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TV Review
'Storage Wars: New York' (A&E)
Prospecting for Treasure Behind Urban Padlocks
By Joe Caramanica, The New York Times - Jan. 1, 2013

I moved into my current apartment in November 2001, on the heels of the Sept. 11 attacks, boxing everything up for a move away from downtown Manhattan to an equally spacious but less forgivingly laid out place uptown. As part of the move I exiled some things to a storage outfit in Nassau County, N.Y., and there the pile rested, a ghost whose existence was proved only by the monthly checks I’ve written ever since.

I never visited the space and long ago forgot what was there. I was never nervous about that situation, though, until the premiere of “Storage Wars” in 2010. Here was an entire cottage industry built upon detritus much like mine, left behind and — when unpaid for — gobbled up by voracious prospectors who would swoop in, buy it for a steal, then reap huge profits.

I began to panic a little. Maybe my storage company was counting on my evident indifference, cashing my checks Snidely Whiplash style, knowing that behind the padlocked door of my unit, there was only air, because my things had long ago ended up in the hands of someone like the stars of “Storage Wars: New York,” which has its premiere with a pair of episodes Tuesday night.

The original “Storage Wars” is a marvel of casting, not action. What little happens on the show — bidding on lockers, disinterring things from lockers, establishing value for things in lockers — is enlivened by the characters. Dave Hester is a mean, free-spending mogul; Barry Weiss, a charismatic, eccentric collector who drives restored vintage cars; Darrell Sheets, a lumbering goof; and Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante, a brash-but-loving young couple.

Many of those archetypes spill over to the New York spinoff, which gives it a reassuring patina. The macher figure is Joe Pauletich, who goes by Joe P and comes off as a well-aged hippie with a vicious tactician streak. He is likely to do battle with the mouthy Mike Braiotta, who in the premiere chugs Pepto-Bismol from the bottle and jaws more than he bids. The other buyers are two dippy vintage-clothing enthusiasts, Candy Olsen and Courtney Wagner, and the owners of the Frayed Knot, a vintage-furniture store in Hoboken, N.J., Chris Morelli and Tad Eaton.

They all convene on a Moishe’s Self Storage in Brooklyn, but what happens inside is pretty negligible. Instead, stay for the archetypes. The quiet killer Joe P establishes order, Mr. Braiotta brings acidity, and the others behave less like auction participants than like people who are aware that they’re starring in a show about auction participants.

(Given Mr. Hester’s recent lawsuit against A&E asserting that much of the original “Storage Wars” is staged, there may be some truth to this.)

Still, the show is better cast than the Texas edition, which arrived last year and remains catastrophically low-stakes and dull. (Let us not speak of “Shipping Wars” or “Barter Kings,” charmless de facto sister shows that rely on the perceived value of arbitrary items.)

With the arrival of “Storage Wars: New York” nigh, a reckoning with my storage unit was due. After an onerous, traffic-heavy midday drive out through Queens one recent afternoon, I arrived at the warehouse a few minutes before closing time. The woman at the front desk looked surprised to see me, or anyone, come through the door. What was she hiding?

A worker took me to the back, where rows of units fanned out in a climate-controlled space. I opened the lock, and there it was: a meager, sad clump of about 10 sealed boxes that from their weight I’m guessing contain magazines or CDs and one piece of furniture, a library-style wooden magazine rack I’d inherited from a friend and at one point envisioned as the centerpiece of an office or foyer, even though, in my old apartment, it had served as a makeshift barrier splitting my living room into play and work spaces. Five minutes later I locked up and left, resting easy with the knowledge that the only fool paying for my things is me.

“Storage Wars: New York”
A&E, Tuesday nights at 10 and 10:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 9 and 9:30, Central time.

http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/arts/television/storage-wars-new-york-on-ae.html?ref=television&_r=0

How about the Cowboys getting a win when it counts the most. I could care less about the ratings.

I got to watch the Cowboys play 11 times this year for free. But I still feel like I've been ripped off.

In a way better they lost....just way too many injuries anyway & now we get an easier schedule + higher draft pix next year.

CBS has to be drooling cause barring a major upset they will get a Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning AFC Championship Game + its even in the late 6:30 slot this year.
That could do 55,000,000+ viewers....wonder what theyll sched for 10:00 to take advantage of that huge leadin....maybe another ep of "Elementary."

