Broadcasting & Cable back issues from May 2009:
Stations Search for Gold In a Post-Newspaper Landscape.(WJBK-TV (Detroit, Michigan))(Fox News Network L.L.C.)
May 04, 2009; ... By Michael Malone As major dailies fold, local TV tries to deliver all the news once fit to print WJBK did not wait for Detroit's two major daily papers to start cutting back distribution. On March 9, a full three weeks before the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News ...
Deals.
May 04, 2009 ... BIA Financial Networks TV WOAC (TV)/Troy, Ohio PRICE : $7,000,000 BUYER : Tri-State Christian TV (Garth Coonce, president and founder) SELLER : Multicultural Capital Trust (Lee Shubert, trustee) FACILITIES : DTV Ch. 47, ...
Indecent Proposals.(Fox Stations Group)
May 04, 2009 ... Staff There was an article several weeks back in the newspaper--yes, people still read those--about a group of legal scholars suggesting the Supreme Court shouldn't be appointed for life. After last week's decision by the court that the FCC had justified an indecency ...
Bruno Heller Didn't See This Coming.
May 04, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Mentalist creator has made his own name in the family business after early struggles Bruno Heller may have been genetically predisposed to writing. Growing up in England, he internalized both the fascination and dread of the craft. His father, Lukas ...
Freelance Journos Under Siege.(Occupation overview)
May 04, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Perils come to light as major news orgs cut foreign bureaus More Western news organizations are relying on freelance journalists to cover foreign countries where economic realities have forced the closure of fully staffed bureaus. And the cases of ...
Cable Programmers Increase International Focus.(Scripps Networks Inc.)(Rainbow Media Holdings Inc.)(Sundance Channel L.L.C.)(NBC Universal Inc.)
May 04, 2009; ... By Claire Atkinson Foreign markets represent upside amidst recession Are Rachael Ray and Candice Olson poised for global exposure? More American cable programmers are taking a fresh look at international expansion as domestic growth strategies become increasingly ...
Rock Solid.(economic foundation in Little Rock)
May 04, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Central Arkansas keeps keeping on As the second word in the name implies, there's a strong economic foundation in Little Rock. The employment picture stays relatively steady in the No. 56 DMA, thanks to the government jobs in the state capital and a ...
LATV's Strategic Shift.
May 04, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Hip Hispanic digital channel moving to more Spanish-language shows While LATV has long billed itself as a "bilingual" entertainment channel for Hispanics 18-34, the digital channel is subtly moving away from its English-Spanish background to focus ...
Syndicators' Integrated Thinking.(CBS Corp. CBS Television)(Kohl's Department Stores Inc.)
May 04, 2009; ... By Paige Albiniak As upfront approaches, shows tout branded tie-ins In March, CBS Television Distribution launched a feature in Entertainment Tonight and on ETOnline.com called "Get the Celebrity Look for Less," featuring stylist Lawrence Zarian recreating a ...
Highlights From the NAB Floor.(National Association of Broadcasters)(briefs)
May 04, 2009; ... By Glen Dickson Vendors used the show to launch new hardware, strategies Harris Pursues Alternate Markets The highlight of Harris Broadcast's NAB exhibition was a complete mobile DTV system that local stations can eventually use to deliver programming to ...
NBC's Pilot Upfront About 'Infront'.(National Broadcasting Company Inc.)
May 04, 2009; ... By Claire Atkinson Foresees pricing pressure and migration to cable across industry As NBC Universal kicks off its second annual "infront" presentation in New York on May 4, its once-dominant broadcast network faces the toughest ad environment in decades, with both ...
Disney-Hulu Puts Focus on CBS.(Walt Disney Co.)(CBS Broadcasting Inc.)
May 04, 2009; ... By Claire Atkinson Network under pressureto leverage online strategy With three of the four big networks now partners in online video hub Hulu, CBS is under pressure to either get on board or make its own strategy pay off. Disney confirmed on April 30 that ...
Lionsgate TV Ramps Up Reality Slate.(Zed)
May 04, 2009; ... By Melissa Grego Pacts with Amazing Race producers, Mark Burnett Lionsgate Television, known largely for sophisticated scripted cable series such as Mad Men and Weeds , is ramping up its reality television efforts by teaming with some of the biggest names in the ...
