."

McManus, who negotiated the deal that brought the N.F.L. to CBS, said, "Listen, you can use numbers any way you want to, but it is true that more individuals in this country have watched the N.F.L. on CBS than any other network." He conceded that while its audience claim is most important for the image of the sports division, it "can't hurt our sales team."

But Fox has a bevy of statistics to brandish against what Goren said was CBS's convoluted claim: leadership in the widely used areas of average rating (10.0 to CBS's 9.8), male demographics (a narrow lead in every important category) and average audience (15.5 million a game to CBS's 15.3 million), which assesses how many people watch an average minute of a program.

"One of these days," Goren said, "I'm going to have to tell my boss he's missed the boat on total audience."

CBS's first total audience lead since 1998 could be reversed when it is Fox's turn to take back two audience-growing advantages that CBS had this season: an extra Sunday afternoon doubleheader and the late-afternoon Thanksgiving broadcast. This season's Dallas-Denver game on Thanksgiving went into overtime and produced the highest N.F.L. rating on that holiday in six years.

If the who's-watching-more scuffle seems absurd, it is also arcane.

Fox recently complained to Nielsen when CBS ran a promo that proclaimed it the "No. 1 place for the N.F.L," which Fox executives said connoted a victory that went far beyond the scope of an edge in total audience.

"We told CBS twice to pull the ad just before Christmas, and they took it off," said Jack Loftus, a spokesman for Nielsen. "It resurfaced this weekend, and we told them again to take it off."

The existence of that promo underscored another squabble over another measurement: gross N.F.L. rating points. Fox figured that all of its football programming - pregame and postgame shows, as well as the games themselves - should go into that calculation. Fox's total through Week 16 was 393.4 to CBS's 377.8. But count only the games, as CBS argued unsuccessfully to Nielsen, and CBS takes the lead, 266.5 to 253.5.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/sports/football/04sandomir.html?pagewanted=print

fredfa

01-03-06, 11:54 PM

Rain on Rose Parade is OK for KTLA

Although the station is criticized for not having Stephanie Edwards in her usual co-host role, its ratings are sunny

By Scott Collins Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 4, 2006

Monday's downpours held a silver lining for KTLA-TV Channel 5, which saw ratings for the Rose Parade soar to the highest levels in seven years as housebound Angelenos watched in large numbers. But the rain didn't douse a simmering controversy over the role of longtime co-host Stephanie Edwards, who some viewers complained was literally sidelined during the soggy telecast.

An average of 1.9 million viewers in the Los Angeles area tuned in to KTLA during its live 8 a.m.-to-10:30 a.m. coverage of the 117th Tournament of Roses Parade, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. The station's household ratings leaped 25% compared with last year's telecast and were the parade's best since 1999.

The parade is a signature event for KTLA (which is owned by Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times), and it easily bested competing coverage on KNBC-TV Channel 4 (239,000 viewers) and KABC-TV Channel 7 (222,000), as well as Spanish-language stations KMEX-TV Channel 34 (521,000) and KWHY-TV Channel 22 (241,000). (KCBS-TV Channel 2 did not air parade coverage. All told, 3.2 million viewers in the Los Angeles market watched the parade, the highest overall tally since 1997.

The bad weather boosted the ratings, as viewers stayed home to watch TV rather than venturing outdoors. Bill Carroll, vice president of the Katz Television Group, which advises local stations, pointed out that viewing levels are almost invariably tied to climate patterns, with TV usage jumping during cold or inclement weather. Indeed, according to Nielsen, the percentage of Los Angeles area households using TV was 52% during the time KTLA broadcast the parade, compared with 41% during last year's event.

Asked to account for the high ratings, spokeswoman Carolyn Aguayo said KTLA has long been the "station of record" for the parade. But she added: "The rain may have also generated additional interest from viewers wanting to see how it would impact the event."

For longtime parade watchers, though, there was also a juicy back story to the KTLA broadcast.

Edwards has long co-hosted the parade coverage with Bob Eubanks, the former host of "The Newlywed Game." But this year, Edwards vanished from the booth, replaced by KTLA morning news co-anchor Michaela Pereira. Edwards covered the parade from a bench on the sidelines.

The parade had hardly wrapped before bloggers began expressing sympathy for Edwards and sharply criticizing Pereira, whom several viewers complained had referred to retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as sitting on the "Superior Court." Pereira did not return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment.

On LAObserved.com, one correspondent wrote: "Worse than the rain on the parade was the treatment of Stephanie Edwards on the KTLA Rose Parade telecast. I was completely outraged that she was demoted to sitting in the stands having no part at all in the coverage. She didn't even have a place to put her papers and had to juggle the microphone and umbrella?! It was completely demoralizing."

KTLA General Manager Vinnie Malcolm downplayed the negative reactions. "Anytime you make a change like this you're always going to have comments. We're quite pleased with the telecast."

In an e-mail to a Times reporter, Edwards denied reports of bad blood between her and Eubanks. "Bob, Michaela and I are thrilled by the ratings but saddened by the misinformation regarding our nonexistent feud," she wrote. Attempts to reach Edwards for further comments were unsuccessful.

One station staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from management, said that Edwards and Eubanks had each been paid about $50,000 for full hosting duties. The staffer did not know what Pereira, who is already a station employee, was paid to co-host this year.

