Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info [Text View] - Page 90

fredfa

02-14-07, 05:21 PM

TV Q&A
Ask Maureen Ryan
You asked, I answered and we may still disagree: Yes, it's mailbag time!
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” February 14, 2007

You want reader feedback? I got it right here. Below are some comments and questions I've received about recent columns.

Dianne Kinzer (via e-mail): "Read your article on [`24's] Chloe but you didn't answer the question I want answered -- has she had plastic surgery? It's not just the hair and clothes that have changed, it's the chin, too -- [it's] fuller, seems to me. What do you think?"

Mo sez: I wouldn't dream of asking an actress if she has had plastic surgery -- for one thing, I'd never get an honest answer, and for another, I think most of the plastic-surgery victims on TV (the ones with the immovable and perfectly smooth faces) are pretty apparent. In person, Mary Lynn Rajskub doesn't resemble those stone-faced TV types at all. And to me, Chloe's face looks the same as when she first joined the show.

Marianne Diekman (via e-mail): "I read your column about the TV program `24.' Please tell them we no longer watch it because there are too many commercials. It is too bad because it is a fun program."

Mo sez: I get this complaint a lot. I don't think the tendency to jam-pack hit shows with commercials is a great turn of events, but it's not going to change. The networks are going to wring as much money out of ad sales as they can. That's why I have a TiVo and skip through the ads I've already seen 200 times.

Wally Wade (via e-mail): "On [the Feb. 4 `Rome'] it appeared they changed actors for the part of Octavius. Yes, no?"

Mo sez: Yes. Gaius Octavian had been played by Max Pirkis (who I thought was doing a credible job), but from Feb. 4 onward, the all-growed-up Octavian will be played by Simon Woods. I don't know why they made the change; maybe they wanted someone with more physical presence to stand up to the weaselly (yet magnetic) Marc Antony.

June (via e-mail): "I'm one of those apparently few people who still prefers to see a movie in a movie theater (although I do rent when necessary) and even one of the (apparently) extremely rare folk who has seen all five nominated pictures (I see about 20-25 movies a year).

"When you write that the Academy Awards telecast is on its way to becoming irrevelant, are you suggesting that you would prefer that the academy chose the entertaining but hardly worthy `Pirates of the Caribbean' or, worse, the dreadful `Da Vinci Code' as best picture nominees to make the broadcast relevant to a larger number of the moviegoing public?"

Mo sez: Of course not. Perish the thought (though I loved Johnny Depp in the first "Pirates"). I just wish quality films were released all year 'round, not just during one frenzied period around the holidays. That way more people would have a chance to enjoy quality fare throughout the year -- and, quite possibly, more viewers would be excited about the Oscars.

Davidin60640 (via Watcher site): "I love [`Brothers & Sisters'], but I would never laud it as intelligent, quality television. It is a guilty pleasure akin to `Gilmore Girls.' I mean, the unlikelihood of so many unique characters, so many unique circumstances and so much drama converging on this one family that always seems to be having a catered party at home or attending a gala makes this not much more than a soap opera. ... The show is delicious, but let's accept that it's `Dallas' with more likeable rich people."

Mo sez: I wouldn't call it a soap. Yes, some contrived things happen, but that's the nature of TV storytelling. Personally, I don't feel a bit guilty about enjoying "Brothers & Sisters."

Jon (via Watcher site): "I enjoy the whole show [`Brothers & Sisters'], with the exception of too much of Calista [Flockhart] and Rob Lowe."

Mo sez: So far that element of the show hasn't gotten too intrusive for me, but then, I enjoy Lowe's deft work quite a bit, and I feel that those scenes make me actually care about Kitty (which I didn't before). As long as that part of the show doesn't take over, I'm fine with it.

JLP (via Watcher site): “I can't put my finger on it, but there is something about the direction ‘Ugly Betty’ is taking that has dampened my enthusiasm for the show. I had liked the mix of family drama, mystery and comedy, but now it's not working as well.”

Mo sez: Really? I’ve had the opposite reaction, I think they’re still balancing the various elements quite well (though the subplot about Ignacio’s immigration caseworker was rather pointless – Tony Plana is great, I wish they’d find a meatier story for him).

Mary Mc (via Watcher site): “Nowhere is the conflict between where [Betty Suarez is] from and where she's going more evident than in her choice of [significant other]. But does Henry have a secret, a shocking dark side, that will eventually be revealed? And will Betty learn a hard lesson about deceptive packaging and facades? Because Walter is all about honesty - what you see is what you get.”

Mo sez: Funny you should mention that, Mary. There are certainly some rather surprising developments lately on the Henry front (such as, the existence of his girlfriend, whom we meet in Thursday’s episode). And by the way, who else enjoyed the “Ugly Betty” shoutout on the Feb. 8 “30 Rock”?

MS (Via Watcher site): “Part of what draws me to [‘Lost’] is the mystery surrounding everything, and if they answered all of the questions, the show might as well be over! Yes, some episodes drag on and seem to just be filler, but the majority of the episodes leave me wanting more, so I'm happy with ‘Lost’ the way it is.”

Leigh (Via Watcher site): “I guess my main gripe with ‘Lost's’ developments is that the so-called scientific answers that are provided as the show's canon cannot possibly explain all the supernatural phenomena that has occurred over the past three seasons. It's like the writers want to give us a mind-wipe to make us forget about the otherworldly stuff, like a smoke monster that can beat a man to death. I am sorely disappointed with the direction that ‘Lost’ has taken lately. I think the producers want to end the series after five seasons, but I fear that network interference will churn out more unremarkable seasons after the 100 episode mark, a la ‘The X-Files.’”

Mo sez: I sympathize with both viewers. I fear that “Lost” could destroy its goodwill by going on for too long (I do hope ABC gives the show a firm end date, which the producers have said they want). And I’m also concerned that they seem clearly in the camp of playing up the relationships over the show’s mythology, which, reading between the lines, they seem to see as too geeky to be popular with the majority of viewers. Still, I’m nowhere near prepared to give up on the show. But I do have to say, if I see one more Sun or Jin flashback…

Tom (via email): “I like the new TV listing page [in the print Tribune]. This is the jump in to the entertainment/writing field that would suit my narrow talents. Please resign and hand over your duties to me. You can have my CPA certificate.”

Mo sez: Sounds like a good deal. I’ll get back to you when I learn how to add and subtract.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/02/you_asked_i_ans.html#more

fredfa

02-14-07, 05:52 PM

VisionOn

02-14-07, 06:03 PM

A Request
Your favorite sources for TV information

I am putting together a list of link to the best sites which provide TV news and commentary. Do you have any which you think I have overlooked over the years?

Let me know.

I hope to have the links up in a few days.

"Fredfa's Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info", thread has become pretty much my only source for TV news! :)

I can barely keep up with all the stuff that gets posted in here.

fredfa

02-14-07, 06:20 PM

TV Notebook
NBC’s “Identity” Returns
NBC News Release

BURBANK February 14, 2007 NBC's popular game show "Identity" hosted for one week before Christmas by Emmy Award-winning comedian-magician Penn Jillette ("Penn & Teller") will return to the schedule on Friday, March 16 (9-10 p.m. ET) before moving to its regular time slot (Fridays at 8 p.m.) the following week on March 23.

The hour-long "Identity" first premiered as a one-week event launched from December 18-22, 2006 (in much the same fashion as the successful "Deal or No Deal" was introduced in the previous December). The December 18 premiere episode debuted with a 4.4 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49 and 12.3 million total viewers. The premiere tied "Deal or No Deal" lead-in as the week's #1 entertainment telecast in adult 18-49. "Identity" finished #1 in its time period with four of five telecasts that week (including a tie).

The exhilarating "Identity" is the ultimate game of "who's who," where keen perception and instincts can lead to a top prize of $500,000. In each new game, one contestant faces 12 strangers and a list of 12 traits to identify them. The contestant picks a trait -- ranging anywhere from a profession to a shoe size -- and tries to match it with one of the 12 strangers.

The amount of money the contestant accumulates increases with each correctly identified stranger. If all 12 are matched up correctly, the player is rewarded with the grand prize of $500,000. "Identity" also offers viewers at home the chance to play the watch-and-win "Identity Challenge" for a chance at $10,000.

CPanther95

02-14-07, 06:40 PM

TV Notebook
NBC’s “Identity” Returns
NBC News Release

The exhilarating "Identity" is the ultimate game of "who's who,"

I read that and then looked at the byline to see which reviewer I was going to completely ignore from here on out. Should have guessed it was the official news release.

fredfa

02-14-07, 07:03 PM

I can't imagine "Exhilarating" and "Identity" have ever been used before in the same sentence.

fredfa

02-14-07, 07:09 PM

Washington Notebook
Dingell Applauds Industry’s DTV Moves
By Ted Hearn MultiChannel News 2/14/2007

The cable, broadcasting and equipment-manufacturing industries united Wednesday behind a digital-TV consumer-education campaign that won quick praise from House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).

The three industries promised to use various communications strategies to inform consumers about maintaining TV service when analog-TV signals are terminated by law Feb. 17, 2009. The Bush administration was given up to $1.5 billion for a coupon program designed to subsidize the retail cost of digital-to-analog converter boxes.

“The most recent Congress established Feb. [17], 2009, as the transition date, yet failed to ensure adequate consumer education. For this reason, I am particularly pleased that the broadcasting, cable and consumer-electronics industries are joining to educate consumers on the transition and on how to obtain the converter-box coupons to help keep their TVs functioning,” Dingell said in a prepared statement.

Backing the consumer campaign were the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association. The presidents of all three groups -- the NCTA’s Kyle McSlarrow, the NAB’s David Rehr and the CEA’s Gary Shapiro -- sent a joint letter to Dingell and other congressional leaders in telecommunications policy Wednesday about their commitment to a fully informed public leading up to the analog cutoff.

"Our goal is to ensure that no American loses the ability to view over-the-air television signals due to a lack of accurate information about the transition," the trade groups’ letter said.

