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TV Notebook
CBS to Stream Shows Before Premiere
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 9/13/2006
In yet another digital promotion, CBS will stream the premieres of three series on Google Video before they air on TV. New series Smith and The Class, and the sophomore show The New Adventures of Old Christine will be available for free streaming for four days starting today.
The three series are all produced by Warner Bros., which yesterday announced digital distribution plans for show shows NBC and ABC. Under those deals the networks, rather than Warner Bros, will keep the money from streaming shows, while Warner Bros. will take the money from paid downloading.
CBS is also promoting its new shows through a TiVo partnership in which four new shows - including The Class and Smith - will be available to TiVo subscribers for a couple of weeks before they air on TV. CBS was one of the earliest networks to offer programming on Google Video. Others, like ABC, have so far opted not to partner with the service.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6371634
RussTC3
09-13-06, 02:17 PM
Just a few thanks to make for a few people in this thread.
Whenever I finish up on some of the shows I've been watching, I'm going to watch what I have not see of "Thief" (is the dvd out yet?) and I will try to get into "The Wire". I have never seen that show but I've been hearing such good things about it this season I'm going to have to check it out now.
How is it this is the first year I've really heard anything about it in the press? I knew of the show, but I didn't know it was considered such a strong and powerful series.
So thank you, I now have two more good shows to check out. :)
archiguy
09-13-06, 02:19 PM
Have you checked Netflix? Local rental stores should have it as well.
Thanks Jim; it does sound like my kind of show. Don't know why I missed it up to now. I'm not a Netflix guy, and renting a TV series at the local video emporium, where you have to rent so many disks to get all of the series, usually ends up costing as much or more than buying the box set. But that may not be true with HBO series since they cost so much. I'll check it out....
The New Season
Second Looks:
''Studio 60,'' ''Ugly Betty,'' ''The Class,'' ''Jericho,'' ''House,'' ''Nip/Tuck''
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog Sept. 13, 2006
As I have said more than once, reviewing a new TV show can be tricky because you're seeing a single episode -- and not necessarily a representative episode -- to gauge how a show might be over 22 telecasts. Networks have come to realize that over time, so they'll send out additional episodes to give you a better feel for the show. ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' sent out something like six before its debut, and ''The Wire'' ultimately sent out its entire fourth season before that began recently. So the mail lately has included second telecasts of some shows, and here's where I stand on them now.
''The Class.'' Didn't like the pilot for this sitcom, in which third-grade classmates reconnect in adulthood. Didn't like the second episode, either, at least for the 14 minutes I could bear to watch. It pulled one laugh -- well, it was partly a surprised snort out of me, but this still is not anywhere near my must-see list. I don't even think it's on my I'll-watch-one-more list, even though CBS sent out a third episode as well.
''Jericho.'' The pilot made my list of shows worth a second look, and now I'm ready for a third. The post-apocalyptic story (with overtones of 9/11) can feel kind of bleak, but it at least tries to be more or less fair with the theme. The second episode, for example, has the townspeople preparing for a wave of radiation expected after a nuclear explosion. Some of the preparations look silly, and there's a melodramatic subplot that requires one character to act really stupidly at first. But the pace and tension are pretty well maintained, and I'll be back for a third show.
''Studio 60.'' I had a lot of reservations about Aaron Sorkin's pilot for this show about the making of a late-night variety series. And I have reservations about the second episode. (For one thing, even though you see it in fictional TV a lot, reporters do not as a rule applaud the people they're interrogating at a press conference.) That said, I know I'll be watching this for awhile. Matthew Perry, for one thing, is really good -- even better than in the pilot. D.L. Hughley, after not getting much to do in the pilot, has some moments in the second episode. There's a nice scene in the writers' room. And I was intrigued by the stories.
Still, I worry that people are going to think that this show is as factual about the TV business as Sorkin's ''West Wing'' was about politics. But ''The West Wing,'' as good as it was, remained a reassuring fantasy and this show, too, is mired in fantasies about the network game. Also, in the second episode, we see an actual sketch from the late-night show that's supposed to be great -- only it isn't.
At this point, I'm kind of where I was when arguing about the show with my colleague Alan Sepinwall. I see all these things that are wrong -- although Alan saw more things than I did -- and I still want to watch it again -- because it still contains the seeds of some great television.
''Ugly Betty,'' the comedic telenovela about a plain girl in the fashion world, had a really good tone in its pilot, albeit one that could be hard to match week after week. Fortunately, the second episode was as delightful as the first -- funny, sweet and offbeat enough to keep you guessing about how things might go. Still very much worth watching.
Fox's early-launch strategy for shows doesn't work with all viewers. I was talking to some folks earlier this week who were surprised to hear that ''Bones'' was already back, and the bride had some friends who thought ''House'' returned last night -- when it actually began new telecasts a week ago. But for those of you who have been watching ''House,'' how has it felt to have two weeks of a ''new'' Dr. House? I thought it was intriguing but was both pleased and disappointed that we're going back to the old ways. Pleased because I want to see the old House (and because I've been waiting for a planned storyline where he gets a real nemesis). Disappointed because the change was so sudden, making it all feel too much like a gimmick. Your thoughts?
Also, now that we've all seen two episodes of ''Nip/Tuck,'' I'm really interested in where that goes next. I have seen the third episode, but it still feels as if there's a lot to come, especially about Matt and Kimber and their approach to life. Anyone happy/excited/perturbed?
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
Thanks Jim; it does sound like my kind of show. Don't know why I missed it up to now. I'm not a Netflix guy, and renting a TV series at the local video emporium, where you have to rent so many disks to get all of the series, usually ends up costing as much or more than buying the box set. But that may not be true with HBO series since they cost so much. I'll check it out....
You might be surprised, my neighbor wanted to get caught up with "Prison Break" and she rented the entire first season from Blockbuster for about $20 for 7 days, it was 6 or 7 discs I believe, not really a bad deal. Personally, Blockbuster is not a place I patronize but you do what you have to do.
The New Season
NBC Streams All Its New Shows
New Ad-Supported Content Will Be Showcased on 'NBC 24/7' - NBC Universal's Video Player
NBC News Release September 13, 2006
BURBANK – September 13, 2006 -- NBC today announced plans to stream full episodes of its new Fall primetime shows on www.nbc.com for free.
The ad-supported model will allow viewers to watch episodes of their favorite NBC primetime shows on NBC 24/7, NBC Universal's video player which will re-launch on October 1st with a new enhanced high-resolution, large-format version.
Additionally, nbc.com will feature live premiere blogs from the creators, producers or cast members for every show on the air (complete list follows below). All new, returning, scripted or reality shows will host a live blog immediately after the premiere episode. Viewers will be encouraged to engage in a dialogue with the creator, producer or cast member about the episode as soon as the broadcast concludes.
The announcement was made by Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross-Network Strategy.
"When you launch a new season, it's important that you get the shows in front of as many eyeballs as possible," said Gaspin. "We've created a variety of new, engaging digital offerings to generate excitement and drive viewership to the network."
NBC.com will offer the following programming after the network broadcast:
The first four episodes of "30 Rock," the new comedy starring Tina Fey (who also created the series), Tracy Morgan and Alec Baldwin and the new comedy "Twenty Good Years," starring Emmy winner John Lithgow ("3rd Rock from the Sun") and Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development").
In addition, nbc.com will provide eight episodes of the new dramas "Kidnapped," starring Jeremy Sisto ("Six Feet Under"), Delroy Lindo ("The Cider House Rules"), Emmy winner Dana Delany ("China Beach") and Oscar winner Tim Hutton ("Ordinary People"); "Friday Night Lights," the new drama based on the theatrical film hit about high school Texas football starring Kyle Chandler ("King Kong"); "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the critically acclaimed new drama from Emmy-winning executive producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing"); and "Heroes," the controversial and fresh new drama about ordinary people who discover their have extraordinary powers, starring Milo Ventimiglia ("The Bedford Diaries").
New Live Premiere Blogs to Accompany Every Show on NBC
The live premiere blogs will feature the following creators, producers or cast members from each primetime show:
"Deal or No Deal" – September 18th – The Banker's Blog
"Studio 60" – September 18th – Aaron Sorkin, Creator and Executive Producer and Thomas Schlamme, Executive Producer and Director
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" – September 19th – Warren Leight, Executive Producer
"Law & Order: SVU" – September 19th – Neal Baer, Executive Producer
"The Biggest Loser" – Wednesday, September 20th – Bob Harper, Trainer
"Kidnapped" – September 20th – Jason Smilovic, Creator and Executive Producer
"My Name Is Earl" – September 21st – Greg Garcia, Creator and Executive Producer
"The Office" – September 21st – Greg Daniels, Executive Producer
"ER" – September 21st – John Wells, Creator and Executive Producer and David Zabel, Executive Producer
"Law & Order" – September 22nd – Dick Wolf, Creator and Executive Producer
"Heroes" – September 25th – Tim Kring, Creator and Executive Producer
"Friday Night Lights" – October 3rd – Peter Berg, Creator and Executive Producer
"30 Rock" – October 11th – Tina Fey, Creator and Executive Producer
"Twenty Good Years" – October 11th – Marsh McCall, Creator and Executive Producer
"Crossing Jordan" – October 20th – Robert Rovner, Executive Producer, Jon Cowan, Executive Producer and Kathy McCormick, Executive Producer
"Las Vegas" – October 20th – Gary Scott Thompson, Creator and Executive Producer
The New Season
ABC.com to Offer Seven Shows for Free Viewing
By Daisy Whitney TVWeek.com September 13, 2006
ABC will stream seven shows including "Ugly Betty" and "Lost" on ABC.com beginning Sept. 23, marking the network's widest distribution of its marquee shows online.
The network also will offer full-length, advertising-supported episodes of "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Six Degrees," "The Knights of Prosperity" and "The Nine." ABC.com ran a two-month trial of the service with two shows in May and June.
The broadcaster also said that it struck a deal for local affiliates to feature the ABC.com video player on their Web sites and to sell local ads. That allows stations to insert ads on the player, which may boost their revenue and smooth feathers ruffled when ABC last year bypassed affiliates to make its landmark deal to sell show episodes on Apple Computer's iTunes store.
The iTunes deal and the ABC.com trial in spring have helped put ABC at the forefront of networks putting TV shows on the Web. The ABC.com video player will be a permanent feature of the Web site. Its development indicates that the broadcaster wants to build up its own Web site to compete with online portals such as Google Inc. as a destination for Internet video.
The seven shows will be available on ABC.com the day after their broadcast premieres, with about four episodes from each show offered at any given time. In addition, ABC.com will include half-hour recaps of "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy."
The ABC.com streaming initiative has been well-regarded in the industry for its ease of use and was honored with an Interactive Television Emmy Award.
In May and June, the player served more than 5.7 million episodes, and ABC said research from Frank N. Magid Associates found that 87 percent of users were likely to recommend the site to others.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=10738
Just a few thanks to make for a few people in this thread.
