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Thanks, Fredfa, for your explanation.
I guess, in a way, it makes sense. Admittedly, I wouldn't mind being rich and sexy (as for age? I kinda like where I am). But it's too bad that all those advertising decision-makers are missing a vast opportunity. Not to mention contributing to taking away, or low-rating, some of the best shows on TV.
Michael252 here is more:
The Business of TV
TV Land: Boomers Ignored By TV
Anthony Crupi Media Week Nov. 15, 2005
TV Land has issued the results of a study that demonstrates how disaffected many baby boomers are by mainstream television programming, which all but ignores members of the generation born between the years 1946 and 1964.
The study, which was commissioned by TV Land and conducted by the market research firm Harris Interactive, revealed that a mere 3 percent of boomers surveyed reported that they were extremely satisfied with the programming options available to them. Boomers said that TV does a very poor job of reflecting their core values and providing characters and storylines that are relevant to their own life experience.
According to Ken Dychtwald, president of the San Francisco-based consulting firm Age Wave, marketers are also missing the boat when it comes to reaching out to boomers. A renowned gerontologist, Dychtwald said that ignoring consumers in their 40s and 50s is tantamount to turning one’s back on a group that boasts some $2.3 trillion in annual buying power.
“The idea that TV, this massive and powerful force in life, would turn away the largest and most influential media audience in history is just crazy, but that’s what we’re seeing in our research,” Dychtwald said, adding that if TV continues to ignore boomers, it’ll cost them in the end. “53 percent of the boomers we polled said that when they see ads that don’t relate to them because they’re more focused on the youth side of equation, they tune out. And another 33 percent say they get so annoyed by that proposition that they actively do not buy the products and will turn away from the advertising and the medium altogether. Boomers
won’t put up with being snubbed.”
In fact, Dychtwald likened the lack of respect afforded to boomers by programmers and marketers to what it must have been like to have been a member of a formerly hot boy-band. “It’s kind of like being in Menudo, where after you reached 18, they’d show you the door,” he said. In America, when people reach a certain age they are thrown out. When you get into your 40s, your perceived value as a viewer goes down.”
One major misconception that marketers have held onto past its sell-by date is the idea that consumers establish brand loyalty in their early 20s, Dychtwald said. “The problem is that 60-year-olds are more likely to try new things than 20-year-olds,” Dychtwald said. “Brand loyalty as a constant is dead. People throughout their lives are willing to try new products and services and are open to new advertising and messaging.”
TV Land’s New Generation Gap Study distilled phone and online interviews with 4,220 adults––1,655 of whom were between 40 and 59 years old.
Not coincidentally, the day before the TV Land study was released, the network announced that a new development slate that is chock-a-block with original programming. “This marks a huge opportunity for us to go from offering classic TV to becoming the destination for boomers,” said TV Land senior vp, research and planning, Tanya Giles. “Our study shows that boomers are really looking for something relevant to their generation ... and TV land is where they will find it.”
Besides TV Land, the only other outlet that specifically targets the boomer demo is the independent cable network AmericanLife TV. At last count, TV Land raeches 89.2 million US subscribers, while AmericanLife is in around 10 million homes, with carriage on Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Charter Communications systems.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/cabletv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003408638
Tuesday’s metered market over-night 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.
lencarr
11-16-06, 10:50 AM
Nah, that will never happen.
Then the cable companies would have to try to explain to all their customers why they have to pay for ESPN or Fox News or CNN or MTV or ....well you get the picture.
I totally agree... I subscribe to the top tier that my cable company (Cablevision) offers and get direct access to about 200 channels (not including any of the "on demand" channels that I could also subscribe to). I looked through the entire list of channels and found that I regularly (at least a couple times per week) watch only about a dozen stations and occasionally (once or twice a month) watch something on about a dozen other stations.
The system is set up so we all pay for programming that is only of interest to a fraction of the viewers. And it has made many people, and many corporations, very, very wealthy.
Given the stations that I watch, the cable company does not provide any way for me to subscribe to a lower level tier and still get all of the stations that I am interested in. Congress's and the FCC's "must carry" rules hamper the cable company's ability to truely negotiate for lower costs or force the cable companies to carry a lot of the "junk" channels as kickbacks to the networks. For the cable company's part they will almost never absorb an increase in their costs but will certainly pass any cost increases to the subscriber.
I am kind of surprised the cable companies are drawing such attention to the situation. It seems really counter productive. Because I suspect in the long run this whole debate will simply hasten the day a la carte is made possible through federal legislation.
And then we all can simply pay for the channels we watch. What a revolutionary idea!
Unfortunately most people have this fantasy that if a la carte comes to the cable TV market then they will subscribe to only the stations that they actally want to watch (say 20 stations out of the 100 that the cable company offers) and that their cable bill will be cut to 20% of their original bill. The reality is that whatever system is put into place will almost guarantee that the cable company will not see their profits diminished.
lenncarr: welcome to the thread.
You make good points.
My feeling is that even if I end up spending about the same amount of money for fewer channels, at least my money will be spent supporting the channels I find important.
As a counter to your argument, I would simply say that competition could lower prices significantly. And, in my mind, legislation forbidding tier placement as part of MSO negotiations and/or contracts would level the playing field dramatically.
Now if operators want to offer a voluntary suite (sports, movies, news, etc.) they would be allowed. Just not allowed to force people to take what they don't want to subsidize.
Some more on how TV networks see older viewers:
The Business of TV
Demographic static
Older folks just don't matter anymore to the TV biz
By Brian Lowry Variety
The Wall Street Journal recently published a noteworthy error in an article about NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," stating that the modestly rated show was attracting about 4 million viewers -- half as many as its lead-in, the surprise hit "Heroes."
One problem: "Studio 60" has been drawing just under 8 million viewers lately, and "Heroes" well over 14 million. As for the millions watching who were inadvertently erased, their crime is that they don't happen to fall within the 18-to-49 age bracket employed to negotiate advertising rates.
Sure, it was a simple omission, but one fraught with symbolism. After all, the industry regularly disenfranchises an older audience whose patronage can't readily be sold to media buyers, and press coverage is complicit to the extent that reporters opt not to question this state of affairs. Indeed, TV execs frequently speak strictly of a show's delivery "in the demo" -- meaning the 18-49 category -- while professing never to consider total viewership because it's a figure that can't be "monetized."
That older consumers and actors -- particularly women -- tend to disappear from the media dialogue provided the basis for a discussion last week sponsored by Women in Film and the Screen Actors Guild. The occasion was a screening of "Invisible Women," a half-hour documentary that chronicles how actresses fall off the casting radar once they have the temerity to turn 40.
The personal stories within the project resonate with emotion, as actresses relate being forced to pursue second careers and losing their industry health benefits due to the absence of roles. As one-time "Just the Ten of Us" star Deborah Harmon puts it, upon reaching a certain age, "It was like I got pink-slipped and no one told me."
The ironic timing of the forum was hardly lost on the audience, coming not long after Nancy Pelosi, 66, came one step closer to becoming Speaker of the House -- and with Hillary Clinton, 59, anointed a likely frontrunner among potential Democratic presidential candidates. For that matter, the possible GOP standard-bearers in 2008, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, are currently 70 and 62, respectively.
Admittedly, the industry still provides the occasional showy role for a mature woman, even if it seems like all of them are played by Helen Mirren. Undeniably, though, the tyranny of younger demos has dictated that producers "go younger" on the casting side, which explains why so many 20-something characters are paired with 30-something moms -- a scenario comically reenacted on the most recent "Desperate Housewives," when Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) attempts a modeling comeback.
Susan Davis, one of "Invisible Women's" producers, has cited a need for the kind of old-fashioned activism baby boomers learned during the 1960s, with actresses lobbying networks and sponsors to recognize their plight. Frankly, I'd argue that full hearts are no match for full wallets, which requires demonstrating to network and studio brass that there is money to be made by tapping older talent -- whether that's Sally Field helping carry ABC's new drama "Brothers & Sisters" or audiences exhibiting a willingness to pay to enjoy veteran stars in movies such as "The Notebook."
A few things, however, should be beyond dispute, beginning with the premise that ageism exists. Equally incontestable is the fact that today's over-40 crowd bears scant resemblance to their parents, as baby boomers -- encompassing those age 42 to 60 -- approach "the golden years" kicking, screaming, aerobicizing, and spending disposable income like drunken thieves.
The latest evidence in this regard comes via a blatantly self-serving survey conducted on behalf of Viacom's boomer-targeted cable net TV Land, which found that many boomers are irritated by TV's preoccupation with younger audiences. It's a big "Duh" moment, but TV Land senior VP of research Tanya Giles is nevertheless right when she says the generation birthed after World War II and before the Great Society is "tired of being seen through an antiquated prism of what it means to be over the age of 40."
Eventually, a sense of balance must be restored that acknowledges this new reality. Until then, screenwriter Larry Gelbart -- another voice of wisdom featured in "Invisible Women" -- proposes an easy if not necessarily appetizing solution to defeating ageism: "Die young."
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117953913&categoryid=1682
2006-07 College Football Bowl Schedule
(All games in HD. All times are Eastern.)