About 20 million households rely exclusively on free, over-the-air broadcasting and possess about 45 million analog-TV sets that can’t display digital signals. Broadcast-only homes will need digital-to-analog converters to continue using their existing analog TVs after Feb. 17, 2009.

“I will closely monitor both public- and private-sector efforts to ensure that no American household loses its television signal,” Dingell said.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6416632

kjpjr

02-14-07, 07:22 PM

If the writer did some research he would have found that IN Demand only bid $70 million to keep the package and provide it to everyone. So MLB will be making $30 million more by going exclusively to D*.

But 230,000 x $179 is $41 million+ I really don't think all 230000 will move to Directv. I am a subscriber to MLB EI and can't have a dish. There are many people who will stay where they are. Most of the sports junkies have already moved to Directv. BTW I consider myself one of the junkies but I can't move.

If you really dig on this issue it gets bigger. NHL Center Ice is probably going to Directv next year -- can the NBA be far behind?

If you want to have the out of market sports packs you will have to go to Directv. Somehow that just seems wrong to me but the face of cable is changing very fast. Watch out for retran issues. When the networks go away, cable could be down to the History Channel and QVC. :eek:

dad1153

02-14-07, 07:43 PM

fredfa

02-14-07, 08:14 PM

SJKurtzke

02-14-07, 08:37 PM

"Fredfa's Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info", thread has become pretty much my only source for TV news! :)

I can barely keep up with all the stuff that gets posted in here.
This thread is awesome, and is my primary source too, but I do have some others:

Zap2It's TV Gal
http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-tvgal-gallery,0,2359343.storygallery

Zap2It in general:
http://www.zap2it.com/

The Futon Critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/home.aspx

TV Guide
http://tvguide.com/

Test Pattern
http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/

and locally I use http://www.dcrtv.com/

bphisig

02-14-07, 09:29 PM

tvtattle is definitely one of my faves, but a lot of the information there ends up in this thread as well.

Maestro J

02-14-07, 09:36 PM

TV Sports
MLB-Extra Innings

Assuming all the final negotiations work out, expect an announcement of the exclusive DirecTV-MLB Extra Innings deal in the next couple of weeks. That is the latest word from the authoritative “Sports Business Journal”.

N addition I have heard from an excellent source that there will be a “major” increase in the number of HD games available through MLB EI this year. The contract, at last word, will be in effect for seven years, beginning this season.

Pricing has not been set. So stay tuned.

fredfa - please keep us updated on the news that there will be an upgrade in HD availability for EI subs. I plan on staying with my renewal (I'm already with D*) and I was hoping that there will be more HD games this year. Maybe my prayers have been answered?

On a side note, I kind of acquired the guilty pleasure that is Identity. I could do without Penn but the concept and the score/musical theme was addictive (to me at least).

fredfa

02-14-07, 09:53 PM

I'll keep an eye out for MLB-EI HD news, Maestro J.

I would expect that, as usual, DirecTV won't say very much until close to opening day.

As for Identity, we all have our guilty secrets! :)

dad1153

02-14-07, 10:03 PM

As for Identity, we all have our guilty secrets! :)

Do tell Fred. We know your likes from the first page posts, but guilty pleasures? I think we'd all like to know a few of these. Don't we folks?

[The mob screams approvingly to my suggestion].

fredfa

02-14-07, 10:11 PM

I'll think it over, dad.

I will reveal that last year it was "Related" on the WB.

rebkell

02-14-07, 10:20 PM

I'll think it over, dad.

I will reveal that last year it was "Related" on the WB.

Good one, Fred. I liked all the sisters, it had Kat Warbler of the Class and Nikki the newest member of the LOST plane wreck victims. I liked Pepper Dennis too.

dad1153

02-14-07, 10:44 PM

I liked Pepper Dennis too.

It was a pretty wretched show (IMHO) but I watched it because the star of The Secret World of Alex Mack (my favorite show of all time) Larisa Oleynik appeared briefly in it. She played Pepper's receptionist Brianna that is on maternity leave for most of the series, but returns (on the "Curtis Wilson's a Total Nut Job -- Film at Eleven" episode) throwing Kathy (Brooke Burns) into a tizzy.

I will reveal that last year it was "Related" on the WB.

Never even heard of that one! :confused: Let me see... aha! http://www.tv.com/related/show/33416/summary.html?q=Related&tag=search_results;title;0 - Mondays at 9PM two years ago were reserved for Monday Night Football on ABC so its no surprise this one went undetected.

Come on Fred, more guilty pleasures, you know you want to get them off your chest. Share the shame! :p

fredfa

02-14-07, 10:59 PM

Geez, dad, doesn't "Desperate Housewives" count?

Or Arizona Diamondbacks baseball? (I am going to miss Thom Brennaman -- I might start having to watch Cincinnati Reds games on EI.)

How about Ohio State football?

Or UCLA basketball (although almost all those games are attended in person)?

I got it. Tennessee women's basketball (gotta love Pat Summit).

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:01 PM

Good one, Fred. I liked all the sisters, it had Kat Warbler of the Class and Nikki the newest member of the LOST plane wreck victims. I liked Pepper Dennis too.

I thought it started off pretty weak, but the writing improved for the most part through the season, and the Thanksgiving flashback episode with Dana Delany as the Mom was, I thought, one of the best scripted episodes on TV last year.

flint350

02-14-07, 11:05 PM

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:11 PM

But to answer you seriously, dad, there is nothing I don't disclose about my viewing.

I think it is important that folks here know where I am coming from, so as they read the thread they can do their best to filter out whatever prejudices I might have been unable to overcome.

So when things change, I update what I watch in the fifth post or wherever it is. I am somewhat behind in watching a number of shows there, I must have 60 hours or so on various TiVos and DVRs waiting for me.

So, sorry, no hidden agendas or terribly offbeat things to admit.

Oh I did forget, though I detest the San Francisco Giants, I love the broadcast team of Duane Kuyper and Mike Krukow. (On radio it's Jerry Coleman with the Padres -- just re-signed for his 30th-something year and who will be doing all the games this season--they had "reduced his workload" to just half the past two seasons. And other favorites are Charley Steiner of the Dodgers, Mike Shannon of the Cardinals, Bob Uecker of the Brewers, Milo Hamilton of the Astros, and I loved the occasional pairing last season of Skip and Chip Carey in Atlanta. Thank God for XM.)

That's it -- just about all my electronic pleasures -- I don't feel a lot of guilt. Sorry. :)

shuttermaker

02-14-07, 11:12 PM

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:13 PM

Thanks for the report, flint350. I am TiVoing it in a couple of hours and will get around to it sooner or later.

I can't bear the size of the Lost thread and, given that the reviewers usually quoted in here were saying good things about tonight's return - I'll say this:

If ever a show regained its original footing and flair and made up for "lost" time and episodes, this was it! It was truly gripping and a full return to form. Whether it's enough to salvage the weak start, I'll leave to others.

rebkell

02-14-07, 11:16 PM

I got it. Tennessee women's basketball (gotta love Pat Summit).

Does that count? I've attended all home games, but two, in the last four years. :) They are on next Monday in HD ;)

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:24 PM

Great, ESPN2 HD at LSU, should be fun!

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:31 PM

Nielsen Notebook
College campuses boost ratings
'Grey's,' 'Gilmore' see surge
By Rick Kissell Variety February 14, 2007

Nielsen has taken its ratings game to college campuses for the first time, and the early results are good news for young-skewing programs.

It's not surprising that primetime shows with young auds like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Gilmore Girls" have seen their ratings spike up, but a few daytime soap operas have also been big beneficiaries.

Looking at data for Jan. 29-Feb. 2 -- the first week that Nielsen included viewing estimates of students living away from home -- NBC's young-skewing combo of "Days of Our Lives" and "Passions" shot up by more than 30% week to week among adults 18-24. ABC's "General Hospital" and CBS' "Guiding Light" also benefited, climbing more than 20%.

"Passions" was the biggest gainer, with Nielsen reporting week-to-week gains among women 18-24 of 39% (to 223,000 from 160,000). This translated into a 16% change in the program's core sales demo of adults 18-34.

"Days," meanwhile, shot up 33% in women 18-24 (231,000 from 174,000) and grew by 20% -- the most of any show -- in the broader 18-34 category (582,000 from 490,000). It also tied for second place among daytime dramas in adults 18-49, up from third the previous week.

It's also not surprising that "General Hospital," a favorite of college women since the heyday of Luke and Laura in the 1980s, would see a ratings spike. But it was something of a nice surprise for CBS that two of the oldest-skewing soaps, "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns," could also benefit from the Nielsen methodology change.

Eye's "Young and the Restless," though, the season's No. 1 daytime drama among adults 18-49 and 25-54, has a broader audience and wasn't among the week-to-week demo gainers.

A boost in Nielsen ratings -- especially among young adults -- means increased advertising revenue. And such a boost could make the difference between cancellation or survival.

It looks to be too late for "Passions," though, as the 8-year-old show announced last month that it will shut down later this year. But if "Days" continues to rise, it may be able to quell talk that it will end its lengthy run in 2009 when its contract with NBC is up.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117959497&categoryid=14

kizzo

02-14-07, 11:35 PM

What was the actual reason for delaying college being added to ratings?? This should have happen years ago...

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:35 PM

Obituary
Peter Ellenshaw, 93
Legendary Disney artist
By Mike Barnes The Hollywood Repoter Feb 15, 2007

Peter Ellenshaw, the visual effects pioneer and matte artist who won an Oscar for "Mary Poppins" and worked his magic on other live-action Disney classics like "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Treasure Island," died Monday at his home in Santa Barbara. He was 93.

Ellenshaw, a painter known for his dramatic seascapes and elegant Irish landscapes, was hand-picked by Walt Disney to serve on the studio's creative team. He painted the iconic first map of Disneyland that was featured on all the early postcards and souvenir booklets.

