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Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information

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#1 · (Edited)
AVS Forum/"HOTP" Notes
WELCOME!
By dad1153, AVSForum.com - Mar. 29, 2015

Hello and welcome. This is the "Hot Off The Press" thread in AVS Forum's HDTV Programming Forum. Established in 2004 by long-time AVS contributor Fredfa, "HOTP" is your daily one-stop destination for the latest in TV news, industry trends, new technological breakthroughs, Nielsen ratings (overnights and C+3/C+7), personality profiles, professional reviews and miscellaneous items related to the industry from all over the internet. Fredfa's mission statement for "HOTP" was (and still is) to keep the content as professional and guided by journalistic principles as possible while having a sense of community fostered among its many contributors.

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO "HOTP"?

Whether you're new to "HOTP" or a long time reader, if you like what you see feel free to contribute either your comments and/or any TV/media news stories to our humble little thread. The more diverse voices "HOTP" features the better. We just ask you to follow these simple steps before posting stories:

--Read a few stories/pages back to see if the story you're about to post has already been featured. Two stories about the same subject (like, for example, a review of a particular TV show) are welcomed as long as they feature different and/or complementary content that doesn't overlap.

--Ask yourself: Does this story interest anybody else besides me? We're not opposed to celebrity gossip or sensational content, but ask yourself whether anyone else besides you would like to know X person's personal life or whether Y celebrity's latest scandal impacts the TV show he/she is on.

--Always attribute the news item you post in "HOTP" to its original reporter/news organization/website. It's not only courteous, but the proper thing to do to give the news sources providing the information their due recognition. [NOTE: Per Fredfa's instructions, Associated Press/AP articles cannot be posted on "HOTP" for legal reasons. If AP is the source of any or all the content of an article, please DO NOT POST in "HOTP"]

--No political comments, please! Be respectful of others' opinions. Self-explanatory.

* * * *

With over 125,000 posts and 11,000,000+ views in its combined three incarnations, "HOTP" is the longest-running, most read and most frequently updated thread in AVS Forum history. Here are links to the previous two incarnations of "HOTP," 11 years worth of news stories, listings, comments and miscellaneous content archived for posterity:

"HOTP I": August 27, 2004 - April 23, 2007. (25,503 posts, 2,231,621 page views).

"HOTP II": April 22, 2007 - March 28, 2015. (100,744 posts, 8,957,851 page views).

On behalf of myself and the behind-the-scenes people running the AVS Forum empire, thanks again for being a part of "HOTP." Whether it's been 11 years or 11 days, your readership means the world to us and we'd like to help us live up to our potential. Feel free to fire a private message to either my profile or the profiles of the moderators of the HDTV Programming thread (Dr. Don, etc.) with your comments, suggestions, criticisms and/or complaints.

Sincerely,
'dad1153'
 
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#661 ·
Parents (those that are still alive) that made us watch Lawrence Welk when we were kids should be charged with child abuse. I don't know which was worse, watching LW, or sitting through a church service. Now that I think about it, there wasn't much difference. A 1 and a 2...

;)
My parents only required two channels. That's the only workout the TV tuner got. The one showing Lawrence Welk reruns, and the one showing M.A.S.H. reruns. Later, when they got cable, the added CNN to the mix. That was pretty much it. The top of their big ol' boxy CRT television was just another flat surface to stack books and magazines on. :D
 
#664 ·
Seems the broadcasters forgot they still operate these devices called transmitters, which are connected to antennas at the top of tall buildings and/or towers, which automagically send electromagnetic waves through the air – look, ma, no wires! – which can be picked by receive antennas at customers’ homes.
I would submit they remember those devices at least once a month when they pay the electric bill for those energy sucking transmitters. One of my local stations first decided to stay on VHF channel five then add UHF channel fifty at 100Kw which required a separate antenna and seems to have now settled on just broadcasting on channel twenty five. At one time they had three STAs active at one time. ;)
 
#665 ·
Parents (those that are still alive) that made us watch Lawrence Welk when we were kids should be charged with child abuse. I don't know which was worse, watching LW, or sitting through a church service. Now that I think about it, there wasn't much difference. A 1 and a 2...