Swine Flu a Balancing Act for News Outlets.
May 04, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Biden and Besser didn't help efforts to show restraint National news executives say they are satisfied with how they have covered the swine flu outbreak, despite some alarming words from national authority figures that could have ramped up the panic ...
Obama Taps Clyburn for FCC.(Barack Obama)(appointment of Mignon Clyburn in Federal Communications Commission)(Brief article)
May 04, 2009; ... By John Eggerton The Obama administration last week made its second pick for the FCC, tapping South Carolina Public Service Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for the Democratic seat being vacated by Jonathan Adelstein. Clyburn is the daughter of House Majority Whip James ...
Ford Still Driving TV Deals.(Ford Motor Co.)
May 04, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Signs on to sponsor CNN's Black in America 2 Ford has signed on as a major sponsor of CNN's Black in America 2 . The African-American-focused news special attracted a diverse and relatively large audience when the first installment premiered last ...
Live Together or Die Alone.(broadcast networks)
May 04, 2009; ... By Ben Grossman I always love this time of year. Baseball season is kicking into gear, sundresses are back, and my annual trip to Alaska to try to reel in the biggest fish ever hooked by a Jew (halibut, not gefilte) is on the horizon. And in the TV business, it's the ...
Obama Earns High Marks for Media Focus.(Barack Obama)
May 04, 2009; ... By John Eggerton First 100 days includes putting DTV, broadband in spotlight Go to the White House home page and it is easy to find the DTV Delay Act prominently displayed under "Signed Legislation," the third piece of legislation signed by the president after others ...
Much A-Twitter About Something.
May 11, 2009; ... By Alex Weprin TV execs are eyeing the hot microblogging service as a research tool and eventual money-maker For authors, actors and inventors, there is a general rule of thumb: If Oprah has you on her show, you've made it. On April 17, when Oprah started ...
Positively Cautious.
May 11, 2009 ... Staff We're all for green shoots and happy thoughts and sunshine, but some of the relatively giddy prognoses coming out of the Wall Street earnings calls last week gave us at least a little pause. In case you missed it, amidst a slew of economy-battered earnings ...
Interactive Media Has Gould 'Inergized'.(Occupation overview)
May 11, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Newport TV's digital GM sees huge upside in local media When it comes to new media, Jason Gould is an old hand. He headed up an interactive media firm in the uncharted days of digital in the early 1990s, and was a pioneering force in helping ...
A Creative Approach to Sales.(WCBS-TV (New York, New York))
May 11, 2009; ... By Michael Malon WCBS tries novel way to drum up new biz e Taking a cue from another New York boss decades before, WCBS New York President/General Manager Peter Dunn is making advertisers an offer he hopes they can't refuse. Reaching out to clients that ...
Thunder' No Long Shot.(WHAS-TV (Louisville, Kentucky))(Kentucky Derby (Horse race))
May 11, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Kentucky Derby Festival wins on WHAS Hundreds of thousands flocked to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby May 2, quaffing mint juleps and watching the 135th Run for the Roses. But the real party started two weeks before a long shot named Mine That ...
Lionsgate TV's Kevin Beggs: A Guide's Guide.
May 11, 2009; ... By Melissa Grego Indie studio exec helps newly acquired TV Guide Network go show-shopping The Dish: How's this for some good news: There is a new buyer in town. Shortly after Lionsgate, the indie studio behind the huge horror franchise Saw and ...
Why Tribune Wanted 'Curb' and 'Entourage'.(Home Box Office Inc.)
May 11, 2009; ... By Paige Albiniak HBO shows will be new to many viewers and all advertisers Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm may not have been the hits for HBO that Sopranos and Sex and the City were, but they are two shows with a lot to offer. First, they appeal to men ...
'Sunday Morning' to Dawn in Hi-Def.(CBS Inc. CBS News)
May 11, 2009; ... By Glen Dickson CBS News stalwart makes move this week CBS Sunday Morning will help celebrate its 30th year by entering the high-definition age on May 17, when it begins broadcasting in the 1080-line-interlace (1080i) format. The top-rated Sunday morning ...
