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fredfa

04-12-06, 01:43 AM

Weekly Ratings Notes
Hot 'Deal,' big 'House'

By Gary Levin, USA Today

• House hits homer. Though American Idol had its lowest Tuesday ratings in a month, House hit a series-high 22.7 million viewers, impressively retaining 79% of Idol's lead-in.

• Dealmaker NBC game show Deal or No Deal hit another series high with Monday's two-hour episode (17.7 million), which beat Lost to rank fifth for the week.

• Holdup. NBC flip-flopped sagging Law & Order and new drama Heist Wednesday: Law (10.8 million viewers) rebounded somewhat, but Heist (6.2 million) hit its lowest mark yet and will pull its last job tonight.

• Locked up. Fox's Prison Break tried a Lost-style flashback episode (8.1 million viewers) to stall its escape route, but viewers weren't buying it: The show was down 20% from recent weeks, with its lowest ratings since September. Thursday's The OC (5.1 million) matched a series low set in January.

• Slow Race.The Amazing Race's new, more family-friendly Wednesday time slot didn't help the reality series, which averaged 8.1 million viewers, its smallest audience since July 2003.

• Wing vote. The election of Matt Santos as president boosted NBC's lame-duck The West Wing to 8.4 million viewers, its best since November's live debate episode.

• Not so peppy. The premiere of WB's Pepper Dennis averaged just 2.6 million viewers Tuesday. That still marks an improvement over the season average for UPN's rival Veronica Mars, which drew 992,000 for a repeat in that slot. Also on Tuesday, ABC's Hope & Faith hit a series-low 4.2 million.

• No slam-dunk. The lopsided NCAA championship game drew 17.5 million viewers Monday, down 27% from last season's final college hoops match but up slightly from the record low set in 2004.

• Hai karate.The Ultimate Fighter 3, the latest martial-arts competition, drew 2.4 million viewers to Spike Thursday, setting a channel record for an original series opener.

• Rosie doesn't rivet. HBO special All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise, starring Rosie O'Donnell, averaged 572,000 viewers Thursday.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-04-11-nielsen-analysis_x.htm

Marcus Carr

04-12-06, 09:05 AM

Dressler: Don’t Take Carriage for Granted

By Linda Moss 4/11/2006 11:15:00 PM

Atlanta -- Time Warner Cable’s programming chief Tuesday reiterated his company’s stance that underperforming networks should expect to lose their precious channel slots.

During a panel at the National Show, Fred Dressler, Time Warner’s executive vice president of programming, said that during the next 12 to 18 months it will “be evident … that networks no longer should assume that once they get launched they are entrenched and will never lose their space.”

According to Dressler: “Just like cable networks themselves trade out programs that are not performing, you’ll see cable operators begin to trade out networks that aren’t performing. At that point, you’ll see new networks launched in place of old networks.”

Dressler’s remarks, made during a panel called “New Markets, New Networks: Programmers Make Their Pitch,” seemingly alluded to his company’s decision to either drop or move to digital tiers a number of independent networks that the company claims are not performing well.

Some of the programmers facing a cut or move by Time Warner include GSN, The Outdoor Channel and National Geographic Channel.

Dressler said that analog bandwidth is at a premium and its recapture is important.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6324238.html?display=Breaking+News

Marcus Carr

04-12-06, 09:09 AM

Switched Broadcast a Hot Topic at NCTA

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/11/2006 8:27:00 PM

As cable operators look to offer new services and more HD programming to stave off competition from satellite operators and telcos, they are experimenting with some of the same "switched broadcast" techniques that telco AT&T plans to use to provide video over its advanced DSL network later this year.

In the traditional distribution model, cable operators deliver hundreds of channels to a subscriber's home, though the subscriber can only view one channel at a time on a given television set. The concept of switched broadcast is that, instead of simultaneously delivering hundreds of channels to a subscriber’s home, cable operators will only deliver one channel to a digital set-top box at a time, thus freeing up bandwidth for faster data services and more telephony traffic. The overall efficiencies gained across cable’s hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network by using switched broadcast will also allow operators to add new programming, including more HD networks.

Technology vendors Scientific-Atlanta and BigBand Networks were both demonstrating switched broadcast products at the NCTA show in Atlanta this week, and technology chiefs from major operators detailed their switched-broadcast plans in a Monday panel session.

Time Warner Cable is already rolling out switched broadcast in Austin, Texas, and Columbia, S.C., says chief technology officer Mike LaJoie, and will probably deploy it in four to six systems this year. He thinks switching is the answer to cable’s bandwidth challenges, and says that "I don’t think it’s 10 years away, it’s much closer than that. The whole notion of channelized video will go away."

Cox Communications has been "toying with switched broadcast" for several years, says Cox Communications Chief Technology Officer Chris Bowick, and will probably deploy the technology in two markets this year. He says in the near term, Cox is more focused on reclaiming bandwidth by deploying "digital simulcast," taking the current analog tier and converting it to digital for delivery to digital cable customers.

Comcast CTO David Fellows says that "switching offers infinite choice." Comcast has not deployed the technology yet but instead has focused on rolling out digital simulcast. He says that, by using technologies like switched broadcast and digital simulcast, cable’s network will be adequate to compete against the fiber-to-the-home architecture being used by phone company Verizon.

"In the long run, we’ll be okay," says Fellows. "Right now, we have two-thirds of our bandwidth tied up with analog video."

Scientific-Atlanta, a Cisco subsidiary, is providing its switched broadcast technology to both cable operators and AT&T. Jeff Taylor, director of product strategy for Scientific-Atlanta, says its IP-based switched broadcast system is slightly different from video-on-demand (VOD) technology. With VOD, operators set up a one-to-one "session" with a digital set-top to deliver programming. With switched broadcast, operators will still transmit hundreds of channels, or "multicast," down to fiber hubs that might serve 500 to 2,000 homes, where they will run through an "edge router." When a cable subscriber served by that hub requests a channel change, the edge router will then send the selected stream to the home over coax and the digital set-top will "join" the multicast session.

The key to switched broadcast for operators, says Taylor, is that customers don’t know what’s actually happening in the background by experiencing a noticeable delay in changing channels.

"They want a transparent consumer experience," he says.

To that end, Scientific-Atlanta was demonstrating a traditional digital cable feed next to a switched-broadcast feed. To this reporters’ watch, the channel change for switched broadcast took about as long as the channel change for a standard feed, a little over two seconds.

Michael Willner, president and CEO of Insight Communications, says that switched broadcast "was one of the more interesting things at the show."

Insight doesn’t have a schedule to deploy switched broadcast yet, says Willner, but it does plan to reclaim analog spectrum by using digital simulcast. Willner expects Insight will probably use switched broadcast as well, but not necessarily in conjunction with digital simulcast.

"I don’t think you necessarily have to do both," he says.

http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6324247.html?display=Breaking+News

Xesdeeni

04-12-06, 09:28 AM

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:03 AM

TV Notebook
Last laugh for 'Freddie,' maybe for real

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 12, 2006

ABC has had a run of new hits over the last two years with “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost” and “Dancing with the Stars.” But while its dramas and reality shows have soared, the network’s comedies have struggled mightily.

Of five new sitcoms introduced this season, four have been outright disasters that aired only a handful of episodes: “Emily’s Reasons Why Not,” “Crumbs,” “Hot Properties” and “Sons & Daughters.”

ABC’s only new comedy that has an outside chance of making the schedule next year is “Freddie,” which airs its season finale tonight at 8:30 p.m. It might also be its series finale as well.

Though “Freddie” certainly failed to live up to ABC’s hopes opposite limited competition on the other networks, including a rotating assortment of CBS comedies, NBC’s “E-Ring” and the WB’s “One Tree Hill,” it is actually ABC’s second-highest-rated comedy, and it has outdrawn established lead-in “George Lopez.”

"Freddie" has averaged a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49 this season, ranking No. 80 on broadcast.

In most seasons, a 2.8 would not get you another season. But with established ABC comedies such as “According to Jim” and “Hope & Faith” also struggling, “Freddie” may just return next year. It will depend in large part on how strong ABC’s comedy pilot development is. The network will almost certainly bring back “Jim” and “George,” and it may want at least one more somewhat established comedy, even a middling one like “Freddie.”

On tonight’s episode, Chris (Brian Austin Green) has to tell Freddie (Freddie Prinze Jr.) that he has lost the latter’s restaurant through a stupid investment. But the boys may find a way to recover it.

Burt Reynolds guest stars as Chris’ crazy grandpa, who promises to help them recoup their money if they agree to help him in return.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_4060.asp

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:06 AM

TV Notebook
For 'Bernie Mac,' this could well be it

Critic and network fave is way off this season

By Abigail Azote MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 12, 2006

In recent years, Fox has stood solidly behind two shows, "Arrested Development" and "Bernie Mac." Certainly part of that was because critics adored both, but Fox also believed in them. Then, just months ago, Fox canceled "Arrested," finally persuaded that viewers were never going to come around.

That does note bode well for "Bernie Mac," which has taken a tumble in ratings this season. "Mac" airs a one-hour season finale on Friday. It could be its last.

Certainly the sitcom showed promise when it first came out in 2001. It wasn’t your typical family comedy, with comedian Bernie Mac espousing some rather politically incorrect, and funny, views about raising kids. Viewers tuned in, delivering a 4.3 18-49 average rating for the series’ first season.

A favorite of then-entertainment president Gail Berman, "Mac" was moved around the Fox schedule in an effort to find the right timeslot to grow the show into an anchor. Instead it went into a ratings slide, forcing even more moves.
The show’s ratings have dropped every season, and this season "Mac" has averaged a 1.6 18-49 rating in its Friday 8 p.m. timeslot, down 27 percent from the 2.2 it averaged at this point last season.

The quality of the show was never the problem. "Mac" has won a Peabody Award and an Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy. Bernie Mac has earned two Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on the show. But awards do not a hit show make.

"Bernie's" one chance for survival will come if Fox has nothing in development that it can put in its place. According to MediaVest USA’s midseason television analysis, released yesterday, Fox has five to six hours of programming to fill for its fall schedule, a considerable chunk considering the network’s 15 weekly hours of primetime. If the network does not like what it has in development, though, it may keep a few middling shows around and replace only four hours.

Fox is mum on whether "Bernie" will be renewed, holding off announcments of its next-season pickups until later in the spring.

Still, the show has its supporters.

"This sitcom has had an entertaining five-year run, but if you've been watching recent episodes, you know there’s plenty of life, and laughs, in this old show yet," writes New York Daily News TV critic David Bianculli, who recently included the show on his list of the seven endangered shows that ought to be saved.

One fan, writing on Fox’s message boards, has this suggestion: "Keep it running. Market it appropriately and quit switching nights!"

