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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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#7,481 ·
TV Notes
On The Air Tonight
TUESDAY 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 - Fresh Off the Boat
8:30PM - The Muppets
9PM - Marvel's Agent Carter
10PM - What Would You Do?
* * * *
11:35AM - Jimmy Kimmel Live! (George Clooney ("Hail, Caesar!''); animal handler Dave Salmoni)
12:37AM - Nightline

CBS:
8:01PM - Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials 2016 (Special, 120 min.)
10PM - NCIS
(R - Oct. 13)
* * * *
11:35PM - The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (David Schwimmer; Pastor Joel Osteen; M. Ward performs)
12:37AM - The Late Late Show with James Corden (Josh Radnor; Maggie Grace; Nathan Sykes performs; Carpool Karaoke with Chris Martin of Coldplay)

NBC:
8PM - Hollywood Game Night
9PM - Chicago Med
10PM - Chicago Fire
* * * *
11:34PM - The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Danny DeVito; reality-TV star Khloe Kardashian; Colin Hay performs with The Roots)
(R - Jan. 13)
12:36AM - Late Night with Seth Myers (Eva Longoria; Jason Mantzoukas; author Sunil Yapa; Glenn Kotche sits in with the 8G Band)
(R - Jan. 12)
1:37AM - Last Call With Carson Daly (Comic Judah Friedlander; Heartless Bastards perform; surfer John John Florence)
(R - Nov. 16)

FOX:
8PM - New Girl
8:30PM - Grandfathered
9PM - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9:30PM - The Grinder

PBS:
(check your local listing for starting time/programming)
8PM - Finding Your Roots: Visionaries
9PM - American Experience: Murder of a President (120 min.)

UNIVISION:
8PM - Antes Muerta que Lichita
9PM - Pasión y Poder
10PM - El Hotel de Los Secretos

THE CW:
8PM - The Flash
9PM - iZombie

TELEMUNDO:
8PM - Celia
9PM - Eva La Trailera
10PM - La Querida Del Centauro

COMEDY CENTRAL:
11PM - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Journalist and author Peter Bergen)
11:31PM - The Daily Show with Larry Wilmore (Comic Lewis Black)
12:01AM - At Midnight with Chris Hardwick (Dominic Monaghan; Liza Treyger; Mamrie Hart)

TBS:
11PM - Conan (Charlie Day; Rob Gronkowski; Daniel Sloss)
 
#7,483 ·
I'm not much of a streamer. The advance screenings the networks send me and missed episodes of favorite shows are about all I stream. Our biggest useage was about 15GB when we binged "Walking Dead." Hit 9GB the months where we caught up on "Breaking Bad" and "Turn." And we streamed NFL Sunday Ticket while on the road, this fall. Still used a less than a third of our limit. I have Amazon Prime. I only have disc service thru Netflix.

WOW!! I'll have over 200GB of downloads just for today. From Xbox Live purchases.
 
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#7,484 ·
Technology/HDTV Notes
Smart TVs Top Streaming Preference: Study
By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News

Though Roku players, Amazon Fire TV boxes and the new Apple TV device remain popular, smart TVs beat them all when it comes to which platform consumers prefer for streaming video.

That’s according to a new survey from The Diffusion Group that queried 2,000 U.S. adult broadband users, of which 60% use an over-the-top streaming service on their home TVs.

Smart TVs, at 32.1%, was the most preferred platform (see chart), followed by game consoles (25.1%), Internet set-top boxes (16.8%), Internet sticks (9.9%), connected Blu-ray players (9.7%), and DVRs (2.4%). Just over 4% had no preference.


................

http://www.multichannel.com/blog/bauminator/smart-tvs-top-streaming-preference-study/396893
I know for me, I use Amazon more on my Sony TV than any other device. But that is also because it is currently the only way for me to watch UHD HDR content from Amazon.
 
#7,486 ·
TV Notes
Bianculli's Best Bets
By David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com - Feb. 2, 2016

THE MUPPETS
ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET
MIDSEASON RETURN:
During the first half of the season, ABC’s new incarnation of The Muppets had some viewers complaining about the show’s too-“adult” tone and focus. At midseason, the new executive producer promised to make a course correction of sorts – and tonight, it arrives, in a knowing “meta” plot that has Miss Piggy’s talk and variety show, “Up Late,” getting a mandated makeover. Judge for yourself.