^^^ That AFC Playoff scenario plus the Super Bowl means CBS could hit a double whammy of a ratings jackpot. Since "Elementary" already has the post-Super Bowl time slot I'd give the post-AFC Playoff berch to either "Hawaii Five-0" (it could spark a fire to its ratings) or "2 Broke Girls" (to boost its cred/visibility as the new CBS anchor for Monday night).

MONDAY'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
‘Rockin’ Eve’ Draws Largest Primetime Audience Ever On ABC
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Jan. 1, 2013

In its first year without Dick Clark, ABC’s Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (4.1/14 in adults 18-49, 13.3 million viewers) did solid business, boosted by a Dick Clark special that opened the night from 8-10 PM with 2.6/9 in 18-49 and 9.4 million total viewers. ABC towered over the competition — NBC’s New Year’s Eve With Carson Daly (1.1/4, 3.8 million) from 10-11 PM, Fox’s Mob Doctor and specials/repeats — posting its best New Year’s Eve primetime numbers in 12 years.

This was Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve‘s largest audience ever on ABC where the special premiered in 2000. Carson Daly still posted 22% gains in 18-49 vs. last year. In late night, Carson Daly (4.9 rating/11 share in metered-market households from 11:30 PM-12:30 AM) was up 14% versus last year to a three-year high. ABC’s Rockin’ Eve still ruled the roost with a 10.6/25 from 11:30 PM-1:15 AM. Fox’s New Year’s Eve Live posted a 2.8/6 from 11 PM-12:30 AM.

Elsewhere in primetime, an original of Fox’s Mob Doctor (0.4/1) was down 50% from its most recent outing. The CW did decent business with the iHeartRadio Music Festival special (0.5/2).

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/ratings-rat-race-rockin%e2%80%99-eve-draws-largest-primetime-audience-ever-on-abc/

TV Notes
Friends First, Talk-Show Hosts Later
By Megan Angelo, The New York Times

Last year the comedians Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer were preparing to record an installment of their weekly podcast, “You Had to Be There,” at Ms. Schaefer’s Brooklyn apartment when Ms. Glaser got a phone call she had been waiting for.

She had been through several rounds of testing for a talk show pilot. “It was down to two of us, and I thought it was mine,” Ms. Glaser said. “I saw this whole life for myself, where I could afford to buy a computer.”

She took the call outside as Ms. Schaefer watched, she recalled. Ms. Schaefer said, “I could tell from her body language something was wrong.”

The show was being rethought; the job was off the table. Ms. Glaser and Ms. Schaefer went ahead with the podcast, but they both cried a little. Then in Ms. Schaefer’s kitchen they made a decision: “We’ve got to do this on our own,” Ms. Glaser said.

Seventeen months later the two women were at Market Table in the West Village with the ultimate trappings of stars out in public: two publicists sitting protectively nearby, tapping on their smartphones. No one in the restaurant came looking for autographs, though, because the comedians — Ms. Glaser is blond and blue-eyed, with a wide smile; Ms. Schaefer is a wry, bespectacled brunette — occupy an odd limbo: well known on the city comedy scene but invisible to television viewers, at least until their weekly late-night talk show, “Nikki & Sara Live,” has its premiere on MTV on Jan. 29.

In other words, they made good on their promise.

Ms. Schaefer, who worked at “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” for more than two years, had secretly pictured herself as a talk-show host a million times. But she’d tell herself, “They only give it to, like, 10 people, so let’s be realistic.”

Still, they toiled away on a concept that played to their quick-yet-mellow chemistry and pop-culture adoration. Their “You Had to Be There” podcast, which they will continue to make, typically bounces among personal stories, cultural musings and guest interviews; a recent episode included Ms. Glaser talking about her high school reunion (“Look at you with your bun, we get it, you’re cute and fun,” she said of an old frenemy) and Ms. Schaefer singing a few bars from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

When they landed a meeting with MTV, they timed the release of a video they’d made to the appointment, hoping for an Internet hit. That short, “Justin Timberlake, Make Music Again,” did indeed go viral. Viewed hundreds of thousands of times, the black-and-white video features the two women and other comedian friends pleading dramatically for Mr. Timberlake, the musician turned actor, to return to his roots because, among other things, “children are dying — probably.”

It turns out that MTV’s senior vice president for series development, Brent Haynes, was already a fan. “I stop most podcasts partway through,” he said recently by phone. “I wanted to listen to everything Nikki and Sara said.”

