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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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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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Over at CBS, offbeat is off the schedule. In the past few years, CBS used upfront week to unveil something a little off-kilter, experimental or quirky. It tested a singing Hugh Jackman in “Viva Laughlin,” a small town grappling with nuclear holocaust in “Jericho” and a couple of families from the ‘70s...
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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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As YouTube tries to win over television programmers and the brand advertisers that want to sponsor their shows, the site is offering more flexible terms for providers of premium TV content. The new inducements? Functionality that lets programmers run pre-roll ads before shows and a policy that lets networks...
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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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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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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...
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The Business of Television
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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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It might not be obvious on the surface, but the new limited-run drama “Harper’s Island” has a lot in common with another CBS island-based show: “Survivor.” Like Mark Burnett’s groundbreaking reality series, “Harper’s”—an “I Know What You Did Last Summer”-style murder mystery—promises viewers complete...
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If there were a “Profiles in Courage” for network executives, it would probably be a pretty thin tome. After all, the folks who run TV outlets, broadcast and cable alike, usually aren’t inclined to go out on a limb when making decisions. And it’s hard to blame them, since in most corporations, the only...
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CBS may soon decide to pull the plug on “Guiding Light,” the longest-running daytime drama in television history. While no final decision has been made, the network’s deal for the Procter & Gamble-produced drama—the least watched of the eight daytime serials currently on the air—ends in September...
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“Friday Night Lights” remains, by most accounts, one of the finest shows on TV. So maybe it’s time for it to die. Before you Panther fans start pelting me with manure-covered footballs, hear me out. Like any card-carrying member of the Television Critics Association, I’ve been a supporter of underdog...
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The Business of Television
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Fri, Mar 13 2009
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Filed under: Broadcast, CBS, NBC, Scrubs, Chuck, Print Edition, Kings, Friday Night Lights, Dick Wolf, Law & Order: SVU, CSI: NY, Law & Order, Law & Order: CI
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Blockbuster comedies such as “Friends” and “Seinfeld” left prime time years ago, but Must-See TV is alive and well. It just moved to CBS. While many in the industry have been wringing their hands (and flapping their jaws) about the supposed death of the sitcom, the network that introduced Americans to...
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The Business of Television
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News
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Mon, Mar 9 2009
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Filed under: Broadcast, CBS, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Print Edition, Chuck Lorre, Nina Tassler, Two and a Half Men, Gary Unmarried, The New Adventures of Old Christine