Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, Comcast, Fox Broadcasting Company, Hollywood Los Angeles California, JayLeno, NbcUniversal, Television, Television program
The deal between Comcast and NBC Universal is moving toward a likely official conclusion as media honchos gathered this week at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to kick tires, scrutinize balance sheets and perform due diligence. (The Wrap 10/22)
Jeff Gaspin, NBC Universal’s top television exec, claims that NBC will no longer program to profit margins — meaning no more “Jay Leno”-like programming that is profitable merely because it is cheaply produced. The announcement is said to be “stunning” Hollywood. (The Washington Post 10/23)
Stunning yes, if you consider that Marc Graboff (Co-Chairman/NBC) mentioned mere days ago at Digital Hollywood LA how profitable Leno was for the advertisers and how he considered that things were going “well.”
To satisfy the “Gleeks,” aka fans of new frosh series Glee, FOX said it will release the first 13 episodes of its music-filled drama on DVD at the end of this year, per Variety. ‘Glee’ Season One: Road to Sectionals will be available in stores by December 29. The 13-episode set will also contain a director’s cut of the pilot episode as well as behind-the-scenes features, cast audition clips and music performances from the show. Later in mid-2010 the full first season of Glee will be released on DVD, picking up the new original episodes slated to air on FOX next spring. The 13-episode set, coming out this December will also include a voucher toward the purchase of the full season box set. (Cynopsis 10/23)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CBS, Denver Nuggets, Hasbro, JayLeno, JeffZucker, Los Angeles Lakers, NbcUniversal, Television
ESPN on Tuesday night attracted a record-setting audience of 8.1 million viewers to its telecast of the opening game of the NBA Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. ESPN will carry Game 2 of the best-of-seven series tonight at 9 o’clock Eastern time. Multichannel News (5/20)
MTV has announced that it will premiere the newest installment of its venerable series “The Real World” on June 24. This time around — the show’s 22nd season — the cast of eight will congregate at a hotel in Cancun, where it will set up house and try to get along in the celebrated Mexican beach resort town. Variety (5/20)
The planned joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Kids to create a new channel for children with shows that are based on the toy maker’s products has received initial clearance from the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. The $300 million deal calls for Hasbro to have a 50% stake in the network. Broadcasting & Cable (5/20)
CBS is scheduling two strong returning shows, “Medium” and The Mentalist,” later in prime time, aiming to take advantage of NBC’s risky decision to give its 10 p.m. slot every weeknight to Jay Leno. “It’s a huge sea change,” says CBS chief Les Moonves of NBC’s Leno move. (Iwantmedia 5/21, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-cbs21-2009may21,0,3206747.story 5/21)
Moving Jay Leno to prime time is the biggest priority for NBC Universal, says CEO Jeff Zucker, addressing a gathering of 155 local-station reps. Broadcasters can’t “keep their feet planted in the cement blocks of the past. … “I’m not going to end up like Detroit or local newspapers.” (Iwantmedia 5/21, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/554e7c76-4594-11de-b6c8-00144feabdc0.html 5/21)
Science Channel’s new series “Science of the Movies,” which is set to premiere next Tuesday, will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the technology used to make science fiction films. In the first episode, host Nar Williams talks to John Dykstra, the man who invented a motion-control rig used to create the shot of the Death Star explosion in the 1977 “Star Wars” film. TVWeek.com (5/20)
Despite possible legal challenges, Cablevision plans to deploy its Remote Storage-DVR this summer, a service that allows cable-television subscribers to record shows on the cable company’s servers rather than on a home DVR. Programmers claim the service violates their copyrights. (Iwantmedia 5/21, http://www.pcworld.com/article/165282/cablevision_to_launch_controversial_remote_dvr_this_summer.html 5/20)
Cablevision has added high-definition programming from Starz Entertainment’s Starz on Demand and Encore on Demand services to its video-on-demand menu. Content includes original series such as “Crash,” “Head Case” and “Party Down” as well as theatrical titles such as “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.” Home Media Magazine (5/20)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: AmericanIdol, JayLeno, JeffZucker, National Football League, NbcUniversal, Oprah Winfrey, Television, The New York Times Company
As expected, Comcast and the NFL Network have made final a carriage deal. The agreement means that the National Football League‘s cable channel will be available by Aug. 1 on the digital-basic tier of the country’s largest cable provider, adding 10.8 million subscribers to the network’s roster. The Wall Street Journal (5/20) , The New York Times (5/19
As Fox’s “American Idol,” U.S. television’s No. 1 series, ends its eighth year, the juggernaut is seeing a 8.4% drop in average audience this season. While advertisers spent $903.3 million on “Idol” last year, it “has begun to show signs of wear,” analysts say. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-05-19-ratings-american-idol_N.htm 5/19)
A few years before NBC signed up Jay Leno to host a nightly series in prime time, the network approached both Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman about taking on similar gigs. NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker says Winfrey declined his offer to move her show to the network. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003977.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 5/19)
The season two finale of HISTORY’s Ax Men on Monday at 10p attracted 1.1 million A25-54 and 1.9 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 5/20)
The final episode of the first season of “River Monsters” on Animal Planet drew 1.4 million viewers, good enough to make the show the most-watched in the network’s history. “River Monsters” averaged 1.4 million viewers in its eight-episode first year, topping “Whale Wars,” which averaged 1 million viewers in its freshman season. Multichannel News (5/19)
A special sponsorship with Subway sandwich shops is enabling NBC to renew “Chuck” for a third season. Subway played a role in an episode of the series last month. Chuck’s girlfriend, Sarah, works at a mall food court. She could be selling Subway sandwiches next season. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/business/media/20adco.html?_r=1 5/20)
ABC confirmed the following returning series Better Off Ted, Castle, Scrubs, True Beauty, America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Brothers & Sisters, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Private Practice, Supernanny, Ugly Betty, Wife Swap, 20/20 and Saturday Night College Football. Cynopsis 5/20
Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation are working on a triple crown of sorts. The two companies, which collaborated on “The Penguins of Madagascar” and recently announced plans for “Kung Fu Panda: The Series,” now say they will team up on a pilot for Nick based on DWA’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” movie. The Hollywood Reporter (5/19)
Eight of the 11 new shows ABC is lining up for next season are made by outside suppliers, breaking with tradition. The move could save money for ABC because most shows fail, losing millions for the studios that produce them. Even successful programs typically lose money. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-abc20-2009may20,0,441327.story 5/19)
Comcast Corporation made an agreement with Disney and ESPN Media Networks to add ESPNU to its Digital Classic level as well as ESPN360.com to Comcast.net. The launch of ESPNU will coincide with the opening of the college football season. This launch takes ESPNU to more than 46 million subscribers and ESPN360.com will be available to almost 41 million homes. Cynopsis 5/20
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