Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information - Page 2735

The price tag is a definite concern for me. I still can't imagine paying 2 to 3 dollars for an episode of a TV show and their overall pricing is just way too expensive for me.

He is still one of the few (if not the only) announcer that works without a side-kick - without a "colorman." He speaks only to the fans. I appreciate that.

Just happened to have the tv on CBS, and Ferguson did a nice tribute to Michael Clark Duncan. Classy guy. The gentle giant will be sorely missed here.

His call of the kirk Gibson homerun in the 77(?) series was probably the greatest broadcast moment I"ve ever seen live. They show the homer all the time but not Vince's call of it for some reason. Sheer poetry-the man could take something as mundane as play by play and turn it into art

I think it was game 1, 1988

And who can ever forget...

"...BEHIND THE BAG! IT GETS THROUGH BUCKNER!!!"

Critic's Notes
Bianculli's Best Bets
By David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com - Sep. 5, 2012

2012 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
C-SPAN, 12:00 p.m. ET
C-SPAN doesn't have to prove how good it is at covering political conventions. But every four years, for two weeks, it makes its case and affirms its place as the channel to turn to for unadulterated coverage.

2012 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Various networks, Check local listings
NBC isn't covering the covention tonight because it has a binding contract with the NFL to show tonight's season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants but you can find coverage elsewhere. PBS begins its telecast at 8 p.m. ET, CBS and ABC have one hour of coverage, starting at 10 p.m. ET. And the cable networks CNN, CSNBC and Fox News will be discussing the North Carolina convention throughout the day.

DAMAGES
DirecTV Audience Network, 9:00 p.m. ET
Get ready for the plots on this series to finally connect, because there's not much time left for the timelines to converge. This is the pentultimate episode of the series, which means next week we'll find out whether Patty (Glenn Close) or Ellen (Rose Byrne) wins or loses, and lives or dies. Or maybe both.

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART
Comedy Central, 11:00 p.m. ET
I suppose one could argue that Jon Stewart is the comedy equivalent of C-SPAN. Like the cable public affairs network, The Daily Show team descends on the political conventions and produces exemplary programming. C-SPAN is a perfect television public service. The Daily Show isn't far behind.

THE COLBERT REPORT
Comedy Central, 11:31 p.m. ET
The Daily Show is a tough act to follow on any occasion, but especially during a convention. Yet, Stephen Colbert last week, and so far this week, is hitting home runs out of the park. Not only that, but he's pointing them out first, like Babe Ruth.

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/

TV Notes
Dick Wolf and 'Friday Night Lights'' David Hudgins to Adapt 'Injustice' for NBC
By Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter - Sep. 5, 2012

Dick Wolf is back in business at NBC.

The Law & Order honcho is teaming with Friday Night Lights' David Hudgins to adapt the hit ITV series Injustice, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The intricate legal drama centers on a devoted attorney with a very dark past buried deep in his psyche and his heart. The attorney is juggling a complicated family situation with his emotionally conflicted feelings about representing heinous criminals.

The British format, created by Anthony Horowitz, ran as a limited series starring James Purefoy in summer 2011. For the Wolf Films iteration, which is set up at Universal Television, Hudgins will write and executive produce alongside EPs Wolf, Danielle Gelber and Peter Jankowski. Horowitz and Jill Green, a fellow producer on the U.K. original, are attached as producers.

Wolf, who is behind this summer's NBC reality effort Stars Earn Stripes and this fall's action drama Chicago Fire, is repped by WME, 3 Arts and Ziffren Brittenham; Hudgins, who counts Parenthood among his credits, is repped by UTA.

The news comes nearly half a year after Hudgins inked a new overall deal with Universal TV.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dick-wolf-injustice-friday-night-lights-american-adaptation-367888

TV Notes
Starz Announces 'White Queen' Adaptation
By Tim Molloy, TheWrap.com - Sep. 4, 2012

Starz announced the new original 10-episode series "The White Queen," based on Philippa Gregory’s series of best-selling novels set during the Wars of the Roses.

Colin Callender will executive produce the series and serve a similar role for the second season of Starz' "Magic City" as part of a larger two-year agreement through his company, Playground. Callender worked previously with Starz CEO Chris Albrecht at HBO, where Callender was one of the founders of HBO’s Programming Group. Albrecht praised him as a "world-class movie and televison visionary."

The series stars Max Irons as Edward IV, who is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator Lord Warwick (James Frain). When he falls in love with beautiful widow and commoner Elizabeth Woodville (played by Rebecca Ferguson), his plans for domination begin to collapse.