Ellenshaw began his association with Disney in 1947 when he was tapped to work on the studio's first live-action film, "Treasure Island" (1950), and he continued working there until his retirement in 1979 following "The Black Hole." He came out of retirement to do several matte paintings for the 1990 film "Dick Tracy."

Other Disney films on which Ellenshaw worked included "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" (1959), "The Sword in the Rose" (1953), "The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men" (1952), "The Love Bug" (1968), "The Island on Top of the World" (1974) and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971). He earned Oscar nominations for the latter two in addition to "The Black Hole" and "Mary Poppins."

Ellenshaw also made major artistic contributions to Disney 1950s television shows "Davy Crockett" and "Zorro."

Before Disney, he worked on the Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger 1947 classic "Black Narcissus." The native of Great Britain apprenticed for visual effects pioneer W. Percy "Pop" Day in the early 1930s.

"Peter was a Disney legend in every sense of the word and played a vital role in the creation of many of the studio's greatest live-action films from the very beginning," Roy E. Disney said in a statement released by the studio. "He was a brilliant and innovative visual effects pioneer who was able to consistently please my Uncle Walt and push the boundaries of the medium to fantastic new heights."

Ellenshaw is survived by his two children, Lynda Ellenshaw Thompson (an industry veteran visual effects producer), and Harrison Ellenshaw (a visual effects artist who was an Oscar nominee for "The Black Hole," matte supervisor on "Star Wars: Episodes IV and V" and visual effects supervisor for "Tron"), as well as his two grandchildren, Michael and Hilary. His wife of 58 years, Bobbie, passed away in 2000.

Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations can be made to Direct Relief International in Santa Barbara.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i2d7be7b09f32186c42bcd49fc31b8801

fredfa

02-14-07, 11:37 PM

What was the actual reason for delaying college being added to ratings?? This should have happen years ago...

Who knows the real reason -- Nielsen works in mysterious ways.

I think the claim was something like the audience was too hard to measure.

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:15 AM

Cable Nielsen Notebook
A&E Network finds its fountain of youth
By Gary Levin USA Today

Cable's A&E Network has undergone more makeovers than an American Idol winner.

The former Arts & Entertainment Network started out in the mid-'80s airing powdered-wig BBC dramas, then hit pay dirt in the '90s with the much-copied Biography series and Law & Order reruns. When L&O jumped to TNT in 2000 and Biography burned out soon after, the channel's fortunes sank.

But a recent revival of reality series, led by Dog the Bounty Hunter, and the high-profile addition of The Sopranos and CSI: Miami reruns to its lineup have produced steady gains. Now the channel ranks fifth among all cable networks, has a much younger audience and plans to launch original drama series for the first time in seven years.

A&E Television Networks chief Abbe Raven likens A&E to Cadillac, shedding its fusty image with a new generation of Escalade-driving young 'uns. In just three years, the network's median age went from 61 — among the oldest of cable networks — to 47, a startling drop.

So what if longtime viewers cry foul? "People say, 'You're not A&E anymore,' " Raven says. "We are; we're still entertainment."

But "arts"? Not so much.

"The network was obviously challenged," says general manager Bob DeBitetto, who was hired from TNT in 2003. "The task was to completely reinvent it, and my job kind of became to introduce the network to an entirely new generation of viewers," even if it meant ditching longtime fans.

Seven years ago, reeling from Law's exit and the costly failure of dramas such as Nero Wolfe and 100 Centre Street, "they lost a big chunk of their audience," Kagan Research analyst Derek Baine says. "They're trying to revitalize the brand name."

A&E, which is owned by NBC, ABC and Hearst, averaged 1.1 million viewers in prime time last year, and ratings jumped 21% among adults 18 to 49. Last month, it began airing two edited episodes of HBO's The Sopranos a week (Wednesdays 9-11 p.m. ET/PT, repeating on the following Mondays at the same time).

On Jan. 10, A&E lured 4.3 million viewers — a channel record — for the heavily promoted premiere. Subsequent airings have dropped to about half that number, but January ratings overall were up 67% over last year, A&E's best month ever. The Mob drama cost $2.5 million an episode, a cable record.

The channel also has found success with some of its forays into lower-cost reality series, ranging from Airline to Criss Angel's Mindfreak, Growing Up Gotti, Gene Simmons' Family Jewels and Dog, its biggest homegrown show.

The plan, Raven says, was to "seed the network with younger viewers and build a platform" to reintroduce original scripted series.

A&E also plans a few high-profile projects, including a miniseries remake of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain. But up first:

• Movie Kings of South Beach, starring Jason Gedrick and Donnie Wahlberg, March 12.

• A new season of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, March 25.

• Sons of Hollywood, another reality series, about three scions of L.A. bigwigs including Randy Spelling, son of Aaron, due April 1.

The network is considering 12 drama series and expects to put one or two on the air in 2008. Among contenders, heavy on crime and law, is a series about married divorce attorneys from Steven Bochco, and Dry River, about a father-and-son sheriff and federal agent in a wealthy Texas town.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-02-14-A&E-ratings_x.htm

VisionOn

02-15-07, 12:23 AM

Cable Nielsen Notebook
A&E Network finds its fountain of youth
By Gary Levin USA Today

Cable's A&E Network has undergone more makeovers than an American Idol winner.

A&E also plans a few high-profile projects, including a miniseries remake of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain.

my only thought when I read that was "why?"

It was (and still is) a good viral thriller, but hardly mini series material. It only just had enough plot to sustain it's movie length.

VisionOn

02-15-07, 12:28 AM

I can't bear the size of the Lost thread and, given that the reviewers usually quoted in here were saying good things about tonight's return - I'll say this:

If ever a show regained its original footing and flair and made up for "lost" time and episodes, this was it! It was truly gripping and a full return to form. Whether it's enough to salvage the weak start, I'll leave to others.

and I'll balance that by saying it was utterly pointless and yet again failed to deliver on the promise of the previous week's trailers. Last week we were shown a return to the full cast, plenty of running, high tension and huge explosions.

What ABC actually delivered was a 35 minute flashback, retelling a story that was already known and was not particularly interesting to begin with.

I'll be interested to see if the viewers dropped off for the second hour when they realized that the rest of the cast wouldn't be appearing. Again.

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:38 AM

my only thought when I read that was "why?"

It was (and still is) a good viral thriller, but hardly mini series material. It only just had enough plot to sustain it's movie length.

A&E doesn't need to get a big audience by network standards -- 4-5 million would be great, and they can replay stuff forever -- and then get the DVD sales.

But a sizeable cable audience helps convince cable and satellite providers to pony up the nexy time A&E (which currently gets a reported 22 cents a month for its subs) to raise its rates.

I think one of last season's episodes of "The Closer" got the biggest rating ever for a scripted cable series -- something over eight million viewers.

TNT crowed about that (as well it should have) for weeks.

But to put things in context, the number of viewers for that "Closer" episode is right about what "The Medium" and "Crossing Jordan" got on NBC last week -- and they were ranked #51 and #52.

cherry ghost

02-15-07, 01:29 AM

I got it. Tennessee women's basketball (gotta love Pat Summit).

Me too, but for Candace, not Pat.

fredfa

02-15-07, 01:53 AM

The Looming Writers’ Strike
Antistrike force eyes supply line
TV execs seek to bank more episodes
By Carl DiOrio and Nellie Andreeva The Hollywood Reporter Feb 15, 2007

TV studio execs might try to nip the potential threat of a writers strike by tucking away scripts or even shooting extra episodes of hit dramas and sitcoms.

The fledgling plan represents what a key management insider described as "phase one" of studio strike preparations. It's considered more important for TV execs than those in film to get a jump on planning for a possible writers walkout -- the current WGA contract expires Oct. 31 -- so thus far it's mostly the TV divisions at major studios taking the most aggressive steps toward content stockpiling.

Teams on such hit shows as FX's "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me" have been approached about producing more than the 13 episodes required to complete the current season, perhaps as many as 22 in total. Sources said some major studios have approached actors on their hit returning series about shortening show hiatuses to as little as six weeks to complete more episodes in the summer.

"Everybody is talking about series possibly returning (to production) after really short hiatuses to bank as many episodes as possible," a talent agent said.

Studios are said to be exploring the feasibility of moving the start of production of returning broadcast series from August to late May or early June, though no formal requests have been made. The plan is still in the feeling-out stage as a shortened time off could create problems for series stars, who often use the summer hiatus to do features.

For instance, "24" star Kiefer Sutherland is set to star in the Fox/New Regency thriller "Mirrors," which lenses in the summer. And others including "Grey's Anatomy" regular Patrick Dempsey are believed to be reviewing similar offers for big-screen summer paydays.

Additionally, industry sources indicate that talent and crews on such dramas as "24" and "Lost" -- which boast elaborate location shoots -- desperately need a breather between seasons and can't possibly mount a new production cycle so quickly. To accommodate such needs, some studios are considering keeping filming schedules intact but storing extra scripts that can be shot during a potential strike.

But where possible, TV studios aim to assemble show casts to shoot episodes they can stockpile for the fall or beyond. For some long-running procedural shows, such as the "Law & Order" and "CSI" franchises, studios choose to keep talent and crews in production beyond the scheduled wrap date rather than breaking and reconvening, sources said.

"We're just starting to hear kind of secondhand that the TV schedule might be switched around a little bit this year," Association of Talent Agents spokeswoman Karen Stuart said. "We are hearing that people might be brought back in after the May pickups much sooner than normal."

The prospect of a writers strike already is a conversational flashpoint of the ongoing pilot-casting season, with actors being advised that production on the new series could begin almost immediately after the networks pick up their new shows in May.

So for old shows and new, the next impact from prestrike preparations is likely to kick in around May. That's when networks stage their upfront presentations for advertisers and signal which shows will be returning and which won't.

It also will bear watching whether it's tougher to get dramas and comedies picked up because of the possible unavailability of scripts in the event of a strike by the WGA. Already, there are signs of increased reality-show activity this pilot season.

