Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Business, NBC, News Corporation, Philippe Dauman, Sumner Redstone, Time Warner Cable, Viacom, Weather Channel
TV viewers will see more of Al Roker on weekday mornings as he signed on to host a new program for The Weather Channel called Wake Up With Al. The 60m program, with TWC’s Stephanie Abrams as co-host, will begin each weekday at 6a starting this summer. Wake Up With Al will offer an in-depth look at the day’s weather and Roker will appear in the studio, chatting with guests and viewers as well as in the field, reporting on weather where it happens. (Cynopsis 4/30)
NBC picked up another season of The Celebrity Apprentice slated for Spring 2010 from Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Currently, this season The Celebrity Apprentice is averaging a 3.5/9 among A18-49 with 8.6 million overall viewers. (Cynopsis 4/30)
Viacom says its first-quarter profit fell 34%, hurt by falling advertising and entertainment revenue. But CEO Philippe Dauman is pointing to signs of an ad turnaround, a critical factor for the company’s cable assets. “Over the past few weeks we have seen the ad market stabilize.” (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090430/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_viacom 4/30)
Sumner Redstone says he has no plans to step down anytime soon or give up his controlling positions in CBS or Viacom. “I have no intention of dying.” Also, newspapers are one business “I’d never be in.” (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE53S9C520090429 4/29)
Peter Chernin is keeping his cards close to his vest about his post-News Corp. plans, but dismisses talk that he is being wooed by Viacom. “Nothing, no conversations,” says News Corp.’s president and COO. (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/04/panel.html 4/29)
Time Warner Cable during the first quarter beat analysts’ expectations by adding 36,000 basic-video subscribers, 121,000 digital-video customers, 225,000 high-speed Internet subscribers and 166,000 phone lines. The country’s second-largest cable provider reported that revenue was up 5%, to $4.4 billion, but net profit fell to $164 million. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (4/30) , OneTRAK (4/29) , Reuters (4/29)
Powered by its “Waking the Baby Mammoth” special, National Geographic Channel recorded its best April performance during prime time. From March 30 to April 26, the network averaged 445,000 total viewers as well as a 0.28 rating in the 25-to-54 demographic group, the latter of which was a 17% gain. Multichannel News (4/29)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Bright House Networks, David Walliams, Democratic National Convention, NBC Universal, Television, Time Warner Cable, Weather Channel, Weather.com
Average viewer results from the third night of the Democratic National Convention per Nielsen and as reported by TV Week during the 10p hour, which featured a speech by Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden, had NBC first at 5.46 million, followed closely by CNN at 5.38 million, CBS 3.54 million, ABC 3.48 million, FOX News just a little under 2.70 million and MSNBC at 2.27 million. Also per Nielsen, the combined total viewer number during 10p from eight networks offering live coverage: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, BET and TV One declined from Tuesday night’s number to 24.0 million. The combined total among A18-49 viewers also decreased slightly to nearly 8.2 million. (Cynopsis 8/29)
Six of the country’s top cable TV providers that are involved with the industry’s Canoe Ventures have banded together to offer a new channel called Elections ’08 On Demand, a service that allows viewers to select a variety of political content whenever they want it. The new channel, available in about 32 million homes, was developed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks and represents Canoe Ventures’ first TV product. The New York Times (8/28)
HBO debuts the U.S. version of Little Britain USA on September 28 at 1030p, following new episodes of the comedy Entourage. Little Britain USA, with six episodes, is written by Matt Lucas and David Walliams, who starred in the UK/Australia edition and will continue to portray a variety of characters, some new and some from the original version, in all-new sketches. (Cynopsis 8/29)
Click the image below for a trailer of the new series.
Bravo’s finale of Shear Genius on Wednesday at 10p delivered 1.64 million A18-49 viewers as well as 2.54 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 8/29)
The European Commission has approved The Weather Channel and Weather.com sale to NBC Universal and its partners for $3.5 billion. More Landmark companies likely will be spun off as part of the transaction, according to the commission. CNNMoney.com/Dow Jones Newswires (8/28) , The Hollywood Reporter (8/28)
Nielsen projects TV households will increase 1.5% in the 2008-09 season, growing most in ethnic and over-55 homes, according to this report. Asian TV households are expected to grow the most: a rise of 4.4%, to 4.7 million. Mediaweek (8/28)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, HBO, Landmark Communications, NBC, NBC Universal, NBC Weather Plus, Weather Channel
HBO on Sunday will premiere “Generation Kill,” a seven-part miniseries about the Iraq war. At $55 million, the miniseries is being described as the most expensive production to date on the conflict, and it comes from David Simon, the man behind HBO’s “The Wire.” (The Sun (Baltimore) 7/6)
Click the image below for the site and a trailer of the new series. Love David Simon. The Wire still stands as my most favorite TV series of all time. Marauder love on this one even though the Iraq war conflict plot seems a bit over-aired at this point in time.
