Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information - Page 2608

Nielsen Notes (Broadcast)
A final bounce for March Madness
Title game rises 4 percent, to 20.9 million viewers
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Apr. 4, 2012

Overall NCAA men's basketball tournament ratings were down this year, but March Madness did end on a higher note than last year.

Monday's championship game between Kentucky and Kansas averaged 20.9 million total viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen, up 4 percent over the 20.1 million who tuned in to the 2011 title contest between UConn and Butler.

The game drew the second-highest viewership for any NCAA final since 2005, behind only 2010's game between perennial powerhouse Duke and Butler, which averaged 23.9 million.

Monday's game averaged a 12.3 household rating, up 5 percent from an 11.7 last year and also second-best since 2005, when North Carolina defeated Illinois in a game that averaged a 15 rating and 23.9 million viewers.

Still, for the entire three-week competition, CBS and fellow carriers TBS, TNT and truTV were actually down compared to last year. The tourney averaged a 6.1 household rating, off 4 percent from a 6.4 average in 2011.

Last year was the first time that the games were jointly carried by Turner and CBS, and it was also the first time that all the first- and second-round games were televised.

The novelty of that new feature remained fresh this year, with ratings for the first week of games equal to last year.

But viewership dipped after that, following early losses by big-name teams like Duke and a lack of any West Coast teams in the Sweet Sixteen that hurt ratings.

Then ratings went back up for the Final Four and the final game, and that's a credit to the large national followings for the Wildcats and the Jayhawks.

Two traditional basketball powerhouses, they have strong fan bases, which is the hallmark of every big NCAA game. The two other biggest games in the past seven years also featured traditional powerhouses North Carolina and Duke.

* * * *

In broadcast ratings for the week ended April 1:

Among adults 18-49, CBS was first for the week with a 2.8 average rating and an 8 share, followed by Fox at 2.2/67 ABC at 1.8/5, NBC at 1.6/4, Univision at 1.4/4, CW at 0.6/2, Telemundo at 0.5/1, ION and TeleFutura at 0.3/1, Estrella at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. CBS's "NCAA Basketball" 5.5; 2. Fox's "American Idol-Wednesday" 5.3; 3. CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" 4.7; Tie-4. CBS's "NCAA Basketball Bridge" and NBC's "The Voice" 4.5.

Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. CBS's "NCIS" 18.62 million; 2. ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" 17.96 million; 3. Fox's American Idol-Wednesday" 17.87 million; 4. CBS's "NCAA Basketball" 16.60 million; 5. Fox's "American Idol-Thursday" 15.88 million.

Top five time-shifted English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, by Live+SD versus Live+7 playback, week ended March 18): 1. ABC's "Modern Family" 2.5 increase (up 55.6 percent); 2. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" 1.5 increase (up 50.0 percent); 3. Fox's "New Girl" 1.4 increase (up 50.0 percent); 4. CBS's "Criminal Minds" 1.3 increase (up 46.4 percent); 5. NBC's "The Office" 1.2 increase (up 50.0 percent).

Show on the rise: ABC's "20/20," Friday 10 p.m. The newsmagazine posted a 2.1 rating among 18-49s, a two-year high and up 31 percent from a 1.6 the previous week.

Show on the decline: Fox's "Touch," Thursday 9 p.m. The new drama slipped 18 percent week-to-week among 18-49s from a 3.3 rating to a 2.7.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...ch-Madness.asp

TV Notes
Discovery Networks to launch Destination America
By Gary Levin, USA Today - Apr. 4, 2012

Discovery Networks couldn't make Planet Green sprout, so the former tree-hugging network is being transformed into the unabashedly patriotic Destination America, the company will announce Wednesday.

The new channel, launching in 59 million homes on Memorial Day, aims for a manly version of TLC's audience, says CEO David Zaslav, with shows about food, travel, adventure and natural history aimed squarely at a between-the-coasts crowd.

"We became convinced there was an opening there to build a channel based on middle America, strong values, behavior and customs," Zaslav says.

Original series include Fast Food Mania, hosted by Jon Hein, due June 3. "We're going all over the country to the best fast-food places to see what makes them work," says Hein, who hosts a similar show on Howard Stern's satellite-radio channel. "Chances are, if you've been on the road and seen the sign, we've been there."

BBQ Pitmasters, a former TLC series, returns with new episodes on May 30. Later this summer, look for Ghost Town Gold, Cheating: Las Vegas (about casino scams), the meat-focused United States of Food and theme-park show Super Duper Thrill Rides.

And hedging bets, the channel also will borrow liberally from its siblings, airing reruns of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, Storm Chasers and Cash Cab, and TLC's MiamiInk and its tattoo-parlor spinoffs. The food and travel focus are a natural: After selling Travel Channel in 2007, the company has had no network specifically focusing on either topic, though TLC has had luck with food-centric shows such as Cake Boss.

"It's quintessential counterprogramming to many of the negative stories" about issues that divide Americans, says Henry Schleiff, the channel's president, and "represents optimism, hope and a return to grass roots. It's not that some of these themes don't exist on other networks, but what is special here is we are a one-stop destination for all of these stories from an American perspective."

Planet Green, which replaced Discovery Home in 2008 just as the environmental movement peaked, used celebrities as a draw and seemed like "it was a great idea, and it turns out that it wasn't," Zaslav says. "The feedback from viewers was that programming about the environment was not entertaining enough. We knew pretty clearly, about two years in, that we just weren't gaining momentum."

The channel dropped the last of its green programming about nine months ago and has been building ratings by airing borrowed reruns from other Discovery channels as it refined the new concept.

Discovery has had a mixed record in refashioning channels under Zaslav's watch: Investigation Discovery has been a hit, but two joint ventures, the Oprah Winfrey Network and The Hub, have had difficulty gaining early ratings traction.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/televis...D=mzmep2gpdaaz

I knew Kentucky was going to kick butt

Guess I'll have to go back and re look at last season before looking at thenew stuff.

