Article Recommendation - When TV Became Art

I just wanted to post a link to an awesome article by Emily Nussbaum that was recently published in New York Magazine titled "When TV became Art". The article doesn't really address the business aspects of the industry, but Nussbaum makes a really insightful observation about television earlier in the decade: "this was most central and importantly the first decade when television became recognizable as art, great art: collectible and life-changing and transformative and lasting". If you have some free time I highly recommend checking out the article, but be warned, it's very long so make sure you have time to read it all before you start.

GE and Vivendi Reach Deal About NBCU

Just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know that GE and Vivendi have reached a deal for Vivendi to get 5.8 billion for its 20% stake in NBCU. This is really setting the stage for the Comcast-GE deal which will give the cable distributor a 51% stake in NBCU. Variety is reporting that the Comcast-GE deal could be announce by the end of this week at the earliest, though it may take up to a year for the deal to move through all the regulatory issues.

CBS Yanks 'Three Rivers'

The latest casualty of the fall 09 television was announced this morning as CBS yanked medical drama 'Three Rivers' off the air effective immediately. The 9 PM time slot on Sundays will be filled by repeats of crime procedurals beginning this week. This news is no surprise (the show's not very good) and the show's lead actor, Alex O'Loughlin, failed to attract his 'Moonlight' fans and create a stable fan base.

Even though 'Three Rivers' tanked in the ratings, CBS has had a very strong line-up among 25-54 year olds and overall viewers, particularly with freshman drama 'NCIS: L.A.'. The extra hour gives the Eye network the opportunity to launch one of its midseason shows in a stable time-slot or adjust it's line-up for the spring. Either way, this news by no means spells trouble for the network.

NBC's Zucker - "Whatever It Takes To Put On The Best TV"

At a Paley Center Event last week NBC CEO Jeff Zucker sat down for a Q & A with CNBC's Erin Burnett. One of first subject that Burnett brought up was the impending takeover by Comcast. Zucker stated that Comcast was assessing the strength of their assets and that over 75 percent of NBCU's profits come from its cable networks. This certainly isn't surprising considering the state of the NBC's broadcast shows over the past few years; however, it's still a shockingly high number that doesn't bode well for broadcast television.

When asked about The Jay Leno Show, Zucker attempted to stress that they're doing "whatever it takes to put on the best television...[and] quality content wins out". It seems to me that Zucker is just trying to cover up his previous statements to the press that put the emphasis on how cheap Leno's show is to produced rather than that it's quality television.

Zucker also confirmed that NBC is interested in FOX's push for retransmission fees, but that he expects it to be three or four years before that would become a viable business model. This is a step in the right direction, but the retransmission fees wouldn't be so important if NBC was able to actually produce shows that people want to watch. Even Zucker echoed that sentiment at the end of the Q &A when he said that "we've probably gotta do a better job... at being smarter" in primetime.

Execs Convene to Discuss Online Television

On Tuesday, NBC's Marc Graboff, CBS' Nancy Tellum, Warner Bros. Bruce Rosenblum, and the WGA's John Wells met at a B & C event to discuss streaming television for free online and the effect it's having on the industry. All of the panelists agreed that now is a crucial time for the television industry, and that they are responsible for finding a way to stop cord cutting. However, at the event none of them seemed to be able to provide any solutions.

Another topic that came up is DVR and the affect its had thus far. According to Graboff "none of us is getting compensated for time-shifting on DVRs...[and] it's a huge leak in the bucket". While DVR has had a negative financial effect on the broadcast industry, it is much less of a problem currently than everyone predicted. What the execs need to focus on is online television. This forum was a step in the right direction but I think that television executives need to start meeting more because the only way they are going to hash out a long term business model for the television industry is by coming together to address industry problems.

NYMag Takes a Hit at Leno, Zucker, and NBC

Last week New York Magazine printed a pretty scathing article on NBC, entitled "Why NBC Deserves Better Than Leno". The article is focused on what it considers to be the network's biggest problems, Leno, Jeff Zucker, and potentially Comcast. Rather than give you a synopsis I'm just going to post a few of my favorite quotes, because honestly, NYMag pretty much hit the nail on the head.

On why it's clear NBC is in trouble: It’s easy to enumerate how dire things are for the network: The fourth-place finishes, night after night, in both total viewers and the 18-to-49-year-old demographic that still serves as TV’s gold standard. The absence—for the third year running—of any new hit show.

This is about a company that has lately seemed to hold in contempt the very idea of a broadcast network, and that has become a symbol of the death of ambition in an industry that, in its glory days, attempted to program for both mass and class. Without that goal, a network is nothing but a basic-cable channel with a gloomier business plan and an uglier balance sheet.

On Jeff Zucker: If you don’t really believe in network television as a workable model anymore, why run a network? Broadcast TV, even in an age of infinite options, is still an institution with heft and force, but Zucker has often behaved like the grudging caretaker of a dying giant. His spin on falling numbers? The whole system is broken!

On Leno and the NBC brand: The face of the network, by virtue of sheer omnipresence, is Jay Leno, who, at 59, is not any network’s demographic ideal. He may not be killing NBC, as TV Guide recently speculated, but it’s beginning to feel like he’s participating in an assisted suicide. One thing’s already clear: Remaking an entire prime-time lineup in his familiarly peevish image was a Hail Mary pass, not a long-term business strategy. And one suspects the network knows it.