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_4061.asp

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:10 AM

The TV Column
We Watch . . . So You Don't Have To

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! . . .

The sound of Freddie Mercury's ashes churning in his urn during last night's one-hour mutilation of Queen songs on "American Idol."

A cavalcade of C-listers, led by former Monkee Micky Dolenz and former ABC comedy second-stringer Camryn Manheim, cheered on the Idolettes as they hacked and slashed their way through the Queen songbook while the judges, to their credit, looked slightly appalled. Even Paula Abdul.

Bucky Covington turned "Fat Bottomed Girls" into a hoedown, after declaring the surviving Queens a "great bunch" of guys he could see coming into a bar and having a good time.

Next, Ace Young performed "We Will Rock You Gently" in baggy black leather pants while daintily carrying the mike stand.

Then, Kellie Mae Pickler, in a tight black biker-chick outfit that, we have it on the best of authority (a 15-year-old male), made her look like a 40-year-old, was able to perform a sort of "Bohemian Rhapsody Lite" after it was explained to her what "Bohemian" meant, and "rhapsody."

The judges, having over the past three weeks suffered through 21st Century Song Night, Country Night and two Queen performances, were reduced to telling Kellie Mae how good a job it was, considering it was she who was performing. What the heck kind of standard is that?

More specifically, Simon Cowell, the only judge worth listening to, told her "on paper it should have been completely hideous but . . . "

"Huh? On paper?" Kellie Mae interrupted, batting her big tarantulas.

"He has the weirdest terminology!" she stage-whispered to show host Ryan Seacrest -- the only person, by the way, who did not seem completely horrified by the unholy mating of Queen and "Idol."

Next, rocker Chris Daughtry -- it shoulda been his night -- picked a Queen song the group never performed live and then showed why that was a sound decision on Queen's part.

"They don't perform that song live because it's not a very good song," Simon said, stating the obvious.

Katharine "Got No Rhythm" McPhee did her impression of Karen Carpenter singing "Who Wants to Live Forever" while glued to one spot on the stage, explaining to viewers beforehand that she had planned to sing some other Queen song but switched to this one at the last minute (it had been Mandisa's choice, only Mandisa got booted last week) because it was "was not so much about running around the stage."

Judge Randy Jackson called it "a little Broadway."

Elliott Yamin once again turned in the best performance and once again was overlooked by the judges. This time, he sang the ambitious "Somebody to Love," which Randy and Simon agreed was by far the toughest Queen song picked by any Idolette. Then they dismissed him, as they always do.

Taylor Hicks tried ineptly to kick over the mike while singing "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." We are so over Taylor. So's Simon, who asked him if he was drunk.

And, wrapping things up, Paris Bennett sang "The Show Must Go On," dressed as an underage dominatrix/usher at a screening of "Rocky Horror Picture Show," including tight black pants, black bustier, black lace fingerless gloves, hair extensions and white-tipped fingernails.

"I'm finding it all a little weird," Simon said. Amen to that.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101662_pf.html

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:14 AM

The TV Column
The Week’s Winners and Losers

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, April 12, 2006

CBS, having discovered the perfect antidote to "American Idol," continues to draw the most viewers for the fourth week in a row.

Here's a look at the week's yummy and yucky:

WINNERS

"House." Last week's most-watched scripted series among young adult viewers gave a Fox scripted hour first place in the 18-49 demographic for the first time since an "Ally McBeal" episode did so six years ago. The doc-on-drugs drama logged its best ratings ever, nearly 23 million viewers, hanging on to nearly 80 percent of its "Idol" lead-in.

"NCIS"/"The Unit." CBS's old and new military dramas hung on to top-10 status despite scheduling opposite Fox ratings giants "Idol" and "House."

Bob Schieffer[/FONT][/COLOR] continues to win evening news viewers for CBS. Last week he drew about 700,000 more than the same week last year, while NBC's newscast lost half a million viewers and ABC's fumbled nearly 1 million. Schieffer came in just 800,000 viewers shy of ABC's evening newscast and trailed NBC by about 1.4 million. The ratings success of the affable, laid-back Schieffer is not lost on the brain trust at CBS, who last week announced their intention to replace him -- with Katie Couric.

"Deal or No Deal." Last week's two-hour chicks-and-briefcases special delivered nearly 18 million viewers -- NBC's largest audience for series programming in its Monday time slot in more than nine years. NBC went on to beat CBS in total viewers that night -- the first time in People Meter history that a competing network has outperformed CBS in prime time on the night of the NCAA basketball championship.

"The Ultimate Fighter." Third-season debut of this whaling competition, featuring Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock and Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, clocked 2.4 million viewers Thursday at 10. It was Spike TV's most-watched debut ever for an original series, and nearly a million viewers were men 18 to 34 years old -- the Holy Grail of television advertising.

LOSERS

"The OC." The numbers on Fox's teen angst drama are now so bad -- last Thursday falling to about 5 million, its smallest crowd ever for a regular original episode -- Mischa Barton has become positively sick about the show's so-over status and the impact it might have on her lack of talent.

"Pepper Dennis." So hard to launch a sitcom when the network's already been canceled. Despite an aggressive off-network launch campaign, Rebecca Romijn's new sitcom was a bust, attracting just 2.5 million viewers to the soon-to-be-defunct WB on Tuesday.

NCAA Basketball Championship. Monday's blowout between Florida and UCLA hung on to just 17.5 million viewers, the franchise's second smallest audience since 1992. Florida's 75-57 win was also the franchise's largest margin of victory since '92.

"Heist." Say goodbye to NBC's new series tonight; industry pundits are all forecasting this episode will be its last.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101662_pf.html

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:20 AM

The 2006-2007 TV Season
The pilots

A Complete survey of network pilot orders for the 2006-07 television season
By Andrew Wallenstein The Hollywood Reporter Published April 12, 2006

If the 2006-07 primetime schedule is a puzzle, consider the pilots as the missing pieces.

Nearly 100 comedies and dramas are in contention next month for a dwindling number of time slots on five networks (bye-bye, WB Network and UPN; hello, CW).

But as broadcast execs begin scrutinizing tapes of each project, here's something to keep in mind: Pilots don't get series orders on creative merit alone. A complex web of factors dictate their desirability, and none of them is more important than the scheduling needs of each network for the fall and beyond.

Perhaps the biggest question mark hovering over the 2006-07 schedule is whether ABC will break up its Sunday lineup to help patch potholes on other nights. The network is said to be weighing moving either "Desperate Housewives" or "Grey's Anatomy," which could very well leave the most desirable piece of primetime real estate for a pilot in the Sunday 10 p.m. slot.

"We have three big shows on Sunday, so there will be pressure to spread the wealth," ABC executive vp entertainment Jeff Bader said, noting "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" at 8 p.m.

Because ABC's Sunday series presently have broad appeal, a distinct female skew and touches of comedy and soap opera, the network will likely tap a series with those same qualities.

There are more than a few options, including Warner Bros. Television's "Men in Trees," with Anne Heche playing a psychologist looking for love in Alaska; Touchstone Television's "Brothers & Sisters," a family drama with Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths, or Sony Pictures Television's "Women in Law," a workplace dramedy with Regina King and Kelli Williams.

The failure of comedy pair "Jake in Progress" and "Emily's Reasons Why Not" leaves a vacuum at 9 p.m. Monday. With the pressure on to measure up to the absent "Monday Night Football" and ABC's strong female skew on the night with "Wife Swap" at 8 p.m. and "The Bachelor" at 10 p.m., "Housewives" or "Anatomy" could end up there as well. That would leave room for another launch spot at 10 p.m. because "Bachelor" isn't likely to run more than one cycle per season.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday are other nights where ABC might seek to shore up crumbling comedy lineups with new product. Leading the list of likely candidates for an open slot is "In Case of Emergency," a Touchstone project that already has a six-episode commitment.

Fox will come into the fall largely at the mercy of its postseason baseball coverage, which weighed down its fourth-quarter ratings. All the network can do is repeat the strategy it employed in 2005-06: establish its entertainment programs as early in the season as it can and use baseball as a promotional base for male-friendly fare.

That strategy helped first-year standouts "Prison Break" and "Bones," which gives the network more strength to build around. "We plan to stick with our fourth-quarter strategy again this year, but now we have a bigger stable of shows," said Preston Beckman, executive vp strategic program planning at Fox.

That likely will mean new dramas come in as companions for established hours Monday-Wednesday. 20th Century Fox TV probably had the sexual tension between the protagonists in "Bones" in mind when developing "Primary," which features romantically entangled hostage negotiators; the serialized suspense of "Vanished" seems in the mold of "Break."

"Because we have 'Break,' 'House' and 'Bones,' we have clear targets for our dramas," Beckman said. "Our development was informed by those shows."

A bigger challenge awaits on Thursday and Friday, when Fox will lose some of the few remaining programs it has in "That '70s Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle," which end their runs this season. With Fox struggling on an important night like Thursday, the network might have to make a big move, maybe with its most anticipated comedy pilot: "Raymond" co-star Brad Garrett in Sony's " 'Til Death." If Fox doesn't get a foothold on Thursday in the fall, the long-rumored switch of "American Idol" just might be in the offing.

"Idol" has been a midseason boon to Fox, but CBS also has made some fortuitous gains in 2006 that will help come fall. Early indications are that new additions "The Unit" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine" have the ratings power to stay on the schedule next season, which means CBS may need few pilots to bolster its stable schedule.

"It's been a nice shot in the arm," Kelly Kahl, senior executive vp programming operations, said of the eye network's midseason successes. "As we continue to build this wall, it's (potentially) two more pieces."

But the wall could require some work. On Monday, a slot could open up in CBS' healthy comedy lineup if the network doesn't come to terms with Sony on a ninth season of 8 p.m. entry "The King of Queens." That would likely mean "How I Met Your Mother" would move back 30 minutes to provide lead-in support for a new comedy.

The eye also might try again to reload the genre into the difficult Wednesday 8-9 p.m. berth, where "Out of Practice" and "Courting Alex" tanked late in the season. "We'd like to see comedy viable somewhere else on the schedule" besides Monday, Kahl noted.

The surest bet to join CBS next season on the comedy front is WBTV's "The Class," which got a 13-episode order last year. CBS likely will also go in-house for another comedy or two, perhaps "Play Nice" from "Everybody Loves Raymond" executive producer Phil Rosenthal.

CBS is as solid as they come on the drama front, but there are gaps that could see new hours installed Tuesday at 10 p.m. or Friday at 9 p.m. The perennial speculation that CBS will scrap its two-hour Sunday movie persists as well, which could leave room to launch a pair of dramas on the back of "Cold Case." It's an audacious gambit, but with NBC out of the drama business in the fourth quarter because of football, there might be no better time to try.