MARVEL'S AGENT CARTER
ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

The villainous villainess, glamorous actress Whitney Frost, ended last week’s episode absorbing someone – not his thoughts, not his essence, but the entire guy. It has something to do with “Dark Matter,” which has something to do with the ever-increasing, throbbing black gash on her forehead – which she can hide, for now, with a carefully coiffed hairstyle. Does this mean Veronica Lake, back in the day, was a similar “Dark Matter”-infected Hollywood star?

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "MURDER OF A PRESIDENT"
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

President James Garfield was in office only four months when (Spoiler Alert!) he was shot by Charles Guiteau in 1881, and died of his wounds shortly thereafter. This American Experience spends two hours on this presidential cold case, even though the assailant is unassailably identified – perhaps because this story, as American assassinations go, is so little-known. But I recommend finding, hearing and watching the TV version of Assassins, the Stephen Sondheim musical that gathered all such cases into one astoundingly bold and brilliant story. Playing the wacky yet dangerous Guiteau, when I saw the revival on Broadway, was Denis O’Hare, whose singing of Guiteau’s actual gallows-day song, “I Am Going to the Lordy,” was a stunningly powerful performance. So were those by Michael Cerveris as John Wilkes Booth and Neil Patrick Harris as Lee Harvey Oswald, among others. Really worth seeking out. Check local listings.

IZOMBIE
CW, 9:00 p.m. ET
MIDSEASON RETURN:
Rose McIver returns as Ivy, in an episode that displays just how much fun she and executive producer Rob Thomas are having with this series. The premise is that Ivy, though infected by a zombie, staves off the effects of full-out zombie-dom thanks to a steady diet of brains from the local coroner – her place of employment. A side effect of her brain diet is that she temporarily absorbs the memories, emotions and skills of the people she “samples,” which makes each week a chameleonic acting exercise for McIver. She’s terrific at it, and tonight, the person whose brain she tastes, and whose memories and attitudes she adopts, is that of a murdered librarian – a seemingly meek woman who, in turns out, had a secret life as an author of erotic stories. The episode title is “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter,” and in addition to seeing what McIver does with this personality adjustment, we get to hear voiceovers from the point of view of the late author – played by Kristen Bell, the leading lady of Thomas’ previous prime-time series, Veronica Mars.

THE GRINDER
Fox, 9:30 p.m. ET

Timothy Olyphant must be having a blast playing himself, as the rival and successor to Rob Lowe’s “Grinder” on this comedy series – because he’s back yet again. And this time, he’s irritating Lowe’s Dean by engaging in a mock trial with him. Dean’s already making a mockery of the law by practicing without a law degree or passing the bar, but now there are two unqualified “attorneys” doing battle. And that makes this, of course, a mock mockery.

AMERICAN CRIME STORY: "THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON"
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE:
I’ve seen six of the 10 episodes of this new series, which launches American Crime Story with a lengthy dramatization of the O.J. Simpson trial. Through the six hours, the drama really holds up, the courtroom moves and counter-moves are smartly and dramatically conveyed, and Courtney B. Vance and Sarah Paulson, as opposing attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Marcia Clark, deliver equally impressive and textured performances, even if their characters are less evenly matched. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the defendant with alternating bursts of anger and childlike confusion, and the behind-the-scenes revelations are as riveting as the excavations of old media reports. The only ham-handed portions are whenever we follow Simpson friend and attorney Robert Kardashian (played by David Schwimmer) home to his family, where we’re forced to see little Kimmy and her sisters learn wide-eyed, first-hand lessons about the value of fame. John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, and Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey, play other members of Simpson’s “Dream Team,” and the teleplay by Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, who also wrote Ed Wood and The People vs. Larry Flynt, takes it all seriously, but never ponderously.


http://www.tvworthwatching.com/

* * * *

Critic's Notes (Broadcast)
Why Those 30-Second Super Bowl Ads Expand Like a Mutant Chicken's Heart
By David Hinckley, TVWorthWatching.com's 'All Along the Watchtower' - Feb. 2, 2016

If you watch the Super Bowl to see the ads, pretty soon you may not have to watch the Super Bowl at all.

Once again this year, more and more ads are being released online before the game – which might seem counterintuitive, but which many advertisers see as a way of getting maximum exposure and value for their $5 million creations.

Thirty-second spots for Sunday’s CBS telecast this year are running from $4.6 million to a little over $5 million, making it by far the most expensive real estate on television.