"Stephanie's changed role had nothing to do with money. We simply tried something new," Aguayo said. In fact, Malcom said, "it added to the expense; it was a seven-figure production."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-ktla4jan04,0,719565,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

GeorgeLV

01-04-06, 12:23 AM

I'm suprised CBS didn't blow away Fox in the NFL ratings because the NFC was such a weaker conference. Maybe having almost every game in HD made the difference for Fox.

fredfa

01-04-06, 01:13 AM

But Fox has historically had the advantage of the bigger markets (which is why it pays a higher rights fee than CBS).

NY is an NFC/AFC split, of course, but the Giants are the ratings winners there consistently.

#2 LA has no team, and #6 SF-Oakland is split.

Fox has 10 of the top 15 markets, with two two-team cities and one no-team city. CBS has just two of the top 15 markets.

It is Fox in #3 Chicago,
#4 Philadelphia,
#7 Dallas,
#8 Washington,
#9 Atlanta,
#11 Detroit,
#12 Tampa,
#13 Seattle,
#14 Phoenix and
#15 Minneapolis.

CBS just has #5 Boston and #10 Houston.

And one more thing: whether you personally enjoy the show or not, the Fox pre-game show, under the brilliant leadership of Scott Ackerson, has been a consistent winner for a decade.

fredfa

01-04-06, 01:29 AM

Television Review
Space Oddity

Science fiction has faltered on network TV. So why is Sci Fi Channel flourishing?

By John Leonard New York Magazine Jan. 9, 2006

If you need me to explain that Cylons are the bad guys in the Battlestar Galactica series—so bad, in fact, that they’re actually synthetic, like something potlucked in a South Korean stem-cell lab—then you’d be better off reading the rest of the magazine. This week I am all about Sci Fi Channel, in planetary particular, and science fiction on television, in cosmic general. Besides Galactica, both Stargate SG-1 and its derivative, Stargate: Atlantis, return for new seasons on the same night on the same cable channel. So while Edward James Olmos, commander of Galactica, and Michelle Forbes, admiral of Pegasus, set aside deep-space differences to team up against the Cylon threat, over at Stargate SG-1, General Beau Bridges is worrying simultaneously about plague and Lou Gossett Jr., who has signed on with the evil Ori. Next door at Stargate: Atlantis, the gorgeous Torri Higginson and the not-so-much Mitch Pileggi must figure out how to rescue half their team from a Wraith hive ship.

It’s amazing that the original Galactica, a Star Wars ripoff so moronic it lowered the IQ of its audience five points per hour, would ever inspire more than a snigger, much less a successful reincarnation. (Though changing the sex of Lieutenant Starbuck, from Dirk Benedict to Katee Sackhoff, helped immensely.) It’s merely surprising that Stargate SG-1—which improved on the big-screen original by substituting Richard Dean Anderson’s sense of humor for Kurt Russell’s conceptual difficulty with the whole idea of a smile—would not only survive Anderson’s defection from the series, but attract enough loyal viewers to make the Atlantis spinoff possible. That said, we can now settle down once a week for three straight hours out of this world. How could this have happened when such superior sci-fi series as Max Headroom, Alien Nation, VR.5, Roswell, and Firefly struck out on network television? Not even Chris Carter could repeat his X-Files success with either Harsh Realm or Millennium.

Much as we may appreciate what Mary McDonnell does on Galactica, or Michael Shanks and Amanda Tapping do on Stargate, characters we care about can’t be the only explanation, or Shatner’s original Star Trek would have lasted as long on NBC as its several sequels did in syndication. Nor can it be that one set of wormholes and cyborgs is more agreeable than another set of gene-spliced cheese doodles, no matter how much money they spend on special effects. We will sit still, or not, for anything, from Cold War B-flick collectivized Bolshevik killer ants, to warm and fuzzy close encounters with Spielberg pollywogs, to Wagnerian space operas where George Lucas makes Carrie Fisher wear her hair in bagels, to an insecticidal Sigourney Weaver and the gasbag ninjas of The Matrix. From cyberpunk fiction, some of us even hoped that late capitalism and its marketing of commodified emotions could be vanquished by an outlaw culture of computer hackers with nose studs, mirror shades, vector graphics, chaos theory, and the grace of hip. But then hip was abducted by mallrats and the Wachowski brothers.

What we forget is that science fiction is meant to be subversive. We consume it outside the classroom of official culture, in the closet, in the woods, on the barricades. It lets us imagine the other and odd; the old, poor, sick, and strange; class differences, racial divisions, and gender confusions. So naturally, sci-fi television thrived first in syndication, where we had to seek it out, and then on its very own cable channel, where we spend whole days watching Godzilla marathons and entire weekends running away from made-for-TV catastrophes (earthquake, avalanche, tidal wave, volcano) or from made-for-TV invasions (spiders, locusts, snakes, and fish). Like the late, lamented Roswell, where 16-year-olds revealed that they’d been hatched from alien seeds in the New Mexican desert, this is niche programming for the paranoid. It puts us back in touch with our inner alien teen—a lost soul with call waiting.

http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/15438/

fredfa

01-04-06, 01:45 AM

Television Review
NBC's 'Four Kings' not quite the crowning jewel

By Jeanne Jakle San Antonio Express-News

Ah, a new TV comedy about four youngish bachelors who are lifelong friends and living under one roof. The premise can mean series gold. Consider HBO's "Entourage," which has earned critical acclaim and is heading into its third season.