;)
I love Welk's statement after the song, "There you heard a modern spiritual by Gail and Dale." :D

 
#666 ·
Those shows had characters who actually had an abortion as an ongoing plot-point (not just a briefly mentioned part of the character's history), as opposed to perhaps mentioning it as an option and going ahead with the full pregnancy anyway? I have to admit I haven't watched any of those except FNL, which ended a few years ago, and I don't recall a pro-choice storyline.
The characters all had abortions. Had the author even done a cursory Google search, he would have found others as well. It was a very poorly-researched article.

Puzzling that they don't have the same courage with regard to reproductive rights. Which is odd considering 1 in 3 American women has had an abortion. Fear of organized boycotts, no doubt. What they don't seem to understand is that if they don't start fighting back (and popular media is the best, most "subversive" way to do it), they could find a fundamental right to medical privacy re-criminalized, with criminal penalties imposed not just for the women themselves, but also making accomplices of any medical professionals who try to help them and don't rat them out to the authorities. That's what "against the law" means.
I won't get into any of the political points of the article, but one is left with a more general question. At what point does it become the aim/goal/duty of TV to change society? And which entertainment moguls should be the ones we put our trust in to do the shaping?

Scott
 
#668 ·
Streaming/TV Notes
‘Seinfeld’ Heads To Hulu With SVOD Deal
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Apr. 27, 2015

When Seinfeld ended its run on NBC in May 1998, people were still using dial-up connection to go online, Netflix was planning to launch as a DVD rental business, Amazon was an online book store, and Hulu was a decade from being born.

Now the classic sitcom from Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David is heading to online streaming for the first time through a rich SVOD deal with Hulu. Under the pact between the streaming service and Sony Pictures TV, all nine seasons and 180 episodes of Seinfeld will be available on Hulu as its exclusive SVOD provider.

Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, but word is that the license fee fetched by Seinfeld is north of $700,000 per episode for a total in the neighborhood of $130 million. I hear that is higher than — as much as double — the per-episode price the show’s Must See TV companion Friends landed from Netflix.

Hulu landed Seinfeld in a bidding that involved multiple streaming platforms. The pact follows years of planning on part of Sony TV, which took a strategic approach and held back on selling Seinfeld online while the show was flying high in off-network syndication. Seinfeld is among the biggest off-network hits of all time, still bringing in tens of millions a year, now in its fifth syndication cycle.

Hulu and Sony TV declined comment.

http://deadline.com/2015/04/seinfeld-hulu-svod-deal-1201417827/
 
#669 ·
TV Review
'Casual Vacancy' a pleasant miniseries
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Apr. 29, 2015

The HBO-BBC co-production adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s post-Harry Potter novel “The Casual Vacancy” arrives stateside tonight, and the three-hour miniseries offers a small town, character-driven drama that’s enjoyable enough even if the characters are not entirely believable.

Set in the quiet English village of Pagford, the story basically follows the downward spiral of multiple citizens after good-guy Barry (Rory Kinnear) drops dead in the street. Written for the screen by Sarah Phelps (“EastEnders”), “The Casual Vacancy” puts Barry on a pedestal and allows all the other characters to stare up at his saint-like goodness.

When he dies, Barry is in the midst of trying to protect town community/social services center Sweetlove House from the head of the parish council, Howard Mollison (Michael Gambon), and his wife, Shirley (Julie McKenzie), who are intent on turning it into a boutique hotel/spa.

Barry’s death leaves a “casual vacancy” on the council and an election is called to fill his seat. Howard pushes his spineless, easily controlled son, Miles (Rufus Jones), to run for the seat while Barry acolyte Parminder (Lolita Chakrabarti) supports school principal Colin (Simon McBurney).