Tuesday, December 19th
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
TBA vs. Mountain West San Diego, CA 8 PM ESPN2 HD
Thursday, December 21st
Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl
Mountain West vs. Pacific-10 Las Vegas, NV 8 PM ESPN HD
Friday, December 22nd
New Orleans Bowl
Conference USA vs. Sun Belt New Orleans, LA 8 PM ESPN2 HD
Saturday, December 23rd
Birmingham Bowl
Big East vs. Conference USA Birmingham, AL 1 PM ESPN2 HD
New Mexico Bowl
Mountain West vs. WAC Albuquerque, NM 4:30 PM ESPN HD
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Mountain West vs. Conference USA Fort Worth, TX 8 PM ESPN HD
Sunday, December 24th
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii vs. Pacific-10 Honolulu, HI 8 PM ESPN HD
Tuesday, December 26th
Motor City Bowl
Big Ten vs. MAC Detroit, MI 7:30 PM ESPN HD
Wednesday, December 27th
Emerald Bowl
Pacific-10 vs. Atlantic Coast San Francisco, CA 8 PM ESPN HD
Thursday, December 28th
PetroSun Independence Bowl
Big XII vs. Southeastern Shreveport, LA 4:30 PM ESPN HD Houston,
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Pacific-10 vs. Big XII San Diego CA ESPN HD
Texas Bowl
Big XII vs. Big East Houston, TX 8 PM NFL Network HD
Friday, December 29th
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Southeastern vs. Atlantic Coast Nashville, Tenn. 1 PM ESPN HD
Brut Sun Bowl
Pacific-10 vs. Big XII / Big East El Paso, TX 2 PM CBS HD
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Conference USA vs. Southeastern Memphis, TN 4:30 PM ESPN HD
Insight Bowl
Big XII vs. Big Ten Tempe, AZ 7:30 PM NFL Network
Champs Sports Bowl
Big Ten vs. Atlantic Coast Orlando, FL 8 PM ESPN HD
Saturday, December 30th
Meineke Car Care Bowl
Navy vs. Atlantic Coast Charlotte, NC 1 PM ESPN HD
Alamo Bowl
Big Ten vs. Big XII San Antonio, TX 4:30 PM ESPN HD
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Southeastern vs. Atlantic Coast Atlanta, GA 8 PM ESPN HD
Sunday, December 31st
MPC Computers Bowl
WAC vs. Atlantic Coast Boise, ID 7:30 PM ESPN HD
Monday, January 1st
Outback Bowl
Southeastern vs. Big Ten Tampa, FL 11 a.m. ESPN HD
AT&T Cotton Bowl
Big XII vs. Southeastern Dallas, TX 11:30 a.m. FOX HD
Toyota Gator Bowl
Big XII vs. Big East/Big XII Jacksonville, FL 1 PM CBS
Capital One Bowl
Southeastern vs. Big Ten Orlando, FL 1 PM ABC HD
Rose Bowl
Pacific-10 vs. Big Ten Pasadena, CA 5 PM ABC HD
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Big XII vs. BCS At Large Glendale, AZ 8 PM FOX HD
Tuesday, January 2nd
FedEx Orange Bowl
Atlantic Coast vs. BCS At Large Miami FL 8 PM FOX HD
Wednesday, January 3rd
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Southeastern vs. BCS At Large New Orleans LA 8 PM FOX HD
Saturday, January 6th
International Bowl
Big East vs. MAC Toronto, Canada Noon ESPN2 HD
Sunday, January 7th
GMAC Bowl
Conference USA vs. MAC Mobile, AL 8 PM ESPN HD
Monday, January 8th
BCS Championship Game Bowl
BCS #1 vs. BCS #2 Glendale, AZ 8 PM FOX
NOTE: This entire schedule will be updated with pairings in the third post of the thread here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4278280&&#post4278280
Wednesday’s updated fast national over night 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.
TV Notebook
Showtime Rolls More Weeds
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 11/16/2006
Calling it the centerpiece of its comedy strategy for the near future, cable net Showtime has given a green light to 15 new episodes of critically acclaimed Weeds.
Weeds, Showtime's most-watched comedy, is about a pot-selling suburban mom, played by Emmy-winner Mary-Louise Parker.
The show, which resumes production in the spring for a summer premiere of its third season, is produced by Lionsgate, in association with Tilted productions.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6392127
humdinger70
11-16-06, 12:08 PM
Wednesday’s updated fast national over night 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.
Fred, could you go edit that page... Looks like you forgot the close bracket or malformed some of the metatags!!
Thanks, humdinger.
Some day I may get it right! :)
The Business of TV
Dressler: No NFL Deal by Turkey Day
By R. Thomas Umstead MultiChannel News 11/16/2006
New York -- Time Warner Cable subscribers can forget about watching NFL Network’s Denver Broncos-Kansas City Chiefs National Football League game with Thanksgiving dessert, according to the MSO’s executive vice president of programming, Fred Dressler.
Dressler said Wednesday at the Sports Media & Technology summit here that it’s “100%” assured that the MSO will not come to terms with the fledgling network before its eight-game Thursday- and Saturday-night package kicks off on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23.
While Dressler said the cable operator continues to negotiate with the network, it will not capitulate to NFL Network’s demands to place the service on Time Warner’s expanded-basic tier.
"It comes down to whether consumers will be allowed to pay for it discretely or whether it will be bundled into basic,” he added.
Cox Communications senior VP Bob Wilson, who also spoke at the conference, confirmed that the MSO will offer NFL Network and its live games on its sports and information tier. He said that tier has about 30% penetration across all Cox subscribers and 60% penetration among Cox digital-cable homes.
Wilson would not reveal specifics about the agreement, but executives involved in NFL Network operator negotiations said Cox and other cable-operator and satellite distributors of the live game package are paying close to a 50-cent to 60-cent surcharge to carry the games.
Operators such as Time Warner, Cablevision Systems and Charter Communications -- which do not have deals with NFL Network -- would have to ante up 70 cents per subscriber and distribute the service on expanded-basic tiers in order to get the games.
Also at the conference, DirecTV executive VP Eric Shanks said the satellite service will allow NFL Sunday Ticket Super Fan subscribers the ability to watch the package via the Internet next season.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6392153.html?display=Breaking+News
Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
'Dancing' scores as season's No. 1 show
ABC reality show's finale draws 27.2 million
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Nov. 16, 2006
Emmitt Smith pulled off an upset win over Mario Lopez on last night’s finale of “Dancing with the Stars,” but there was no surprise about the show’s ratings. It tangoed off the air with the most-watched episode of any show this season on broadcast.
“Stars” drew 27.2 million total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights, equaling last February’s season finale. Among adults 18-49, it drew a 7.0 rating, down from season two’s 8.6 but still dominating the competition.
“Stars” nearly outdrew the combined totals of NBC, CBS, Fox and the CW among total viewers at 8 p.m.
It bettered Tuesday’s competition portion of the “Stars” finale by about 400,000 viewers and should help ABC maintain its 18-49 lead in the November sweeps.
There was, however, some bad news for the network on the night. The two-hour series premiere of the Taye Diggs drama “Day Break,” which received a gigantic lead-in from “Stars” and had been heavily promoted on “Lost” for weeks, lost nearly half of its lead-in in 18-49s and could sink further without the benefit of “Stars” in the coming weeks.
“Break” averaged a 3.7 18-49 rating and 10.5 million total viewers over 120 minutes. Its ratings declined in every half hour, going from a 4.5 and nearly 14 million at 9 p.m. to a 3.2 and 8.5 million by 10:30.
In other season premiere news, NBC’s “Medium” also had a two-hour debut. It averaged a 3.5 in the 9-11 p.m. timeslot, down 15 percent from its 4.1 average last season.
Thanks to “Stars,” ABC was first for the night among 18-49s with a 4.8 average rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 4.4/11, NBC third at 3.3/8, Fox fourth at 2.5/6, Univision fifth at 1.7/5 and CW sixth at 1.7/4.
At 8 p.m. ABC led comfortably with its 7.0 average for the “Stars” finale. CBS was second that hour with a 3.0 for “Jericho,” Fox third with a 2.9 for “Bones,” NBC fourth with a 2.8 for “The Biggest Loser,” CW fifth with a 2.2 for “America’s Next Top Model” and Univision sixth with a 2.1 for “La Fea Mas Bella.”
CBS took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 4.9 for “Criminal Minds,” with ABC falling to second with a 4.0 for the first hour of the premiere of “Break.” Though “Minds” did well, it’s interesting to note that it was about even to the previous week, when it faced “Lost.”
NBC was third during the hour with a 3.3 average for the first half of the premiere of “Medium,” Fox fourth with a 2.0 for a repeat of “Bones,” Univision fifth with a 1.5 for “Mundo de Fieras” and CW sixth with a 1.3 for “One Tree Hill.” “Hill” did, however, have its best retention of the season among women 18-34 out of “Model,” averaging a 2.7 thanks to a crossover with the series.
At 10 p.m. CBS led again, this time with a 5.1 for “CSI: NY.” NBC was second with a 3.7 for the second half of “Medium,” ABC third with a 3.4 for the last hour of “Break” and Univision fourth with a 1.6 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
ABC finished first for the night among households with a 10.5 average rating and a 16 share. CBS was second at 8.8/14, NBC third at 5.5/8, Fox fourth at 4.3/7, CW fifth at 2.6/4 and Univision sixth at 2.2/3.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8602.asp
bphisig
11-16-06, 12:37 PM
Wednesday’s updated fast national over night 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.
Very disappointed by Day Break's ratings. I haven't finished watching it yet, but I like what I've seen so far. Very alarming drop in viewers each half hour.
I suspect the suits at ABC are really alarmed today.
They have just ended "Dancing With The Stars", "Lost" will be MIA for three months and now "Day Break" looks like it could well be a (ratings) dog.
Critic’s Notebook
O.J. Kills! - On Fox. In Sweeps. We're shocked.
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle in his TV blog “The Bastard Machine”
If it's true that tragedy plus time equals comedy, then the continuation of O.J. Simpson's odd cultural foray should be late night fodder starting, well, tonight. And every night until he goes on Fox and explains, in primetime, how - "If I Did It" - he would have killed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
Don't forget to set your TiVo for pretty much everyone - Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson. What host, what comic, would let his gem slip through their fingers? None.
Let's see - O.J. writes a book called "If I Did It," apparently taking time out from his frantic search to find the real killers, and his publisher says, "I consider this his confession." Yeah, nobody will touch that. O.J. - God's gift to comedy writers.
Now, this isn't about ethics which, in relation to both Simpson and television is a pointless exercise. But how many people were shocked - shocked! - to learn that O.J. was going to hype this book and this "theory" on the Fox network. In primetime.
Exactly.
What happens when two events in close succession should be - in a normal world - unbelievably stunning and yet turn out to be absolutely predictable? First, you silently shudder, then feel shame for the culture at hand and then throw up a little bit in your mouth.
Oh, and then you watch.
Fine. Say you're not going to watch. I'll say this - you probably shouldn't. But the guess here is that you will. If not you, someone else - to the tune of somewhere near 30 million would be a decent guess. And you just know that O.J.'s first installment - Nov. 27 - will be a total borefest. And you will feel duped and more than a little ill that you participated. But by then Fox will have you on the hook for the Nov. 29 finale, where no doubt the most salacious bits will be hidden. Tell the world how you would have killed two people that the world already believes you killed. And don't forget the gory details, Juice. That's Fox for you. A cliffhanger. In sweeps.
Since Fox seems incapable of creating a funny comedy, maybe this is the network's next best thing. "Til Death" indeed.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn?blogid=24
chrisirmo
11-16-06, 01:35 PM
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
I think this is the official sign that there are too many bowl games. A local credit union is really the best sponsor they could get?
Marcus Carr
11-16-06, 01:49 PM
Poinsettia Bowl? They must be running out of flowers. :)
Critic’s Notebook
O.J. Kills! - On Fox. In Sweeps. We're shocked.
