Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Drake Bell, Henry Winkler, Jay Leno, Josh Peck, NBC, Television, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Tonight Show
In the headlines again, this time with more specific news, NBC announced yesterday Jay Leno will host a new live primetime comedy/talk show beginning fall 2009. The Monday-Friday hour-long show based in Burbank will air at 10p/EST and 9p/CST. The new show will contain some of the same elements as The Tonight Show including an opening monologue, guests, comedy skits like “Headlines,” “Jaywalking”, as well as more topical content and newsmakers. It should be pointed out, however, that this new show will not be a simple remake of The Tonight Show. Leno will get an entirely new set … the vertical striped curtain and desk belong to Tonight Show. In making this unprecedented move of stripping a primetime talk show, NBC realizes the show will have a lower ratings threshold than a scripted series and be more economical to produce. (Cynopsis 12/10)
The Friday premiere of Nickelodeon’s “Merry Christmas Drake and Josh” pulled in 8.1 million viewers to become the most-watched live-action movie among children 2 to 11 and total number of viewers in the channel’s history. The two-hour movie, starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck, featured a guest appearance by Henry Winkler. Broadcasting & Cable (12/9)
The season-ending episode of Discovery Channel’s “Storm Chasers” was rated the No. 1 show among men 18 to 34 Sunday night on prime-time, ad-supported cable channels with more than 3.2 million viewers. For Discovery, it was the most-watched show since July 2007 among adults 25 to 54 and men 25 to 54 and the most-watched Sunday night show by men 18 to 34 since “Planet Earth.” Multichannel News (12/9)
With NBC announcing Monday that it will combine operations with sister studio Universal Media Studios, industry sources have been buzzing about similar plans under consideration at ABC. Entertainment head Stephen McPherson is rumored to head the newly merged unit. (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4d2fc033695aeeced71236392bc3d5a3 12/9)
Disney is feeling the financial squeeze, but its cutbacks during the downturn likely will be less dramatic than those at other media conglomerates, according to CFO Tom Staggs. “You’ll see us taking some of those steps in the ensuing weeks and months.” (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997131.html?categoryid=3284&cs=1 12/9)
Pressure is mounting on CBS to lower its dividend, now yielding 14% after a 73% decline in the shares this year. Investors may be anticipating a dividend cut as slumping advertising sales hurt cash flow at the broadcaster, according to Moody’s analyst Neil Begley. (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&refer=&sid=alqVeY6.FPQQ 12/10)
VH1′s premiere of original series Real Chance Of Love Monday night at 9p delivered a 1.4 A18-49 rating and 2.6 million viewers. Following at 10p, the season finale of Scream Queens posted a 1.0 rating among A18-49 and 1.7 million viewers. (Cynopsis 12/10)
VH1 will premiere its new eight-episode reality series Confessions of a Teen Idol January 4 at 8p. The series takes a group of former teen idols from the 80s and 90s and under the tutelage of Scott Baio, former child star now producer Jason Hervey and celebrity psychologist Cooper Lawrence, each are given the tools and confidence to make a career comeback. (Cynopsis 12/10)
TBS is going a little Greek as the comedy-targeted network ordered a presentation for a 30m late-night show tentatively titled Frat House from Bunim-Murray, cites THR. The project, similar to Will Ferrell’s 2003 comedy Old School, is about three guys plated by Bret Ernst, Theo Von and Bert Kreischer who long for their old frat house days. (Cynopsis 12/10)
Bravo will introduce viewers to a second season of The Millionaire Matchmaker in time for Valentine’s Day on February 12 at 10p. Viewers will watch as Patti Stanger, owner of an exclusive Los Angeles matchmaking firm, and her staff chooses potential mates for male millionaires and new for this season, the company will work on behalf of wealthy female and gay clients. (Cynopsis 12/10)
Tivo unveiled its latest gimmick to try and serve ads to commercial-skipping consumers. Advertisers can now place targeted messages on a new Pause Menu, which comes up anytime a viewer pauses a live or recorded program. The ads can be tied to specific shows or can target a range of programming by genre or keyword within the program description. Mercedes-Benz USA and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are two early adopters of the feature. (Cynopsis 12/10)
Cox Communications systems nationwide on Jan. 1 will begin carrying Fox Business Network, adding about 2 million subscribers to FBN’s rolls. The deal brings FBN, which launched in October of 2007, to about 45 million U.S. homes. Mediaweek (12/9)
DirecTV said that while it remains bullish about 2009, hiring will be frozen and all but the most critical capital projects will be suspended as visibility on the economy remains poor. The largest U.S. satellite television provider also plans to raise rates next year. (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081209/directv_economy.html 12/9)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Facebook, Gmail, Google, Google Chrome, United States, Yahoo, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Google
vice president Marissa Mayer announced Google Chrome is coming out of beta in an interview with Michael Arrington at Le Web 08. The Google’s open source browser has a number of eager customers, including OEMs who can’t offer the browser until it is in full release. Chrome’s Windows client has been in beta since its roll out 3 months ago, and with the new move will likely spur bundling with Google Toolbar and Google Apps. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/10/google-takes-chrome-out-of-beta 12/10)
Google has released its Zeitgeist 2008, a comprehensive look at the top searches of 2008. Among the “fastest rising” U.S. searches in contrast to 2007: Obama, Facebook, Att, iPhone, YouTube, Fox News, Palin, Beijing 2008, David Cook, and Surf the channel. (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2336535,00.asp 12/10)