Comparing NBC's "Four Kings" to that one, however, is like comparing TV's version of "The Poseidon Adventure" to "Titanic." Or even more apt, try likening the short-lived American "Coupling" to the sharp series of the same name on BBC America. They're just not in the same league.

"Kings" has its moments — thanks primarily to likable housemate Ben (Josh Cooke), the only character who isn't a caricature. For the most part, though, it definitely appears to be the weak link in NBC's revamped Thursday night chain.

I liked that in the pilot episode, which debuts 8:30 PM ET/PT Thursday, we get an explanation as to why four guys, who aren't exactly rolling in chips, wind up in such a posh N.Y. apartment.

When pals Ben, Barry (Seth Green), Bobby (Shane McRaie) and Jason (Todd Grinnell) were young, Ben's grandmother dubbed them "Four Kings of New York" and emphasized how special their friendship would prove to be.

Flash to today. Grandma dies and leaves grown-up Ben her multiroom apartment and furniture. He celebrates the deed by inviting the rest of the quartet to live with him. His loyalty is tested when steady girlfriend Jenny (guest actress Kiele Sanchez) suggests they step up their relationship and move in together, saying, in effect, it's his friends or her. Ben picks . . . well, you can guess.

The writing is hardly stellar and the jokes largely juvenile, but what bugged me most was the sitcom's nondistinctive characters. By contrast, each friend in "Entourage" has a uniqueness about him.

Ben, the central character of the series — and touchstone of the group — could be likened to Vince the movie star in "Entourage" in the sense he decides to share his good fortune with his pals. Cooke's portrayal is the most real and nuanced; because of this, he delivers the best jokes.

I'll grant you that Barry (Green of "Austin Powers," "Greg the Bunny" and "Can't Hardly Wait" fame) stands apart, too, considering he's way shorter, louder and more insecure than the others. The fact that Green is the only recognizable actor doesn't hurt either. His character, however, is so predictable and silly, you'll find yourself in eye-roll mode every time he's on. Barry comes across as a variation of the countless comic-relief roles Green's played before, only his obnoxiousness is stepped up to the max here.

As for the other two, I couldn't connect with either. Even after three preview episodes, all I came away with is one loves to work out and the other is some kind of aimless party dude.

But this is network TV, after all. It will be interesting to see if the scheduling of "Kings" on Thursdays, in the midst of three stronger comedies, will give it enough of a boost to keep it alive.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/columnists/jjackle/stories/MYSA010105.0Z.jakle.2bd525fa.htm

fredfa

01-04-06, 01:55 AM

This story ran Saturday in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. I have debated posting it, because it doesn’t really make any difference to any of us who don’t live in New Orleans, and it certainly has little to do with HDTV.
Nonetheless, Katrina had an effect on all of us. And we shouldn't forget the immense struggles that continue to be fought in New Orleans every day.
Here is how Katrina is still wreaking havoc in the nation's 43rd-largest TV market.

Katrina: Still Battering New Orleans
Weaker signals, fewer reporters, no ratings

As 2005 fades out, New Orleans TV is still far from 'back to normal'
By Dave Walker New Orleans Times-Picayune TV Saturday, December 31, 2005

Hurricane Katrina is still testing local television stations.

The storm swamped transmitters and studios and continues to drain newsrooms of young talent.

Years from now, Katrina coverage will be remembered as shining hours for most local TV news operations, but the struggle to restore full-power on-the-air signals, retain key staffers and operate in a ravaged advertising economy goes on.

Local CBS affiliate WWL-Channel 4, broadcasting from a raised, fortified transmitter on the West Bank, kept its signal on the air throughout Katrina and the storm's aftermath.

The station's digital-TV signal -- important to fans of high-definition television (HDTV) whose sparkly screens weren't subsumed by Katrina flooding -- is also going strong.

NBC affiliate WDSU-Channel 6 was knocked off the air when its transmitter flooded, but quickly shifted its local analog signal to WPXL-Channel 49.

That signal-leasing arrangement is expected to expire at the end of the year, but pictures and sound have been restored to Channel 6's dial position, though at reduced power.

WDSU's digital signal isn't expected to return for several months.

Fox affiliate WVUE-Channel 8 went dark for two weeks and its news operation displaced to Mobile, Ala., until late November.

The newsroom has returned to Jefferson Davis Parkway, and both the station's analog and digital signals are back on the air.

The transmitter for ABC affiliate WGNO-Channel 26 was ruined during the storm, but the station returned to the air via temporary transmitter.

The station's DTV feed is being carried on one of the digital sub-channels operated by WPXL.

Stations are required by law to carry a DTV signal. Pre-Katrina, early adopters of the technology had become attached to the crisp pictures and booming audio it delivers.

Post-Katrina, DTV could experience a local boom.

"The digital frequency is probably more important here than in any other market, because people repurchasing televisions most likely are buying HDTV," said Larry Delia, general manager of WGNO and its sister station, WB affiliate WNOL-Channel 38, whose digital signal is also being carried on a WPXL sub-channel.

Its home in the New Orleans Centre shopping mall still shuttered, WGNO's news operation is based out of a warren of trailers near the New Orleans Arena, with newscasts originating from a different remote location each night.