Zucker Will Keep Job In Comcast-NBCU Deal

Reuters is reporting that NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker is to be made the head of the impending NBCU-Comcast merger. According to the deal, Zucker would lead the new company, without a clause that requires him to exit after a specific period of time.

But I've got to ask, is this really what's best for NBCU? Under Zucker's reign the Peacock network has taken a huge hit, creatively and financially. While it's true that NBCU's cable channels are the crown jewels of the company, the broadcast network is responsible for carrying the reputation of the brand name. In the past few years, NBC has become the punching bag of the television industry, and the seemingly inevitable transfer of ownership is the perfect excuse to shift the leadership and try to reclaim NBC's place atop the broadcast network dog-pile.

I have no problems with Zucker himself, but there's no denying that NBC has suffered the past few years. It's time to introduce some new faces into the company's leadership roles, who may provide exactly the fresh perspective and innovative ideas that NBC needs to dig itself out of this hole it's in.

'Dollhouse' Axed, No One Surprised

EW's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Dollhouse will end after its 13 episode run this fall. Even diehard Joss Whedon fans, like myself, aren't surprised that FOX has finally pulled the plug on the ratings-challenged drama that really hit its stride creatively in its second season. The show barely averaged 3 million viewers on a Friday night death slot and lost about 25% of its first season audience this fall. After FOX pulled 'Dollhouse' from its November sweeps schedule most people considered that to be the final nail in the show's coffin. This announcement seems like a mere formality.

To FOX's credit, they stuck with 'Dollhouse' a lot longer than most other networks would have. Even giving the show a second season was a huge leap of faith that show would be able to find a larger audience over the summer hiatus. That said, FOX certainly could have done a lot more to promote the show. They stuck it on a night where viewers are scarce to begin with and then barely advertised for the show, expecting viewers to magically tune in. Unfortunately, 'Dollhouse' was a show perfect for a cable network, like SyFy, and it really couldn't sustain itself in a broadcast model (Eliza Dushku, the female lead, had a development deal with FOX so the show had to be pitched to them first). Hopefully, Joss Whedon will think twice about bringing his ideas to a broadcast network in the future.

Leno Ratings Hit New Low

Last night Leno's show hit a 1.2 rating among 18-49 year olds with almost 4 million viewers, a new low for the comedian. NBC claimed early on that The Jay Leno show would only need to receive a 1.5 rating for it to be financially successful, which for most prime time shows is an easily achievable feat. According to the NYTimes, The Jay Leno Show is stronger among male viewers, so the combination of post-season baseball and Monday Night Football has really taken a toll on Leno's ratings.

While I'm sure that sports have had a negative impact on Leno's ratings, that still doesn't excuse the fact that on a daily basis the viewing audience continues to send a message to NBC that they aren't interested in watching a late-night talk show during prime time. It remains to be seen how the poor lead-in is financially affecting affiliates; however, there is a clear correlation between the poor 10 o'clock ratings and the slipping ratings for Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon. No one is interested in watching 3 hours of talk shows per night. NBC needs to put their pride aside and realize that their experiment isn't working and attempt to salvage what's left of their prime time line-up.

NBCU Valued at 30 Billion

Today, GE and Comcast moved one step closer to a deal that would give Comcast 51% ownership in NBCU. The two companies have agreed on a 30 billion dollar valuation for the majority share of NBCU; however, there are still plenty of things that could put a stop to the deal. Most importantly, Vivendi has yet to announce that it is exercising its option to sell its 20% stake in NBCU (they have until the first full week in December to make this announcement). Assuming Vivendi decides to sell, anti-trust claims from the FCC could also stop Comcast's plan to own NBCU. More news should follow this announcement in the coming weeks as Comcast and GE move closer to finalizing the deal.

FOX is Most Improved Network

According to data analyzed by tvbythenumbers.com, FOX is this year's most improved network. FOX is up in the key demos, 18-49 and 18-34, versus last year, while both NBC and ABC have had almost identical ratings drops. CBS is still holding strong with its core of 25-54 year olds; however, it was been lost the lead to FOX, which normally only becomes the ratings leader in the spring with its powerhouse, American Idol. TVBytheNumbers has created some very pretty, and useful, charts that I recommend you check out here.

I think these statistics are, for the most part, a reflection of the quality of each network's fall lineup. This season FOX has some of the best and most buzzed about scripted shows on television (House, Glee, Fringe, etc.), and it's nice to see its ratings reflect that. Of course, that isn't always the case; CBS is a ratings powerhouse and it fills its lineup with about 5 of the exact same show with different titles (CSI and NCIS franchises I'm looking at you). It'll be interesting to see if FOX continue their momentum and hold their high ratings until juggernaut, American Idol, returns in the spring.

TNT Officially Picks Up 'Southland'

TNT announced this morning that it picked up 'Southland', the cop drama that NBC unceremoniously dropped from its line-up last month. The cable network plans to begin airing the first season of 'Southland' in January at 10 PM on Tuesdays facing off against the NBC show that brought about its premature demise, 'The Jay Leno Show'.