Other characters weave in and out of the story, including a handful of teenagers. Among them, Krystal (Abigail Lawrie), daughter of Barry’s former neighbor, drug-addicted Terri (Keeley Forsyth), makes the most significant impression along with Barry’s nephew, Andrew (Joe Hurst).

“The Casual Vacancy” shows the impact of Barry’s death on many in town, including Miles’ frustrated wife, Samantha (Kelley Hawes), who owns a local lingerie shop that goes out of business seemingly overnight.

The timing of events in “The Casual Vacancy” is a problem throughout: Flashbacks to Barry among the living aren’t really marked as such and Barry’s widow, Mary (Emily Bevan), saves her grief-filled anger at Saint Barry largely until the miniseries’ third hour, which rushes to deliver several comeuppances, a death and near-deaths in too-quick succession.

The characters of “The Casual Vacancy” often come close to caricature, but the way director Jonny Campbell (“In the Flesh”) shoots the dewy, inviting small town makes “The Casual Vacancy” easy to fall into and enjoyable if a soapy miniseries centered on an election and assorted relationship resets is your cup of imported English TV.

‘The Casual Vacancy’
When: 8-10 tonight, 8-9 p.m. Thursday, HBO.


http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-r...cy-a-pleasant-miniseries/stories/201504290012
 
#670 ·
TV Notes
Animated 'Golan' stomps on to Fox
By Patrick Ryan, USA Today - Apr. 29, 2015

Fox is gobbling up yet another animated comedy.

Golan the Insatiable will tread on to Sunday nights beginning May 31 (9:30 p.m. ET/PT), filling the time slot currently occupied by Will Forte vehicle The Last Man on Earth. Inspired by the 15-minute Golan segments that aired on Animation Domination High-Def on Saturday nights, it's the first of the late-night cartoon block's series to land a primetime order.

Rob Riggle (22 Jump Street) voices the title character, a towering godlord who arrives in Oak Grove, Minn., from another dimension. He befriends a grim nine-year-old girl named Dylan (voiced by Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza), who convinces him to wreak havoc on her town.

Ken Marino (Childrens Hospital), John DiMaggio (Futurama) and Maria Bamford (Adventure Time) are among the other comedic actors who will voice characters.

First launched on Fox in 2013, the Animation Domination High-Def programming block now lives on Thursday nights on FXX, and features cartoon shorts such as Axe Cop, Lucas Bros. Moving Co. and High School USA!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/04/28/fox-golan-the-insatiable/26533693/
 
#671 ·
Nielsen Overnights (18-49)
CBS’s ‘Stalker’ grows in Monday move
Posts a 1.4 in 18-49s in new timeslot, up 17 percent
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Apr. 27, 2015

“Stalker” tracked down more viewers in its move to a new timeslot.

The first-year CBS drama drew a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m. Monday night, according to Nielsen overnights, up 17 percent from its most recent episode in February.

The show had been on hiatus the past two months. It previously aired Wednesdays at 10 p.m. No doubt the earlier timeslot helped, as there tend to be more households using television at 9 p.m. than 10 p.m.

“Stalker’s” lead-ins, comedies “2 Broke Girls” (1.7) and “Mike & Molly” (1.8), were down from last week, falling 19 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

NBC won the night, as usual, with top show “The Voice” posting a 2.6. That was even to last week.

Lead-out “The Night Shift” drew a 1.3 at 10 p.m., though NBC’s numbers may have been inflated by playoff basketball that preempted its primetime lineup on the local affiliate in Portland.

ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” was the No. 2 show of the night with a 2.0 from 8 to 10 p.m., down a tenth.

Fox’s “Gotham” was off a tenth from last week to a 1.5, while lead-out “The Following” remained even at a 1.2.

* * * *

Top show of the night in 18-49s:

NBC’s “The Voice,” 2.6 rating from 8 to 10 p.m.