The big question for CBS drama is whether it can resist piling yet another procedural drama onto a schedule teeming with successes in that genre. The network has a few to choose from including a project from "CSI" executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. There also are some hours with high-profile names attached, including James Woods in Imagine Entertainment's "Shark," Ray Liotta in WBTV's "Smith" and John Leguizamo in CBS Paramount Network TV's "Edison."

Trailing its competitors in the ratings, NBC may be the most in need of new blood but will likely make the fewest additions come fall. It already has committed to two new dramas for next season, "The Black Donnellys" and "Kidnapped," and a third, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," is virtually assured a spot on the schedule.

"There's a very good chance all three can be used in the fall, but one could be reserved for midseason," said Mitch Metcalf, executive vp program planning and scheduling at NBC.

The midseason emergence of "Deal or No Deal" was a godsend for NBC, which was weak at 8 p.m. every night of the week. The game show likely will be pressed into anchor duty on at least two nights -- Monday and Friday are good bets -- but Metcalfe could see a pilot stepping in on Tuesday or Wednesday at 8 p.m.

"We're going to rely on new scripted development in combination with reality at 8," Metcalfe said.

That means a broad-appeal project like "Heroes," NBC Universal TV Studio's take on superheroes, could get the nod. That likely won't mean stacking comedies from 8-9 p.m.; don't be surprised to see NBC take all its viable comedies -- "The Office," "My Name Is Earl" and, to some extent, "Scrubs" -- and use their collective strength to block out Thursday from 8-10 p.m., leaving room for just one comedy to join them. Perhaps NBC Uni/Sony's "Community Service," with Jay Mohr as a big-city jerk seeking redemption in a small town, may be in keeping with the tone of "Earl."

NBC will get some breathing room when the NFL kicks off a new Sunday night game on its air. It also will be a good promotional base for male-skewing programming to launch when the season ends, the most obvious candidate being the football-themed NBC Uni/Imagine TV drama "Friday Night Lights."

"When we launch Sunday in January, we will launch midseason product not just for Sunday but for other nights of the week," Metcalfe said.

That leaves the CW, whose schedule will take shape in the combined form of the best assets drawn from the WB and UPN. That will likely leave just one or two projects to be drafted from a field of just seven pilot orders. Strong consideration has to go to WBTV's untitled Aquaman project that could be just the companion it needs to keep its momentum going on Thursdays.

And if the CW keeps its urban-skewing comedies together, don't count out "The Game," CBS Paramount TV/Grammnet Prods.' "Girlfriends" spinoff.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002315613

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:40 AM

The Business of Television
TiVo and DIRECTV Agree to Extend Relationship for Three Years
(TiVo Press Release)
Wednesday April 12, 8:00 am ET

Agreement Guarantees Quality Service for Existing DIRECTV TiVo Subscribers;
Also Addresses Intellectual Property

ALVISO, Calif., April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO - News), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), and DIRECTV, Inc. (NYSE: DTV - News), the nation's leading digital television service provider, today announced a three-year extension to the TiVo-DIRECTV commercial agreement.

Existing DIRECTV TiVo subscribers will be able to continue to receive the award-winning TiVo® service, with TiVo providing ongoing maintenance and support. In addition, TiVo and DIRECTV agree not to assert patent rights against the other. The agreement also extends the advertising relationship between the two companies.

DIRECTV will continue to service existing DIRECTV receivers with TiVo service. While specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the recurring monthly economics of the agreement are similar to the economics for DIRECTV receivers with TiVo service activated since 2003.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with DIRECTV that will allow us to continue to provide our service to the more than 2 million DIRECTV TiVo households," said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers. "As the pioneer in the DVR market, we have created a service that is highly valued by consumers because of our technology, the wide range of our unique features and the unparalleled ease of our user experience. This agreement reflects TiVo's popularity among DIRECTV subscribers and importantly respects the value of our intellectual property as well."

"By extending our agreement with TiVo, we are ensuring quality support for DIRECTV customers who already own a DIRECTV TiVo unit," said Romulo Pontual, DIRECTV's chief technology officer. "We are pleased to cooperate with TiVo in a way that will best serve DIRECTV and our DIRECTV TiVo customers."

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060412/sfw019.html?.v=44

CPanther95

04-12-06, 10:43 AM

If only they'd include Tivo firmware updates as part of the agreement. But I doubt D* wants to allow a widening of the already wide gap in functionality between the Tivos and D* DVRs. :(

fredfa

04-12-06, 10:52 AM

The Cable Ratings
Steam heating: HBO’s 'Big Love' looks lasting

By Abigail Azote MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 12, 2006, 01:10

Pressure has been on for HBO to come up with its next big hit, as old ones like “Sex and the City” and “Six Feet Under,” and soon “Sopranos,” end their runs.

The network has tried, with often disastrous results, as with Lisa Kudrow’s quickly canceled “The Comeback,” or simply disappointing results, as with “Carnivale,” which was canceled after two seasons.

But in the meantime the network appears to have set its mind to mastering the craft of developing series that will prove solid performers with the network’s core viewers, relying on elements that have worked for HBO in the past.
Enter “Big Love,” the new series about the ever-so-complicated lives of polygamist Bill Henrickson, played by Bill Paxton, and his three wives. If "Sopranos" is a super hit, “Six Feet Under” was a solid performer, and certainly the model for "Big," as a drama about an unusual family.

Last week the show averaged a 2.7 household rating, up 23 percent from the previous week and down just a tenth of a point from its premiere average. The show is averaging a 2.5 through five episodes, 47 percent more than what “Under” averaged when it concluded its final season last year.

“Big" is far from a breakout hit, routinely losing about half of lead-in “Sopranos’” audience. And in a highly competitive Sunday 10 p.m. timeslot, it slumps against original episodes of the ABC hit “Grey’s Anatomy.” Last week it faced a repeat.

Yet it could very well prove to have the staying power of “Under,” which lasted five seasons, with the endless twists and turns one comes to expect from an HBO series. It also has some shady undertones in the tradition of the “Sopranos.”

“The soup starts out cold, but give it a chance to warm up,” says the Philadelphia Inquirer. “‘Big Love’ is big and lovely enough to keep Sundays on HBO bubbling on for a few years.”

Residing in suburban Salt Lake City, Bill and his clan are just like any other dysfunctional family, only multiplied three times over.

First wife Barb, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, wants a life outside of the home. Second wife Nicki, played by Chloe Sevigny, has secretly racked up some $60,000 in credit card debt. And third wife Margene, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, struggles to assert her position as more than just the babysitter.

Work is equally complicated for Henrickson, who is being squeezed for more payback by the Prophet, head of the cult/clan to which he used to belong, for money he borrowed to start his growing chain of Home Depot-type stores. The Prophet, played by Harry Dean Stanton, also happens to be a father-in-law.

All the while the family has to keep their unique arrangement a secret, even in Utah. The Mormon Church has outlawed the practice of polygamy since 1890.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_4062.asp

fredfa

04-12-06, 12:09 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Wednesday, April 12, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
National Ratings in Primetime

Week of April 3-9, 2006

CBS and Fox maintained leadership for the week of April 3, 2006, with the Eye net first in households, total viewers and adults 25-54, and the home of American Idol and House No. 1 among adults 18-49 and adults 18-34. Fox built by margins of 15 to 25 percent year-to-year, while CBS was close to comparable levels. Worth noting at Fox was House at a series-high 22.71 million viewers and a 9.3/23 among adults 18-49.

NBC found itself on the plus side thanks to two more editions of Deal or No Deal, tying ABC for No. 2 among adults 18-34, and finishing third elsewhere. Year-to-year, NBC increased by as much as 12 percent. ABC, which finished fourth in four of the five surveyed categories with losses of 6 to 12 percent, took a hit minus Desperate Housewives and an original episode of Grey’s Anatomy. UPN and the WB shared the No. 5 and 6 spots at levels close to one year earlier.

In new time period news, CBS’ The Amazing Race got respectable sampling Wednesday at 8 p.m. with the highest rating in the time period among adults 18-34 (2.4/ 8), adults 18-49 (3.1/ 9) and adults 25-54 (3.8/10) with regularly scheduled programming since Star Search on March 12, 2003. NBC’s Heist, which flipped time periods with Law & Order, sunk to a series-low 6.20 million viewers (#68) with a 1.8/ 4 among adults 18-49 (tied for #76) in the Wednesday 9 p.m. hour. Opposite a repeat of CBS’ CSI: NY, fading Law & Order perked up to 10.84 million viewers (#24) with a 3.5/ 9 among adults 18-49 (tied for #26) Wednesday at 10 p.m.

Also at NBC, Friday 8 p.m. musical special Tim McGraw: Reflected hit a sour note at 6.75 million viewers (#61) and a 1.7/ 6 among adults 18-49 (Tied for #81).

Elsewhere, the final game of the NCAA men’s basketball championship closed with 17.54 million viewers -- down 27 percent from last year’s North Carolina-Illinois match-up.

As a benchmark, meanwhile, for the recent midseason entries, what follows are the rankings in order of total viewers:

Deal or No Deal (NBC) – Mon. 8 p.m.
Viewers: 17.75 million (#5 overall)
A18-49: 5.9/15 (tied for #8)

The Unit (CBS) – Tues. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 15.44 million (#10)
A18-49: 4.3/11 (tied for #16)

Inan1mous (Fox) – Wed. 9:30 p.m.
Viewers: 14.01 million (#14)
A18-49: 6.2/15 (tied for #6)

Deal or No Deal (NBC) – Wed. 8 p.m.
Viewers: 14.00 million (#15)
A18-49: 4.3/13 (tied for #16)

American Inventor (ABC) – Thurs. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 9.22 million (#35)
A18-49: 3.7/ 9 (tied for #23)

The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) – Mon. 8:30 p.m.
Viewers: 8.28 million (#43)
A18-49: 2.6/ 8 (tied for #50)

The Evidence (ABC) – Wed. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 7.73 million (#53)
A18-49: 3.0/ 8 (#42)

Miracle Workers (ABC) – Mon. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 7.32 million (#56)
A18-49: 2.7/ 7 (tied for #47)

Conviction (NBC) – Fri. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 6.62 million (#63)
A18-49: 2.1/ 6 (tied for #66)

Heist (NBC) – Wed. 9 p.m. (time period premiere)
Viewers: 6.20 million (#68)
A18-49: 1.8/ 4 (tied for #76)

Teachers (NBC) – Tues. 9:30 p.m.
Viewers: 5.61 million (#73)
A18-49: 2.5/ 6 (tied for No. 53)

Free Ride (Fox) – Sun. 9:30 p.m.
Viewers: 4.74 million (#77)
A18-49: 2.4/ 6 (tied for #57)

The Loop (Fox) – Thurs. 8:30 p.m.
Viewers: 3.61 million (#93)
A18-49: 1.7/ 6 (tied for #81)

Sons & Daughters (ABC) – Tues. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 3.28 million (#97)
A18-49: 1.2/ 3 (tied for #99)

Sons & Daughters (ABC) – Tues. 9:30 p.m.
Viewers: 3.13 million (#100)
A18-49: 1.2/ 3 (tied for #99)

Pepper Dennis (WB) – Tues. 9 p.m. (premiere)
Viewers: 2.61 million (#106)
A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (tied for #113)

Modern Men (WB) – Fri. 9:30 p.m.
Viewers: 1.80 million (#112)
A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (tied for #113)

The Bedford Diaries (WB) – Wed. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 1.69 million (#115)
A18-49: 0.8/ 2 (tied for #111)

Survival of the Richest (WB) – Fri. 8 p.m.
Viewers: 1.63 million (#116)
A18-49: 0.7/ 2 (tied for #113)

Here are the final national ratings for the week of April 3-9, 2006 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago period in parentheses).

