Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Bravo’s Project Runway season five concluding episode Wednesday night at 9p with repeat airings at 11p and 12a attracted a total aggregate of nearly 4.8 million A18-49 viewers and almost 7.2 million total viewers. At the first 9p airing, the finale delivered approximately 3.2 million A18-49 viewers and close to 4.8 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 10/17)

Overall total estimated viewership declined for the final live Presidential Debate between candidates Senators Barack Obama and John McCain Wednesday night from approximately 9-1030p. Nielsen reports 56.5 million total viewers tuned into a combination of 11 networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, mun2 and tape delayed on Telemundo. According to Live Feed, NBC topped the list at 11.3 million; ABC 10.6 million; CBS 9.2 million; FOX News 9.1 million; CNN 8.9 million; and MSNBC 3.7 million. (Cynopsis 10/17)

The big news out of John McCain’s appearance on CBS’ David Letterman show Thursday night is that VP contender Sarah Palin plans to appear in person on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Palin will “probably get more of an audience than our debate did,” McCain says. (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/10/palin-mccain.html 10/16)

With the season finale of “Mad Men” just days away, the future of the hit television drama series is in question. Creator Matthew Weiner has not signed for another season. The official renewal of the first basic cable series to win the Best Drama Emmy Award has not been announced. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10172008/tv/big_babies_133904.htm 10/17)

SCI FI Channel set the premiere of the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica on January 16, 2009 at 10p. The series will air over 10 weeks and end with a finale on March 20. (Cynopsis 10/17)

Additionally on SCI FI Channel, the season finale of Destination Truth Wednesday at 10p packed in 1.0 million A18-49 viewers, 1.0 million A25-54 viewers as well as 1.6 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 10/17)

Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements says it is in talks with its bankers about the company’s debt as a result of the sharp drop in the value of CBS and Viacom stock. The company may be forced to sell ”all of its nonvoting shares and even begin to sell some of its voting shares.” (Iwantmedia 10/17, http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/10/redstone_may_have_to_sell_more.php 10/17)

Liberty Media chief John Malone is eyeing the “wild” yields offered by other media companies’ debt, echoing the tactics through which he built his cable empire. Liberty is “probably not the right buyer” for AOL’s dial-up business. But many content companies, such as Viacom, “look cheap.” (Iwantmedia 10/17, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cd97f0d2-9bcf-11dd-ae76-000077b07658.html 10/17)

Hollywood‘s big players are scrambling to determine how the economic meltdown will impact their businesses. While the film industry is seen as relatively protected for at least a year or two, television costs will be under pressure as advertising weakens. One TV exec predicts “major cuts.” (Iwantmedia 10/17, http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/17/news/economy/siklos_la.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008101710 10/17)

As promised by Chairman Brian Roberts at the beginning of this year, Comcast now offers more than 1,000 high-definition options through its linear channels and on-demand offerings. Comcast’s HD menu includes more than 200 movies via its on-demand platform and almost 300 TV shows. Broadcasting & Cable (10/15

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is ordering fines against Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications for preventing subscribers from receiving certain channels. Customers who use digital video recorders are being blocked from viewing certain channels. (Iwantmedia 10/17, http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20081016-000954-1546 10/16)