Whenever I finish up on some of the shows I've been watching, I'm going to watch what I have not see of "Thief" (is the dvd out yet?) and I will try to get into "The Wire". I have never seen that show but I've been hearing such good things about it this season I'm going to have to check it out now.
How is it this is the first year I've really heard anything about it in the press? I knew of the show, but I didn't know it was considered such a strong and powerful series.
So thank you, I now have two more good shows to check out. :)
There's a number of reasons why "The Wire" has never made a big splash. First and foremost, it's just not that kind of show, there are no big stars, in fact, the biggest star of the show is the city of Baltimore itself and how it relates to urban areas all over the country. Another is that it isn't pretty and flashy like say a big network primetime show, and the subject matter is about things that most folks would rather ignore or not want to know about. It's intelligent, thought-provoking TV, something that is very rare nowadays.
(From Marc Berman’s Wednesday, September 13, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
National Ratings in Primetime:
Week of September 4, 2006
Ignited by the Miami/Pittsburgh NFL match-up on Thursday and the debut of Sunday Night Football (Indianapolis/New York Giants), NBC moved into the top spot for the week of Sept. 4 in households, total viewers and adults 25-54, building by as much as 75 percent over the year-ago week. Fox led among adults 18-49 (one-tenth of a rating point ahead of NBC) and adults 18-34, also posting growth from one year earlier of margins of 9 to 28 percent. ABC finished third in the five surveyed categories, with year-to-year losses of 9 to 16 percent, while CBS finished fourth, with similar erosion.
In season/series premiere news, the third season-premiere of Fox’s House roared out of the Tuesday gate, finishing second overall for the week in total viewers (19.65 million) and third among adults 18-49 (7.2/20) at 8 p.m. The debut of lead-out Standoff certainly benefited, with an initial sampling of 13.62 million viewers and a 4.7/12 among adults 18-49 -- both top 10 rankings.
Fox also had plenty to smile about on Sunday, with the season premieres of The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy and The War at Home all cracking the top 20 among adults 18-49. But the debuts of Thursday Fox comedies ‘Til Death and Happy Hour were thwarted by the competing football game on NBC. ‘Til Death with former Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett kicked-off with 8.82 million viewers (#24 overall) and a 3.1/10 among adults 18-49 (tied for No. 21) at 8 p.m., followed by Happy Hour at a not-so-happy 6.96 million viewers (#44) and a 2.4/ 7 among adults 18-49 (tied for #40). And that was without CBS’ upcoming Survivor: Cook Islands in the mix.
Results for other recently introduced series results on Fox are as follows:
Vanished (Monday 9 p.m.)
Viewers: 7.59 million (#39)
A18-49: 2.7/ 6 (tied for #33).
Justice (Wednesday 9 p.m.)
Viewers: 8.44 million (#29)
A18-49: 2.9/ 8 (tied for #25)
Elsewhere, NBC’s ongoing Behind the Camera made-for movie franchise reached a new low, with the Unauthorized Story of Diff’rent Strokes at just 3.90 million viewers (#79) and a 1.6/ 4 among adults 18-49 (tied for #69) on Monday from 8-10 p.m.
Here are the final national ratings for the week of September 4, 2006 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago period in parentheses). Due to low coverage percentages caused by the debut of MyNetworkTV, ratings for soon-to-depart UPN and the WB are no longer being reported.
Households:
NBC: 6.4 rating/11 share (+45)
Fox: 5.8/10 (+23)
ABC: 4.9/ 8 (- 9)
CBS: 4.8/ 8 (- 6)
Total Viewers:
NBC: 9.70 million (+55)
Fox: 9.34 (+28)
ABC: 7.46 (-10)
CBS: 7.12 (- 5)
Adults 18-49:
Fox: 3.6/10 (+16)
NBC: 3.5/10 (+75)
ABC: 2.6/ 8 (-16)
CBS: 2.4/ 7 (- 8)
Adults 25-54:
NBC: 4.0/10 (+67)
Fox: 3.8/10 (+23)
ABC: 3.0/ 8 (-14)
CBS: 2.9/ 8 (- 6)
Adults 18-34:
Fox: 3.5/12 (+ 9)
NBC: 2.9/10 (+93)
ABC: 2.2/ 7 (-15)
CBS: 1.7/ 6 (-11)
• Source: Nielsen Media Research data
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
Excellent info, thats pretty much what I was looking for. I knew of the premiere date but hadnt heard much about its past ratings and I was also looking to see if there was any buzz surrounding the show. Thanks again guys.
RussTC3
09-13-06, 03:11 PM
...begging again for an updated Fall program grid...
Xesdeeni
I went ahead and made a few changes. Here is what I changed:
Sunday
Put “Football Overuns” in at 7:00-7:30 and 7:30-8:00 timeslots (HD)
Corrected New Show status of “Everybody Hates Chris”
Corrected New Show status of “The War at Home”
Monday
Switched "The Class" and "How I Met Your Mother"
Added complete name to “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”
Tuesday
Switched around “House” and “Standoff”
Corrected the name of “Lets Rob…” to “Knights…Prosperity”
Added HD status to "Dancing with the Stars"
Wednesday
Added HD status to Dancing with the Stars" Results Show
Thursday
Removed “Big Day” and “Notes from…Underbelly” and replaced with ‘Ugly Betty” (name changed)
Replaced "The O.C." with "Celebrity Duets"
Friday
Replaced “Betty the Ugly” with “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
Replaced Trading Spouses with "Celebrity Duets - Results Show" (HD)
If there are any mistakes, or if the person who made the initial Excel file wants to redo it, they or someone else can.
Thanks again Russ. I appreciate the hard work.
The updated grid is now at the bottom of post # 2, which contains the network schedules.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4265637&&#post4265637
Excellent info, thats pretty much what I was looking for. I knew of the premiere date but hadnt heard much about its past ratings and I was also looking to see if there was any buzz surrounding the show. Thanks again guys.
Keep visiting us Gaiwan -- and welcome to the forum and the thread.
TV Notebook
The view from the 'Today' couch
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher”
The last two weeks have been the tale of two TV makeovers.
“The View” added Rosie O’Donnell to its couch last week, increasing the chaos level exponentially. The show also unveiled a garish new set that was designed to assault the retina, if not the tear ducts.
“Today,” on the other hand, added former “View” resident Meredith Vieira and her throaty chuckle to its morning lineup on Wednesday. She fit right in not only with co-anchor Matt Lauer, but with the show’s new, slightly space-age but soothing set.
NBC may be missing Katie Couric -- though maybe not, since Brian Williams’ “Nightly News” appears to be reasserting itself as the ratings leader after Couric’s CBS “Evening News” got a big first-week bump -- but no matter: Hiring Vieira was clearly a smart move.
Vieira seemed a little stiff reading the news headlines, something she’ll no doubt ease into more as time goes on, and her interview with “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert lacked Katie Couric’s deceptively nonchalant tenacity, but Vieira has genuine chemistry with Lauer, which is something that can’t be manufactured.
Speaking of chemistry, the new “View” lineup seems to be hurting for it. And adding one more host to the lineup, which the show plans to do later this year, seems to be courting disaster, since the present fractious group can be prone to shrieking all over each other.
With Vieira, "The View" was a pleasant if occasionally prickly girls-only kaffee klastch, but now it's the simply the Rosie show, though this week she's clearly making an effort to back out of the spotlight a bit. Still, Rosie doesn't appear made for second-banana status.
Things were decidedly more harmonious at "Today."
“I have not been more excited to come to work since the day after Bryant [Gumbel] announced he was leaving,” Lauer quipped in the show’s opening minutes. Later, Vieira and Lauer joked about a recent People shot of Lauer’s well-developed torso; in a short clip, President Bush was seen clutching the magazine picture, asking Lauer for an autograph before a recent interview with the “Today” host.
“He’s turned on by your abs,” Vieira joked.
The celebration of the new host included a live feed from her former grade school, and Williams stopped by to bring Vieira flowers and comment on the new set’s soothing, spa-like aura.
“I ordered the seaweed wrap and the hot stone massage,” he joked.
The pace of the broadcast was energetic and genial, even giddy at times. Much of the middle hour was taken up with “Today’s” wedding contest, which dragged a bit, and Lauer’s interview with a schoolteacher who slept with a 14-year old was spread out over two seemingly endless segments.
Still, Vieira and Lauer are an inspired pairing. They were even able to turn her flubs into jokes, the true sign of on-air chemistry. Early on, she messed up a line leading in to a commercial. “Redo! Redo!” Lauer yelped.
No need. The warm Vieira fit right in to “Today’s” mix of frothy celebrity updates, tabloid stories and bits and bites of actual news.
“Ultimately people to see me as just me, a normal person trying to get through the day just like they are,” she said in a biographical profile that aired in the first hour. Well, most “normal people” aren’t paid millions to sit on a couch and joke around between interviews and news headlines, but Vieira’s talent is that she pulls of her regular-gal persona with élan and charm.
http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/
TV Notebook
Pregnant pause in Fox pursuit of business channel?
By Phil Rosenthal Chicago Tribune Media Columnist September 13, 2006
When discussing the launch of a business news channel to take on CNBC, News Corp.'s Fox News Channel keeps saying "if."
And it keeps sounding like "when."
FNC on Tuesday named former CNBC correspondent Alexis Glick director of business news. That's a management position, but the announcement went out of its way to note that "in the event FNC secures the distribution necessary to launch a business channel, Glick would also serve in an on-air capacity."
Since Glick, as an on-camera presence, was for a time considered a contender to replace Katie Couric on NBC's "Today," this news, coming on the eve of Meredith Vieira's debut as Matt Lauer's NBC couch mate, leaves little doubt of Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes' game plan.
Glick, in the third trimester of a pregnancy, will work behind the scenes with Neil Cavuto, whose official title is vice president and managing editor of business, although he also appears on FNC and on Fox-owned stations, including WFLD-Ch. 32.
For now.
"I expect he and Alexis will work together to create an even stronger business unit and prepare for the launch of a possible business channel," Ailes, whose Fox News Channel turns 10 next month, said in a statement. "While we are not announcing the launch of such a channel, hiring Alexis enables us to be prepared if plans move forward."
Ailes told a group of critics this summer that he has a business plan for a Fox business channel, but it is predicated on getting adequate shelf space on cable systems and the like.
"And you have to negotiate that," he said. "Stay tuned. It probably won't happen this year. After that, it could happen, and we are in active negotiations on it."
In other words, once Glick gives birth, look for this baby to be next.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-0609130105sep13,0,6712284.column
Washington Notebook
Sen. Gordon Smith On Stuck Telecom Bill: Help!
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 9/13/2006
We need your help.
That was Oregon Republican Senator Gordon Smith's message to The Media Institute lunch crowd Wednesday on passage of a now-controversial communications reform bill in the Senate.
Commerce Committee member Smith said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was trying to help get the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to a floor vote (essentially to make it filibuster-proof), but said that likely won't happen, if at all, until a lame duck session after the November elections. "I expect to be here until Christmas Eve," he said.
