Saturday, November 17, 2007

WGA: Taking A Hit



"CBS Corp., owner of the most-watched television network, probably would take the biggest hit in a prolonged strike by TV and movie writers.

CBS gets two-thirds of its sales and profit from television. The New York-based company relies more on scripted shows such as ``CSI'' than competitors and is vulnerable to advertising losses, said Lehman Bros. analyst Anthony DiClemente."



"A prolonged writers' strike could send regular TV viewers to other media -- particularly print -- and might prompt marketers to reallocate their ad spending, according to a poll conducted by WPP Group's MindShare.

One out of four adults surveyed said the strike will affect or change their viewing habits. That finding was highest among 35- to 44-year-olds and lowest among those 65 or older."



"NBC's late-night schedule may be the first real victim of the ongoing writers' strike, with viewership among advertisers' most-coveted audiences -- viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 -- down in the double-digits for both "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live," according to media buyers."


Friday, November 16, 2007

Jericho, Whedon, and CBS




"Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who had any part in bringing us back for this second season. It’s been an unbelievable gift for us; hopefully we’ve managed to tell a——-hey there, Steve Scaia here, I’ve been watching poor ol’ Jon laboring at this blog entry for what seems like hours now, and I offered to step in and bring THIS thing in for a landing for him. If he were still coherent right now, I think he’d say something like this: “Thanks again for everything. You made all this possible. And I’ll think of you all fondly when I’m sailing around the Carribean in my solid gold yacht. Suckers.”



Joss Whedon says:
"The point of the meeting was that the WGA is aware of – and a little blown away by – the passion, tenacity, and organizational savvy of the online community. The “Jericho” nuts are the stuff of legend. Whedonesque and the creation of Fans4Writers were spoken of in awed whispers. I’m not kidding: one of the WGA workers asked me, “So, your fans. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?” I swear, having you guys in my corner is like being friends with Zorro. People in the community are amazed."



Quincy Smith,CBS Interactive President:

"Before Hulu hit the scene it garnered the misnomer of a "YouTube-killer." Now that it's been loosed on the masses, it's being hyped as the next big thing for broadcasters. According to CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith (pictured right), Hulu's success wasn't a fluke. During his keynote at today's NewTeeVee Live conference Smith explained how features like Hulu's clip heavy rotation have been carefully considered by the big broadcasters.

Right off the bat, Smith addressed the obvious question -- how does a competing network like CBS feel about the NBC/News Corp.-backed wunderkind? "People constantly ask us at CBS Interactive about Hulu," Smith fired off at his trademark machine gun pace. "Off the record? We love Hulu, and we talk a lot with Hulu. Our objective isn't to slam them. If we can't work together in contract then we can work together in philosophy."


Thursday, November 15, 2007

Announcing: The Digg Coach



Announcing:

The Digg Coach-- NEW Blog

Tutorials, information on Digg.com with suggestions, news, and digg resources.



"Looks like CBS has decided to build a “back story” site to compliment the hit series Jericho. Good news for fans who have been chomping at the bit waiting for the new season to start.

“Jennings & Rall is leading the charge to resurrect this great country whose cities lay in waste, and whose populous yearn for a return to the America that we remember.

ohhhh, can’t wait to read more? check it out!!

Jennings and Rall

Be sure to check out the Ravenwood page where there is a place to log in."



Pamela Reed Fans:

Photos and more here.






Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Nielsen: All-in-One Ratings



"Nielsen Online plans to introduce an all-in-one ratings system in 2008 that will measure viewership across television and the Internet. The ratings giant also intends to loop in measurement data across mobile viewing on cell phones and interaction with consumer-generated video.

Many advertising executives doubt Nielsen can pull off such an ambitious plan, and even if such sweeping data will be useful.

But Nielsen has already taken the first steps toward monitoring viewing habits across phones, TV and the computer.

“Our plan is to track video across all the different platforms,” said Manish Bhatia, president of global services and U.S. sales for Nielsen Online. “That is a big piece of the evolution of the Internet itself. We want to link mobile, TV and online.”
Nielsen plans to create a single-source panel for TV and online viewing by next summer to measure overall TV viewership for commercial ratings and for programs across both platforms, Mr. Bhatia said."

******************************

"News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said Tuesday he intends to make access to The Wall Street Journal's Web site free, trading subscription fees for anticipated ad revenue.

"We are studying it and we expect to make that free, and instead of having one million (subscribers), having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth," Murdoch said."

*******************************

"Veronica Mars came to a cruel fate. It was a great show, had a fan following, and received critics’ praises. Usually, that is a recipe for a long-running series, or so you would think. Not so much for Veronica Mars, which was canceled after only three seasons. Now people are hoping for something like Firefly/Serenity with a feature film version, or perhaps a made-for-TV movie and some comics."

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Jericho Comes To South Africa



CBS: Clean Up Your Mess at CBS.com



South Africa Watches Jericho

"Jericho starts on SABC3 on Wednesday at 8.31pm.

One lucky Jericho viewer could stand in line to win an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles. Competition details to follow in the Tonight throughout the weeks to come."




"The strike casualties among the show's crew include camera operators, assistants, grips, electricians, hair and makeup artists and many more. And then there are the extras.

"We use a lot of extras each week, and these people barely make it," Thorpe said. "What are they going to do? It's so unbelievably painful to think about the size of this. Thousands and thousands of us have lost our jobs this week. The lady I buy my donuts from -- she has two kids in college. It a huge loss of income."



"The WGA East is not happy with Ellen DeGeneres. The funny lady whose recent dog-drama sparked headlines last month is in hot water with the East coast WGA after they found out she’s planning to go ahead with the two New York tapings of her talk show, which are scheduled for later this month."

Monday, November 12, 2007

CBS: Playing Favorites?



CBS: Reinstate Xwarp and Wolf. Clean up your mess.

No one will explain why they were banned. They did not break TOS.




Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Writing For Peanuts




Rich of Copywrite Ink says,"The writers strike could be the perfect opportunity for Jericho fans to stop taking each other out on the CBS Jericho message boards, and begin to building a fan effort in support of the writers.

Such a move would only increase the exposure of the show before it returns in January by engaging all television fans about something they are passionate about. Fan crossover is somewhat proven to work. For the most part, there has been continuing cross over between the fans of Veronica Mars, Supernatural, and Jericho."

Rich adds, "Besides, Jericho fans may even have the best message if they were so inclined. What’s that?

Stop paying writers peanuts."



"Seven steps to a TV shutdown"

The number one step?

"1. "Rally the 'Jericho' fans--they brought a show back, they can take one out."


I have to agree. Thank Rich.