Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

“American Idol,” the most-watched show on U.S. television, drew a 10% lower rating than last year in the opening of its eighth season on News Corp.’s Fox, according to initial ratings. The talent contest won its time slot with a 16.7 rating over two hours Tuesday night. (Iwantmedia 1/14, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agshJR9rQJG4 1/14)

Late-night king Jay Leno may be turning from a winner to an also-ran for NBC. Ad buyers won’t spend as much on his new show in the 10 p.m. time slot as on his ABC and CBS competitors, says Andy Donchin, director of TV ad buying at Carat USA. “Leno won’t win the time period.” (Iwantmedia 1/14, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aejIqNWbUuZA 1/14)

The 90-minute season finale of VH1′s “Real Chance of Love” attracted a robust 4.2 million viewers and put up a 2.3 ratings in the advertiser-friendly 18-to-49 demo. The performance was good enough to make the show the most-watched nonsports program of the evening. Broadcasting & Cable (1/13)

Who are these people that watch this show?  Now, I’m known to watch other soul-less reality series like The Hills and The City but here is where I draw the line of dribble….

The first full week of the new year shows USA Network delivered six of the top 10 most-watched shows on ad-supported cable. According to Nielsen data for the week ended Jan. 11, USA averaged 3.09 million prime-time viewers and was No. 1 in the 18-to-49 and 25-to-54 age demographics. Mediaweek (1/13)

BBC America heats things up next month as a new drama/thriller series Mistresses makes its U.S. debut on February 20 at 8p. The plot centers on four thirtysomething college friends, played by British actresses Sarah Parish, Sharon Small, Orla Brady and Shelley Conn, who all have experienced infidelity and love. Following the premiere, episodes will air Fridays at 9p. (Cynopsis 1/14)

You know how you can tell this isn’t an American series?  3 out of 4 of these actresses are brunettes.

MTV Network’s Logo unveiled a new documentary film series focusing on people, issues and places important to the LGBT community. The films, profiling such notables as Keith Haring and David LaChapelle, will air simultaneously on Saturday nights beginning Jan. 17 at 8 pm ET/PT on Logo and mtvU and be available online at Logoonline.com. (Cynopsis 1/14)

(Below) And to the current head of the FCC, Kevin Martin, I’ll burn a candle in your honor…and then step on it.  Given Genachowski’s (try saying that once out loud) position on investment in broadband access to the public, I think we’ll all get along just fine.

President-elect Barack Obama intends to nominate his technology advisor Julius Genachowski to take over as chairman of the FCC, according to reports. A former classmate of Obama’s at Harvard Law School, Genachowski helped shape the President-elect’s detailed technology platform which includes ardent support for net neutrality principles and investment in communications infrastructure to help bring affordable broadband access to all communities in the U.S. (Cynopsis 1/14)

Sony Pictures Television has acquired Michael Davies’Embassy Row production company, a move that brings Davies, whose production deal with Sony just expired, in-house at SPT on a full-time basis. “Michael is an incredibly savvy producer,” SPT President Steve Mosko said. “He has a unique understanding of the formats and how to make these shows work in network, cable and syndication.” The Hollywood Reporter (1/14) , TVWeek.com (1/13)

Comedy Central officially launched in HD on Cablevision Systems yesterday with close to 200 hours of programming in native high definition. Mainstays The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will initially be upconverted from standard def but will shift to native HDTV in the near future. (Cynopsis 1/14)