Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: American Broadcasting Company, Arts, CBS, Fox News Channel, NBC, NBC Universal, Television, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Harking back to its heyday, ABC made a deal to bring back Who Wants to be a Millionaire? for a limited two-week stint this summer, in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary. Regis Philbin will also return as host for the 11-night run beginning August 9. The one-hour show will air Sunday-Thursday at 8p, ending on August 23. ABC saw interest in the game show revive based on the successful feature film Slumdog Millionaire which features the Indian version of the game show. (Cynopsis 4/23)
Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, collectively, are becoming the face of NBC Universal‘s Oxygen cable network. “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” on May 26 will begin its fourth season on Oxygen, the network is developing a new show titled “Mr. and Mrs. Makeover” that the two will host, the pair are in talks with the network to star in a telepic and Spelling is set to produce content for Oxygen’s Web site based on her book “Mommyhood.” Variety (4/22)
NBC exiled drama series Kings off its schedule entirely. Beginning this Saturday, NBC will air repeats of Law & Order: SVU, followed by the new Southland and Law & Order. The network will allow Kings to bow on its schedule again starting June 13 at 8p and finishing its run through July 25. (Cynopsis 4/23)
NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox are facing both growing competition and dwindling advertising dollars. The 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. prime-time period is likely to become shorter and networks may start turning over programming to outsiders on some nights of the week, say industry execs. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/apr2009/db20090422_256972.htm 4/22)
The hostility between Fox News Channel and MSNBC reached a fever pitch when Fox producer Jesse Waters infiltrated the GE shareholders meeting and asked company execs about an alleged leftward political slant at their cable news channel. Waters’ microphone was cut off. (Iwantmedia 4/23, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/finance/news/e3i888016761f9ec8245aee50586df5ba1a 4/22)
ABC is heading north of the border for a new series to add to its primetime lineup, picking up a Canadian cop drama titled Copper, cites THR. The 13-episode series about rookie cops is described as being similar to Grey’s Anatomy. (Cynopsis 4/23)
African-American-skewing BET is creating a new network that will launch in October. The new network, to be called Centric, will complement BET, executives said, by targeting a slightly older and more affluent demographic. The New York Times (4/23) , Multichannel News (4/22)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Chicago Tribune, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, NBC, New York, New York Jets, New York Mets, Rod Blagojevich, Verizon FiOS
Female-focused Lifetime Networks earlier this week announced its 2009-10 programming slate, a robust lineup that includes five new unscripted shows, six dramas and a comedy titled “Drop Dead Diva.” The network also will spotlight divas of another sort: On Aug. 20, Lifetime will premiere “Project Runway,” the runaway hit that has moved from Bravo. Reuters (4/21) , MediaPost Communications (4/21)
TV viewers this summer won’t watch former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich navigating his way through a Costa Rican jungle after all. According to the Chicago Tribune, a US District Court Judge denied Blagojevich’s request to change the travel conditions of his bail to appear as a contestant on NBC’s I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! (Cynopsis 4/22)
Verizon FiOS TV and SNY, the official TV network of the New York Mets, New York Jets and the Big East Conference, made a programming deal allowing New York area viewers to receive VOD sports content. Verizon FiOS subscribers in New York City, Westchester and Rockland counties, Long Island, Buffalo and Northern New Jersey will now have available for free more than 120 New York Mets regular season game telecasts, classic Mets games, Big East programming and more. (Cynopsis 4/22)
Bravo is in development on a new docu-series based on the hip fashion retail boutique Fred Segal Fun based in Santa Monica. The as-yet-untitled project will showcase the fashion forward styles that Fred Segal Fun is known for as well as the competitive sales team and the demanding high-end clientele they serve. (Cynopsis 4/22)
NBC is negotiating to finalize a single-camera untitled comedy headlined by Debra Messing, reports THR. NBC gave the project a script commitment and an episodic guarantee for Messing. 3 Arts and UMS will produce the comedy about a laid-off CEO (Messing) who becomes a full-time wife and mother. (Cynopsis 4/22)
Lions Gate is said to be in talks to sell a minority stake in its TV Guide cable channel. The film studio will choose from among three bidders in “the very near term.” Lions Gate plans to remake the TV Guide channel into an entertainment network similar to Bravo and F/X. (Iwantmedia 4/22, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=apLG0eetE4mo 4/21)
Tweens and teens prefer cable TV programming over broadcast shows by a 77%-23% margin, according to a new study by Pangea Media and Ypulse. The study also found that 65% of respondents would rather watch a TV show live than using a DVR to time-shift (25%) or online (10%). MediaPost Communications (4/21)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Handhelds, Hulu, iPhone, NBC, Patent application, Smartphones, Videoconferencing
Ask people what their favorite website is, and increasingly you’ll hear Hulu
<!—->class=”snap_preview_icon”> (at least in the US). The NBC and Fox-backed online video service just kicks ass when it comes to content, interface and overall execution. And now it’s apparently going to attempt to translate that into a kickass iPhone app, according to Business Insider<!– > class=”snap_preview_icon”>.(http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/17/hulu-for-the-iphone-yes-please-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up-just-yet/ 4/17)
Talking about it just makes me want it too much.