Posting the spot online before the game, or posting part of it as a teaser, is seen as a way to enhance the potential payback.

It’s also consistent with the fact that the Super Bowl has expanded from a football game into an ever-growing media umbrella that now runs for weeks even outside the sports-television world.

Beyond the game itself, which on Sunday will be preceded by 7½ hours of preview shows, CBS has two prime-time specials devoted solely to ads: Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2016, airing Tuesday 8-10 p.m., ET and Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials All-Star Countdown, airing Saturday 8-9 p.m. ET.

That’s in addition to Super Bowl’s Greatest Halftime Shows, which will air Friday, 9-11 p.m. ET. That one comes with a little suspense: CBS’s promotional material does not mention Janet Jackson.

The sponsors of this year’s ads are less coy. Company websites, and of course YouTube, have been rolling them out by the dozens.

Some companies have released full spots – like Acura, whose ad for a $156,000 set of wheels features fast-cut shots of sleek chrome to the tune of Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With the Devil.”

Other advertisers have released partial spots, which is an interesting concept when the whole thing is usually only 30 seconds long.

KIA, for instance, is teasing that way to a spot with Christopher Walken, and LG to a spot with Liam Neeson.

You can see a fair amount of Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen in a Bud Light spot, and a bunch of Lil Wayne in a couple of spots for apartments.com.

Those spots put Lil Wayne in a dialogue with George Washington, who also appears in a tease for a Jack in the Box ad.

With Hamilton scoring big on Broadway, maybe we’re looking at a major Founding Fathers revival in 2016. Just throwing that out.

Anheuser-Busch takes a different tack in a spot for Shock Top, Bud’s bid to break into the craft beer game.

In this pre-released spot, T.J. Miller conducts an extended exchange of insults with the top of a beer tap as he holds, naturally, a glass of Shock Top. It’s an amusing if not completely novel idea, and what online viewers get is the director’s cut. You can see 1:25 on YouTube, while the game-day spot will be trimmed to 30 seconds.

As these well-known names suggest, celebrities are having a big year in the Super Bowl ad game. Perhaps advertisers and their agencies, like Wall Street investors the last few weeks, have been looking for safe havens.

In the ad game, celebrities minimize risk, because even if the spot is awful, the celebrity still ensures it will get attention.

Similarly, just calling a new spot a “Super Bowl ad” gives it a glamorous aura even if it’s also been in circulation before game day.

Anheuser-Busch said a Bud spot that it released online before last year’s 2015 Super Bowl drew 18 million clicks.

That’s a good number of eyeballs to have banked before the game even started – and it was still fresh to some 90 million game-day viewers.

YouTube, which clusters early-release ad spots into its AdBlitz site, is hitching its own brand onto the game with a promotion called How to Win Game Day.

Some of YouTube’s most popular contributors, like MyLifeAsEva, Hannah Hart, Scott DW and Kingsley, will give tips starting Tuesday about how to become famous – if not necessarily rich – on YouTube. Jake and Amir host.

Given the viewership of the Super Bowl, it’s not surprising that marketers are looking for every possible angle to hook themselves into the game, which is why ancillary promotions keep growing like the mutant chicken heart in a 1950s horror movie.

One of those productions this year got curiously buried: a game film from the first Super Bowl in 1967.

It wasn’t a complete game telecast, just clips of every down. It was puffed up into a three-hour package with new commentary, but the actual football plays took just about half an hour.

That’s probably about how long the actual plays will take again this year – making them perhaps the only thing about the Super Bowl that hasn’t turned into the Long March.

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/BlogPostDetails.aspx?postId=11329
 
#7,487 ·
Nielsen Overnights (Broadcast)
Fox’s new-look Monday remains on top
Network averages a 2.3 for the night among 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Feb. 2, 2016

Fox’s new-look Monday night took a bit of a step back this week, but it still led the network to first place for the night among viewers 18-49.

The network’s combination of “The X-Files” and new drama “Lucifer” averaged a 2.3 rating and 7 share for the night in the demo, according to Nielsen overnights, down 18 percent from a 2.8/8 last week.

In the 8 p.m. hour episode three of “X-Files” averaged a 2.6 rating, off 19 percent from the previous week’s 3.2.

The show lead the night among total viewers on a relatively slow night, averaging 8.36 million.