Starz has secured all U.S. domestic and worldwide multiplatform distribution rights to “The White Queen” from ALL3Media International. The deal was brokered by managing director Louise Pedersen on behalf of sister company producer Company Pictures. Starz retains all global rights, with the exception of television rights in the UK, where the series will air on BBC One, and some TV/home video rights in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The novels “The White Queen,” “The Red Queen” and “The Kingmaker’s Daughter” make up Gregory's “Cousins' War” series.

"Phillipa Gregory’s novels have become runaway best sellers with passionate fans the world over, making this a project ripe for reimagining," said Carmi Zlotnik, managing director of original programming for Starz. "The period of England’s Wars of the Roses makes for a sensational historical backdrop as a time fraught with violence, mystery and intrigue."

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/starz-announces-white-queen-adaptation-54551

TV Sports
Who's in, who's out of NFL TV coverage
By Michael Hiestand, USA Today - Sep. 5, 2012

As NFL broadcasters were breaking training camp — after sweating through gallons of TV pancake makeup — rosters were being finalized Tuesday.

CBS said its coverage would include Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon who operated on Tom Brady in 2008, as a medical analyst. And ESPN, spokesman Bill Hofheimer said, will announce today that ex-NFL player Brian Dawkins will be added as an analyst on studio shows.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said the idea was not for ElAttrache, the Los Angeles Dodgers' team physician, to opine on long-term injury issues. CBS won't restrict him from that, McManus said, but the surgeon — who'll appear from Los Angeles rather than being in the New York studio — will talk on an as-needed basis about recovery time.

Besides Dawkins, ESPN will make other changes. Chris Berman's Sunday highlight voice-overs on Monday Night Football halftimes will move to the late Sunday SportsCenter. In its place Monday will be an NFL Films-produced Soundtracks feature focusing on in-game audio from Sunday games.

What else is on tap so you can prep for TV football fantasy league drafts:

•Fox: Michael Strahan will try to pull the biggest two-step since Deion Sanders shuffled between playing football and baseball. Except Strahan, staying on the Fox NFL Sunday studio show, will have to tackle cooking segments as Regis Philbin's replacement on ABC's weekday Live! with Kelly Ripa.

But it'll be no problem. Fox's studio show — also adding comedian Rob Riggle to replace Frank Caliendo— is meant to be showbiz with a football flavor. As long as Strahan doesn't freeze when he's supposed to make jokes about Terry Bradshaw or, say, talk about Tim Tebow.

Also, Fox telestrators during games now will include Player Pointer graphics identifying players being highlighted. And ex-NFL coach Mike Martz and ex-NFL player Heath Evans have become game analysts, replacing Jim L. Mora and Chad Pennington.

Erin Andrews, at Fox from ESPN, is hosting Fox's college football but becomes an NFL sideline reporter starting on Thanksgiving. Until then, she'll do taped NFL pregame features, starting with a sit-down Sunday with the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers.

•ESPN: It doubles down on MNF analyst Jon Gruden, as the former and possibly future NFL coach gets a two-man booth with Mike Tirico.

Former MNF sidekick Ron Jaworski joins various studio shows.

New studio analysts include ex-players Matt Light and Jason Taylor and ex-front office exec Bill Polian. Analysts Kordell Stewart and Jon Ritchie exit.

And Bill Parcells will now appear on the Sunday pregame shows.

Then there's this Twitter eruption-in-waiting: Berman calls his first live regular-season NFL game action. Because MNF opens with a doubleheader, ESPN annually comes up with a creative on-air team for the second game, which this year is San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders at 10:15 p.m. ET. Berman will call it with Trent Dilfer. To prep, Berman called exhibition action, and the Earth remained on its axis. But Mayans, or at least some in the blogosphere, predict earth-shaking cataclysms when Berman does a real game.

•NBC: Ex-NFL player Hines Ward becomes a Sunday night pregame analyst at game sites and occasionally in the New York studio.

•NFL Network: Of course, it's so obvious once you hear it. Rather than just tuning into NFL Network's four-hour Sunday pregame show cold, you need a two-hour pre-pregame show to warm up. That's finally here as NFL Network adds Firston the Field at 7 a.m. ET. Eventually, Sunday pregame shows will start in the offseason.

•CBS: The network largely stands pat, although reporter Jason La Canfora, replacing Charley Casserly, takes on the unenviable job of trying to break news tidbits on the pregame show after everybody has chewed on the NFL all week. Breathlessness required.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/story/2012-09-04/Whos-in--whos-out-of-NFL-TV-coverage/57587488/1

Harry Kalas. "IT'S OUTTA HERE!"

Growing up, and now back living in central North Dakota, my exposure to MLB was limited. I was around 9 or 10 years-old and watching Vin Scully call The Game of the Week on NBC.

