Broadcasting & Cable Blogs
FCC Cleans Up Its Space
“Will the FCC censor its own MySpace page?” asks Progress & Freedom Foundation bigwig Adam Thierer in a blog posting Friday. The answer appears to be yes. Thierer pointed out that within a few milliseconds of announcing the creation of the page, the FCC had received the kind of comments that, if aired on Fox, it would have found indecent. Thierer included a screen grab from the F ... More
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BC/DC is the media executives\' must-see view from Washington, delivered by yours truly without the aid of rose-colored glasses and without the need, quite yet, of bifocals.
Comcast/NBC U Domain Déjà vu: An Update
Since I noted the problem of website cyber-squatting as it relates to the NBC Universal-Comcast acquisition two weeks ago, the deal has marched slowly forward, while the name of the new venture remains a mystery. But a Twitter conversation, started by Variety’s Michael Schneider (@franklinavenue) and former B&C‘er turned Los Angeles Times media maven Joe Flint (@jbflint) has spur ... More
About this blog
Commentary, analysis and observations on the business of television from the staff of Broadcasting & Cable. Edited by Senior Editor Joel Topcik.
Playing Jax
We have B&C’s first-ever Market Eye profile of Jacksonville coming out in Monday’s issue. DMA #47 sounds like a lively place–beaches everywhere, a growing population, and a lot younger marketplace than what one might expect from Florida. As one GM told me, the transplants come to Jacksonville not so much to retire, but to live the bulk of their years.Station-wise, itȁ ... More
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Station to Station covers the odds, ends, ups and downs of the local television business across America
Primetime's richest men
It should come to no surprise that American Idol’s Simon Cowell is the richest man on primetime TV, earning $75 million between June 1, 2008 and June 1, 2009, according to Forbes. All that money doesn’t come from American Idol alone, although the show is primetime’s most watched. Cowell (pictured left) also earns from many other ventures: his company produces shows such as Bri ... More
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CIMM meeting: Where's Canoe?
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement convened at MTV Networks’ headquarters in New York’s Times Square today (November 10) to hear how the research industry can use set-top-box data to improve knowledge about viewing habits and potentially help tie that data to purchase decisions. Advertisers these days are less interested in TV ratings and more interested in defining the c ... More
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Commentary and analysis on the business of television advertising—from the upfront and scatter markets to TV events like the Super Bowl, the Oscars and the Olympics—courtesy of Broadcasting & Cable Business Editor Claire Atkinson.
TV Review: ABC's 'The Middle'
ABC’s The Middle debuts Sept. 30 at 8:30 p.m. The following are reviews from TV critics around the Web, compiled by B&C. “Imagine Malcolm in the Middle told from the mom’s point of view. That’s ABC’s The Middle, a funny, fast-moving celebration of harried family life in middle America. –Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “In short, The Middle is ... More
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BC Review offers one-stop shopping for TV fanatics, with a roundup of the latest reviews from the leading critics.
Carlton Cuse, Shawn Ryan and Fastfood Flashbacks
Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse had the kind of flashback we love at Mel’s Diner the other day during a phone interview. I called him to talk about Lie to Me showrunner and The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, who we featured in B&C’s Fifth Estater column Sept. 21 (Related: The Truth About Shawn Ryan) Cuse gave Ryan his first staff writing job, on Cuse-created CBS drama Nash Bridg ... More
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Interviews with TV industry figures over their favorite meals.
Twitter's TV Drama
While I was off playing Rock Band all day yesterday, apparently other journalists were working. What the …? That gives all of us a bad name, people. Variety’s venerable (but very young) Cynthia Littleton decided to take advantage of everyone being off and post this scoop about a potential Twitter TV show. You can click the link and see what she wrote but I’m going to quote som ... More
About this blog
A blog covering the world of multiplatform video, including mobile TV, IPTV, user-generated video and video blogs.
The Judge
Judge Penny and I both received great feedback following our recent promotional tour on the east coast. We connected with lots of different station personnel and people were genuinely touched by spending time with the Judge. Here’s what one station manager had to say in an email to Judge Penny: “It was an absolute pleasure hosting you at our station last week! Our e ... More
About this blog
Blog sponsored by Family Court Written by Monday is Ritch Colbert, Principal for Program Partners and the Honorable Judge Penny Brown Reynolds and Thursday is Judge Penny Brown Reynolds
A Welcome Voice
I often describe Marie as a “person in full,” borrowing from Tom Wolf. She is a single, working mother of eight children, seven of them living with her at home. Years ago she had a very public bout with post-partum depression. In the past year alone she experienced a divorce (her second), the death of a parent, a teenage son going through rehab, a new move and a new job (Donny ... More
About this blog
Blog sponsored Marie Osmond Monday is Ritch Colbert, Principal for Program Partners and Thursday is Marie Osmond