NBC Universal — along with partners Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group — have announced a deal to acquire The Weather Channel, which is said to reach 96 million basic cable households, from Landmark Communications. NBCU intends to keep The Weather Channel running as a separate operation, having no plans to merge it with its NBC Weather Plus. (The New York Times 7/7, The Wall Street Journal 7/7)
NBC Universal is developing a new audience measurement system that can chart viewership of an event over several different media vehicles. The company, for instance, will issue its new Total Audience Measurement Index on a daily basis during this summer’s Olympics, for channels including NBC, Oxygen and CNBC and their corresponding Web sites. (Mediaweek 7/7, The Wall Street Journal 7/7)
Michael Phelps competes in the 100-meter butterfly final at Saturday’s U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, Bain Capital, Beverly Hills 90210, Landmark Communications, NBC Universal, Television, The CW Television Network, Weather Channel
ABC Family‘s debut of The Secret Life of the American Teenager Tuesday night (8p) delivered the best-ever original series telecast in the network’s history with W18-34 (620,000); W18-49 (891,000) and F12-34 (1.4 million). (Cynopsis 7/3)
Shannen Doherty may join her former castmates of Beverly Hills, 90210 and reprise her role as Brenda Walsh on The CW’s new spinoff series 90210, reports Variety. Shannen would be reuniting with Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth who are in place reprising their former characters. (Cynopsis 7/3)
The Weather Channel could be sold in the next day or so, according to this report, which speculates that is how long it will be before Landmark Communications announces that it will sell the cable net to a group composed of NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital for between $3 billion and $3.5 billion. NBC Universal declined to discuss the report. (The Boston Globe/Reuters 7/2)
Time Warner Cable, which is in the process of being spun off from Time Warner, will pursue its core businesses after going independent and will look to bring the company within a debt target by the end of 2009, according to Robert Marcus, chief financial officer of the country’s second-largest cable provider. But, Marcus added, Time Warner Cable isn’t likely to act on continued speculation that it wants to own Cablevision anytime soon: “I think it’s a long-shot deal,” he said. “When and if it ever comes on the market, will we look at it? Absolutely.” (Bloomberg 7/2, Broadcasting & Cable 7/2)
Cablevision Systems said it would add 15 free high-definition channels to its offerings, a move that will bring the Bethpage, N.Y., company’s HD roster to 60. The new channels include Discovery, Nickelodeon, The Weather Channel, FX, AMC and Fox News. (Yahoo!/Reuters 7/2)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: America, Arts, Best Dance Crew, MTV, NBC Universal, Television, Time Warner, Weather Channel
The top contenders to purchase The Weather Channel are now known: Time Warner and a combination of NBC Universal and Blackstone Group LP, reports the WSJ. Today is the deadline for the second round of bids, and the going rate for the network is estimated between $3 and $4 billion. (Cynopsis 5/23)
MTV renewed Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew for a second season starting June 19 at 10p. (Cynopsis 5/23)
USA Network ordered 16 additional episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent which has moved its production headquarters to the new NBC U Cable Studio. (Cynopsis 5/23)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Gemstar-TV Guide International, Jeffrey Bewkes, Macrovision, NBC Universal, Television, Time Warner, TV Guide, Weather Channel
Gemstar-TV Guide International‘s shareholders approved the sale of the company to DRM provider Macrovision for $2.8 billion. The company says it wants to peel off TV Guide Network, TV Guide Magazine and horse racing channel TVG. (Cynopsis 4/30, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080429/macrovision_gemstar_tv_guide.html 4/29)
Not surprisingly, Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes has decided to sell off the conglomerate’s stake in Time Warner Cable. “A complete structural separation of Time Warner Cable, under the right circumstances, is in the best interests of both companies’ shareholders,” he said. (Bloomberg 4/30)
Some on Wall Street and in Hollywood are asking: Can Sumner Redstone afford not to reunite Viacom and CBS? Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner says it is “suicidal” for the two companies to remain separate. Together, Viacom and CBS are “more like Disney or GE.” (http://blogs.mediapost.com/on_media/?p=159 4/30)
News service Reuters is reporting that CBS and NBC Universal will come together in the second round of bidding for The Weather Channel with a consolidated bid. Second-round bids are due May 8, and the joint offer from CBS and NBCU is expected to be in the range of $3.5 billion to $4 billion. (Reuters 4/29)
Hollywood studios and the Screen Actors Guild appear to have made little headway toward a new contract after more than two weeks of negotiations. The talks are said to have bogged down over how much actors should be paid across both new- and old-media platforms. (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sag30apr30,1,5608404.story 4/30)