Mr. Haynes had been at the network nearly four years, and developing something for late night was on his wish list. MTV hasn’t had a major show in that space since “The Jon Stewart Show” went off the air in 1995. “I didn’t want to build a show and go find talent,” Mr. Haynes said. “Nikki and Sara’s dynamic reminds me of Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon on ‘Weekend Update,’ ” he added, referring to the “Saturday Night Live” segment. “It’s a rapport you can’t cast.”

Like Mr. Haynes others crucial to the show’s development found themselves won over by the podcast.

“This is how smart, funny women talk to each other,” said MTV’s programming president, Susanne Daniels, who noted that the pair tested especially well with female audiences. (Ms. Schaefer, 34, and Ms. Glaser, 28, were just thrilled that focus groups guessed them to be in their early 20s, Ms. Schaefer said.)

Their head writer, Brian McCann, didn’t expect to be tempted by the job when he went to a meeting about the show. “My initial reaction was that I didn’t know if I’d be helpful on a show with girls, for girls,” said Mr. McCann, who had worked on Conan O’Brien’s various series for 17 years. A few months later, after the MTV meeting, he too cued up an episode of “You Had to Be There.” “Instantly my brain started seeing a thousand ways to make this combination work for television,” he said.

The show won’t be as personal as the podcast, in which both women talk freely about their lives. Nor will it be as provocative as their stand-up, which tends toward the bawdy. What it will have, though, is a fast-paced format heavy on punch lines and games. “We know what our audience’s cues are for old-fashioned late night: the couch, the desk, the long chats plugging your stuff,” Mr. Haynes said. “We want a show where they can tell a lot of jokes.”

The show runner, Kim Gamble, a former “Colbert Report” producer, is seeking to build a show around “their relationship, the history they have: they know each other very well.”

That friendship, which started when they met at a party in 2010, grew largely out of a love of pop culture, which will become a major part of the show: Ms. Glaser’s current obsessions include Taylor Swift’s album “Red,” while Ms. Schaefer can’t say enough about Adam Levine’s turn in “American Horror Story.”

Talking about possible celebrity guests quickly turns them star-struck. “If Beyoncé came on, I would die,” Ms. Schaefer said. “I would have to get the crying out before, because I cry when I’m really happy.”

Which means there were also tears the day both women got the call they had been waiting for, this time with good news that their show was going forward. They weren’t together — Ms. Schaefer was waking up in Seattle after a gig. Ms. Glaser was in New York, half-dreading the birthday that was 24 hours away, because “I always told my parents, ‘Just give me till I’m 27 to do comedy, to make it,’ ” she said. “And I got the news the day before I turned 28. The timing couldn’t have been better.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/arts/television/nikki-glaser-and-sara-schaefer-get-ready-for-mtv.html?ref=television&_r=0

I've never seen a team suffer anywhere near that many injuries on defense, but that loss is pretty squarely on Romo's shoulders. I've always been a Romo supporter, but I'm not so sure anymore.

It barely made a difference in the draft. Dallas will pick 18th, had they won (and not won a playoff game) then they would be picking 21st. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/31/2013-nfl-draft-order/

And a teams finish only changes 2 games in the schedule. Next year they'll play the Rams (at home) and Saints (on the road) as opposed to the 49ers and Falcons had they won the NFC East. Rams instead of 49ers is easier, but I fully expect the Saints to return to form next year, so that's basically a push.

"We" ?? You got a mouse in your pocket? Or, are you a 3rd-string offensive lineman?

Its just that a few weeks ago the "experts" were saying how seattle is great at home but cant win on the road so if the cowboys had somehow beat them in dallas then even losing the next week the pick is now down to 25.
Yea that 2nd game is basically a wash but even 1 game is still alot when you only play 16 + it works both ways in giving the redskins a harder sched next year too.

Critic's Notes
Bianculli's Best Bets
By David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com - Jan. 2, 2013

THE HOUR
BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET
SEASON FINALE Hector (Dominic West) gets smeared by the tabloids, which brings scandal deep into the BBC – ironic, given the headlines swirling around that venerable broadcasting institution of late. Bel and Freddie (Romola Garai, pictured, and Ben Whishaw) react to the tabloid coverage in ways that threaten not only their jobs, but their relationship.

INSIDE THE NFL
Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET
This is one week to tune in for sure, when Cris Collinsworth and the rest of the long-tenured team at Inside the NFL combine to deconstruct how each team made the postseason roster – and what to look for next.