“Lucifer” slipped even more week-to-week, dropping 21 percent to a 1.9 among 18-49s, down from a 2.4 for last week’s premiere episode.

For Fox, it helped that the other Big Four English-language networks also lost ground versus a week ago, with ABC going from a 1.9 to a 1.8, CBS from a 1.7 to a 1.3 and NBC from a 1.2 to a 1.0.

Among households, CBS edged out the competition with a 4.5 average overnight rating and 7 share, despite airing reruns in two of its three hours.

Fox was a close second at 4.4/7, ABC third at 4.2/7, NBC fourth at 2.2/4, Univision fifth at 1.0/2, Telemundo sixth at 0.9/1 and CW seventh at 0.7/1.

* * * *

Top show of the night in 18-49s

Fox’s “The X-Files,” 8-9 p.m., 2.6 rating.

Top show of the night in 25-54s
Fox’s “The X-Files,” 8-9 p.m., 3.3 rating.

Top show of the night in total viewers
Fox’s “The X-Files,” 8-9 p.m., 8.36 million.

[CLICK LINK BELOW TO SEE ALL OF MONDAY NIGHT'S BROADCAST RATINGS]

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/foxs-new-look-monday-remains-on-top/

* * * *

Nielsen Notes (Broadcast)
‘Big Bang Theory’ back on top among DVR viewers
By Media Life Magazine Staff - Feb. 2, 2016

With midseason hiatus time now over on broadcast TV, CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” has reclaimed its position as one of the top programs among DVR owners.

The Jan. 14 episode of “Big Bang” posted a 5.9 rating among viewers 18-49 with seven-day DVR playback added in, according to Nielsen, up 2.1 ratings points from its original 3.8 live-plus-same-day rating.

That was the most growth of any show during the week ended Jan. 17, and the only program that week to add at least 2.0 ratings points in the demo.

“Big Bang” also had the most growth of the week among total viewers, adding 5.17 million for an L+7 total of 20.93 million.

Meanwhile, with most shows back in first run during the week ended Jan. 17, NBC’s new Jennifer Lopez cop drama “Shades of Blue” increased its DVR viewership.

The Jan. 15 episode of “Shades” doubled its rating among 18-49s with seven-day playback factored in, going from a 1.3 to a 2.6 in the demo.

The only other show to double its rating that week did so from a much lower base–CW’s “Reign,” which went from a 0.3 to a 0.6.

[CLICK LINK BELOW TO SEE TOP-10 LISTS OF LIVE+7 DVR SHOWS]

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/big-bang-theory-back-on-top-among-dvr-viewers/
 
#7,488 ·
TV Sports (Football)
Out of a Rare Super Bowl I Recording, a Clash With the N.F.L. Unspools
It amazes, confounds, and disgusts me how the NFL can continue time after time to throw their weight around to belittle, badger, and bully fans, cities, concussed players, disabled retired players, and domestic assault victims and still make money hand over fist, gain in popularity, and climb in TV ratings. What the hell is wrong with our society when we let this happen? :(
 
#7,489 ·
It amazes, confounds, and disgusts me how the NFL can continue time after time to throw their weight around to belittle, badger, and bully fans, cities, concussed players, disabled retired players, and domestic assault victims and still make money hand over fist, gain in popularity, and climb in TV ratings. What the hell is wrong with our society when we let this happen? :(
Because most people don't give a **** about the politics of the NFL. All they care about is watching what is this cultures "Gladiator Games" and/or have money on the game either the old way (point spread) or the new way (daily fantasy).
 
#7,493 ·
I know for me, I use Amazon more on my Sony TV than any other device. But that is also because it is currently the only way for me to watch UHD HDR content from Amazon.
I have a 1st generation Roku that can stream 720p from Netflix. The Vizio Smart TV can stream 1080p from Netflix, so while its Netflix applet on the Vizio continues to work satisfactorily I continue to postpone purchasing the Roku's replacement.
 
#7,494 · (Edited by Moderator)
TV Notes (Streaming)
Melissa McCarthy Says She Wasn’t Asked To Join ‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival
By Denise Petski, Deadline.com - Feb. 2, 2016

Melissa McCarthy is responding to Gilmore Girls‘ creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s comments that she’d love to have McCarthy back for the Netflix revival. Sherman-Palladino told Deadline’s sister pub TVLine that she wants McCarthy back but said she’s not hopeful given the star’s busy schedule. McCarthy took to Twitter in response.