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle in his TV blog “The Bastard Machine”
Goodman, great as usual. The below is one of the responses to the above blog,
O.J. Simpson took a knife
Plunged it forty times into his wife
But here's the part that is so gory
He went to Fox News and sold his story
(Posted By: sonofabastard)
TV Notebook
Fox orders more 'Standoff,' ''Til Death'
Skeins are likely only Fox frosh to be extended
By Josef Adalian Variety Nov. 16, 2006
HOLLYWOOD -- Fox is sticking by "'Til Death" and "Standoff," ordering additional episodes of both frosh skeins.
Net has given the go-ahead to nine more episodes of Brad Garrett laffer "Death" and six more segs of procedural drama "Standoff." Skeins are the first -- and likely only -- Fox frosh to be extended beyond their initial 13 seg commitments.
"Death," from Sony Pictures Television, has struggled against tough competish Thursdays at 8 p.m. Fox execs believe the show might yet attract an audience and are hoping the return of "American Idol" and "24" will give it a boost.
"Standoff," from 20th Century Fox TV, has also posted underwhelming Nielsen numbers. Still, skein has shown more of a pulse than Fox's other frosh dramas, "Vanished" and "Justice."
Fox opted to order six episodes of "Standoff" rather than the usual nine be
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117954038&categoryid=14
TV Notebook
Fox orders more 'Standoff,' ''Til Death'
Skeins are likely only Fox frosh to be extended
By Josef Adalian Variety Nov. 16, 2006
HOLLYWOOD -- Fox is sticking by "'Til Death" and "Standoff," ordering additional episodes of both frosh skeins.
Net has given the go-ahead to nine more episodes of Brad Garrett laffer "Death" and six more segs of procedural drama "Standoff." Skeins are the first -- and likely only -- Fox frosh to be extended beyond their initial 13 seg commitments.
"Death," from Sony Pictures Television, has struggled against tough competish Thursdays at 8 p.m. Fox execs believe the show might yet attract an audience and are hoping the return of "American Idol" and "24" will give it a boost.
"Standoff," from 20th Century Fox TV, has also posted underwhelming Nielsen numbers. Still, skein has shown more of a pulse than Fox's other frosh dramas, "Vanished" and "Justice."
Fox opted to order six episodes of "Standoff" rather than the usual nine because, with "Idol" and "24," net believes it won't have a need for more segs, a spokesman said.
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117954038&categoryid=14
TV Review
“30 Rock”:
Solid Enough to Rebuild a Thursday Foundation
By Tom Shales Washington Post TV Critic Thursday, November 16, 2006
In desperation there is consolation, because if NBC weren't taking such a shellacking in prime time -- if its nightly lineups looked a little less like the fall of the Roman Empire -- then the low-rated comedy "30 Rock" might already have been canceled.
But happily for viewers (especially those feeling burned out on the kind of pop-Kafka spookiness that the networks are so infatuated with this season), "30 Rock" has not only survived but also, as of tonight, been moved to potentially more advantageous Thursday nights -- land of "Must-See TV" in the days when NBC ruled the waves instead of groveling in the sand.
It gets a bit complicated, however. As a sweeps stunt and to inaugurate a new, mostly comedy lineup on Thursdays, NBC is tonight offering "super-sized" episodes of its better sitcoms, meaning that new episodes of "My Name Is Earl," "The Office" and "30 Rock" will be 40 minutes each instead of 30. Eventually that lineup will be joined by "Scrubs," thus giving "30 Rock" a good lead-in and a good lead-out.
All that strategic mumbo jumbo aside, "30 Rock" clearly deserves another shot, and tonight's episode shows why. The series has consistently and considerably improved since its premiere, and although it unfortunately shares its setting -- backstage at a "Saturday Night Live" kind of comedy show -- with NBC's congested windbag "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the sitcom is refreshingly bright, sweet and, lest one forget, funny.
The cast is a huge plus, and it's dominated by the noblest Baldwin of them all: Alec, a veteran who has proved himself to be full of surprises. His Tony Bennett impression, spotlighted hilariously on the most recent "SNL" (with Bennett himself making a surprise appearance), is a wonderfully affectionate caricature. And on "30 Rock," Baldwin plays Jack Donaghy, vice president of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for NBC's owner, General Electric, as someone more complex than the jerk you might expect.
Donaghy's prominence in the story lines has grown because Baldwin's performance is so rare and rich. He isn't doing the easy thing, which would be portraying a network executive as a clueless doofus. Although it's true that Donaghy is full of stupendously wrongheaded notions that he foolishly mistakes for ideas, as well as a pronounced bullying streak, Baldwin gives him an unlikely subtle poignancy. Instead of merely hating Jack, you're likely to develop a soft spot for him, especially when he tries to dismiss failure as mere foible.
Tina Fey, who created the show and plays Liz, the head writer, engages in smart, even sexy sparring sessions with Baldwin, tolerating all but his most onerous abuses on the grounds that the poor schnook doesn't know any better. His vulnerability is brought front-and-center tonight when Donaghy decides that he'd just love to play himself in a comedy sketch, even if it is live TV and even if he can't remember a line of dialogue longer than "Hello there."
When he says, "I thrive on fear," everybody knows he's bluffing.
The episode is a little shaky, however, when it comes to comic perspective. Presumably, viewers are not to take seriously Liz's pompous announcement -- that "we are not compromising the integrity of this show" -- when Donaghy asks her to insert product placements, for such GE wonders as its offshore drilling motors, into the comedy scripts. But then in a blink, Liz is heaping gratuitous praise on Snapple, by name, and later a man dressed as a bottle of Snapple saunters into the scenario.
Is Fey making fun of the show-within-the-show or the show itself? Or both, or neither? Fortunately, it's not worth worrying about, and there's enough going on with the other characters -- including Tracy Morgan's rakish, risk-taking portrayal of rich and lazy movie star Tracy Jordan -- to keep one not only distracted but also amused.
In light of all the good news, it's painful to report that young Jack McBrayer, who plays an impossibly starry-eyed NBC page, doesn't appear tonight, except in the opening credits. McBrayer is the show's brightest discovery, and his performance has been a bittersweet beauty from Scene 1.
So where did McBrayer go? Fey said yesterday from her office in the real 30 Rock that there is "such a big ensemble" in the episode that he was sort of crowded out.
Ironically, room was found for creepy Scott Adsit as a creepy writer named Frank -- basically a waste of time and space.
"I agree that Jack McBrayer is fantastic," Fey said, "and we are planning to use him lots and lots." Maybe it's a budget thing; NBC isn't exactly rolling in rubles.
For the record, Executive Producer Lorne Michaels, who knows more about comedy than the rest of us put together, also chimed in with praise for McBrayer: "We're very high on him. He's obviously the breakout performer on the series. We like him, the network likes him, viewers like him, everybody likes him."
Unless you're already a fan of the series, though, you'll have to take all that praise on faith. And although "30 Rock" is now part of the Thursday lineup -- once hallowed home to such sitcom classics as "The Cosby Show," "Cheers" and later "Seinfeld" -- the show won't air next week because of Thanksgiving, so McBrayer might not pop up again until December.
Regardless of problems, "30 Rock" has earned its spot on the schedule, and not just because comedies are in such woefully short supply -- although, come to think of it, that might be reason enough right there. "30 Rock" is as good as "The Office," "My Name Is Earl" and the rapidly aging "Scrubs." All four shows lined up in a row do not compare with NBC's greatest Thursday nights, but network executives deserve at least a peep of gratitude for keeping the freshmen on the air while smart people tinker with the entrails and make the shows better.
Baldwin's performance, on the other hand, seems perilously close to perfect, beyond improving -- whether wacky Jack is taking a sneaky peek at video of his performance on the show, or irritating Liz by lecturing: "Don't gloat. It makes you seem mannish."
Most of the time, Baldwin's character is the one doling out abuse and yet, in a truly neat trick, Baldwin makes him the show's most sympathetic soul. That's beyond acting; it's more like alchemy. And a crazy joy to watch.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111501577_pf.html
2006-07 College Football Bowl Schedule
(All games in HD. All times are Eastern.)
Sunday, December 24th
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii vs. Pacific-10 Honolulu, HI 8 PM ESPN HD
Hey, they finally got a HD truck in Hawaii. I guess we can also expect the NFL Pro Bowl to be in HD this season for the first time.
Washington Notebook
Another Digital Transition Delay?
Democrats Air Concerns About Analog Switchover
By Ira Teinowitz Television Week November 16, 2006
On the eve of their takeover of the House, Democrats on Thursday raised new issues about the government's plan to manage the switchover from analog to digital TV in 2009 and hinted that the switch could be delayed if the program isn't handled right.
"Failure to devise a consumer-friendly converter box program, or to inform consumers properly of its existence, could significantly jeopardize the public's acceptance of the transition and derail the firm deadline," said incoming House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and committee Democrats in a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The NTIA is the president's principal adviser on telecommunications policy.
Democrats have been critical of the Republicans' plan for the switchover, suggesting insufficient money has being set aside to provide converter boxes to analog households or to publicize the switch. The new letter signals that those concerns will continue in the next Congress, when the Democrats take charge.
"We continue to believe this plan is highly flawed and disadvantages the poor, the elderly, minority groups, and those with multiple analog television sets in their home," the letter states.
The Democrats didn't propose to immediately change the Feb. 17, 2009, switchover date. Instead, their concerns are whether offering $40 coupons for converters only to homes without cable or satellite is sufficient, whether the government needs to require that converter boxes don't provide downgraded signals, and that the $5 million spending on a consumer education touting the change is "woefully inadequate for such a broad and fundamental change."
The government's limiting the boxes to over-the-air households "would unfairly disenfranchise consumers who possess perfectly functioning analog televisions," according to the letter. "Consumers who have purchased analog [TVs] deserve a government backed plan to hold them harmless in this transition."
The letter said the converter boxes "at a minimum [should] replicate the picture and audio quality consumers experience today when watching their analog televisions," and called on the agency to see that the government's $5 million public education effort is bolstered by industry efforts.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11084
dad1153
11-16-06, 04:25 PM
The New York Post may be a sleazy tabloid but sometimes it scores exclusives with very good sources that turn out to be right most of the time. Speaking of "right"...
The Business of TV
WRIGHT HIM OFF
NBC UNIVERSAL CHAIRMAN'S EXIT IS IN WORKS
By Peter Lauria The New York Post November 16, 2006
Say goodbye to Bob Wright.
According to four sources with knowledge of the situation, NBC Universal is laying the groundwork for Wright to cede his role as chairman of the Peacock network to CEO Jeff Zucker, possibly by the end of this year.
