BC Beat
Commentary, analysis and observations on the business of television from the staff of Broadcasting & Cable. Edited by Senior Editor Joel Topcik.
More People Watch Doritos Spot Than Game
And the winner for most-watched Super Bowl commercial is…Doritos’ gym guys! According to Nielsen, more than 116 million viewers watched the spot which featured two hapless guys attacked for stealing a bag of Doritos from another guy’s gym locker, making it the most viewed television commercial of all time. That’s more people than watched the game itself, whi ...... Read More
Comments (0)The Doctors offer help and hope in Haiti
Daytime TV is mostly known for its pettiness. A man and a woman go on Judge Judy and fight over who should be making the car payments. A man and his baby mama fight over a child’s paternity on Maury. Celebrities bemoan their battles with weight-loss or addiction or both on Oprah. But there are some moments when daytime TV shines. On Friday, Jan. 29, and Tuesday, Feb. 2, CBS Television Dis ...... Read More
Comments (0)MTV First Out Of Upfront Gate
MTV became the first network to host an upfront presentation in 2010, with an event dubbed “Behind the Screen” at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom Feb. 2. Being first out of the gate may not be the only trick they have up their sleeve. MTVN Music & Logo Group executive VP of ad sales Sean Moran told reporters from B&C and Mediaweek that the company is considering holdin ...... Read More
Comments (0)When Demon Sheep Attack
As my colleague Marisa Guthrie has reported, the Supreme Court’s recent decision to lift campaign-finance restrictions could mean rain showers of political-ad dollars for TV stations in the forecast. But it could also usher in a golden age of campaign-ad creativity. Yes, I’m thinking of the just-released Web ad from former Hewlitt-Packard CEO and GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina, now ...... Read More
Comments (0)Jon Stewart In The 'No Spin Zone'
Talk about good TV…two titans of political media, Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly, met in the latter’s “no spin zone” tonight for a spirited debate about President Obama’s favorite whipping boy: Fox News. O’Reilly attempted to butter his guest up with this: “Are you cognizant of the fact that your audience is basically stoned slackers.” ...... Read More
Comments (0)Super Bowl Ad Expert Surveys the Field
Clydesdales and Dalmatians will not pull on your football-loving heartstrings during this year’s Super Bowl. Bob Horowitz, president of Juma Entertainment and executive producer of CBS’ Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2010 has had a peek at quite a few of the Super Bowl XLIV ads and says there is a lot of frat house humor in this year’s ad roster-something that seems ...... Read More
Comments (0)Analysis: iPad Doesn’t Change Apple’s TV Game
The Apple iPad has been the subject of intense speculation (see TV Braces For The Apple Tablet) but the final product unveiled by CEO Steve Jobs in San Francisco Jan. 27 seems to maintain the status quo, at least with regard to video content. Users can purchase movies or TV shows on iTunes, and sync them with their iPad to view whenever they would like. The iPad has a large, 9.7 inch HD screen tha ...... Read More
Comments (0)David Gregory Handicaps SOTU
Several hours before he delivers his first State of the Union address, President Obama’s speech is being previewed in the press and gnawed on by the punditocracy. “It’s tradition,” says David Gregory, moderator of NBC’s beltway roundtable Meet the Press, regarding the relentless handicapping. There is admittedly much to chew on: the president will deliver th ...... Read More
Comments (0)Super Bowl-Bound Brees Wowed on ‘Sport Science’
By now most NFL fans are aware of the pigskin power of Super Bowl-bound New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, but not many have seen his incredible accuracy up close like John Brenkus and his staff over at BASE Production’s Sport Science, as I wrote in my Fifth Estater on Brenkus for B&C’s Jan. 18 edition: A 2009 episode explored the mechanics behind throwing a perfect spira ...... Read More
Comments (0)AMC Parodies Obama Weatherproof Billboard
AMC is parodying the controversial Obama Weatherproof billboard with one of its own featuring Bryan Cranston’s Breaking Bad character. And they’ve placed it right next to the Obama billboard in Times Square, which the White House has insisted the company take down. The original billboard features an Associated Press photo of the president in one of the Weatherproof’s ...... Read More
Comments (0)The Who Getting’ in Tune with Super Bowl-‘CSI’ Synergy
With The Who headlining the Super Bowl half-time show, CBS gets to subliminally market its CSI franchise. One Super Bowl promo already in heavy rotation on CBS less than 24 hours after the teams were decided is The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” which is the theme song for CSI:Miami. The Super Bowl will take place Feb. 7 at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium. (Who songs &# ...... Read More
Comments (0)What Would An Apple Pay TV Service Look Like?
On Jan. 27, Apple is expected to unveil a tablet computing device with a heavy focus on media content, including digital versions of newspapers and magazines. It may also include an enhanced iTunes store with a subscription service to access television programs-a prospect fueled by reports that Apple has broached the idea with CBS, Disney-ABC and other networks. Just as Apple completely reshaped t ...... Read More
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