Melissa McCarthy ✔ @melissamccarthy
Thanks for the invite, but sadly no one asked me or Sookie to come back to Stars Hollow. Wish them all the best!! https://twitter.com/taragibsonva/status/694623760075395072
4:02 PM - 2 Feb 2016


Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reported last week that Netflix had cleared four 90-minute follow-up movies for production with six original cast members confirmed to return — Alexis Bledel, Lauren Graham, Scott Patterson, Kelly Bishop, Sean Gunn and Keiko Alena — but no mention of McCarthy or her character Sookie.

“She’s really ***** busy,” Sherman Palladino told TVLine. “But the thing I have said [to her team] is, ‘Look, if Melissa is available and has an afternoon free, I’ll write her a scene.’ Melissa was one of us. If she has a spare moment to run over [to the set] — even if for just a cameo — we would be totally game. And if it’s a last-minute thing, I would write her in and we would figure it out. That’s the way we left it.”

Stay tuned.

http://deadline.com/2016/02/melissa-mccarthy-gilmore-girls-revival-netflix-sookie-1201695217/
 
#7,495 ·
Nielsen Notes (Cable)
Hit alert: Billions ratings keep growing
By James Hibberd, EW.com - Feb. 2, 2016

Showtime’s new drama series Billions is delivering some real capital gains.

The Wall Street thriller started fairly solid in the ratings, and now has grown with its second and third episodes – exactly what a network hopes to see.

The first live airing of the drama starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis delivered 904,000 viewers (with many more sampling the pilot On Demand and online as part of a preview push). The second live airing increased to 950,000. Okay, so that was a slight bump – and actually not much considering that viewers now had fewer ways to watch it. But Sunday’s episode jumped to 1.3 million.

Billions has some of the biggest early season increases of any first-year Showtime series, averaging 6.3 million weekly when all forms of viewing (DVR and On Demand) are counted.

The streak will almost certainly break next week however – at least in the overnight ratings – when Showtime plows ahead in airing a new Billions up against the Super Bowl.

At any rate, the show is in no danger of going away anytime soon as Showtime has already renewed Billions for a second season.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/02/billions-ratings
 
#7,496 ·
TV Notes (Broadcast)
James Corden to Host Tony Awards
By Kimberly Roots, TVLine.com - Feb. 2, 2016

Who’s up for a Broadway-themed round of Carpool Karaoke?

Late Late Show host James Corden will host the 70th annual Tony Awards this June, CBS announced Tuesday.

Corden, a Tony winner himself for One Man, Two Guvnors in 2012, will preside over the live theater-awards telecast on Sunday, June 12 (8/7c.)

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Tony awards. Both times I’ve worked on Broadway have been amongst the happiest times of my professional life. I consider it a huge honor to be asked to host such an incredible night. It’s gonna be fun, I can’t wait to dust off my tap shoes!” Corden said via statement.

http://tvline.com/2016/02/02/james-corden-tony-awards-host-2016-cbs/[/QUOTE]
 
#7,497 ·
TV Sports/Business Notes (Football)
Thursday NFL Deals Raise Questions: Analyst
By Jon Lafayette, Broadcasting & Cable - Feb. 2, 2016

Executives at CBS and NBC felt they scored when they landed a schedule of Thursday night primetime NFL games for next season, but analysts at Barclays aren’t so sure.

In a report titled Thursday Night Football: Fumble or Touchdown, Barclays figures CBS lost money on Thursday Night Football last year looking at ad sales versus rights fees. With rights fees per game going up, but the number of games going down, Barclays figured CBS will come out “slightly ahead” under the new deal.

For NBC, part of Comcast, adding Thursday Night Football "is likely to put some pressure on margins, although some of it could be offset by the Olympics, which may do better than breakeven based on the trend line over the last couple of cycles," Barclay said.

More worrisome is the NFL's plan not only to simulcast the games on the NFL Network and on Verizon's mobile network but to find an OTT provider to stream the games. While the stream will be carrying the broadcaster's national advertising, consumers will still have another alternative when it comes to deciding how to watch those games.

"We believe the League is experimenting more with cross platform habit formation and actually getting paid for it by the broadcasters. In our opinion, similar to the emergence of OTT platforms like Netflix as a competitive threat to the legacy ecosystem, the availability of live sports, especially football, breaks down the last protected bastion for Internet delivered content," Barclays said.

