Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Business, Chief executive officer, Ellen DeGeneres, Financial services, General Electric, Hollywood Reporter, Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal
With the star power of Ellen DeGeneres, Kobe Bryant and Carlos Santana, George Lopez pulled in 3.2 million viewers with the premiere of his talk show. The debut of “Lopez Tonight” was presented across Turner nets TBS, TNT and truTV, with TBS accounting for 1.7 million viewers. The Hollywood Reporter(11/10)
NBC Universal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Zucker will lead the joint venture currently being negotiated that would control the media conglomerate, according to unnamed sources cited in this report. Comcast is in talks with current NBCU owner General Electric about taking a majority stake in the company. Reuters (11/10
It may not be long before the troubled MGM studio is forced by its creditors to seek a buyer. That’s the word coming out of a Nov. 4 meeting between MGM CEO Stephen Cooper and the debt-hobbled film company’s 140-member creditor committee. According to one source with knowledge of the meeting, the creditor group turned thumbs down on a proposal by Cooper to convert the studio’s $3.7 billion debt into equity as part of a restructuring plan to keep the studio out of bankruptcy. (BusinessWeek11/11)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, CBS, Comcast, General Electric, NBC, NBC Universal, New York Times, Television
Media-watchers say the big story of the the 2009-10 television season is the rise of the Fox network, up 3% in viewers thanks largely to its new musical comedy “Glee” and the strength of medical drama “House.” Fox is the only broadcaster that is “up in all demos.” (Iwantmedia 11/2, Reuters10/30)
Comcast is closing in on a deal with General Electric that would give the country’s largest cable provider majority control of NBC Universal. According to unnamed executives, the two sides arrived at a tentative agreement Friday and the deal could be signed in the next week. The New York Times(11/1) , Reuters (11/2)
Several weeks after David Letterman was shaken by an image-rocking scandal, CBS‘ “Late Show With David Letterman” has shown little sign of weakening audience support. Far from hurting the host’s popularity, the sex-and-extortion headlines seemingly have had little impact on his late-night show and possibly even
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Arts, General Electric, NBC, Sarah Palin, Super Bowl, Television, USA Today, VideoSurf
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
President Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration marked the first time that online viewers outnumbered television-watchers. The TV industry is moving slowly toward the Internet, analysts say, but the “flawed but efficient” 70-year-old TV model continues to bring in more revenue than online. (Iwantmedia 2/3, http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSTRE5115HB20090202 2/2)
Living without a cable subscription may soon become possible for even hardcore TV fans. Netflix sent out an email survey to a handful of subscribers over the weekend asking them if they would be interested in paying an additional $9.95 for streaming access to original shows and premium movies from HBO via the company’s Watch Instantly feature. HBO has been cautious in developing a digital distribution strategy. Netflix has been pushing to license more content for instant streaming. Its first deal with a premium programmer was struck with Starz last fall to allow members to access the Starz Play broadband movie service as part of their subscription. (Cynopsis 2/3)
NBC‘s foray into the world of 3D broadcasting will also extend to the online world of Chuck. NBC.com began streaming the episode “Chuck vs. The Third Dimension” in both 2D and 3D for free beginning this morning at , complete with a full range of interactive options including live invitation-only viewing rooms, casual games and a 360 degree virtual tour of the Chuck set. (Cynopsis 2/3)
With online video viewing becoming increasingly popular, companies such as VideoSurf are helping a new wave of Webizens enjoy a more satisfying and targeted experience, according to this report. VideoSurf’s product, for example, uses facial-recognition software in its searches that has the ability to distinguish between Sarah Palin and Palin impersonator Tina Fey. USA TODAY (2/2)
This year’s game may have been unusually thrilling, but the fact of the matter is that most people tune in to watch the Super Bowl for the ads (and an excuse to gorge on beer and chips). For this year’s event a number of groups tapped into Twitter to try to get a real-time perspective on how each ad fared. One of the more impressive reports was put together by SocialMedia
, an advertising network that focuses on social networks. Their report, called the TweetBowl, plots the number of tweets relating to each commercial over time, allowing us to easily see which commercials were the most popular, and which had the most staying power. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/02/tweetbowl-taps-into-twitter-to-find-the-super-bowls-real-winners-the-ads 2/2)
PepsiCo’s Sobe and Doritos ads dominated online chatter following the game accounting for almost 40% of the top 10 conversations (both positive and negative), according to social measurement service Collective Intellect. Coke managed to grab 12% of the Top 10 share-of-voice, despite its ads being pushed to the second half of the game by Pepsi’s purchase of the first half. Of the five brands with the highest online activity, Audi had the highest “brand affinity/loyalty” association. (Cynopsis 2/3)
Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching. Fortunately, Animoto has you covered. The site has put together a new Valentine’s Day card that allows you to submit a handful of photos of you and your loved one to automatically a generate a great looking video-slideshow set to the music of an appropriately sappy love song. It only takes a few minutes to put together, but to anyone who hasn’t been exposed to Animoto before it’s pretty impressive – at least, it’ll buy you enough time to run down to the store and grab something a bit more tangible. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/03/animoto-launches-the-perfect-last-minute-valentines-gift 2/3)
Dell’s Twitter experiment seems to be working. After making $1 million during the holidays by alerting Twitter followers to sale items, Dell is now offering discounts exclusively to the 11,844 people who follow @DellOutlet. For instance, here is a Tweet with a link to a 30-percent-off deal on an XPS laptop. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/03/dell-starts-offering-exclusive-discounts-through-twitter 2/3)
Video sharing site Bablegum has opened up voting for its 2nd Annual Babelgum Online Film Festival, the jury of which will once again be led by Spike Lee. More than 600 professionally-produced entries are available for free viewing online and via 3G enabled mobile devices. The top vote recipients are vying for top cash prizes of 20,000 Euros each. (Cynopsis 2/3)
Members of the Association of Downloadable Media reached an agreement to support a set of standards for podcast ad formats and audience measurement. Among the 25 creative options outlined in the charter are standardized pre, mid and post roll insertions, guidelines for product placement within shows as well as rules for in-show host endorsements of products. The standards were drawn up last summer and have been at least partially adopted by more than 25 digital media players including Burst Media, NPR, KCRW and Revision3. Conspicuously missing from the list of supporters is Apple, the dominant distributor of podcasts and a founding member of the ADM. (Cynopsis 2/3)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Barack Obama, CBS Evening News, CBS News, Federal Communications Commission, General Electric, NBC Universal, New Adventures of Old Christine, Television
Oxygen on Sunday attracted 145,000 18- to 34-year-old women, its largest audience ever in that demographic, with a marathon showing of “America’s Next Top Model Obsessed.” Total viewers watching the 12 episodes from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. gave the network a 25% gain compared with the average in the same time period for the previous four weeks. Broadcasting & Cable (1/22)
On Wednesday at 8 p.m., CBS will pre-empt “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” to air a special edition of “The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.” The move is not intended as a tryout for a new show, CBS says. The broadcast aims to attract new viewers to the evening news. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/arts/television/23cour.html?_r=1 1/23)
Smells like desperation to me… I think the controversy surrounding Katie’s new haircut is more interesting than her news program.
General Electric is reporting that its fourth-quarter net income fell 44%. “We expect 2009 to be extremely difficult,” says CEO Jeff Immelt. At GE’s NBC Universal, earnings fell 6.3% while revenue slid 2.7% as strong cable earnings were offset by declines at local stations. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090123-710183.html 1/23)
The Disney-ABC Television Group plans to merge its ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios units to streamline the creative process and “address the changing realities” of entertainment. The new unit, the ABC Entertainment Group, will be led by longtime ABC exec Steve McPherson. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20090122-001044-1837&hpadref=1 1/22)
President Barack Obama has named Michael Copps as acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Copps, a member of the commission, is expected to run the agency until Obama’s technology adviser, Julius Genachowski, is appointed. Mediaweek (1/22)
The Screen Actors Guild is losing the support of a majority of its board to vote on a strike after a faction within the union backed a plan to suspend the vote. The update follows months of preparations for a strike vote that would have shut down production of studio movies and television shows. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_en_bu/hollywood_labor 1/23)
Lifetime has ordered 20 half-hour episodes of a new cooking series, “Cook Yourself Thin,” to start in the spring. Author Harry Eastwood, who penned a book that led to a British TV show, will join experts Allison Fishman and Candice Kumai in demonstrating how to make meals healthier by reducing calories and fat. Variety (1/22)
NBC ordered a 60m pilot titled Mercy from writer Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights), reports THR. The dramedy centers on three nurses who are friends and intertwined in each other’s professional and personal lives. Universal Media Studios will produce. (Cynopsis 1/23)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, Cable television, General Electric, Immelt Jeffrey R, NBC, NBC Universal, Television, Time Warner
NBC Universal will post a $3 billion profit in 2008 and has “a fighting chance” to turn in flat earnings next year, according to Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of NBCU parent General Electric. Immelt told investors that TV stations are feeling the recession but that his corporation has been successful, in part, because it has aggressively diversified into cable TV programming. 
ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (12/16) , Adweek (12/17)
Looking to replicate NBC Universal’s ratings success with the 2008 Olympic Games, Time Warner and CBS are in preliminary talks about combining their cable and broadcast assets in a bid to win TV rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, according to this report. If successful, the combo would include TV platforms such as TNT, TBS and CNN. USA TODAY/The Associated Press (12/17)
HBO promoted the pilot “Hung” to full-series status with a premiere date expected in June. The show is described as a dark comedy about a high-school basketball coach who finds a way to leverage his below-the-belt asset. The Hollywood Reporter (12/18)
Production is underway in Los Angeles on Party Down the new original series from Starz Entertainment and television production unit Starz Media. The 30m comedy is about a six-person catering team working in L.A. with each hoping for their big break. (Cynopsis 12/18)
ABC Family brings back its summer series The Secret Life of the American Teenager with twelve new one-hour episodes. Moving to Mondays this season, the series will debut January 5 at 8p and is produced by Prodco, Inc. in association with Brendavision. (Cynopsis 12/18)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: 20th Century Fox, Animation, Arts, Entertainment, General Electric, Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal, Simpsons
Production has resumed for the 20th season of FOX’s The Simpsons as the starring voice talent signed a new four-year agreement with 20th Century Fox TV this weekend. Salary negotiations between the cast and studio have delayed production on the show and as a result only 20 episodes will be completed instead of the usual 22. The agreement increases each voice actor’s salary to around $400K per episode and adds new duties for some. (Cynopsis 6/3)
Fans of FX series “Rescue Me” will get a little something extra beginning June 24. That’s when the channel will begin running five-minute “minisodes” of the Denis Leary-starring comedy as a way to bridge the nearly two-year gap between the fourth and fifth seasons of the show. (Variety 6/2)
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker is being forced to find creative ways to finance deals after getting the financial equivalent of the cold shoulder by parent General Electric. Slowing growth prospects and investor pressure are making GE’s financial pockets “much shallower.” (Iwantmedia 6/3, http://www.nypost.com/seven/06032008/business/nbc_goes_it_alone_113758.htm 6/3)
A new study from IAG Research showed that viewers of advertising that appears within the video-on-demand format as opposed to linear TV are far more likely to remember the spots. The study found that viewers who saw a series of Lexus commercials within VOD shows were 68% more likely to recall the ad messages and 83% more apt to remember the brand itself. (Mediaweek 6/2)
In today’s changing environment, media moguls are said to struggling to understand whether they should buy or sell assets. “Old-media guys are trying to transform into new-media ‘it’ girls,” says one observer, “while upstarts are thinking, ‘Hey, maybe I can take down a dinosaur.’ ” (Iwantmedia 6/3, http://www.thedeal.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1211840632968&pagename=TheDeal%2FNWStArticle&c=TDDArticle 5/30)
Rainbow Media’s Voom, a 15-channel suite of high-definition channels, has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Dish Network, charging that the satellite service unfairly dropped Voom channels in mid-May. The suit, filed with the New York Supreme Court, says the Dish move has cost Voom more than $1 billion in damages. (Multichannel News 6/2)
Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield upgraded small-market provider Mediacom Communications from “neutral” to “buy,” noting the company’s recent success at signing customers up for its triple play of services. The move boosted the company’s stock price as much as 24% on Monday. (Multichannel News 6/2)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Bear Stearns, Financial services, General Electric, NBC Universal, Real Housewives of New York City, United States, us
The season premiere Tuesday of “Deadliest Catch,” Discovery’s salty series about professional fish haulers, was the network’s best ever. Back-to-back episodes at 9 and 10 p.m. pulled in 3.39 million and 3.53 million viewers, respectively, according to the company. (Multichannel News 4/16)
On Bravo Tuesday night, the network aired the first season finale of The Real Housewives of New York City (10p) which attracted 1.06 million A18-49 and 1.43 million total viewers. The network just announced the series was picked up for a second season. Also this night, the third season debut of Work Out (11p) tallied 593,000 A18-49 and 764,000 total viewers. (Cynopsis 4/17)
With General Electric’s stock plunging to its lowest level in four years, once-isolated calls for at least a partial breakup of the conglomerate have become a chorus, with NBC Universal emerging as a prime candidate for a sale or spinoff. A breakup of GE “is looking more viable.” (Iwantmedia 4/17, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/business/17electric.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 4/17)
HBO was the big winner Wednesday at the National Association for Ethnicity in Communications’ Vision Awards event, bringing home two prizes for its “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” movie and a third for the “D.L. Hughley: Unapologetic” special. CNN and Disney each won two Vision awards at the Beverly Hills ceremony. (Multichannel News 4/16)
HBO’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Marissa Jaret Winokur has been signed by Sony TV for a daytime TV syndication deal, possibly for Fall 2009, per Variety. Also coming for fall 2009 – daytime talker with Marie Osmond from Program Partners. (Cynopsis 4/17)
ABC Studios made a two-year pact with author Jennifer Weiner to create and executive produce series projects for the studio. Jennifer’s novel In Her Shoes was developed into a 2005 feature film starring Cameron Diaz. She currently has a novel Little Earthquakes in development at Universal and a short story The Guy Not Taken in development at DreamWorks. (Cynopsis 4/17)
Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network are now available in high definition. The company said its research showed that nearly half of women 18 to 54 would add one or both of the channels to their HD package if it were available. (Broadcasting & Cable 4/16)
Midwestern cable provider Insight added 45,700 basic customers in 2007 along with 143,400 broadband subscribers and 134,500 phone customers, the last of which was a big achievement considering that Insight added just 33,500 phone customers in 2006. Overall, the company’s 2007 revenue rose 14%, to $1.4 billion, and operating income was up 17%, to $572 million. (CED Magazine 4/16)
Dish has announced that it has added three HD markets: Baltimore; Columbia, S.C.; and Green Bay, Wis. The company now offers HD in 46 markets, it said. (OneTRAK 4/16)