Two recently filed patent applications suggest that Apple may include features that incorporate motion and gesture user interfaces as well as videoconferencing in upcoming versions of the iPhone. However, given the advanced nature of the features and the time it would take to develop them, they may not make it to the market for some time, if at all, according to this report. CNET (4/16)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: American Idol, Costa Rica, Fantasia Barrino, Jay Leno, NBC, Rod Blagojevich, Television, USA Network
Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich may end up starring in NBC’s summer reality series I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here. Blagojevich will participate in the live series event if a federal judge approves and allows him to travel to Costa Rica from where the show will originate. The series will debut on NBC June 1 and will air as a strip over four weeks. (Cynopsis 4/16)
“WWE Raw” and “NCIS” helped USA Network secure the top prime-time ratings spot among ad-supported cable networks for the week ended April 12 … its 14th consecutive win this year. The network delivered an average 3.08 million total viewers during the period and also finished first in the 25-to-54 and 18-to-49 demos, with 1.46 million and 1.37 million, respectively. Mediaweek (4/15)
Fantasia Barrino, the Grammy-nominated singer who rose to fame after her appearances on “American Idol,” is getting her own reality show on VH1. The series, which is expected to premiere sometime next year, will delve into her so-far meteoric career as well as her off-stage life as a single mom. The Hollywood Reporter (4/15)
After a week of discussions with NBC, Boston’s WHDH-TV says that Jay Leno‘s new 10 p.m. comedy show is a go this fall in the time slot in which it had planned to run its early newscast. Both sides say that that their differences have been resolved. NBC calls it “a happy ending.” (Iwantmedia 4/16, http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/04/14/leno_will_air_at_10_on_whdh_tv/ 4/14)
TNT scored with the NBA during the 2008-2009 regular season, reporting year-to-year increases in key demos based on information from Nielsen, including:
A18-49: + 17% 980,000 vs. 835,000
A25-54: +16% 881,000 vs. 760,000
M18-49: +12% 691,000 vs. 617,000
M25-54: +12% 614,000 vs. 547,000
Pro basketball continues on TNT as the network’s 40 Games in 40 Nights coverage of the 2009 NBA Playoffs begins this Sunday with a trio of games and TNT will provide exclusive coverage of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. (Cynopsis 4/16)
Discovery Channel’s season five premiere of Deadliest Catch on Tuesday night at 9p hooked the largest average audience in the series’ history including 2.6 million A18-49, nearly 2.8 million A25-54 as well as almost 1.6 million M18-49 and 4.1 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 4/16)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, Daytime Emmy Award, High School Musical, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, NBC, Television, Television network, Television program
Animal Planet attracted a record-setting 1.3 million viewers to Sunday night’s debut of “River Monsters,” including 647,000 in the targeted 25-to-54 demographic group. The episode was the most-watched premiere in Animal Planet’s history and pulled in more viewers than any other regularly airing prime-time telecast on the network in more than six years. Broadcasting & Cable (4/7)
NBC dethroned its drama series Kings, opting to move it off of Sunday nights at 8p to Saturdays at 8p, starting April 18. Originally, Kings had been slotted to air Thursdays at 10p but was moved by NBC Entertainment President Angela Bromstad to Sunday nights where the most recent episode averaged a 1.1 rating among A18-49. The new John Wells drama series Southland gets the prime Thursday at 10p time slot this week. (Cynopsis 4/8)
In May, Fox will broadcast a “sneak peek” of its new television series “Glee,” a comedy-drama about a high school glee club that has echoes of Disney’s lucrative “High School Musical.” After airing the pilot episode May 19, Fox will re-introduce “Glee” this fall. (Iwantmedia 4/8, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/business/media/08rice.html 4/8)
Nickelodeon has added a pair of live-action buddy comedies to its production slate. One is for an as-yet-untitled series that will be about two surfing pals in search of the perfect wave, while the other will be called “Telepathic” and revolves around high school students with supernatural powers. The Hollywood Reporter (4/7)
The CW will broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards for the first time on August 30. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences made a deal with The CW to broadcast this year’s show from the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, at the same time the network plans on debuting its new fall lineup. Previously, ABC and CBS alternated airing the awards show but after both declined the NATAS offered it to The CW along with first time show producer, Associated Television International. (Cynopsis 4/8)
From television networks selling downloads of shows, to music companies trying to curb file-sharing, to struggling newspapers and magazines, the make-or-break question is this: How do you get consumers to pay for something they have grown used to getting free? (Iwantmedia 4/8, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/business/media/08pay.html?_r=1 4/8)