Smith's specific topic was the broadcast flag content protection technology that is part of the omnibus--more omnibus than he would have liked--Senate bill. But his text was a general handicap of the bill's prospects, which have been dimmed over the issue network neutrality, and warning about what its defeat would mean.
If the bill doesn't pass, he said, the country will fall behind in broadband deployment to the tune of a trillion dollars and a million-plus jobs lost. "We need your help, we need 60 votes," he told the crowd of media executives.
Asked why the network neutrality supporters had been so successful in impeding the bill, given they had been outspent by the telcos on lobbying, Smith said he could only speculate, but pointed to the populist argument that the internet, that came to us "almost by accident" and had become available virtually for free. They don't want to change that."
"I'd love everything to be free too," he said, but argued that if the country is to get to the "next level" of broadband, and get it to more and more Americans, "you allow the marketplace to work. If you say right up front you can't charge this or you can't discriminate as to customers who bring volume, then you take a tremendous incentive away from investment."
The bill, in addition to protecting broadcast digital content via the flag, primarily eases video franchise regs to allow telcos to more easily get into the business and build out broadband. The flag is key, he argued, because it will pave the wave for content that will drive subscribers.
"All that goes in the trashcan," he said, if a bill doesn't pass. Calling network neutrality the Elephant in the Room--though given the partisan split on the issue, it is more like a Donkey--Smith said that it was a "mistake" to be talking about the issue because it could thwart all the good that could come out of the bill's passage.
Saying the network neutrality proponents had some good arguments--saying they frame it as an issue of consumer protection--he called the debate a "game of chicken."
Smith said one of the "grassroots complaints" he hears "all the time" is over cable bills, a reason he thought pressure would build for the bill, "hopefully some middle ground will be struck, and we can move this bill. but where it stands, it's stuck, and I wish it were otherwise."
Republicans have already threatened to make a campaign issue out of the bill's stalemate, pitching it as Democrats standing in the way of broadband deployment and price and service competition to cable.
If the bill ultimately fails, he said plan B was to separate out the broadcast flag part and try to pass it separately.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6371856
Cable Notebook
Starz to Help Comcast Boost HD VOD
MultiChannel News 9/13/2006
Comcast will offer 100 hours of HD fare via its Comcast On Demand video-on-demand service starting Friday, including at least 20 HD movies from Starz Entertainment Group, the two companies announced Wednesday.
The initiative will be highlighted by the debut of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Friday, more than one week before its scheduled air date on Starz HD.
The MSO will also offer a Starz Free Preview Friday-Sunday for all of the programmer’s services, including the Starz suite of premium channels, HD and newly launched Starz HD On Demand and Encore HD On Demand.
“Customers have clearly expressed their desire for more HD programming, and our fall HD VOD lineup will become the destination for HD movie fans," Comcast senior vice president and general manager of video services Page Thompson said in a prepared statement.
"The addition of Starz HD to Comcast's growing HD VOD library and early premieres like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are helping to transform the HD-viewing experience for our customers by giving them more programming on their schedules,” Thompson added.
http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6371861
VisionOn
09-13-06, 08:36 PM
The MSO will also offer a Starz Free Preview Friday-Sunday for all of the programmer’s services, including the Starz suite of premium channels, HD and newly launched Starz HD On Demand and Encore HD On Demand.
(looks sadly at Time Warner Cable HD channel lineup)
Sigh. :(
randosel
09-13-06, 09:21 PM
I'm going to watch what I have not see of "Thief" (is the dvd out yet?)
There has been no announcement of a DVD release of THIEF. But with an Emmy win.. who knows if that changed anything.
re THE WIRE. I initially watched it because of David's previous work on the NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street. I didn't really like THE WIRE initially. But as things progressed and the story started to develop, I could not stop watching it. Every episode takes it's time. A lot of the episodes does not necessarly have an "ending" like on many shows. Example, many shows need to have a cliffhanger or something resolved at the end of every single episode.
There has been no announcement of a DVD release of THIEF. But with an Emmy win.. who knows if that changed anything.
re THE WIRE. I initially watched it because of David's previous work on the NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street. I didn't really like THE WIRE initially. But as things progressed and the story started to develop, I could not stop watching it. Every episode takes it's time. A lot of the episodes does not necessarly have an "ending" like on many shows. Example, many shows need to have a cliffhanger or something resolved at the end of every single episode.
Yes, this is another reason why it's not very popular, it doesn't have that "canned" gratification at the end of the episode. It's more a visual novel.
DBS Notebook
EchoStar Seeking 120-Day DNS Cutoff Transition
By Ted Hearn MultiChannel News 9/13/2006
In a court filing late Tuesday, EchoStar Communications asked for at least 120 business days to comply if ordered by a federal judge to terminate Big Four network programming to more than 800,000 subscribers largely located in rural areas.
EchoStar is facing a sweeping injunction from a federal judge in south Florida that would bar it from selling ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox programming to a class of subscribers who qualify under federal law to purchase imported network signals because local affiliates can’t be viewed with off-air antennas.
News Corp. -- which controls DirecTV, EchoStar’s main rival -- is insisting that the scope of the injunction should include all four networks. But EchoStar claimed in the court filing that because 95% of network affiliates have settled, any injunction should be narrow, applying just to the delivery of Fox programming in the 25 markets where Fox owns TV stations.
EchoStar is in legal trouble after court rulings found that the direct-broadcast satellite company sold distant network signals to hundreds of thousands of ineligible customers. The sudden cutoff of popular network programming has some on Capitol Hill worried. Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is trying to pass legislation that would avoid a massive cutoff.
EchoStar told the court it would need at least four months to help consumers find alternative means of receiving network programming, including purchase of a local-TV-signal package in the 165 markets where that option is available.
The company added that another option for cutoff subscribers was an “off-air antenna,” but that seemed a strange rationale for extra time because the distant network option was created by Congress to serve viewers for whom off-air antennas were useless.
Lastly, EchoStar said that without a reasonable transition period, it feared that 10 company-owned-and-operated call centers would become “clogged,” upsetting existing and potential customers seeking personal service.
http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6371889
TV Notebook
Good Morning, Meredith
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog Sept. 13, 2006
Meredith Vieira started on the ''Today'' show this morning. Here's a preview of the bloggish column I wrote about her debut for tomorrow's Beacon Journal:
The best moment on Wednesday's Today show may have been NBC anchor Brian Williams making fun of the daytime program's new set. The ickiest was probably the interview with Debra Lafave, an apparently inarticulate and overly made-up woman famous for having sex with a 14-year-old boy when she was 23 and a teacher in his school.
Standing in between -- and sitting, and even dancing a smidge -- was Meredith Vieira, the newscaster more recently known as one of the co-hosts of ABC's The View. Wednesday was her first appearance as new co-host of Today, succeeding Katie Couric, who has gone to CBS to anchor its evening news.
Today has never been shy about playing up the personalities and private lives of its stars, and there was plenty of that in the first hour-and-a-half of the three-hour program, which was all I could stand to watch.
I maxed out when Willard Scott and Gene Shalit took Vieira in hand for a brief stroll while singing Follow the Yellow Brick Road. But even before that, I was reminding myself -- indeed, pleading with myself -- that most people don't watch an entire Today telecast, and I had probably seen everything I needed in the first half hour.
After all, this morning was about introducing Vieira to an audience that may not have watched The View, let alone her news work before that. So in the first half hour, people learned that:
-- Vieira thought that being with co-host Matt Lauer was ``like the first day of school and I'm sitting next to the cutest guy.''
-- Her family had given her a bracelet to mark the occasion.
-- She once had a hamster named Al. (This by way of greeting weatherman and former Clevelander Al Roker.)
-- She thinks NBC's Tim Russert is ``a genius.''
-- She laughs easily.
-- She's comfortable needling Lauer, bringing up his recent swimsuit photo in People magazine and the ribbing he got about it from President Bush.
-- She's very human, messing up her first introduction of a commercial break.
Not that it was all frivolity. Vieira interviewed Russert about the latest political controversy between the White House and the Democrats, to demonstrate early on that she can talk about hard-news issues.
Nor is she treated any differently from other elements of the show in terms of being the story instead of reporting it. Witness Lauer's People photo, or the tour of the show's new studio.
Still, she wasn't kidding much when she said the second half-hour was ``all about me.'' A prepared profile of her, covering her childhood, her career and her family life, ran about 6 1/2 minutes. Lauer's interview with Lafave, touted repeatedly during the newscast, wasn't as long.
Which gets to the basic lesson of Wednesday's show. Maybe you'll like Vieira. Maybe you won't. Either way, you'll see plenty of her. And I'll still prefer getting the morning's headlines from the Internet.
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
TV Notebook
Bob Woodruff Returning to ABC News
Note From Lee Woodruff
(From "The World Newser" at abcnews.com)
Below is an excerpt of an email that Lee Woodruff, Bob’s wife, sent today to friends and family.
Dear Friends and Family,
You haven’t heard much from us lately but that's a good thing. We spent the summer together doing a lot of healing and just being a family. And it felt great. I took a break from communicating to the world this summer and it was nice to step back.
Bob has continued his therapy from our house with a web cam. He also went back to NY for a few weeks and spent time at the ABC offices– he’s planning to be back at work more regularly in the fall.
It has been amazing to have him home for such a big chunk of time. We’ve realized how little he has really been at our summer home over the years. If we try to look for little gifts out of a horrible situation, one of them is the amount of time we've been able to spend all together after so many years of him being on the road. It makes me sad that summer is over.
I think if you haven't seen Bob, you would be amazed. His hair has grown in; he has been playing some killer tennis, driving the boat for the kids to tube, doing some Pilates with my sister and playing scrabble like a fiend. He looks and sounds so much more like himself each week.
The other big milestone of the summer…Bob celebrated his 45th birthday. He made it!!!!!
We remain blessed as a family. Lots of love.
Lee and Bob
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2006/09/note_from_lee_w.html
DBS Notebook
Don't Sink Our Subs, EchoStar Tells Court
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 9/13/2006
EchoStar has told a Florida district court that it should not have to pull the distant network signals of 800,000 subscribers because circumstance have changed dramatically since a court ordered it to, and consumers would be unduly and unfairly hurt by the move. Also, they say, competitor DirectTV would directly benefit from the move.
The Florida court had given the company until Sept. 12 to explain why the court should not immediately impose a permanent injunction against delivery of those signals as ordered by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Fox has argued that even though Echostar recently settled complaints over distant-signal delivery with 95% of the affected stations, the injunction should still apply.
EchoStar says that that Aug. 25, $100 million, settlement--with all but Fox affiliates--is a "substantial" change in circumstance since the injunction was ordered. It also says that in light of the settlement, a permanent injunction would be "unjust, particularly to consumers."
It would also vitiate the 100 million settlement," EchoStar pointed out.
Fox, which did not settle with Echostar, on Aug. 31 asked the court to issue the injunction.
The networks and station affiliate associations sued EchoStar back in 1998 for delivering distant networkTV signals to ineligible households.
