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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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News
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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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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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With the majority of the networks’ upfront presentations still a few weeks away, it’s difficult to predict when advertisers will start spending on television and online buys. But digital executives at most of the broadcast networks are optimistic that online sales will be a bright spot this year. If...
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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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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...
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NBC is encouraged by the reaction from advertisers and media buyers to its new 10 p.m. Jay Leno show, network ad sales President Michael Pilot said. Mr. Pilot said NBC is positioning the new show as Jay Leno in primetime, rather than a late-night show at 10 p.m. The distinction is important, he said...
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It may be the age of TiVo and Hulu, but the next few weeks will once again underline an important tenet of the broadcast TV economy: Schedules still matter. Even as networks increasingly adapt to the notion that their programming is being absorbed long after its original broadcast, the day and time a...
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The summer television schedules revealed last week reflect the tension between the broadcast networks’ dual goals: attracting advertisers with quality fare and keeping costs low. In keeping with the trend of recent years, summer will not be light on original programming, with several networks using their...
Posted to
The Business of Television
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News
on
Sun, Apr 12 2009
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Filed under: Broadcast, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Wipeout, The CW, Print Edition, Merlin, Big Brother, So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent, The Philanthropist, Dating in the Dark, The Listener, Don't Forget the Lyrics, Mental, Hitched or Ditched, The Bachelorette, The Superstars, Blonde Charity Mafia, Here Come the Newlyweeds, Are You Smarter Than a Grader?, Hell’s Kitchen, More to Love, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here
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The advertisement for “Southland” that NBC placed on the front page of the Los Angeles Times last week is either brilliant or inept—or accidentally a little of both. Before we dissect this “Southland” ad—a print version of what would be considered a product-placement ad in the TV world—some caveats are...
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What started out as a medical “miracle” story ended up among the biggest of the year’s news “gets.” In early February, “Dateline NBC” and “Today” show co-anchor Ann Curry landed an exclusive interview with Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets whose birth less than two weeks earlier had made worldwide...
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The Twitterverse and blogosphere rose up last week up in a preemptive bid to keep NBC’s “Chuck” on the air. Yeah, I know: You’ve heard this story a thousand times before, from “My So-Called Life” to “Moonlight.” The plotline never seems to change: Fans beg, networks pretend to listen and, in the end...
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NBC is toning down the hype—and trying to turn up the emotion—to promote the April 9 premiere of “Southland,” the network’s first new 10 p.m. Thursday drama in 15 years. The last time the network made a big push for a show in the storied timeslot, of course, was in 1994, when “ER” went on the air. NBC...
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“Smart, gritty, touching: All apply to the four-star movie premiere of Michael Crichton’s ‘ER,’ the better of this season’s two high-profile medical dramas. When this show and CBS’ ‘Chicago Hope’ move to Thursdays at 10, this is the one you’ll want to watch in real-time.” I was a 23-year-old television...