Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CNN, Fox News, Fox News Channel, Leo Burnett, MSNBC, Ronald Reagan, Television, United States
According to Nielsen and based on Live+Same Day data, nearly 37.8 million U.S. viewers tuned in between 10a and 5p to watch inauguration events from a combined total of 17 broadcast and cable networks. This is the most viewers on an inauguration day since Ronald Reagan‘s in 1981 when 41.8 million viewers watched. (Cynopsis 1/22)
From 11a to 2p during the pinnacle of the inauguration coverage Tuesday including the swearing-in ceremony, CNN pulled in the most viewers among the cable news networks with an average of 6.9 million total viewers and 2.8 million A25-54 viewers. FOX News came next with 4.4 million total viewers and 1.3 million A25-54 viewers while MSNBC was third with 2.5 million total viewers and 923,620 A25-54 viewers. (Cynopsis 1/22)
The Sunday night premiere of “The United States of Tara” on Showtime attracted 880,000 viewers. That was better than the debuts of popular Showtime shows such as “Weeds,” “Dexter,” “The Tudors” and “Californication.” The Hollywood Reporter (1/21)
Click on the image below to watch the first episode. I personally can’t wait for the next one. Bravo Showtime.
“Trust Me,” a new series on TNT that debuts next week, features a fictional ad agency named Rothman Greene & Mohr. The interesting part is that during the show the made-up ad shop competes with real agency nameplates such as Leo Burnett and DDB for the right to market actual products, such as Unilever’s Dove line, which is a real sponsor of the TNT series. The New York Times (1/21)
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Filed under: Feature | Tags: Barack Obama, Fox News Channel, Inauguration, MSNBC, Orbitz, Politics, Shepard Fairey, United States
INAUGURATION 2.0: OBAMA KICKS IT NEW SCHOOL
So in true Obama interweb style, the inaugural events have been promoted with the kind of digital fervor this little blogstress looks forward to. And if you want Shepard Fairey’s newest limited edition Obama poster (above), click on the image for a link to the site. Buy it there for $20 which is a whole lot less than the $100 on other sites.
And now, I bring you Obamania 2.0:
Online
Can’t get tickets to the ball? Can’t get a flight to DC for less than $1000? (I just did a search on Orbitz from LA to DC and couldn’t find anything less than $1,200) Watch the ball online for the first time in presidential history. I love these first time presidential digital moments. If I had a child, this could be as exciting as witnessing the first steps.
On top of watching the ball live, you can watch the inauguration itself on the 20th in several places:
- CNN.com & Facebook (above) à So far, this is the most comprehensive online offering I’ve found. Coverage begins at 8AM EST and continues through the swearing-in ceremony at 12PM EST
- CBSnews.com & Cnet.com
And finally, HBO is bringing you on-air and online access to the pre-inauguration concert on Sunday. Viewers can watch online live at 2:30 or at 7. Or watch on air for the full screen experience.
Mobile
Get continuous mobile updates on your cell.
Or…
Watch the inauguration via iPhone with uStream’s upcoming launching application to be live 1/20 in time for the inauguration itself.
Or…
Download the Point About Inauguration iPhone app to stay on top of events in the DC area if you’re making the trip. This location-based app gives you some generic features like a countdown to the inauguration and your distance from the steps of the inauguration. But more useful will be metro and parking garage locations, Wi-fi hot spots, and Zagat guide. For the out-of-towner like me, it’s my in-the-know-DC-best-friend in my pocket.
In Theatres
MSNBC will be bringing inaugural Obamania to a big screen near you. 27 theatres around the country will be providing MNBC’s new coverage on the big screen from 11a – 3:30 ET capturing the inauguration and the parade. Free tickets are available here.
Coffee Shops (seriously…)
On top of broadcasting to movie theatres, MSNBC will be simulcasting to 650 Starbucks’ in New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Inauguration with your tall non-fat latte? No problem.
Obamania 2.0 = Democracy
Or at least a better version of it than the one we’re used to. If democracy is rule by an entire people, then empowering those people with information to this degree with push us that much closer. This much passion in our government not only instills pride but pushes all of us to move in a better direction. I can’t wait for those Freakanomic guys to some day write about the economic effect.
We at Daily Marauder will be in DC next week for the inauguration. It’s nice to know that all of you will be with us.