The TNT pick-up is only for the 13 episodes that the show has already produced. Depending on its Tuesday night ratings in January the network will make a decision on whether or not to order additional episodes. I think this is a great move for TNT because a solid cop drama fits right in with their other programming, and if they do decide to order additional episodes it will save them a bit of money because the sets are already built. It'll be interesting to see whether or not TNT will be more willing to give the show the time to grow and find an audience than NBC was.

Jay Leno Talks TV

Jay Leno gave an exclusive interview to Broadcasting & Cable, in which he talked about moving to 10 PM, the negative press coverage, and his relationship with the NBC affiliates. Here are a few snippets of the interview that I think are the most interesting/relevant to the media coverage surrounding The Jay Leno Show:

About the negative press: "This is our toughest period; we are the complete flip side of regular TV. Sweeps we'll do the worst, non-sweeps we'll do the best. When people realize that reruns are on for an extended period of time, we'll see how we do and how we pick up."

About NBC's support: "No, they are standing behind it, they're fine. They are treating me well. I think they are giving us all the support they can. Lead-ins are important. On the nights when we have a strong lead-in, we are competitive; on the nights we don't, it's up to us to try and carry the ball ourselves….I think people like a fighter. And if you just keep swinging, eventually people are going to get tired of hitting you. They're going to say, “We've been beating this guy up for six months, let's move on.” That's sort of the way I look at it."

About the NBC affiliates: "I called a bunch of them last week. Unless they are the greatest actors in the world, they seem to be hanging in there and say they are in it for the long haul. I called Baltimore, Boston, the head of the affiliate board. They don't see it as dire as a lot of people are making it out to be….I think they seemed pleased that someone on at 10 o'clock is concerned about their well-being and their lead-in."

Hulu CEO - "We're Not Giving It Away For Free"

Earlier this week Hulu CEO Jason Kilar responded to critics who complain that Hulu is undermining the current business models. Kilar stressed that Hulu is currently ad-supported and is focusing on "having a long term business that serves the needs of consumers and advertisers on terms that work for them". But over the past week news has been surfacing that Hulu is transitioning toward a subscription model rather than a free model supported by ads. Following this news there was a relatively large negative reaction from Hulu users, who simply stated that they would return to piracy rather than pay for a service they can get for free.

While this reasonable reaction and it's likely that a subscription model will lose a few million users, if the company can keep even half of its users then it will be financially successful. Recently, one of Hulu's owners, News Corp., has come forward pushing Hulu toward a subscription model. News Corp. chief operating officer, Chase Carey, stated that "we need to...deliver content to consumers in a way where they appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that; it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as a part of its business". Personally, it's much easier for me to go watch a show on Hulu than it is for me to put the effort in to searching for illegally. I would be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee (similar to Netflix), assuming they nix the advertising, because Hulu provides me with a service I consider essential.

NBC Likely Orders More 'Chuck'

Joe Adalian at The Wrap is reporting that NBC is close to ordering 6 additional episodes for the 3rd season of 'Chuck', bringing its total to 19 episodes (just three shy of a full season order). NBC hasn't yet announced whether they will be bringing the show back in January or March, but if 'Trauma' continues to perform poorly on Monday nights I could easily see the network letting 'Chuck' take over its normal 8 o'clock slot.

Personally, I'm ecstatic about getting 6 more episodes of 'Chuck'. Hopefully the long hiatus has brought more fans to the show and NBC will see increasing ratings for the show when it premieres in the spring. In my opinion, 'Chuck' one of the best hour long shows on NBC (second only to 'Friday Night Lights') and it would be a shame if the network canceled it and put on more low-brow reality shows and crappy medical shows. While I'm sure NBC execs are proud of the show's critical-acclaim, it was probably more of a financial decision to give 'Chuck' 6 more episodes. It's cheaper to produce more of a show already on the roster than it is to produce an entirely new show, and because NBC is all about cost-cutting, extending 'Chuck' seems like a solid move.

EDIT: NBC has confirmed that it has ordered 6 more episodes of 'Chuck'.

BONUS: If you aren't watching 'Chuck', then you should be. Check out the promo embedded below and then head over to Hulu or theWB.com and get caught up before the Season 3 premiere.

UPDATE: 'White Collar' Pulls in 5.4 Million Viewers

It looks like USA's risky 4th quarter premiere of their newest cop drama, 'White Collar', paid off. According to Variety, 'White Collar' held onto nearly all of its lead-in from 'Monk' on its way to a 1.4/5 18-49 ratings share and 5.4 million viewers. Not only did 'White Collar' tie 'The Jay Leno Show' in adults 18-49, but it also bested the ratings for ABC's 'Wife Swap', 'Ugly Betty', CW's 'Smallville, and FOX's 'Dollhouse'. If 'White Collar' can hold on to at least 75-80% of the viewers it had for the premiere in the next few weeks then I would consider the cable show's fall premiere a success. I think other cable networks will definitely start to encroach a little more on network territory, especially if the major networks fail to stop their ratings free-fall. Who knows, maybe in a few years the majority of new cable shows will premiere in the fall (to be honest, I doubt that will ever happen because one of the most appealing aspects of cable television is that there is no set "season").

BONUS: In case any of you guys are thinking about watching 'White Collar' here's the trailer. I've heard pretty good things about it.

