Cable beats broadcast nets in sweeps for first time
Cable beat the seven broadcast networks in February sweeps for the first time ever, notching a 49.4 household share in prime time compared with broadcast’s 48.6. Cable is set to win its second straight broadcast season with a 51.8 share this season to date, compared with broadcast’s 45.7, according to Turner Research analysis of Nielsen numbers.
Continue reading Cable beats broadcast nets in sweeps for first time
Not-so-guilty pleasures
If you find yourself getting most of your news from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and feel guilty about not living up to your civic duty of being an informed citizen, I highly recommend watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. I've been a fan of Olbermann's ever since The Big Show on MSNBC, and if you ever watched Sports Night, you saw a close analog to Olbermann's time hosting ESPN's SportsCenter. The format reminds one of a sports highlight reel, with snark and attitude-- the highlight from the Michael Jackson trial re-enacted by puppets being just the latest example.
Continue reading Not-so-guilty pleasures
DVD starter kits
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment came out with starter sets for Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 24, The Pretender, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show yesterday-- 2 to 4 hour collections of episodes from the first season, priced to move at $9.99.
Fox has been incredibly aggressive in adopting the DVD model as a revenue source, and it's been hugely popular and profitable (according to Adams Media Research, revenue from three seasons of "24" on DVD had generated $72.1 million and six seasons of "Buffy" on DVD totaled $123.3 million in revenue by the end of 2004) and even led to the revival of Family Guy and Firefly. I look forward to seeing if this continues the trend.
Fox has been incredibly aggressive in adopting the DVD model as a revenue source, and it's been hugely popular and profitable (according to Adams Media Research, revenue from three seasons of "24" on DVD had generated $72.1 million and six seasons of "Buffy" on DVD totaled $123.3 million in revenue by the end of 2004) and even led to the revival of Family Guy and Firefly. I look forward to seeing if this continues the trend.
Family Guy live on stage
The "two-hour, multimedia extravaganza" will feature MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, and Mike Henry. The actors will read from a classic episode, take part in a Q&A and preview the first new Family Guy episode in three years.
Family Guy Live! is scheduled to premiere with two performances at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theater on April 15, followed by four shows at New York City's Town Hall on April 29 and 30. Tickets go on sale tomorrow.
The really amazing thing is that they don't look related at all.
Zogby: Santos favored over Vinick, 44%-28%
If you ever wondered what presidential pollsters do in the off years, wonder no more. Zogby has run a poll of 5,505 West Wing nuts (demographically weighted) and Santos is in the early lead. The poll also found 19% still undecided on the race, while 9% are not willing to support either candidate.
According to pollster John Zogby: "While the American people don’t go to the polls to elect a real-life president for some time, the attention of political junkies will be riveted to their television sets this fall. Unless Vinick can shore up his base, and make inroads among women, expect a Santos victory. Expect to see Vinick work to reach out to women as the campaign season wears on."
Full demographic breakdowns at the link.
Yeah, I've met her...
New commercial for Vegas: a woman is introducing herself to various men at various locations in the city as (in order) Cindy, Jan, Marcia, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha, Xena (?!?), Lucy (with her friend Ethel), Louise (call her Weezy), and Ginger.
Ginger, of course, meets Cliff and his buddy Norm.
Coming soon: the inevitable meeting of Gil, Catherine, and Nickie-poo.
Ginger, of course, meets Cliff and his buddy Norm.
Coming soon: the inevitable meeting of Gil, Catherine, and Nickie-poo.
Bush plans to keep doing government propaganda as news
Let the viewer beware:
President Bush said today that his administration's practice of sending packaged news stories to local television stations was legal and he had no
plans to stop doing it. The Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, has deemed the packages a form of covert propaganda, and said this ran counter to
appropriation laws and was a misuse of federal funds.
Bush cited a Justice Department opinion that disagreed with the GAO: "There is a Justice Department opinion that says these -- these pieces -- are within the law, so long as they're based upon facts, not advocacy," the president told a news conference.
Of course, this is the same Justice Department that says torture is okay, and if you've been watching 24 this season, you see how well that's been working.
Bush cited a Justice Department opinion that disagreed with the GAO: "There is a Justice Department opinion that says these -- these pieces -- are within the law, so long as they're based upon facts, not advocacy," the president told a news conference.
Of course, this is the same Justice Department that says torture is okay, and if you've been watching 24 this season, you see how well that's been working.
Bush promotes Martin to FCC head
Reuters reports that
President Bush has picked Kevin
Martin to head the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, replacing Michael Powell. Martin, 38, became a Republican FCC commissioner in 2001 and clashed with Powell over deregulating local telephone network sharing rules and relaxing media ownership limits. Martin's elevation does not require Senate confirmation. And like so many folks in this administration, he was a lawyer for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and worked at the White House in early 2001.
Making it up as they go
The New York Times has an article on the problems facing the writers of Lost, The O.C., Desperate Housewives, and 24 as they get down to the end of the season. It seems most of them are actually unwritten and unshot. "The monster of production is at your back; you're writing closer and
closer to deadline," said one "Lost" writer. They should look at the bright side-- they don't have it as bad as The District did a few years ago, where they had to deal with the sudden loss of the dearly missed Lynne Thigpen with only two episodes to go in the season.
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