TV Review
'Best Friends Forever' (NBC)
Old Pals Falling Into a New Dynamic
By Alessandra Stanley, The New York Times - Apr. 4, 2012

And, she's not a bit pretty!

That's what a friend's mother used to exclaim triumphantly when a woman they knew got engaged, presumably to spur her daughter to try harder.

It also applies to some of the lead comedy actresses on television today. People complain on talk shows and in magazines about society's absurdly high standards of beauty. In a heated discussion about Jessica Simpson's pregnancy weight on the Today show on Tuesday, the guest host Sarah Palin, a former governor of Alaska and a former pageant contestant, complained about itty-bitty Hollywood actresses who are unrealistically tiny.

Plastic surgery and airbrushed photos have only increased the pressure on women to conform. Yet many of the more attractive sitcom stars are not conventional beauties some come closer to the French notion of jolie laide. And this broader, more generous spectrum for actresses is largely thanks to the women who land these roles by creating them.

Lennon Parham, who stars in the low-key but charming NBC comedy Best Friends Forever, created the show with her co-star and writing partner, Jessica St. Clair, and they use their own first names for the characters they play. Lennon (Ms. Parham) is a woman whose new relationship is strained by the return of her needy, newly single best friend, Jessica (Ms. St. Clair).

Ms. Parham, who is funny and appealing, has the pleasant, ordinary looks that are usually reserved for sidekicks; she played Jenna Elfman's sister on Accidently on Purpose.

The forthcoming HBO comedy Girls has already created a huge media stir, and one reason is that its creator and star, Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), doesn't look like a Hollywood actress pretending to be a Brooklyn slacker; she looks like a Brooklyn slacker, and not the Zooey Deschanel kind.

Whitney Cummings, a sexy comedian with an Olive Oyl figure, is the star of her own show, Whitney, on NBC, and helped create another one, 2 Broke Girls on CBS, which stars Kat Dennings, a classic, shapely beauty. Ms. Parham turns out to be one of many unconventional female stars, not an exception.

Best Friends Forever, which begins on Wednesday night, is also competing against a big pool of similar comedies. It may not be possible to have too many friends, but there can be too many Friends.

In earlier days sitcoms usually centered on a household or a workplace, and two of the best, Modern Family and Parks and Recreation, still do. But Seinfeld and Friends changed the landscape: now television is crowded with comedies about nothing except a group of adult friends who hang out like high school kids.

How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory are on CBS, and NBC has Whitney and Community. There's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX and New Girl on Fox. ABC, which already has Happy Endings, is adding Don't Trust the B ---- in Apartment 23 next Wednesday. The coy title does not match the explicit material in the show.

All these are quite funny, well written, with ever-increasing degrees of raunchiness. Many of the better ones are written by women and focus on the female perspective and anatomy so much that it drove Lee Aronsohn, a co-creator and an executive producer of Two and a Half Men, to complain to The Hollywood Reporter.

We're approaching peak vagina on television, the point of labia saturation, he said on Sunday while attending the Toronto Screenwriting Conference. The reaction was predictably vehement, and he later apologized for his language in a Twitter post.

But that profusion does make it harder for a show like Best Friends Forever to distinguish itself. Its chief selling point could be that it's a kinder, gentler form of sitcom. There are a few risqué jokes about Brazilian bikini waxing, but most of this show's appeal is in the unexpected mildness of Lennon, who speaks in a suppressed Southern accent similar to Mary Steenburgen's.

Jessica, dumped and brokenhearted, tells Lennon that she suspects her husband was having an affair with a colleague in his Lisbon office, describing the woman as a femme fatale in short bangs, knee-high socks and Mary Janes. Well, that is not a professional look, Lennon replies primly.

In a landscape where some of the most talented female writers compete to see who can come up with the lewdest jokes and crudest scenes, there might be room for a sitcom that finds humor in restraint.

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER
NBC, Wednesday nights at 8:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 7:30, Central time.

http://tv.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/art...on-parham.html

TV Review
Kerry Washington is strong in ABC's 'Scandal'
New Shonda Rhimes series deals with a crisis management expert close to the White House
By Alan Sepinwall, HitFix.com - Apr. 4, 2012

Olivia Pope has a law degree, but she's not exactly a lawyer. "Scandal," the new ABC series (Thursday at 10 p.m.) of which Olivia is the central character, deals a lot with legal matters, but it's not exactly a legal drama. To be perfectly honest, after watching four episodes of "Scandal," I'm not 100 percent clear on what it is that Olivia and her team (most of them fellow lawyers who don't practice law) do, nor on exactly what the show is.

I'm also not entirely sure that it matters. "Scandal" is a good example of what a show is about being far less important than how it's about it and when you have Kerry Washington as your star and Shonda Rhimes at her most confident as your creator, the "how" comes pretty easy.

Olivia (Washington) worked on the campaign for the sitting U.S. president (Tony Goldwyn) and now specializes in crisis management in Washington, D.C. She and her team the supporting cast includes Columbus Short and Henry Ian Cusick (aka Desmond from "Lost") wind up handling everything from traditional criminal law cases (in the pilot, a man stumbles into the office covered in blood and says he didn't kill his girlfriend) to negotiating kidnap and ransom situations to getting into the middle of a controversy involving the president himself.

The series actually opens not with Olivia, but with Short's Harrison Wright, who's interviewing new associate Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes). Olivia doesn't run a traditional law firm, and this isn't a traditional interview. Quinn thinks she's on a blind date, and it turns out Harrison isn't so much interviewing her as trying to dazzle her with Olivia's name and the notion that he's "a gladiator in a suit," a phrase which is recited four different times in under 30 seconds.

I'm not sure "gladiator in a suit" conveys exactly what the team does(*), but it's a set-up for a bunch of well-dressed, charismatic actors(**) to stride the corridors of power speaking quickly and trying to solve impossible problems.