USA's 'White Collar' Lands Fall Premiere

The premiere of USA's newest crime drama, 'White Collar' marks the first time that the cable giant has had a new show premiere around the same time that broadcast networks traditionally premiere their fall lineup. As the power of cable networks continue to rise it seems likely that more networks may try premiering new shows in the fourth quarter. However, there's still a long way to go before a cable network premiere can easily compete with a broadcast network premiere. According to the New York Times, USA spent an estimated 10 million dollars to market 'White Collar', which includes several sponsorship deals as well as extensively promoting the show through social networking sites, sweepstakes, billboards, etc. Once the ratings for last Friday's premiere are released it'll be much easier to determine whether or not this strategy is something that other cable networks are willing to try in the future.

TNT Likely to Pick Up 'Southland'

According to The Hollywood Reporter it's looking more and more likely that TNT will pick up the recently canceled 'Southland'. Though a deal isn't yet official it seems likely because of TNT's affinity for cop dramas and the fact that six episodes are already in the can and NBC has no intention to air them. I'm extremely surprised that 'Southland' is garnering so much interest from cable networks when so many other critically-acclaimed canceled-too-early series simply faded away after they were canceled (Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, Arrested Development, etc.). While I'm happy for 'Southland' fans that the show will probably continue on, it's not a great sign for the quality of network television that an ever-increasing number of critically-acclaimed series are forced to migrate to cable.

NBC Picks Up 'Community', 'Parks', and 'Mercy'

Yesterday afternoon NBC announced that it was giving a full season order to comedies 'Community' and 'Mercy' as well as freshman drama 'Mercy'. The back-nine order for 'Community' doesn't surprise me at all. 'Community' has held its own in a tough Thursday time-slot and fits in nicely with NBC's "Comedy Night Done Right". 'Parks & Recreation' has improved in ratings and quality from last year so I fully expected it to get a full season order from the beginning. Plus, even if it sucked NBC probably still would have picked it up because they don't want to screw up their relationship with Greg Daniels, who is also the creator of NBC's 'The Office'.

The surprise for me was 'Mercy'. The show pulls in decent ratings (for NBC) but in terms of quality it doesn't seem to be anything special. Angela Bromstad, NBC President of Prime-time Entertainment, said of the announcement: "we're confident [it] can be a strong player for NBC". In my opinion, that's code for "'Mercy' is cheaper to produce than other freshman medical show, 'Trauma', and we can't cancel it because we have nothing else to put on the air".

Gaspin Says NBC is Managing for Ratings Not Margins

In a recent interview with The Wrap new NBCU Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin actually had to clarify that NBC is not "managing for margins", a phrase put forward by his predecessor Ben Silverman, and is in fact trying "to put the best possible shows we can on the air". Basically, he said that getting higher ratings is more important than keeping costs low. Washington Post reporter Lisa de Moraes put it best when she explained NBC's philosophy under Silverman's reign: "The idea is that a network can make a tidy profit on shows that aren't winning the ratings in their time slots--may not even be finishing second or third--so long as the show is really, really cheap to produce". This wonderful philosophy *sarcasm* has brought us The Jay Leno Show...and we've all seen how well that show has worked out so far.

If Gaspin actually commits to managing for ratings and follows through with his promise to produce the "best possible shows" then there is a real chance that he could start to turn the Peacock network around and bring back viewers. He just needs to start by getting rid of The Jay Leno Show as soon as possible.

BONUS- Here is a great article from tvbythenumbers.com that looks at whether or not Gaspin's statements are even true or just warding off bad press:

Is NBC "Managing for Margins"?

Fox Benches Dollhouse During Sweeps

According to EW's Michael Ausiello, FOX has changed its sweeps schedule and decided to air repeats of mega-hits House and Bones on Fridays from 8-10 during November. Last week FOX released their sweeps schedule and everyone was shocked to see that FOX decided to keep Dollhouse on during sweeps despite its less than stellar performance. On it's last new episode Dollhouse had 2.25 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in 18-49 yr. olds. While these numbers aren't great they are more of a reflection of poor marketing and poor lead-ins that have inhibited the show's ability to gain new followers.

Unfortunately this news most likely means that Dollhouse will not get a back-nine order and will finish its run at the end of its current 13-episode order. This is such a shame because if FOX put a bit more effort into accurately marketing the show and gave it a better time slot the show has the potential to build a slightly bigger, extremely loyal fan base. While I'm sure the network doesn't agree, I think it would be a smarter financial move to end season two in December and give the show a third season because of the potential DVD sales than to cancel it in December. Joss Whedon has a massive cult following that continues to grow and Dollhouse stands to make a lot of money on DVDs in the next few years. FOX should try making Dollhouse their guinea pig show to see if the cable programming model can be successful on a broadcast network.

News Corp. Not Pursuing NBCU

News Corp. Pres. and COO Chase Carey stated today at the B & C OnScreen Media Summit that his company is not "actively engaged" in pursuing a stake in NBCU should Vivendi exercise their option to sell in November. Though he has admitted to thinking about pursuing a stake in the company, he believes that there's a "decent chance" that Comcast will in fact hold the controlling share in NBCU come December.