PLATINUM BLONDE
TCM, 9:30 p.m. ET
Tonight’s prime-time movie selections feature films that, in turn, feature Loretta Young. But in this 1931 early talkie, it’s Jean Harlow, in the title role, who runs away with this Frank Capra story about a reporter (Robert Williams) caught between, and by, two very different women.

NASHVILLE: THE WHOLE STORY
ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET
This ABC series returns with new episodes next week – but in hopes of building its audience for that return, tonight it presents a one-hour clip special, telescoping the plots and characters into easily digestible bite-sized chunks. Think of it as the TV version of CliffsNotes. But sample it, if you haven’t checked out Nashville already, because both the music and performances are well above average. Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere star, playing rival country singers.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
This creepy series returns, picking up where it left off – and where it left off included a crucifixion, a death, an apparent alien visitation, and other pivotal plot points, including the return of Jessica Lange’s Sister Jude to the Briarcliff asylum – but as a patient. And this week, another inmate, Sarah Paulson’s Lana (pictured), is confronted too, though I won’t say why, or by whom. You might kill me. Just like he might kill her…

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/

"Hot Off the Press" (aka "NFL Tonight").

I hope Mary Hart isnt the host cause her voice just gives me fits.

With that attitude dcowboy7 , you Sir are a true Fan I respect that !

Not that you needed my respect .

I feel my 49ers are not going to go far in the playoffs , If they do I will be very surprised, Cappy is just too Green of a QB
But he Might pull it out , Ya never know what is going to happen in the Playoffs , Peyton looks unstoppable .

Spoken like a true fan of a team that has won only one playoff game since 1997. Next year will be better, or the year after that, or the year after that, or....

Bills, Browns, Chiefs and Lions fans have been saying the same thing for just as long.

Oh you guys. lol

Al Jazeera looking to acquire Current TV

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/al-jazeera-said-to-be-acquiring-current-tv/?hp

Maybe he can send us a pair of those rose colored glasses he is wearing.

They are not looking anymore. They have acquired it.

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)
NBC wins first night of the new year
Averages a 1.6 in 18-49s, led by a repeat of 'Off Their Rockers'
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Jan. 2, 2013

With the other networks largely in repeats, NBC got an easy victory to start off 2013 thanks to one of the Big Five’s two original shows last night.

The network averaged a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating and 4 share in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights, 33 percent ahead of No. 2 CBS at 1.2/3.

NBC had the night’s No. 1 and No. 2 two shows. A repeat of “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” topped the night with a 1.8 at 9:30, capping a four-rerun block.

And the new 10 p.m. episode of “Parenthood” averaged a 1.7, down 15 percent from its most recent original, which is no surprise. It was at a disadvantage as the only original show on NBC last night.

The Big Five’s only other original, the CW’s first-year drama “Emily Owens, M.D.,” drew a 0.4 at 9 p.m. “Owens” has already been canceled.

Note the broadcast networks faced heavy cable competition last night with ESPN airing the end of the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl in primetime.

NBC finished first for the night among 18-49s with a 1.6 average overnight rating and a 4 share. Univision was second at 1.5/4, CBS third at 1.2/3, ABC fourth at 0.9/2, Fox fifth at 0.7/2, Telemundo sixth at 0.5/1 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-six percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. ABC and Univision tied for first at 1.5, ABC for a repeat of “Shark Tank” and Univision for “Por Ella Soy Eva.” NBC was third with a 1.4 for repeats of “Rockers,” and CBS fourth with a 1.3 for a rerun of “NCIS.” Fox and Telemundo tied for fifth at 0.6, Fox for reruns of “Ben and Kate” and Telemundo for the end of the movie “Ice Age” and start of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” The CW was seventh with a 0.3 for a repeat of “Hart of Dixie.”

NBC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 1.7 for more “Rockers” reruns, with Univision second with a 1.6 for “Amores Verdaderos.” CBS was third with a 1.4 for a repeat of “NCIS: Los Angeles,” Fox fourth with a 0.7 for reruns of “New Girl,” ABC fifth with a 0.6 for repeats of “Happy Endings” and “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23,” Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for its movie and CW seventh with a 0.4 for “Owens.”

At 10 p.m. NBC was first with a 1.7 for “Parenthood,” followed by Univision with a 1.3 for “Amor Bravio.” CBS was third with a 0.9 for a “Vegas” rerun, Telemundo fourth with a 0.6 for its movie and ABC fifth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “Nashville.”