I was tuning in just for that, knowing that Craig and Michael were good friends and always funny together, but I got no audio from WRAL here, so I missed it. Thankfully the internet still works, so here's Craig introducing the clip of MCD on the show last night. What a charming and funny guy he was.

Yes. October 15, 1988. Game One versus Oakland. Bottom of the 9th. Two out. One runner on. 3-2 pitch. Dennis Eckersley on the mound. Scully's call at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk_Gibson%27s_1988_World_Series_home_run#Vin_Scully

...or with audio/video at YouTube. I have Scully's call on my DVR (from a "10-best" show last year.)

TV Notes
NBC Pulls ‘Saving Hope’, Will Air Last Two Episodes Online
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Sep. 5, 2012

After a shift to Saturdays, drama Saving Hope is on the move again at NBC, this time to the Internet. The network is pulling the last two episodes of the Canadian-produced medical drama, which will air on nbc.com. Saving Hope‘s slot will be filled by America’s Got Talent repeats.

In its last airing on Thursday, the series starring Erica Durance drew 2.5 million viewers and a 0.5/1 in adults 18-49. The Entertainment One-produced show has already been renewed for a second season in Canada.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/09/nbc-pulls-saving-hope-will-air-last-two-episodes-online/

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)
Gordon Ramsay dices up a win for Fox
'MasterChef' tops the night with a 2.7 in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Sep. 5, 2012

Last night Fox’s Gordon Ramsay reality shows were hot stuff.

The Democratic National Convention wasn’t.

“MasterChef” led the night with a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen, down from last week’s season-high 2.8 but pacing Fox to No. 1 for the night.

Lead-in “Hell’s Kitchen” averaged a 2.5 at 8 p.m., off 14 percent from a season high last week. It was the night’s No. 2 show.

NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” the night’s No. 3 show, averaged a 2.3 from 8 to 10, down 0.1 from last week.

At 10 p.m., the Big Three’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention fell sharply from 2008, when the excitement around Barack Obama, the party’s first African American presidential nominee, was at a fever pitch.

Last night the three networks combined for a 2.6. Four years ago they averaged a 3.9.

NBC News led the coverage with a 1.3, equaling the combined total for ABC (0.7) and CBS (0.6).

Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with a 2.6 average overnight rating and a 7 share. NBC was second at 1.9/5, Univision third at 1.5/4, CBS fourth at 0.9/3, ABC fifth at 0.7/2, Telemundo sixth at 0.6/2 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-five percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 2.5 for "Hell's Kitchen," followed by NBC with a 2.2 for "America's Got Talent." Univision was third with a 1.5 for "Por Ella Soy Eva," CBS fourth with a 1.2 for a repeat of "NCIS," ABC fifth with a 0.8 for repeats of "The Middle" and "Last Man Standing," Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for "Rosa Diamante" and CW seventh with a 0.3 for a repeat of "Hart of Dixie."

Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 2.7 for "MasterChef," while NBC remained second with a 2.4 for more "Talent." Univision was third with a 1.6 for "Abismo de Pasion," CBS fourth with a 1.0 for a rerun of "NCIS: Los Angeles," ABC fifth with a 0.7 for repeats of "Happy Endings" and "Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23," Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for "Corazon Valiente" and CW seventh with a 0.2 for a repeat of "The Next."

At 10 p.m. NBC and Univision tied for first a 1.3, NBC for convention coverage and Univision for "Amor Bravio." ABC was third with a 0.7 for its convention coverage, and CBS and Telemundo tied for third at 0.6, CBS for the convention and Telemundo for "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal" (0.8) and "El Rostro de la Venganza" (0.5).

NBC led the night among households with a 4.7 average overnight rating and a 7 share. CBS was second at 3.9/6, Fox third at 3.7/6, ABC and Univision tied for fourth at 1.9/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.7/1 and CW seventh at 0.4/1.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/gordon-ramsay-dices-up-a-win-for-fox/

Nielsen Notes
The Big Losers (and Rare Winners) of Summer TV
By Josef Adalian, Vulture.com (New York Magazine) - Sep. 5, 2012

Cruel summer, bummer summer, dog days of summer: Pick a cliché (any cliché!) and it probably serves as an apt description of just how awful the warm-weather months have been for most of the broadcast networks, and even a few of their cable brethren. Sure, NBC's Olympics coverage performed spectacularly well. But according to Nielsen, ABC, CBS, and Fox were all down by double digits in overall viewership between Memorial Day and Labor Day, while basic cable as a whole was down about 5 percent versus 2011. If you take out the London Games, even NBC ends up in negative territory. So what happened?