(*) It's also somewhat fuzzy what each team member's specialty is, when that's half the fun in any kind of story like this about a group of experts. Aside from Guillermo Diaz as Huck, a hacker who apparently used to work for the CIA, everyone else in the ensemble serves the same basic plot function, which is usually "Do what Olivia says while she's busy doing three other things."

(**) The unfortunate exception is Lowes, whose character is a real drip. The rookie in a workplace drama is often used as the audience's entry point an excuse for someone to explain to the viewer how all this stuff works but that kind of point-of-view character can be an iffy proposition. Sometimes, you get John Carter on "ER." Other times, you get Quinn Perkins.

Most charismatic among these actors is Washington. There are always trend pieces about "movie stars doing TV," and inevitably these "stars" are fine actors who haven't headlined a big-budget feature in at least 10 years. Washington, on the other hand, seems more like someone who should be a movie star but never quite had that shot. Olivia is very much a star part, the kind where even the scenes she's not in are usually about her, and she's got the screen presence to make you believe it. This isn't a situation where a series is telling you someone is fabulous while failing to show you that she is; Washington owns every moment she's on camera, and is completely believable as someone who'd feel comfortable charging into the Oval Office to yell at the Commander-in-Chief.

Washington's so good, in fact, that I didn't mind that it's not always clear what makes Olivia's team so much better than just hiring a standard law firm. Nor was I incredibly troubled with the show's occasional struggles to balance the case of the week with a larger story arc that puts Olivia in opposition to President Grant.

The rapid pace and the frequent visits to the White House could threaten to make "Scandal" feel like Rhimes' attempt to do her version of "The West Wing," but her style of banter isn't quite the same as Aaron Sorkin's(***). And "Scandal" is more in the grand soap-y vein of "Grey's," where the personal and the professional are so connected as to be indistinguishable. (This is what Fienberg likes to call a Vocational Irony Narrative, and there's the obligatory scene where a character notes that all of Olivia's fixers are in need of some fixing themselves.)

(***) "West Wing" alum and Sorkin repertory player Josh Malina has an amusing recurring role as a local DA frustrated to so often be on the losing end to Olivia. (In other Sorkin/Rhimes crossover, Columbus Short played one of the writers on "Studio 60.")

That formula doesn't always work (insert memories of your least favorite "Grey's" story arc here), but when it does, Rhimes is as successful at tugging for the heartstrings as anyone in the business. And because of her and Washington, I'll give "Scandal" some time to tell me exactly what's required to be a gladiator in a suit.

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-al...n-abcs-scandal

TV Review
'Betty White's Off Their Rockers,' off-ful
This NBC skit show fails to tap into her comedic talents
By Tom Conroy, Media Life Magazine - Apr. 2, 2012

At age 90, Betty White can get standing ovations by simply showing up. It's a tribute to her work ethic that she continues to strive to deliver real performances.

In that effort, she is constantly being let down by her writers. In too many of her recent roles, she plays a deceptively sweet-looking woman of a certain age who turns out to be randy, bibulous and foul-mouthed. This shtick was actually funny when White first started doing it as Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" back in the '70s.

Unfortunately, similar humor is the main ingredient in the new hidden-camera series "Betty White's Off Their Rockers," which premieres on NBC this Wednesday, April 4, at 8 p.m. White's interstitials, as well as most of the prank segments -- in which older actors create awkward moments with unsuspecting younger people -- are half-baked, relying on the assumption that a senior saying something naughty is comedy gold.

The jokes that work other angles are generally tired. A sum total of two real laughs isn't enough to justify a half hour of our time.

The sneak-preview episode that aired this January (and can be viewed on nbc.com) opens with a prank in which an old man asks a young woman to take his picture, then dodges around the corner, undresses and runs around in front of her repeating, "Take my picture! I'm beautiful." A cop comes and arrests the man, and his victim looks perplexed.

In other unfunny moments, an older woman asks a young man in an airport waiting area if he would like to join the mile-high club with her; an old man wearing headphones in a wheelchair sings Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass" as young women walk by, looking amused; and an older woman asks a young passerby if she knows the meaning of the made-up slang terms for sex acts that her boyfriend has just texted her. Embarrassingly, the young woman volunteers that she does know the meaning of one particularly raunchy real term.

But most of the pranks have no payoff. The victims smile, shake their heads and walk on, or they simply look confused. Viewers will rarely even crack a smile.

The exceptions happen when the show stops trying to be transgressive. In one prank, two old men sit next to a woman on a public bench and start doing the wave. After a couple passes, she enthusiastically joins in.

In another, an older woman in an information booth at a beach keeps telling people that they can find the answer to their questions online. When a woman asks where the restrooms are, she tells her to try www.restroom.com. Another woman who asks if she can rent bicycles is referred to www.rentbicycles.net.

But the humorous potential of scooters and blind people is drained quickly.

White's interstitial segments are the show's weakest point. Shot in what looks like a star's home, they all could be Sue Ann's home videos.

White talks about having a restraining order preventing her from getting within 250 feet of Jon Hamm. She tells the camera that doctors recommend a glass of wine a day, then the camera pulls back to reveal her quart-capacity wine glass.

After she finishes icing a cake, she tells a man dressed like a stripper to get inside. When he says he can't fit in there, she says, "You're right. I'll just frost you instead."

And she does. And we cringe.

White, a real trouper, delivers her material as if it were Noel Coward. But as we wait in vain for an actual joke, some of us may start hoping that a producer wearing a headset will walk into the frame, say, "Surprise! You've been punk'd," and then explain that they were waiting to see how long White would continue to perform deliberately weak sketches.

Alas, in "Betty White's Off Their Rockers," the joke is on the viewers.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...s-off-ful-.asp

They keep using that 350# but again the actuals were more like:
679,557 -- blu
517,860 -- dvd
1,197,417 -- total units

Well going by your previous predictions / assessments then Craig Ferguson will do Just Fine ..