"There's strong indication that that's the plan they are moving toward," said one of these sources.
Said another: "Something significant is going to happen [with Wright and Zucker] sooner rather than later."
A third source said three weeks ago, on an Amtrak ride to Washington, D.C., two GE executives were overheard openly talking about replacing Wright.
While Zucker assuming the chairman's title has been widely anticipated - the General Electric-controlled entertainment giant reshuffled its executive ranks last December in order to position Zucker to take over when Wright retires - a move at this time would be unexpected.
An NBCU spokesman vehemently denied Wright's departure was imminent: "There will always be rumor and speculation, but the truth is, a decision like this can only be made by the chairman of GE and the board of directors, and no decision has been made."
Bill Conaty, head of human resources for all of GE, said: "I'm a huge fan of Bob's and Jeff's, and The New York Post will never dictate the timing of GE's succession planning."
The speculation about Wright comes as NBCU Television Networks Group President Randy Falco announced yesterday that he is leaving NBCU after 30 years to join Time Warner's AOL as chairman and CEO. He replaces Jonathan Miller.
It was a poorly kept secret that Falco was miffed about being passed over for the CEO post when NBCU restructured the executive suite late last year.
NBCU has been under a cloud for the past two years as its NBC broadcast network has seen its ratings tumble with the departure of the hit series "Friends" and "Frasier."
While the cable networks NBCU owns have been strong performers, challenges at NBC have become a drag on GE's overall results. That's bad news for Wright, who was said to have viewed the 2004 merger of NBC with Vivendi Universal that created NBCU as his corporate swan song.
The challenges facing NBC have prompted the company to trim jobs, even at its morning show powerhouse "Today." With 65 the mandatory retirement age for GE executives, combined with the internal tension that has marked the relationship between Wright and Zucker over the last year, sources said they wouldn't be surprised if the 63-year-old Wright walked away before he is forced.
NBC is in the midst of a massive restructuring that aims to save $750 million through the elimination of 750 jobs.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11162006/business/wright_him_off_business_peter_lauria.htm
humdinger70
11-16-06, 05:09 PM
I think this is the official sign that there are too many bowl games. A local credit union is really the best sponsor they could get?
I'm a member of that credit union (since 1985). It used to be only open to employees (and family members) of the County of San Diego.
Since they opened up membership to the general public, it's really gotten big. Assets are now approaching 3 1/2 billion (yes, billion) dollars! It's one of the largest in the country.
To have their name attached to a bowl game and a local one at that (both it and the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl are played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego) is a big boost to their name recognition. :cool:
Washington Notebook
Senators Attempt To Save Dish Distant Signals
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 11/16/2006
With satellite operator EchoStar facing a Dec. 1 cut-off of all the distant network TV station signals it delivers to some 800,000 customers, a pair of Senators have dropped a bill to block court action mandating the cut-off.
A court had ruled that EchoStar delivered distant TV station signals to customers who could receive an acceptable signal from their local affiliate, in violation of FCC rules. Because the court said it did not have confidence in EchoStar's ability to determine which subs were and were not eligible to receive distant signals, it ordered them to pull all the signals.
Senators Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy Thursday offered a bill to "ensure that certain eligible EchoStar DISH Network customers that are able to receive distant network signals under current law will continue to receive them," and asked the Congress to act immediately.
It would have to since it is planning to exit for the Thanksgiving break at weeks end, not to return until Dec. 5.
“Without distant signals, many satellite subscribers around the country will not be able to watch a network affiliate, which is a primary source of news, sports and entertainment for many,” said Allard.
EchoStar had sought a delay of implementation of the court order, pointing to the 800,000-plus customers that would have their signals yanked and to a multimillion-dollar settlement it had hammered out with most of the affected stations.
In a statement, the National Association of Broadcasters, which opposes the delay, wasn't mincing words. "NAB strongly opposes a bail - out by Congress of a habitual copyright infringer that has skimmed millions of dollars infringing copyrights and violating the law on a nationwide basis for eight years or more," said spokesman Dennis Wharton. "The fact is consumers will not lose access to broadcast network programming when the court decision goes into effect. Consumers have a variety of easy options to receive broadcast network programming."
Those include cable and satellite competitor, DirecTV.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6392431
grittree
11-16-06, 06:57 PM
Goodman, great as usual. The below is one of the responses to the above blog,
O.J. Simpson took a knife
Plunged it forty times into his wife
But here's the part that is so gory
He went to Fox News and sold his story
(Posted By: sonofabastard)
Let's start being a little fair and balanced here. The OJ crap, just like Temptation Island, was not bought by, nor will it air on Fox News.
Criic’s Notebook
Protesting to Fox over the Simpson special
By Gail Pennington St. Louis Post-Dispatch Television Critic in the “Tube Talk” blog Nov. 16, 2006
I agree 100 percent with the people who said the best protest is not to watch and encourage others not to watch. Vote with your remotes.
In general I think protesting to networks is futile. Fox doesn’t want to hear from you about anything. On the website (fox.com), you will find, after a lot of surfing, a snail-mail address, but the only reference to e-mail addresses is that there aren’t any.
It won’t hurt to let (your local Fox station) know your feelings, but (if) the station is owned and operated by Fox, (it) will have very little leeway to refuse to air a Fox show no matter how many protests there are….
To protest to Fox, you might join a petition drive. I haven’t heard of one yet, but I’d be surprised if some weren’t started. I’m on vacation Thanksgiving week, so keep an eye out for any petitions. Or start one!
At Fox, the person ultimately responsible for putting the special on the air is Peter Liguori, president of Fox Entertainment. Mike Darnell, who is in charge of the reality-TV division, is credited with acquiring the special.
You could write:
Peter Liguori
President, Fox Entertainment
Fox Broadcasting Co.
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90213
http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/entertainment-tube-talk/2006/11/protesting-to-fox-over-the-simpson-special/
Davinleeds
11-16-06, 07:09 PM
Washington Notebook
Senators Attempt To Save Dish Distant Signals
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 11/16/2006
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6392431
They have already cut me off and it's not Dec 1. I called them and "we can't find your channels." Please, they knew this was coming and made locals free for three months. And I fought for years to get waviers. Back to free to air mpeg 2 sat.
The Business of TV
Ad Execs Eschew Fox Sweeps Stunt
by Wayne Friedman mediapost.com Nov, 16, 2006
Media agency executives are keery -- if not outraged--about Fox's highly controversial November sweep special "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," which will air at the end of the month.
"I can't think of a client that would go near this," says Ira Berger, media director at The Richards Group, Dallas. "I can't see any packaged-goods advertisers buying this. If you are looking for backlash, this would be the Super Bowl of backlash."
On Tuesday, Fox--which has been reeling with double-digit rating declines this season--announced a two-hour, two-day special at the end of the November sweeps period featuring O.J. Simpson talking about his new book, "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened." He will be interviewed by Judith Regan, his publisher, who heads Regan Books. Regan Books, like the Fox network, is owned by News Corp.
Ten years ago, Simpson was cleared in the high-profile, highly charged murder trial of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. But he was found guilty in a civil case and hit with a $33 million judgment.
Ad executives say they can't imagine that Fox will gain much from the special in terms of advertising dollars, but they will gain more in other areas.
"It's going to pull up Fox ratings and create buzz," says Berger. "Fox needed to do something in the fourth quarter; they were virtually invisible."
Many in the industry say the event seems a purely staged one. Regan isn't an impartial news journalist looking to quiz Simpson. She has a financial interest in helping the book and the show succeed. "It's all about selling books and looking for the most provocative way to do it," says Berger. Media executives expect the list of advertisers to be a narrow one--perhaps movie companies or racy Internet Web sites. A Fox spokeswoman had no comment about the network's advertising plans for the show.
Fox may have to consider other issues related to the show. "It would not only have problems with advertisers, there could be an issue with Fox affiliates that might not want to take the show," adds Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director for Horizon Media.
Which is why agency executives wonder why Fox News isn't handling the interview. Instead, it is being handled by Mike Darnell, who heads Fox's reality programming. That sent media agency executives into fume mode.
"It's the lowest form for hype," says Gary Carr, senior vice president of national broadcast for TargetCast TCM. "It's an embarrassment to our business. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind buying into this. I'm ashamed for Fox doing this, after the network gained respectability in recent years. They have gone for the low blow again."
Some wonder if Fox will actually sell to national advertisers at all. Others speculate that the network is just testing the waters and will--like ABC did early this year with its "9/11" program--announce a few days before airing, that it's a commercial-free event.
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=51226
Davinleeds
11-16-06, 07:39 PM
It'll be watched, human nature. Just like the glove, it will intentionally not fit.
How I hope you are wrong, Dave.
Davinleeds
11-16-06, 08:33 PM
The title of his book is an instigator. I'm not his fan but truthfully my opinion is skewed byCourt TV.
Let's start being a little fair and balanced here. The OJ crap, just like Temptation Island, was not bought by, nor will it air on Fox News.
I'm fairly certain the poster of the little poem meant FOX Network, not FOX News.
I agree.
And I have read -- though not heard or seen -- that FNC's Bill O'Reilly has been outraged about the Fox interview.
Critic’s Notebook
The subversive delights of “Ugly Betty”
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” Nov. 16, 2006
It’s a good thing Betty Suarez’s poncho is roomy.
Under that billowing bright-red garment, which Suarez famously wore in the first episode of ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” Suarez sneaked in the tools of a television revolution.
The success of the Thursday night show, one of the few real hits of the new season, has upended as many rules of television as you care to count.
It’s not just that a curvy Hispanic woman with thick eyebrows is starring in a broadcast network hit, though that is stunning. But this is a season of surprising developments. After all, the only other recent breakout character is not one from one of the glossy, expensive star vehicles that debuted in the last few months.
No, the other standout character of the fall season is a nerdy Japanese “Star Trek” fan, the lovably geeky Hiro of “Heroes.” Could it be that networks are stepping outside their comfort zones of cops, lawyers and docs and may be on the verge of offering us fun, quirky, just plain different characters? Let’s hope so.
Even if that doesn’t happen, the success of “Ugly Betty” is heartening, not just because the show is a touching dramedy with a starmaking performance by America Ferrera at its center. It’s also a thrill because the show is chock-full of things that just aren’t done on TV - or usually aren’t done well.
Until Betty and her desperately un-chic “Guadalajara” poncho swooped into the snooty offices of Meade Publishing, we rarely, if ever, saw clashes of class and culture like the one we’re seeing now between the highest echelons of Manhattan society and this lower-middle class resident of Queens - a clash in which, by the way, neither side is necessarily held up as the gold standard.