-Households:
CBS: 8.1/13 (no change)
Fox: 6.1/10 (+15)
NBC: 6.1/10 (+ 7)
ABC: 5.2/ 9 (-12)
WB: 2.0/ 3 (no change)
UPN: 1.9/ 3 (-10)

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 12.39 million (no change)
Fox: 9.92 (+18)
NBC: 9.32 (+12)
ABC: 8.08 (-10)
WB: 2.93 (no change)
UPN: 2.93 (- 4)

-Adults 18-49:
Fox: 4.2/12 (+20)
CBS: 3.6/10 (- 5)
NBC: 3.1/ 9 (+ 3)
ABC: 3.1/ 9 (- 6)
UPN and WB: 1.2/ 3 (no change each)

-Adults 25-54:
CBS: 4.6/12 (- 2)
Fox: 4.4/11 (+19)
NBC: 3.7/ 9 (+ 6)
ABC: 3.5/ 9 (-10)
WB: 1.2/ 3 (no change)
UPN: 1.1/ 3 (- 8)

-Adults 18-34:
Fox: 4.0/13 (+25)
NBC: 2.5/ 8 (no change)
ABC: 2.5/ 8 (- 7)
CBS: 2.4/ 8 (-14)
UPN: 1.4/ 4 (+17)
WB: 1.3/ 4 (+ 8)

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data

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

fredfa

04-12-06, 12:13 PM

Tuesday’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 first post in this thread.

fredfa

04-12-06, 12:32 PM

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Glory be for the 'Ten Commandments'

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 12, 2006

Thou shall not doubt the power of Moses to deliver stronger ratings.

Part two of ABC’s “Ten Commandments” miniseries averaged a 3.9 overnight rating among viewers 18-49 from 9 to 11 p.m. last night, down 15 percent from Monday night’s 4.6 for part one but a 77 percent improvement on what ABC had averaged in the timeslot over the last four weeks.

For the past month ABC had aired an hour of the dismally low-rated new comedy “Sons & Daughters” on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. and episodes of “Boston Legal” at 10 p.m.

Though part two’s rating was down from part one, that was not unexpected. It faced much tougher competition last night.

At 9 p.m. “Commandments” went head-to-head with Fox’s powerhouse medical drama “House,” which posted an 8.4 overnight rating among 18-49s. It also faced CBS’s “The Unit,” which delivered a 3.8. The miniseries’ top competition on Monday was Fox’s “24” with a 5.0 average.

“Commandments” grew in its second hour against lesser competition, a “CSI” rerun on CBS and NBC’s “Conviction,” jumping 11 percent from a 3.7 rating at 9 p.m. to a 4.1 at 10 p.m.

As usual, Fox led the night easily among 18-49s with a 10.0 average rating and a 27 share. CBS was a distant second at 3.3/9, ABC third at 3.2/8, NBC fourth at 2.2/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/4, WB sixth at 1.3/3 and UPN seventh at 0.9/2.

Fox started the night bettering the combined broadcast competition in the 8 p.m. hour with an 11.7 rating for “American Idol.” CBS was second with a 2.3 for a repeat of “NCIS.” The WB and ABC tied for third at 1.7, WB for “Gilmore Girls” and ABC for a “Charlie Brown” Easter special (1.8) and “Hope & Faith” (1.5), and NBC was fifth with a 1.4 for “Outrageous Moments.” Univision was sixth with a 1.3 for “Barrera de Amor” and UPN seventh with a 0.9 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”

At 9 p.m. Fox led again with its 8.4 for “House,” followed by a 3.8 for CBS for “The Unit” and ABC’s 3.7 for the first hour of “Commandments.” That left NBC fourth with a 2.6 for “Scrubs” (2.7) and “Teachers” (2.4), Univision fifth with a 2.0 for “Alborada,” WB sixth with a 0.9 for “Pepper Dennis” and UPN seventh with a 0.8 for “Veronica Mars.”

At 10 p.m., with Fox out of the picture, ABC led with its 4.1 for the second hour of “Commandments.” CBS was second that hour with a 3.9 for a repeat of “CSI,” NBC third with a 2.5 for “Conviction” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Ver para Creer.”

Fox also finished first for the night among households with a 14.9 average rating and a 23 share. CBS was second at 8.3/13, ABC third at 6.2/10, NBC fourth at 3.8/6, WB fifth at 2.2/3, Univision sixth at 2.0/3 and UPN seventh at 1.4/2.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_4065.asp

dturturro

04-12-06, 06:25 PM

I'm missing something here. When you add sports programming,it raises the costs up to where you are now with packages now.Why not just block the channels that offend you?

Because that would call for personal responsibility. We can't have that in a free society, EVERYTHING must be legislated! :rolleyes:

dturturro

04-12-06, 06:29 PM

If only they'd include Tivo firmware updates as part of the agreement. But I doubt D* wants to allow a widening of the already wide gap in functionality between the Tivos and D* DVRs. :(

I'll be the glass is half full guy and just be happy that I won't have to give up any of my DirecTiVo's for at least another 3 years :)

dline

04-12-06, 07:20 PM

The 2006-2007 TV Season
The pilots

A Complete survey of network pilot orders for the 2006-07 television season
By Andrew Wallenstein The Hollywood Reporter Published April 12, 2006
... The failure of comedy pair "Jake in Progress" and "Emily's Reasons Why Not" leaves a vacuum at 9 p.m. Monday. With the pressure on to measure up to the absent "Monday Night Football" and ABC's strong female skew on the night with "Wife Swap" at 8 p.m. and "The Bachelor" at 10 p.m., "Housewives" or "Anatomy" could end up there as well. That would leave room for another launch spot at 10 p.m. because "Bachelor" isn't likely to run more than one cycle per season ...
Interesting. Could be risky, though. I seem to remember what happened when they tried that with a little show called The Practice...

AFH

04-12-06, 07:54 PM

Interesting. Could be risky, though. I seem to remember what happened when they tried that with a little show called The Practice...

Yeah, I hear ya. Networks always get in trouble when they start moving shows around. It never fails. ABC also needs to remember that CSI Miami and on at 10pm on Mondays as well. ABC, do you really want to go there? ;)

fredfa

04-13-06, 01:09 AM

TV Notebook
As Networks Plan for the Fall, Many New Shows Teeter on the Brink

By Bill Carter The New York Times April 13, 2006

The prime-time lineups of network television shows are like any other species; they need new generations to come along constantly or they face extinction.

With just one month to go before the so-called upfronts, the announcements in New York to advertisers of their new schedules, which will include the ritual designation of which shows will survive, the network programmers are poring over the results for the new shows this season.

They will shortly decide which they can count on to keep regenerating their schedules, and which will die young.

Kelly Kahl, the chief scheduler for CBS, said he had a basic formula for how to determine whether a network had had a successful season in introducing new shows. "In my head I always think that to keep perpetuating the schedule you need two to three new shows to stick every season," Mr. Kahl said.

By that measure, every network can claim at least minimal success this season. Each of the five networks, including the new CW network, which will take shape in the fall combining the offerings of WB and UPN, is likely to bring at least two new series back from the current season. Some of those will be much easier calls to make than others.

Each network has its frail nestlings. As in every year, the shows still on the fence will have their fates decided by the quality of the new pilots that will be screened at each network over the next few weeks.

Interviews with several network executives generated widespread agreement on which were the most likely shows to return next season. Some of these have been decided because the networks have already ordered renewals on series like "Prison Break" on Fox, "Criminal Minds" on CBS and "My Name Is Earl" on NBC.

None of these new entries were quite the monster hit that ABC enjoyed the season before with "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," but all were safely in hit territory. ABC has again had the highest-rated of the new series introduced this season with its reality hit "Dancing With the Stars." That is certain to come back, though it is not guaranteed to be next fall.

Over all, the network with the widest success was CBS, which has enhanced its competitive position over a series of years through the steady introduction of solid, if not spectacular, new series. As Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of CBS put it, "We hit a lot of doubles."

CBS may be able to bring back five or even six new shows, a sterling performance in a business where failure remains a dominant outcome for new series. Beyond "Criminal Minds," CBS also has confirmed that it will return the drama "Ghost Whisperer," as well as the comedy "How I Met Your Mother."

CBS also seems highly likely to renew both the midseason drama "The Unit" and the Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy, "The New Adventures of Old Christine," which, if not quite up the level of the Red Sox in 2004, would represent a curse-busting moment of sorts: the first of the "Seinfeld" alumni to get a comedy past one season.

CBS could also choose to save at least one more drama, "Close to Home," a truly close call that would almost surely make it on another, less stocked network. Also on the fence are a couple of other comedies, "Out of Practice" and "Courting Alex."

The other network with the fewest concerns is Fox, which at 15 hours a week has fewer hours to fill than its other three major competitors, which all program 22 hours. "American Idol" is such a juggernaut these days — and Fox has added so many more hours of that series this season — that the network's programmers could whistle pass any graveyard of failed shows. But Fox has added a couple of useful new pieces, including "Prison Break" and another drama it has already renewed, "Bones."

Most of Fox's comedy efforts have tanked, but the network is pleased with "American Dad" on Sunday, which it ordered for a second season, and it also seems likely to bring back one fence-sitting sitcom, "The War at Home."

Preston Beckman, the chief scheduler for Fox, said the network will likely "emphasize stability" when it announces its plans next month. That might also bode well for one longer-running drama perceived to be teetering on the brink of cancellation: "The O.C."

For a network that has enjoyed more spectacular success over the past two seasons than any other, ABC is facing an unusual degree of uncertainty. A third drama introduced a year ago, "Grey's Anatomy," exploded this season into a monster hit, but the new scripted series ABC initiated included no instant successes.

ABC had great hopes for "Commander in Chief," which opened the season to hit-level ratings. But the show has fallen off almost every week since, has lost two executive producers and has been off the air for several months. It returns tonight, but if it doesn't come back with some promise, its chances of seeing another season will be marginal.