"There's a lot of talk about ramping up this next production cycle with more reality shows," said Craig Borders, a director-producer on such reality shows as "Laguna Beach" and "The Mole." "One concrete sign is the marked increase of activity within companies who primarily produce reality shows. They're out shooting shows, whereas a year ago very few broadcast networks were purchasing much first-run reality shows. I'm developing several shows that I hope take advantage of this appetite for increased reality content."

Among those is a reality game show based on oil wildcatting in which one contestant and a "silent partner" can end up with a significant portion of a wildcat well, he said.

"The next trigger moment -- and it's a big one -- is around May and the upfronts," a management insider said. "Right now what they're doing is preparing. Every network is doing something different, (but) they're not going to tell each other, because they're competitors."

So while one network might opt to greenlight more reality projects for the period in question, another might lean toward sports and a third might choose to produce more game shows or even news programming.

"And if you lose viewers during a strike to cable or to someone else's sports programming or news programming, you might not get them back after the strike," the insider noted.

Many suggest the rise of the TV newsmagazine format owes much historically to the WGA strike in 1988, when the format was used to fill troublesome slots and viewers embraced the programming.

Meanwhile, though it's less clear what specific movie projects will be impacted by early strike-threat preparations, some industryites suggest that the situation also is starting to affect certain areas of film activity.

"I'm sure certain studios have sped up some development of scripts," a well-placed industry observer said. "But then, there's the question you ask yourself of whether I can produce this script without a writer on board during production. Some will say yes. Some will say no because they might need rewrites or a scene added here or there. Or it might involve a big writer, and you don't mess with big writer stuff."

On the TV side, de-facto strike conditions are a bit easier to track.

Once it becomes clear which shows are not returning, the networks will turn their sights in earnest to the question of how to program open slots -- while bearing in mind the possibility of a writers strike in late 2007. And it would almost be equally disruptive to scripted programming were labor strife to break out in early 2008.

WGA execs say they expect to begin negotiations for a new contract in July, but many observers say they are likely to go several months before seriously considering any walkout. That's because contracts for SAG and the DGA don't expire until mid-'08, and many believe the WGA will have increased bargaining power as those expirations draw closer.

Still, guild preparations for the various contracts talks also are under way. Just last week, the WGA named its negotiating committee and the DGA appointed a negotiating committee chairman.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3if86c028d8e16e1e04dbf596a46a75ee5

dad1153

02-15-07, 02:17 AM

Great. Wall-to-wall Dateline NBC, Deal or No Deal, America's Got Talent and a million other reality shows if/when the WGA goes on strike. And this coming from someone that likes 'Dateline' and 'DOND.' :rolleyes:

All three Law & Order shows already have a 10 1/2 month year-round schedule (from August 'till mid-June) just to fill their regular 22-episode quota. Why do you think poor Vincent D'Onofrio almost collapsed from exhaustion after four consecutive seasons of Criminal Intent with him in almost every shot/scene? At least 'L&O' shows, like CBS' procedurals, repeat well-enough that if a strike were to happen they could be repeated often and still get a decent rating. Shows that need topical first-run episodes (like Grey's Anatomy or 24) and the networks that build their schedules around these "event" programs are going to be soooooooo screwed if a strike happens! :(

RussB

02-15-07, 02:29 AM

by John Falcone
Feb. 9, 2007
crave CNET

Slowly but surely, the February 17, 2009, cutoff date for over-the-air analog TV gets an increasing amount of attention as we get closer to the date (just two years away). But an equally important date is just days away: February 28, 2007. That's the last day that manufacturers can ship or import any product that has only an analog TV tuner. As of March 1, all new TV and video products imported into the U.S. or shipped to retailers that include an analog (NTSC) tuner need to have a digital (ATSC) tuner as well.

The March 1 date is merely one step in an ongoing process. By federal mandate, over-the-air analog TV broadcasts will cease in the U.S. on February 17, 2009. From that day forward, you'll only be able to receive over-the-air TV broadcasts on TVs with digital (ATSC) tuners. To prepare for that inevitability, the FCC has setup a years-long schedule for transitioning the nation from analog to digital TVs. That's one reason why it's become increasingly impossible to buy large-screen analog TVs: Big-screen models were the first to fall under the digital tuner mandate, and it's been applied to smaller and smaller screen sizes as the decade has progressed. March 1 is the final deadline on the product side. At that point, TVs of all screen sizes need to have a digital tuner. Perhaps more importantly, any device with a built-in TV tuner needs to have a digital option as well. That encompasses a huge swath of products--everything from VCRs, DVRs, and DVD recorders to more esoteric PC peripherals such as TV tuner cards.

Of course, there's always a loophole. The FCC rules about the digital TV transition extend only to tuners that can receive over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts--ones you receive via an antenna. That's why the tens of millions of TV viewers who are cable or satellite subscribers should be largely unaffected by the 2009 over-the-air analog cut-off. Manufacturers can bypass the rules by simply omitting an over-the air analog tuner altogether. For instance, HD monitors such as the Panasonic TH-50PH9UK don't include any built-in tuners at all, just plenty of inputs for external video sources--leaving it up to you to connect your own cable or satellite box or even an outboard over-the-air tuner. Likewise, manufacturers may tweak an internal analog tuner to accept only a cable TV signal--rather than one from an antenna--thus skirting the requirements of the rule. The TiVo Series2 DT is one such example: Its tuner decodes signals from analog cable but, unlike the older Series2 models, not from analog antennas. As a result, the DT version is compliant with the post-March 1 mandate, even though it doesn't include a digital tuner.

So how will the deadline affect what you can buy in the store? In the short term, it won't. The March 1 deadline applies to manufacturers, not retailers. Whatever's on the shelf at Circuit City or Best Buy on February 28 will still be there the following day. But once the existing stocks of analog-only products are sold off, they won't be replaced. For TVs, that won't be a big problem. All larger (25 inches and up) HDTVs are already digital-ready, or they're monitor-only and thus exempt. For example, Best Buy already offers a 27-inch tube TV with analog and digital tuners for a scant $209--it just downconverts all the HD programming to standard-definition resolution. Look for digital tuners to appear in even smaller, cheaper TVs as the year progresses.

Perhaps more interesting is how the March 1 deadline will affect other video equipment with TV tuners. At the Consumer Electronics Show 2007, major manufacturers such as Panasonic, Samsung, RCA, and LG were showing off DVD recorders with built-in digital tuners. Fully compliant with the tuner mandate, they're exactly the sort of upgraded products that will be replacing the analog-only DVD recorders from the 2006 model year. Because the digital tuner costs more to implement, entry-level VCR and DVD recorders will likely follow the "monitor model" and go without a tuner, offering only line-in and line-out ports. Once again, if you're attaching them to a satellite or cable box, the lack of a tuner won't be missed.

One final reminder as we enter the home stretch of the digital TV transition: The hundreds of millions of old analog TVs already in use will still work just fine. All existing cable and satellite boxes--even HD ones--can still be connected to old analog TVs. However, viewers who watch over-the-air TV via an antenna will be able to purchase a digital-to-analog conversion box to avoid a loss of TV programming. (The government is even establishing a fund to help subsidize the purchase of such boxes, but details remain vague.) So while there's nothing wrong with upgrading to a nice, big, digital-ready flat-panel TV, there's no need to rush, either.

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9685948-1.html?tag=nl.e501

fredfa

02-15-07, 02:35 AM

Thanks Russ -- we all have less than two weeks to rush out and snap up an NTSC-only TV.

CPanther95

02-15-07, 09:17 AM

Thanks Russ -- we all have less than two weeks to rush out and snap up an NTSC-only TV.

If our esteemed legislative leaders handling this transition didn't have their heads firmly inserted in their rectums, your last opportunity to buy an NTSC-only television would have happened a few years ago (and ATSC tuners would be dirt cheap by now). Instead, we've unnecessarily allowed millions of TVs that represent millions of additional government subsidies to continue to flow through the pipeline.

fredfa

02-15-07, 10:02 AM

The TV Column
Anna Nicole Coverage Sweetens the Ratings Pot
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, February 15, 2007

Last week when Anna Nicole Smith died, the cable news networks were all over the story in minutes; the broadcast newscasts were all over it that night.

Almost immediately, the bashing began. The Reporters Who Cover Television, media watchdog Web sites -- even the networks' own on-air talent -- excoriated the TV outlets for lavishing so much time on the sudden, mysterious death of the gorgeous, buxom 39-year-old pinup who was famous merely for being famous.

After all, traditionally this kind of time and attention has more appropriately been reserved for the coverage of the sudden, mysterious deaths of people like Princess Di and JFK Jr. -- people famous for being -- um, more famous.

"Why are they all focused in on this story and why are they going to be providing a lot more time to Anna Nicole Smith than the war in Iraq and possible coming war with Iran?" MSNBC talking head Joe Scarborough faux-wondered that very Thursday night at 10 on his program.

"Over the course of the next hour, there will be no reporting . . . on the passing of Anna Nicole Smith," CNN's resident old gasbag Lou Dobbs sniffed at Wolf Blitzer (who'd gone into high Anna Nicole mode on "The Situation Room") as he promoted his upcoming "I'm Lou Dobbs and You're Not" show.

"Anna Nicole Smith and Our National Media Embarrassment," Web site Thinkprogress.org -- a project of the Washington think tank American Progress Action Fund (which says it's a sister advocacy organization of think tank Center for American Progress) -- said in a finger-wagging headline.

"The death of Anna Nicole Smith yesterday was a feeding frenzy for the national media," the site complained.

"Coverage of the war was drowned out: NBC's Nightly News devoted 14 seconds to Iraq compared to 3 minutes and 13 seconds to Anna Nicole. CNN referenced Anna Nicole 522% more frequently than it did Iraq. MSNBC was even worse -- 708% more references to Anna Nicole than Iraq."

"War? What war?" the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in response to figures released this week by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. That group discovered that the unexpected death of the billionaire-wife-turned-E!-reality-series-star was last week's No. 3 news story, nearly edging out what it called "a bloody week in Iraq" -- to distinguish it from all the non-bloody weeks.