The broadcast networks, which used to spend their summer in a rerun haze, seemed to get serious about the so-called "off-season" about a decade ago. This was after cable started stealing away audiences with well-crafted scripted series, and unscripted shows such as Survivor and American Idol proved audiences could be lured back from the beach with compelling fare. But lately, the nets have gotten lazy about summer again, relying on reality warhorses that recycle the same tired production techniques each year (sorry, Big Brother) or trotting out allegedly "new" shows which are actually just copycats of bigger formats (that would be most of ABC's unscripted offerings this summer). With broadcasters seemingly uninterested in innovation, the result was almost predictable: Viewers grew uninterested in the nets. Cable, meanwhile, did a little better, but there are troublesome signs there, too. Vulture crunched the data from the season gone by and came up with a few lessons TV insiders might do well to learn if they want to avoid getting burned again next summer:

Harsh Reality

Apparently you can overdo it on guilty pleasures: Some of summer's biggest unscripted staples took a tumble this year, with viewers possibly growing weary of the same stale storytelling and reality show gimmicks. CBS's Big Brother, which had long defied ratings gravity, fell to 6.7 million weekly viewers, a drop of nearly 20 percent from last year. More disturbingly, Julie Chen's Circus of Cray-Cray has lost nearly a quarter of its under-50 viewership while collapsing 35 percent with those under 35 (older viewers are apparently a little more loyal). Meanwhile, over at NBC, adding Howard Stern didn't boost America's Got Talent: The variety contest is down 20 percent in overall viewership (11.3 million) and it's currently tracking about 18 percent down vs. last summer in the under-50 demo the Peacock prizes. Even watching folks fall flat on their butts doesn't hold the thrill it once did: ABC's Wipeout, a summer soldier that now seems to air year-round, has seen its Nielsen numbers take a punch in the gut, with overall viewership down 17 percent (and now below 6 million).

But it's not only the aging summer tentpoles that are sagging this year. The sophomore season of ABC's Bachelor Pad is so far down nearly 40 percent vs. summer 2011, while NBC's second year of Love in the Wild drew even fewer eyeballs than its disappointing-but-renewed-anyway first season. Likewise, a slew of new unscripted contenders unveiled this summer drew ratings that fall into one of two categories: "Flop" (Take Me Out, The Choice, Duets) and "Really Big Flop" (Glass House, 3, Dogs in the City). Considering how low everything sunk, it’s no wonder that Got Talent is still the most-watched weekly series on broadcast this summer, while Big Brother, despite being evicted from Nielsen's top ten, is still in the top twenty among viewers under 50.

Not every network reality franchise had a bummer summer. Fox's Ramsay-riffic combo of the long-running Hell's Kitchen and the newer Masterchef did okay on Mondays and Tuesdays. The net's two weekly airings of Kitchen eased a mild 6 percent vs. 2011, while the double dose of Masterchef is up about 12 percent among viewers under 50. ABC's Bachelorette matched last summer's adults 18-49 rating and actually inched up 4 percent with viewers under 35. And while So You Think You Can Dance lost some of its pop culture buzz by shrinking to one night, the reduction seems to have been a wise move, with its viewer declines in the mid-single digits.

Whistlin' Dixie pays.

Starting with the ginormous tune-in for May's Hatfields & McCoys, it's been a southern-fried summer on cable. The six-hour History miniseries drew an average audience of roughly 17 million viewers for its three broadcasts, shattering cable records and underlining just how much of an audience there is for programming targeted at fly-over states. Not long after, TNT successfully resurrected Dallas; while its overall numbers aren't huge, it did well enough to end up among the five most-watched new cable shows this summer. Another top-five freshman: VH1's Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta, which could end up the No. 1 new cable series this summer among viewers under 50. And then there's Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, which has been adding viewers since its debut last month and last week averaged about 3 million viewers (and, unlike the stats cited for most of the shows in this story, that number doesn't include a week's worth of DVR tune-in). The train wreck of a show is doing particularly well with women 18-34, last week outdrawing Fox's SYTYCD in that demo. Can a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger be far off? What if it gave Walker a grossly overweight sidekick with a kid who says the durndest things but whose future makes you anticipatorily sad? You’re welcome for the free idea, Hollywood!

USA! USA! TNT?