I think it's great news that News Corp. isn't going after NBCU. They already own FOX and there would be way too many legal and ethical issues involved with them owning two of the 4 major broadcast networks. The bigger problem/issue with the whole Comcast deal is that if it does happen then it opens up the possibility for the other major distributors to try to acquire similar deals.

Just last week, Liberty Media CEO John Malone stated that he believes combining content and distribution "creates quite a bit of value opportunity". While this is certainly a true statement, the television industry is entering uncharted territory and no one knows exactly what will happen next.

Twitter Boosts Big Bang Theory

In Business of Media we've talked a lot about the power that Twitter has over buzz in the entertainment industry and last night Twitter struck again. The Wrap is reporting that CBS used Twitter to tease a special guest star on last night episode and it seems to have paid off in the ratings. Big Bang scored a series high ratings share (3.9/10) in adults 18-34.

For those of you who don't know (myself included until I watched last night's episode), Wil Wheaton is a Star Trek: The Next Generation alum with over a million followers on Twitter. The Big Bang Theory, even though it's a sitcom that everyone could enjoy, is targeted toward, for lack of a better word, geeks. The show follows the story of 4 scientists and the hot girl who moves in across the hall and the hijinks that ensue. Here's a promo that CBS ran for the episode:

With the knowledge that their core audience is probably very familiar with Twitter, Wil Wheaton and show runner Bill Prady used the social networking service to encourage viewers to tune in. His exact tweet was "Twitterverse, what's our plan to show the power of the online world and make the @wilw ep on Mon. the most watched ever?".

It was definitely a brilliant bit of marketing to use Twitter to create a certain level of buzz about last night's ep before it aired, and a lot of shows should take the cue from Big Bang and embrace this free marketing tool. However, The Big Bang Theory's popularity has exploded in the past few months and it's important to note that, while the Twitter campaign certainly helped, Twitter was not the sole reason for the high ratings. Other shows, Dollhouse for example, have been trying for months to create enough buzz on Twitter to boost ratings with little success. Ultimately I think The Big Bang Theory's success comes down to being able to have the right elements come together at exactly the right time.

Ratings System Under Scrutiny

Today Variety is holding their first Entertainment and Technology Summit, and the hot topic of the day seems to be the executives general unhappiness with the Nielsen ratings system. FX general manager John Landgraf seems to have hit the nail on the head when he said:

"It needs to be completely revamped. We have to follow viewers wherever they are. The simple fact that we can't get any compensation for anyone who doesn't watch within a three-day window is ridiculous...now that viewing takes weeks for months".

While Nieslen ratings are generally regarded as an outdated system, it seems to me more than a little ridiculous to lay the blame for falling ratings on the system that measures them. There is a great article on tvbythenumbers.com that breaks down the Variety article and attempts to refute their claims that the ratings system is responsible for changing the television business. Though the article is clearly biased, it raises some interesting points about Landgraf's statements. Number one, Nielsen ratings are not responsible for the fact that networks don't get paid for viewing that doesn't occur in that three day window. Advertisers don't want to pay for those viewers. Television execs need to stop looking for someone else to blame for falling ratings. Yes, the Nielsen system is outdated and it could probably do with an update, but simply changing the way viewers are measured still won't change the fact DVR and online streaming changes the way people watch television.

NBC Affiliates Unhappy with Leno Lead-In

The LA Times is reporting that NBC affiliates across the country are starting to complain about what the media has coined "The Leno Effect". The 11 PM news is key for NBC affiliates, bringing in about a third of their revenue, but since The Jay Leno Show premiered in September it has provided a weaker lead-in for that crucial nightly news. NBC believes that ratings are in line with what the network expected and "cautions patience as viewers discover the new time slot". But how long are affiliates expected to wait?

As NBC continues to cut costs and tighten its belt in preparation for its potential sale to Comcast, affiliates will continue to lose money and may ultimately decide to find new programming for the 10 o'clock slot. Back in April the NBC affiliate in Boston originally refused to air The Jay Leno Show but after a swift threat from NBC about losing its affiliate status the network backed down. What will happen when more and more affiliates threaten to simply stop airing the show? I've said it once and I'll say it again, The Jay Leno Show is a short term fix for a long term problem. Aside from their Thursday night comedy block NBC has a ton of costly low-quality dramas that audiences, for the most part, aren't interested in watching. Adding another talk-show to their repertoire that people have shown they don't want to watch isn't the solution. NBC made the mistake of committing to Leno's show for two years but if ratings continue to slide it doesn't look like their affiliates will be willing to actually keep the show on the air for that long.

Here is a news clip form April on the NBC Boston affiliate's attempt to not air The Jay Leno Show. It's a bit outdated but it brings up some really interesting issues that have popped up again in the past couple of weeks.

Murdoch/FOX Seek Retransmission Fees

In a statement at an annual shareholders meeting Rupert Murdoch announced that News Corp, which owns FOX, will start seeking retransmission fees from cable and satellite affiliates. For those of you who don't know, retransmission fees are fees that cable and satellite affiliates pay to the broadcast network for the right to retransmit the broadcast signal to their subscribers. Aside from FOX, CBS is the only other network to have negotiated retransmission fees in the past few years. During the meeting Murdoch stressed that "the broadcast business can no longer be supported by ads alone". Basically, News Corp/FOX wants "fair compensation", which Murdoch believes to be a small share of profits from distributors.