CBS was first for the night among households with a 5.5 average overnight rating and a 9 share. NBC was second at 3.2/5, ABC third at 1.9/3, Univision fourth at 1.8/3, Fox fifth at 1.0/2, CW sixth at 0.8/1 and Telemundo seventh at 0.5/1.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/nbc-wins-first-night-of-the-new-year/

Business/Legal Notes
HBO sued over 'Luck' horse deaths, accused of cover-up
By James Hibberd, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - Jan. 2, 2013

HBO’s Luck headache has returned.

The network was hit with a lawsuit over its beleaguered and ironically titled short-lived horse-racing drama. A former employee of the American Humane Association who worked on the show is accusing the network and producers of mistreating horses and says the animal rights organization aided in a cover-up of the abuse.

Barbara Casey was the director of production on the AHA’s film and TV unit and a longtime veteran of the organization. She served as a liaison between the animal rights institution and production companies. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, Casey says horses were drugged, and that sick and underweight horses were forced to work on the show. Casey also claims animals were misidentified to make it more difficult for safety representatives to track their medical histories. “In order to save time and money [the defendants engaged in] direct criminal animal abuse and cruelty … [and] pressured AHA to allow them to violate AHA’s safety standards,” reads the suit. “[And to] allow the use of unsuitable horses in an attempt to ensure that sufficient numbers of horses would be available to meet its production demands.”

Casey claims she wanted to contact law enforcement about the mistreatment, but that AHA fired her for threatening to speak out in January 2012. “AHA bowed to political and financial pressure and refused to report the Production Defendants’ conduct to the authorities,” reads the suit. “AHA terminated Plaintiff’s employment in order to prevent her from reporting the …violation of animal abuse.”

HBO cancelled Luck in March after at least three horses died on the show and PETA launched a protest.

HBO said in a statement: “We took every precaution to ensure that our horses were treated humanely and with the utmost care, exceeding every safeguard of all protocols and guidelines required of the production. Barbara Casey was not an employee of HBO, and any questions regarding her employment should be directed to the AHA..”

The AHA famously coined the stamp of approval “no animals were harmed” in the making of Hollywood productions and did not reply to a request for comment.

What do you think? At this point, is suing over HBO’s Luck simply beating a dead horse?

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/01/02/hbo-sued-over-luck-horse-deaths/

Business Notes
Time Warner Cable Considers Axing Additional Channels After Dropping Ovation
By David Lieberman, Deadline.com - Jan. 2, 2013

The arts channel went dark on the No. 2 cable company’s systems yesterday, although Crown Media’s Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel — which were also on the bubble — survived with a last-minute, long-term carriage deal. But Time Warner Cable warns subscribers in an online notice today that there’s no guarantee it will continue to carry several other channels whose contracts expire soon including mainstays such as E!, Lifetime, and Starz, and a bevy of international services. While AMC Networks-owned IFC and WEtv made it into 2013 on Time Warner Cable, they’re still in jeopardy — along with soccer channel GOL TV — as part of CEO Glenn Britt’s campaign to rationalize the company’s bloated channel offerings. Former Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV also remains in danger, although it survived a possible year-end purge.

Other channels Time Warner Cable identified as being under review include Encore, Music Choice, News 12, NHL Network, ShopNBC, Smithsonian HD, and Style Network. Last month, Britt said at an investor conference that his company is “going to take a hard look at each service and those services that cost too much relative to the viewership, we’re going to drop them.” With the economy “bouncing along the bottom,” he said that “the consumer is telling us that we can’t afford these prices anymore.”

Ovation hasn’t given up hope of returning to Time Warner Cable, which has 12.2M video subscribers. At year end it presented the cable company with a petition with more than 25,000 signatures urging it to keep the channel. Last month, Alec Baldwin tweeted followers to “take a stand for the arts” by telling Time Warner Cable not to drop Ovation. “The outpouring of support we have seen over the past few weeks demonstrates that the arts matter to people and that Ovation is fulfilling an important role as the only cable network dedicated to the arts,” Ovation COO Chad Gutstein says. “Time Warner Cable should listen to the voices of tens of thousands of viewers, partners, celebrities and arts lovers.”

