Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Republican National Convention coverage began Monday night (although the GOP truncated RNC events due to Hurricane Gustav) and will continue through Thursday night (check listings for networks/times). (Cynopsis 9/2)

According to Nielsen, the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention last Thursday, which featured Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, drew in a combined total of 38.4 million total viewers from ten networks offering live coverage from approximately 10-11p: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo. The combined total from the ten networks among A18-49 viewers was 16.0 million. PBS got a bump in total viewers for its coverage Thursday night between 8-11p to 3.5 million. (Cynopsis 9/2)

IFC will offer its viewers a series of six news segments surrounding the 2008 Presidential election. The weekly segments begin tonight with highlights from the recent Democratic National Convention in Denver and future segments will follow on Tuesday nights with coverage from the Republican National Convention, ending with a segment in October that takes a look inside both Senators Obama and McCain’s political campaigns. (Cynopsis 9/2)

A new programming strategy for Viacom’s TV Land will target younger baby boomers by scheduling new programming and updating its reruns with shows such as “Friends,” according to this report. In the place of golden-oldie reruns during prime time, the channel will televise a new 40-something reality dating show called “The Cougar” and will test a new series called “First Love/Second Chance,” which reunites couples. The Wall Street Journal (9/2)

TV Land’s pilot ‘First Love/Second Chance,’ which reconnects old flames, is aimed at younger boomers.

September usually is when the broadcast networks introduce their latest programming options with little or no competition from the cable industry. Not so this year: TNT debuted “Raising the Bar” Monday night, FX rolls out “Sons of Anarchy” on Wednesday night and HBO goes for the jugular with “True Blood” on Sunday. Variety (8/29)

As the CW Network prepares to launch the first of its new fall shows tonight, Tribune owned CW affiliates in some cities have been busy stripping “CW” out of its marketing plan.  In Houston, KHCW has received new call letters – KAIH; in Dallas CW33 is now known as The 33; and Washington DC’s CW50 is now referred to as DC50, reports Variety.  These changes follow the San Diego Tribune station which switched affiliations from The CW to Fox a few months ago.  Tribune’s WPIX in New York City is still known as CW11, at least online, as Variety points out. (Cynopsis 9/2)

Next Monday, when Wilmington, N.C., flips the switch to all-digital TV signals, the city will serve as a test kitchen of sorts for the nationwide digital transition. In this Q&A interview, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that he planned to be in Wilmington for the big event and that he wouldn’t mind flipping the switch personally: “Sure. I am going to get blamed for it anyway. Good or bad, I’m going to get blamed, so I might as well get to do that,” he said. The Wall Street Journal (9/2) , Broadcasting & Cable (8/30)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s persistent quest for a la carte programming by cable companies now appears to be shifting to wholesalers, a move that will make independent cable networks subject to government regulation for the first time, according to this report. “I do not believe for one minute anything the chairman has to say about this issue being dead because he has kept it alive his entire tenure,” said Adam Thierer, senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation. Multichannel News (8/30)