BC Beat
Commentary, analysis and observations on the business of television from the staff of Broadcasting & Cable. Edited by Senior Editor Joel Topcik.
Might Will Ferrell be the Next Tyler Perry?
Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein — proprietors of the upstart syndication firm, Debmar-Mercury - are big fans of running an on-air, at-length test before launching a program into syndication. Today, Debmar-Mercury announced the deal that could convert everyone else in the TV biz to their way of thinking. The company will try its next test with two of the most sought-after comedy talents in Hol ...... Read More
Comments (0)Greg Berlanti Saves the Drama for TV
Greg Berlanti shared his thoughts on the television business and his experience as writer, director and producer at the LATV Fest Industry Insight Lunch Wednesday, moderated by The Wrap’s Joe Adalian. Berlanti, referred to by an attendee as “The King Of Late-Night Melodramas,” is the executive producer and writer for such shows as Brothers & Sister, Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy M ...... Read More
Comments (0)Online Outfits Dominate Michael Jackson Coverage
The death of Michael Jackson – he of dramatic fate and tremendous, if squandered, fortune – is the latest global event to mark society’s inexorable march from the traditional news business to an all-digital one. All along, the story of Jackson’s death has played out on the Internet. The coverage has been led and dominated by the Web site, TMZ.com. The site broke the new ...... Read More
Comments (2)The Worldwide Leader in Sports...Except Rugby
Fans of rugby here in the U.S. got another kick in the shins from ESPN Saturday–just as they did from its corporate sibling ABC back in February. Back then, the emails went out among the game’s 65,000 registered players here in the U.S. to tune in to ABC to watch a sevens tournament out of Los Angeles (sevens is the fast-moving 7-per-side version of rugby). Alas, an NBA game went lon ...... Read More
Comments (6)Mario Lopez Looking to Get in the Ring...with Victor Ortiz
Twenty-two-year-old boxing phenom Victor Ortiz is no household name, but he has made plenty of television appearances, fighting on ESPN, HBO and pay-per-view. Now, however, the boxer is looking to branch out to other networks-with the help of Extra host Mario Lopez. Lopez, an amateur boxer and avid fight fan, is teaming up with Cris Abrego’s 51 Productions to pitch a docuseries starring Ort ...... Read More
Comments (1)Remembering Steve Brennan
The industry is mourning the loss of Steve Brennan, longtime reporter and editor for The Hollywood Reporter.Read The Hollywood Reporter’s obituary (and note all the comments from his many friends and fans) here, and the words of Variety deputy editor (and THR alum) Cynthia Littleton here. According to THR, funeral and memorial services are pending. ...... Read More
Comments (0)News Orgs Still Wary of TMZ
Traditional television news organizations found themselves getting handily beaten last week–in some cases by hours–by a celebrity gossip Website. But just because TMZ was first–and right–in reporting the news of Michael Jackson’s death doesn’t mean that news organizations will be any more inclined to give the site credit on the next big celebrity scoop. &# ...... Read More
Comments (8)Michael and 'Motown 25'
When he died last week, I’d long since written off Michael Jackson as a sad casualty of fame. His Peter Pan shtick had gone from charming to creepy to possibly predatory, and the transformation of his face was just ghastly. But there was a time when I was a huge Michael Jackson fan, and it all started some 25 years ago with one of those seminal television moments that drive home how powerfu ...... Read More
Comments (2)TBS Unleashes 'World's Funniest Videos' Friday
While funny men and ladies from around the comedy world gathered in Chicago last week for TBS’ Very Funny Festival: Just for Laughs, Kevin Nealon (Weeds, Saturday Night Live) hit the streets with comedians George Lopez, Tim Meadows, and Martin Short to present the World’s Funniest Commercials 2009, which airs Friday at 9 p.m. on TBS. The show is the latest in TBS ...... Read More
Comments (0)My Last Word On 'Joe Buck Live' (For Now)
Journalists love to trash everyone’s ideas and performances, but seldom suggest fixes, which ticked me off when I was a PR person and still ticks me off as a journalist. So with that, here are three things I would do to fix HBO’s new show Joe Buck Live, which debuted to all the controversy Monday night. Don’t make it live Doing a show is hard enough when you are out of your na ...... Read More
Comments (2)CBS Sources: Cronkite Not in Dire Straits
Speculation about the health of legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite bubbled to the surface this week, with reports on TVNewser and in New York Newsday that the network was scrambling to update his obituary. The 92-year-old’s memory has been failing, and reporters who have interviewed him in the last few years can attest to that. But CBS News sources stressed that nothing was imminent. Cro ...... Read More
Comments (0)More Damn Fine Coffee and Cherry Pie?
Kyle MacLachlan is interested in bringing back Twin Peaks as five-minute webisodes. These would, as has been reported, not involve original co-creator/brilliant-though-certified wackadoo David Lynch, who is busy meditating and creating music. But the other brilliant mind behind it, Mark Frost, has to be out there somewhere. MacLachlan knows it’s a “crazy idea” but he wants to ...... Read More
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