"The bosomy blonde's demise consumed a staggering 50% of the cable news hole PEJ examined on February 8 and 9," the organization wrote -- adding that those are the kinds of levels not seen since the demises of Di and JFK Jr.

Back at CNN, Blitzer got slapped again the next day by the network's official downer-guy, Jack Cafferty, who'd collected viewer e-mails grousing about the network's Anna Nicole coverage.

"That's the only story we reported [yesterday] for two solid hours and we weren't the only ones," Cafferty grumbled. "Her death was tabloid gold and apparently we just couldn't help ourselves."

"I know a lot of people are complaining about that," Blitzer said. "But a lot of people are also watching."

He said a mouthful.

Last Thursday, when Blitzer was standing in front of his Big Board of Moving Pictures, shepherding CNN's Anna Nicole coverage on "The Situation Room," he had an average audience of 1.7 million viewers -- nearly tripling his audience in the same hour the day before and beating Fox News Channel in the hour. This is a good place to mention that Too Good to Cover Pop Culture Cafferty, who appears on Blitzer's program, also got to enjoy those million or so extra viewers that day.

In that same hour, FNC's Neil Cavuto tried gamely to cover the Anna Nicole story while standing at the golf course in Pebble Beach, Calif., site of the annual Pro-Am tourney, where he was slated to interview Oscar nominee Clint Eastwood:

"I want to touch on this with you, then I'm going to leave it because there are far more urgent issues for you," Cavuto told Eastwood on the links.

"But Anna Nicole has died. Sort of a whimsical character now to the press," Cavuto continued. "Here-again-gone-again celebrity. You have survived so many careers that have gone up and down -- how do you feel?"

"You're trying to make me feel [like a] senior citizen," Eastwood responded. "I see what you're doing. I feel fine. I'm sorry that this life ended tragically for this lady. Obviously that wasn't a good thing."

Ironically, Blitzer's hard work also paid off for Lou "No Stinkin' Anna Nicole Coverage Here" Dobbs, what with his show being sandwiched as it is in the middle of "The Situation Room," where all that great Anna Nicole Is Dead coverage was being done.

Dobbs clocked an average of nearly 1.2 million viewers that night, compared with 751,000 viewers the previous night. Dobbs did not beat FNC's Brit Hume newscast, which logged nearly 1.7 million viewers.

We'll never know if those several hundred thousand viewers who bailed when Dobbs came on would have stuck around had he not disdained to make mention of the gimongous pop-culture story crashing all around him.

At any rate, he owes Blitzer an apology. Cafferty, too.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/14/AR2007021401813_pf.html

fredfa

02-15-07, 10:19 AM

TV Notebook
Olbermann Renews Contract
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 2/15/2007

After reportedly seeking a four-fold increase on his pay, MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann renewed his contract with the network for four more years. Per the deal, he will continue hosting Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and take on new roles contributing occasional essays to NBC's Nightly News and hosting two primetime Countdown specials a year on NBC.

B&C broke the news that the controversial host was said to have been seeking more than $4 million a year to renew his contract, which came due in April. His current deal is believed to have paid about $1 million per year.

Olbermann sought the big payout because his 8 p.m. show is a ratings superstar for MSNBC. It finished January with an average 283,000 viewers in news' key 25-54 demographic and 715,000 total viewers, up 89% and 85%, respectively, over last year.

"Keith Olbermann is a tremendous talent and a superb broadcaster," said NBC News President Steve Capus in a statement. "He is an asset to NBC News and the timing of this announcement couldn't be better given the momentum Keith's program is enjoying right now."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6416673.html

fredfa

02-15-07, 10:24 AM

TV Notebook
“Nightline” To Stay As A Half Hour Show
By Adam Buckman The New York Post February 15, 2007

ABC has no plans to expand "Nightline" by a half-hour and move "Jimmy Kimmel Live" to 12:35 a.m., network officials insisted yesterday.

They were reacting to a story published in the New York Observer that said ABC officials in Burbank had instructed ABC's news division in New York to produce a one-hour "practice" version of "Nightline" as preparation for an expansion to 12:35.

The so-called "test" show was produced last week in New York, but not aired.

ABC execs said the network is happy with the performance of the "Kimmel" show and that they have not discussed moving the show to a later time period.

"The show has grown," said Andrea Wong, executive vice-president of alternative series and late-night for ABC, on the phone from L.A. yesterday.

"Season-to-date ["Kimmel"] is up 17 percent in adults 18-49 [and] up 13 percent in total viewers," she said. "So it's really paying off and we couldn't be happier about where the show's going."

She noted that the network doesn't even have the option of moving the one-hour "Kimmel" show.

"The affiliates have cleared 11:35 to 1:05 [for network programs] - we don't have 'til 1:35" to schedule a network show, she pointed out.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for ABC News said network executives based on the West Coast had nothing to do with the "test" hour. She said it was produced solely at the behest of news division execs who wanted to see what a one-hour "Nightline" - featuring the show's current anchor triad of Terry Moran, Cynthia McFadden and Martin Bashir - would look like.

Instead of preparing to take over the time period currently occupied by the first half-hour of "Kimmel," the "Nightline" producers were preparing only for their show's occasional need to run long, either due to breaking news or special programming requiring an hour in the manner of the old "Nightline" anchored by Ted Koppel.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02152007/tv/nightline_to_stay_in_half_hour_time_slot_tv_adam_buckman.htm

fredfa

02-15-07, 10:58 AM

So how did "Lost" do last night as it settles into its new 10 PM time slot?

The first reurns are in and you can find them in Wednesday’s metered market over-night prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- which have been posted just near the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

We'll have the fast national ratings in the next hour or so.

shuttermaker

02-15-07, 11:11 AM

fredfa

02-15-07, 11:12 AM

TV Notebook
For 'ER,' a renewed bout of ratings flu
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Feb 15, 2007, 01:00

A few months ago, it looked as though “ER” was going through a twilight resurgence of sorts. Ratings were up over the previous year, and NBC backtracked on an earlier decision to shelve the 13-year-old show at midseason in favor of a fresh drama.

But with two weeks left in February sweeps, it now seems that the resurgence was merely temporary. Over the last two weeks, “ER” has dropped to season-low and near series-low ratings.

“Media buyers are once again voicing concerns about the show's health, and it feels like this discussion is going to have an impact on ‘ER's’ attractiveness during the next upfronts,” one veteran media buyer tells Media Life.

Tonight’s 10 p.m. episode addresses a moral dilemma Gates and Kovac face while treating a liver patient.

While even a weakened “ER” still outdraws most of NBC’s shows, the ratings decline is not encouraging. Last week’s episode averaged a 4.8, down 16 percent from its season-to-date 5.7 average for originals and 21 percent from last year’s 6.1 average on the same night.

Meanwhile, ratings for the competing “Men in Trees” on ABC and CBS’s “Shark” were both up last week, and the latter beat “ER” in total viewers.

Certainly better competition may explain the show’s recent decline. Last fall, when "ER's" ratings were healthier, “Shark” was not as strong in 18-49s and ABC’s “Six Degrees” was bombing.

But it’s also likely been hurt by its lead-in, the low-rated sitcom “30 Rock.” That show is averaging just a 2.8 rating, down a considerable 22 percent from a 3.6 for “Deal or No Deal,” its lead-in last fall.

Another factor may be the departure of longtime cast member Laura Innes (Kerry Weaver) who left at midseason after more than a decade on the show.

With NBC still rebuilding and its once-promising freshman drama “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” looking unlikely to return, “ER” may return for a 14th season; it remains a top 20 show. Whether it can remain one next year looks less and less clear.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_10198.asp

fredfa

02-15-07, 11:15 AM

TV Notebook
The word: MSNBC re-signs Olbermann
The feisty left-leaning newsman is the network’s hot face
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Feb 15, 2007

After years of struggle, MSNBC seems to be finding its voice over the past year, making major ratings gains and moving to its closest competitive position ever to No. 2 cable news network CNN.

Today the network will take a major step in ensuring that its rise continues, renewing the contract of host Keith Olbermann in a long-term deal rumored to be worth many millions.

The two sides have been in negotiations for months. Though MSNBC had no comment on the deal this morning, several news outlets reported that it will be announced later today, and the network scheduled a press conference for noon.

Last year Olbermann said he was looking for $4 million per year, which would have been four times his current salary. CNN was also rumored to have made a bid for Olbermann, though he had insisted he wanted to stay with his current network.

Though he has caught the ire of conservative bloggers, there’s no denying the former “SportsCenter” anchor has become the most valuable personality on the network.

“Countdown with Keith Olbermann” was the biggest gainer on MSNBC last year, posting the network’s highest ratings ever in the 8 p.m. weeknight timeslot. The show averaged 479,000 total viewers, up 24 percent over 2005, as CNN and Fox News both saw double-digit declines in the timeslot.

During fourth quarter, when the midterm elections were held, Olbermann’s show was up 60 percent in total viewers, to 656,000, and began to consistently best CNN in adults 25-54.

That led MSNBC to major gains in primetime, and that’s continued in January, when it trailed CNN in primetime among 25-54s by just 59,000 viewers.

In many ways it seems appropriate that Olbermann should have emerged as the face of long-dragging, often disjointed MSNBC just as Bill O’Reilly is the face of Fox News and Anderson Cooper is the face of CNN.

Olbermann was known as a somewhat quixotic and unhappy man before he landed at MSNBC for a second go-round. Though a talented broadcaster, he clashed with his bosses and often aired those gripes in public, which did not sit well with his bosses.

After leaving ESPN on bad terms in 1997, he landed briefly at MSNBC before jumping over to Fox Sports, where things also ended badly in 2001. Olbermann then bounced between CNN and ABC Radio before reemerging at MSNBC in 2003, when the network’s ratings were flailing.

Much as Olbermann struggled to find the right fit, MSNBC has adopted and shed many personalities over the years. Phil Donahue, Michael Savage, Connie Chung and Ron Reagan Jr. have come and gone, none finding a loyal audience.