More food comes in June as Bravo debuts Top Chef Masters, the spin-off of its Top Chef series, on June 10 at 10p. The flip-flopped premise of this competition/elimination series has 24 world-famous chefs trying to out-do each other until one winning chef remains receiving $100,000 for the charity of their choice. Throughout the series run, guest stars and celebrities will be featured including Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, the past Top Chef winners as well as appearances by Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons among others. (Cynopsis 4/8)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, Drama, ER, NBC, Programs, Series finale, Television, Upper East Side
The season and series finale of ER last Thursday night on NBC drew in 16.2 million viewers for the big two hour episode, and a 6.0/16 rating among A18-49, reports Nielsen. These numbers mark ER’s finale as the biggest final episode since the X Files signed off in 2002. (Cynopsis 4/6)
The 9th season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: US vs. UK on Spike TV last Wednesday drew in its highest M18-49 rating since season #4, and its most watched premier since Season #5, with a 1.8 rating in the demo, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers. (Cynopsis 4/6)
Slumdog Millionaire’s Anil Kapoor has joined the cast of Fox’s 24 as a regular in the upcoming 8th season. Kapoor will play a Middle Eastern leader who heads up a peacemaking mission in the US. (Cynopsis 4/6)
Bravo on June 16 will make a run at the 18-to-34 demographic with “NYC Prep,” a docu-series about six prep school students on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Frances Berwick, Bravo’s executive vice president and general manager, said she hoped the series appeals to all ages: “No matter how old the characters are on screen, if they’re relatable they’ll attract an audience that spans several age groups.” Adweek (4/5)
In the next four to six weeks, the cable TV industry will launch its first national advertising campaign that uses the latest in addressable-ad technologies, according to David Verklin, chief executive officer of Canoe. The campaign, details of which still are being worked out, will allow an advertiser to tailor its message based on demographics in the country’s 2,400 cable zones. Multichannel News (4/3) , Reuters (4/3)
Cox Communications has started the second phase in the national rollout of a service called My Primetime, which lets viewers watch prime-time shows on a variety of broadcast and cable TV networks about 12 hours after their original appearance. The cable firm already has introduced My Primetime in eight of its markets, and it is now looking to offer it in an additional 10. TVWeek.com (4/5)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Cartoon Network, Gordon Ramsay, JayLeno, Kitchen Nightmares, National Basketball Association, National Football League, NBA, NBC
Hoping for input into Jay Leno‘s fall primetime program, the NBC affiliates board is conducting a study to keep local newscasts from suffering due to the network’s decision to move “Leno” to 10 p.m. The study will help reveal, for example, the ideal length of Leno’s monologue. (Iwantmedia 3/24, http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/190391-NBC_Affils_Launch_Study_to_Shape_Leno_.php 3/23)
In a sign that media rights for major sports may defy the recession, the National Football League is entering a four-year extension with DirecTV valued at $4 billion — a 43% increase over the current deal. The league will soon seek new deals with broadcasters. (Iwantmedia 3/24, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123786503490122053.html 3/24)
Lifetime’s latest adaptation of a Nora Roberts novel, “Northern Lights,” attracted 4.5 million viewers in its premiere on Saturday night. The movie scored 1 million women between the ages of 18 and 49 and 1.2 million in the 25-to-54 group. Variety (3/23)
Hmmm…could their affair have anything to do with it? Don’t know what I’m talking about. Grab an Us Weekly or check out your favorite gossip blog.
Fox has ordered up a second season of Kitchen Nightmares feature Gordon Ramsay‘s visits and fixes of restaurants in dire need of help. (Cynopsis 3/24)
Turner is expanding its 25-year relationship with the National Basketball Association with a number of projects in development for the television, online and mobile platforms. First up is a short-form TV series about the kids of NBA players titled “My Dad’s a Pro,” which is slated to debut on Turner’s Cartoon Network this fall. The Hollywood Reporter (3/23)
A year ago, the smart money was on GE dropping NBC Universal, but the media company has shed its “black sheep” image and is a cash-contributing asset, according to this report. GE’s overall profits were down 22% in 2008, but NBC Universal, with cable assets such as USA and Bravo, saw profits increase 1%. The New York Times (3/23)
AT&T’s U-verse IPTV service is expanding its ethnic programming line-up adding international channels to serve Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese and Korean viewers in the U.S. New offerings include Mandarin-language based ET News and ET Global; Hindi-based STAR India PLUS, added to the South Asian package for no extra charge; Korean drama and variety channel MBC America; and the Vietnamese-dubbed TVBV drama channel. (Cynopsis 3/24)
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