Despite a slow start, USA's roster of blue-sky dramas rallied by summer's end and allowed the network to claim cable's summer ratings crown for the seventh consecutive year. (Adding an extra hour of WWE on Mondays helped). But it was far from a blowout: USA's overall audience eroded by nearly 20 percent vs. 2011. And while vets such as Burn Notice and Suits continued to do solid business, USA's newcomers didn't do as well: Common Law barely made the list of the top ten new cable series of the summer, while Political Animals majorly struck out on Sundays. While USA sagged, arch-rival TNT surged this summer, with its prime-time ratings growing by nearly 10 percent. The network got a boost from the final season of The Closer, its spin-off Major Crimes, and its successful (if older-skewing, and slightly overhyped) reboot of Dallas. Sophomore sci-fi thriller Falling Skies also did very well with viewers under 50.

As a result of changing fortunes, the once-yawning summer ratings gap between USA and TNT has all but evaporated. Last year, USA's average prime-time audience of roughly 3.6 million viewers represented over 1 million more viewers than TNT's 2.5 million. This summer, with USA down to about 3 million viewers and TNT up to 2.8 million, the gap is down to around 250,000. The good news for USA is that it remains a year-round Nielsen powerhouse and still has more big scripted cable hits than any other network. But if TNT can keep up this summer's momentum, we could be on the verge of a major power shift in the cable world.

Cable is not immune from viewer erosion.

The honeymoon's over for cable. During the aughts (or whatever the hell we end up calling the first ten years of this century), cable's PR machine regularly cranked out press releases every year noting how its summertime originals — from USA's blue-sky dramedies to HBO's powerhouse Sex and the City — were stealing away market share from the broadcast nets. By 2002, the aggregate audience for the dozens of cable channels out there surpassed that of the broadcast nets, and it's generally kept growing since then. But as noted above, basic cable lost about 5 percent of its audience this summer vs. 2011. Broadcasters obviously didn't steal it back, so it's clear cablers are getting hit by some of the same things draining network audiences: Netflix, video on demand, DVRs.

It's also clear that as more and more nets jump into original programming (even The Weather Channel offers "reality" shows these days), cable has begun eating itself. No wonder, then, that among viewers under 50, half of cable's ten biggest nets had down summers. In addition to USA's big declines, Discovery saw its ratings dive nearly 25 percent in the younger demo, while ABC Family was off about 16 percent and FX (even with the boost from Charlie Sheen's successful "comedy" Anger Management) saw its overall primetime ratings drop by 7 percent. MTV also got a preview of life sans Jersey Shore: Without the boost it got from GTL last summer, the network's numbers with folks under 50 plummeted by nearly 25 percent. Comedy Central and TLC also suffered double-digit demo declines. Still, cable shouldn't be underestimated: This summer, thanks to the massive tune-in for Hatfields & McCoys, cable's History network actually had a higher weekly Nielsen average than any of the broadcast networks. That's never happened before.

Oprah's back!

After enduring months of nitpicking from naysayers, Oprah Winfrey's OWN quietly perked up in the ratings this summer. Thanks in no small part to Winfrey's well-publicized interviews with newsmakers and celebs, the net's primetime audience surged by more than 20 percent in both overall viewers and in key demo groups. And in the demo group OWN says it's targeting most — women 25-54 — the channel is up nearly 35 percent. OWN is now a top 40 cable channel, with bigger ratings among viewers under 50 than established players such as Style, Hallmark, BBC American and CNN.

The Olympics are forever.

Bitch all you want about tape delays, but the fact is, viewers couldn't get enough of NBC's Olympics coverage. The Peacock's seventeen nights of already decided, heavily edited sports action drew more than 30 million viewers each night, up 12 percent from the 2008 Games and the best ratings for a non-U.S. Olympics since Montreal in 1976. Even in an era of DVRs and live streaming, old-school network TV proved it can still draw eyeballs better than any other media out there. #NBCWins.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/09/summer-tv-ratings-olymipcs-hatfield-mccoys-honey-booboo.html

HDTV/Technolgy Notes
TV Makers Join Forces Against Smartphone Giants
By Cornelius Rahn and Jonathan Browning, The New York Times/Bloomberg News - Sep. 5, 2012

BERLIN — The rise of Apple and Google in the smartphone market has pushed Nokia and Research In Motion to the brink of irrelevance. Now, television makers are scrambling to make sure the same does not happen to them.

At the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin, Toshiba, LG Electronics and Philips Electronics said they were banding together to develop a common system that would let people listen to music, watch videos and play games via the Internet on television sets.

TV makers are wagering that mobile phone users hooked on consuming content will want the same access — and on bigger screens — when they return home. For manufacturers to hold back Apple and Google, which are both trying to take a slice of the TV market, they have to develop a joint operating system because consumers will not accept more than a few competing platforms, said Klaus Böhm, the head of the media practice at Deloitte in Düsseldorf.