The Jefferson Davis Parkway building of WHNO-Channel 20 was flooded and its signal darkened for 19 days, but the station is back up with both analog and digital signals. UPN affiliate WUPL-Channel 54 also has both of its signals operating.

PBS affiliate WYES-Channel 12, which suffered severe flooding at its headquarters near City Park and some damage to its transmitter power supply, was still working to restore its broadcast signal at this column's deadline.

"The transmitter's fine," said Randy Feldman, the station's general manager. "Out there, our problems, compared to what they could've been, are relatively minor."

Offices and studios are a different story, however.

"The entire front of the building is gone," said Feldman. "All the offices, gone, shaved right off."

PBS network programming, transferred via Baton Rouge affiliate WLPB-TV, has been available to local Cox Communications cable customers at the channel numbers normally occupied by WYES and WLAE-Channel 32. (WLAE's programming also has been carried by Charter Communications north of the lake.)

WLAE suffered significant storm damage and its broadcast frequency remains dark. But the station's Metairie studios are usable, and WLAE has been inserting nightly public-affairs programming into its cable-delivered lineup.

WYES intends to use WLAE's studios to resurrect at least two of its local programs -- Friday night's "Steppin' Out" and "Informed Sources" -- on Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Life in post-Katrina New Orleans may be most challenging to young families, and those challenges already have prompted several local TV news workers to leave town.

"There's no denying that people change through a tragedy," said WGNO's Delia. "And some people review their lives.

"In any industry, there's a certain percentage of people who want to leave, whether you're an accountant or an anchor."

Conversely, Delia said, his station has observed heightened interest in New Orleans by TV-news job-seekers.

"There is a large faction of people that would like to come into this market, because the news is history in the making," he said. "That is extremely enticing for a journalist to report on."

The most conspicuous departures for WWL in 2005 have been weathercasters.

David Bernard left for Miami CBS affiliate WFOR-TV in July. Then John Gumm, his wife rattled by mid-Katrina childbirth and a harried evacuation with the newborn, asked to be let out of his contract during the immediate aftermath of the storm. He landed at Cincinnati CBS affiliate WKRC-TV.

Late-newscast anchor Karen Swensen, mother of a 2-year-old, has announced her departure to be closer to family. Her departure date isn't yet set, but starting in February, she'll work as morning and midday anchor at New England Cable News, a 24-hour regional news network.

A few weeks before Swensen's announcement, WWL weekend anchor Josh McElveen accepted a job as Vermont bureau chief for the same network she would join. McElveen and his wife, Erin, a WWL producer, are parents of a 1-year-old child and also have family in New England.

After one week reporting on Katrina, Stephanie Riegel, mother of three young children, left her part-time reporting job to pursue freelance public-relations consulting.

Fishing/cooking/culture correspondent Frank Davis has been off the air for several weeks due to illness (a tumor on his kidney, successfully removed) and is expected to return early in the new year.

The two post-Katrina subtractions at WDSU-Channel 6 are reporters Stephanie Boswell and Devin Fehely.

WVUE-Channel 8 also faced Katrina short of meteorologists.

Jeff Baskin worked the storm's approach, but had already accepted a job at KOIN-TV in Portland, Ore.

Shortly after Katrina, Crystal Wicker took a weekend weathercasting job with Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV-TV.

Also gone from WVUE post-Katrina were Summer Jackson (a Chicago area native who now works for CLTV, a regional cable news network up there) and Kerry Cavanaugh, who now reports on blizzards (and other stories) for WBAL-TV in Baltimore.

WGNO-Channel 26 reporter Meredith Mendez, the mother of a 3-year-old, now works part-time for Washington, D.C., Fox affiliate WTTG-TV. Her husband, former WVUE photographer Leonel Mendez, now shoots for Washington CBS affiliate WUSA-TV.

Susan Roesgen, a regular presence on CNN during the post-Katrina blur, accepted a job as reporter for the cable-news network's Gulf Coast bureau. Still based in New Orleans, Roesgen has departed her job as late-news anchor for WGNO, and also had to quit her reporting work for National Public Radio and its local affiliate, WWNO 89.9 FM.

Both WLAE and WYES have had to enact layoffs, about 30 percent of the staff in WYES's case.

"We expect, as everybody does, that economic activity is going to be decreased in the area," Feldman said. "We know that will affect donations and government funding.

"Public broadcasting does not have the highest salaries. These people were with WYES because they believed in what we do.

"It's tough."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For at least the next several months and perhaps as long as a year or more, local commercial television stations will share one fact of life with their noncommercial dial-mates: Ratings don't matter.

Because Katrina cut Nielsen Media Research's local sample size by more than half, the ratings service has informed local stations that reliable overnight ratings can't be compiled until at least November 2006.

Aside from the audience-measurement problems this situation sets up for the business side of advertising-supported stations, it also creates a rarefied setting for news directors, who, for awhile at least, don't have to fret over the results of a daily report card on every newscast.

The nightly local-news horse race -- typically won handily by WWL in all news time slots, but with plenty of vigorous jockeying for place and show among the other three entrants -- has been suspended. Which means:

No -- or at least fewer -- overheated "sweeps" months promos.

No canned scare-package stories borrowed from other markets.

No tedious ratings columns in the daily newspaper.