Top show of the night in 25-54s:
NBC’s “The Voice,” 3.7 rating from 8 to 10 p.m.

Top show of the night in total viewers:
ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” 12.97 million from 8-10 p.m.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/cbss-stalker-grows-in-monday-move/

* * * *

TV Review
‘Swab Stories,’ better left to daytime TV
DNA technicians test couples in this new series from VH1
By Tom Conroy, Media Life Magazine - Apr. 28, 2015

People with jobs might not know that for at least a decade, daytime talk shows on the trashier side of the spectrum have been featuring people who suspect they may or may not be related. After getting the results of a DNA test, the people celebrate, mourn or fight.

VH1’s new reality series “Swab Stories” brings that experience to primetime. Although the testing and reveals take place in a mobile van or in people’s homes rather than in a TV studio, the process will feel overly familiar even to those who can’t remember seeing it on Maury or Montel.

Premiering this Wednesday, April 29, at 9 p.m., “Swab Stories” follows a man named Jared as he travels around the New York City area in a van labeled “Who’s Your Daddy?”

Although we’re given the impression that he and his medical technician, Ana, who does the cheek swabbing, usually deal with customers who just walk up to the van, the three cases in the premiere all seem to have been prearranged. It remains unclear whether the arrangement was made by Jared or by the show’s producers.

The first clients in the episode, a married couple named Tess and Roland, get swabbed in the van. They tell Jared and Ana that they got married when Tess found out she was pregnant.

During her pregnancy, Tess told Roland that she slept with an old boyfriend around the time of the conception. Roland wants to know if their infant son, Jeremiah, is his.

We’re so used to seeing situations like this on TV that it’s easy to take this one as mere entertainment. But Roland’s awkward reticence makes us feel his pain, even if we know that he volunteered to have it televised.

In the van, Roland says that he’s not sure whether he’ll stick around if he learns that he’s not the father. Jared says that maybe Roland and Tess need to talk about this before they get the results.

The other two cases are less fraught.

Two sisters, LaRonda and LaShonda, have recently been contacted by a woman named Reshawna who says they share a father. LaShonda is worried because Rehawna then texted her and asked her for $500.

For the third case, Jared drives out to New Jersey to test two young men, both named Ryan. The elder one says his grandmother told him that his mother was involved with a man who is now the second Ryan’s father.

Ryan I contacted Ryan II, and they became friends. They now want to see if the man is their shared father. Jared doesn’t ask Ryan I if he has asked his mother.

Although the results of the three cases are either yes or no, the clients’ responses are varied and sometimes surprising. But perhaps because each case gets less than 10 minutes, we don’t get too emotionally involved.

Jared appears to take his job seriously, but not as seriously as he seems to take how he’s going to come across on television. He looks white but talks “street.” Perhaps his confusion about his own identity is what drew him to DNA testing.

If current trends continue, Jared should have plenty of work. Unfortunately, as a TV concept, “Swab Stories” has come too late in the game. Taking the show on the road hasn’t helped.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/swab-stories-better-left-to-daytime-tv/
 
#672 ·
Nielsen Notes
Evening News Ratings Grew in 2014, Even as Cable Shrank
By Michael O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter - Apr. 28, 2015

Plagued by anchor turnover and the occasional scandal, broadcast evening news is still in very good shape.

Pew Research Center released its annual State of the News Media report, and among the many findings is the fact that ABC, CBS and NBC's weeknight telecasts grew by 5 percent in 2014 for an average viewership of 24 million.

What's interesting is that NBC grew the most, 6 percent, and held the lead with an average 8.9 million viewers. That was last year, before Brian Williams' credibility controversy and the ensuing suspension that saw Lester Holt take his seat — and the recent four consecutive wins for main competitor ABC, anchored by David Muir.

ABC was already closing the gap was in revenue. Per estimates from Kantar Media, 2014 revenue for NBC's Nightly and ABC World News were neck and neck, with ABC climbing 11 percent to $144 million. That's just shy of NBC's $148 million, a 4 percent decline.