“All market participants have to consider this as part of their strategy, and if they make the wrong call, they may be out of the market in a few years’ time,” he said. Apple and Google “can set de facto standards against the consensus of the market and assert themselves because of their market power and unique selling points.”

Members of the consortium, called the Smart TV Alliance, want to make sure that application developers can create offerings that run on different sets and expect additional members by the end of the year, said Olivier van Wynendaele, a product and business development manager for smart televisions at Toshiba.

“There are many platforms on the market, and that creates a lot of friction,” he said. “Everybody is trying to take a position in that market, and with players like Apple or Google, there is the threat of fragmenting the market, so it’s important to work on a common platform.”

Some manufacturers have developed their own systems.

Sony’s Bravia TV sets can stream films and songs through the Sony Entertainment Network, which also connects with the company’s Playstation console and Xperia phones.

Panasonic is at IFA showing how its Viera system allows content to be moved between the TV and tablet computers. LG’s operating system enables viewers to obtain movies from video-streaming services.

Samsung Electronics, the largest manufacturer of smart TVs, with more than 30 percent market share globally, said alliances might be more appropriate for its smaller competitors.

“Alliances may be possible but we’re not at that stage yet,” Hyun-suk Kim, the head of Samsung’s TV business, said. “Everybody is using their own platform right now, but the small companies find it very difficult to get content and services. Having a unified platform would be very helpful for the industry but I’m not sure it’s the right time” for Samsung, he said.

In the phone business, Apple has shown that it can enter and dominate a new market with its easy-to-use products and superior design.

Nokia, the former leader in the mobile-phone industry, and RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, are struggling to win back people who have been won over by Apple’s iPhone and devices that run on Google’s Android platform.

Teaming up with Google, whose Android software has become the biggest smartphone operating system, might also be an option for some TV manufacturers to counter Apple’s threat.

Sony integrates Google TV into some TV sets in North America, while in Europe it will deliver the service through a set-top box only, said Stéphane Curtelin, a TV marketing executive for the Japanese company.

“There are a lot of advantages for TV manufacturers going down that route and abandoning their own systems,” said Andrew Ladbrook, an analyst for Informa. “If Google TV is coming on, essentially just Android on TV, then there can be lots of advantages to having one common operating system across the platform.”

So far, Google TV set-top boxes and high definition TVs, produced in partnership with Sony and LG, have received lackluster reviews and an even cooler reception from customers.

In Germany alone, flat-panel TVs will make up 49 percent of the projected €12.9 billion, or $16 billion, in consumer-electronics sales this year, well ahead of digital cameras, game consoles and disc players, according to the Bitkom industry group.

The size of the market is also attracting mobile phone operators which smell a second chance after losing out to Apple and Google in selling apps to smartphone users.

Deutsche Telekom is showing in Berlin how it will let customers access its Internet-based Entertain TV offering via mobile devices. The phone company is talking to hardware and software makers about how to make different systems work together, said the company’s German chief, Niek Jan van Damme.

“For a time, people were not able to go beyond the confines of their ecosystems,” he said. “I don’t think customers will tolerate that in the future. I’m happy we were off to an early start, that’s always advantageous, but we’d also welcome cooperation with others.”

Another strategy for manufacturers could be to stay out of the content business altogether and focus on the hardware.

“Most of the manufacturers are not in the content distribution business, they have to create the store environments in a manner that keeps the consumer in the same window,” said Matt Milne, head of sales and marketing for Rovi, a provider of digital entertainment guides, which counts all the major TV manufacturers among its customers.

“They all entered the world expecting to get the additional revenue and that’s not really materialized, at least never in the way that Apple have done with the iTunes store and the iPhone,” said Mr. Ladbrook, of Informa. “Only Apple and Sony have their own content. They’re the only ones that can make money. The rest are acting as gatekeepers.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/technology/06iht-srtvs06.html

TV Notes
TNT Orders Dwayne Johnson Reality Series
By Philiana Ng, The Hollywood Reporter's 'Live Feed' Blog - Sep. 5, 2012

TNT has greenlighted an unscripted series featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Tentatively titled The Hero, from Ben Silverman's Electus and 5x5 Media, it's a new reality competition series that will set out to find the next great hero. Johnson has been tapped to host the eight-episode series and will executive produce with producing partner Dany Garcia.

Slated for a January premiere, The Hero will bring 10 ordinary people together in a house and then assign them various missions that will test their brains, their brawn and even their morality. The show will challenge the competitors to prove they've got what it takes to be heroes, pushing them to the limits to see what they are willing (and able) to overcome, undergo or sacrifice for the sake of their fellow contestants.

The new reality series, which joins cable-mate The Great Escape, will actively include social media into the show's DNA. Each week, viewers will vote for the contestant they deem "most heroic."