Katrina wasn't all bad.

The absence of ratings "absolutely has no impact in terms of what we do in our coverage," WWL news director Sandy Breland said. "This is the biggest story we will ever cover, and it's far from over.

"Reporting about . . . the rebuilding of a major American city is the most important work we'll ever do."

http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living-0/113603677355090.xml

fredfa

01-04-06, 02:00 AM

A Thank You!!

To Kansas City Star TV critic Aaron Barnhart for calling the “Hot Off The Press” thread “invaluable” in his TV blog.

foxeng

01-04-06, 07:22 AM

A Thank You!!

To Kansas City Star TV critic Aaron Barnhart for calling the “Hot Off The Press” thread “invaluable” in his TV blog.

We will not be able to live with him now that he is "off the farm!" :D (Congrats on your "national" recogniztion!)

fredfa

01-04-06, 08:35 AM

A Critical View:
NBC makes royal mistake by putting 'Four Kings' on Thursdays

By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday, January 4, 2006

In a preposterous display of misplaced confidence, NBC sent out the first three episodes of its new Thursday night sitcom, "Four Kings" (8:30 PM ET/PT Thursdays on NBC). It took an act of kindness to make it to the second episode, and as for episode three -- Mother Teresa's dead, so forget it.

NBC is trying to resurrect Thursday night, which it lost to CBS some time ago, and on which the comedy caved in long, long before that. It has moved its best sitcom, "My Name Is Earl," and the underappreciated (and often ignored) sophomore series "The Office" to that night. Those shows are being paired with "Will & Grace," which is far past its sell-by date these days, and "Four Kings" -- four single guys in New York who live and lust together under the clanging din of an inappropriate laugh track -- which was created and is executive-produced by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. The duo also created "Will & Grace."

It's a good philosophy (and good business) to allow hitmakers to swing the bat whenever they feel motivated, but Kohan and Mutchnick are whiffing these days. Just look at -- or away from -- "Twins" on the WB, a painfully laugh-free abuse of air time.

Now they've given NBC "Four Kings," and NBC has thrown it on Thursdays instead of, say, throwing it against a wall repeatedly or, thinking that cruel, throwing it back at the writers for an "ER" joke-saving procedure. This is the type of mistake that makes you wonder what NBC is trying to accomplish. Is this a network that takes on a risk -- sticking with the low-rated remake of "The Office" -- an act that no doubt produced the sweet karma of "My Name Is Earl"? Or is this the kind of network that sticks with "Joey" too long despite ample evidence there's nothing funny to be seen there and then, to confirm suspicions about taste, gives the green light to "Four Kings"?

"Earl," thou art a fluke.

"Four Kings" is the kind of comedy designed for young boys or those in their 20s who suffer the kind of mental retardation that spurs sales of Maxim. Honestly, "Four Kings" is the kind of comedy that even UPN doesn't make anymore. That's no slur on UPN -- history is history. What NBC is in grave danger of becoming is the kind of network that UPN was until recently -- tone deaf, desperate and driven to stupidity by demographics.

It's clear that NBC wants the young male market to buy into "Four Kings." The series is littered with the type of one-liners seemingly mined from UPN's old "Shasta McNasty" or even NBC's own failed British import "Men Behaving Badly."'

Remember those days? Yeah, well, nobody else does, either.

"Four Kings" opens with an unseen grandmother filming four young boys hanging out together in New York. Stay together, she says, because you'll always be four kings. Notice she didn't say "four funny kings." They're barely likable, but viewers are supposed to love the bond they have now that they're out of college and facing life. It helps that Grandma died and left her apartment to Ben (Josh Cooke), who promptly invites the three other kings to live with him in, what, a palace of lame jokes? Ben is the center, the grounded guy, the golden boy.

Then there's Barry (Seth Green -- easily the best thing about the series but still not enough to force that third episode). Barry is the somewhat compassionate and smart one, though nothing good ever happens to him. Bobby (Shane McRae) is the dim-bulb stoner, and Jason (Todd Grinnell) is the guy who works out a lot, has no interest in commitment and spars with Jason in every episode. You can change the names all you want -- they are standard-issue sitcom caricatures that Kohan and Mutchnick know all too well.

And yet the premise is only a small part of the problem in "Four Kings." The writing is labored, adolescent and unfunny. We're supposed to relate to these guys and their endless attempts at a beer-commercial lifestyle. But lacking a frat house or some booze buddy relentlessly punching your shoulder while making prank calls on his geeked-out cell, maybe it's just not that hilarious.

At Ben's grandma's wake, Bobby says, "Look at all this food. Whoever planned this funeral must have been baked." There's more food talk, and one of the "kings" says to another about the food: "Why are you staring at it like you want to take it to the prom and slip it a roofie?"

While all this is happening, a laugh track is being dropped on your house with all the subtlety of hammers on cat tails. Because they're moving in together and need to be chasing the ladies, we get scenes of the "kings" dumping their way-too-hot-for-them girlfriends. Stoner Bobby is playing an acoustic guitar, stops and says, "Um, I have to go." His ditzy girl says, "Do you want me to hold it for you so you can keep playing?"

Yep. There's your bar.

But it gets worse or, more accurately, less funny. Seeking solidarity, one of the group says, "It's bros before hos." Later, when they're all hanging out in the living room, Green's character, Barry, walks in the door, takes off his pants and says, "The boys gotta breathe."