And ratings are not the end-all barometer for revenue. Just look at the morning shows. Despite two years of ratings dominance, ABC's Good Morning America still paces $72 million behind NBC's Today Show in annual revenue — though the latter did drop 12 percent in 2014.

One arena that saw dips across the board in 2014 was the cable news nets. The average primetime showing of No. 1 Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC dropped 8 percent. Still, revenue didn't stall. Continuing the trend mild growth, all but MSNBC improved from 2014 — with FNC up 6 percent to a whopping $2.04 billion.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/evening-news-ratings-grew-2014-792197
 
#673 ·
TV/Business Notes
A&E’s H2 Channel to Become Vice
By Brian Steinberg, Variety.com - Apr. 28, 2015

A+E Television Networks’ H2 is about to fade into history.

The Hearst and Disney-owned media company is expected to close the book on the extension network to its History Channel and instead turn it over to Vice Media to stock with lifestyle-themed documentary programming aimed at the millennial set, according to a person familiar with the situation. The move follows A+E Networks’ decision last year to become a minority shareholder in Vice Media, which continues to gain traction for its you-are-there shows that tackle hot-button issues and take viewers to new corners of the world in immersive fashion.

The channel will launch in early 2016, according to reports. The New York Post previously reported the intended change to H2. A+E did not make executives available for comment. Vice did not respond immediately to a query seeking comment.

The deal is not entirely unexpected. A+E bought a 10% stake in Vice last August, and one outcome suspected at the time was a takeover of one of the networks in A+E’s portfolio. The deal expands the impact of Vice Media CEO Shane Smith, who has successfully taken the product he co-founded as a Canadian punk magazine in 1994 into a hard-hitting digital platform.

Vice also recently announced plans to air a five-day-a-week newscast on HBO as part of a four-year content pact, which will likely launch in the fourth quarter of this year.

A+E is facing some challenges heading into this year’s annual upfront market. The company’s suite of networks, which also include Lifetime, History, A&E and FYI, saw its commercial ratings among primetime viewers between 18 and 49 fall 21% in the first quarter of 2015, according to Bernstein Research analyst Todd Juneger, who also suggested A+E has been loading more commercials onto its air in order to meet audience guarantees.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/vice-h2-a-and-e-1201483429/
 
#674 ·
TV Notes
On The Air Tonight
WEDNESDAY Network Primetime/Late Night Options
(All shows are in HD unless noted; start times are ET. Network late night shows are preceded by late local news)

ABC:
8PM - The Middle
8:30PM - The Goldbergs
9PM - Modern Family
9:31PM - Blackish
10PM - Nashville
* * * *
11:35PM - Jimmy Kimmel Live! (Billy Crystal; animal handler Dave Salmoni; Modest Mouse performs)
12:37AM - Nightline

CBS:
8PM - Survivor
9PM - Criminal Minds
10PM - CSI: Cyber
* * * *
11:35PM - The Late Show with David Letterman (Animal expert Jack Hanna; John Fogerty performs; John Popper sits in with Paul Shaffer & The CBS Orchestra)
12:37AM - The Late Late Show with James Corden (Russell Crowe; Kathryn Hahn; Eddie Izzard; Kodaline performs)

NBC:
8PM - Chicago Fire
(R - Apr. 28)
9PM - Chicago P.D.
10PM - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
* * * *
11:34PM - The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Kristen Wiig; Thomas Middleditch; Josh Groban performs)
12:36AM - Late Night with Seth Myers (Chelsea Handler; John Slattery; Shakey Graves performs)
1:36AM - Last Call with Carson Daly (Jamie Chung; J Mascis performs; comic Chris Garcia)

FOX:
8PM - American Idol (120 min., LIVE)

PBS:
(check your local listing for starting time/programming)
8PM - Nature: Mystery Monkeys of Shangri-La
9PM - NOVA - Manhunt -- Boston Bombers
(R - May 29, 2013)
10PM - Super Skyscrapers: One World Trade Center
(R - Feb. 5)