"The Hero is a great fit for TNT's drama fans, whether they enjoy stories with a lot of action, suspense and danger or stories that offer inspiration through the heroic actions of everyday people," said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies. "We're also very excited about the extensive social-media aspect of The Hero, which will engage viewers on an entirely new level and develop a strong emotional investment in the competitors and challenges."

Johnson will appear in upcoming films G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Pain & Gain, Empire State and the sixth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. He has appeared in Journey 2: Mysterious Island, Fast Five and The Other Guys. On the television side, Johnson has guested on Family Guy and Saturday Night Live and appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw.

The Hero was created by Craig Armstrong and Rick Ringbakk of 5x5, along with Charles Wachter and Silverman.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tnt-dwayne-johnson-the-hero-368095

Nielsen Notes (Cable)
'Doctor Who' premiere breaks BBC America ratings record
By James Hibberd, TheWrap.com - Sep. 5, 2012

Way to go Doctor Who!

The Brit sci-fi series just delivered its most-watched telecast ever on BBC America for its latest season premiere. The Saturday telecast was seen by 1.6 million viewers, which is both a time period high and a series best for the show since it started airing on the network in 2009. Not bad for a program that’s nearly four decades old (if you count its various incarnations). Doctor Who, which also recently enjoyed an Entertainment Weekly cover story (not that we’re taking credit or anything), was up 23 percent from its 2011 premiere.

The debut was accompanied by the third episode of BBC America’s new drama Copper, which is delivering about a million viewers.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/09/05/doctor-who-ratings/

Business Notes
CBS, Cablevision Renew Carriage Agreement
By Tim Molloy, TheWrap.com - Sep. 5, 2012

In case you were worried, Cablevision customers, your CBS-owned stations aren't going anywhere.

Cablevision and CBS Corporation announced Wednesday the renewal of their content carriage agreements for CBS-owned stations including CBS, Showtime, the Smithsonian Channel and CBS Sports Network.

Most Cablevision subscribers are in the New York tri-state market, but Cablevision customers in the Philadelphia and Denver markets are also covered. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

“Cablevision is a cornerstone partner in our flagship market. By recognizing the value of our content, this agreement assures the audiences we share with Cablevision will continue to be able to enjoy programming ranging from 'The Big Bang Theory' to 'NCIS,' '60 Minutes' to the NFL, 'Homeland' to 'Dexter,' to Smithsonian Channel’s award-winning programs and Jim Rome,” said Martin Franks, executive vice president for planning, policy and government relations for CBS Corporation.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/cbs-cablevision-renew-carriage-agreement-54716

TV Notes
Bob Barker snubbed by 'Price Is Right' anniversary show
By Ann Oldenburg, USA Today - Sep. 5, 2012

The 40th anniversary special of The Price Is Right aired Tuesday morning.

And if you tuned in, you didn't see Bob Barker.

He hosted TV's longest running game show for 35 years, but he wasn't invited to participate in the game show's 40th-anniversary special, reports AP's Sandy Cohen.

The 88-year-old TV personality says the show's producers "chose to ignore me, which is fine."

The special episode featured returning contestants from the past four decades, and even showed Barker in several clips, but the legendary host of the show was not invited to appear on the program or attend the taping.

He insists he's fine with not being included in the anniversary episode, but said, "When you celebrate a 40th anniversary, you would think you'd have the fellow who did the show for 35 years there." In an interview with AP on Tuesday, he added, "They haven't even offered me a DVD."

Show producers had no comment, reports AP.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2012/09/bob-barker-snubbed-by-price-is-right-anniversary-show/1

Bull-crap. OTA networks are just as bad as everyone else when it comes to commercial loads. The average is around 18 minutes of commercials/promos. No different than many cable channels. But, The CW is the worst of the lot, with commercial/promo time doing around 19 minutes per hour. At times, an hour show was less than 40 minutes.

The snipes aren't as bad, I'll give you that. But program lengths are just as bad.

Critic's Notes
Bianculli's Best Bets
By David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com - Aug. 30, 2012

2012 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
C-SPAN, 2:00 p.m. ET
Now more than ever, Americans need to be politically aware. And C-SPAN offers the opportunity to see gavel-to-gavel convention coverage without chatty pundits and unnecessary interruptive interviews. Enjoy.