While the $100 million covered 95% of the complaining stations, which included the affiliate associations of ABC, CBS, NBC, and even Fox, the Fox-owned stations did not settle, and Fox Broadcasting argues that the payout does not change the federal appeals court directive based on its finding that EchoStar repeatedly violated the act. Fox is owned by News Corp., which controls competing DBS service DirecTV.
Echostar Wednesday argued that Fox's refusal to join the $100 million settlement was so that DireTV could then grab the customers whose distant signals EchoStar was forced to yank.
Fox argued in its court filing Aug. 31 that the injunction was based on the Eleventh Circuit's finding of a "willful and repeated pattern of delivering copyrighted programs to ineligible households," and that "even the parties to the litigation themselves cannot alter this Court's obligation to comply with the injunction mandate."
Echostar counters that the changed circumstance empowers the Florida court not to impose the injunction.
Fox points to a harshly-worded opinion of the three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit back in May, in which it declared: "We have found no indication that EchoStar was ever interested in complying with laws regulating how satellite TV companies deliver broadcast stations to their customers."
The case is part of a long-running copyright dispute between broadcasters and satellite companies over homes located in the fringes of TV markets. TV stations want to reach every home in their areas. But subscribers in fringe areas often prefer their satellite companies to deliver stations from, say, New York City rather than Hartford, Conn.
According to law, EchoStar--and DirecTV--are permitted to deliver so-called "distant" network signals only to homes that cannot receive a sufficiently clear signal from their local affiliate of that network. But EchoStar’s method of determining which customers were eligible for the distant signals has been a bone of contention-- and litigation-- for years.
Broadcasters complained that EchoStar abuses the rules and violates the Satellite Home Viewer Act by regularly delivering out of market stations in competition to local stations in the market that carry the same network programming. The Eleventh Circuit court agreed.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6371879
TV Notebook
Vieira Comes Alive on 'Today'
The new co-host's serious and silly sides are a perfect replacement for Katie Couric.
By Matea Gold Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 14, 2006
NEW YORK -- Sitting behind a gleaming new white desk, scores of "Today" fans waving through the windows behind her, Meredith Vieira looked positively giddy Wednesday as she started her first day on the job.
The new co-anchor of NBC's top-rated morning show drummed her fingers on the desk and giggled nervously as Matt Lauer welcomed her "to our family and to our team."
"I feel like it's the first day of school and I'm sitting next to the cutest guy, you know?" she gushed, clasping his hands with hers.
Lauer said he has "not been so excited to come to work since the day after Bryant [Gumbel] announced he was leaving," referring to his predecessor.
The chumminess continued throughout the morning. Vieira high-fived news reader Ann Curry, teased weatherman Al Roker ("I'm particularly fond of you because I had a hamster named Al growing up") and received a bouquet of flowers from "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams.
Beyond the lovefest, Vieira's first appearance on "Today" was designed to showcase her self-deprecating, down-to-earth manner, a style producers think will be Vieira's biggest asset in replacing Katie Couric.
During a video montage of her life and career, which included an early clip of the then-novice reporter earnestly embracing a snowman, the 52-year-old admitted that she fell into her career.
Throughout the program, Vieira cracked jokes about her age — "I'm going to be the broad in broadcasting" — and admitted how nervous she was about her new gig.
"Ultimately, I want people to see me as just me: a normal person, trying to get through the day, just like they are," she said.
Though Vieira's arrival on "Today" has been largely overshadowed by Couric's move last week to "CBS Evening News," NBC has not shrunk from promoting its new anchor. Throughout the show, the picture cut away to shots of a plane flying a "Welcome Meredith" banner over the New York skyline.
Vieira's first day also coincided with the unveiling of the new "Today" set — an ultramodern, stylized room designed in a palette of whites. Behind the new cream-colored couch, a wall of incandescent glass cubes was cast in soft oranges and yellows. After presenting Vieira with her welcoming bouquet, Williams quipped that he was waiting for his seaweed wrap.
Wednesday's program wasn't all levity. Vieira — a longtime co-host of "The View" and a veteran of "60 Minutes" — did have a chance to show her news chops during a sit-down with "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert. She seemed at ease discussing the political implications of President Bush's Sept. 11 anniversary speech and the White House strategy for buttressing public support for Iraq.
But most of the program was devoted to the kind of celebratory antics for which "Today" is well-known. Producers surprised Vieira with a live feed from the Quaker girls school she attended in Providence, R.I., where the students and several of her friends had gathered to celebrate her first day.
And in a taped piece, Vieira spun jubilantly around in Rockefeller Plaza, flinging a red beret off her head à la Mary Tyler Moore.
The three-hour show concluded with a montage of the day's program, scenes of Vieira doubled over in laughter and ribbing her new co-workers, moments already gilded in nostalgia.
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-wk-vieira14sep14,0,5158904,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
The TV Column
Meredith and Matt Make Merry
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 14, 2006; C01
"Ifeel like it's the first day at school and I'm sitting next to the cutest guy!" Meredith Vieira gushes on her first day co-anchoring NBC's "Today" show, after nine years playing The Sane One on ABC's morning gal-gaggle "The View."
"I haven't been more excited to come to work since the day Bryant [Gumbel] announced he was leaving!" Matt Lauer replies, and you believe he really means it. If you close your eyes and try to imagine it's still 1991, it's almost as if Katie Couric never happened to the show.
Today it's all about Meredith, starting with carefully orchestrated, good-natured ribbing between the two hosts.
It's still 'Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira,' " Meredith says of their billing on the morning infotainment show.
"I don't think that's going to change," Matt says.
Is the joking over already?
Changing the subject slightly, Meredith assures him, "I'm going to be the 'broad' in broadcasting" for which, of course, there is no good response a guy can safely give, and Matt wisely doesn't go there.
Later, Meredith holds up a photo of Matt looking pretty cut in swim trunks at the beach, then producers show a clip of President Bush holding up the same magazine photo and asking Matt for his autograph.
"He's turned on by your abs!" Meredith teases.
Matt threatens to show viewers an old photo of Meredith from Esquire magazine. Peals of laughter.
"Today" is also debuting its new Hi-Def set this morning. "Hi-Def is dangerous," Meredith complains to Matt, who stretches back his crow's-feet with his hands.
Remind me again how this show is different from "The View" and Meredith has returned to "journalism"? Oh, that's right -- Ann Curry, a.k.a. Did Not Get the Job, reads the news for a few minutes every so often.
Curry reads. Fires in California, more dead in Middle East. One or two election results.
Enough downer news -- say hello to "Today" weatherman-and-so-much-more Al Roker, Meredith.
"I had a hamster named Al, growing up," Meredith says.
"He's dead."
"I'll go get my wheel," Roker quips.
She tells viewers she's a nervous wreck taking the co-anchor chair on "Today" -- understandable given that it's been No. 1 in morning ratings for a decade and has been television's most profitable show. She displays the lovely bracelet her husband and children got her to buck her up on her first day. But she appears confident and pretty relaxed -- as would anyone who'd wrangled Dopey, Goofy, Crazy and Babs for nine years on "The View" and lived to tell the story.
Still, though Meredith was a journalist once upon a time, even served as correspondent on CBS's venerable newsmag "60 Minutes," those years at "The View" do seem to call for a little rehab. So Meredith gets to do "Today's" first "serious" segment on this day, plugging NBC's Sunday Beltway show anchor Tim Russert.
Which, coincidentally, is exactly how CBS News handled Couric's first day on the "CBS Evening News" -- her first interview was with a journalist. Journalists interviewing journalists is usually pretty safe: You can bet your subject isn't going to try to nuke you -- unless you go with someone from, say, Fox News Channel, in which case you're just too dumb to live.
Anyway, Russert tells Meredith the Dems are asking for equal time after President Bush's Sept. 11 speech -- which was carried by all the networks -- and that events on the ground in Iraq over the next few weeks will have much more influence on voters in upcoming elections than any blah, blah, blah-ing by either party back in the United States.
Meredith calls him a "genius"; Russert simpers.
Enough downer news. Let's get back to . . . Meredith!
"Coming up this half-hour, aw shucks, it's all about me," she says.
"As they say at the dentist, this is not going to hurt a bit," Matt says. Then he plugs his upcoming exclusive interview with Debra LaFave -- the middle school teacher who made big news when she had sex with one of her 14-year-old students. NBC News has been teasing viewers for days with bits from this interview in hopes it will goose the numbers on Meredith's first day.
But first -- a bit about Meredith, who, turns out, drank lots of Tab in her youth, loved Paul McCartney, thought about becoming a Rockette, was nicknamed TuTu LaRue because she tap dances. As she gets older, Meredith falls into journalism, does local TV, moves to New York, does the Esquire photo shoot Matt alluded to sporting hair teased into a hornet's nest and a short skirt showing miles of legs. Gets grief -- gets gig on "60 Minutes."
"She's a great broadcaster -- loaded with sex appeal," "60 Minutes" creator/legend Don Hewitt says in a taped bit.
Meredith gets married, has baby. Big turnoff for Hewitt: "She said her baby is more important than my 'baby' -- that rankled me."
Cut to: Meredith reminiscing. "I thought, 'Why would I do daytime television?' " Husband tells her, "You're a newswoman who doesn't want to report."
That settles it; she does "The View" and later starts hosting ABC's syndicated version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
Segue to creepy slo-mo shot of Meredith, outdoors at Rockefeller Center, wearing huge red beret that she takes off and, ripping off the iconic opening sequence on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," tosses into the air as the "MTM" theme plays in the background.
"Poor Mary Tyler Moore, she's probably gagging now," Meredith jokes. She's probably right -- we definitely gagged a little bit.
One ad break later, Roker promises a spanking machine. Sadly, it never materializes.
Almost as good/naughty, we get Matt's interview with LaFave, who's sporting her long super-blond hair and bright red lipstick.
Matt wonders rhetorically why her tawdry story became national news. LaFave says she has no idea. Matt, undeterred, plows ahead: "I'll say it: Do you think it's because you're pretty?" he asks. Yes, she's a victim of prettiness. Matt forgets to add she's also a victim of blondness and whiteness.
"I think so -- and sex sells," LaFave says, looking pretty darned disgusted with "the media." Like they violated her or something. Oh wait, she's the one who had sex with a minor. So hard to keep the bad people straight on this story.
LaFave, incidentally, is under house arrest -- but a judge gave her a timeout so she could do the interview to help Meredith celebrate her first day on "Today."
Matt takes viewers through her close encounter with her student: first sex at her apartment; first sex at school. "Yeah, he wanted it. Yeah, I gave it to him," she tells Matt.
Want more? Sorry, gotta watch "Dateline," Matt tells viewers. Because it's back to Meredith, which is to say Brian Williams, anchor of NBC's evening newscast, who shows up with flowers.
What seems like an eternity is taken up with "Today's" wedding competition: Two couples who want to be married on national TV are told to decorate wedding cakes to express who they are. After they're done, Matt tries to get Meredith to smell one of the cakes.