So in other words, just another channel that's virtually indistinguishable from the 100's of others just like it.

TV Notes
Ryan Seacrest's Big Announcement Isn't So Big After All
By Tim Molloy, TheWrap.com - Apr. 4, 2012

Ryan Seacrest will appear on NBC more, starting with the Olympics. That's it. That's the big announcement he and NBC have been hyping for days.

Word that Seacrest would appear on NBC's "Today" this week sparked speculation -- as all involved knew it would -- that he might be joining the show. The big question was how, since the Wall Street Journal reported in December that he was being courted as a possible successor to Matt Lauer.

Lauer asked Seacrest directly Wednesday what discussions he had had with NBC about joining "Today."

"Oh, they didn't tell you? " Seacrest joked, before adding, "I've worked with the E! network for years, and NBC Universal and E! are the same family. And so the plan is for me to join the NBC family and continue to have a role at the E! network. The first assignment will be to join the primetime team for the Olympics."

When Lauer pressed him about "Today," Seacrest said he had talked to NBC about filling in on the weather on "Today." He also suggested he wasn't trying to unseat Lauer, telling him: "I see you doing this for as long as you want to." Then he asked Lauer how long he planned to stay at "Today."

Lauer avoided the question, but told Seacrest, "I think you'd be great at this job." He added that he and Seacrest were friendly and had talked before about whether Seacrest might succeed him.

"There is no tension here," Lauer said.

"There's no tension," Seacrest agreed.

There was also very little news. Seacrest also said he expected to remain with "American Idol," as he has said before.

NBC has tried to bring out the big guns this week to counter for "Today" show Katie Couric's weeklong anchoring stint on "Good Morning America." On Monday, it brought back "Today" host Meredith Vieira, who also said she would be taking part in the Olympics coverage. On Tuesday, Sarah Palin co-hosted "Today."

Seacrest was scheduled to appear Tuesday as well, but delayed his appearance, he said, because he was recovering from elbow surgery.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/ry...fter-all-36782

Sadly, yes.

TV Notes
‘Homeland’, ‘Game Of Thrones’, ‘Treme’, ‘Parks And Recreation’, ‘Portlandia’ & ‘Colbert Report’ Among Peabody Winners
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Apr. 4, 2012

ATHENS, Georgia, April 4, 2012 – Thirty-eight recipients of the 71st Annual Peabody Awards were announced today by the University of Georgia’s GradCollege of Journalism and Mass Communication. The winners, chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for the year 2011, were named in a ceremony in the Peabody Gallery on the University of Georgia Campus.

COMPLETE LIST OF RECIPIENTS OF THE 71st ANNUAL PEABODY AWARDS

CNN’s Reporting of the Arab Spring including Worldwide Coverage: Egypt –Wave of Discontent and Uprising in Libya
CNN

With seasoned correspondents already stationed throughout the Middle East, CNN was prepared when revolution began to leap like wildfire across the region.

TED.com
TED

An outgrowth of a 1984 conference that brought together leaders in technology, entertainment and design (TED), the site makes creative thinkers and their ideas available everywhere, anytime.

American Experience (PBS)
American Experience in association with Apograph Productions, Firelight Media and Q-Ball Productions

Three exceptional documentaries – Triangle Fire, Freedom Riders and Stonewall Uprising – are recognized this year under the banner of this grand American history anthology.

Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families (NPR member stations)
National Public Radio

This three-part report detailed how cultural bias and possible financial gain led North Dakota and 32 other states to ignore federal law barring the separation of Native American children from their families or tribes.

POV: My Perestroika (PBS)
American Documentary/POV/Red Square Productions, Bungalow Town Productions, ITVS International in association with YLE

Russia’s past, present and possible future are revealed in nuanced detail by this beautifully constructed film about five schoolmates, now adults, who lived through that country’s difficult transition from communism.

The Colbert Report – Super PAC Segments (Comedy Central)
Hello Doggie Inc., Busboy Productions, Spartina Productions, Comedy Central

Launching his own Super PAC as a satirical protest against megabucks politics, Colbert mixed cerebral comedy with inspired sight gags, interviews and preposterously funny monologues.

CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute (CNN, CNN International, CNN Espanol)
CNN, Done & Dusted (aka Fun & Trusted)

The star-studded, televised tribute is the culmination of a year-long effort to identify and reward 10 people from around the world who’ve made truly significant differences in the lives of others.

StoryCorps 9/11 (NPR Morning Edition)
StoryCorps, NPR, POV, National September 11 Memorial & Museum

The oral history project’s powerful response to the 9/11 anniversary presented authorized excerpts from interviews with survivors and victims’ relatives as well as YouTube postings of short animated features inspired by their remembrances.

BBC.com (BBC.com)
BBC

With access to more than 2,000 journalists and the BBC’s 72 overseas news bureaus, the site is uniquely situated to provide immediate, evolving coverage of news events great and small.

Who Killed Chea Vichea? (KBDI Denver and other NETA stations)
Loud Mouth Films, Limited, Independent Television Service (ITVS)

This investigative documentary, produced on a shoestring budget, covers the 2004 assassination of a Cambodian trade union leader and exposes corruption in one of the world’s top exporters of low-cost clothing.

News Magazine: People’s Republic of Cheating and Misjudged Cases (TVB Jade Channel)
Television Broadcasts Limited, Hong Kong

The Hong Kong-based magazine series excelled on two reports, one dealing with the spurious and plagiarized academic publications and dissertations, the other with unjust arrests and prosecutions.

Homeland (Showtime)
Showtime Presents, Teakwood Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet, Fox 21

This serial drama from Showtime is a game of cat and mouse, a psychological thriller and a Rorschach test of post-9/11 doubts, fears and suspicions rolled into one.