But over the past year, and more recently under new general manager Dan Abrams, the network has shifted its focus to politics, and Olbermann, who often delivers diatribes against President Bush and the Iraq War, has been a big part of that.

“We target a smart viewer, an informed viewer, a viewer who cares about what’s going on in the world,” Abrams told Media Life earlier this year. “[Our success] has been spearheaded by Keith Olbermann’s success.”

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_10214.asp

fredfa

02-15-07, 11:23 AM

OK..so "Lost" is still slipping. Thats not a surprise.

If I were in charge of ABC programming and could do WHATEVER I wanted with no questions asked...

I think I would go back to Season 1 and replay back to back episodes in the 8pm to 10 pm time slot on Friday or Saturday nights. A 2 hour block from Season 1 Episode 1 until its current episode.

But the surprise is that they are slipping so badly -- and against such previously nondescript competition.

I think the "Lost" ship may be beyond salvage -- although another season is surely in the cards.

IMO, rerunning season 1 on Fridays or Saturdays would be a ratings disaster.

People who love the show clearly love it; others have apparently made up their minds that it is not for them -- including a substantial number of once-loyal viewers.

In retrospect, the best move might have been to delay this season until January and then run the entire Season Three uninterrupted in a comfortable time slot. But that is Monday morning QBing on my part.

Although the ratings it should be emphasized are still more than respectable, I just don't see any reasonable way for ABC to reverse the ratings trend for "Lost".

shuttermaker

02-15-07, 11:29 AM

TV Notebook
For 'ER,' a renewed bout of ratings flu
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Feb 15, 2007, 01:00

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_10198.asp

ER needs a face lift. Ive been watching it for probably 6 years now. Maybe the "County General" set could be enlarged? For a while so many episodes involved budget cuts and the plight of the patients. They need to bring the show into the 21st century. Spruce it up a bit.

My favorite episode is when the helo fell on that ass of a surgeon...i forget his name.

Isnt ER the last show of the "Must See TV" era for NBC. It really doesnt deserve the Thursday slot anymore.

fredfa

02-15-07, 11:32 AM

TV Notebook
The NBC Keith Olbermann News Release
Four More Years
Named Managing Editor of "Countdown" And Will Contribute To NBC Network News Programming

SECAUCUS, NJ – February 15, 2007 – MSNBC today announced that Keith Olbermann will be counting down the top stories of the day for four more years, continuing as host of his enormously popular nightly news program, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" (8-9 p.m. ET). In addition, he will contribute to NBC Nightly News with occasional essays and will host two "Countdown" primetime specials each year on NBC. Since its launch in April, 2003, "Countdown" has grown its audience by 91%, making it one of the most watched programs on cable news.

"Keith Olbermann is a tremendous talent and a superb broadcaster," said NBC News President Steve Capus. "He is an asset to NBC News and the timing of this announcement couldn't be better given the momentum Keith's program is enjoying right now."

A compelling hour of nightly news, delivered with Olbermann's particular wit and style, "Countdown" takes a fast paced look at the top five news stories of the day – from politics to pop culture and from the mainstream to the oddball. The program has enjoyed particular success in the past year, finishing the month of January with an average of 283,000 viewers in the adult demographic (25-54) and 715,000 total viewers, up +89% and +85% respectively, over a year ago.

"I've been overwhelmed by the support for this newscast, both inside NBC, and among our remarkable viewers," said Olbermann. "I'm delighted we can continue 'Countdown,' and continue to try to hold politicians and other newsmakers accountable for what they are doing, or not doing."

Olbermann is the recipient of numerous distinguished awards in radio and television broadcasting, including the 1995 Cable Ace Award for Best Sportscaster, 11 Golden Mike Awards for excellence in television and radio, and four Sports Emmy Awards. Olbermann also received two Edward R. Murrow Awards, one for his coverage of the events of 9/11 and another for the anniversary coverage of 9/11.

In addition to his extensive broadcasting experience, Olbermann has written for dozens of publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated and Playboy. His first book, "The Major League Coaches," was published when he was 14. His latest book, "The Worst Person in the World," is based on the popular segment within "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," and another, based on his electrifying Countdown "Special Comments," will be published next winter.

shuttermaker

02-15-07, 11:39 AM

But the surprise is that they are slipping so badly -- and against such previously nondescript competition.

I think the "Lost" ship may be beyond salvage -- although another season is surely in the cards.

IMO, rerunning season 1 on Fridays or Saturdays would be a ratings disaster.

People who love the show clearly love it; others have apparently made up their minds that it is not for them -- including a substantial number of once-loyal viewers.

In retrospect, the best move might have been to delay this season until January and then run the entire Season Three uninterrupted in a comfortable time slot. But that is Monday morning QBing on my part.

Although the ratings it should be emphasized are still more than respectable, I just don't see any reasonable way for ABC to reverse the ratings trend for "Lost".

While I agree that weeks off inbetween new episodes is whats killing the shows ability to retain viewers and bring into the fold new ones, I think people are just flat out too impatient. Everybody wants things explained in 2 or 3 episodes. Maybe a lot of viewers cant handle multiple story lines?

JMO but, I like they way the story is going, I like the flow, the only problem I have is the long breaks in between new episodes. This show, with its multiple story lines cant survive with those long breaks. People cant invest the required patience and attention to enjoy it the way its presented.

fredfa

02-15-07, 11:56 AM

I agree to an extent, shuttermaker. But beyond everything else, I suspect many people want some sort of resolution after investing an hour in watching what is supposed to be entertaining. And it is hard to blame them.

I am not suggesting that all serial-like elements should be done away with. But it does seem to me that except in rare cases, people should get a sense that they learned something new after a show ends -- and not only some new element of a continuing mystery. And we have seen this year that serials do not seem to work all that well -- even well constyructed ones.

In the case of "Lost" it is my belief, and I wouldn't dare post it over on the "Lost" thread, that there just hasn't been enough of a weekly payoff to viewers who have been incredibly supportive to the show.

Many critics have written that perhaps the show runners haven't figured out what is going to happen yet. Without any evidence whatsoever one way or the other that is certainly how it seems to me. There are some brilliant moments, but they are too often, to me at least, wasted in a morass of confusing and unfulfilling episodes.

In my mind, "Lost" has become, to many viewers, a chore to watch. And apparently they have decided they payback isn't worth the effort. It seems to me that in television (as in most areas of life) it is harder to win back someone who has decided he/she no longer likes your product than it is to get his or her attention the first time.

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:05 PM

Last night's fast national over night prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted near the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

VisionOn

02-15-07, 12:09 PM

While I agree that weeks off inbetween new episodes is whats killing the shows ability to retain viewers and bring into the fold new ones, I think people are just flat out too impatient. Everybody wants things explained in 2 or 3 episodes. Maybe a lot of viewers cant handle multiple story lines?

there are no multiple storylines on Lost anymore. Lost is guilty of false promises and killing momentum every week now. Instead of balancing each episode with storylines about each character they concentrate on a small group and one plot thread. Compare this to the first season when every character was appearing every episode and they were all involved.

We had 7 weeks about Sawyer, Jack and Kate, and where the writer's could have had concurrently running storyline throughout they didn't. If your favorite characters are for example Locke and Sayid, you have been left high and dry for the better part of the season.

Compare this to Heroes. What works in Heroes favor is that the characters all get screen time and each separate story moves along. The viewers that like Hiro the most for example, know they will at least see him during the episode even if his story isn't the most pivotal. If Lost wants to solve it's problem they need to hire writers who can juggle a few storylines in every episode and start using all the cast members on an equal basis. A huge number of the cast have had barely two lines in almost 10 episodes. Moving it back to 9pm would help as well.

I was trying to find how it fared in it's second half but couldn't see those ratings. I wanted to see if a large number dropped off when they realized that despite the promises made last week the entire episode was about one character.

bphisig

02-15-07, 12:09 PM

What baffles me with LOST is why the Season 2 DVD set was released so close to the premier of Season 3...didn't FOX release the first season of 24 on DVD right away, giving everyone plenty of time to get caught up in time for the premier of Season 2? On the E! True Hollywood Story show that covered 24, they said that the ratings for S2 were up significantly from S1, in large part due to the DVD release.

For a show like LOST, where you really need to see all the previous episodes, shouldn't they have approached it the same way? Let as many people as possible get caught up with the show, otherwise, they're not going to tune in.

Obviously there are a number of other problems, but I think that a better DVD release schedule wouldn't hurt. They should put it out no more than a month after the season finale.

VisionOn

02-15-07, 12:18 PM

I agree to an extent, shuttermaker. But beyond everything else, I suspect many people want some sort of resolution after investing an hour in watching what is supposed to be entertaining. And it is hard to blame them.

I am not suggesting that all serial-like elements should be done away with. But it does seem to me that except in rare cases, people should get a sense that they learned something new after a show ends -- and not only some new element of a continuing mystery. And we have seen this year that serials do not seem to work all that well -- even well constyructed ones.

In the case of "Lost" it is my belief, and I wouldn't dare post it over on the "Lost" thread, that there just hasn't been enough of a weekly payoff to viewers who have been incredibly supportive to the show.

Without dragging this into another Lost thread, this brings up a mistake the creator's made with the online game. A lot of the show's mysteries, including the biggest - what the numbers mean - have already been addressed. The plot threads which they revealed a year ago have yet to find their way into the show, which makes no sense. It's created a two tier level of viewer and for some reason the writer's think it's okay to not mention this information on the show because they've already put it out there for people to find.

All the information that has been revealed already would have gone a long way to not only keeping viewers interested (the long running numbers mystery is barely mentioned now) but actually feel like the story is moving forward. It's already written, it should be simple to incorporate.

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:18 PM

The marketing people won that one, bphisig. The feeling is that all the premiere week hoopla gets "free" advertising which helps the sales of the DVD.