We rarely saw a chick-friendly aspirational drama in which the prize is not a guy, but respect in the workplace. And how many family dramas do we see in which characters struggle to afford their medication and talk about immigration issues that affect them directly?
“Whether it’s the Cinderella myth or the Ugly Duckling - that’s the quick way people are summing up the story, but if you watch, you realize that’s not it at all,” says Eric Mabius, who plays Betty’s boss, Mode magazine editor Daniel Meade. “Betty is redefining the entire paradigm on her terms.”
Here’s the biggest rule that “Betty” didn’t follow, to the show’s eternal credit: The show, which follows the story of Betty’s unlikely stint as the assistant to a publishing scion, didn’t try to strip away the many complicated layers that make it a delectable, unique concoction.
Usually network executives appear to have one job: To bland-ify a show so that it offends no one. The thinking is, if you remove the elements that might turn off individual constituencies, you widen a program’s potential appeal. What you usually end up with is a big bunch of non-threatening blah.
But “Betty,” if anything, went in the other direction, stacking up layers and colors and tones, and mixing comedy, camp and drama with a devil-may-care brashness.
The show is a veritable piñata full of treats: iIf you don’t like the family saga, you can enjoy the forays into the catty fashion world; if you don’t like the antics of the haute couture divas, there’s a soapy murder mystery to solve; and if you’re not into that aspect of the show, there are not one but two romances brewing for Betty.
There’s also the endlessly relatable idea of the outsider persevering in the face of snubs and obstacles. Who hasn’t felt like Betty, at one time or another?
Vanessa Williams says her four kids, who range from college age to 6 years old, all love the show - they actually persuaded the actress to continue in the role as diva fashion editor Wilhemina Slater, when she thought about dropping out after filming the pilot in New York, which is where her family lives (the show is now shot in L.A.). “They said, `Mom, this is a great role. You’ll have fun. We’ll be fine,’” Williams said.
“My eldest is actually at [the Fashion Institute of Technology] in New York; she loves the idea of it being set in the fashion world. My 6-year-old loves how I get to behave on the show - yelling, throwing things,” Williams says with a laugh.
And that cross-generational appeal has paid off with the 14.2 million viewers who have been tuning in each week. As Michael Urie, who plays Betty’s fellow assistant Marc, puts it, “There’s Queens and there’s Manhattan, and we’ve found our audience in both places.”
Part of the reason that “Ugly Betty’s” audacious mixture isn’t a disaster is because Silvio Horta, the executive producer who adapted “Betty” from the hit Colombian telenovela “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea” (“I Am Betty, the Ugly”), knows what he’s writing about. He was once a sheltered Hispanic kid in Miami whose relatives couldn’t believe he wanted to go to college in New York City.
“Any family member [I talked to], it was like, `You’re leaving? You’re going away? You’re going to New York? That’s so far. It’s crazy, you don’t need to leave!’ ” Horta recalls. “None of my cousins [left], you sort of stay behind and stay close. To move beyond that, you know - it’s different for Betty, it’s different than anybody else around her [at Mode]. There’s a real conflict and a real struggle for her.”
Betty’s conflict, between the gum-snapping, big-haired world of Queens and the often snobby world of Manhattan publishing is one that Horta could relate to from the start.
“I love the idea of doing a first-generation Latino-American story, which is sort of my experience, in trying to balance these two very different worlds,” Horta says. “And to get a real sense of this family, which is so different than this world in which she aspires to succeed, [a world] in which she so does not fit in, but by virtue of her optimism and intelligence and confidence, she is able to not only succeed but is able to effect change in others.”
Indeed, part of the show’s charm is its subversive role-reversals, which even apply to its title, which some critics dubbed controversial. Of course Betty is not ugly - perhaps just in need of a day at the spa. And as it happens, her upstanding moral code make her quite appealing - she’s much more attractive than the supposedly elite types around her, who recognize on some level that she is their superior, if not as a fashion trendsetter, then as a human being.
“She’s teaching me to regard people with sensitivity and humanity and to regard people with a consideration I was never taught growing up, and I’m teaching her how to navigate this adult world,” says Mabius of Daniel and Betty’s odd-couple relationship. “It’s like together we make a whole person.”
“Audiences really love that, me and [Wilhemina], we’re always plotting and trying to be mean, and we end up screwing it up,” Urie says. “And as much as we hate that Betty is all those things that she is, she’s always right.”
But taking on a show like this - in which class, ethnicity and gender issues collide in a campily fabulous fashion-magazine world - was a leap of faith by ABC. On the plus side, “Ugly Betty,” was a known quantity, and versions of the show were raging successes in TV markets all over the world.
“Every time the original [telenovela] was on, my mom would hurry and get off the phone, `I gotta go watch “Betty la Fea,’.” Horta recalls. “And whenever I was home it was just on. It was sort of this sensation.”
But it was difficult to get an American version of the show, which originally ran from 1999-2001 in Colombia, off the ground. The concept bounced around in the American TV-development world for years: NBC tried to make it as a half-hour comedy, and even ABC tried to make it once before but passed on that first version of the show.
Still, the creative team behind the show, which includes Ben Silverman, who successfully imported the British comedy “The Office,” and Salma Hayek, who’s currently appearing as a guest star on the show, never backed off Betty’s ethnicity or the heroine’s working-class roots.
“We really wanted to bring back to television … through emotion, through character, through comedy, conversations about race, about class, about differences and distinctions within our everyday life, and … to potentially bring Norman Lear back to a soap opera,” Silverman said at the Television Critics Association press tour in July.
Like many Hispanics, Ana Ortiz, who plays Betty’s older sister Hilda, has been waiting for American television to wake up and start depicting people from her world on TV - as more than maids and man-stealers, the kind of roles she’s most often auditioned for.
“And can I tell you - [it’s always] a maid named Maria,” she says with a rueful laugh. “They haven’t even gotten to the point where they can expand at least on the name. If I’m going to be a maid, can she at least be Blanca or Julia?”
In that context, the arrival of the script for “Ugly Betty” was an event.
“I remember when I first read the script, and I thought, `Oh, my God, this is us. This is my family,’ ” says Ana Ortiz, who comes from a tight-knit Irish-Puerto Rican family in New York. “Everybody’s in each other’s business in my family all the time. They want you to be independent and want you to grow up, but they are so super-protective at the same time.”
“I have cousins who were born and raised and married within the same four blocks,” she notes. “One thing that I love about that, is that when my little cousin walks down the street, everybody will pop their head out the door and say, `Where are you going? Does your papa know?’ I love that insulated community. On the other hand there’s something to be said for having the chutzpah to explore new things. And Betty has the best of both worlds.”
“To me, Betty is the most beautiful opportunity that’s ever come across my path to represent a whole generation of young women who don’t recognize themselves in anything they’re watching,” Ferrera told critics at TCA. “Whether it be magazines or TV or movies, they’re invisible.”
And Horta was determined that Betty’s family, which consists of Hilda, her fashion-obsessed son Justin and her illegal immigrant father, play a prominent role in the show. It was a wise decision; as with New Jersey’s Italian-American Sopranos family and the African-American clan on “Everybody Hates Chris,” the Suarezes are both rooted in their ethnicity and transcend it at the same time.
People relate “not because it’s a Hispanic family, it’s because it’s a family with problems,” Williams says. “You relate to the plight of these characters.”
That mixture of heartfelt drama and sly comedy has helped set “Betty” apart, and its close attention to Betty’s emotional journey made the show a perfect fit with ABC’s Thursday hit “Grey’s Anatomy.” Still, would “Betty” have become such a topic of water-cooler conversation without its candy-colored palette and the vibrant aesthetic touches that announce, “This is not your father’s procedural”?
“I would always say it’s [Pedro] Almodovar-esque, in that there’s a bit of heightened reality, but a real sort of grounded, emotional factor there,” Horta says of “Betty’s” distinctive look, which is dominated by the orange-and-white Mode offices, the primary colors of Betty’s sometimes outlandish outfits and the clashing patterns of the Suarezes’ Queens home.
One thing Horta says you won’t see on “Ugly Betty” is the shaky, hand-held camera that “24” helped make popular. And unlike much television fare, “Betty” is not just full of vibrant colors but also brightly lit. Just as Betty doesn’t match the usual body type and ethnicity of most female TV characters, “Ugly Betty” looks like nothing else on TV.
“It’s about the framing of the shots, the angles and these simple touches,” Horta says. “Everything is a bit askew, which gives it that heightened edge.”
“We just wanted it to have a real pop to it,” he notes.
And pop it has. “Betty,” along with another left-field show, “Heroes,” is one of the few new series to truly catch on with viewers. “Ugly Betty” is not only drawing solid ratings - against formidable fare such as “The Office” and “Survivor” - but it’s also been the inspiration for a fertile crop of blogs and Web sites devoted to the show.
Still, “Betty’s” hit status means that the show has gone into overdrive to make sure that new episodes stay in the pipeline. And given its heightened visual style and large cast, it’s a complicated show to make.
“It’s really rare to facilitate so many different story lines and people from such different backgrounds all in one show. It’s a huge undertaking,” Mabius says. “I’m looking at a script right now - they cut this episode down, but as it exists, there are 57 pages and 60 scenes. And we have eight days to shoot 60 scenes. I mean, do the math. It’s intense.”
“We haven’t had a break at all since we started,” Williams says. “We’ve been doing dual episodes on the same stages, many times we’re shooting with two different directors at the same time. Poor America, she’s like, `What episode is it?’”
The cast may be exhausted, but so far this viewer is energized by “Ugly Betty’s” potential. It has found ways to show us new facets of these characters without diminishing their ability to be funny, catty or warm. And as “Ugly Betty” goes forward, Horta promises more unpredictable story lines for the fearless, fashion-challenged young woman from Queens.
“These things that in the earlier episodes, they’re simple, in a way. They work and they resonate,” Horta says. “Betty has a heart of gold and she is the voice of reason. But as things become more complex and you’re dealing with shades of gray, what does a person do?”
All things considered, despite her heart of gold, I don’t necessarily know what Betty would do.
And that’s a beautiful thing.