Beyond the "Dancing" series, ABC's only other significant new entry has been another reality series, "American Inventor." ABC may need a few more weeks to be certain that show is for real. Most of ABC's comedies have been all but vaporized by having to compete against "Idol," but one new addition, "Freddie," may have done enough to win a renewal.

ABC's potential problems are compounded by having to fill the hole being left by the departure of "Monday Night Football." That will necessitate adding two new hours of programs on Mondays in the fall. Looking for more of the kind of success it experienced two seasons ago, ABC ordered an unusual number of pilots for this development season, 34, as many as 10 more than any of its competitors.

NBC would still surely trade places with ABC, because it has none of the mega-hits ABC now owns; but NBC still may have fewer holes to fill in the fall because of the addition of N.F.L. football on Sunday night. That will not only take care of three hours of programming, it will also free up two dramas, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Crossing Jordan," to move elsewhere.

That will help because NBC did not replenish its diminishing store of hits with a long roster of replacements this season. "My Name Is Earl" was a gratifying hit, and became the most successful new comedy in several seasons. And NBC finally started to build some ratings for the much-admired "Office" in its second season.

But NBC's only true new hit this season has been the game show "Deal or No Deal." Unfortunately for NBC, the network has needed to run the show three times a week, which may be diluting its popularity. It will be back, of course.

None of NBC's other new entries offered much help to that struggling network. "Conviction," the new drama from Dick Wolf of "Law & Order" fame, may still have an outside chance to stay alive, but little else does.

That leaves the newly configured CW network, which will have an unusual number of existing shows to choose from, thanks to the combination of the two mini-networks. That may mean fewer opportunities for this year's new series, though one, the UPN comedy "Everybody Hates Chris," is almost surely coming back. The best prospect among the new crop at WB is the drama "Supernatural."

The one wild card in the planning for every network is the list of programs set to start up this summer. Reality hits have emerged almost every summer in the past six years, and the networks are fervently hoping to find one or two more — ones that could return during the regular season, perhaps bumping off a few of the frail survivors from this season.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/arts/television/13tube.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

harley1

04-13-06, 10:17 AM

WILL SHE BE IMPEACHED?
Thu Apr 13 2006 08:14:38 ET

ABC is preparing to dismiss the first female president of The United States -- after less than a year on the job!

While it is not clear if the country is ready for a woman to take the title of COMMANDER IN CHIEF, TV executives at ABC have all but decided to pull the plug on the breakthrough drama, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

MORE

"No one here will say publicly that it's over [for the show]," a well-placed insider said this week from Los Angeles. 'But it is over."

The program returns this evening after a long recess -- with the president's husband groping an intern!

THE IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE: LOW VIEWERSHIP

ABC suits will not renew COMMANDER unless audience levels can hold a 15 share, a source claims. The show crashed from a high of nearly 17 million viewers for its second episode to 10.4 million for its last, Jan. 24.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash2cc.htm

fredfa

04-13-06, 10:21 AM

DaypartsRatings Update
For CBS, its 'Late, Late' is better better

By Abigail Azote MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 13, 2006, 01:10

For CBS, “Late Late Show” has long been a work in progress, as they say, as several hosts cycled through, each trying but failing to clock gains in viewers against NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

CBS’s search could very well be over.

Almost exactly a year ago, Media Life reported on the promise of the “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” which scored what was then the show’s most-watched first quarter ever. Ferguson had just taken over as host that January.

A year later, Ferguson has improved on that performance. Season to date, “Late Late Show" is up 7 percent with 1.94 million total viewers, from last year’s 1.82 million. In comparison, “Late Night” is flat with 2.5 million viewers.

That puts the Ferguson show closer to “Late Night” in households, viewers and adults 25-54 than it's been in more than a decade, according to CBS. And that's been through a slew of hosts before landing Ferguson: Tom Snyder, Craig Kilborn, and guest hosts D.L. Hughley and Michael Ian Black.

For certain, “Late Late Show,” which airs at 12:35 a.m., is not likely to overtake “Late Night” any time soon, but its performance thus far suggests Ferguson is finding his own audience, which is key, rather than serving as a button-jump for the dull interludes on “Late Night.”

In sharp contrast to O’Brien's acerbic style, Ferguson, a former “Drew Carey Show” cast member, is the warm and fuzzy sort, his humor kinder, gentler and often self-deprecating. He's also credited with being an astute interviewer of actors.

“The beauty of his show is that the interviews he conducts with other members of that profession are quite different, and mostly much better, than the other three hosts, because he's one of them,” writes Greg Stepanich of the Palm Beach Post. "The result is interviews that are much more interesting than the usual I'm-here-for-a-plug thing.”

Ferguson is also getting lots of off-camera exposure these days for “Between the Bridge and the River,” his first novel, which was released this Monday. New York Magazine calls it a “messy but highly entertaining hodgepodge of coming-of-age story, Hollywood send-up, and Jungian spirit quest.”

Meanwhile, in other daypart ratings in the week ended April 2:

Among Sunday morning shows, NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” were both down 8 percent from the week before, while CBS’s “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday” were up 2 percent. “Press” led with 3.8 million viewers, followed by “Nation” with 3 million, “Week” with 2.4 million and “News” with 1.3 million.

NBC’s “Today” was the only morning show to dip, though by just 1 percent, to 6.1 million viewers. Both ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’s “Early Show” were about flat with 5.1 and 2.9 million viewers, respectively.

In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show” was up 4 percent with 5.5 million viewers, while CBS’s “Late Show” was down 5 percent, with 4.1 million. ABC’s “Nightline” and NBC’s “Late Night” were both up 4 percent from the previous week, with 3.5 and 2.4 million viewers, respectively.

After a bump the previous week that had NBC tying ABC among women 18-49 in daytime dramas and outperforming it in full day, NBC slid back to third place this week. It was down 21 percent to a 1.5 in daytime dramas and full day.

“Everybody Loves Raymond” was again the No.1 comedy in syndication, up 3 percent to a 6.3 household rating. The show conceded that spot to “Friends” the week before, which dropped back down to a 4.6 from a high of 6.6 fueled by a TBS marathon. Top game show “Wheel of Fortune” and top talk show “Oprah” were both down 6 percent, to a 9.0 and 6.2 rating, respectively.

For the week ended April 9, all evening newscasts again saw declines. “NBC Nightly News” averaged 8.4 million viewers, down 7 percent; “ABC World News Tonight” drew 7.8 million, down 3 percent; and “CBS Evening News” averaged 6.9 million, down 10 percent.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_4091.asp

fredfa

04-13-06, 10:27 AM

A Critical View:
Trouble awaits President Allen

By Hal Boedeker Orlando Sentinel Television Critic April 13, 2006

The presidency of Mackenzie Allen enters its most perilous phase tonight. Her stay in the White House depends on whether Commander in Chief can win new constituents.

It won't be easy, because ABC has slotted Commander in Chief at 10 p.m., opposite CBS' formidable Without a Trace and NBC's durable ER. Commander in Chief remains the most-watched new series from the fall, but ABC's confusing scheduling damaged the series. So did changes at the series' helm: Creator Rod Lurie was replaced by Steven Bochco, who has been supplanted by Dee Johnson.

Tonight's episode underscores another reason the series about the first female president (played by Geena Davis) lost momentum. The program arranges engrossing conflicts, then resolves them in pat, unbelievable ways.

First gentleman Rod (Kyle Secor) is photographed in an embarrassing situation with a female intern, humiliating the president as she prepares her State of the Union message. (The episode carries the clever title "State of the Unions.")

The couple's arguments worry their three children. The president's mother, Kate (Polly Bergen), tries to comfort her daughter. Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland), the speaker of the House, dismisses Rod as "the town drunk."

Templeton is the show's Wile E. Coyote, a colorful villain who's always falling short. Even so, he's more dynamic than the president, because Sutherland gives a colorful, exuberant performance. As the president, Davis is limited to being strong, principled and right. Portraying a stolid role model, Davis isn't allowed to display the sly humor she revealed in her Golden Globe acceptance speech.

Next week, the president's mom disappears from the White House. The president stands by her embattled attorney general nominee (Adam Arkin). Templeton conspires to cause the president more heartache because he wants to be president. More resolutions come quickly and easily.

"It's great to lose a battle. It teaches you how to win the war," a character says.

Commander in Chief is going to have a hard time winning the war for renewal. Its main ratings sin was becoming a favorite among older viewers, a no-no in advertising-driven broadcast television. Its downfall in storytelling is a simplistic approach: It's never as complex or as credible as NBC's The West Wing.

Commander in Chief seems to be arranging a second season that would focus on a presidential race between Allen, an independent, and Templeton, a Republican. But The West Wing told such a story in superb fashion this season.

Renewal for Commander in Chief seems unlikely because of ABC's shoddy treatment and the turnover in the top producers. But Sutherland supplies zesty moments, and maybe something good lies ahead for him. Would he be available for son Kiefer's 24 next season?

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/orl-commander06apr13,0,4896149,print.story?coll=orl-caltvtop

fredfa

04-13-06, 10:38 AM

The 2006-2007 Season:
ABC at the upfront: Lots of holes to fill

By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 13, 2006, 01:15

ABC has had the biggest ratings bumps and the most-buzzed-about shows the past two seasons, and so you might think that it is in the best shape heading into next month’s upfront.

That’s not the case. In fact, ABC may have more hours to fill than any other broadcast network, and it has more pilots in development, 34, than any other network.

There are three major problems ABC must address when it unveils its new schedule May 16. First, it must come up with a strong Monday strategy to take the place of “Monday Night Football,” which moves to ESPN. “MNF” was a top-20 staple, and ABC’s ratings will suffer without it.

Second, the network has to fix its comedies. Only one has averaged better than a 2.8 this season, the quickly yanked “Crumbs.” ABC has by far the weakest comedy lineup of any Big Four network, and just one of this year’s launches, “Freddie,” has a shot at a second season.

Finally, it must use hit shows “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” to better advantage. It did not launch a new hit show out of any of them this year, and they all rank in the top 10 among adults 18-49.

The network must make smart scheduling decisions to leverage these shows into a stronger overall schedule, instead of concentrating its strength on just two nights, Sunday and Wednesday.

"ABC, in a sense, has some of the same problems NBC faced when it was the No. 1 network—strong success in a few time periods masking problems on other nights,” says a report issued by Magna Global U.S. this week. “The network is relatively weak during two hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and without football, needs something solid on Monday.”

Season-to-date numbers

ABC is the only network that’s grown among adults 18-49 this season, up 8 percent from a 3.8 rating to a 4.1, but some of that can be attributed to the Super Bowl. It’s averaging a 3.3 among 18-34s, up 6 percent over last season’s 3.1, and a 4.7 among 25-54s, up 7 percent over last year’s 4.4.