She leans toward the cake and Curry, a.k.a. Did Not Get the Job, rushes forward and grabs Meredith and pulls her back, explaining that Matt was probably going to push her face into the cake. And all in all, this was extremely menschy given that she Did Not Get the Job. We like her better for it.
Then Meredith walks over and puts icing on Matt's nose.
"I can't believe you were going to smell that cake," Matt chides.
"At the end of the day, who looks stupid?" Meredith responds.
"You were going to push my whole face in the cake and you know it."
This is getting off to a really good start.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091300884_pf.html
Critic’s Notebook
This 'Survivor' may surprise
By Jonathan Storm Philadelphia Inquirer Television Critic Sep. 14, 2006
Survivor divides its tribes along ethnic and racial lines tonight. The world will continue to spin.
The series, which premieres in its 13th go-around at 8 PM ET/PT on CBS, has always been a fascinating social experiment and top-rated TV series, and everyone involved is too smart to mess up either characteristic by flaunting racial stereotypes.
But that hasn't stopped grandstanding politicians and activists from calling for the show's cancellation and the tar-and-feathering of executive producer Mark Burnett and host Jeff Probst.
"We're sensitive people, and we understand their concern," Probst said in a conference call with TV critics, "but they have absolutely no idea what they're condemning... . If people give it a chance, they're going to be surprised at the results."
I believe him. Even in its dullest incarnations, Survivor has been surprising. There's just no telling what people are going to do. "Look... at all the jackasses we've had on the show who were white," Probst said. "White people who can't swim, [who] make the same ridiculous social mistakes, [who] were bigots."
The unpredictable interactions, combined with stunning nature photography and the natural suspense of the game, makes Survivor one of the few reality shows worth watching.
The racial divide won't last long. Unlike in recent seasons, an advance copy of the first episode was not made available for review, so specifics remain unknown. But most likely, the four five-person teams will meld into two larger teams in the first few episodes, just as the age- and gender-segregated mini-teams did last season, when one member of each made it to the vaunted Final Four.
Shot this time in the Cook Islands (where executives could languish in one of the South Pacific's most comfy resorts while contestants starved in the wilderness a mile away), the show begins with four tribes of five: African American, Asian, Caucasian and Hispanic.
Contestants range from a guy who sells photocopiers to a policewoman whose cop father was murdered and who herself was seriously wounded by a gunman. There are two professional musicians: a heavy-metal guitarist who also wrestles under the name "Spanish Fly," and a man who has recorded with Ray Charles, Michael Jackson and Paul Anka. A third has made a hip-hop CD but now sells shoes. Many players are first-generation Americans, and there are immigrants from Vietnam, Peru, Mexico.
There's a large contingent of L.A.-based apiring showbizzers. For Survivor, the group is noticeably middle-aged. Fewer than half are in their 20s. Only two are under 25. Two have graduate degrees. They're both Asian.
Uh-oh.
Christopher J. Wright has written a book about the series, Tribal Warfare: Survivor and the Political Unconscious of Reality Television, analyzing how people from different economic classes perceive the show.
"At first, I was kind of appalled," he said when asked in a phone interview about the racial divide this time around. "I think it's mainly a publicity stunt to get ratings."
But Wright said he agreed with Probst that the active recruitment of minorities, left behind in the traditional casting approach that forced contestants to apply, was a watershed that could produce more diverse casts for the life of the series.
"It might have been more interesting if they were mixed together in two tribes at the beginning," he said. As numbers dwindled, "would the people of each race who are left stick with their tribe mates, or join together by race?"
He, too, said it was too early to criticize the ethnic split. "We're going to have to wait and watch and see how it turns out... . It's still going to be fascinating, like it always is. It's only a question of, 'Will it be a fascinating train wreck?' "
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//15512936.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
TV Notebook
It's fall, and the 800 lb. gorila is dozing
By Kevin Downey MediaLife Magazine Sep 14, 2006
For the longest time, Univision could seem to do no wrong. If it did, the Spanish-language network was so large it almost didn't matter.
Now it does matter.
Unvision is still the No. 1 Spanish-language network, and the nation's fifth-largest broadcaster, but as it enters the fall season it's showing a distinct lack of nimbleness with a primetime lineup that offering little in the way of new or innovative programming.
This comes at a time when its competitors, such as Telemundo, are on the rise. Telemundo has been especially aggressive in beefing up its programming, focusing on original content it produces in the U.S. or Mexico, including an upcoming version of parent NBC’s “Deal or No Deal.”
“They are probably being a bit complacent,” observes Teddy Hayes, vice president of media services at Los Angeles-based La Agencia de Orci, speaking of Univision.
Univision isn’t in immediate danger of falling from No. 1, but there's the real risk that if it doesn't move quickly to improve its programming, ratings could be in for a serious tumble.
They're already in decline. Univision’s 18-49 primetime audience for the period Sept. 19, 2005, through July was 1.85 million viewers, down 9 percent on a year-to-year basis. Its younger-skewing sister network, TeleFutura, was down 15 percent, to 318,000.
Meanwhile, Telemundo saw its audience grow 27 percent, to 649,000, while upstart Azteca America doubled its audience from a year ago, to 126,000 viewers.
And Telmundo is hardly Univision's only worry. A bigger one is the threat of the English-language networks, which are vying to win over bilingual Hispanics. One approach is with novelas, or soap operas, that have long been the staple of Hispanic TV, including the new MyNetworkTV’s two-hour daily block, which debuted on Tuesday.
The worry of losing such viewers to the English-language networks will only grow as more immigrants learn English.
Univision’s strategy this year, as it is most seasons, is to stick with what works, much like CBS among the English-language networks. But also like CBS many of its shows are beyond their prime.
Univision is relying on a daily primetime block of novelas produced and originally aired in Mexico or South America, imported to the U.S through long-term deals with with Mexico’s Televisa and Venezuela’s Venevision. These novelas include “La Fea Mas Bella,” the latest incarnation of Colombia’s “Betty La Fea,” which is the basis for ABC’s upcoming “Ugly Betty.”
As for this year, new novelas like “Duelo de Pasiones,” set on a Mexican coffee plantation, will be capped off with variety shows at 10 p.m., including “Don Francisco Presenta,” with the host of Univision’s long-running variety show, “Sabado Gigante.”
Univision will also air specials such as the “Latin Grammy Awards,” sports like soccer tournament Copa America, and it will continue with newer versions of a weekend reality hit in which regular people are paired with celebrities, “Cantando por un Sueno,” or “Singing for a Dream.”
But media buyers say the Hispanic audience’s taste is changing as the population becomes increasingly English-dominant and, more significant, accustomed to watching American programs.
Univision's recent sale to a group of investors may eventually lead to changes. But this transaction won’t be finalized until early next year, meaning any shakeup to Univision’s strategy will probably be held off at least until next fall.
“Univision will be fine,” says Hayes. “But, certainly, with Telemundo and even Azteca America producing their primetime programming in the States, the more at risk Univision is. I don’t think anything will happen tomorrow, but it’s an insidious down-the-road type of thing.”
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_7275.asp
TV Sports
NFL Sunday Ticket HD Channels
The HD channel assignments for the NFL Sunday Ticket package have been added to this week’s HD Football listings at the top of the first post in the thread.
Many of you receive WGN in your cable or satellite packages. If you want to watch the end of The WB, it will be shown there. (All times in this story are Central.)
Critic’s Notebook
I spy a good drama
…plus Fox's late-night show and the death of the WB
A few notable shows to watch this weekend:
• One of the ongoing disappointments of the cable world is that A&E has consistently -- and expensively -- hyped reality swill such as “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” while doing a poor job of promoting the best show on the network, the scripted spy drama “MI-5.” Sometimes you wonder why A&E, which used to stand for Arts and Entertainment, airs this galvanizing show at all, given that the network appears to be determined to bury it (airing it at 10 p.m. on a Friday? What’s that about?).
It’s a shame, because the imported British spy thriller is smartly plotted, well-acted and engrossing, and in its fourth year, “MI-5” is timely as well; the first story of the season concerns a series of bombs in central London. In “MI-5,” craven mistakes, unheralded bravery and personal trauma are all part of the cloak and dagger world of intelligence agents, and fans of “24” and intelligent drama in general should seek out this hidden gem.
• It’s far too soon to say that Fox has broken its late-night curse (it has never been able to successfully launch a show in the wee hours), but “Talkshow With Spike Feresten” (11 p.m. Saturday, Fox) is a disarming entry into the late-night sweepstakes. Feresten, a former “Late Show With David Letterman” staffer and “Seinfeld” writer, is engaging in a slightly weird, self-mocking, Letterman-esque way, with only occasional forays into dippy post-frat humor.
In a skit that has a Fox executive tapping Feresten to host a late-night show (after Dave Chappelle turns the network down), the executive asks, “Who are you?” “It’s Fox. Does it matter?” Feresten replies. The guests on the first two shows, Andy Richter and Mary Lynn Rajskub, reflect Feresten’s oddball humor, and the show’s better skits, which include searching for a sidekick on some of L.A.’s meaner streets, will no doubt end up on YouTube.com soon.
• “The Amazing Race” arrives in its new Sunday home this weekend. A 90-minute special will air at 7:30 p.m. on CBS; future airings will be at 7 p.m.
I’m not saying that I hold a grudge against “The Amazing Race,” because this show has provided so much adrenaline-charged pleasure in the past, but the fact is, after the misbegotten family edition, I couldn’t really get into the following “regular” race. Here’s hoping the latest season makes me forget both the family edition and the rather forgettable one that followed.
• Finally, on Sunday, the WB marks its final night as a broadcast network. (The new CW network, which was formed by the merger of the WB and UPN networks, debuts Wednesday on WGN with a new season of “America’s Next Top Model.” Promotional programming about the new CW network and WB repeats air on WGN-Ch. 9 Monday and Tuesday).
To mark the event, the WB is airing (in the following order, starting at 5 p.m. Sunday on WGN), the “Angel” pilot, the first two episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the pilot of “Dawson’s Creek.” (Viewers who don't live in Chicago can also see the pilot of "Felicity" at 5 p.m. Eastern time. "Felicity" airs in Chicago at noon, followed by a Cubs game.)
A silent prayer that the new CW network will come up with new shows that are just as smart and addictive as the best WB fare is, of course, entirely optional.
http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/
Critic’s Notebook
The New Season
Top-rated CBS only adds 4 shows to its sleek fleet
By Kay McFadden Seattle Times TV Critic Thursday, September 14, 2006
(All times are Eastern and Pacific)
Success can breed complacency. No network demonstrates that better than CBS, which has enough front-running, highly rated scripted dramas in its lineup, and the most successful comedy block on television, to keep it competitive, if not always victorious, for the foreseeable future.
That means it can get away with only premiering four new series, none of which look like slam-dunks. They only occupy 3 1/2 hours of the schedule; even if all of them tank, the network can just fill the gaps with "CSI" and "Cold Case" reruns. Simple as that.