• • • • • • • • • • •
This preceding story is the cornerstone of this week's "Betty"-palooza, which includes the following interviews and stories:
• Executive producer Silvio Horta
• Michael Urie, who plays Marc
• Ana Ortiz, who plays Hilda
• Vanessa Williams, who plays diva editor Wilhemina Slater
• Eric Mabius, who plays Daniel Meade
• A mini-feature on Betty's nephew Justin
• A mini-feature on "Ugly Betty" adaptations around the world
• And finally, a guide to being the perfect assistant, courtesy of Michael Urie
To check them all out, go here:
http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/
Critic’s Notebook
If O.J. show is unfit, the channel we must quit
By David Hinckley The New York Daily News November 16th, 2006
Let's all agree on this up-front: The upcoming Fox special in which O.J. Simpson discusses how he would have killed his wife, Nicole, and her friend Ronald Goldman, "if he had done it," could be the most offensive idea in television history.
There is no sense in which it is not tasteless and exploitative.
More than that, it's cynical.
It's Fox, Simpson and producer Judith Regan laughing at their own audience, fully confident that even though we know their project is off-the-charts offensive, we will watch it anyway.
So that's the challenge for us, the audience. We can't stop Regan and Simpson from making it, we can't stop Fox from broadcasting it. What we can control is whether we watch it.
The issue of offensive television content has been a constant in our lives the last few years, along with the inevitable followup question of how to respond.
While some argue for stricter regulatory controls, forcing the FCC into the futile exercise of continually drawing and redrawing lines, the truth is that the most effective content-control device is the one we hold in our own hands: the remote clicker.
It has buttons that change the channel and buttons that turn the TV off. Either is 100% effective in removing offensive content from the screen.
This larger debate has some subtleties, like how to control what the kids watch when you're not home. But none of those apply to the O.J. interviews, which are scheduled to run Nov. 27 and 29. This is a straight up-or-down call.
You watch it or you don't.
Yes or no. On or off.
It's probably worth noting that no matter what O.J. says, this won't be the most horrible thing to appear on TV.
It's not in a league with, to cite the obvious example, 9/11.
But that was a news event. Television had to show it. This special, featuring a man who had faded into the twilight of minor macabre celebrity, springs from nothing more than an expectation it will make money.
All networks have that goal, of course. It's just that Fox often seems less concerned with how.
Fox has been your go-to network, for instance, if your idea of entertainment is alligator bites. Fox once considered crashing a plane, just for fun.
Giving anyone a couple of hours of prime time to spell out a murder fantasy - in which the fantasy victims were really murdered in real life - may not strike most viewers as the noblest use of public airwaves.
But it is consistent with the concept of "anything for a buck" and oh yeah, did we mention the TV special cross-promotes a book coming out that week?
So a lot of resources went into this project, while those of us on the receiving end have just one: the clicker.
It will be interesting to see how we wield it.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/471651p-396888c.html
DoubleDAZ
11-16-06, 11:17 PM
I agree.
And I have read -- though not heard or seen -- that FNC's Bill O'Reilly has been outraged about the Fox interview.He said it is a new low point in American broadcasting. He also commented that the Fox Broadcasting Network has nothing to do with the Fox News Channel.
On a personal note, I really wish I didn't like House, Prison Break, and 24 so darned much. If not for those, it would be pretty easy to boycott FOX-10 here in Phoenix.
Thanks for the update Dave. My Fox favorites are House and Bones.
The BCS championship game would be hard to miss, too.
I think there is a chance -- slight, but a chance -- that calmer heads might prevail and this entire program might never air.
If advertising can't be sold, then the ratings won't count.
And if the ratings don't count and NewsCorp isn't making any money from the two hours, what is the point of taking this enormous credibility hit?
TV Notebook
Rob Lowe knows political roles
By William Keck USA Today Nov. 17, 2006
BURBANK — Rob Lowe's decision to turn down the role of Grey's Anatomy's Derek "Dr. McDreamy" Shepherd, he says, was "the first time in all of my career that I picked wrong ... definitely a biggie."
But if he's lucky, Lowe may now get a shot at the McPresidency.
Sunday (10 p.m. ET/PT), he joins ABC's Brothers & Sisters as Sen. Robert McCallister, a California Republican with one eye focused on the White House and the other on Kitty Walker (Calista Flockhart).
"There was a need for someone of Rob's pedigree to match the power of Calista," says executive producer Jon Robin Baitz, who calls Lowe's performance "Kennedyesque."
Baitz says Flockhart and Lowe's chemistry is "immediate" when the senator guests on Kitty's talk show to discuss a messy divorce that is threatening his political ambitions. Having served as deputy communications director Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, Lowe says, "I always wanted to play the guy in the campaign instead of the guy behind the campaign. Sam was a big nerd who read pamphlets in his spare time. There's a maturity to this character that's totally different."
There is a similar maturity to Lowe that defies a face that has barely aged from his '80s Brat Pack years.
Lowe, 42, campaigned for pal Arnold Schwarzenegger's two successful bids for California governor. Before the world heard "the Governator" utter his famous "I love doing sequels" line, Lowe knew it was coming. "I had seen it in the advance draft and had quietly told my wife and some friends, 'Just wait — he has the greatest opening line,' "Lowe says.
To authenticate his performance as a man involved in a messy divorce, Lowe has been referencing kid brother Chad's split from Hilary Swank. "It has been unbelievably painful and yet unbelievably liberating for (Chad)," Lowe says.
"But it was only when Calista asked me how Chad was doing that I started to realize, 'Oh right — my brother's going through a divorce. I know what that is to him. Maybe I should use some of that in this.' "
Lowe has been married for 15 years to Sheryl Berkoff, with whom he has two sons, Matthew, 13, and John Owen, 11. Their secret? "Somewhere in my callow, misspent youth, I was smart enough to marry my best friend."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-11-16-rob-lowe_x.htm
Marcus Carr
11-17-06, 01:51 AM
Hey, they finally got a HD truck in Hawaii.
It's not an easy drive. :)
TV Notebook
More ABC Comings and Goings
By Matt Roush TV Guide Critic
My only question about ABC moving Men in Trees to Thursdays after Grey's Anatomy, starting Nov. 30: Why wait so long?
The practical answer: ABC needs a little time to promote the move, and with Thanksgiving in the mix, it's probably more prudent to wait until after sweeps and the holiday to execute this change, which has been suggested for weeks by many an analyst (not to mention all those backseat amateur programmers who write into my "Ask Matt" mailbox). The upside: the likable romantic comedy of Men in Trees (which I'm now going to have to play catch-up with before it moves) is almost surely more compatible with the sexy shenanigans of Grey's than the pretentious contrivances of Six Degrees — which ABC promises to bring back. (But where? And why?) The downside: Trees' modest ratings performance on Fridays, which has kept it alive, could look disastrous on Thursdays if it doesn't grow considerably with this mammoth new lead-in. Being paired with a megahit is often a very mixed blessing. But still, this combo makes sense.
Now looking back on ABC's mutating Wednesday lineup: Can I just say that I'm glad Lost is over? Not the show itself, which I'll miss during its hiatus, but I'm happy to put this current six-episode "mini-season" behind me. I can't help but think it was a miscalculation to keep Kate, Sawyer and Jack prisoners for so long and subjecting us to endless scenes (up through the cliffhanger) of Sawyer being pummeled, tortured, abused, held at gunpoint. High melodrama at its lowest and most unpleasant. I was thrilled to see Jack taking control of the situation in the OR, with Ben's life in the balance, as he shouted on the walkie-talkie: "Kate, damn it, run!" (This to a woman in whose marriage flashback — to Firefly's Nathan Fillion, no less! — she was heard telling the U.S. Marshal, "I don't want to run anymore.") Using these episodes to introduce us to the world of the Others through the eyes of their captives wasn't a bad idea — and that jaw-dropping season-opener shot revealing the Others' village as the Oceanic plane crashes was one for the ages — but I didn't much relish the unsatisfying prospect of watching three of my favorite characters stuck in cages or in a subterranean prison for weeks on end. (Reminded me a bit of when Dynasty kept Krystle Carrington in an attic for what seemed like months, one of those signposts of the beginning of the end for that long-ago soap.)
When Lost returns, we need a reversal of fortune, and soon, to reunite these invaluable characters to the tribe they've been separated from for too long. I want to re-experience that sense of tribal community, not feel like I'm watching two or three separate shows (a feeling of dislocation that is probably exacerbated by Lost's trademark flashback device, of which I'm still a big fan).
The one undeniable positive from Lost's season so far is the introduction of Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet. So enigmatic a femme fatale, with questionable motives in her secret allegiance with Jack against Ben (or is it just another trick). She's a keeper. So, if he survives Jack's surgery, is Ben. Through them, I hope to learn what I need to know (for now) about the Others. But not at the expense of being kept so long from the other castaways.
Without doubt, Lost is far from lost. (I'll probably defend this adventurous, one-of-a-kind show to the end.) But when it returns Feb. 7 amid all sorts of hype and hoopla, it needs to deliver the goods, and quickly, to bring us back to the show we know and love. Treading water for six weeks, because of this experimental split season, hasn't been the show's greatest moment. As I've discussed at length in the "Ask Matt" forum, maybe next season ABC will finally be ready to schedule the show 24-style, straight through, without repeat or interruption. If that means ending the show early in spring, or starting it late in the winter, so be it. Lost is too valuable, but also too fragile, an asset to risk with "mini-season" stunts like what we've just endured.
I can't wait for these next 16 episodes, because I'll be treating them as if they were the actual third season, and what we've just lived through as something of a bad nightmare (literally and otherwise). Bring it on.
http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700011557
TV Notebook
Publisher: I Wanted O.J.'s Confession, but I Didn’t Pay Him
Fox News Thursday , November 16, 2006
Judith Regan, publisher of O.J. Simpson 's book "If I Did It," says she did not pay him for the rights to publish his book, in which the onetime football superstar tells how he would have killed his ex-wife if, in fact, he had done it.
"What I do know is I didn't pay him," Regan said in a statement published exclusively Thursday night on The Drudge Report. "I contracted through a third party who owns the rights, and I was told the money would go to his children. That much I could live with."
The book deal reportedly was sold to HarperCollins for $3.5 million.
The producer of a TV special FOX plans to air in conjunction with the book confirmed that Regan's statement was authentic, and said she was publishing it only on the Drudge Report and would not provide copies to other media outlets.
Regan said in the statement that she knew "from my own experience" that Simpson would be found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend Ron Goldman.
Regan said that she knew Simpson would be acquitted because she, herself, had once been abused by a boyfriend who "manipulated, lied, and broke my heart.... And then, after all but leaving me for dead in a hospital ... he left for good."
Regan said: "I made the decision to publish this book, and to sit face to face with the killer, because I wanted him, and the men who broke my heart and your hearts, to tell the truth, to confess their sins, to do penance and to amend their lives.
Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995, but was later found criminally liable for the deaths in civil court in 1997. Although he was ordered to pay an estimated $38 million in damages to the Goldman family, Simpson has avoided making full restitution because California law prevents his NFL pension from being seized to satisfy the judgment. His lavish residence in Florida is similarly protected under state law.
Note: The entire Judith Regan statement is here at the drudgereport:
http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1jr.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,230119,00.html
HDTVChallenged
11-17-06, 02:13 AM
And I have read -- though not heard or seen -- that FNC's Bill O'Reilly has been outraged about the Fox interview.
LOL ... like it would be unheard of for one division of a media conglomerate to wallow in the mud in order for another division to pump up their ratings. How many times will FOX pull this trick before folks start catching on? :D
I would seriosuly doubt that any possible effect the O.J. shows could have on Fox News Channel's ratings have had anything to do with the Fox network decision to air these shows.
The Fox network suits, trying to live down a hideous season so far, couldn't care less about any ratings boost for FNC.
HDTVChallenged
11-17-06, 02:35 AM
LOL ... perhaps I'm just getting cynical and jaded as my age marches on. ;)
It is hard to fault your cynicism given the preposterous nature of this entire O.J. TV show.
dad1153
11-17-06, 02:50 AM
Judith Regan: more of my exclusive interview with former NFL great OJ Simpson after this word from Tropicana orange juice, the NFL Network, Allstate Life Insurance ('You're in good hands with OJ'), 'Bones' (Wednesdays on Fox) and 'Turistas' (opening Friday, December 4th).
Washington Notebook
Senator Leahy Leads Fight to Save Dish DNS
(Sen. Patrick Leahy news release)
Leahy Introduces Bill To Preserve Satellite Service For 800,000 Rural TV Subscribers
WASHINGTON (Thursday, Nov. 16) – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is leading a bipartisan effort to protect home satellite television customers in Vermont and across the country from losing access to some of the most popular television networks.
Leahy, the ranking Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee – and the panel’s incoming chairman for the 110th Congress – Thursday introduced the Satellite Consumer Protection Act, joined by Senators Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Robert Byrd (D-W.V.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Mark Pryor (D-Minn.) and Michael Enzi (R- Nev.). Leahy over the last decade has co-authored two laws that have expanded home satellite service to millions of viewers in Vermont and nationwide. One of the earlier Leahy initiatives has fostered local-into-local satellite service, enabling Vermonters and others to receive local channels in their home satellite program packages.
Leahy’s new bill would preserve satellite television service for roughly 800,000 EchoStar consumers around the country, and in Vermont, who are expected to lose it December 1 as a result of a federal court injunction. EchoStar is expected to suspend service to these consumers following a ruling that it violated federal law by providing distant signals to areas that did not need satellite to receive that programming.
The bill strikes a balance between consumer protection and tough enforcement against EchoStar for violating the law. The legislation requires EchoStar to deposit $20 million to be used to cover any future violations.
“This is a reasonable solution that penalizes Echostar for violating the law, while protecting the people who are the real victims of this serious problem: the consumers who are paying for these services,” said Leahy.
The bipartisan bill provides a targeted solution by permitting the service to continue under specific criteria, including
• Where local stations are not available from a satellite provider, EchoStar could bring in a distant network station if it compensates the local station.
• In areas that do not have affiliates of all four networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC), EchoStar could bring in a distant signal of the missing network affiliate because no local station would be harmed.
• Stations from neighboring that are considered “significantly viewed” by the Federal Communications Commission, and generally treated as local stations, could be carried, such as the Albany, N.Y., stations which serve Vermont’s Bennington County and the Boston-area stations, which serve Windham County.
• • • • • • • • • • •
Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee, On Introduction Of The Satellite Consumer Protection Act November 16, 2006
Today I am pleased to introduce the Satellite Consumer Protection Act of 2006, and I am proud that Senators Inouye, Snowe, Allard, Rockefeller, Byrd, Salazar, Clinton, Pryor, Roberts and Enzi are among those joining me in sponsoring this important bill. I regret the necessity of this legislation, but I am determined to protect consumers – especially consumers in rural areas such as Vermont.
This is a pro-consumer, bipartisan bill that addresses a problem that soon will face millions of Americans who subscribe to satellite TV services. I realize full well that this bill may not please the major corporations affected by this remedy, but its intent is not to help them, but to help home satellite viewers.
A federal court recently found that EchoStar willfully, flagrantly and repeatedly violated federal law, and I believe that EchoStar should be held to account for its decade of illegal activity. The situation is ultimately quite complicated, but the simplest version is this: EchoStar has been bringing distant network signals to areas that did not need satellite to provide access to that programming. But the penalty for such actions is harsh, and the court that heard the lawsuit had no choice: EchoStar will be required to stop retransmitting any distant signals. EchoStar flouted the law, but it is consumers who will suffer. Unless we pass this bill, many rural subscribers around the country will lose access to news and entertainment programming from the free, over-the-air broadcast networks.
The Satellite Consumer Protection Act is a practical, narrow, and -- most importantly -- pro-consumer solution to a problem of EchoStar’s creation. The court-issued injunction, set to take effect December 1, will prohibit EchoStar from providing any distant network stations to any of its customers. Under the Satellite Consumer Protection Act, the injunction will apply to the roughly 95 percent of the country where EchoStar provides residents their local, over-the-air stations. Our legislation would only permit EchoStar to bring in distant network stations in three situations. First, where local stations are not available from a satellite provider, EchoStar could bring in a distant network station if it compensates the local station. Second, in areas that do not have affiliates of all four networks, EchoStar could bring in a distant signal of the missing network affiliate because no local station would be harmed. Third, stations from neighboring localities that are considered “significantly viewed” by the Federal Communications Commission, and are generally treated as local stations, could be carried.
This legislation would not be complete without an enforcement provision that will truly curb EchoStar’s practice of illegally providing copyrighted content. The Satellite Consumer Protection Act therefore imposes real monetary penalties for violating the Act and requires EchoStar to put sufficient funds in escrow with the copyright office to cover any future violations.
This bipartisan bill respects the legitimate interests of broadcasters who have been harmed by EchoStar’s actions, while it serves the interests of the people who are the innocent bystanders and the real victims of this emerging problem: the consumers who are paying for these services.
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200611/111606a.html
On a personal note, I really wish I didn't like House, Prison Break, and 24 so darned much. If not for those, it would be pretty easy to boycott FOX-10 here in Phoenix.
Same here, I feel like I'm enabling Fox Network by watching those shows. I can't help but think that someone in that corporation would have the sense, and the power, to pull the show before it airs.
Nielsen Notebook
Sweeps Week Two:
CBS Tops in Total Viewers; ABC Dominates Demo 18-49
By Marc Berman Media Week Nov. 17, 2006
Two weeks into the November 2006 sweeps, ABC and CBS remain in the winner’s circle, while the arrivals of Sunday Night Football and Heroes have, no doubt, been beneficial to NBC.
CBS is first in total viewers, down 11 percent from the comparable year-ago period, while ABC dominates among adults 18-49 with a two-tenth of a rating point (or 5 percent) advantage over second-place NBC, according to Nielsen Media Research data. CBS is third in the demo, with a loss of 16 percent year-to-year, while growing NBC is up by 15 percent in total viewers and 21 percent among adults 18-49.
Fox ranks fourth in both categories, with minor losses, while last-place The CW is down from both The WB and UPN in total viewers (off 3 and 8 percent, respectively) and close to year-ago levels in both categories. Given that The CW has combined the best programming from the two former networks, this is not a positive by any means.
What follows are the final national ratings for the first two weeks of the November 2006 sweeps (Nov. 2-15, 2006) versus the comparable two-week period:
Total Viewers:
CBS: 12.95 million (-11)
ABC: 12.35 (+ 7)
NBC: 10.83 (+15)
Fox: 6.96 (- 5)
CW: 3.50 (- 3 from the WB, - 8 from UPN)
Adults 18-49:
ABC: 4.2 rating/11 share (- 2)
NBC: 4.0/11 (+21)
CBS: 3.8/10 (-16)
Fox: 2.8/ 7 (-10)
CW: 1.5/ 4 (no change from the WB, - 6 from UPN)
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003409446
Thursday’s metered market over-night 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.
TV Sports
Whoa, Nellie, it doesn't get any bigger than this
By Larry Stewart Los Angeles Times Staff Writer November 17, 2006
"There will be a lot of money, marbles and chalk on the table," Keith Jackson said Thursday from his home in Sherman Oaks, where on Saturday he will be glued to his television set, joining college football fans across the nation.
You may have heard that there are a couple of significant games on ABC HD that day. At 12:30 p.m. (PT) No. 1 Ohio State plays host to No. 2 Michigan. Then at 5 p.m. (PT) No. 4 USC plays host to No. 17 California, which could knock the Trojans out of the national championship picture.
Jackson, who before retiring after last season had been announcing college football games almost since the inception of the forward pass, says he can't remember a bigger regular-season day.
"It's got it all," he said. "One game is for a national championship berth, the other for at least a conference championship and the Rose Bowl."
Interestingly, Jackson, the longtime voice of college football for ABC, will be honored by NBC Saturday. Part of an interview he taped at his home with Jim Lampley will be shown during halftime of Notre Dame's home game against Army, which will be on NBC at 11:30 a.m. PT.
"I don't think I'll see it," Jackson said. "I'll be watching Michigan-Ohio State."
So will a lot of other people.
No worries. The entire interview will be available on NBCSports.com after the edited portion airs.
The announcing team for Michigan-Ohio State team will be Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Bob Davie. Announcing the Cal-USC game will be Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Paul Maguire.
Maguire, who this season has broken from tradition and worked from places outside the broadcast booth, will call Saturday's game from the sidelines on the cart that carries the camera up and down the field.
As for Michigan-Ohio State, Herbstreit is pretty familiar with that rivalry.
He is from Centerville, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, and played quarterback for Ohio State from 1989 to '93. His senior year, he was co-captain. His father Jim was a co-captain in 1960 and also coached at Ohio State under Woody Hayes.
In 1993, the younger Herbstreit passed for 271 yards in a 13-13 tie with Michigan.
"I have been a fan of the rivalry my entire life, since I was breathing," he said. "It sounds sick, but all I've lived for my entire life is watching that game."
If that doesn't sound sick, this might:
"I used to go to bed at night when I was in high school, when I started to realize I was going to play at a pretty high level of football in college, and it was the middle of the Cold War when nuclear bombs were a serious threat. I used to go to bed praying to hold off on nuclear bombs until I got a chance to play in the Ohio State-Michigan game."