Jon Stewart to Make History Special.(A&E Television Networks)
May 11, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie The Naturalized highlights the network's most ambitious programming slate Jon Stewart, who knows a thing or two about irony, will create a two-hour special on a perfect target--the U.S. naturalization process--for History Channel, to air in the ...
Media Chiefs Selling Optimism.(Report)
May 11, 2009; ... By Claire Atkinson CEOs report brutal Q1, but claim signs of turnaround First-quarter results and second-quarter projections offered little evidence that the advertising market is actually back, but media chiefs from Rupert Murdoch to Leslie Moonves are sounding more ...
Jamie Oliver Gets ABC Show.(American Broadcasting Companies Inc.)
May 11, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie and Melissa Grego Seacrest backs unscripted project ABC has ordered six episodes of an unscripted series featuring celebrity chef and healthy-cooking guru Jamie Oliver. Produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, the series will have the ...
Analysis: Rehr Resigns From NAB.(National Association of Broadcasters)
May 11, 2009; ... By John Eggerton Timing, losses and lack of relationships cited by insiders David Rehr, who resigned as the head of the National Association of Broadcasters last week, appears to have been the victim of bad timing, a dearth of lobbying victories and an inability to ...
Confessions of a Twitter Cynic.
May 11, 2009; ... By Ben Grossman Here's how clueless I really am: One day a long time ago, a friend called me and I told him I would call him right back on his cellphone. When I dialed his digits, I was immediately met by the theme to a popular TV show. Figuring it had gone right to ...
Cialis Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
May 11, 2009; ... By John Eggerton Washington makes another attempt to curb ED ads Efforts are being pushed in Washington to either ban, or give viewers the option to remove, what have become among the most well-known ads in broadcast programming: erectile-dysfunction commercials. ...
Singing for Their Supper.(televison networks)
May 18, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Network television took a beating this season, so showing advertisers signs of a rebound is crucial As the broadcast networks head into the annual New York upfront week to generate early buzz for new programming and peddle next season's wares to ...
Deals.
May 18, 2009 ... By BIA Financial Networks TV KQDK-CA/Aurora, Colo.; KWWF (TV)/Waterloo, Iowa; KQCK (DT)/Cheyenne, Wyo. PRICE : $7.05 million BUYER : Valley Bank SELLER : Equity Media Holdings Corp. (Jason Roberts, secretary) FACILITIES : ...
First Things First.
May 18, 2009 ... Staff "I assure you that the First Amendment has no greater defender than the former constitutional lawyer who now occupies the White House." With that recent statement, Anna Gomez, the acting head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, gave ...
Fates & Fortunes.(appointments)(BASEProductions)
May 18, 2009 ... Staff BROADCAST JACK L. PECK , GM, WPTY/WLMT Memphis and WJKT Jackson, Tenn., has been named GM, KMPH/KFRE Fresno. ROOP RAJ , anchor, WDSU New Orleans, has been named reporter/anchor, WJBK Detroit. PROGRAMMING JOHN DAVIS , line ...
Optican Opts In At Fremantle.(FremantleMedia Enterprises has appointed Tony Optican)(Brief article)
May 18, 2009; ... By Paige Albiniak Hey, Hollywood: In case you haven't noticed, Fremantle's hiring. On Monday, Rob Clark was named president of FremantleMedia Worldwide Entertainment. Now FremantleMedia North America has hired Tony Optican as senior VP of scripted programming, says ...
For Tiles, It's How You Play the Game.(G4 Media Inc.)
May 18, 2009; ... By Alex Weprin G4 president has upped target demo ratings by expanding beyond video games When he joined G4 as president in 2005, Neal Tiles faced a daunting task: to create a new voice, programming strategy and look for the Comcast-owned cable network. ...
Goin' to Jackson.(Jackson Television)
May 18, 2009; ... By Michael Malone News-hungry Miss. capital a "jewel" Jackson may be the No. 90 DMA, but general managers here say it plays larger than that number would indicate. Local news viewing ranks "very high," according to an index from Frank N. Magid, thanks to an abundance ...
Stations Doing Well by Doing Good.
May 18, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Local television scores points--and revenue--with community gardens and cash for the needy While every station is digging around for new revenue streams, KWQC Davenport, Iowa, may be the only one taking the concept literally. The Young ...