Give old Tiffany some credit, though. None of the new series is a police procedural and, in fact, one of them invites you to cheer for a band of criminals played by movie stars. The pilot looks like it should be on cable, or in a movie theater. That's fairly bold for CBS.
The rest is the same old, with an ensemble comedy, a lawyer vehicle for James Woods and an odd, dusty genre series. Haven't heard much in the way of anticipation or curiosity surrounding any of these shows, but CBS might not care about that lack of buzz anyway. Other series are giving us plenty to anticipate, the foremost being "Survivor: Cook Islands," which kicks off the season tonight at 8, finally stopping all the pregame screaming.
"Survivor," like most other reality competitions, was notorious for its homogeneity, and this cycle's development took things in a completely different direction. You've probably heard the squabbling over it by now, but in case you haven't, in this 13th go executive producer Mark Burnett and host Jeff Probst are dividing the teams along racial boundaries with black, Hispanic, white and Asian teams.
The announcement caused an uproar, complete with furious speculation on blogs and some eyebrow-raising odds calculated on gambling Web sites. White supremacist message boards apparently had a field day at the idea, according to reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center. That, really, is the main problem. Americans aren't too keen to be reminded that segregation and racial tension still exists.
But when I heard about it, I merely shrugged. Remember, "Survivor" divided teams by age last season and gender in another; if you didn't think race was in Burnett's deck, you were fooling yourself. The man has never been too shy to get people talking about his shows and, gee, after 12 editions, "Survivor's" potency has undeniably waned. It's been off this viewer's weekly rotation of can't-miss television for quite some time.
As I recall from when I did watch regularly, the team conceit only sticks around for a few episodes. The tribes merge, and given that they're in four groups, that's bound to happen sooner rather than later. Before it does, each tribe will be forced to vote off their own anyway, so the divide may begin along ethnic lines, but once it comes down to the finalists for the million-dollar prize, tensions always stem from, with apologies to Dr. King, the content of one's character.
The only aspect I'm curious about is this: Many minority professionals feel they have to work twice as hard to get the same level of respect their white peers get; I wonder how that will play out in the game.
But I doubt it'll even get that profound. No review tapes of tonight's episode went out to critics, but my guess is that by the end of the premiere, our collective reaction will something like, "Oh. OK." And it'll be back to the usual business of watching people starve and stab each other in the back.
Besides, if CBS's status quo of casts lacking minorities in them makes you more comfortable, then you'll be happy to know its new comedy obliges you.
Here it is, along with the rest of the new series.
'The Class'
8 p.m. Mondays, premieres Sept. 18. CBS describes "Friends" co-creator David Crane's new sitcom as: "A new comedy about a group of 20-somethings who are inextricably bound together by sharing the same third-grade class." The industry term for this scenario is "a stretch." Be that as it may, the story is that a nice doctor named Ethan Haas (Jason Ritter) tracks down the people in his third-grade class (bunch of actors you might come to know via better, future shows) for a party to surprise his girlfriend, who was also in third grade. And nothing in their lives has turned out as expected, i.e., their jobs are jokes, they're broke, their love lives are DOA (clapclapclapclap!). From that point, a few of them keep crossing paths, even though they never did so before, and a narrator fills us in on what happened last week. A similar introductory device was used in "Soap," except that show was funny.
SO, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? You've seen better versions of this sitcom dozens of times already, but to further illustrate that idea, take Crane's old show -- you know, the one he can't let go? Water it down with contrived situations, insipid existential dialogue and all-too-familiar characters. Throw in a mincing effeminate heterosexual husband and two gay men to constantly remind us he's fooling himself (har!), a blond, Caucasian moppet named Oprah (har!), depressing, inappropriate suicide humor (oooh ... uh, har?) and other jokes that start turning brown around the edges by the first commercial break. Now, in spite of all this, you might think you can get into "The Class." Hang out for a while, though, and you may quickly realize why you didn't stay in touch with most of your fellow third-graders. People like these suck the life out of you.
ON THE OTHER HAND: "The Class" is part of CBS's still-potent Monday night comedy block, although placing it at 8 makes it easy to skip it completely and start the night with "How I Met Your Mother" at 8:30.
'Smith'
10 p.m. Tuesdays, premieres Sept. 19. A band of professional thieves headed by Bobby Stevens (Ray Liotta) executes daring heists of high-profile targets, the first being an art museum. Though they're the best, they know they're only one botched job away from disaster, an idea that makes Bobby want out, and his wife, Hope (Virginia Madsen), increasingly tired of feigning ignorance about how he makes his money. The crew includes Annie, a sexy con artist (Amy Smart); Jeff, a sharpshooting sociopath (Simon Baker); Joe, the wheel man (Franky G); and Tom, getting back in the game after a prison stint (Jonny Lee Miller). The incomparable Shohreh Agdashloo plays their fixer, rounding out a stupendous cast that makes the premiere breathe like a moody, dark theatrical release -- one that tastes like Quentin Tarantino muddled with Michael Mann -- as opposed to a pilot from executive producer John Wells.
SO, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? This is the third series about thieves to hit television within six months; the other two didn't make it. There's that, and the realization that one person's idea of moody, dark and cinematic is what five others would call plodding and dull. "Smith" explodes at all the right points and does so with panache, but the quiet stretches allowing actors Liotta and Madsen to show off their acting chops might drive viewers over to the action-packed and dominant "Law & Order: SVU" or the witty, energetic "Boston Legal," both road-tested series with devoted audiences.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Wells has delivered some terrific, cable-caliber writing in the pilot and, if he can maintain the same level of excellence, a network could be moved to give the show time to find an audience. CBS is not known for patience, but it is allowing "Smith's" hour-plus pilot to air with limited interruption, and only with ads for Martin Scorsese's upcoming film, "The Departed."
'Jericho'
8 p.m. Wednesdays, premieres Sept. 20. When a mushroom cloud appears on the horizon outside of a small Kansas town, the people fear they may be isolated and struggle not to give into fear and chaos. But even as the situation brings out the best in the Green family, headed by Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) and his recently returned son, Jake (Skeet Ulrich), others show their darker sides, and one relative stranger (Lennie James) seems to know more about what's going on than anyone else.
SO, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? If my memory serves me correctly, a nuclear crisis made "The Day After" one of the most memorable and horrifying TV movies of the '80s. There are scores of mile markers, creatively speaking, between that film's vision of post-apocalyptic Lawrence, Kan., and Jericho, because a catastrophic nuclear crisis never looked as boring and convoluted as it does here. Even the hint of a larger conspiracy in the works doesn't make you want to stick around much beyond that first hour, and if you do, what do you get? Another woman in danger of sexual assault scenario -- at a secluded farmhouse, no less -- in episode two. A little early to start digging into the classics, don't you think?
ON THE OTHER HAND: I'm not sure there is an upside here, especially when you look at the competition. "Dancing With the Stars" is set to trample it, Fox's "Bones" might even best it for second place, even The CW's "America's Next Top Model" could pose a threat. Not good.
'Shark'
10 p.m. Thursdays, premieres Sept. 21. Ruthless top defense attorney Sebastian Stark (James Woods) gets blindsided by his conscience after one of his cases takes an unexpected turn and decides to go to work for the city prosecutor's office. There, he takes a crew of inexperienced ADAs under his wing and, by teaching them the same dirty tactics that made him a courtroom champion, uses his power for good, not evil.
SO, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Here's The Husband's reaction to experiencing this show with his back turned to the screen and sifting through paperwork. "OK, I'm not even watching this thing and James Woods' constant yelling is getting on my nerves. Can you shut him up? Do you have to watch this for work? You do? Your job is killing me. That's it, I'm going to the other side of the house, come get me when it's over." Yeah. If you don't like Woods' frantic, frequent speeches, and you can't get out of the "Without a Trace" Thursday habit, best to steer clear. Even if you're a fan, it might be hard to swallow the state-of-the-art replica of a courtroom in the basement of Stark's architecturally perfect home.
ON THE OTHER HAND: The Byronic hero gig works so well for "House," one would think that a legal version would be a more natural fit. When it comes to comic timing, charm and understatement, there's no contest -- Hugh Laurie prevails over Woods. Still, "Shark" has much more in its favor than almost every other new series, starting with a gargantuan lead-in, "CSI," and questionable competition in a fading "ER" on NBC, and J.J. Abrams' slow-moving "Six Degrees" on ABC. The jury, as the cliche goes, is still out.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/284959_tv14.html
The Wednesday prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.
(From Marc Berman’s Thursday, September 14, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
Syndication Ratings Scorecard:
Dr. Keith, Greg Behrendt, Cristina’s Court and Judge Maria Lopez
Mirroring recent seasons, the reality of the syndication landscape remains low initial sampling for almost all new first-run series. Although no show can be adequately evaluated until the national ratings are available (and, of course, one week does not a hit or miss make), the two metered market benchmarks to focus on at present is retention from the lead-in and year-ago time period averages. And right now Twentieth Television’s Cristina’s Court and Sony Pictures Television’s Judge Maria Lopez are fully maintaining both comparisons. After three days, Warner Bros.’ Dr. Keith Ablow is off, on average, by 17 percent in rating and one share point from both the lead-in and year-ago time period averages. After two days, Sony Pictures Television’s Greg Behrendt is down by a heftier 36 percent in rating and two share points from the lead-in average, and 42 percent in rating and two share points from the year-ago time period.
Here are the metered market results (versus the lead-in and year-ago time period averages). When you look at the overnight results, keep in mind that the time periods inherited by Dr. Keith, The Greg Behrendt Show, Cristina’s Court and Judge Maria Lopez are certainly not the best out there.
DR. KEITH ABLOW (54 markets)
Sept. 2005 time period: 1.2/ 4
Monday 9/11
Lead-in: 1.1/ 4
DR. KEITH: 0.9/ 3
Tuesday 9/12
Lead-in: 1.3/ 4
DR. KEITH: 1.0/ 3
Wednesday 9/13
Lead-in: 1.3/ 4
DR. KEITH: 1.0/ 3
THE GREG BEHRENDT SHOW (52 markets)
Sept. 2005 time period: 1.2/ 4
Tuesday 9/12
Lead-in: 1.1/ 4
GREG BEHRENDT: 0.7/ 2
Wednesday 9/13
Lead-in: 1.1/ 4
GREG BEHRENDT: 0.7/ 2
CRISTINA’S COURT (50 markets)
Sept. 2005 time period: 1.2/ 4
Monday 9/11
Lead-in: 1.3/ 4
CRISTINA’S COURT: 1.3/ 4
Tuesday 9/12
Lead-in: 1.3/ 4
CRISTINA’S COURT: 1.3/ 4
Wednesday 9/13
Lead-in: 1.3/ 4
CRISTINA’S COURT: 1.2/ 4
JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ (54 markets)
Sept. 2005 time period: 0.8/ 2
Monday 9/11
Lead-in: 0.9/ 3
JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ: 0.9/ 3
Tuesday 9/12
Lead-in: 0.9/ 3
JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ: 0.9/ 3
Wednesday 9/13
Lead-in: 0.9/ 3
JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ: 0.9/ 3
• Source: Nielsen Media Research data
Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not
• U.S. Tennis Open Total Audience Figures:
Complete coverage of the 2006 U.S. Tennis Open Championships on CBS, including its weeknight Late Night Show, averaged an estimated 63.5 million viewers watching all or part of it. Comparably, that was the highest number of viewers since the 78.3 million in 2002, with 1.2 million more than last year’s 62.3 million.