The Untold Stories of the Tsunami in Japan (Fuji Television)
Fuji Television Network, Inc.

Detailed, thorough and heart-stopping, this reliving of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster painstakingly combines familiar and unseen video, expert commentary and interviews with survivors.

Human Rights Watch: Acting Up: Russia’s Civil Society (www.newyorker.com) and Gold’s Costly Dividend: The Porgera Joint Venture (www.hrw.org)
The New Yorker, Human Rights Watch

These arresting, detailed online reports combine photography, video, interviews and written analysis. One documents Russian dissidents, the other the abuse of inhabitants of a remote part of Papua New Guinea by mine security personnel.

Earth Made of Glass (HBO)
Clover and A Bee Films, 33&Out, Inc. in association with HBO Documentary Films

This moving documentary explores how Rwanda is dealing with its horrific legacy of genocide. Both the country’s president and an ordinary survivor offer personal perspectives.

Arab Spring from Egypt to Libya (NPR member stations)
National Public Radio

Eloquently describing events or passing her microphone to everyday protesters or regime supporters, NPR foreign correspondent Lourdes Garcia-Navarro provided exemplary coverage throughout the Middle East.

Restoring the American Dream: Fixing Education and
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS: Interpretation and Commentary on Iran (CNN)

Zakaria applies his interviewing and analytical skills to impressive effect in his prime-time special devoted to America’s education quandary and in his measured, insightful ruminations on Iran.

Bhutto (PBS)
Independent Lens, Bhutto Film, LLC

In this documentary, former Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto’s life story unfolded like an epic novel, with a fairy tale beginning, a martyr’s death and years of social awakening and political courage in between.

Tremé (HBO)
Blown Deadline Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

The storylines snake and swoop like an unhurried jazz jam in this rich drama in which everyday people get on with life in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Portlandia (IFC)
Broadway Video, IFC

A funhouse mirror reflection of Portland, Oregon, a city that takes its progressivism – and its diet – very seriously. The satire is fresh, organic and cage-free.

Their Crime, Your Dime (KING-TV)
KING-TV, Seattle, WA

KING’s investigation of food stamp and welfare scams prompted Washington’s state legislature to fund a $5 million fraud-prevention squad.

Somalia: Land of Anarchy (BBC1)
BBC

Six years after his producer was gunned down in Somalia, a BBC reporter returns to provide the world with an unflinching look at life in a failed state.

Al Jazeera’s Coverage of the Arab Awakening (Al Jazeera English)
Al Jazeera English

From December 2010, when protests erupted in Tunisia, through 201, Al Jazeera was a network of record for millions of viewers throughout the world. On-the-ground reporting was thorough, enterprising and brave.

Toxic Secrets (KPHO-TV)
CBS News 5, KPHO, Phoenix

A dying veteran’s confession sparked this powerful account of secretly buried drums of Agent Orange on a South Korean U.S. Army base. Reporter Tammy Leitner traveled to Korea and examined the chemical’s effects on Korean kids and U.S. military personnel.

Rebirth (Showtime)
Showtime Presents

By turns poignant and exhilarating, this documentary appraises the impact of the 9/11 attacks on five individuals. Their stories illuminate movement from anger and grief to hope, purpose and renewed spirit.

Game of Thrones (HBO)
Bighead, Littlehead, 360 Television, Grok and Generator Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Adapted from dark-age fantasy books by George R.R. Martin, the series immerses viewers in a multilayered, distinctly imagined world of mysticism and earthiness, fidelity and deceit, wonder and mayhem.

CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley: Inside Syria (CBS)
CBS News

With a small, disguised camera and no crew, CBS correspondent Clarissa Ward entered Syria posing as a tourist. Her courageous, undercover reporting gave viewers a rare, close-up glimpse of a country falling toward civil war.

Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Universal Television, Deedle-Dee Productions, Fremulon

This shrewd, good-natured comedy about parks department staff in Pawnee, Indiana, never condescends or caricatures. Instead it confronts the characters with problems from the trivial to the serious.

Desert Underwater (KLAS-TV)
KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, NV

The station used a sharply detailed series of reports and a prime-time special to explain how Las Vegas came to take such a crushing hit when the housing bubble burst. The excellent online data base still helps foreclosure-threatened homeowners.

Surviving the Tsunami (NHK)
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.)

Combining its own archival footage with video shot by ordinary citizens, this documentary meticulously examines what happened the day the monster wave hit and what Japan’s people and leaders can learn from it.

Operation Deep Freeze (WEWS-TV)
NewsChannel 5, WEWS-TV, Cleveland

This investigation of Navy personnel unwittingly exposed to radiation at an Antarctica base sparked public hearings by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

American Masters: Charles and Ray Eames – The Architect and the Painter (PBS)
Quest Productions, Bread and Butter Films in association with Thirteen’s American Masters for WNET

This fascinating and visually inventive biography demonstrates that the mid-century “modern” furniture for which the Eamses are best remembered represents merely a fraction of their ingenious and influential design work.

A Year in the Clouds (PTS)
Public Television Service, Taipei, Taiwan

Beautifully photographed, the film records a year among indigenous Taiwanese mountain people who rely on eco-tourism and shared ownership of land and property to support their communal way of life.

ABC News Brian Ross Investigates: Peace Corps – A Trust Betrayed (ABC)
ABC News 20/20

Looking into the murder of a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, Ross’ team made stunning discoveries of sexual assaults and official cover-ups. The result was a Congressional investigation of the iconic humanitarian program.

On Location (www.globalpost.com)
GlobalPost

Focused on news and events neglected or ignored by other media outlets, the site’s growing cadre of writers and videographers posted video reports from 34 different countries in 2011.

Intersexions (SABC 1)
John Hopkins Health and Education South Africa, Curious Pictures Pty Ltd, Ants Multimedia, SABC Education

Aimed at stemming South Africa’s AIDS epidemic, Intersexions is public service as educational serial entertainment. The HIV virus itself plays a role as a seductive voice in this well-acted, candidly written program focused mostly on young, restless, high-risk adults.