Safely returning

“Desperate Housewives,” “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Boston Legal,” “20/20”

Though “Legal” ranks well behind “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” among adults 18-49 Tuesdays at 10 p.m., the margin is much smaller among households, and “Legal” does well with affluent viewers. Its multiple acting Emmy wins and critical cache don’t hurt, either.

“Grey’s,” the highest-rated drama on broadcast since its post-Super Bowl outing, is expected to move from Sundays after “Housewives” to Mondays, thus giving the network a Monday anchor and opening a spot for a new show to launch where it’s guaranteed an audience.

On the bubble

"Commander in Chief,” “Hope & Faith,” “According to Jim,” “George Lopez,” “Invasion”

Actually, no ABC comedy is guaranteed a safe return, but “Hope” looks to be the most endangered. “Lopez” will likely be back because it has the best ratings of the three, and “Jim” is a former timeslot winner that was shifted to earlier in the night, where it struggled.

But “Hope” flopped on two different days, Tuesdays and Fridays, and with nearly 20 comedy pilots in development, it’s likely a goner, as are “Less Than Perfect” and “Rodney.”

In development

MediaVest, in a report issued this week, estimates that ABC has only seven solid returning hours of programming out of 22 total. Some bubble shows will make it, but there’s the potential for four new dramas and perhaps five or six comedies.

“ABC will need a successful development slate for fall 2006 more than CBS, Fox or even CW,” MediaVest predicts.

Drama “Secrets of a Small Town” sounds a lot like “Housewives,” centering around a quirky local mystery. ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson has singled out drama “Brothers and Sisters,” with Calista Flockhart and “Six Feet Under’s” Rachel Griffiths. The network is also high on "Men in Trees" with Anne Heche.

As for comedies, “In Case of Emergency” with David Arquette already has a six-episode commitment. An untitled Patricia Heaton project looked promising until rumors surfaced that she was going to daytime. A project with Heather Locklear entitled “Women of a Certain Age” is also getting strong buzz, and the network has yet another Bonnie Hunt show in development.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_4092.asp

fredfa

04-13-06, 11:21 AM

TV Notebook
`Commander in Chief' struggles

Show back, but has tough time slot, plot problems
By R.D. Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal television writer Apr. 13, 2006

These are not good times for presidents.

In the real-life White House, President Bush is facing low approval ratings and ongoing public debates about his policies. On 24, the president is the major villain. On The West Wing, the end of Bartlet's presidency includes military action that will carry over into the next administration, and Bartlet's closest friend is dead.

Then there's Commander in Chief, which returns to ABC at 10 tonight. Trouble still swirls around Mackenzie Allen, the independent incumbent played by Geena Davis. More trouble still has been on view behind the cameras.

The show premiered last fall to mixed reviews but a large audience, and Davis won a Golden Globe for her performance. But the ratings began to slip and the show underwent a series of production changes.

Series creator Rod Lurie, reportedly having trouble meeting production deadlines, gave way to Steven Bochco. But Bochco did more than make the show run on time, trying to put his own stamp on the production. Ratings did not improve, and the series is reportedly on its third show-runner, Dee Johnson.

Then there was the long hiatus as ABC tried out other shows. And the network is bringing Commander back in a brutal time slot, with two successful shows as competition, CBS' Without a Trace and NBC's ER. (On the other hand, ABC hopes that reality show American Inventor will give Commander a reasonable lead-in audience.)

And that, finally, brings us to the show itself. Which is not very good.

I have seen two new episodes, the one airing tonight and the one airing next week, and they follow a pattern that should be familiar to returning viewers of the show.

Allen has a mess to deal with. Her enemies are many, with the most constant being the ambitious Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton, played with sleazy delight by Donald Sutherland. Things look bad. But, in the waning minutes of the show, Allen and her team figure out a way to win.

That may be reassuring to some viewers. And Commander in Chief traffics in reassuring fantasy, such as having Allen beholden to neither major political party and so able to beat the system. Tonight's episode plays with the downside of being independent, but not in a way that keeps it from a semi-happy ending.

This is a far cry from The West Wing at its best. Yes, that show also had an element of fantasy. But the Bartlet White House lost a lot of fights. And even when it won, the win came in a world that felt real, full of talk and crowded with complicated characters.

Commander in Chief almost dares comparisons to West Wing, with one upcoming scene even imitating the dialogue of the NBC series. But as messy as West Wing was willing to get, Commander in Chief lives in a small and overly tidy world that readers of political news may not recognize.

Take tonight's episode. Allen's husband, Rod Calloway (Kyle Secor), is caught up in a scandal when, stumbling outside a party, he appears to grope a young, female political intern. The media are all over the story, which takes attention away from major legislation Allen is pushing.

So far, you can see how it would make sense. And half the audience will probably nod when the scandal proves a set-up, and the villain is revealed.

But along the way, there are scenes that don't even feel right as drama. The intern, for instance, meets with Allen's chief of staff without bringing one of the lawyers we are told she has. And the villain of the piece, once revealed, can go and have a drink in a crowded bar without a reporter or news camera in sight.

Small things, maybe. But they represent a larger struggle to figure out what the show is, a struggle that still isn't over. Tonight, for example, includes yet another change in how Allen's husband fits into things -- even as viewers are deciding whether Commander should fit into their lives.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/14332087.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

fredfa

04-13-06, 11:28 AM

TV Notebook
'Chief' adversaries indeed!

By David Hinckley The New York Daily News Thursday, April 13th, 2006

You'd think the producers of a TV drama about politics would realize that perhaps their most important task is to create a villain with a heart of darkness.

Just like real-life Democrats, Republicans and talk hosts do.

Yet TV's two main political series, ABC's "Commander in Chief" and NBC's "The West Wing," keep making their bad guys go good.

Both shows have been featuring story lines about elections, which are politics at its most raw, yet they refuse to make anyone an incarnation of pure evil.

The situation on "Commander in Chief," which returns from hiatus tonight, is that Geena Davis' President MacKenzie Allen has decided to run for re-election as an independent.

On "The West Wing," Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) have just finished, or apparently finished, a season-long presidential election campaign.

True, winning the election on "The West Wing" is like winning a ticket to the unemployment line, since the show has been canceled, and "Commander in Chief" may not last long enough for MacKenzie to file petitions.

Still, you give it your best shot while the game is on, and you'd think TV, of all media, would understand bad guys.

What would "Dallas" have been without J.R. Ewing? Would "Desperate Housewives" have lasted 10 minutes if the ladies didn't have long claws?

Ironically, both "Commander" and "West Wing" have villains in the house. They just haven't maximized their potential.

Donald Sutherland's Nathan (Bloody Hell) Templeton on "Commander" personifies the smooth, smug, cynical old-boy politics that makes Allen seem like such a golden girl.

Yet the show keeps flirting with the idea he's got a good heart, which is touching but throws the show - now on its third set of writers - off-balance. If Templeton isn't the bad guy, who is? If not now, when?

"West Wing," which has always seen characters in shades of gray, put cynical characters on both campaign teams, and for a moment seemed to have a full-fledged cad: Vinick's campaign manager, Bruno Gianelli, played brilliantly by Ron Silver.

Bruno found some deep dirt on Santos, the kind that could tip an election. But Vinick decided it wouldn't be moral to use it.

Does anyone think that's how it would shake down in real life?

Does anyone think most real-life TV and radio talking heads would have moral reservations about headlining something that made "the other side" look bad?

In the real world, progressives speak of George W. Bush in terms ordinarily reserved for things found inside the shower drain. Conservatives blame Bill Clinton - five years out of the White House - for every problem this side of a cold latte.

So maybe what we've really got here is a case where TV doesn't want to imitate life.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/408297p-345622c.html

fredfa

04-13-06, 11:32 AM

TV Notebook
ABC's 'Commander' in grief

By Verne Gay Newsday Staff Writer April 13, 2006

No one ever called television an exact art, much less an art, but there is this widely held view that the hardest feat after creating a hit is killing one. A network's executives almost have to conspire to exterminate the thing - with baffling production moves, bizarre scheduling shifts or other willfully birdbrained schemes.

At least this would be the easy (or facile) way of explaining what's become of ABC's "Commander in Chief." Returning tonight after an 11-week break, "Commander" would appear as doomed as any show on the network's lineup. It goes up against an immovable cement block called "Without a Trace" - an average 19 million viewers - and a tired old cow called "ER" that nonetheless still keeps producing milk week after week. "Commander" has lost a creator, a top producer, a few writers and several million viewers, along with that initial halo of hype, goodwill, buzz and chattering class speculation that if America embraced Geena as POTUS, then why not Hillary?

"Commander's" problems have been widely reported, but 11 weeks is 11 weeks, so here's the Evelyn Wood overview: Bowing Sept. 27, "Commander" got 16.4 million viewers and 16.9 million the following week. The first drama hit of the season was prematurely crowned by the media even though inside ABC, the Maalox moments had already begun. The show's creator-producer, Rod Lurie, had fallen behind with scripts, and much worse, ABC discovered that most viewers were geriatric by TV standards (50-plus), which is to say "Commander" was advertiser-unfriendly. Lurie was soon replaced by Steven Bochco, who was, in turn, bugged by the network's constant meddling, and because no one bugs Steve, he was history before long. Viewers? All the way down to about 10 million by late January.

The show's future now belongs to Dee Johnson, who got her writing chops at "Melrose Place" and, later, at "ER" - a minor if insignificant irony. Asked about the turmoil, she conceded in a recent interview that "like all first-year shows, it was pretty chaotic, [but] there was an enormous amount of pressure on the show to begin with, and it's kind of a big show, too, in the sense that you're telling stories about the president. ... So when you get behind early at the production end of things, then you find yourself in a situation that rarely gets better. It only gets harder."

Johnson also cites a couple of other reasons that certainly added to "Commander's" burden: Fox's "House," which started banging away at it by November, then "American Idol," which supplied the coup de grace in January. Why so long to get back on the air? "As we ramp back up we wanted to get as much traction as we can to bring people back, and hopefully this new time slot will bring us some new viewers. And for the first time, we'll have a lead-in that'll help" ["American Inventor"].

Now, some additional perspective. First, the numbers: "House" (and later "Idol") did hurt, but "Commander" actually started shedding bodies long before "House" got on the air in November. "Commander's" Oct. 25 episode was off by 1 million viewers from the 16.9million high-water mark and would fall all the way to 12.6million by Nov. 15. Translation: Viewers had sampled and bailed.

Next, Bochco. He's not talking, but in a much-cited interview with Entertainment Weekly back in the relatively halcyon days of late winter, he said, "The show felt a little too broad. I wanted to create an environment of urgency. I want to show why this job really ages people."