• The Big 400 in Syndicated Court:
Based on ratings for the week of Aug. 28, veteran Paramount duo Judy and Judge Joe Brown held the top two spots in households, respectively, in court for the 400th consecutive week. Judge Judy averaged a 4.5 household rating (based on AA – average audience rating) -- up 7 percent over the year-ago week. Judge Joe Brown averaged a 2.9 -- down 3 percent from one year earlier.
• Emmy Coverage Lifts on ET and The Insider:
Ignited by coverage of The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, both Entertainment Tonight and The Insider from Paramount posted double-digit gains over the comparable year-ago week. Based on ratings for the week of August 28, ET averaged a 4.7 in households -- up 15 percent from one year earlier, with a 5.4 for its Emmy coverage on Monday, Aug. 28. The Insider perked up to a 2.5 -- an increase of 14 percent year-to-year, with a 2.7 for its Emmy coverage that Monday.
• More Growth for FX’s Nip/Tuck:
Season four of FX drama Nip/Tuck continues to build over it’s year-ago average, with 3.9 million viewers and 2.8 million adults 18-49 on Tuesday at 10 p.m. this week. Comparably, that’s an increase of 13 percent in total viewers and 15 percent among adults 18-49 from the season three averages. Also of note was the median age of Nip/Tuck dropping to 33.8 years-old -- the second lowest median age of any Nip/Tuck episode ever.
• Source: Nielsen Media Research data
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Night 2 trot: Strutting 'Stars' hog floor
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Sep 14, 2006, 10:44
As expected, bow tie-less MSNBC host Tucker Carlson was booted first from “Dancing with the Stars” last night after spending most of his first dance routine sitting in a chair. And as expected, after Tuesday’s big debut, the ABC reality hit showed gains over its first results episode last year.
“Stars” averaged a 4.1 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, up 37 percent over last year’s 3.0 for the initial results show of the second season in January. Of course that show aired on little-watched Friday night, where “Stars” stayed relatively quiet all season.
Yesterday, though, “Stars” had some competition, airing opposite Fox’s “Bones,” which averaged a 2.7, and CBS’s season finale of “Rock Star: Supernova,” which averaged a 3.0, down 14 percent from the previous night’s penultimate episode.
“Stars,” too, dipped from its opening-night 5.7, down a substantial 28 percent. But among total viewers it maintained more of its audience, averaging 16.1 million last night to Tuesday night’s 20.01 million.
And “Stars” nearly doubled its closest competitor, “Bones,” among total viewers in the timeslot. It bodes well for October, when “Lost” returns to the Wednesday schedule with its potent ratings and ABC premieres the highly regarded new drama “The Nine” premieres.
“Stars” also helped ABC’s fall season preview to much better ratings than NBC or CBS got for theirs, averaging a 2.4 in 18-49s at 9 p.m. Neither of the other two cracked 1.1.
But while “Stars” did very well, it didn’t do well enough to win the night for ABC, with a Jimmy Kimmel primetime special dragging down the 10 p.m. hour.
NBC won the night with a 3.1 rating and 9 share in 18-49s, followed by CBS at 2.8/8, ABC at 2.7/8, Fox at 2.6/8, Univision at 1.8/5, and the WB at 0.5/1. (UPN is not included as many of its affiliates have already switched over to MyNetworkTV.)
ABC’s “Stars” finished No. 1 at 8 p.m. with its 4.1, followed by “Rock’s” 3.0, “Bones’” 2.7, NBC’s “Dateline” at 2.5, Univision’s “La Fea Mas Bella” at 1.5, and WB’s back-to-back “Blue Collar TV” repeats at 0.6.
At 9 p.m., NBC grabbed the lead with a 3.9 for “Dateline,” followed by CBS’s 2.5 for a “Criminal Minds” repeat, ABC’s 2.4 for the fall preview, Fox’s 2.5 for the third episode of “Justice,” Univision’s 2.0 for building “Barrera de Amor,” and WB’s 0.4 for a repeat of “One Tree Hill.”
At 10 p.m., CBS and NBC tied for No. 1 at 2.8 with repeats of “CSI: NY” and “Law & Order,” followed by ABC’s Kimmel special at 1.7 and Univision at 1.5.
Among households, ABC led at 6.5/11, followed by NBC at 6.2/10, CBS at 5.8/9, Fox at 5.1/8, Univision at 2.3/4, and the WB at 1.0/2.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_7300.asp
Critic’s Notebook
HBO's live 'Wire'
By Alan Sepinwall Newark Star-Ledger Thursday, September 14, 2006
SOMETIMES -- very, very rarely, but sometimes -- it's not about the money.
Whenever a reader asks why a show they loved was renewed, or wonder why a show they can't stand is still around, I point to the almighty dollar and explain that in the business of show, the bottom line -- in ratings and advertiser revenue -- is always the deciding factor.
And then HBO goes and does something wonderful like ordering a fifth and final season of "The Wire" only two days after the fourth season premiered Sunday night with a minuscule, even for HBO, audience of 1.5 million viewers.
That number will go up once HBO factors in viewings on other nights and via On Demand (where each episode is available six days before it premieres on HBO proper), but it still won't be in "Sopranos" territory, and maybe not even "Deadwood" territory -- and we all know what happened to "Deadwood."
What happened with "The Wire" is that HBO boss Chris Albrecht declared in July that the fate of the show rested on the critical response and buzz about the fourth season. And the critics -- from everyday columnists like yours truly to celebrity scribes like Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly -- responded by spending the last several weeks declaring the show to be one of the best ever to air on television (in some cases, the best).
"The fact that Stephen King blew his whistle, and the critics came up out of the trench with fixed bayonets and began charging across no man's land -- this definitely had an effect," David Simon, the show's delighted creator, wrote in an e-mail. "We don't go more than a season or two without the critics behind us."
Season four had been planned with a fifth and final year in mind -- while a number of this year's story threads wrap up within the 13 episodes, at least as many will be left open -- and Simon was prepared to write the series' conclusion as a prose novel if HBO didn't give them a pick-up.
Simon was as effusive in his praise for Albrecht and HBO entertainment president Carolyn Strauss as he was for the critics, and I present the last few paragraphs of his e-mail in their entirety:
"I'm going to tell him, 'Chris, one day in the distant future, you will find yourself sitting across from a man who doesn't understand who you are, what you did, what you accomplished. He will stare at you, uncomprehending, as you explain the fundamental actions, accomplishments and motivations of your life, until finally, you look him in the eye and say, 'I was the guy who kept "The Wire" on HBO for its full five-year run.'
"And that man will then **** his eyebrow, nod, and reassess the paragon of enlightened humanity before him.
"'That's really great, sir,' the man will say finally. 'But it's 2 a.m., so you need to finish that drink and go home.'
"Because when all is said and done, most people turn on their televisions and expect laughs and thrills and nonsense. And most of the money made in television comes from servicing such expectations. Chris and Carolyn did something yesterday that argues against the industry's common denominator. That such moments happen at HBO means misapplied people like me can make a home for themselves in television. Whatever is out there beyond grateful, that's where I am."
Racism or Hollywoodism?
The big fuss over "Survivor: Cook Islands" (8 PM ET/PT Tonight, CBS) is obviously over the decision to divide the four teams along racial lines. I've already said here that this has the potential to be a complete fiasco, but on paper there's some merit, given complaints by previous minority contestants about how they were treated both by other contestants and by the editors.
But lost in the shuffle over all the "Survivor: Race Wars" jokes is an oddity about this cast: No matter what their ethnic background, it seems like everyone either has worked or wants to work in show business.
Reality TV has always been filled with Hollywood wannabes or people with tangential connections to the biz, but this group is excessive even by those standards. There's Jonathan Penner, a sitcom actor who's been a regular on CBS' "Grapevine" and ABC's "The Naked Truth" (as well as the writer of the WB's infamous "Lone Ranger" pilot with Chad Michael Murray). There's Rebecca Borman, an Emmy-winning makeup artist for "The View" (where she helps "Survivor" alum Elisabeth Hasselbeck look good every day); jazz musician Sekou Branch; heavy metal guitarist Billy Garcia; Cristina Coria, a cop who's been a technical consultant for movies and appeared on several cable reality shows; Adam Gentry, a copier salesman whose CBS bio includes a stint on MTV's "The Grind"; and several others who have either been in show biz or clearly want to be.
None of these people match the pre-show fame level of ex-quarterback Gary Hogeboom from last fall's edition, but this is still a ridiculous percentage.
Then again, maybe the only people Mark Burnett and company could get to agree to such an explosive premise were people who needed the TV exposure.
http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/alltv/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1158213324223780.xml&coll=1
TV Notebook
Show didn't cause suicide, host says
But Melinda Duckett's family says the publicity about her missing son's case added to her stress
Stephen Hudak Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer September 13, 2006
LEESBURG VA -- The plight of missing 2-year-old Trenton Duckett is the latest cause taken up by ex-prosecutor and national talk-show host Nancy Grace, who frequently uses her cable forum to draw attention to abduction cases.
But the Headline News host found herself answering Monday whether she had become part of the story -- only days after grilling the boy's mother in a televised interview. The day after that probing series of questions, Melinda Duckett killed herself.
"I do not feel our show is to blame for what happened to Melinda Duckett," Grace said on the air Monday.
Grace also noted that "Melinda committed suicide before that interview ever aired."
Melinda Duckett's family members have said the publicity surrounding the case may have added to her stress in the days before her suicide.
The boy's father, Joshua Duckett, said he did not blame Grace for Melinda's suicide. He was estranged from his wife, who had custody of Trenton.
"Nobody made her do the show," he said. "Nobody made her do anything."
Since her death, investigators have increasingly said they are looking at the boy's mother as being involved in his disappearance. They have not officially labeled Melinda as a suspect.
Police are trying to piece together a 26-hour period during which they cannot account for Melinda Duckett's whereabouts. They said she gave "vague" answers about her activities Aug. 26 and 27.
Grace questioned Melinda Duckett about the time gap.
The ex-prosecutor demanded details, including the names and locations of the stores where Melinda Duckett said she had taken her son shopping in Lake and Orange counties.
Grace also pressed Melinda Duckett about refusing to take a lie-detector test.
Grace declined to be interviewed Tuesday but issued a statement by e-mail.
"We feel a responsibility to bring attention to this case in the hopes of helping find Trenton Duckett, who remains missing. Our goal in our continuing coverage of Trenton's disappearance is to enlist the public's help in finding him," Grace's statement read. "While Ms. Duckett's death is an extremely sad development, we remain hopeful that Trenton will be found safe, and we will continue to cover the case until it is solved."