ABC Studios Shopping 'Reaper' to Stations.
May 18, 2009; ... By Paige Albiniak Originals could be headed to CW affils Sundays ABC Studios wants to produce original episodes of Reaper , an hour-long dramedy, to syndicate to CW affiliates for Sunday nights, station and other sources confirmed last week. The idea has ...
Leno Study: Good News for Late News.(National Broadcasting Company Inc.)(Survey)
May 18, 2009; ... By Michael Malone NBC affils board claims synergy between Jay and local news The NBC affiliates board was very pleased with the results of a comprehensive study it commissioned to find out how to best retain local-news viewers coming out of the Jay Leno 10 p.m ....
Seacrest: 'Idol' Could Be Due for Big Changes.(American Idol)(Interview)
May 18, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Future of format, Cowell up in the air as season finale arrives With the entire season of American Idol seemingly a drawn-out coronation for Adam Lambert, the competition itself hasn't provided too much suspense. But as Ryan Seacrest would say, this ...
ESPN Broadens Its Pitch.(ESPN Inc.)(Brief article)
May 18, 2009; ... By Alex Weprin and Claire Atkinson Greenlights SportsNation ESPN is knocking on new doors in an effort to drive revenue in the troubled economy, according to media buyers. "They're trying to go deeper on who watches ESPN and trying to suggest women watch, ...
Atlanta Stations Set to Share.(Brief article)
May 18, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Top-rated WSB won't participate in content pool trial Three Atlanta stations are scheduled to kick off a trial run this week that will see them share content in the No. 8 DMA. Fox O&O WAGA, Gannett NBC outlet WXIA and Meredith CBS ...
Dr. Oz Checks Out of 'Oprah'.(Mehmet Oz)(Oprah Winfrey)(Brief article)
May 18, 2009 ... Staff Dr. Mehmet Oz and a gloved Oprah Winfrey shared a toast May 12 as "America's Doctor" made his last appearance on Oprah before launching his own show this fall. Sony Pictures Television, which is a partner on the show with Winfrey's Harpo Productions, has now cleared Dr ....
Time for Nets to Restore Some Faith.
May 18, 2009; ... By Ben Grossman Not long ago, I was in a pre-upfront meeting with a few network executives--some of the ones who had the guts to actually talk just before the upfronts--when I asked one of them to tell me what their hot projects were. When one started to recite some ...
VOD, DVD Releases Converge.(Video-on-demand)
May 18, 2009; ... By Stuart Miller In a business where timing is everything, timing may not be so important after all The phrase "Coming Soon" has taken on new meaning for studios, as more movies hit video-on-demand at the same time as DVD or, in some cases, their arrival in theaters ....
TV's Time-Shifted Future.(Time Warner Cable Inc.)
May 18, 2009; ... By Glen Dickson VOD vendors scale on-demand architectures for more content, platforms As the volume and variety of content on cable operators' video-on-demand (VOD) platforms steadily increase, providers of VOD hardware and software are tweaking their offerings to ...
Genachowski Still Watching His Wait.(Federal Communications Commission)
May 18, 2009; ... By John Eggerton FCC workload grows bigger as chairman hearing is postponed At the FCC, the workload continues to pile up. Meanwhile, in Washington, the spirited game of "Where's Julius?" goes on. Julius is, of course, Julius Genachowski, the ...
Ad Execs: Go Ahead, Call It a Comeback.
May 25, 2009; ... By Claire Atkinson Buyers shine to network entries but don't rush to buy Broadcast television is emerging from the wreckage of the writers' strike with what advertising executives are calling a better development season than many have seen in years. From the acting ...
Fox: Rice Launches Assault on Cable.(Peter Rice of Fox Broadcasting speaks about television ratings)
May 25, 2009; ... By Melissa Grego and Claire Atkinson New chairman touts broadcast's supremacy; buyers' eyes on Human Target In his first public comments since moving from the film business to television, new Fox Broadcasting Chairman of Entertainment Peter Rice touted TV in general ...