Austin City Limits (PBS)
KLRU-TV, Austin, TX, PBS

Austin City Limits receives a rare Institutional Peabody Award. Thirty-seven seasons on air make it the world’s longest running live music television program. Concerts by the likes of Coldplay, Widespread Panic and Randy Newman made 2011 a banner year for the Lone Star State’s music showcase.

Jeopardy! (Syndicated)
Sony Pictures Television

TV quiz shows for $500, please. “Encouraging, celebrating and rewarding knowledge is this Peabody Award winner’s legacy.” Buzzzzz. “What is Jeopardy!?” Correct.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/home...abody-winners/

TUESDAY's fast affiliate overnight prime-time ratings -and what they mean- have been posted on Analyst Marc Berman's Media INsight's Blog

Nielsen Overnights (18-49)
'Voice' carries NBC to a tie for first place
First results show averages a 3.2 in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Apr. 4, 2012

"The Voice" topped the competition on a new night yesterday.

The singing show, airing its first Tuesday results show of the season, was the No. 1 program on a slow night and clearly had an impact on the competition, with ABC's "Dancing with the Stars Results" and Fox's "New Girl" both sliding from last week.

"Voice" averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen, with "Stars" drawing a 2.7 in the same one-hour timeslot, down 13 percent from last week's 3.1 in its season premiere. "Stars" was the night's No. 2 show.

"Girl," which airs from 9 to 9:30, dipped to a series-low 2.3, off 12 percent from last week's 2.6.

"Voice" was down from Monday's competition show, which averaged a 4.1, but that's not particularly surprising. Most reality shows, including "Stars" and "American Idol," draw lower ratings for their results episodes.

The show helped NBC to a tie for first on a night when the usual first-place finisher, CBS, was in reruns.

ABC and NBC both averaged a 2.2 overnight rating and a 6 share in 18-49s for the night. Fox was third at 1.6/5, Univision fourth at 1.6/4, CBS fifth at 1.5/4, Telemundo sixth at 0.5/2 and CW seventh at 0.3/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. NBC was first with a 2.0 for "The Biggest Loser," followed by CBS with a 1.9 for a repeat of "NCIS." ABC was third with a 1.8 for a "Dancing with the Stars" recap. Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 1.5, Fox for a new "Raising Hope" (1.6) and a rerun (1.4) and Univision for "Una Familia con Suerte." Telemundo was sixth with a 0.5 for "Una Maid en Manhattan" and CW seventh with a 0.3 for a repeat of "90210."

NBC was first again at 9 p.m. with a 3.2 for "Voice," while ABC moved to second with a 2.7 for "Dancing with the Stars Results." Fox was third with a 1.8 for "New Girl" (2.3) and "Breaking In" (1.3). CBS and Univision tied for fourth at 1.5, CBS for an "NCIS: Los Angeles" rerun and Univision for "Abismo de Pasion." Telemundo was sixth with a 0.6 for "Corazon Valiente" and CW seventh with a 0.4 for "Ringer."

ABC moved to first at 10 p.m. with a 2.0 for "Body of Proof," with Univision second with a 1.6 for "La Que No Podia Amar." NBC was third with a 1.5 for "Fashion Star," CBS fourth with a 1.2 for a repeat of "Unforgettable" and Telemundo fifth with a 0.5 for "Relaciones Peligrosas."

ABC was first for the night among households with a 7.8 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 6.0/10, NBC third at 4.0/6, Fox fourth at 2.1/3, Univision fifth at 1.9/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.7/1 and CW seventh at 0.6/1.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...BS-s-hoops.asp

YEA! Glad to see one of televisions most underrated and under-appreciated series get some recognition from the famed Peabody's. This show is so rewarding in so many ways for viewers who love quality television. And the music - ahhh, it's to die for.

I've been a fan of the Peabody Awards since the year they boldly and unexpectedly named 'Battlestar Galactica' as that year's best drama series (it really was, not that the pedestrian popularity contest known as the Emmys ever noticed).

TV Notes
YouTube strikes movie rental deal with Paramount
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times's 'Company Town' Blog - Apr. 4, 2012

Google Inc.'s YouTube has struck a movie-rental deal with a fifth major Hollywood studio, Paramount Pictures, adding 500 new titles to its expanding online library.

The addition of Paramount's films brings YouTube's rental library to nearly 9,000 titles, featuring such popular mainstream movies as Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning "Hugo" and director Michael Bay's action-packed "Transformers" and classics including "The Godfather."

The deal reflects YouTube's strategy to provide its millions of online viewers with a range of entertainment options, from its trademark user-created video and polished Web originals to professional, long-form content.

Securing more sought-after Hollywood entertainment also supports Google's other high-profile initiatives, such as its Android mobile platform. The same movies available on YouTube also can be rented and watched on Android smartphones and tablets through Google Play.

"Paramount Pictures is one of the biggest movie studios on the planet," Malik Ducard, YouTube's director of content partnerships, said in an e-mailed statement. "We're thrilled to bring nearly 500 of their movies in the U.S. and Canada on YouTube and Google Play."

YouTube already reached on-demand agreements with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Studios.

What's most interesting about YouTube's movie rental agreement with Paramount is that it occurred at all.

Paramount's corporate parent, Viacom Inc., sought last fall to revive its $1-billion lawsuit against YouTube over the alleged unauthorized posting of clips from popular TV shows to the site from 2005 to 2008. Arguments were heard last October in the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, although no verdict has been rendered.

A U.S. District Court ruled in June 2010 that YouTube was protected from such infringement claims because of the "safe harbor" provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The Paramount Pictures arrangement, which one person familiar with the situation confirmed, is not without precedent: MTV , Nickelodeon and Comedy Central all have channels on YouTube.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ente...paramount.html

Thanks for the enlightenment -- yes, I did drop c-band before HD completely replaced SD -- I bow to your updated knowledge.