The funniest part of "Four Kings" isn't even a joke. As they're about to go party, one of them says, "Suit up!," which is the punch line from a much funnier character on a much funnier CBS show called "How I Met Your Mother."

See, this is what it has come to for NBC -- the politically incorrect single guys (Neil Patrick Harris and Charlie Sheen) are funnier on CBS. That's got to hurt.

At this point in its own salvage job, NBC seems unclear about its comedic direction. Maybe with "Earl" and "The Office" helping the draw, these four bland single guys can be kings of their own domain. They're certainly not kings of comedy.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/04/DDG9FGGE191.DTL&type=printable

fredfa

01-04-06, 09:58 AM

Sports On TV
Jackson quips, preparation still coming up roses

Teddy Greenstein Chicago Tribune January 4, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- In the moments before he calls his 14th Rose Bowl, Keith Jackson plans to remove his headset and demand some alone time.

"I will lock the door and sit down and watch the band," Jackson said. "I'll take a drink of water and say: `Lord, if you let me through this mess, I won't call you for 30 days.'"

Jackson has been the best in his field for more than 50 years, so it's hard to believe he will need much assistance Wednesday night.

While other veteran broadcasters might coast on their reputation, Jackson's preparation remains precise.

He can tell you all about USC linebacker Keith Rivers, who will be returning to full strength after a midseason injury to his hamstring.

He can tell you about speedy Texas defensive back Michael Huff or Trojans backup quarterback John David Booty.

If USC makes it 35 straight victories Wednesday, Jackson said Booty "will have a little trouble swallowing because it's going to fall on him next season. Booty seems the heir apparent, but [freshman Mark] Sanchez has not surrendered."

It's more fun, though, to hear Jackson speak of legends past.

This week Jackson had this gem from Tennessee coach Robert Neyland: "Gentlemen, touchdowns follow blocking just as surely as night follows day."

What follows the Rose Bowl in Jackson's career remains unknown.

He already has retired once, after the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, but ABC Sports coaxed him back to the booth with the promise of calling games on the West Coast. Jackson and his wife, Turi Ann, reside in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

The 77-year-old Jackson would not address questions about whether Wednesday's game will be his last. "I am a non-story," he said. "Come springtime, we'll talk about that other stuff."

Jackson clearly is turned off by the increasingly prominent promotional aspects of his job.

On Sunday he sat on a panel with other ABC and ESPN broadcasters to field questions from the media.

At one point he griped that the coffee was so bad, he could "take it home and pave my street."

Days earlier he answered questions during a conference call.

Asked to characterize that side of the business, Jackson replied:

"How about pain in the ? All my life I've just tried to help people understand the game. My attitude is not to intrude. In many instances, for a lot of announcers, it has become their stage. I resent the hell out of that and try very hard not to do it."

[B]Say cheese

ABC Sports will use about 30 cameras, an all-time high, to broadcast the Rose Bowl, which begins at 8 PM ET/PT.

"We'll have everything covered," producer Mark Loomis said.

That includes a pregame piece featuring USC alum Will Ferrell debating Texas alum Matthew McConaughey.

ABC analyst Dan Fouts said one of the keys to the game will be whether Texas can pressure Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, who has been sacked just 14 times this season.

"If you're going to beat him, you have to put him on his back," Fouts said. "Texas has the people to do that."

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-0601040329jan04,1,4669260,print.column?coll=cs-columnists

fredfa

01-04-06, 10:32 AM

Critic’s Notebook
Say you're sorry, CNN

By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his TV blog Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Is CNN being repentant enough?

If you watched its wall-to-wall coverage last night of Anderson Cooper et al. celebrating the rescue of the miners -- and then saw its journalists focusing on the "bad communication" this morning, you saw a network half-admitting that it was, in fact, part of the problem.

As I write this, CNN's Daryn Kagan has just finished showing us headlines from the major daily newspapers, which passed along the erroneous report that 12 out of 13 miners had survived. Then we cut to a very selective clip of CNN's own coverage: Anderson Cooper getting the initial report. Then, whoop -- forward three hours, past all that coverage of the "Miracle in the Mines," or whatever they were calling it, to the woman coming out and telling Cooper the initial reports were wrong.

Then, to its credit, CNN aired an interview with that same local resident who spilled the beans to Cooper the night before:

"Why did that get broadcast around the world?" Lynette Roby said. "For three hours? Put everyone through that? ... How could nobody have compassion to say, Hold on a minute?"

I think there does need to be an investigation into how the officials at the mine handled the news. But CNN was the only organization on the scene that had experience with worldwide breaking news events. And its role in putting people through the emotional whipsaw deserves to be put under the same scrutiny.

Seeing how CNN relentlessly promotes its coverage of the mine tragedy -- and would no doubt have been running highly emotional ads today linking itself to the "miracle in the mine shaft" had the miners been found alive -- I find it disingenuous, at bes, that it is only half-admitting to being part of the problem.

CNN needs to make itself part of the story -- and apologize to Lynette Roby and the others who were there.

http://www.tvbarn.com/

fredfa

01-04-06, 10:43 AM

The Busines of Television
CBS boss seeks cash from hits

By Phyllis Furman New York Daily News Business Writer

Don't tell CBS CEO Leslie Moonves that broadcast networks are dead.