Most of the major broadcast networks are dramatically scaling back the number of Los Angeles staffers they plan to send to New York for their upfront presentation to advertisers in May. CBS is said to be slashing its contingent by more than 50%. This year’s event seems “less relevant.” (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://www.variety.com/VR1117984827.html 4/29)
Household ratings are up 20%, to 2.1, for TNT’s coverage of the NBA playoffs so far this year. Through the first 17 games, TNT also is surging in key demos: up 32% among adults 18 to 34 and men 25 to 54. (Mediaweek 4/29)
HBO received eight Sports Emmy Awards, the most of any TV network, including the prize for outstanding sports journalism for a report on football-related concussions by “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.” ESPN won four Sports Emmys and TNT and ESPN.com each took home three. (Mediaweek 4/29)
FX is developing a motorcycle drama titled “Sons of Anarchy,” which will premiere in September and star Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal. The series will go spoke-to-spoke with HBO’s “1%,” another drama revolving around motorcycle culture. (Variety 4/29)
Fox News Channel will begin simulcasting in high definition Thursday with distribution from Time Warner Cable in parts of New York City and in San Antonio, Texas. Fox News HD will operate in the 720-line progressive format. (Broadcasting & Cable 4/29)
Verizon has received a cable TV franchise agreement from the city of New York. The agreement, which still must be approved by the city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee, would pit Verizon against Time Warner Cable and Cablevision. (The Boston Globe/Associated Press 4/29)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CNN, Fox News Channel, Hallmark Channel, HBO, MSNBC, News broadcasting, Time Warner, Weather Channel
HBO is developing what is being described as a dark comedy about a down-on-his-luck father who discovers that his below-the-belt girth can help transform his life. The show, titled “Hung,” is the first project for Sue Naegle, who became HBO’s entertainment chief Monday. (Variety 4/23)
A Chinese school teacher and a beautician are filing a lawsuit against Time Warner‘s CNN over remarks they say insulted the Chinese people and are seeking $1.3 billion in compensation — $1 per person in China. Commentator Jack Cafferty had described the Chinese as “goons and thugs.” (Iwantmedia 4/24, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSPEK30866720080424 4/24)
CNN’s coverage of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary Tuesday averaged nearly 2.56 million viewers, good enough to overcome the other top cable news channels for the night, according to Nielsen. Fox News Channel recorded 2.36 million viewers, and MSNBC had 1.62 million. (Multichannel News 4/23)
Based on a Hallmark Channel analysis of Nielsen’s C3 commercial-ratings data, Nick at Nite retained 95.5% of its audience through commercial breaks in the first quarter — the best of any cable net. Hallmark finished second with 93.2% and was followed by The Weather Channel with 92.5%, TV Land with 92.1% and Cartoon Network with 91.4 to round out the top five. (TVWeek.com 4/23)
NBC and the National Hockey League are continuing their partnership through the 2008-2009 season. Under this agreement, NBC will air the NHL Sunday Game of the Week during the regular season per usual utilizing flexible scheduling, broadcasting nine Sunday afternoon games in all. The network will also provide coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final which may equal 15 post-season games in total. (Cynopsis 4/24)
Fox has ordered up a new pilot from exec producer JD Roth called Bad Dads, hunting down deadbeat dads who owe ex-wives child support, reports THR. At the helm is Jim Durham, who is also the head of the National Child Support Center. Durham first calls the dads and offers them a chance to make things right, and when that doesn’t work, in classic ambush TV style, he finds and confronts deadbeat dads in public places. (Cynopsis 4/24)
Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have pulled out of a joint venture with Sprint Nextel to develop a quadruple play of voice, video, Internet and wireless services under the banner Pivot, according to this article. “We remain committed to bringing a wireless component to our portfolio of services, but we don’t believe Pivot was the best option,” said Jill Ullman, a spokeswoman at Cox. (MSNBC/Associated Press 4/23)
Comcast filed for a restraining order against AT&T in Chicago complaining its U-Verse service is causing problems for its cable modem customers, reports Ars Technica. AT&T says it added 148,000 new U-verse customers this quarter, bringing its IPTV base to 379,000. (Cynopsis 4/24)
Computer hacker Christopher Tarnovsky is testifying in court that News Corp. unit NDS Group hired him to develop pirating software. But he denies using it to penetrate the security system of rival satellite-TV service Dish Network. The trial could result in millions of dollars in damages. (Iwantmedia 4/24, http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23591694-5014239,00.html 4/24)