I agree with your premise: I would use the season-ending publicity to hype a season's DVD sales, release the DVD set the week of the annual cliff-hanger, and let people catch up with the show over the summer.

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:21 PM

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
ABC's 'Lost' struggling to find its way
Returned drama dips 14 percent from last week
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Feb 15, 2007

In its second week back from a midseason hiatus, ABC hit “Lost” continued to show ratings declines. The question now is what is causing them and whether they can be reversed.

Last night’s episode averaged a 5.6 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, down 14 percent from the previous week’s 6.5 and 23 percent from its season-to-date average of 7.3.

It also lost 2 million total viewers from the previous week, down to 12.7 million, nearly 2 million behind competing “CSI: NY” on CBS. But “Lost” was first in the timeslot in 18-49s.

There are certainly a myriad of possible reasons for the falloff, and one is that “Lost” has moved into a new, later 10 p.m. timeslot, an hour when TV usage in general falls off.

Thus it could be that “Lost” will see an uptick in digital video recorder ratings when they are released, explaining some of the decline though nowhere near all of it.

Another reason for “Lost’s” decline since last fall is that it no longer has strong lead-in “Dancing with the Stars.” Last night its lead-in, a repeat of “Lost,” averaged a 2.1, less than half “Stars’” average last fall.

But the most likely reason is that fans are dissatisfied with the drama’s dragging plotlines. Message boards are full of complaints about producers’ failure to tie up almost any of the mysteries on the show, instead adding new ones as well as new characters.

While last week’s premiere won praise from critics, this week focused on a completely different group of survivors, a fractioning also unpopular with fans. Some may have decided that they’re sick of waiting.

If that’s the case, then the ratings declines may not be reversible unless more answers are given.

Also last night, CW’s third season of “Beauty and the Geek” had its highest-rated finale ever in adults 18-34 (2.4), adults 18-49 (1.9), and viewers (4.2 million).

Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with an 8.1 average rating and a 21 share. CBS was second at 3.5/9, ABC third at 3.3/8, NBC fourth at 2.7/7, Univision fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 1.5/4.

At 8 p.m. Fox began the night in the lead with a 4.1 rating for “Bones.” NBC was second that hour with a 2.5 for “Friday Night Lights” and ABC third with a 2.2 average for “George Lopez” (2.6) and “Knights of Prosperity” (1.9). Univision and CBS tied for fourth that hour at 2.1, Univision for “La Fea Mas Bella” and CBS for “Return to Jericho,” with CW sixth with a 1.9 for “Beauty and the Geek.”

At 9 p.m. Fox extended its lead with a 12.1 rating for “American Idol.” CBS moved to second with a 4.0 for “Criminal Minds,” with NBC third with a 2.6 for “Deal or No Deal” and ABC fourth with a 2.1 for a repeat of “Lost.” That left Univision fifth with a 1.5 for “Mundo de Fieras” and CW sixth with a 1.1 for “One Tree Hill.”

ABC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 5.6 rating for “Lost,” followed by CBS with a 4.4 for “CSI: NY.” NBC was third with a 3.0 for “Medium” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”

Fox was first for the night among households, coming away with an 11.8 average rating and an 18 share. CBS finished second at 8.0/13, NBC third at 5.6/9, ABC fourth at 4.9/8 and Univision and CW tied for fifth at 2.1/3.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_10230.asp

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:42 PM

In case you missed it in the ratings summary, here is some (rare) "Friday Night Lights" good news. Not great, but encouraging, nonetheless.

(From Marc Berman’s Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, Programming Insider column and blog at Mediaweek.com )
http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/45910043?r=61010143#61010143
Overnight Ratings for Wednesday, February 14th

Fox, of course, led the midweek troops on the strength of blockbuster American Idol, which scored a typically mammoth 28.54 million viewers and a 12.1 rating/29 share among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. But since there is more to an evening than American Idol, let’s begin with 8 p.m.

Fox’s Bones opened on a winning note at 12.36 million viewers and a 4.1/17 among adults 18-49 at 8 p.m… CBS special Return of Jericho, which featured a look back at the previously telecast episodes, took a major backseat at 7.69 million viewers (#2) and a 2.1/ 6 among adults 18-49 (#4)…Also in the 8 p.m. hour were ABC comedies George Lopez (Viewers: #4, 7.15 million; A18-49: #2, 2.6/ 7) and The Knights of Prosperity (Viewers: #4, 4.87 million; A18-49: #5, 1.9/ 5), NBC’s Friday Night Lights (Viewers: #3, 7.43 million; A18-49: #2, 2.5/ 7), and the season-finale of Beauty and the Geek on the CW (Viewers: #5, 4.21 million; A18-49: #5, 1.9/ 5)….”

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data

As I noted in the “FNL” thread, the good news is the #2 18-49 ranking, and the total viewership during a show which dealt with a tough subject, was up from last week's 6.41 million by 822,000 viewers (16%).

fredfa

02-15-07, 12:47 PM

TV Notebook
Fox Pickup Rumors

I have heard rumblings that Fox may announce, as early as today, that is has picked up “House” and “Bones" for next season.

Neither move would be a surprise, and I reiterate that at the moment, they are just a rumors floating around. But they are rumors I think have some substance.

So the start of the fall pickup season might be at hand.

steverobertson

02-15-07, 01:11 PM

Fred,

Thanks that is good news on FNL lets hope all these people come back for more.

fredfa

02-15-07, 01:15 PM

kizzo

02-15-07, 01:35 PM

We can only hope, steve.

But I am frankly stunned that the numbers rose so much during such a hard episode to watch.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but the racial divide is not an easy subject to promote.

Very true. Its the reason that I decided to tune in to the episode. I have ignored the show in the past, but I wanted to see how they would treat this particular issue.

fredfa

02-15-07, 01:47 PM

(Note: Spoilers abound in this post. You have been warned.)
Critic’s Notebook
“Friday Night Lights”
Let's go to the strip club
By Alan Sepinwall of the Newark Star-Ledger in his TV blog “What’s Alan Watching” February 15, 2007

A very strong episode, with one caveat that I'll get to in a bit. Let's take the silly before the serious.

Landry Clarke at a strip club? Absolute comic genius. The writers and Jesse Plemons have done such a wonderful job of establishing the ABC's of Landry that I started laughing at the very idea of him going there, well before he actually wound up in the dressing room. (Nice garnish: that one stripper nodding enthusiastically at Landry's speech about how they work hard for their money, so you better tip them right.)

The preview for this episode tipped off most of Coach and Mrs. Coach's scene, especially the "Is there anybody else I can talk to?" punchline, but it was still funny in context, plus there was a new capper with his reference to all three of them being scary. The Taylors have one of the most realistic, honest and entertaining marriages on TV. And am I the only one who keeps flashing back to Tami telling Tyra "I used to be like you" (or words to that effect) in an early episode? While Tyra's absolutely a bad influence on Julie, I also think Tami is protesting so vehemently because she identifies too much with Tyra.

Now, for the serious. I was so pleased by the nuanced way the show dealt last week with the Mac plot until now, how Mac's comments were unpleasant but not Tim Hardaway-level automatic proof of violent biogtry, how people like Coach and Riggins let their focus on the playoffs blind them to what needed to be said and done to defuse the situation, Smash's gradual awakening, etc. And I liked a lot of the material here: Mac's confession that he picked up some attitudes from his old man that he wishes he hadn't, Mama Smash's speech, Riggins finally standing up for Smash (and why didn't he tell Coach about the "tarbaby" comment after the fact?), the team being pelted with garbage while walking to the bus in full uniform, and that scary-ass traffic stop.

But I also feel like the show took the easy way out on Mac, both with Coach's line about him being the one who integrated the team and him saving the day with the redneck cops. First of all, if Mac was really the man responsible for integrating the Panthers, shouldn't that have come up really early in the whole media firestorm? Second, both bits -- and the nasty depiction of the rival team and its fans -- seemed to be a case of the writers trying to say, as Rich Heldenfels put it to me, "our racist is better than your racists." It was like the show went to a place that was really complicated and scary, and someone -- either the writers or NBC -- decided it was a little too scary to stay very long, so they wrapped things up neat and tidy. Rich wants to give the show the benefit of the doubt and assume that Smash and Mac's relationship will be an ongoing subject, but it looked from this seat like they put a bow on the whole thing.

Still, if there's any network show right now that deserves some benefit of the doubt, it's "Friday Night Lights."

http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2007/02/friday-night-lights-lets-go-to-strip.html

fredfa

02-15-07, 01:49 PM

It is hard to just step into a complex show at such a point, kizzo...and in the sceond of a two-part episode, no less.

So what did you think?

Very true. Its the reason that I decided to tune in to the episode. I have ignored the show in the past, but I wanted to see how they would treat this particular issue.

steverobertson

02-15-07, 01:58 PM

I think the best line last night was the QB sitting in jail when the cop comes in says the parents have arrived and you are free to go and the look on his face and the way he said is my grandmother here was great.

By the way I think they handled the race issue very well in the show and hope it dies a quick death no need to drag it out in my mind.

fredfa

02-15-07, 02:10 PM

The Business of Television
DVR Commercial Effect:
Nielsen: DVR Users View Commericals in First Day
By Jon Lafayette Television Week February 15, 2007

If a commercial is going to be seen by a viewer using a digital video recorder, its most likely they’ll see it in the first day or so after it was originally aired, according to a new analysis by The Nielsen Company.

The findings are likely to factor into the debate going on in the TV industry about how commercials viewed after they are broadcast by consumers using DVRs will be accounted for when ad time is purchased. This season, commercials are based on live program viewing, but by next season, Nielsen expects to be able to produce average ratings for the commercials in those programs, including those seen by DVR users.

Nielsen found that ratings for primetime broadcast commercials gain 16 percent in ratings among viewers 18-49 in homes with DVRS during the first 27 hours after being recorded. Over the full seven days that Nielsen measures, that figure rises to just 22 percent.

By comparison, ratings for prime time programs increase 35 percent in those first 27 hours, and rise by a total of 47 percent after seven days.