Barclays said it understood why networks would jump at the chance to broadcast NFL games at a time when ratings for non-sports programming is challenged. But it said “the tradeoffs being made to get these rights raise the question of how long this trend can be sustained.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/currency/thursday-nfl-deals-raise-questions-analyst/147495
 
#7,498 ·
Nielsen Notes (Cable)
Fox News Dominates CNN, MSNBC in January Cable News Ratings
By Brian Flood, TheWrap.com - Feb. 2, 2016

Last weekend marked 20 years since Fox News Channel’s launch was announced, and CEO and Chairman Roger Ailes is probably quite pleased with the network’s anniversary numbers.

Fox News has now been the No. 1 cable news network for 14 consecutive years after winning the month of January with a dominating performance that included last week’s GOP debate. Fox News’ streak began in Jan. 2002 when it surpassed CNN for the first time.

Ailes’ network beat CNN and MSNBC combined in total day viewers and had the top 14 individual programs in cable news among the key 25-54 age demo. “The O’Reilly Factor” had its best month since November 2012 and finished as the No. 1 program in cable news, despite double-digit growth from “The Kelly File.”

ESPN and its football-heavy coverage was the only cable network more popular than Fox News for the month. Fox News averaged 2.12 million total viewers in primetime and 1.26 million in total day.

Meanwhile, the start of an election year seems to be positive for everybody.

CNN is up 40 percent in primetime viewers thanks to news specials including the “Guns in America Town Hall” and a Democratic town hall. CNN averaged 842,000 primetime viewers and 579,000 in total day.

MSNBC is touting the fact that it grew during January, up 31 percent in total day viewing and up 20 percent in the key demo, despite not having a debate during the month. MSNBC averaged 720,000 total viewers during primetime and 423,000 during the day.

Ailes’ other network wasn’t too shabby, either. Fox Business Network had its most-watched month ever among both total viewers and the demo. FBN’s big month was highlighted by the Jan. 14 GOP debate that drew 11 million total viewers. FBN ended 2015 as the fastest growing cable network on television and is off to a good start in 2016.

http://www.thewrap.com/fox-news-dominates-cnn-msnbc-in-january-cable-news-ratings/
 
#7,499 ·
TV/Nielsen Notes (Broadcast)
Here they are, February’s biggest sweep stunts
The Super Bowl tops the list, of course, along with the Grammys
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Feb. 3, 2016

February sweeps begin Thursday, and it’s no mystery which network will finish first.

With the Super Bowl and the Grammys, CBS will have no problem winning among all the adult demos and total viewers.

Still, the No. 2 ranking is very much up for grabs, and there are the usual number of sweeps stunts planned that should draw strong audiences.

Here’s a look at the biggest stunts planned for the four-week period used to set ad rates for local stations.

Republican Debates (ABC, Feb. 6; CBS, Feb. 13)

The Republican debates, which have drawn huge ratings on cable, finally move to broadcast, with ABC hosting the first days after the Iowa caucus and CBS airing the second four days after the New Hampshire primary.

Super Bowl (CBS, Feb. 7)

Sure to be the top-rated show of the year and maybe the most-watched ever, as five of the past six have been.

“New Girl” (Fox, Feb. 9)

Megan Fox starts a guest arc on Fox’s top Tuesday comedy, filling in for Zooey Deschanel, who’s on maternity leave.

“The Bachelor at 20: A Celebration of Love” (ABC, Feb. 14)

The network celebrates 20 seasons of the looking-for-love series, which actually hasn’t resulted in that many matches. Only one couple has actually married.

Grammy Awards (CBS, Feb. 15)

The awards show, which moves to Monday from its traditional Sunday airing, will include Lady Gaga’s tribute to the late David Bowie, who passed away last month.

“The Wonderful of Disney: Disneyland 60” (ABC, Feb. 21)

Celebrating the anniversary of the Disney theme park, on the network owned by Disney.

“The Vampire Diaries” (CW, Feb. 26)

The show, which recently moved from Thursdays to Fridays, airs a crossover with its lead-out, “The Originals,” a spinoff of “Diaries.”

Academy Awards (ABC, Feb. 28)

With all the controversy over the #OscarsSoWhite , including a planned boycott led by Jada Pinkett-Smith, the awards show could see a bump in viewership from curiosity or a viewership decline if others decide to join the boycott.

