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In the end, a bad brew of poor planning and politics led Congress to delay the nation’s transition to all-digital television signals by three months to June 12. In the poor planning column: An underfunded coupon program to help pay for analog converter boxes; public outreach in some markets that raised...
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On Tuesday, the House of Representatives will vote on whether the transition to digital broadcast television will be delayed, setting off a new scramble by broadcasters to adjust to a changing DTV switch deadline. After a political back-and-forth that kept station managers off-balance for two weeks,...
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President-elect Barack Obama’s expected appointment of longtime friend Julius Genachowski as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will put the agency’s leader closer to power than any FCC boss in recent administrations. Mr. Genachowski’s close relationship with President-elect Obama stretches...
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The historic installation of the nation’s first African American president is creating unprecedented interest in programming related to Tuesday’s inauguration—as well as logistical nightmares for TV news crews. EXPECTING A CROWD Barack Obama will have this view of the Mall as he’s inaugurated. CNN will...
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After a 2008 full of brinksmanship and bullying between television stations and the cable operators that carry their signals, 2009 may shape up as the jittery calm before a bigger political storm over retransmission consent. More than 50% of the agreements that cover the retransmission of local TV stations...
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As President-elect Barack Obama juggles a cratering economy and two wars, broadcasting and consumer groups are throwing him another sticky issue—the impending switch to digital over-the-air broadcasting. While less than 1% of TV viewers lost their signals during the Sept. 7 DTV test in Wilmington, N...
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Barack Obama’s election as president is fueling ratings among syndicated television newsmagazine shows—and they are returning the favor. It’s a symbiosis in which shows such as “Access Hollywood” and “Entertainment Tonight” cover the Obama family like royalty, bringing back a Camelot mythology to the...
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The sun is starting to set on the administration of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin. President-elect Barack Obama last week named Susan Crawford, a University of Michigan professor of communications law, and Ken Werbach, a Wharton School assistant professor and former counsel...
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The prognosticators were wrong about how quickly the media, television and advertising could be impacted by the Nov. 4 election. Instead of the results playing out next year, they started to play out in Congress within 48 hours. U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman’s decision to challenge the dean of the House, U...
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It turns out President-elect Barack Obama’s half-hour network TV campaign advertisement, which drew rave reviews and an audience of 33.5 million viewers, came together in little more than a month. Now that the election is over, production details of the Oct. 29 ad are coming out and they are again demonstrating...
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A historic presidential campaign is ending with a blitz of negative ads and a surge in spending by the presidential candidates, but a surprise shortfall in spending by independent groups. It’s also ending with the unexpected emergence of Georgia, North Dakota and Arizona as battleground states and intense...
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All three broadcast networks are producing hourlong editions of their flagship newscasts on Monday, the eve of the groundbreaking, high-stakes national election. At last count on Friday, it appeared the rare second half-hour would be carried by significant numbers of local stations, even though clearance...
Posted to
The Business of Television
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News
on
Sun, Nov 2 2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Broadcast, ABC, CBS, Barack Obama, Election, Print Edition, John McCain, Good Morning America, ABC News, World News, Nightly News
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It may be the end to the presidential campaign, but Tuesday’s vote kicks off a high-stakes battle over media issues in the next Congress and administration. Broadcasting, advertising and consumer groups say that no matter who wins the presidency, there will be major changes in Congress, the Federal Communications...
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The 2008 race for the presidency has been memorable for many reasons, not the least of which is the jaw-dropping effect it has had on the television industry. The campaign brought to media companies a record $750 million in advertising revenue—of which local stations and the broadcast and cable networks...
Posted to
The Business of Television
by
News
on
Sun, Oct 26 2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Broadcast, Cable, CBS, NBC, Saturday Night Live, MSNBC, Barack Obama, Election, Katie Couric, Print Edition, John McCain, tom brokaw, SNL, Political Ads, Sarah Palin, Keith Olbermann, Chuck Todd, Chris Matthews
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If viral video views were tea leaves, fortune tellers might predict Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will win the election in November. He’s way ahead in online video views for both the month and the year. Online video views, of course, are not a predictor of electoral outcomes, but they...