I think it's great that someone important in the television industry is not only acknowledging that the current broadcast television business model is failing, but is actively coming up with ways to change it. I'm not saying that charging retransmission fees is going to save the industry; however, it's refreshing to see a network with enough confidence to try something new. I suggest the other networks follow Murdoch's lead.

NBCU's Profits Up 13% in the Third Quarter

GE released NBCU's third quarter profits today and profits were up a surprising thirteen percent. Though that's great for NBCU the most interesting part of the release was that profits had increased 13% despite the fact the revenue had actually gone down 20%. They increased profits to 732 million, up from 645 million last year in the same quarter. I knew NBCU was cutting costs, but wow, that's impressive that they could actually make a greater profit while actually bringing in a lot less money. Clearly, NBCU's other assets (aside from their broadcast network, NBC) must be having more success and covering the network's failures.

NBC - "There's Nothing Watchable the Rest of the Year"

I know I've been picking on NBC a lot in this blog, but number 1, it's just too easy, and number two, it's because they've been having major financial problems lately the media has been coming NBC stories a lot more than usual. Anyway, the big news this week is that NBC cancelled its cop drama, Southland, before the second season even premiered. The show already had six episodes in the can were in the process of filming more when the news came down from the higher-ups that NBC plugged the plug before seeing what the ratings would be like. Before I go into more detail here is a promo clip for the show to given those of you who've never seen it an idea of what it's about.

NBC says that it cancelled the show because it was too expensive to produce (it costs over 2 million an episode); however, if this is the only reasons that NBC gave Southland the boot then it seems to follow that new show, Trauma, which costs 3 million an episode will soon follow Southland on this season's list of casualties. Nikki Finke from Deadline Hollywood recently stated that NBC insiders are still using Ben Silverman, who is no longer an NBC employee, as their go-to excuse for their shows' failures. However, the most shocking part of the article was that Finke reported that one NBC insider went so far as to say that "there's nothing [new] watchable the rest of the year". Even if that's true, it doesn't seem like a great idea to tell the public that.

I think the real reason that NBC decided not to give Southland the time to grow is that NBCU is trying to tighten up its finances for its potential sale in November. At this point though, no matter how many more shows they cancel "to save money" this season the network really needs to stick behind the shows it already has and try to build solid audiences rather than just throwing them out and starting from scratch.

Here are a few more articles on the whole Southland fiasco:

"Southland": Leno's First Casualty

NBC Cancels Well-Regarded 'Southland'

Quick Follow-Up: Zucker at NBC

Jeff Immelt, the current CEO of GE, which owns 80% of NBCU, in an interview with Businessweek.com stated that he thinks Zucker is "as good as anyone running a media company today". Immelt credits Xucker for hiring from within to minimize disruption to the company (re: Ben Silverman as NBC Entertainment co-Chairman). But, honestly how well did that work out for NBC? Everyone keeps talking about how well Zucker is doing given the current economic climate and the changing TV industry. I'm gonna go out of a limb and say that maybe NBCU doesn't need to minimize disruption, maybe disruption is exactly what it needs to start moving in the right direction. Bottom line: Something needs to change over there. Whether it has to be replacing Zucker as CEO remains to be seen, but I'm really hoping that if Comcast does end up with a majority share in the company that they decide to put the effort into re-establishing NBC as a major force in broadcast television and that it doesn't continue to be the television industry's biggest joke.

Comcast Says Zucker Stays

I went home over the weekend and on Sunday night I was talking a bus back and the person I was sitting next to happened to be a former producer for the NBC Nightly News. We started talking about the potential change in ownership at NBCU and he mentioned that he thought that if Comcast took over that it would be the end for NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker. I agreed with him; I think with a new owner generally comes a new regime, which is why is was surprised to read this article over at broadcastingcable.com that stated that Comcast planned to keep Zucker on as CEO.

In my opinion, Comcast really needs to sit down and think about whether or not that's the right move for what would hopefully be a new NBCU under their command. Zucker, himself, is a fantastic success story, beating cancer at age 31 to become CEO of NBCU at age 42. However, there is no denying that NBC was faltered under his reign. Personally, I think his biggest mistake was hiring Ben Silverman to run NBC Entertainment. Silverman has become such a joke that CBS's Craig Ferguson actually made fun of him on his late night television show:

A few months ago Silverman and NBC parted ways, but that happy move still doesn't erase years of poor programming choices that has made NBC a joke in the television industry.

Over the past few years NBC itself has had very few successful shows and continues to produce less than stellar ratings and low quality writing. While it is important to acknowledge that one of Zucker's biggest successes has been NBCU's cable channels, those channels cannot continue to carry the broadcast network's failures. If Comcast does end up buying a majority share in NBCU maybe it's time to change things up and hope that NBC will no longer fall at the bottom of the television heap.

Procedural vs. Serialized Shows - Cable Changes the Game

I was skimming through Variety today and I noticed an op-ed titled, "Are DVRs, procedurals serial killers?". My first thought? "I sincerely hope not". I haven't really mentioned it yet on this blog, but, for people who know me, it's no secret that I am no huge fan of procedural dramas. For the most part, I think that those type of shows are for people who want to sit in front of the TV and be mildly entertained for an hour without having to put in any mental effort ("CSI", I'm looking at you). The only problem? I'm in the minority.