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: David Gregory, Fox News Channel, Mark Feuerstein, NBC, Taylor Momsen, Television, Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw
After much speculation and “no comments” from the network, NBC officially broke the news yesterday announcing David Gregory as the new permanent host/moderator of Sunday morning’s Meet the Press. Tom Brokaw, as interim host since June following the sudden death of Tim Russert, announced Gregory is taking over during the final few minutes of Sunday’s broadcast. (Cynopsis 12/8)
The CW is moving forward in development on a spinoff of Gossip Girl, and will possibly use an episode from the series yet this year to introduce the new series. The target for the new series would likely not be Gossip Girl’s main character Jenny Humphrey played by Taylor Momsen or the recent book spinoff called The It Girl, but perhaps center on one of the nine regular characters or a new character who will yet debut. (Cynopsis 12/8)
Fox News Channel posted a 2.1 average prime-time rating from Oct. 27 to Nov. 30, a 75% increase from the comparable period in 2007, according to the latest data from Nielsen. FNC finished the period tied for second place with USA, both of whom were 0.3 rating points behind ESPN. Multichannel News (12/7)
Showtime is developing a character-driven sci-fi-themed drama with “Jericho” consulting producer John McNamara and “Supernatural” supervising producer/writer Sera Gamble. “Syns” (formerly “Dolls’ Hospital”) centers on a world in which humanlike synthetic organisms, known as Syns, are used for various purposes. Showtime has bought U.S. rights to the project, which originally was developed at the BBC. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3idc160e735d514c2d3a00ef69477ec4c1 12/8)
Media executives participating in the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, which opens today, are not expected to paint a rosy picture of the coming year. Even Discovery Communications, which CEO David Zaslav describes as “foundationally pretty strong,” could have a tough 2009: “The recession is going to affect everybody in media,” he added. Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter (12/7)
USA Network is expected to give a series order to “Royal Pains,” an hour-long show about a doctor serving the rich and famous in the Hamptons. The show, which stars Mark Feuerstein, was one of three pilots that were greenlighted for USA during the summer. The Hollywood Reporter (12/8)
Some of the largest cable providers in the country will join forces Jan. 20 to create a political channel that will be available to subscribers on their respective video-on-demand channels. The group includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision, Bright House Networks, Insight Communications and Charter. Broadcasting & Cable (12/8)
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to change the rules pertaining to access to the country’s cable systems for independent programmers, and he hopes to bring the matter up for a vote at the commission’s Dec. 18 meeting, according to this report. “The [proposed FCC] order is another example of the chairman’s doublespeak on the subject of cable prices, because the order will effectively obligate cable operators to carry every programming service that demands carriage, which will result in large programming packages that are more expensive,” NCTA spokesman Brian Dietz said. Multichannel News (12/6)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Alan Colmes, Fox News, Fox News Channel, Hannity & Colmes, National Football League, Sean Hannity, Steven Seagal, Television
When the National Football League broadcasts next week’s San Diego-Oakland game to theaters in three cities, it will mark the first time that the league has used 3-D technology during a live event. The game will be shot using special cameras and broadcast via satellite. CNET (11/24)
ABC Family on Dec. 5 begins a three-day marathon featuring the first four “Harry Potter” movies. The programming stunt, all part of the network’s 25 Days of Christmas event, includes an extended edition of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” as well as a first look at this summer’s “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Multichannel News (11/24)
The CW Network announced its new official Sunday evening schedule starting November 30: first season episodes of Everybody Hates Chris at 5p and The Game at 530p; two second season back-to-back episodes of The Drew Carey Show from 6-7p; first season episodes of Jericho at 7p; and MGM movies at 8p. Film titles from MGM include The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course on November 30 as well as Spaceballs, Carrie, Throw Momma From the Train, Mr. Mom and many others. (Cynopsis 11/25)
Alan Colmes, the liberal co-host of Hannity & Colmes for 12 years will exit the show at the end of 2008. Colmes said in a statement he wants to “develop new and challenging ways to contribute to the growth of the network.” He will continue to be a left-leaning commentator for Fox News and host his Fox radio show. The network has not announced Colmes’ replacement to sit opposite Sean Hannity. (Cynopsis 11/25)
A&E Network began production on a new reality series Steven Seagal: Lawman based on the action movie star’s nearly twenty year on/off stint as a New Orleans crime fighter. The series will follow Seagal as he works as a fully-commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish County Sheriff’s Office. A&E will roll out the new show late next year. (Cynopsis 11/25)
Despite the growth on online video, Americans watch an average of 8 hours and 18 minutes of television each day, according to a study from Nielsen. That’s up substantially from a decade ago — before Internet video was part of the culture — when Americans watched an average of 7 hours and 15 minutes each day. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (11/25) , The New York Times/The Associated Press (11/24)