Nielsen also said that households with DVRs watch significantly less live TV than households without DVRS, but that most of that difference is made up after seven days of DVR playback. Those DVR owners are younger, better educated and have higher incomes than the average U.S. household.

VCRS are becoming less of a factor, Nielsen said, based on its analysis of viewing in DVR homes from Jan 1 to Jan. 21. VCR recording contribute 2.4 percent of total broadcast primetime ratings in 2007, compared to 3.1 percent in January 2006.

Nielsen released the findings today at its national clients meeting in Orlando.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11572

steverobertson

02-15-07, 02:13 PM

Who watches commercials with a DVR? I know I don't

fredfa

02-15-07, 02:14 PM

The Business of Television
DVR Commercial Effect:
What Nielsen Discovered About DVR Playback
By Linda Moss MultiChannel News 2/15/2007

Nielsen will tell its national TV clients Thursday that there are significant differences in the way viewers use digital-video recorders, depending upon how soon after the original telecast they play back the recording and what genre of programming they are watching.

Specifically Nielsen will report that DVR playback that occurs closest to the original telecast retains more of the audience during commercials than DVR playback that occurs further out; and that certain genres, such as sports and news, have higher levels of live viewing, with DVR playback occurring closer to the original telecast than average.

In a separate presentation to clients, Nielsen will also report that about 20% of households have some form of personal video device, but that a mass platform for watching television on portable screens has not yet emerged.

The findings will be presented to Nielsen’s annual meeting of national clients at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando, Fla. There are representatives from Nielsen's various national client groups -- broadcast, cable and Hispanic networks; syndicators; advertising agencies; and advertisers and marketers -- attending the two-day gathering.

Using its NPOWER software-analysis system, Nielsen was set to review the viewing behavior of sample households with DVRs from Jan. 1-21.

Among the highlights of this analysis, Nielsen found:

• During the first 27 hours after being recorded, primetime broadcast commercials gain 16% in ratings among viewers 18-49 in households with DVRs, with the total increase reaching 22% after seven days. This compares with a 35% increase in ratings for broadcast programs during the first 27 hours after the original telecast and a total increase of 47% after seven days.

• Among 18- to 34-year-old viewers in DVR households, virtually all sports and news DVR playback occurs within the same day, 85% of playback for daytime dramas occurs within the same day and about 75% of playback of sitcoms and primetime dramas occurs within the same day.

• Households with DVRs watch significantly less live television than households without DVRs, but most of that difference is made up after seven days of DVR playback.

• DVR viewing of primetime broadcast programming is a communal experience. 54% of people watching DVR playback are watching with someone else, versus 46% who are viewing alone. This compares to a 50-50 breakdown among viewers of live programming.

• DVR owners are younger, better educated and have higher incomes than the average U.S. household.

• The ratings contribution of VCRs continues to decline. VCR recording contributed 2.4% of total broadcast primetime ratings in January compared with 3.1% in January 2006, although it is higher (5.4%) during weekday afternoons.

Nielsen also presented an overview of emerging platforms for viewing video on personal devices based on data reported from its quarterly Home Technology Study, its National People Meter panel and its panel of iTunes users.

Nielsen was also scheduled to report that:

• 19% of households have at least one PVD. The largest penetration is for portable DVD players (10% of households) and video-enabled cellular phones (5%). Only 4% of households own a video-enabled iPod or MP3 player.

• Playing video on a personal device has not yet become an ingrained habit. Even among PVD owners, about two-thirds said it has been more than one week since they watched something on their portable player.

• About one-third of iPod owners played a video file during the fourth quarter of last year. 40% of those users who played video do not own a video iPod, meaning they are watching the video clips through iTunes on their PCs.

• Even among iTunes video users, 95% of all daily playback time (50 minutes and 30 seconds) is audio. The average iTunes video user plays video files only two-and-a-half minutes per day.

• Users of PVDs tend to have higher incomes, more education and larger families.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6416747

kizzo

02-15-07, 02:22 PM

It is hard to just step into a complex show at such a point, kizzo...and in the sceond of a two-part episode, no less.

So what did you think?

It was a very good episode.. It would have helped if I actually watched some of the earlier episodes. But I did watch the first two episodes when it first aired.. So the characters were not unfamiliar to me..

When it is released on DVD I will watch the entire first season :D

fredfa

02-15-07, 02:22 PM

Critic’s Notebook
“Studio 60” Won't Pander
No Creative Changes Just To Boost Ratings
By Roger Catlin Hartford Courant TV Critic

BURBANK, Calif. -- As Aaron Sorkin sits at the long table for the head writers of his show within a show, it might be a scene from some future episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip":

The press comes calling, and the vaunted show-runner defends himself.

Either way, Sorkin looks very much at home at a table littered with magazines, paper clips, water bottles and the detritus of coaxing creativity from writers.

It's at the edge of what is a large, multistory set seen in the NBC drama - a late-night network sketch show that looks like "Saturday Night Live," but as if shot in an old theater on the West Coast.

"It's served us really well," says Sorkin of the set.

Well, sort of well.

After being hailed as the most promising new show of the new season by a number of publications (including this one), "Studio 60" hasn't attracted the numbers or attention of his last project, "The West Wing," or even "Heroes," the comic-book-style show that precedes "Studio."

"I'm not sophisticated when it comes to crunching the numbers and analyzing the audience," Sorkin says. "But I can tell you this: Our audience is 10 percent bigger than you think it is."

It's the kind of brash phrase you'd imagine his counterpart, Matt Albie (Matthew Perry), would say in "Studio 60." But Sorkin persists.

"We're the No 1 time-shifted show on television," he says. "When you add the number of people who are recording the show and watching later in the week, the audience grows by over 10 percent - 10.9 percent."

Even so, the whole numbers thing has to be taken in context.

"When I compare the size of the `Studio 60' audience to the size of the `Sports Night' audience, I'm delighted," Sorkin says, referring to his late-'90s series.

"Would we like to have more people watching it?" he says. "Of course we would. But we're really happy with the audience that is watching it."

He reels off the numbers (just as Albie had earlier in the season about his show), about how upscale the audience is.

But there is a downside to such riches, Sorkin says. "Because it is a high-end audience, they all own TiVos." Hence, the hidden 10 percent.

As for getting a lot more people watching, "There isn't a lot we can do creatively," he says. And even if he could, "I think it's a mistake to do things creatively in order to attract that audience."

Even so, the show has been concentrating almost exclusively in recent episodes on romantic story lines.

"Hopefully, that is going to bring some people who wouldn't have otherwise been interested in the show," Sorkin says. But he insists the shift in emphasis wasn't done to bring in more people.

"The romantic comedy was intended all along," he says, nor was it suggested by the network, which he describes as "supportive as you could possibly imagine."

"It was really meant to be somewhat at its core a romantic comedy," NBC President Kevin Reilly says of "Studio 60."

At the same time, Reilly adds, "Aaron likes social relevance, pop-culture references, political references [and] being smart on the fly - and I think that's what really the true fans of the show love."

The network has promised a full season for the struggling show, averaging 9 million viewers. But it will take a break March 5 to make way for another series, "The Black Donnellys."

"Studio 60," from the start, might have been hobbled by high expectations.

"I'm very proud that there were, and are still, high expectations," Sorkin says. "It's not an advantage, though."

Says Sarah Paulson, who plays Harriet Hayes: "Basically saying this is the show of all shows, there's nowhere to go but down from there. There's no possible way to live up to that hype."

That leads to bad press, first about the ratings, and then stories that really rile Sorkin - newspapers quoting Internet bloggers dismissing the show.

"I do believe we've seen an enormous rise of amateurism," he says of the Internet slagging. "Everybody's voice oughtn't be equal."

But how does he feel about occasional complaints from legit critics that the show is smug or its sketches aren't funny?

"It's the cost of doing business. You get used to it," Sorkin says. "But I get it. I get when people write there's smugness to the show, there's an arrogance to the show. I get when people write that the characters on the show take television too seriously. Again, it's not fun to read. I don't necessarily agree with it."

He says he never intended to fill his shows with laughs from the occasional sketches. He meant to show only very brief scenes from the sketch show to indicate what they do - "the way, on `Sports Night,' we'd do a few seconds of news or, on `West Wing,' there'd be a few moments of chatter about the Council of Economic Advisers."

Besides, he says, "If you saw a random 10 seconds of `Wayne's World' or the Coneheads or any `SNL' sketch, you'd say you wouldn't think it was funny. You probably wouldn't get it.

Director and longtime Sorkin collaborator Thomas Schlamme says that showing the mechanics of comedy necessarily removes the laughs. "We're showing the magic. And the magic trick is not going to be that exciting once it's shown."

"I want to make it clear," Sorkin says of his drama, "you're not supposed to be finding it funny."

As for the smugness, Paulson says, "I think it's that thing where people don't feel like they're being talked down to."

"And I think he doesn't do that," she says of Sorkin, who writes all the scripts. "He speaks as if people know what a reference to Strindberg means. And if you don't know what Strindberg means, you might decide what we're doing is arrogant."

Why "change the show for people who don't know who Strindberg is? Because it means more people will watch?" Paulson says.

For now, the ensemble cast is enjoying the romantic turns, even when they're fraught with problems, as with Bradley Whitford's character, Danny Tripp, falling for TV executive Jordan McDeere, played by Amanda Peet.

"I love the complexity of the connection with Amanda," says Whitford, who earned an Emmy in "The West Wing," playing Josh Lyman. "I'd like to see more of that personal stuff bleeding down to the crew."

And if it's complex, well, sometimes that's how things are.

"When you fall in love when you're younger, it's so much more simple," says Peet, whose character is, as she is, pregnant. "When you have two people who are in really complicated careers, and you're older, and you're at the end of your child-bearing years, things become real complicated, and I think that it's very real."

http://www.ctnow.com/tv/hce-studio60.artfeb14,0,4442701,print.story?coll=hce-headlines-tv