Translation: Steve thought it was boring and Steve was right. Prime-time culture circa 2006 is effectively defined by "CSI," "24" and, to a lesser extent, "Lost." And "The West Wing" long ago established the standard of excellence that any political drama of the future would have to match or exceed. These are among the best commercial TV has to offer, and viewers - particularly trigger-happy younger ones - won't waste time with something that doesn't belong on the same playing field.

Can "Commander" survive? In tonight's, "State of the Unions," President Mackenzie Allen (Davis) is prepping for her State of the Union address while evildoer/Oval Office challenger Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland) is attempting to torpedo her much-cherished homeless bill. "First Gentleman" Rod Calloway (Kyle Secor) is snapped by newspaper photogs as he stumbles against a female Democratic operative, and if this isn't bad enough, a shipment of Stinger missile launchers is (presumably) stolen by terrorists.

Scandal! Intrigue! Terrorists! The future of the free world at stake! And yet ... "Commander In Chief" still feels slow, sappy, languid and forever trapped inside a Disney World version of Washington that is neither urgent nor believable.

Can this presidency be saved? Sure - fans are a forgiving lot, but not forever.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettel4699103apr13,0,2076746,print.column?coll=ny-television-headlines

fredfa

04-13-06, 12:26 PM

Wednesday’s network prime-time ratings are now at the top of RATINGS NEWS (the first post in this thread).

fredfa

04-13-06, 12:36 PM

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Fox's 'Unan1mous' losing its animus

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Apr 13, 2006

In Fox’s continual search for a lead-out that will hold more of “American Idol’s” sizable audience, it looked as though it had found a winner in the oddball reality game show “Unan1mous.” But after a strong premiere, the show has begun falling off noticeably.

“Unan1mous” last night posted a 5.4 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, down 23 percent from the 7.0 its premiere earned three weeks ago. It lost about 50 percent of “Idol’s” 10.7 lead-in audience at 9:30 p.m., even with a bit more help than usual from “Idol,” which didn’t end until 9:32 p.m. Overnights measure timeslot, not actual show, data.
Among total viewers the dropoff was even more pronounced. Fox averaged 26.4 million total viewers during that last half hour of “Idol,” but then slipped 54 percent to 12.2 million viewers for “Unam1mous.”

The show has a unique concept. Players’ task is to decide who will take home the cash grand prize. One contestant is eliminated each week, but the show won’t end until they’ve decided on a winner. In the meantime, the cash prize diminishes each week.
“Unan1mous” did finish No. 2 in its timeslot among viewers 18-49 and No. 3 among total viewers. But at this point it’s not doing much better than past post-“Idol” experiments like “Stacked” or “Wanda at Large.”

Elsewhere, NBC’s “Heist” showed exactly why the network has decided to remove it from the schedule. The final episode of the yanked show posted a 1.9 overnight rating among 18-49s and averaged just 5.5 million total viewers, both a distant fourth in the 9 p.m. timeslot.
On the strength of “Idol,” Fox took the night among 18-49s with a 6.3 average rating and a 17 share. ABC was second at 3.7/10, CBS third at 3.3/9, NBC fourth at 2.9/8, Univision fifth at 1.4/4, UPN sixth at 1.3/4 and WB seventh at 1.0/3.

At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 4.5 average rating for “The Loop” (2.1) and the first half hour of its special hour-long “Idol” results show (7.0). NBC was second with a 4.0 for “Deal or No Deal,” CBS third with a 2.5 for “The Amazing Race” and ABC a disappointing fourth with a 2.2 average for the season finales of “George Lopez” (2.3) and “Freddie” (2.1), both below their season averages.
UPN was fifth with a 2.0 for “America’s Next Top Model,” Univision sixth with a 1.2 for “Barrera de Amor” and WB seventh with a 1.1 for “One Tree Hill.”

Fox led again at 9 p.m. with an 8.1 average for the last half of “Idol” (10.7) and “Unan1mous” (5.4). ABC moved to second with a 6.0 for “Lost,” with CBS third with a 3.3 for “Criminal Minds” and NBC fourth for “Heist.” Univision was fifth that hour with a 1.8 for “Alborada,” with WB sixth with a 0.8 for “Bedford Diaries” and UPN seventh with a 0.7 for a repeat of “Veronica Mars.”

At 10 p.m. CBS took the lead with a 4.2 for “CSI: NY.” ABC was second with a 2.9 for “The Evidence,” NBC third with a 2.7 for a repeat of “Law & Order” and Univision fourth with a 1.1 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”

Fox also led the night among households, averaging a 9.2 rating and a 15 share. CBS was second at 7.3/12, ABC third at 6.1/10, NBC fourth at 6.0/10, UPN fifth at 2.3, Univision sixth at 1.9/3 and WB seventh at 1.5/2.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_4094.asp

fredfa

04-13-06, 05:05 PM

TV Notebook
Shotgun Eviction
SHOTGUN EVICTION

By Michael Starr The New York Post April 13, 2006

ABC will likely rejigger its Sunday-night lineup next season - moving "Grey's Anatomy" or "Desperate Housewives" to a different night.

The move would free up some valuable real estate for one of three incoming shows ABC holds in high regard.

It would also give ABC a jolt elsewhere on its schedule, since both "Housewives" and "Grey's" average over 20 million viewers a week as two of TV's hottest shows.

A Sunday re-shuffling is likely, considering the network is high on three pilots - "Men in Trees" (starring Anne Heche), "Brothers & Sisters" and "Women in Law" - that it envisions airing on Sunday, ABC entertainment exec Jeff Bader told The Hollywood Reporter.

"We have three big shows on Sunday, so there will be pressure to spread the wealth," Bader said.

(The third "big" show is "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which is a dark-horse candidate to move nights.)

The most probable night for a "Grey's" or "Housewives" infusion would be Monday, since ABC no longer has "Monday Night Football" to prop up its prime-time schedule through the fall.

"I can't imagine ABC would move 'Housewives' because it's anchoring Sunday nights and is already working at 9 p.m., so why move it?" says industry analyst Marc Berman of Mediaweek.

"They could move 'Grey's Anatomy' to Mondays at 9 since they don't have football there anymore and they need to build that night ... and set up a long-term schedule."

Berman says Monday makes the most sense for an infusion of "Grey's" or "Housewives" - but there are other nights on ABC's schedule that could accommodate either show.

"There's a hole on Tuesdays at 9, but Thursday would be dead-in-the-water for them," he says. "Friday is not in good shape, and they wouldn't waste those shows on Saturday."

And, he says, moving either show wouldn't necessarily guarantee they could replicate their Sunday-night success.

"Even if one of these shows moved to Monday, they wouldn't get the numbers they do on Sunday."

http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/66930.htm

fredfa

04-13-06, 05:26 PM

The Business of TV
Winter Olympics, Prime-Time Lineup Drag Down Q1 Profit for NBCU

By Jay Sherman TVWeek.com April 13, 2006

NBC Universal saw its segment profit fall 8 percent in the first quarter as persistent ratings weakness in NBC's prime-time lineup, along with red ink generated by the network's airing of the Winter Olympics in February, weighed heavily on the media giant.

NBCU, which is a unit of conglomerate General Electric, produced a first-quarter profit of $654 million, down from $709 million a year ago. Revenue surged 24 percent to $4.5 billion, fueled in large part by robust Olympics advertising sales and strength at NBCU's cable and film businesses. The results were released Thursday as part of GE's overall financial results for the quarter, in which GE posted a 9 percent gain in profit of $4.3 billion on a 10 percent jump in revenue to $37.8 billion.

GE officials maintained the results met their guidance for the first quarter, with the profit decline coming in weaker than initial estimates of a 10 percent drop.

However, the results continued to illustrate that woes at NBC remain a drag on NBCU's overall performance. Though prime time, television stations and television production account for 25 percent of NBCU's overall segment profit, its combined profit sank 25 percent in the quarter.

That compared with the rest of the NBCU's businesses, which posted a 22 percent increase in profit, thanks to increases in subscriber fees at its cable networks, improved prime-time ratings at news channels CNBC and MSNBC and robust DVD sales of the film "King Kong."

NBCU's airing of the Winter Olympics proved to be a money loser for the media giant, generating red ink of around $70 million in the first quarter even as $684 million in revenue was booked from the Games. However, CE officials said they expected the broadcast of the Olympics to be profitable by the end of the year, once NBC collects nonrefundable contributions from NBC affiliates.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said during the company's first-quarter earnings conference call that NBCU's Olympics results were in line with expectations and were due in part to Torino being what he described as "a tough venue" that offered few opportunities for other GE businesses to participate.

That won't be the case with the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which Mr. Immelt described as the "Big Magilla," that could generate up to $1 billion in revenue for the entire company.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9773

fredfa

04-13-06, 07:15 PM

The Business of TV
Fox, affils sync up

Net agrees to share non-linear revenue
By Michael Schneider Variety.com

Fox has sealed a new deal with its affiliates that will finally allow it to enter the iPod age.

The six-year pact -- an extension of affils' previous agreement to contribute to Fox's costly NFL rights package -- dramatically increases the amount of programming the net can repurpose on the air and distribute over new media platforms, such as the Internet.

Stations will share in any revenue Fox receives from posting programming on "non-linear" media, like iPods or on-demand.

Moving forward, Fox this year will be able to repurpose 60% of its primetime programming on "non-linear" platforms, followed by 80% next year and a full 100% in year three of the deal. Affils will receive 12.5% of the revenue from any program that runs on a non-linear platform after its primetime broadcast run, and 25% of revenue from shows that hit the non-linear world before airing on the network.

Deal was hammered out by Jon Hookstratten, Fox's exec VP of network distribution, as well as Peter Levinsohn, president of digital media for the Fox Entertainment Group. Fox affiliate board leader Brian Brady, as well as Fox TV Network president Ed Wilson and Fox Networks Group prexy/CEO Tony Vinciquerra, also took part in drafting the arrangement.

"We now have complete flexibility to repurpose content broadcast on the network in a way that takes advantage of all of our new media opportunities," Levinsohn said. "The beauty of this deal is that we have created a structure with affiliates that makes them our partner. It's a symbiotic relationship between network affiliates and content companies to maximize value."

Fox had previously only been experimenting with non-linear repurposing in markets where it owned its stations.

The deal is the first between a network and affiliate body to extensively hammer out parameters on allowing programming to be distributed on alternative platforms such as the iPod or on-demand. Some specifics of the deal -- such as whether programming will show up on individual stations' websites -- still need to be ironed out.

As for more traditional TV repurposing, Fox will now be able to repurpose six hours a week of programming elsewhere on the dial (including sib cable nets like FX) - and shows will now be available for rebroadcast the day after its run on Fox. (Until now, Fox could only repurpose four hours of programming per week - and not until a week after air.) Fox will also now be able to run marathons of its shows (such as "Prison Break") on other channels up to six times a year.