On the other hand, I am right about dropping the affliates....

I could care less about OWN but I do like the Hub

My kids love the Hub. Hope it sticks around.

2012 NFL Preseason Schedule National TV Games:

Hall of Fame Game
Sunday, Aug. 5 Arizona vs. New Orleans in Canton, Ohio NFL Network (8 p.m. ET)

Week 1
Thursday, Aug. 9 Green Bay at San Diego ESPN (8 p.m. ET)
Monday, Aug. 13 Dallas at Oakland ESPN (8 p.m. ET)

Week 2
Thursday, Aug. 16 Cincinnati at Atlanta FOX (8 p.m. ET)
Friday, Aug. 17 Detroit at Baltimore FOX (8 p.m. ET)
Sunday, Aug. 19 Indianapolis at Pittsburgh NBC (8 p.m. ET)
Monday, Aug. 20 Philadelphia at New England ESPN (8 p.m. ET)

Week 3
Thursday, Aug. 23 Arizona at Tennessee ESPN (8 p.m. ET)
Friday, Aug. 24 Chicago at N.Y. Giants CBS (8 p.m. ET)
Saturday, Aug. 25 Houston at New Orleans CBS (8 p.m. ET)
Sunday, Aug. 26 San Francisco at Denver FOX (4 p.m. ET)
Sunday, Aug. 26 Carolina at N.Y. Jets NBC (8 p.m. ET)

Full sched for all teams:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d..._breaking_news

TV Review
Planet Green Rebrands as Destination America
New Discovery network will launch May 28 with food/travel/adventure programming
By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/4/2012 10:48:44 AM

Discovery Communications will rebrand its Planet Green network as Destination America on Memorial Day (May 28), it announced Wedneday.

The re-named channel "will be the first network to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States, emblazoned with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation," according to the announcement.

Destination America will target adults 25-54 with genres like natural history, food, travel, home and adventure, and be available in 59 million homes at launch. Henry Schleiff will be the president and GM of the network, in addition to holding that title at Investigation Discovery and Military Channel.

"Americans may be divided by politics, but we are united by our love of country," Schleiff said in a statement. "As a network inclusive to all, Destination America will celebrate this connective spirit by curating the common ground among us: the pluck of the worn saddle, the promise of exploring new territory, and the diversity that has made this nation great."

Destination America's initial summer programming slate includes a new season of BBQ Pitmasters; Fast Food Mania, where host Jon Hein travels in search of the most unusual fast food items and outposts; Super-Duper Thrill Rides, an hour-long series on the most extreme roller coasters; United States of Food, a celebration of America's obsession with meat; Cheating Las Vegas, a look at some of the most elaborate scams in modern casino gaming; and Ghost Town Gold, which explores the Wild West for collectible artifacts.

Planet Green launched in 2008 as a dedicated network for ecology and environmental programming, replacing Discovery Home. Despite efforts to broaden the channel's programming, the network struggled to breakout and a rebrand was expected.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...on_America.php

Whoa, a pre-season nationally televised DAY game. Not sure I've ever seen that before. My Cowboys' first game isn't until 8/13 . Thats the latest pre-season opener I've ever seen. And it looks like NBC is no longer interested in the hall of fame game (Edit: Oh, I bet the Olympic are still going on then).

^^^ You might be right about the NBC Olympic schedule creeping into the NFL pre-season schedule. On the other hand, it's pre-season football. Who bleeping cares?

TV Notes
Fox stages 'That '70s Show' reunion
By Lynette Rice, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - Apr. 4, 2012

EXCLUSIVE: Ashton Kutcher may be one of the highest paid actors on TV right now but he hasn't forgotten his roots: EW has learned exclusively that the star of Two and a Half Men will join Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama for a That '70s Show reunion during Fox's 25th Anniversary Special, airing April 22 on the network.

Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans will also share stories about their funniest sketches from In Living Color during the two-hour special that will feature Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest and Steven Tyler from American Idol, Kiefer Sutherland from 24 and Touch, and Seth MacFarlane from Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad.

Previously announced participants include Christina Applegate, David Faustino, Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal from MarriedWith Children, Calista Flockhart from Ally McBeal, Gabrielle Carteris, Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley and Ian Ziering from Beverly Hills, 90210, Patrick Warburton from The Tick, and Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and creator Chris Carter from The X-Files. A host for the special will be announced later.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/04/04/fo...ion-exclusive/

TV Notes
HBO to Debut Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' June 24
'True Blood's fifth season premieres June 10
By Tim Baysinger, Broadcasting & Cable - Apr. 4, 2012

HBO will premiere Aaron Sorkin's cable news drama, The Newsroom on June 24 at 10 p.m., the network confirmed Wednesday.

The Newsroom centers around a fictional cable news network, whose lead anchor (Jeff Daniels) suffers a very public meltdown, and works to regain his credibility with viewers. The series also stars Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn and Sam Waterston. The show's first season is slated for 10 episodes.

On June 10, HBO will debut the fifth season of True Blood at its regular 9 p.m. timeslot. This will be the last season that creator Alan Ball will serve as showrunner.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...om_June_24.php

TV Notes
Why Is NBC Burning Off Episodes of the New Show Bent?
By Josef Adalian, New York Magazine's 'Vulture' Blog - Apr. 4, 2012

If you didn't notice that NBC had been airing an Amanda Peet sitcom called Bent Wednesdays at 9 p.m. for the last two weeks, don't worry: Hardly anybody else did, either. Last week's back-to-back episodes of the half-hour comedy averaged a mere 2.4 million viewers, drawing a smaller audience than a repeat of The Big Bang Theory on TBS airing the same night. The new show's last two of six episodes will air tonight — NBC raced through the series in record time, the broadcast equivalent of "Keep it moving, nothing to see here … " — and then Bent will disappear from the lineup, almost certainly never to be seen again on the network.

