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Soap operas may be borrowing from one of their favorite plot lines—patient is in a coma, on life support, hanging on by a thread—but they aren’t dead yet, and networks and studios are working to find ways to keep the genre viable. Most recently, the cancellation of “Guiding Light” on CBS renewed fears...
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The Business of Television
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Sat, May 30 2009
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Filed under: Broadcast, CBS, NBC, Print Edition, Guiding Light, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, ABC Daytime, Days of Our Lives, As the World Turns, Soaps, One Life to Live
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With seven seasons under its belt, NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is still growing—particularly in developing alternative revenue streams beyond advertising. “Loser’s” consumer-product lines, which include items such as CDs, weight-loss plans, DVDs, workout equipment and now a Nintendo Wii video game, has...
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Jay Leno ended his latenight run by dominating his timeslot one last time. Friday night's final edition of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" averaged an 8.8 rating in Nielsen's overnight metered market averages, crushing a repeat of CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman"...
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The new theme song for "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" will have a familiar ring to it. That's because Mr. O'Brien and executive producer Jeff Ross have opted to use a reworked version of Mr. O'Brien's 16-year-old "Late Night" musical open as the theme song...
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Fox and CBS did it again. For the 2008-09 TV season, Fox has officially claimed its fifth consecutive ratings win among adults 18-49, while CBS wrapped up the season as the most-watched broadcast network for the sixth time in the last seven years. It was a season in which comparisons were made difficult...
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With the television industry slogging through the worst economy in decades, the broadcast networks put their best foot forward at the upfront, then braced for long negotiations with media buyers and advertisers. “I’m surprised by how normal everything felt,” said one veteran buyer, noting the presentations...
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The Business of Television
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News
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Fri, May 22 2009
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Filed under: Broadcast, Fox, ABC, Advertising, CBS, NBC, The CW, Print Edition, Upfront, Ad Buys
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Affiliate jitters regarding “The Jay Leno Show” appeared to have subsided as NBC-affiliated station heads arrived in New York City yesterday for their annual meeting. Michael Fiorile, NBC affiliate board chairman and vice chairman of the dispatch group said the membership was confident regarding “Leno...
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Before deciding to put Jay Leno in prime time, NBC offered its 8 p.m. timeslot to Oprah Winfrey. NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker said that the notion of Oprah having a nightly show in prime time wasn’t a new idea. NBC talked to Ms. Winfrey about two years ago, Mr. Zucker said. She passed but said she might...
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NBC is splitting its new series offerings between fall and winter, limiting its fourth-quarter debuts to two new dramas, one new sitcom—and a whole lot of Jay Leno. The network also has passed on scheduling "Medium" and "My Name Is Earl," with both shows expected to either die...
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For the first two weeks of the May sweeps, CBS is the only broadcast television network posting year-over-year gains among total viewers. The network is also the only one to avoid any losses among adults 18-49, the demographic still led by Fox. Among total viewers, CBS averaged 10.8 million viewers,...
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CBS CEO Les Moonves said that NBC’s decision to put Jay Leno on in prime time will help his company’s bottom line. “We were the No. 1 network at 10 o’clock last year,” Mr. Moonves told analysts and investors during CBS’ quarterly earnings conference call Thursday. He estimated that CBS took in 38% of...
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The Business of Television
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Thu, May 7 2009
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Filed under: Broadcast, Cable, Digital, Advertising, CBS, NBC, Syndication, Jay Leno, Earnings, Les Moonves
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“The Biggest Loser” has proven to be a big winner for Jennie-O Turkey Store. The NBC series, which chronicles the efforts of overweight people trying to reduce their size and improve their health, might not seem the most appetizing place to advertise a food product. But the producers of Jennie-O turkey...
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NBC has picked up a third cycle of “The Celebrity Apprentice.” The renewal isn’t much of a surprise, given this season’s solid Sunday night performance for the show, which is produced by Mark Burnett and Donald Trump. There had been Internet chatter about a return to the civilian edition of the “Apprentice...
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Fox has decided not to air President Obama's first-100-days press conference this Wednesday—the only Big Four network to turn down the White House's request for time. ABC, CBS and NBC have all announced plans to carry the president's appearance. But Fox today said: No go. “The Fox Broadcasting...
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After the strike-induced tumult and turmoil of last season, broadcasters were praying things would somehow take a turn for the better during the 2008-09 campaign. It didn’t happen. With less than a month left to go before this season ends, four of the five major networks find themselves attracting fewer...