Nielsen Media Research, which is the company that tracks TV ratings, consistently shows me that Americans just loves their procedural shows. For example, last Wednesday night, 14 million people (with a 3.6 18-49 ratings share) watched procedural, "Criminal Minds", while only 7 million people watched the highly-original, critically-acclaimed "Glee".

According to Brian Lowry at Variety, the gap between ratings for procedurals and serialized shows exists in large part because of DVRs. Because viewers are more involved in the story lines and cliffhangers on serialized programs, "the rate of time-shifting and commercial avoidance is generally higher across the board". I'm definitely inclined to agree with Lowry on this point. If I had the option, I would much rather DVR my favorite show and watch it on a delay so that I could skip the commercials instead of just watching it live. This isn't good news for the business television, especially for the broadcast networks. According to TiVo, roughly 80% of users fast-forward through the commercial for serialized drama, compared with the drama average of 73%. Even though this may not seem like a huge difference, when advertising provides the majority of a network's income those statistics could push a bubble show (a show that could be either renewed or cancelled) into the red.

If these trends continue it may mean that creative, serialized drama fail to find homes on broadcast networks and migrate to the more ratings-lenient, niche cable networks. Take for example, ABC's "Pushing Daisies". A show about a pie-maker who can bring the dead back to life with the touch of his finger failed to find anything more than a fiercely loyal but small cult audience. The show only lasted for 2 seasons, despite being, in my opinion, one of the most original ideas to come out of network television in years. For the past three years cable networks have scooped up the Emmy for best drama (1 for The Sopranos and 2 for Mad Men), with networks shows increasing failing to even garner nominations. Unless the major broadcast networks find ways to bring more eyes to their quality serialized dramas they may become a thing of the past, only to be found on smaller-scale niche cable channels.

NBC Universal Facing Major Behind-The-Scenes Upheaval

According to Variety reporter Cynthia Littleton, cable-provider Comcast is looking to acquire major shares in NBC Universal. This news comes just two weeks after the New York Times Business section printed an article speculating on whether or not Vivendi, the French media conglomerate, would be looking to sell its 20% share of the Peacock network. Vivendi, which originally owned Universal Studios, gained its NBC U stock in 2004 when the company merged with General Electric's NBC. The NYTimes does a great job of explaining how Vivendi is able to sell their shares: "Under the terms of that deal, Vivendi received the annual right to sell its stake, either through an initial public offering or by being bought out by G.E. The yearly window to exercise its option is from Nov. 15 though the Friday of the first full week of December."

Enter: Comcast. They reach 24 million subscribers in 39 states making it the nation's largest cable company. While Comcast itself denied that it was looking to acquire shares in NBC U, there have been rumblings in the media that NBC U's extremely strong cable channels (USA, Bravo, Syfy, etc.) is a huge draw for Comcast. Variety believes that the most likely scenario is that Comcast buys a controlling interest in NBC U (51%), while G.E. retains the other 49%.

If things play out like this, I think that the biggest concern would be anti-trust law violations, which prevent one company from having a monopoly over a certain market. There should be a separation between content/development and distribution. What if Comcast buys NBC U and decides to air some of its cable channels exclusively to Comcast subscribers? What happens to the people who have a different cable provider?

Ultimately, I doubt that these impending behind-the-scenes changes will be noticeable to the average television audience member, but it does provide an interesting ethical dilemma over how much power is too much for a media company. I'll continue to post links to various news outlets as more information becomes public knowledge.

Here are the link to the NYTimes and Variety articles about NBC U incase you don't feel like clicking on the links embedded above:

Vivendi Said to Prepare Sale of Stake in NBC Universal, Will Comcast acquire NBC?, Scenarios swirl around NBC U

Does the Future of TV Lie Outside of the Box?

Just wanted to throw out a quick post about a topic that my friends and I spent a few minutes discussing tonight: How much of the appeal of a television show theses days comes from the show itself or the 'extra' content surrounding it?

FOX's new hit show, Glee, is the perfect example of this. Sure, the show itself is fabulous, but a lot of the show's charm comes from the 'extras' surrounding it. Not only can you watch Glee live on television but you can download the music from the show on iTunes or tweet @ the cast members to tell them how much you love the show (or if you hate it). FOX even has "tweet-peats", which are repeats of that week's episode that air on Fridays along with cast members' tweets across the bottom of the screen. They've even worked with Hitviews and recruited their YouTube stars to promote the show in an original way. Because I love Glee, here's a example of what the Hitview partnership has created:

Essentially, FOX has created a new level of accessibility for this show, and if the ratings continue to build it seems like it will only be a matter of time before other shows amp up their 'extras' in an attempt to build an extremely loyal fan base that consistently tunes in week to week.

Shocker: Most People Still Watch TV on Actual TVs

Good news broadcast networks, according to to a study from the Leichtman Research Group, 98% of television programs are still viewed on TV screens. Personally, I would have thought the number would be a lot lower. There is so much media attention put on the internet and how it's changing the way we are entertained, so it was shocking to find out that most people are choosing to watch TV the traditional way rather than just streaming it directly onto their computers.