Comcast will launch The Comcast Network by the end of the year in the Philadelphia/Pittsburgh and Washington/Baltimore markets as a way to concentrate on more targeted public affairs and sports programming. The Comcast Network will take the place of CN8, a multiregional channel launched in 1996 that reaches more than 9 million households along the East Coast. Broadcasting & Cable (11/24)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Fox News Channel, George Kliavkoff, Google, Hulu, Microsoft, NBC Universal, us, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
While Barack Obama had a lot of success spreading his message virally on the Web before he was elected president, his victory speech is on its way to becoming one of the fastest-spreading viral videos of all time. The official campaign version of the video on YouTube
(embedded below) alone has been watched 1.9 million times in the past two days. But more than 500 different versions and clips of the speech have spread across the Web and been watched more than 6.8 million times. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/06/how-to-make-your-video-go-viral-become-president 11/6)
With new online resources, visitors flocked to news sites in droves for U.S. election news. But notably, the big three networks — ABC, NBC and CBS — were down 16% vs. the election four years ago. Cable networks CNN and Fox News Channel actually beat CBS Tuesday night. (Iwantmedia 11/6, http://newteevee.com/2008/11/05/historic-election-day-sets-traffic-records 11/5)
Twitter, Digg and YouTube saw huge traffic spikes during the U.S. election. Twitter’s peak messaging rate was nearly three times higher than its previous record. Digg also reported its highest traffic ever on Election Day. YouTube’s Video Your Vote project netted close to 1,500 videos. (Iwantmedia 11/6, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/11/times-twitter-d.html 11/5)
YouTube will begin offering feature films produced by at least one of the biggest Hollywood movie studios possibly as early as next month, sources say. YouTube owner Google is in talks with the major film companies about launching an ad-supported, streaming movie service. (Iwantmedia 11/6, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10083481-93.html 11/6)
On Monday, George Kliavkoff, the chief digital officer at NBC Universal, announced he would leave NBC to start, run or invest in digital media companies. Digital media is now a part of every unit of NBC and there is no longer a need for a distinct digital media head, he claims. (Iwantmedia 11/6, http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/departing-chief-says-nbc-has-become-fully-digital 11/5)
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang will probably have to go back to the negotiating table with Microsoft, observers say. Yang’s options are dwindling after Google scrapped its proposed advertising agreement. “The market does not believe that the company can turn around the business organically.” (Iwantmedia 11/6, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aOd0Xo1cnRWc 11/5)
National Lampoon announced it has acquired humor blog BarackObamaJokes.com for an undisclosed amount. (Cynopsis 11/6)
MySpace’s self service display ad product, called MyAds, officially launched on October 12, less than a month ago. Advertisers can bypass the normal sales routine, use a Flash tool to create their own display ads, and run them on a cost-per-click basis. The minimum CPC rate is $0.25. Demand for the product was immediate and significant, we’ve heard from multiple sources close to the company. Average daily revenue, say Techcrunch’s sources, is $140,000 – $180,000, which means MyAds is at least a $50 million/year business for MySpace already. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/myspace-myads-product-a-50-million-business-a-month-after-launch 11/5)
In a Q3 earnings call Barry Diller announced IAC would sell off and shut down a number of sites in its digital media-focused Emerging Business Unit next month. The company was hit last quarter by costs associated with splitting the company into 5 units, reporting an operating net loss of $14.8 million. IAC’s Emerging Business unit includes video sharing sites Vimeo and College Humor as well as Tina Brown’s editorial site The Daily Beast. (Cynopsis 11/6)
The U.S. might be lagging other countries in broadband penetration and speeds, but we are slowly catching up. AT&T is announcing today that its fiber-to-the-curb/fiber-to-the-home broadband service U-verse is increasing its maximum download speeds from 10 Mbps to 18 Mbps. (Upload speeds are 1.5 Mbps). The cost will be about $65 a month, or can be bundled with TV and voice plans for more. That comes with free WiFi at AT&T hotspots, including the 3,000 it just added with its Wayport acquisition. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/06/att-pushes-broadband-download-speeds-to-18-mbps-on-u-verse 11/6)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, comScore, Fox News Channel, Google, Hitwise, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Hitwise has released a ranking of some of the top news sites, measured by traffic on Election Day. CNN.com came out on top, seeing a 146 percent spike over the day before. But MSNBC.com, Fox News, and the Drudge report all saw nice bumps as well. ABCNews.com had a record day, with a 113 percent jump in traffic over the day before. And CNN’s Political Ticker blog by itself saw a 122 percent jump. (Twitter traffic rose 43 percent and traffic to Twitter Election 2008
rose 1,100 percent). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/hitwise-ranks-election-traffic-to-news-sites 11/5)
CNN emails to tell us they brought in 27 million unique visitors to their site on election day yesterday, a record. Comscore says they averaged just 5 million unique daily visitors in September, so this is more than 5x normal traffic. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/record-traffic-day-at-cnncom-27-million-uniques-276-million-page-views 11/5)