Grace, who has helped publicize the cases of Natalee Holloway, JonBenet Ramsey and other youthful crime victims, featured Trenton Duckett's case twice in the past few days. She questioned Melinda Duckett during a taped interview Thursday.
Melinda Duckett committed suicide at her grandparents' home in The Villages the next day.
Grace also interviewed Joshua Duckett on the same show, posing similar questions. He and Melinda Duckett disagreed on how heavy a sleeper their son was -- a relevant point because the boy's mother claimed Trenton was taken from his bedroom while she watched a movie with two friends.
Joshua Duckett said the boy was a "very, very light sleeper" and would have cried if he had been awakened by a stranger.
Melinda Duckett contended their son was a heavy sleeper. "You can move him from room to room, and he'll still be asleep," she told Grace.
The boy was reported missing Aug. 27.
While police use cadaver dogs in a hunt for the boy, Grace's show is among the national programs that offer hope to Joshua Duckett that his son will be found alive. He also agreed to interviews with others, saying he met Tuesday with Court TV.
Police said America's Most Wanted also is preparing a segment.
"It's another way to get his picture out there," he said in a telephone interview. "It keeps Trenton's name and his face out in the news. I think it helps."
During her daily news briefing Tuesday, Leesburg police Capt. Ginny Padgett agreed with Joshua Duckett, describing as "promising" a flurry of recent tips phoned into 800-CALL-FBI.
Joshua Duckett, who spends part of each day posting "missing" fliers on poles and in store windows, said police and the public have scrutinized him as closely as they did Melinda.
"They asked questions. All she had to do was answer the questions honestly as I answered them," he said. "In the beginning, I had the finger pointed at me, too. But I answered their questions and proved I had nothing to do with this. It was up to her to prove herself."
Joshua and Melinda Duckett were high-school sweethearts embroiled in a divorce that involved police, the Department of Children & Families and other agencies.
Joshua Duckett said he was unlikely to attend Melinda Duckett's memorial service Friday at the Chapel of Christian Faith in The Villages. He said he remains troubled by her answers to questions posed by police and reporters, but he does not dwell on her.
"My focus is on my son," he said.
Leesburg police, who have spent $25,000 on overtime in the investigation, refused Tuesday to discuss details of the probe.
They asked news agencies to publish or broadcast a photograph of a 2000 Mitsubishi, similar to the vehicle that Melinda Duckett drove.
Padgett said investigators hoped the photo might pique someone's memory.
"We want to bring Trenton home," she said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/orl-missingboy1306sep13,0,6263119,print.story?coll=orl-caltvtop
Reminder: The New Season
Prime Time Reference Material
Over the next few weeks this thread will include many critical views of the new TV season.
If you are curious about the new network shows, there are many easy-to-use references to help you in this thread.
You can find all the network schedules, including which shows are being broadcast in HD in the second post of this thread here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4265637&&#post4265637
mini reviews and comments on the season’s new shows by many critics are here, in the third post in the thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4267598&&#post4267598
HD Sports Notebook
Preliminary HD Football Schedule for Next Weekend
NOTE: Subject to change! (All times are Eastern)
Thursday, Sept. 21
Virginia at Georgia Tech[/B] 7:30 PM ESPN-HD
Friday, Sept. 22
Northwestern at Nevada 8 PM ESPN2-HD
Saturday, Sept. 23
Wisconsin at Michigan 12 Noon ESPN-HD
Minnesota at Purdue 12 Noon ESPN2-HD
Penn State at Ohio State (Regional) 3:30 PM ABC-HD
Alabama at Arkansas 3:30 PM CBS-HD
West Virginia at East Carolina 4:30 PM ESPN2-HD
Kentucky at Florida 7:45 PM ESPN-HD
Boston College at North Carolina State 8 PM ESPN2-HD
U S C at Arizona (Regional) 8 PM ABC-HD
Notre Dame at Michigan State (Regional) 8 PM ABC-HD
Sunday, Sept. 24
Carolina at Tampa Bay 1 PM Fox-HD
Green Bay at Detroit 1 PM Fox-HD
Chicago at Minnesota 1 PM Fox-HD
Washington at Houston 1 PM Fox-HD
Philadelphia at San Francisco 4:15 PM Fox-HD
New York Giants at Seattle. Louis 4:15 PM Fox HD
Denver at New England 8:15 PM NBC-HD
Monday, Sept. 25
Atlanta at New Orleans 8:30 PM ESPN-HD
Note: Some sources list the Notre Dame-Michigan State game as being carried on ESPN2-HD as well as regionally on ABC-HD. But the ESPN website lists the Boston College-North Carolina State game.
TV Notebook
NFL Network Cuts Comcast Deal
A Broadcasting & Cable EXCLUSIVE
By John M. Higgins and Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 9/14/2006
The three-year-old NFL Network has quietly cut a deal for this season with Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, to carry its controversial package of eight live football games on terms far weaker than the league is seeking.
Meanwhile, the NFL Network will go dark on Time Warner Cable systems recently acquired from Adelphia Communications in a bankruptcy sale.The Adelphia dispute is part of a larger duel in which the No. 2 cable operator is resisting paying the NFL network's high license fee and carriage demands. Time Warner has said the NFL is looking for a 250% increase in those fees.
When the NFL Network’s new eight-game, Thursday-Saturday package kicks off on Thanksgiving, Comcast will air the games on a digital tier available to fewer than one third of its subscribers. The league has been seeking carriage on basic cable, which would be available to nearly all of the operator's 23.3 million subscribers.
While the league is seeking fees in the 70-90 cents per subscriber per month range, according to cable executives, Comcast is paying a significantly lower rate under terms of the current arrangement.Comcast seems to hold more leverage at the moment – it has the right to put the network on a digital sports and entertainment tier that is available to a tiny fraction of its subscribers.
Comcast and NFL Network executives would not comment.
The status of the Time Warner systems is more clear. Time Warner/Adelphia markets “will be dark” in those markets as of early Friday, says the NFL’s Seth Palansky.About 1.3 million subscribers will be affected, including those in NFL hotbeds such as Buffalo, Cleveland and Dallas.
While noting the network may pursue some longer-term legal strategies going forward, Palansky says in the short term it will tweak its ad strategy in those markets to drive customers to outlets such as satellite carriers that air the NFL Network.
Time Warner had first removed the network from its lineup on August 1st before the FCC mandated it be put back on for 30 days.An additional 15-day extension was then negotiated, but Friday is its last day.
The NFL is pushing to get its network carried on basic cable packages as it looks to boost penetration after passing on $400 million in annual rights fees it could have commanded by selling the eight games to an outside network (one of the main bidders was Comcast’s OLN/Versus).The network is currently in 41 million homes, 27 million of those via satellite carriers.
The NFL has the ability to black out the eight games on any cable carrier not paying an increased surcharge it is demanding.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6372251
Philadelphia at San Francisco 4:15 PM CBS-HD
That should say Fox-HD, 2 NFC teams.
TV Notebook
Today Is a Winner With Meredith
By Allison Romano Broadcasting & Cable 9/14/2006
Meredith Vieira's debut on the Today show Sept. 13 gave NBC one of its best morning news ratings in more than a year outside of the Torino Winter Olympics and Katie Couric's final day last May, according to preliminary ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
Today averaged 6.9 million viewers and a 2.6 rating in the key adult 25 to 54 demo on Vieira's first day co-anchoring with Matt Lauer. Outside of four days during last February's Olympics and Couric's send-off, it was Today's largest audience since since Dec. 9, 2005.
The show's Sept. 13 marks were good enough to handily beat ABC's Good Morning America, which posted 4.4 million viewers and a 1.7 rating in 25 to 54s.
The usually heated race between Today and GMA is expected to get even more competitive this fall. Even after Couric left the show at the end of May sweeps, Today continued to beat GMA over the summer. GMA is adjusting to a new cast as well. Co-anchor Charlie Gibson departed over the summer to anchor World NEws.
On Sept. 5, GMA introduced its new news anchor Chris Cuomo and weatherman Sam Champion, who join co-anchors Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6372314
That should say Fox-HD, 2 NFC teams.
Thanks for the catch, RemyM.
TV Notebook
Murdoch May Make Malone an Offer
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 9/14/2006
Rupert Murdoch wants John Malone to get out of his hair. To that end, Murdoch might be offering Malone DirecTV. Murdoch's News Corp. is proposing to Malone's Liberty Media a tax-free exchange of its DirecTV stake in return for the $10 billion stake Liberty owns in News Corp., according to a report by CNBC's David Faber.
Both News Corp. president Peter Chernin and Liberty CEO Greg Maffei have been hinting to investors at a Merrill Lynch media conference today that a swap may be under way, according to the report.
Liberty last year abruptly increased its voting stake in News Corp. from 9% to 17%, startling company Chairman Rupert Murdoch and prompting him to establish defenses against an unwelcome takeover.
News Corp. has tried unsuccessfully for years to lure Liberty out of the company., but has never offered anything Malone deemed worthy of exchanging for his stake, 188 million voting shares and 324 million non-voting shares. In the past, for example, News Corp. offered Liberty several local stations .
With the satellite business limited in its growth, DirecTV has frustrated News Corp. lately which could explain the company's willingness to part with it. Murdoch aggressively went after DirecTV for years, but has been so disappointed with it lately, he has called it a "turd bird."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6372374
rustycruiser
09-14-06, 11:48 PM
TV Notebook
NFL Network Cuts Comcast Deal
A Broadcasting & Cable EXCLUSIVE
By John M. Higgins and Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 9/14/2006
The three-year-old NFL Network has quietly cut a deal for this season with Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, to carry its controversial package of eight live football games on terms far weaker than the league is seeking.
Meanwhile, the NFL Network will go dark on Time Warner Cable systems recently acquired from Adelphia Communications in a bankruptcy sale.The Adelphia dispute is part of a larger duel in which the No. 2 cable operator is resisting paying the NFL network's high license fee and carriage demands. Time Warner has said the NFL is looking for a 250% increase in those fees.
When the NFL Network’s new eight-game, Thursday-Saturday package kicks off on Thanksgiving, Comcast will air the games on a digital tier available to fewer than one third of its subscribers. The league has been seeking carriage on basic cable, which would be available to nearly all of the operator's 23.3 million subscribers.
While the league is seeking fees in the 70-90 cents per subscriber per month range, according to cable executives, Comcast is paying a significantly lower rate under terms of the current arrangement.Comcast seems to hold more leverage at the moment – it has the right to put the network on a digital sports and entertainment tier that is available to a tiny fraction of its subscribers.
Comcast and NFL Network executives would not comment.
The status of the Time Warner systems is more clear. Time Warner/Adelphia markets “will be dark” in those markets as of early Friday, says the NFL’s Seth Palansky.About 1.3 million subscribers will be affected, including those in NFL hotbeds such as Buffalo, Cleveland and Dallas.
While noting the network may p