ABC: Recession Specialist?(ABC Entertainment Television Group)
May 25, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Net starting from scratch on Wednesdays, investing in ramped-up comic relief Disney-ABC TV Group President Anne Sweeney opened ABC's upfront presentation to advertisers at New York's Lincoln Center on May 19 by acknowledging the turmoil wrought by ...
CBS: Strength, Stability Are Sexy.
May 25, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Network casts its consistency as alluring, touts comedy brand "Young" and "sexy" were the catchwords at CBS' upfront presentation at Carnegie Hall on May 20 as the network, known for its older viewers, attempted to put an alluring spin on being the ...
NBC: Hopefully Devoted to Leno at 10.(National Broadcasting Company Inc. NBC Entertainment)
May 25, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Network banks on well-received development, commitment to originals While executives at ABC and CBS invoked NBC's Jay Leno move as an opportunity for a viewer grab at 10 p.m., NBC Entertainment co-chair Ben Silverman last week professed the network's ...
The CW: New Year, New Focus.(CW Entertainment's youth services)
May 25, 2009; ... By Marisa Guthrie Network drops comedy, Sundays to concentrate on drama, reality, an engaged Gen Y Last year, CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff addressed advertisers and the media at the network's upfront as a hologram. She was there in person, too, but the ...
Turner Spreads the Wealth.(Turner Broadcasting Europe Ltd.'s aims hispanic markets)
May 25, 2009; ... By Claire Atkinson and Alex Weprin Takes on broadcast with series from Lopez, Romano, Spielberg and Bruckheimer Turner Broadcasting unleashed a blizzard of talent at its upfront presentation last week, making a play for the notion that it's ready to compete with ...
ESPN Extends Reach.(ESPN Inc. recieves digital rights for covering football matches)(Brief article)
May 25, 2009; ... By Mike Reynolds At its upfront presentation, sports network ESPN emphasized its considerably growing reach more so than its programming punch. Network execs announced that ESPNU, the company's college network, will launch on Comcast's Digital Classic tier in a ...
Highlights and Lowlights and Cougars, Oh My.(Column)
May 25, 2009; ... Ben Grossman By Ben Grossman If you skipped the upfronts in New York last week, here's a quick primer on what you may have missed while you were apparently setting your computer to speed-dial for Kris Allen. Come to think of it, the week included a performance by LL ...
Fooled Again.(television broadcasting)
May 25, 2009 ... Staff We've come to look forward to Jimmy Kimmel's monologues at ABC's upfront presentations, where the late-night host serves as roast-master for network TV as a whole and his own network's lineup in particular. But this year's bit at New York's Lincoln Center was especially ...
Leading the War for Independents.(Independent Film and Television Alliance)
May 25, 2009; ... By David Tanklefsky IFTA CEO Prewitt wins battles in D.C. and keeps membership's needs front of mind Independent Film & Television Alliance Chairman Lloyd Kaufman knew early on that Jean Prewitt was special. So much so that he put his money where his mouth was: The ...
Pride of Milwaukee.
May 25, 2009; ... By Michael Malone WITI rides Idol's coattails to gains After a heady few months of euphoria, Milwaukee has crashed back to Earth. Yes, local boy Danny Gokey, the folksy crooner who made the final three on American Idol , was voted off May 13. Dubbed "the Pride of ...
An Advertising Idea That's Spot-On.(Singular Logic)
May 25, 2009; ... By Michael Malone Weather vet Douglas storms ad-serving world with choice-making technology When he was chief meteorologist at WCCO Minneapolis, Paul Douglas got pretty adept at seeing what sort of weather was coming up around the bend. Since his departure from the ...
Telairity Targets HD ENG Market.(Telairity Semiconductor Inc.)(high definition electronic newsgathering)
May 25, 2009; ... By Glen Dickson MPEG-4 specialist launches chopper-encoder Telairity, a small Santa Clara, Calif., startup specializing in MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding) compression, sees a big opportunity in more stations converting their electronic newsgathering (ENG) ...
Back End Driving More Scheduling Moves.(CBS Medium)
May 25, 2009; ... By Paige Albiniak CBS' Medium move is one of several upfront-week decisions helped along by vertical integration Executives at CBS are calling Medium , which it acquired last week after NBC passed, a perfect fit for the network. And it is--both creatively and ...