After vowing repeatedly to go through with its search advertising deal with Yahoo no matter what the Justice Department does, Google reversed course today and pulled the plug on the deal. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/google-pulls-the-plug-on-yahoo-advertising-deal 11/5)
Time Warner reported its third quarter results today and revealed that the AOL business isn’t doing too well but not as bad as some had expected (though it’s bound to get worse this quarter). Total revenues for Time Warner Cable remained flat compared to the same period in 2007 at $11.7 billion with earnings of 30 cents a share, while revenues for the AOL segment decreased 17% ($207 million) to $1.0 billion. Ad spending is hurting (6% decrease to $33 million), as are revenues from subscription services (26% decrease to $165 million). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/aol-earnings-are-in-6-ad-spending-decrease-for-q3 11/5)
A study by Anderson Analytics confirms what everyone already suspects: LinkedIn users are rich. Nearly 60% of users have incomes of $93,000 or more. Executives with an average income of $104,000 make up 28% of the 2,000 random users polled for the study. Another 30% are self-identified “consultants” with an average income of $93,000. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/study-linkedin-users-rich-annoying 11/5)
When Ashton Kutcher launched his animated show Blah Girls at TechCrunch50 earlier this year, he ran into MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe in the hallways. DeWolfe expressed interest in the show. Fast forward two months, and Blah Girls now has a distribution deal with MySpaceTV, which had 51 million unique video streams in August (Comscore). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/05/myspace-to-distribute-ashton-kutchers-blah-girls 11/5)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Barack Obama, Fox News Channel, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball NBC, Major League Baseball on CBS, NBC, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays
NBC‘s Meet the Press this past Sunday morning, featuring Colin Powell’s anticipated endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama, averaged 6 million viewers along with a national 4.3/12 HH rating. This was the largest audience for Meet the Press since February 8, 2004 when the late Tim Russert interviewed President George W. Bush. Also on October 19, ABC’s This Week pulled in nearly 3.4 million viewers and CBS‘ Face the Nation had close to 2.9 million viewers. (Cynopsis 10/24)
HBO is taking Curb Your Enthusiasm back into production this December for a seventh season. Ten new 30m episodes will be ready to debut in 2009. The comedy completed its sixth season, headlined by Larry David and Cheryl Hines, in November 2007. (Cynopsis 10/24)
For political junkies wanting to watch multiple news updates on election night, November 4, DirecTV offers a special Election Mix Channel, cites Variety. DirecTV will spotlight election coverage from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC as well as alternating feeds from Comedy Central and BBC America. Eight networks will be on screen simultaneously and viewers will select one to hear audio and also have the option to go full screen with any one network. DirecTV will broadcast Election Mix Channel in both hi-def and standard def beginning 7p on November 4 until 6a November 5. DirecTV offers a similar interactive service for its sports programs. (Cynopsis 10/24)
As more and more polls cast doubt on the McCain-Palin ticket, Hollywood producers and agents are discussing possibilities for capitalizing on Sarah Palin’s fame, ranging from an Oprah-style syndicated talk show to a Sean Hannity-like perch in cable news or on radio. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3icc3b73373ecfd4eb935ddcc53cb38f27 10/23)
So you won’t vote for her ticket but you will make money off of her? [sigh] I love Hollywood.
Fox television’s broadcast of the opening game of Major League Baseball’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays drew 14.6 million viewers, a drop from last year. The audience declined 14% from the 16.9 million viewers of last year’s first game. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aHC7TgbfTmA0 10/23)
CBS will give frosh comedy Gary Unmarried a shot in the arm by re-airing the pilot episode next Monday at 930p, replacing Worst Week, says THR and Live Feed. The network is hoping the higher rated Two and a Half Men will give the new sitcom a viewer boost. Wednesday’s night’s Gary Unmarried averaged 7.8 million viewers and posted a 2.5/7 among A18-49. (Cynopsis 10/24)
E! has re-upped with late-night comedian/talk show host Chelsea Handler, a move that will keep her “Chelsea Lately” show on the cable net through 2009. The show turned in a stellar third quarter, when it boosted its household rating 21% in the 11:30 p.m. time slot. Mediaweek (10/23)
NBC is using its legal clout to delay “Project Runway” from moving over to Lifetime while it launches a copycat show on its Bravo network, according to insiders. A casting call for Bravo’s new “Fashion House” is remarkably similar to pitches made by “Project Runway.” (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10242008/gossip/pagesix/nbcs_stealth_runway_clone_134982.htm 10/24)
FX has paid an estimated $8 million to get first cable rights to a trio of films from 20th Century Fox, according to this report. The cable network gets the movies — the currently showing “Max Payne,” “The X Files: I Want to Believe” and “The Rocker” — for a reported four-year window that opens in late 2010 or early 2011. Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter (10/23)
Sports fans in northern New Jersey should cheer: Comcast has announced that it will begin carrying MSG HD and MSG Plus HD. MSG HD has the New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty as well as the Buffalo Sabres, while MSG Plus HD’s lineup includes the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and a variety of programming from Fox Sports. Multichannel News (10/23)
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