2008 Fastest Rising, United States
1. Obama
2. Facebook
3. Att
4. iPhone
5. YouTube
6. Fox News
7. Palin
8. Beijing 2008
9. David Cook
10. Surf the channel
It appears even Santa is joining the web video craze. Check out WiredSanta.com, a new interactive video streaming site where kids can post letters directly to Mr. Kringle through the web. Vancouver-based Out To See Entertainment is producing a new video each day from Santa’s workshop, acknowledging some of the kids who write in and encouraging adults to contribute to the venture. Partial proceeds go to inner city literacy outreach program People of Many. (Cynopsis 12/10)
Log in to the AOL-owned Bebo social network this morning and you’ll see a whole new home page. Like AOL.com, they’ve integrated direct access to AOL, Yahoo and Gmail email accounts, as well as a feed reader. They’ve also fully integrated the Social Thing activity tracker (AOL acquired Social Thing in August 2008), and are adding content that you may like based on a new content recommendation engine that the team has built from the ground up. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/10/bebo-social-inbox-launches 12/10)
Yahoo and Electronic Arts have added to the mounting number of job losses. Yahoo said it would begin handing out pink slips Wednesday. The toll could reach 1,400 job cuts. EA, the electronics gaming company, has also announced staff cuts but has not specified the number. (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/10/news/economy/job_cuts/index.htm 12/10)
Yahoo Brickhouse, the two year old San Francisco based Yahoo business unit to foster new product development, is to be shut down by the end of the year, says a source. The announcement may be as early as Wednesday. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/09/yahoo-to-close-brickhouse-by-end-of-year 12/9)
PC maker Acer is sponsoring a UGC video contest to promote the launch of the Aspire One, its first “netbook” PC. Upload a film that demonstrates your directorial genius for a chance to win one or other prizes including an Xbox 360 or a Microsoft Zune. Winners will be decided by the public, based on total YouTube views, comments, honors and overall ratings. (Cynopsis 12/10)
YouTube accounted for nearly 40% of all videos viewed online in Oct., ten times the market share of its closest competitor, according to the latest ComScore Video Metrix numbers. Hulu moved up to #6 in video view rankings with 235 million videos viewed. Hulu also had the longest average view per session among top 10 destinations at 11.6 minutes. More than 147 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 92 videos per viewer in October. Google Sites attracted a record 100 million online video viewers, or more than two out of every three users who watched video during the month. Fox Interactive ranked second with 60.8 million viewers, followed by Yahoo sites (45.2 million) and Microsoft sites (30.7 million). (Cynopsis 12/10)
Top U.S. Online Video Properties* by Videos Viewed – October 2008
Property Videos Share (%) of
(000) Videos
Total Internet 13,536,595 100.0
Google Sites 5,373,783 39.7
Fox Interactive Media 519,926 3.8
Yahoo! Sites 363,426 2.7
Viacom Digital 305,258 2.3
Microsoft Sites 286,464 2.1
Hulu 235,096 1.7
Turner Network 228,024 1.7
Disney Online 126,611 0.9
AOL LLC 122,580 0.9
ESPN 104,724 0.8
Source: comScore Video Metrix
* Rankings based on video content sites; excludes video server networks
Online video includes both streaming and progressive download video
Top U.S. Online Video Properties* by Unique Viewers – October 2008
Property Unique Viewers Average Videos
(000) per Viewer
Total Internet 147,283 91.9
Google Sites 100,475 53.5
Fox Interactive Media 60,791 8.6
Yahoo! Sites 45,187 8.0
Microsoft Sites 30,696 9.3
Viacom Digital 25,658 11.9
HULU.COM 23,993 9.8
AOL LLC 22,743 5.4
Turner Network 20,858 10.9
Disney Online 13,757 9.2
CBS Corporation 13,639 4.7
Source: comScore Video Metrix
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Academic degree, Metro Areas, New York, New York City, New York University, Nintendo Wii, United States, Video game
Those of you still scouring stores for a Nintendo Wii may want to go to Walmart.com. The online retailer just loaded up on thousands of the consoles for the holidays. (Cynopsis 12/10)
New York University has announced that it has launched the NYU Game Center, which will offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in the research, design and development of digital games. NYU will become the first New York City college to offer a degree in video games. (Iwantmedia 12/10, http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081209/FREE/812099989/1046 12/9)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Dark Knight, DVD, Home Video, Netflix, Television, TiVo, Warner Bros.
TECHNOLOGY
Netflix Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy says that the DVD-by-mail business now has 9 million subscribers and that its online video-streaming success is proof that consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable watching TV shows and movies via the Internet. Netflix has fueled growth this year, in part, by cementing deals with content providers such as Starz Entertainment and distribution partners such as Microsoft and TiVo. OneTRAK (12/9)
Sony announced it will shut plants, curb R&D investment by 30% and cut 8,000 full-time jobs worldwide or 5% of its workforce in addition to another 8,000 contract or temporary staff. Sony slashed its operating profit forecast by 47% in Oct. as demand for TVs, electronics, computers and other goods began to wane. (Cynopsis 12/10)
The home video industry is pinning many of its hopes and dreams on the yesterday’s release of The Dark Knight to give the Blu-Ray format in particular a shot in the arm. Collectors will have their hands full as Warner Bros. released 4 different editions of the release:
- A single-disc DVD in standard or widescreen format ($15)
- A two-disc DVD special edition ($21-$23)
- A Blu ray two-disc special edition ($24-$27)
- A Blu ray two-disc limited edition with a model of the wide-tired batpod ($47-$60)
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