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/time-warner-cable-programming-ovation/

* * * *

Business Notes
Al Jazeera Buys Current TV, But It Won’t Be On Time Warner Cable

Current TV CEO Joel Hyatt just confirmed the sale in a memo to staffers. “Getting this transaction done was very difficult,” he writes. (Read the network’s official statement after the original break of the story.) Since Time Warner Cable would not consent to the sale “Current will no longer be carried on TWC. This is unfortunate, but I am confident that Al Jazeera America will earn significant additional carriage in the months and years ahead.” Time Warner Cable says that it is “removing the service as quickly as possible.” The loss of the No. 2 cable operator will hurt: Time Warner Cable has 12.2M video subscribers and Current reaches about 59M homes. Others also could follow Time Warner Cable’s lead as they look to prune their often bloated channel lineups. Al Jazeera has fought an uphill battle to win carriage on U.S. cable systems. Operators say it’s too expensive, and that there’s too little interest in the subjects it covers. Fans of the channel say it’s due to unreasonable fears that Al Jazeera’s content will be too controversial and possibly propagandistic. Al Jazeera fought back, and further infuriated cable execs, by live-streaming its English-language programming.

Hyatt didn’t disclose financial terms but says that “Al Jazeera is planning to invest significantly in building ‘Al Jazeera America,’ a network focused on international news for the American audience.” Hyatt and co-founder Al Gore “will both serve on the Advisory Board of Al Jazeera America, and we look forward to helping build an important news network.” Hyatt notes that Al Jazeera “does not have a management team in place in the U.S to run this new venture.” But he and Gore picked the Qatar-based service among “several suitors who were interested in acquiring Current” because the news operation shares its goals “To give voice to those whose voices are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the important stories that no one else is telling.”

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/al-jazeera-to-acquire-current-tv-ny-times/

TWC (And possibly other Pay-TV providers as well) are in trouble, and they know it. The costs brought about by the Sports Channels such as ESPN have to be paid by someone, and subscribers, especially those who do not watch sports are not happy about it. TWC is trying to keep its costs down by not carrying channels that aren't watched by too many people. Unfortunately doing this also risks alienating those who do watch these channels, and they will certainly respond by doing what others have been doing, cancelling their subscription!

Critic's Notes
Bianculli's Best Bets
By David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com - Dec. 27, 2012

THE BIG BANG THEORY
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
The first new Big Bang Theory of the New Year has Sheldon (Jim Parsons) in trouble at the university, because he’s been accused of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, in his private life, Amy (Mayim Bialik) is accusing him of not sexually harassing her enough. And Sheldon, of course, is oblivious to, and innocent of, all of it.

SOUTH PARK MINI-MARATHON
Comedy Central, 8:00 p.m. ET
Five vintage episodes are repeated in tonight’s mini-marathon, including “Marjorine” (8:30 p.m. ET), the episode where Butters goes undercover to infiltrate a girls’ sleepover and report back on what really happens there.

THE LITTLEST REBEL
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Shirley Temple already had been in films for three years – half her life, at that point – when she starred in this 1935 movie, an adaptation of the stage play that has her playing the daughter of a Confederate officer. It’s a very unlikely film, and at times a politically incorrect one, starting with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s subservient role as Uncle Billy. And for those who can’t get enough Abraham Lincoln on screen right now, here’s an early version: Frank McGlynn Sr. plays the U.S. President from whom “the littlest rebel” seeks clemency.

CAPTAIN JANUARY
TCM, 9:30 p.m. ET
Another Shirley Temple movie shown tonight on TCM, this one, from 1936, has her playing a homeless little girl taken in by a gruff old lighthouse keeper (Guy Kibbee). I’ve always had a thing for lighthouses – and I wonder now, before seeing this film for the first time since early childhood, if those rocky roots are buried here.

THE COMEDY CENTRAL ROAST OF CHARLIE SHEEN
Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. ET
I note this rerun chiefly because its host is Seth MacFarlane, whose next job as emcee is at the 2013 Academy Awards. You’ve come a long way, Teddy.

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/

Ray Lewis is signing multiyear deal to be an ESPN studio analyst next year.
ESPN has the best sched for him so he can watch his kid play on saturdays at the U.

Wonder if Ray-Ray is also going to be a Court TV commentator, since he never answered any of the police's questions regarding his involvement in that little murder incident that happened during Super Bowl week that one year...? He stonewalled that issue right out of existence apparently, at least as far as the NFL and the sporting media is concerned. Maybe "God led him" to clam up.

Yeah, but I'm sure they keep hearing "I'm tired of paying for channels I never watch." Pretty easy to quantify THAT. Cut the channels very few watch and (here's the key) pass the savings on to the rest of the subscribers (or belay rate increases). Pretty sure the end result of that approach will result in the lesser rate of attrition. And that's the goal, now. Growth ain't happening. So, stop the bleeding.