Fox affils have helped contribute to Fox's pricy NFL deal for several years by buying back a set number (between 90 and 105) of 30-second spots a week. That's unchanged under the pact extension, although Brady said the stations still hope to renegotiate that buyback program.

fredfa

04-13-06, 08:35 PM

The Business of TV
TiVo Wins Patent Suit Against EchoStar

By Nick Wingfield and Andy Pasztor The Wall Street Journal April 14, 2006

TiVo Inc. won a closely-watched patent battle with EchoStar Communications Corp., in a case likely to shape competition in the market for digital video recorders.

A jury awarded TiVo of Alviso, Calif., $73 million after brief deliberations Thursday afternoon following closing arguments in a federal court in Marshall, Tex. The jury found that EchoStar willfully infringed TiVo's patent, which means the judge in the case could order up to triple the jury award in the case.

TiVo shares jumped almost 24% in after-hours trading on the news. The stock traded at 4 p.m. at $8.05, up seven cents, on Nasdaq, before the announcement. It subsequently jumped to $9.98, according to Inet ATS Inc.

TiVo's victory could give the Silicon Valley company badly needed leverage as it faces an onslaught of competitors from the cable and satellite industries. DVRs, as the popular devices are often called, help consumers record TV shows. Though TiVo helped create the category, EchoStar has also heavily marketed DVRs to its Dish Network satellite customers and is now the top provider of the technology, by some analysts' estimates.

TiVo said it intends to seek a permanent injunction preventing EchoStar from shipping its DVR products. In an interview, TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said the verdict puts TiVo in a better position as it seeks to expand its distribution alliances.

"This will send a very clear message in terms of the importance of our intellectual property," Mr. Rogers said.

Although the ruling is likely to be followed by appeals that could drag on for years, the favorable outcome for TiVo in the case could have profound implications for the Alviso, Calif., company. TiVo is facing blistering competition from much larger rivals with already-established relationships with tens of millions of television subscribers.

A win, among other things, could strengthen TiVo's financial footing. TiVo would also be in a better position to negotiate business deals with cable companies and equipment suppliers that make competing DVRs.

• Note: Wall Street Journal subscribers can read the entire story here:
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB114496605331025525.html

Marcus Carr

04-14-06, 09:14 AM

Are Digital TVs Being Returned Because Some People Don't Understand High Definition?

Martin O'Donnell recently visited Costco Warehouse #1 in Seattle, where he saw the following sign:

All Digital TVs at Costco are displaying High Definition content. In order to view the same picture quality at home, you must upgrade to HD programming.

Martin added, "It goes on to explain how a standard definition signal displayed on an HDTV may be 'disappointing'. I'm guessing that the number of returns by 'disappointed' consumers has hit a fairly high level."

This story may have more legs than readers of Operation Gadget realize. According to an article on HomeTechNews.com, a recent survey of HDTV owners commissioned by Scientific Atlanta indicated that 49 percent of HDTV owners aren't taking advantage of the HD features of their sets. This means that they don't receive HD programming because they lack "an HD set-top box, a CableCARD, and/or an {over-the-air HD} antenna".

The article goes on to point out:

"... 28% of HDTV owners reported that they did not get any special equipment from their service provider to watch HDTV channels because the picture quality was already improved with the purchase of an HDTV."

"23% of HDTV owners did not invest in special equipment to watch HDTV channels because a message at the beginning of the programs they watch tells them that those programs are being broadcast in HD."

"... 18% reported that they believed the HD television would give them high-definition channels without additional equipment."

If a relative or friend who isn't technically-oriented suddenly announces that he or she is buying an HDTV set, try to assess their understanding of the technology and equipment and service requirements. If they don't seem to know what they need to know in order to take best advantage of the technology, consider recommending a how to book such as HDTV for Dummies or The Home Electronics Survival Guide.

http://www.operationgadget.com/2006/04/are_digital_tvs_being_returned.html

HDTV-NUT

04-14-06, 09:21 AM

fredfa

04-14-06, 10:24 AM

As sad as the story is, it actually indicates people are a lot more educated about HDTV than they were a few years ago.
And thank God Costco actually posts such a sign. There have been numerous stories over the years of people being told just to take their HDTV or HD monitor home and enjoy the HD pictures.
Surveys a couple of years ago showed close to half of buyers simply used their new HD sets to watch DVDs...and were -- for the most part -- very happy.
So if we are now down to just one of four or one of five blissfully unaware of how to receive HD pictures, that is a major improvement.

fredfa

04-14-06, 10:29 AM

The TV Column
Comedy Central Again Steals 'South Park' Thunder

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, April 14, 2006; C01

Comedy Central has gone all cautious and timid again, this time banning an image of Muhammad from an episode of its irreverent cartoon series "South Park," citing "recent world events."

Just last month, the cable network pulled a rerun of an episode in which creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker took on Scientology, citing "events of earlier this week."

The most recent cave-ola occurred during this week's denouement of a two-part episode called "Cartoon Wars." In it, Stone and Parker addressed the violence that erupted over cartoons featuring images of Muhammad that first appeared in a Danish newspaper. Representations of the prophet are banned by most schools of Islamic thought.

Weeks ago, when they were mulling the episode on this subject, Cowardly Central told Parker and Stone they could not run an image of Muhammad on the network.

Ironically, about five years ago, "South Park" did just that. That episode was called "The Super Best Friends" and in it Jesus and his Super Best Friends -- including Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Laotzu and Moses -- took on the church of Blaintology, founded by David Blaine, the street magician who is a sweeps special staple of ABC.

Of course that episode ran before the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks in Manhattan and Virginia.

In Wednesday telecast of the two-parter, South Park moppet Kyle tries to persuade a Fox broadcast network executive to air, uncensored, an episode of its animated series "Family Guy" featuring an image of Muhammad.("Family Guy" was, you need to know, standing in for Parker and Stone's own show to make the point.)

Meanwhile, South Park's residents have gathered to figure out how to save themselves from the wrath of radical Muslims in the wake of the "Family Guy" broadcast.

When a pundit suggests they all bury their heads in the sand so the extremists will know they were not watching the episode, one citizen dares speak out:

Freedom of speech is at stake here, don't you all see? If anything, we should all make cartoons of Muhammad and show the terrorists and the extremists that we are all united in the belief that every person has a right to say what they want.

Look, people, it's been really easy for us to stand up for free speech lately. For the past few decades, we haven't had to risk anything to defend it. One of those times is right now. And if we aren't willing to risk what we have now, then we just believe in free speech, but won't defend it.

The Fox suit decides to stand up for free speech and show the episode. But at the point at which "South Park" viewers should have seen Muhammad handing a football helmet to one of the toons of "Family Guy," the screen went black and on that was the message:

"Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Muhammad on their network."

Yesterday the network said in a prepared statement when called by The TV Column, "In light of recent world events we feel we made the right decision." A Comedy Central spokesman declined to elaborate.

In Wednesday's "South Park," after the "Family Guy" episode airs, al-Qaeda responds with its own cartoon. It involves the president of the United States, the American flag, Jesus and pooping.

In an interview with the Associated Press, William Donohue of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights -- who totally didn't get the point -- went after Parker and Stone over the Jesus bit, but not Comedy Central.

"Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus," he said.

Stone and Parker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It's the second time in recent weeks that Comedy Central has lost its nerve over this show.

Last month, the network yanked a rerun of an episode that poked fun at Scientology and its most prominent celebrity member, Tom Cruise.

Several days before it was scheduled to air, Isaac Hayes asked to be let out of his contract providing the voice of Chef on the edgy animated series, because he had just noticed that the cartoon series about four precocious potty-mouthed fourth graders in South Park, Colo., makes fun of religious groups.

Stone and Parker fired back in interviews, saying the surprise resignation of Hayes, who had voiced Chef since 1997, had 100 percent to do with Hayes being a Scientologist and the upcoming episode rerun.

A couple of days later, when viewers tuned in to see "Trapped in the Closet," it wasn't there.

Comedy Central said the next day it had decided to pull the episode because "in light of the events of earlier this week, we wanted to give Chef an appropriate tribute by airing two episodes he is most known for."

This, naturally, led to rampant speculation that the episode had been pulled, and Hayes had resigned, because someone speaking for Tom Cruise had let Viacom -- which owns both Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures -- know he was unhappy the episode was about to be rerun. Cruise at the time was out promoting Paramount's upcoming expensive flick "Mission: Impossible III."

That wasn't the first time Comedy Central got squeamish over an episode of "South Park" that addressed religion. Last year the basic cable network yanked the rerun of an episode called "Bloody Mary," featuring a menstruating Virgin Mary statue, when Donohue's faction objected.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041302212_pf.html

CPanther95

04-14-06, 10:32 AM

23% is significant enough that they need to consider something like:

You are watching the new
Standard in TV - High
Definition Television
on CBS

HDTV is now available with DD 5.1 sound
in most areas.

where only HD viewers can see the portion of the text I've marked as green.

fredfa

04-14-06, 10:32 AM

The Business of TV
TiVo Wins EchoStar Patent Suit

The victory could give it leverage as it seeks licensing deals with cable TV operators
By Dawn C. Chmielewski Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 14, 2006

TiVo Inc. on Thursday won a pivotal patent infringement lawsuit that might allow it to pause and rewind the marketplace the way its pioneering digital video recorders do with live TV.

A federal jury in Texas awarded TiVo $73.9 million after finding that satellite dish provider EchoStar Communications Inc. infringed its patents in a case described as "life or death" for the money-losing video recorder company.

TiVo lawyers said they would seek an injunction barring EchoStar, which owns the Dish Network, from selling digital video recorders. That could help TiVo tamp down competition as it tries to build market share.

Although TiVo is virtually synonymous with the increasingly popular digital video recorders, the company's machines have been overshadowed by those offered by cable and satellite providers. Analysts said TiVo's court victory could give it leverage as it seeks licensing agreements with cable operators that offer set-top boxes with built-in recorders.

"If you're going to defend your patents and try to license it, this kind of win certainly makes those negotiations easier," said Larry Gerbrandt, senior vice president and general manager of Nielsen Analytics, which specializes in emerging media technology.

The verdict sent TiVo's shares up 22% to $9.80 in after-hours trading, after falling 7 cents to $8.05 in regular trading. EchoStar's shares closed up 12 cents at $29.97 during regular trading. They were little changed in late trading.

EchoStar issued a statement calling the verdict a "first step in a very long process" and expressing confidence that the verdict would be overturned on appeal or through a continuing U.S. Patent Office review of TiVo's technology.

"We believe the patent, as interpreted in this case, is overly broad given the technology in existence when TiVo filed its patent," the company said in a statement. "We believe the decision will be reversed."

Only about 12% of U.S. households have digital video recorders, Gerbrandt said. But he expects that number to gr