“The Voice” (NBC, Feb. 29)

The network’s top reality show returns for its spring run. It will be interesting to see if “Voice’s” ratings stay ahead of “American Idol,” which has been fairly steady in its final season.

“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” (CBS, March 2)

The second spinoff of “Minds” debuts on the final night of sweeps. CBS is hoping it does better than the last spinoff, which lasted just one season.

“The Real O’Neals” (ABC, March 2)

A Catholic family struggles to support their gay son as the parents head for a divorce. No surprise, it’s sparked a bit of controversy for its subject matter.

* * * *

In broadcast ratings for the week ended Jan. 31:

Among adults 18-49
, Fox averaged a 2.2 rating and a 7 share, followed by CBS and NBC at 1.2/4, ABC at 1.1/4, Univision and CW at 0.7/2, Telemundo at 0.5/2, ION at 0.4/1, UniMás at 0.3/1., Estrella TV, Me-TV, Azteca and Bounce TV at 0.1/0, and MundoMax and COZI TV at 0.0/0.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “Grease: Live” 4.3; 2. Fox’s “The X-Files” 3.2; 3. Fox’s “American Idol-Wednesday” 2.5; 4. Fox’s “Lucifer” 2.4; Tie-5. Fox’s “American Idol-Thursday” and ABC’s “The Bachelor” 2.3.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. Fox’s “Grease: Live” 12.21 million; 2. CBS’s “NCIS” (Repeat) 11.97 million; 3. CBS’s “Scorpion” 10.69 million; 4. CBS’s “Madam Secretary” 10.20 million; 5. CBS’s “NCIS: Los Angeles ” 10.06 million.

Show on the rise: Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” Thursday, 9 p.m. The reality show posted a 1.4 rating among 18-49s, up 40 percent from the 1.0 low-rated “Second Chance” (see below) posted in the slot the previous week.

Show on the decline: Fox’s “Second Chance,” Friday, 9 p.m. Now airing on Fridays, the new show posted a 0.7 among 18-49s, off 30 percent from its 1.0 the previous week.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/here-they-are-februarys-biggest-sweeps-stunts/
 
#7,500 ·
TV Notes (Cable)
CMT Orders Scripted Series Based on Early Careers of Elvis, Johnny Cash
By Alyssa Sage, Variety.com - Feb. 2, 2016

CMT will partner with “Hatfields & McCoys” producer Thinkfactory Media to produce a limited drama series that chronicles the rise of rock ‘n’ roll.

The premiere of the eight-episode scripted series, which will be based on the Tony Award-winning musical “Million Dollar Quartet,” will mark the 60th anniversary of the famed “Million Dollar Quartet” jam session that was recorded by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins in Dec. 1956.

Set in the early days of Memphis’ Civil Rights era, the series will document the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and the rise of the genre’s pioneering musicians during periods of extensive political change and social unrest.

CMT and Thinkfactory Media will begin a nationwide casting search for the roles of young Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King, Ike Turner, Carl Perkins and other supporting characters beginning Feb. 3, with auditions to be held at the historic Humes Preparatory Academy Middle School, Presley’s alma mater, on February 13.

“‘Million Dollar Quartet’ will capture the star-crossed Memphis moments which led to the most explosive pop culture movement of the 20th Century, the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” said Brian Philips, CMT president. “The characters are all larger-than-life, so casting is a daunting challenge, but we’re counting on the magic of Memphis to come alive again! This is among our most ambitious projects ever, and we entrust it to a proven epic filmmaker, Leslie Greif.”

“We are thrilled to be working with CMT as they enter the scripted drama arena,” said Thinkfactory Media CEO and founder Leslie Greif, who will serve as an exec producer on the series. “At Thinkfactory Media, we pride ourselves in finding, developing and delivering products that fit the networks we work with, and ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ is perfectly suited for CMT because of its deep ties to country music and Nashville,” she said.

In addition to Greif, Jayson Dinsmore, Julia Silverton and “NCIS: Los Angeles'” Gil Grant will exec produce. Colin Escott is attached to produce.

The “Million Dollar Quartet” project is CMT’s second scripted series announced for 2016 — the network’s Billy Ray Cyrus-led ensemble comedy “Still the King” will premiere this summer.

Production for CMT’s “Million Dollar Project” adaptation is set to begin in Memphis this spring.

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/cmt-million-dollar-quartet-elvis-johnny-cash-series-1201695466/
 
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