BC Beat
Commentary, analysis and observations on the business of television from the staff of Broadcasting & Cable. Edited by Senior Editor Joel Topcik.
“Biebermania” At Nick Upfront
Nickelodeon’s upfront presentation Thursday, March 11, featured network research, and a strong sales pitch from network president Cyma Zarghami, but for many in the crowd, it was all about the Bieber. Justin Bieber, that is. The 16 year-old Canadian pop singer (who has appeared on Nick’s True Jackson, VP) was the grand finale at the presentation, and he had many attendees– ...... Read More
Comments (0)BC Beat: TiVo Weighs In On Best Picture Nominees
‘Up in the Air’ and ‘Up’ deemed most likely ‘to avoid the fast-forward button’ According to data from TiVo, TV ads for Oscar best picture contenders Up in the Air and Up were the most popular across all demos on both broadcasting and cable… with one caveat. Based on viewership of the commercials, which TiVo allows folks to skip, Up in The Air was th ...... Read More
Comments (0)The Agony and the Ecstasy of NBC's Olympics Coverage
The Vancouver Winter Olympics are providing plenty of compelling television. And Bob Costas’ interviews with the athletes in those easy chairs in front of a roaring fire have made for some crackling moments. Evan Lysacek serenely and graciously responding to criticism from the losing camp (i.e. the Russian media and silver medalist Yegeni Plushenko) that Lysacek didn’t deserve the go ...... Read More
Comments (0)Will Negative PR Kill 'Our Little Genius'?
The news that the FCC received a complaint and is looking into whether there was something amiss on the set of the proposed Fox game show Our Little Genius may not exactly be a smoking gun. The FCC is obligated to follow up on all complaints. But it does not help a program already damaged by the whiff of a Quiz Show-esque scandal. “The problem here is there’s smoke. And they hav ...... Read More
Comments (0)Without Tiger, Life On the Links Goes On at Golf Channel
Though some are still speculating that Tiger Woods will return to the PGA tour in time for the Masters this spring, the golfer himself gave no indication of any timeframe regarding his return to the sport during his televised mea culpa Friday morning. That’s likely not the news Golf Channel wanted to hear, though the network’s official stance is that even without Tiger, life on the l ...... Read More
Comments (0)Networks Will Cover Woods Presser
Tiger Woods’ emergence from self-imposed exile tomorrow (Feb. 19) in what is shaping up to be a tightly controlled public apology in front of sympathetic bystanders including “friends and colleagues,” may be rather anticlimactic given the tenor of coverage since the golfer’s serial adultery came to light last November. But the cable news networks will be there live ...... Read More
Comments (0)Athlete Death Casts Pall Over Vancouver
The death of a luge athlete from the Republic of Georgia cast a pall over the Vancouver Winter Olympics just hours before the Opening Ceremonies are set to go off. Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, was killed during a training run on Friday (Feb. 12) when he lost control of his sled on a turn and crashed into a metal pole. He was approaching speeds of 90 miles per hour on a course that multiple luge ...... Read More
Comments (0)Clinton's Latest Heart Surgery Dominates News Cycle
ABC News broke into The Oprah Winfrey Show at 4:33 p.m. on Thursday to deliver the news that Bill Clinton had been hospitalized. Without much detail the news flash was rather ominous. Clinton of course, underwent quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in 2004. A little after 5 p.m., Clinton spokesman Douglas Band released a statement calming the waters. After feeling “discomfort in his ch ...... Read More
Comments (0)Has Apple Hit The $1 TV Sweet Spot?
A few weeks ago, when rumors of the Apple tablet (now known as the iPad) were still swirling around the web, some of the speculation was that Apple would revamp its iTunes store to coincide with the launch. Reports said that Apple was considering creating a streaming version of its store, and that it was trying to convince TV networks and studios to drop the prices of TV shows from $1.99 to $0.99. ...... Read More
Comments (0)Snow Delays Vancouver-bound Brian Williams
Snow has already paralyzed Washington D.C. And now inclement weather in New York has grounded NBC Nightly News personnel attempting to get to Vancouver for the XXI Olympic Winter Games. The plan was to have Brian Williams leave after the broadcast tonight (Feb. 10) in time to be on the air from Vancouver for Thursday’s Nightly News. But with snow still coming down and many flights out of Ne ...... Read More
Comments (0)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 (1)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
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