UNIVISION:
8PM - Amores con Trampa
9PM - Hasta El Fin del Mundo
10PM - Que Te Perdone Dios... Yo No

THE CW:
8PM - Arrow
9PM - Supernatural

TELEMUNDO:
8PM - Avenida Brasil
9PM - Tierra de Reyes
10PM - El Señor de los Cielos

COMEDY CENTRAL:
11PM - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Author Judith Miller)
11:31PM - The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
12:01AM - At Midnight (Eugene Mirman; Max Silvestri; Emily Heller)

TBS:
11PM - Conan (Matthew Perry; Rose McIver; Shawn Mendes performs)
 
#675 ·
Nielsen Notes (Cable)
Cable News Ratings: Fox News Only Network Up in April
By Jordan Chariton, TheWrap.com - Apr. 29, 2015

In April, Fox News was the only cable news network to see growth.

For Monday-Sunday ratings, the number one rated news network was up two percent in primetime viewers and flat in the 25-54 demo compared to April 2014. In total day, FNC was down eight percent in the demo. April marked the network’s 160th month on top in viewers in total day and primetime.

“Outnumbered,” the afternoon chat show which airs at noon ET marked its one-year anniversary, up double digits compared to launch: up 24 percent in both total viewers and the demo.

CNN, which was previously surging, was down eight percent in primetime viewers and 10 percent in the primetime demo. During the day, the network was down five percent in viewers and three percent in the 25-54 demo.

MSNBC continued its trend of being down double digits, losing 16 percent in primetime viewers and 29 percent in the primetime demo. In total day, the network was down 12 percent in viewers and 27 percent in the demo. For the total day demo, HLN marked 11 months beating MSNBC.

The Freddie Gray riots in Baltimore, which started getting wall-to-wall coverage at length Monday night, didn’t factor into the April ratings.

http://www.thewrap.com/cable-news-ratings-fox-news-only-network-up-in-april/
 
#676 ·
I won't get into any of the political points of the article, but one is left with a more general question. At what point does it become the aim/goal/duty of TV to change society? And which entertainment moguls should be the ones we put our trust in to do the shaping?
TV tackles taboo subjects and brings them out into the open, both good and bad. All in the Family tackled many tough topics, bringing them out into the open for discussion. So have many other shows. TV is a powerful medium, even today and while I don't think it should be the goal to change society, it has and will probably continue to do so.
 
#677 ·
As you've probably heard, the White Sox and Orioles game will be played today in an empty stadium. MLB.tv has made it the free game of the day if you're interested :).
 
#678 ·
Makes me wonder if the pace of the game will be slower or faster without an audience.

This could also be a preview of what all major Sports could look like if the World gets more dangerous.


As you've probably heard, the White Sox and Orioles game will be played today in an empty stadium. MLB.tv has made it the free game of the day if you're interested :).
 
#679 ·
TV tackles taboo subjects and brings them out into the open, both good and bad. All in the Family tackled many tough topics, bringing them out into the open for discussion. So have many other shows. TV is a powerful medium, even today and while I don't think it should be the goal to change society, it has and will probably continue to do so.
Well said. Various institutions have the potential to "change society". When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, the effect on society itself, not to mention the world of sports, was hugely positive. Today, sports media is colorblind. That's a positive influence on society. Television treating African Americans as equals, from 'I Spy' onwards, has had a positive effect on society. Same with gay rights. Anything that contributes to greater tolerance and understanding is generally a good thing.
 
#680 ·
The characters all had abortions. Had the author even done a cursory Google search, he would have found others as well. It was a very poorly-researched article.
Again, were all those mentions of the subject germain to ongoing plot lines or were they just part of the background history of the characters, having no impact on ongoing storylines? You need to know the answer to that before you can claim the article was "poorly researched".
 
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