As CBS began trading as a newly independent company yesterday, the media boss told the Daily News he's gearing up to squeeze more bucks from his No. 1-rated network whose stable of hits include top-rated drama "CSI."

Moonves said he's seeing interest in more deals, such as a recent video-on-demand pact he struck with Comcast where "CSI" groupies can catch the show just hours after it airs.

"We have an opportunity to sell this content in many ways," the gravel-voiced CBS boss said in an interview yesterday. "People like to dismiss traditional media and the broadcast networks. We're looking for additional revenue streams."

While these new businesses remain small compared with CBS' main focus of traditional ad sales, Moonves claimed they will grow over time. He's even planning to charge cable operators for the rights to carry CBS, just as they now pay for cable programing.

"If they pay for Lifetime or pay for USA, shouldn't they be paying for CBS?" he said.

Early on in the day, investors cheered the new CBS - which split off from media empire Viacom after a six year marriage - sending the stock up as much as 8% before losing some steam. CBS closed at $26.20, up 70 cents or nearly 3%. Viacom rose $1.54 or nearly 4% to finish the day at $41.54.

The Moonves fiefdom includes the CBS TV network - which is said to be trying to lure NBC "Today" anchor Katie Couric. Moonves refused to discuss the matter. Other assets include UPN, the CBS TV and radio stations - which just lost Howard Stern and his millions of fans, to Sirius Satellite Radio, and pay-TV channel Showtime.

The Viacom empire, run by Tom Freston, includes cable nets MTV, VH1, and movie studio Paramount, which just announced a deal to acquire rival DreamWorks.

Sumner Redstone, Viacom's longtime controlling shareholder retains that status at both new companies. Viacom shareholders received half a share in each of the two new companies for every share they owned in the old Viacom.

CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer has suggested that Comcast will buy CBS. Redstone, however, shot that down yesterday.

"Nonsense," Redstone told the Daily News. "It's not going anywhere." He added that he is equally fond of the new Viacom and the new CBS.

Redstone has said he decided to go for the split because he felt Wall Street wasn't giving his assets the respect they deserve. Yesterday Moonves was more blunt about the divorce. "There wasn't much synergy," he said.

He added, "this wasn't about Tom and me killing each other." By splitting up, each CEO can focus on his own priorities, he said.

But both Moonves and Freston face big risks as the Internet continues to threaten traditional media, while DVRs have made it easy for TV fans to zip past commercials. That's put media stocks out of favor on Wall Street.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/379843p-322539c.html

fredfa

01-04-06, 10:51 AM

Critic’s Notebook
Risking their reputation

By Diane Werts Newsday Staff Writer January 5, 2006

'Dancing With the Stars" matters. It matters more than "American Idol," more than "Survivor," more than just about any reality series to the competitors involved.

It's not the prize, since there isn't any, or even the bragging rights. And it isn't the much-vaunted celebrity factor in our showbiz-crazed age.

ABC's summer smash returns Thursday (8-10PM ET/PT) for a second round of giving successful people a chance to lose something - precisely the opposite of most TV "reality," where no-names misbehave for their chance at fleeting fame.

"Dancing" requires not guile and cunning but skill and grace. This isn't a showcase for acting up but buckling down to master a tough new talent.

We're used to real people doing fake things. "Dancing With the Stars" gives us people who normally pretend, doing something authentic.

The stakes are higher, too. Who cares if unknown "Apprentice" contender Omarosa comes off like a jerk? But image matters to someone such as NFL legend Jerry Rice, amiable actor George Hamilton or music mogul Master P (now known as P. Miller), three of this midseason's new dance students, who trade on public esteem and the perception of likability. If you're Rice - for two decades considered the best wide receiver in the business - you risk being remembered not as an all-time great but a quick-buck chump if you end up looking nasty, unprepared or apathetic.

Where most reality series create the competitors' public impression, "Dancing With the Stars" threatens to strip away a carefully crafted image. There's real pressure, since the stars' dance routines are spotlight performances in an unfamiliar arena. Even more exposure looms in the show's build-up coverage of those backstage rehearsals. These "candid" close-ups come precisely when contenders must concentrate hardest on mastering the new skill, leaving them little energy for image-burnishing. They're almost forced to be themselves.

Not enough stress? ABC also airs its "Dancing" showdowns live. No retakes. Too bad if you're sick or injured. It's single elimination here - people's choice rules. And then there's that claustrophobic studio. The setting may have started a bit two-bit thanks to the summer-show budget. But the cramped quarters heightened tension and made even home viewers feel they were in on something intimate. Let's hope the producers don't glam it up now.

ABC is already pushing it by expanding to 90 minutes on future Thursdays, plus adding a Friday 8 PM ET/PT results show. (Note to network: Remember overexposing "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"?) At least they're bringing back the same stern real-world dance judges, and recruiting E!'s Samantha Harris as eye-candy co-host to affable emcee Tom Bergeron.