While this study is definitely good news for broadcast networks and their advertisers, I think the problem that should be the most frightening for them isn't streaming content on the internet, but is audience fragmentation. With the number of niche cable networks that popped up in the last 10 years, the major networks should be less worried about how the viewers watch their shows than if they're watching them at all.

And then once they get people to actually tune in to watch a show live, how do the networks get them to sit through the commercials? In Sunday's New York Times, Alex Mindlin reported that "hit shows have most-missed ads". The reasoning behind this statement seems, at least to me, somewhat obvious: people watching hit-shows (by hit-show I mean critically-acclaimed, not the shows that the most people are watching) are much more invested in the story and want to skip the commercials to find out what happens next; whereas, people are just watching a show because there is nothing better on are much more likely to sit through the commercials. If it were me I would be much more eager to skip the commercials if I were watching 30 Rock than if I were watching Two and a Half Men.

NBC is trying a new strategy where they put actors in ads that air during their particular show. For example, "they put Tina Fey in American Express commercials, so you end up thinking it’s part of the show” (Mindlin). Honestly, viewers are not that stupid (or at least I hope they aren't that stupid). I'm not going to confuse an advertisement with the television show I'm watching. I think advertisers need to start realizing that the audience is a lot smarter than they think we are, and begin creating ads that acknowledge that.

Joss Whedon talks about the Business of TV

On monday I was lucky enough to attend a charity screening of Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" which was followed by a Q & A between Joss and Ira Glass (NPR's "This American Life"). During the event I took a couple of videos with my camera and have posted them below. In this first clip Joss talks about the difficulties that the networks are facing and the ways in which the current business model is changing:

I think the most interesting/most crucial point that Joss makes in the clip is that "the way people are entertained is changing". This is especially true in regard to internet content. So much of what people watch and how people spend their time is on the internet, and that is something that network television is going to have to accept, stop complaining about, and find new ways to please advertisers while still producing shows that people want to watch.

In this next clip Joss talks about using the internet to produce your own show/content without the financial support of a studio and the challenges that come with that:

I agree 100% with what Joss said about people not being ready to produce full length shows and movie just for with internet without the help of a studio or network. At this point for content like that to work it would need to have a big-name creator or actor attached to it. There isn't really any indie television shows the way there are in movies. I think the television business model is so structured that it almost makes it impossible for content like Dr. Horrible or The Guild, which is a YouTube short-form series, to find an audience. However, I do think that this is the direction that the business is moving in; it might be 10 or 25 years away but I think, especially with the rise of niche cable networks, that the business model is slowly evolving and that broadcast networks are losing more and more viewers each year to cable and the internet.

Jay Leno - The Future of Network Television?

For my first post I decided it might be a good idea to ease myself into the whole blogging thing, so I thought, "Hey, why not tackle the future of television?". You know, the simple stuff. For those of you who don't know this past Monday at 10 PM marked the premiere of The Jay Leno Show, NBC's guinea pig show to test if a late night talk show is still successful even if it airs during primetime. Though the network claimed to have rebooted and re-conceptualized the show for primetime it still follows the standard late night talk show template (monologue, interviews, then musical guest) , only now it's on at 10 instead of 11:30. Before I get further into a discussion of rating, money, and what both those things mean for NBC, here is a promo clip to give you an idea of what the show is all about incase you haven't watched it yet, or if you're like me, you don't want to.

With the rise of basic cable and the invention of the DVR, network television has had a rough couple of years, especially NBC. Under ex-chairman of NBC entertainment Ben Silverman, the network has had trouble producing hit television shows with high ratings, and as such, it consistently lands at the bottom of the four major broadcast networks. With it's poor finances, NBC needed a way to cut costs, ASAP. And along came Jay Leno, nearing the end of his run as host of The Tonight Show. The average one hour drama costs 3 million per episode to produce; Leno's show costs 2 million per week. It doesn't take a genius to see why the suits at NBC thought The Jay Leno Show was worth a shot.

Jump ahead five months and here we are after the first week of The Jay Leno Show. Quickly, before I start discussing rating and demographics, I want to recommend this website, which has a great explanation of the way television ratings are calculated. The show premiered to a massive 18.4 million people and 5.3/13 adults 18-49 rating. While a good number of people actually tuned in to watch the show, 60% of those people were over 50, which is not a demographic that advertisers are willing to shell out tons of cash to reach. Tuesday and Wednesday produced the expected drop in viewers but Thursday night yielded the most interesting ratings of the week. Leno slipped even further to 8.4 million and a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating. Though Leno still aired opposite repeats in the 10 o'clock slot, Thursday was the first night that all of the networks, minus ABC, aired new shows from 8-10. This is important when considering how Leno's ratings will fair in the coming months when the other networks bring back their fall shows. I suspect many people may have used the 10-11 time slot to watch shows that they DVRed earlier in the night instead of watching what the networks programmed at 10 o'clock.

Ultimately, one week is not enough time to call a show a failure, or even a success, based on ratings. It'll be interesting to see how Leno holds up against the new and returning dramas on the other networks. If his ratings continue to free fall, will Leno be able to bring in the kind of advertising money that a scripted dramas bring in, and ultimately make his show turn a profit? So far, only one thing is certain: NBC is saving money where other broadcast networks simply can't.