2012 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Various networks, Check local listings
NBC skipped convention coverage for NFL football last night and is making up for it with two hours of convention coverage tonight, starting at 9 p.m. ET. It's a good night for expanded coverage, because viewers will get to see more of the build-up that proceeds the president's nomination speech. President Obama will have to really shine to outperform First Lady Michele Obama, who's speech Tuesday was the most inspirational speech to date. As far as the other channels: PBS begins its telecast at 8 p.m. ET, CBS and ABC have one hour of coverage, starting at 10 p.m. ET. And the cable networks CNN, CSNBC and Fox News will be discussing the North Carolina convention throughout the day.

2012 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS
MTV, 12:00 a.m. ET
When it comes to VMA presenters and winners, the on-stage unpredictibility factor is always high. So is the performance quotient, with lots of live performers trying to outdo one another. (Personal note to Sarah: One Direction is on the bill.) Some viewers may tune in just to see the much-anticipated trailer for Breaking Dawn, Part 2, the final film in The Twilight Saga. And thanks to MTV's decision to move the award show's start time up one hour, you can see all this and Barack Obama's DNC speech.

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART
Comedy Central, 11:00 p.m. ET
You expect this show to be brilliantly funny about politics, but John Oliver's rant against North Carolina barbecue was worth the trip to Charlotte itself. Keep it up guys.

THE COLBERT REPORT
Comedy Central, 11:31 p.m. ET
More nightly brilliance, administered instantly and clearly, as needed. For example, Stephen Colbert's Tuesday night guest, CNN conservative and National Review blogger, Reihan Salam, got a good schooling on the difference between facts and so-called truth — from the guy who invented the genre of "truthiness."

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/

Where are you getting your statistics from? And I'm not arguing with you.

For many years, I have recorded OTA network shows and then run them through ad-filtering software. My results agree that CW was low, but not lower than NBC. ABC was also lower at about a consistent 41:15 of content. CBS and FOX are normally 42+. NBC is often 39+, especially if the show is not being renewed.

I also note that overall network ratings have a strong inverse correlation with commercial load.

WEDNESDAY'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)
NFL opener scores fifth-best rating for NBC
Game averages a 16.5 metered-market household rating
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Sep. 6, 2012

Up against the Democratic National Convention with a big-buzz speech from former President Bill Clinton, the NFL opener on NBC pulled strong ratings, if not as strong as last year.

The game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants averaged a 16.5 household rating, according to Nielsen’s metered markets, tying for the fifth-best metered-market rating ever for a regular-season primetime game on NBC.

The game was down 4 percent from last year’s kickoff between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, which averaged a 17.2.

Last year’s game aired on a Thursday, when the NFL kickoff game traditionally takes place. It was changed this year because of the Democratic National Convention, where President Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech tonight.

Elsewhere on broadcast, Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” averaged a 1.4 from 8 to 10 p.m., finishing 0.1 behind last week.

And CBS’s “Big Brother” averaged a 2.1 at 8 p.m., down 9 percent from last week.

NBC led the night among 18-49s with an 8.2 average overnight rating and a 22 share. Univision was second at 1.6/4, Fox and CBS tied for third at 1.4/4, ABC was fifth at 1.0/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.5/1 and CW seventh at 0.4/1.

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-five percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

Also, ratings for NBC's NFL coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.

NBC finished first each hour starting with a 7.0 at 8 p.m. for the end of "NFL Kickoff" (5.5) and the start of its game (8.5), followed by CBS with a 2.1 for "Brother." Univision was third with a 1.6 for "Por Ella Soy Eva," Fox fourth with a 1.4 for "Dance" and ABC fifth with a 1.0 for repeats of "The Middle" and "Suburgatory." The CW and Telemundo tied for sixth at 0.4, CW for "Oh Sit!" and Telemundo for "Rosa Diamante.”

At 9 p.m. NBC was first with a 9.2 for football, while Univision moved to second with a 1.8 for "Abismo de Pasion." Fox was third with a 1.5 for more "Dance," CBS fourth with a 1.2 for a "Criminal Minds" rerun, ABC fifth with a 1.1 for repeats of "Modern Family" and "Suburgatory," Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for "Corazon Valiente" and CW seventh with a 0.3 for a repeat of "Supernatural."

NBC was first again at 10 p.m. with an 8.4 for football, with Univision second with a 1.3 for "Amor Bravio." ABC and CBS tied for third at 0.9, each for Democratic National Convention coverage. They were both up from Tuesday’s first-night coverage. Telemundo was fifth with a 0.6 for "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal" (0.8) and "El Rostro de la Venganza" (0.5).

Among households, NBC finished first for the night with a 12.7 average overnight rating and 7 share, with CBS second at 3.3/5, Fox third at 2.6/4, ABC fourth at 2.5/4, Univision fifth at 2.0/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.7/1 and CW seventh at 0.5/1.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/nfl-opener-scores-fifth-best-rating-for-nbc/