Herbstreit also said, "To now see this season come down to this — the winner going to the championship game — is beyond exciting for the fans of the two teams. I can't remember a game this big, with this much at stake, and with the whole college football community on the edge of their seats waiting to see who wins the game."
But don't think Herbstreit will be rooting for his alma mater.
"When I get up in the booth, I'm there to evaluate the game," he said. "I'm looking at how two teams are trying to move the ball down the field. I'm not looking at what school I happened to attend."
Besides, he said, he has ties to Michigan. His father coached under Bo Schembechler at Miami of Ohio before Schembechler moved to Michigan in 1969. Herbstreit calls Schembechler a family friend.
As for the Cal-USC game, Herbstreit sees that as possibly the other national championship semifinal.
"Without question, if USC beats Cal, Notre Dame and UCLA — done. USC goes to the national championship, in my mind," he said.
Fox having second thoughts
Fox has experimented with doing its NFL studio show at game sites this season, but it might turn out to be a one-year experiment.
A source said the final two regular-season shows would originate from the Fox studios in Los Angeles, with Joe Buck serving as host. Dick Stockton will take Buck's play-by-play spot on the No. 1 announcing team with Troy Aikman.
Fox Sports spokesman Dan Bell would confirm only that such a scenario is being considered.
The expense of taking the show on the road, plus dealing with security issues, apparently hasn't paid off. The average rating of 3.9 for the pregame show is even with last year's, while the average rating of 2.7 for CBS' "The NFL Today" is 17% higher than the 2.3 at this point last year.
And twice this season, most recently Nov. 5, the CBS show beat the Fox show in the ratings.
It appears the loss of host James Brown to CBS was more of a blow than Fox thought it would be.
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-sp-tvcol17nov17,0,87313,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features
Washington Notebook
Martin Approved for Second Term Leading FCC
By Ira Teinowitz Television Week November 17, 2006
The U.S. Senate (Thursday) night unanimously confirmed Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin J. Martin for a second five-year term on the FCC.
Mr. Martin has been on the FCC since July 3, 2001 and became the agency's chairman on March 18, 2005.
Mr. Martin leads the FCC as it faces significant challenges. The commission is reviewing media-ownership rules and is expected to face significantly increased scrutiny from the newly elected Democratic Congress on issues including the transition to digital TV and the public interest obligations of broadcasters. Lawmakers and regulators may also take on the issue of so-called Net neutrality, which would ensure that Internet service providers don't charge content companies different rates.
Before joining the FCC, Mr. Martin was a special assistant to President George W. Bush for economic policy. He had served on the Bush-Cheney transition team and was deputy general counsel for the Bush campaign. Before that, he served as an advisor to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
Mr. Martin has also worked in the Office of the Independent Counsel and practiced law as an associate at the Washington, D.C. firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11091
flint350
11-17-06, 11:30 AM
How many times will FOX pull this trick before folks start catching on?....perhaps I'm just getting cynical and jaded as my age marches on.
Yes, apparently you are.
It is hard to fault your cynicism given the preposterous nature of this entire O.J. TV show.
No, it isn't IMO. I detest the OJ show idea and think it is a huge mistake for Fox the entertainment network. But the references here like the O'Reilly comment and the snickering links to Fox News Channel are suspect. Why is it so difficult to differentiate between the FNC and the entertainment channel of Fox? Are they so thoroughly wedded (and obviously disliked) in your minds that you automatically assume whatever appears on the entertainment channel must, therefore, be supported by or connected to the news division? Does that also go for the other networks then? If this showed up on NBC (and with their ratings, I'm almost surprised they didn't think of it first), would MSNBC come under similar criticism?
It appears when the other networks differentiate their news and entertainment units, it's acceptable. However, this example of Fox's stupidity (entertainment based) is quickly linked to FNC as well. Yep, if it's on the regular network, O'Reilly's supposed outrage over it is merely a trick to "pump up the ratings" of the other side of the house. I'm no particular fan of O'Reilly and hardly, if ever, watch his show and didn't see his comment. But I do watch FNC (as well as the 'other guys') and can separate the two. I think it's quite a leap in logic to assume that this O'Reilly statement is a blatant effort to "pump up the ratings".
And remember - I think the show is despicable, no matter the network. My only point is the portrayal of FNC, which had nothing to do with this piece of garbage to my knowledge, yet is getting its usual beating simply because its an easy target.
TV Sports
George Michael to Drop Anchor Chores
“Sports Machine” to end in March
By John Maynard Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 17
George Michael, the dean of local sports broadcasters, who's been with WRC (Channel 4) since 1980, will leave the sports anchor desk early next year, the station announced yesterday.
Michael said he rejected a new contract after he learned that some of his staff members would be laid off as part of larger moves by parent company NBC Universal.
"NBC made me an extremely, extremely beyond-my-wildest-dreams offer to stay and sign a new deal," Michael, 67, said by phone yesterday. But he added: "If I have to lay somebody off . . . I have to take the first bullet. It's that simple."
Michael's last day as a daily anchor will be March 1, although he will continue to host weekend sports panel shows. "George Michael Sports Machine," which went into national syndication in 1984, will go off the air in March.
One source at the station was not surprised by Michael's decision. "He has a very loyal team and he's not going to put up with any short-circuiting of his staff," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he still works for WRC.
Last month, NBC Universal announced that 700 jobs would be cut nationally and $750 million trimmed from its budget. Last week the network news division laid off about 30 employees, including about 15 "Dateline" staffers, some of whom worked in Washington.
At WRC, more than half of the sports staff's 20 members are being let go, including senior producer Joe Schreiber, who's been with the station for 23 years. Michael, who's worked with Schreiber at Super Bowls, World Series and NBA Finals, called him "the best sports producer in America. He's not a good producer -- he's the best."
Schreiber said he understands the layoffs because "it's the business." But, he said: "The regretful thing is that we were still doing extremely well in the ratings."
WRC's general manager, Michael Jack, would not comment yesterday because station policy is not to discuss personnel matters. Vickie Burns, the station's vice president of news, did not return a phone call.
The announcement comes less than a month after it was reported that technology reporter I.J. Hudson, a 21-year veteran of the station, would leave at the end of the year. Over the summer, longtime sports anchor Wally Bruckner also announced his departure from WRC.
In what he calls a unique deal with the station, Michael will continue to host the panel shows "Redskins Report" (with former Redskins Sonny Jurgensen and John Riggins and The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon) and "Full Court Press" (which features local journalists). Michael also will continue his live Monday interviews with the Redskins' coaching staff.
"We are thrilled that he will remain a part of the WRC-TV family and continue to host many of our high-profile sports shows," Burns said in a statement.
Michael's departure from the desk will mark the breakup of Washington's longest-serving and often top-rated news team; Michael, Jim Vance, Doreen Gentzler and weatherman Bob Ryan have been together since 1989.
Michael said he is not considering a position with another station, explaining: "I already turned down a generous offer from Channel 4 -- why would I do it anywhere else?" He also said he would never again do a day-to-day sportscast.
Michael announced his plans to leave the anchor desk at the conclusion of yesterday's 6 p.m. newscast, saying, "When there's a rumor in Washington, you'd better address it."
Recent on-air hires Lindsay Czarniak and Dan Hellie will remain with WRC, but the station has not indicated who will replace Michael.
Michael introduced the local, late-night "George Michael's Sports Final" in 1980; the highlights show evolved four years later into the syndicated "Sports Machine."
From early on, Michael made liberal use of the highlights reel. As sportswriter Norman Chad wrote in The Washington Post in 1985: "He's the only guy in town who can show you five minutes of tape in a four-minute sportscast."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/16/AR2006111600669_pf.html
cherry ghost
11-17-06, 11:37 AM
Has anyone seen anything more official than this concerning Veronica Mars getting picked up?
http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2006/11/veronica-mars-gets-full-season-order.html
And remember - I think the show is despicable, no matter the network. My only point is the portrayal of FNC, which had nothing to do with this piece of garbage to my knowledge, yet is getting its usual beating simply because its an easy target.
Who's beating on Fox News? Are you referring to the poem I lifted from Goodman's column? Although I cannot speak for it's creator, I already qualified it by saying I'm certain they meant Fox Network and not Fox News itself.
cherry ghost: I haven't heard anything like this announced officially, although there was word a few days ago of a three-episode order.
But Alan Sepinwall of the Newark Star-Ledger is very careful and prizes accuracy.
So if "VM" executive producer Rob Thomas tells him there has been a seven-episode pickup you can take it to the bank.
flint350
11-17-06, 11:47 AM
Who's beating on Fox News? Are you referring to the poem I lifted from Goodman's column? Although I cannot speak for it's creator, I already qualified it by saying I'm certain they meant Fox Network and not Fox News itself.
No, I wasn't referring to you. Did you not read the quoted posts in my post? Therein lies the rub.
I've got a little peeve about ABC, why don't they indicate to the providers of guide data that those next day repeats of Grey's Anatomy are actually repeats, and not new episodes? It's a little annoying to see the show listed as an upcoming recording the day after I've already recorded. Maybe it's specific to TiVo, but I thought Tivo considered anything shown twice within a 30 day period to be a repeat anyway?
I wonder if ratings established from DVR data are skewed because of that.
The TV Column
Vast Audience for 'Dancing' Leaves ABC Calling for More
By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Friday, November 17, 2006
Emmitt Smith's waltz past Mario Lopez in ballroom dancing competition has scored the biggest audience of any television broadcast so far this season.
Which is very sweet, really.
Nearly 28 million watched Wednesday's hour-and-change finale of "Dancing With the Stars" at the end of which the three-time Super Bowl champ was crowned best amateur ballroom dancer. That's the show's biggest audience ever.
The series's penultimate episode on Tuesday and Wednesday's finale performed so well, ABC now claims the two most-watched broadcasts on TV this season.
So strong was this third edition of the dance competition, the network has decided to broadcast another round this TV season.
Speaking this week at a TV industry event in New York, ABC's scheduling guru Jeff Bader said the network hopes to bring back "Dancing" in March -- around the time "American Idol" has winnowed its wannabes down to the 12 finalists.
He told attendees ABC is still trying to figure out whether to put "Dancing" on against Fox's ratings "tsunami" or schedule it in non-"Idol" time slots, according to published reports. Good luck on that, given how his counterpart at Fox, Preston Beckman, loves to use "Idol" like a heat-seeking missile.
Wednesday night, Smith took home the Cheesetastic Disco Ball Trophy after 10 grueling weeks of mamboing, sambaing and pasodobling for the show's three judges and the voting viewers, who clearly were smitten wi