Saturday, November 24, 2007

Jericho: Live TV Ratings



"It's a case in point of how Hollywood's definition of a hit TV series is radically changing. Though still the primary focus, "live" TV ratings are no longer the sole barometer of success. As viewing habits change, programmers are struggling with how to factor in DVR use, Web viewing, sought-after niche audiences and online chatter when weighing shows' health.

"In the new world we live in, that kind of cultural permeation — the awareness that's greater than the numbers indicate — speaks to the potential for growth of the show," says Gossip executive producer Josh Schwartz.

The pattern followed last year's surprise resurrection of CBS drama Jericho, which was granted a seven-episode reprieve (due early next year). In a campaign to save the show, dedicated fans sent cartons of nuts to network executives — who were nonetheless more impressed by the 5.3 million episodes that were streamed online."



"The WGA action hit the late-night talk shows first and hardest, with virtually all of them, deprived of their nightly ration of political jabs and other topical jokes, going to reruns immediately. "Saturday Night Live" suffered a similar fate.

News and reality series, whose writers are not covered by the WGA contract, have not been affected. Most daytime soaps, whose scripts tend to be written far ahead of their air dates, will reportedly not be affected for several months.

The situation for prime-time comedies and dramas is more complicated.

"The Office" was scheduled to air a new episode this week but then is likely to go into reruns. Other popular series, including "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI," "Heroes," Law & Order: SVU" and "House," have between three and eight unaired episodes.

"Jericho," which is due to return at mid-season with seven new episodes, has produced all seven and isn't likely to be affected. But another show previously scheduled for a mid-season debut is in limbo."


Help animals survive here.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Striking Out



"If the writers strike persists through the end of the month, it could suck $200 million from the entertainment industry's contribution to the Los Angeles economy, one expert predicts.

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., said that more informed data will come with the November release of state employment figures, due December 21, but using the 1988 WGA strike as a guide, fallout is expected to be significant. Beyond that, a full economic recovery could take months."



"The Center for Media Research notes that the latest figures from Nielson Online support their recent research brief about the importance of the trust placed in word of mouth marketing.

The Nielsen figures for the top U.S. social networking sites and blogs in October show that:

Facebook more than doubled their traffic in the last year

MySpace had a 19 percent growth over October 2006

Althought their numbers are much smaller, LinkedIn was the big winner in terms of growth - 189 percent!

Kids are getting active in the social media space too - Club Penguin visitors grew by 157 percent

Buzznet, a new kind of social site that gives members the tools to create multi media around music and pop culture is also attracting a growing audience. They’re up 117 percent in the last year."

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Jericho: Revolt To Reform ?



"Corporations do believe that they are speaking to consumers - feedback forms, etc - but without realizing that they are just engaged in one-way dialogue, and not really listening to the customers.

Example one is CBS and Jericho: CBS was listening - at the beginning - to the fans. They had a CBS-based message board, and were working to augment and support the community. But, then the show was pulled off the air for the NCAA tourney, and then rescheduled against American Idol ... which killed the show.

Then came the nuts campaign - and CBS saw the real groundswell at work. CBS took the revolt, and turned into reform. It was no longer arm's length, but embracing the fans. The reformatted the home page, offering Widgets and a Wiki, and a production blog for behind-the-scene's view for the hardcore fans. It took a revolt and turned it into reform."



"Now you can buy the music of Supernatural and show your support for the striking writers at the same time. Through December 31, 2007, Firefox News is donating 100% of its affiliate sales commissions to the Actors Fund to help support writers and crew members affected by the WGA writer's strike. Firefox News makes a 5% commission per sale. At The Music of Supernatural page, you'll find a list of songs used on the series with a link to download on iTunes.

Right from the start, music has been an integral part of creating the atmosphere on Supernatural. Everything from Ozzy Osbourne to Bob Dylan has helped provide just the right note, either as background setting or to underscore an emotional scene. "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas has practically become the show's theme song. And no Supernatural fan can listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" without a shiver."

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Veronica Mars: Buddy Swap



Special Announcement:

Buddy Swap

Neptune Rising (Veronica Mars) has some members that are willing to do a "buddy swap" to where they will buddy up with someone from another show and watch each others shows and communicate with their "buddy" about the show.
Can I get 3 or 4 people willing to watch Veronica Mars and buddy with their fans?

Please leave a comment if you can help. Thanks.



"Jericho Kansas Inc. (JKI) is pleased to announce:

* Our website is now open. Visit us at http://www.jericho-kansas.com Registration on our site allows you to be eligible for our drawings (see below). You can register on our home page. Please remember to complete the verification of the registration process.

One of the goals of the Jericho-Kansas.com site is to function as a resource for the entire Jericho community. The feature which most demonstrates this is ‘The Jericho Telegraph.’ This hub is an announcement center and research base for the Jericho Community where anyone can add to or peruse our viewable and searchable database.

The JKI website also has a games section and a small chat room. The website will continue to be updated with additional features.

* Our first drawing is for a personalized holiday card from Brad Beyer. You must register by December 1st to be included in the drawing.

* Our second drawing is for a copy of the Target special edition Jericho DVD. You must register by January 1st to be included in the drawing."

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Topsy-Turvy World



"The Internet is turning the TV world upside down.

Just when CBS was about to pull the plug on “Jericho” and NBC was about to shut off “Friday Night Lights” due to low ratings, fans persuaded network executives to renew the shows through concerted online campaigns.

Now loyal viewers of the Disney Channel’s animated series “Kim Possible” hope the same tactic will work for them."



"Below is a post from United Hollywood - a pro-WGA blog that has seen fan efforts spring up in the wake of the strike. At the suggestion of Showrunners across Hollywood, United Hollywood is organising a campaign to send Pencils to the heads of the Six Major conglomerates who own and run Hollywood. These are the AMPTP guys who are denying the WGA the fair and reasonable residuals they are asking for."



"I've never been a fan of futile gestures. I've (all in good fun) ridiculed fandoms for proceeding with "send random crap to the network" campaigns immediately in the wake of Jericho's successful nut campaign, both for the lack of creativity and the lack of rationality in some cases – no amount of crackers were going to save The Black Donnellys. But I appreciate the desire to do something when our favourite shows are threatened with cancellation."



Do you love animals?

See this.

Sunday, November 18, 2007