As for the new competitors, you've gotta figure the producers had lots more casting candidates after their debut success. The roster is up to nine (from summer's six). In addition to Rice, Hamilton and P., the assortment ranges further into sports, with WWE diva Stacy Keibler and ESPN's Kenny Mayne; acting, with Tia Carrere, Tatum O'Neal and Lisa Rinna; and even TV news, with Giselle Fernandez. We'll see how their moves matter, starting Thursday night.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etdance4574320jan05,0,4859161,print.column?coll=ny-tv-columnists

fredfa

01-04-06, 10:57 AM

A Critical View:
They're 'Dancing' again

By Scott D. Pierce Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Gee, to hear them talk over at "Dancing With the Stars," you'd think they were working for world peace or something.

Well, almost.

"There's all this talk of winners and losers," judge Bruno Tonioli told TV critics in the wake of the show's unexpected summertime success. "I don't think really there are any losers in this show. I think everybody should be proud of participating in this show, because, even if you get kicked out, you give great pleasure to the public."

Fair enough, to a point. Judging by the ratings last summer, the participants did bring a lot of viewing pleasure to a lot of people. Although whether it was, as Tonioli insisted, because their "performances are wonderful to watch," or because a lot of those viewers were waiting to see semi-famous people make fools of themselves . . . well, ABC doesn't really care, as long as you watch.

As to Tonioli's contention that there aren't "any losers in this show," well, that seems less than accurate. Make no mistake about it — if any of the so-called stars on this edition had careers that were going real well at the moment, they wouldn't be on this series.

Tia Carrere, Giselle Fernandez, George Hamilton, Stacy Keibler, Drew Lachey and Tatum O'Neal are all quite obviously hoping that "Dancing" will kick-start their careers.

I'm more intrigued by ex-NFL star Jerry Rice, who doesn't have show-biz aspirations (other than sportscasting, maybe) and appears to be doing this for fun. And sportscaster Kenny Mayne, who probably isn't going to get a raise from ESPN for doing the show. And maybe rap star Master P, who stepped in at the last minute when his 16-year-old son, rapper Romeo, got hurt in a basketball game.

But not that intrigued. "Dancing With the Stars" had a certain cheesy charm the first time around. And it made for a TV diversion during the summer months.

Putting it up against CBS's Thursday-night ratings juggernaut doesn't seem like the best use of this asset, however. In fact, putting it up against original episodes of "Will & Grace" doesn't seem like that great an idea.

Stay tuned. . . .

I HESITATE TO SAY THIS, but the second "Dancing" competition promises to be more, um, legitimate than the first. ("Legitimate" being a relative term.)

Because there is both a weekly competition show and a weekly results show, viewers in all time zones will get a chance to vote. And, when it gets down to the final two, the fans will be voting based on their final performances.

In the ridiculously controversial first edition of the show, both the judges and the viewers voted for Kelly Monaco over John O'Hurley. However . . . if the judges had judged differently than the viewers, the viewers' votes would have won the day.

And an even bigger however . . . it turned out those viewers' votes were cast based on the second-to-last episode. Which means that the winner was determined before Monaco and O'Hurley even took to the dance floor in that final episode.

WE CAN STOP WORRYING about poor Tom Bergeron — the one-time solo host of "Dancing With the Stars" is being joined by co-host Samantha Harris (an "E! News" correspondent" this time around.

Thank goodness. It's a tough job for one person to handle.

(Gee, could I possibly be any more sarcastic?)

http://www.desnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,635173592,00.html

fredfa

01-04-06, 11:13 AM

A Sad Look Back at 2005:
Good night, Peter Jennings. So long

Saluting the media notables who died in 2005
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Jan 4, 2006

Dan Rather was the prickly, remote network news anchor, Tom Brokaw the intellectual with roots deep in America's heartland. Then there was Peter Jennings. In some ways he defied labels. But if one were to apply, it would be gentleman.

A handsome man, a ladies’ man too, Jennings carried himself as the quintessential anchor, always polished and stylish, yet accessible. A Canadian by birth, son of a journalist, Jennings seemed always delighted to be reporting on his adopted country, as if he had only arrived a week or two earlier.

But beneath the considerable polish Jennings was a committed street reporter, sleeves up, asking questions, engaging his interview subjects. Early on at ABC News he honed a reputation as a foreign correspondent, and he was at his best on the streets of some war-torn city, poking his mike into the angry crowds to find that one voice of reason beyond his own.

Jennings was a globalist explaining his world to a country that struggled each day to think beyond its own shores.

It was clear when Jennings failed to travel to Italy after the pope’s death last spring that something was wrong.

Just days later, the former smoker announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He began chemotherapy treatment immediately, and shortly after the 67-year-old left his anchor's chair, never to return.

In stepping down from “World News Tonight” that April night, Jennings reported to viewers on his condition. The diagnosis was not good, but the delivery was excellent, classic Jennings.

“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.”

Jennings died on Aug. 7, 2005, just four months later. Over that time, ABC online message boards were filled with get-well wishes.

With Jennings’ loss, and the retirement of Rather and Brokaw, the era of the imperial anchors came to an end.
They were the last of that breed, for sure. Last night at ABC, Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff officially succeeded Jennings.

Here’s a look at some of the other media notables who died last year.

Johnny Carson, 79
Carson hosted “The Tonight Show” for 30 years, and over those three decades he redefined late-night television. After taking over the NBC program in 1962, Carson became a must-see, thanks to his quick wit and easy manner.
His Watergate jokes skewered the Washington political establishment long before such material was common on television, and he became one of TV’s first million-dollar earners.
But most of all, Carson projected a warmth and calm that soothed America durin