Insiders have insisted to Vulture that this rom-com about mismatched lovers Peet and David Walton was actually highly regarded by Peacock brass, and yet NBC quickly rushed Bent on and off the air, burning through the show two episodes at a time in a crappy Wednesday time slot with hardly any promotion, making its low ratings a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why would a network essentially toss away a show it paid for? And why not postpone it until summer when there is less competition and it stood more of a chance? Believe it or not, there actually are three unavoidable reasons for why NBC had no other options that are grounded in TV economics and scheduling. Class is in session!

First, the view from inside the Peacock: An NBC source tells Vulture that the decision to double-pump the largely well-reviewed show was not designed to burn it off more quickly. Instead, the programming theory was viewers might get sucked in if they were able to see bigger chunks of the show at once, with the relationship between Peet and Walton evolving more quickly. (TV Guide magazine's Matt Roush backed up that theory by labeling Bent the "sort of funky offbeat comedy that grows on you, so watching more than one episode at a sitting turns out to be a good thing.") Okay, assuming that was the plan, Bent still seemed set up to fail, considering that it was slotted on Wednesdays in the middle of spring with virtually no promo budget, opposite American Idol and ABC's similarly hip Happy Endings. And the disastrous ratings have borne that out.

This leads to some reasonable questions about the way NBC ultimately treated the show it says it loved. Such as:

Why not save it for the summer, when there's less competition? Had the Peacock chosen to do this, it would have had to extend its “option” on the show's cast and producers beyond the usual May 31 expiration date, keeping them legally bound to Bent until after it wrapped its theoretical summer run in July or August. This could have easily been a seven-figure expenditure and is something networks rarely do, usually only when big talent is involved or when a network is doing very well in the ratings and can afford to take a gamble. (CBS did just this a few years back with the underrated summer series Swingtown.) The fact that NBC didn't decide to air Bent in the summer actually bolsters the argument that the network once possessed at least some hope the show could find a pulse. Had it simply delayed Bent until summer without paying the extra coin to extend its hold, NBC would've been saying, “Yeah, we're burning this off.” (Also, for any pilot-season nerds wondering: Technically, nobody from Bent can sign up for any 2012–13 pilots until June 1 without technically risking NBC calling them back to the show.) Given how the show has done, however, we're pretty sure the Peacock won't hold them to their deals.

Wednesdays are so competitive. Why not try Bent out during NBC's Thursday comedy block? Yes, it would have resulted in more media buzz and exposed Bent to NBC's core comedy audience. Unfortunately, the night is already overcrowded: Both Community and 30 Rock are in no-repeat mode through May, while The Office is an anchor that doesn't move. An early exit for Up All Night might have worked, but that would've meant putting an unproven newbie in front of new drama Awake, which is already struggling even with a semi-established lead-in.

There were barely any ads for Bent. Why not actually tell people this show is on? More marketing money is usually a good thing and is valuable in building awareness of a new show, particularly one without any huge stars attached. (Peet is a known quantity, but doesn't get that "Oh my God, _____ is returning to TV!" buzz … except with Studio 60 fans who are crossing their fingers that the show will involve another love affair that is indistinguishable from crazy stalking.) But when a network is as far down in the dumps as NBC is, it doesn't have unlimited resources. Peacock chief Bob Greenblatt already had a full plate of priorities this winter and spring: relaunching The Voice, rolling out Smash and Awake, testing out new reality concept Fashion Star. He had to make choices, and as much as he might have liked Bent, he doesn't have a bottomless pit of money with which to promote shows. It's also possible that while Greenblatt liked Bent, he may have liked another midseason comedy more: Best Friends Forever, the female buddy starring Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham that premieres tonight. While BFF is not getting the Smash treatment, NBC has taken out ads for the show and put it behind its new Betty White "comedy" Off Their Rockers, which did decently when it was previewed back in January.

And so, despite love from NBC execs and a good number of critics, Bent will air its final two episodes on NBC tonight, likely joining the long list of decent shows that never got past their first season. About the only way the show will survive is if an outlet like Netflix suddenly decides it wants to pick up the show. Okay, who wants to start that rumor?

http://www.vulture.com/2012/04/why-i...s-of-bent.html

TV Notes
Supernatural' Taps New Co-Showrunner
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Apr. 4, 2012

EXCLUSIVE: There is a change afoot at the helm of the CW's veteran drama series Supernatural. Sera Gamble, who has been with the show since the beginning, serving as co-showrunner alongside Robert Singer for the past two seasons, will be stepping down. Word is that she opted not to renew her contract to focus on development.

Jeremy Carver, executive producer/co-showrunner of Syfy's Being Human, is joining Supernatural as an executive producer and will co-run the series with Singer next season. The CW has not made any formal renewal decisions yet but Supernatural is one of the network's stronger ratings performers and is fully expected to return in the fall. This marks Carver's return to Supernatural where he served as a co-producer during the 2009-10 season before leaving to co-run with his wife Anna Fricke Syfy's Being Human, which the two wrote together based on the British show. UTA-repped Carver will keep his executive producer credit on Being Human, which will now be run solo by Fricke, making them a rare couple of writer-producers showrunning two series at the same time.

Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, who stepped down as the day-to-day showrunner after the show's sixth season in 2010 when Gamble and Singer took over, remains an executive consultant.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/supe...co-showrunner/

The ABC, CBS, CW and NBC transponders, used for feeds to the affiliates are 100% FTA. There has never been a time, since they've been sending HD, whereby the HD video has been encrypted.

If any of their feeds would have encrypted, I would have known, either personally or being informed via others,.

Yep, that you are.

The affiliates have not helped their quality cause by constantly adding sub-channels, which steals bits from the HD stream. Mobile will rob even more bits.