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We Have Been De-googled!
28 November 2009 3:43 PM, PST
Dear Readers,
As many of our longtime readers are aware, Studio Briefing is the longest-running entertainment-industry news publication on the Web. Launched as a fax-only subscription service in 1992, we went online the following year when News Corp’s Delphi Internet Services became our first Internet outlet , and we have existed as a paid subscription service and a syndicated online news service ever since.
With many of our client websites battered by the current economy and some of them biting the dust, we were encouraged by a few industry warhorses to launch a unique blog that would link the items in our daily digest directly to the source material and give readers the opportunity to discuss them. We unveiled the blog last April, augmenting our items with a few images and YouTube videos, and were gratified by the response -- with many new readers registering their thanks for our no-frills presentation »
Leno’S Ratings Improve
27 November 2009 3:57 PM, PST
Jay Leno -- along with NBC programming executives -- may have felt especially thankful on Thanksgiving as the latest ratings appeared to indicate that the exodus of viewers from his primetime talk show had halted and that some viewers may in fact be returning, the Hollywood Reporter said today (Friday). Last week, the trade publication observed, Leno drew his best numbers since mid-October and on Wednesday of this week -- Thanksgiving Eve -- while every other broadcast network program lost viewers, Leno gained them. The shift, THR commented, "might represent a turning point for the industry-polarizing series." Then again, it noted, Leno was able to land stars of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, this year's blockbuster sensation, for his show last week, and he followed a two-hour Biggest Loser special ("Where Are They Now?") on Wednesday that averaged 7.7 million viewers. While Leno's show averaged 5.1 million viewers, by contrast, the entire »
Murdoch’S Son Makes His Move
27 November 2009 3:50 PM, PST
Lachlan Murdoch, the renegade son who cast off his mantle as heir apparent to the News Corp empire and returned to his native Australia four years ago, has taken a 50-percent stake in that country's Dmg radio network for about $50 million in cash and the assumption of about $60 million in debt, according to the Dow Jones News Service, a News Corp subsidiary. There had been much speculation that Murdoch, who has not made a major investment since leaving News Corp in 2005, had been considering a return to the family fold. His decision to enter the Australian radio business appeared to scotch such speculation. In a statement, he said, "Patience is a virtue and, after exhaustively searching the market for the right acquisition, we have found in Dmg Radio Australia the right business, the right partner and the right brands which are positioned for exemplary growth." The Melbourne, Australia Herald-Sun, another News Corp unit, »
Larry King To Interview Alleged Gate-crashers
27 November 2009 3:42 PM, PST
CNN's Larry King has landed an interview with the Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who managed to slip through security on November 24 to attend President Obama's first state dinner without an invitation. They have as yet talked to no other interviewers. At the time, they were reportedly being considered for Bravo's The Real Housewives of D.C,.and were accompanied to the state dinner by a Bravo cameraman. On Thursday, NBC's Brian Williams said that he and his wife noticed the couple when they arrived. "What attracted our attention was there was at least one camera trailing them," Williams said. "And a makeup woman got out and fixed the woman's hair and then started powdering the man's forehead." The Secret Service said that it is investigating the incident.
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“Variety’S” TV Editor Bemoans Collapse Of CNN
27 November 2009 3:38 PM, PST
In a devastating critique of CNN's programming and, in particular, its decision to replace Lou Dobbs with former Associated Press reporter John King, Daily Variety television editor Brian Lowry has accused the cable network of failing to provide compelling coverage of hard news, "its rhetoric notwithstanding." CNN, Lowry said, "too often brings to mind the excesses of bleed-and-lead, celebrity-obsessed local newscasts, which in their pursuit of younger demographics have merely sent discriminating viewers scurrying elsewhere for anything but weather forecasts and the occasional sports score." Lowry accused King of routinely failing to challenge interview subjects, and he anticipates that he will become another member of CNN's "mostly undistinguished roster of talent" that it surrounds "with distracting technological toys, from King's 'magic wall' to holograms to the new infatuation with gleaning viewer reaction from Twitter and comments posted online." King, he predicted, doesn't have "a puncher's chance of succeeding." With Dobbs gone, »
Lambert: Victim Of “Double Standard?”
27 November 2009 3:34 PM, PST
Former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert continued to generate controversy Thursday after CBS blurred the image of him kissing a male band member during his performance at the American Music Awards Sunday night. Lambert had been invited to appear on CBS's The Early Show after ABC dropped him from its competing Good Morning America. During a discussion of other controversial TV appearances, the CBS show did not similarly blur an image of Madonna and Britney Spears kissing at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Following the CBS telecast, Jarrett Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said that the decision "reinforces an unfortunate double standard that is applied to openly gay performers." He noted that the "kiss was not blurred on ABC nor in news coverage on other networks." CBS responded that the Madonna-Spears kiss "is very familiar and has appeared countless times including many times on morning television. »
Fox Trots To First Place
25 November 2009 4:05 PM, PST
Thanks to a resurgence of national interest in the World Series and a solid fall schedule, Fox appears certain to win the important November "sweeps" ratings contest for the first time. In fact, the network said on Tuesday, it will most likely win by the largest margin of any network in five years. Fox observed that while other networks saw their ratings drop by a significant factor during the sweeps period, its own are up some 20 percent from a year ago. On Monday, the network announced its mid-season schedule, which impressed analysts. Not only does it include the return of such hits as American Idol and 24 but also the debut of two promising additions, the game show Our Little Genius and the action drama Human Target.
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Donny Osmond Takes Home Disco Ball
25 November 2009 4:01 PM, PST
Donny Osmond, who had the advantage of spending a lifetime as a performer and commanding an enormous fan base, danced off with the top award, a silver disco ball, on the season finale of ABC's Dancing With the Stars Tuesday night. He beat out singer Mya and Osbourne family member Kelly. The show had been expected to draw the biggest ratings of any nonsports show of the season, but while its ratings were impressive, they were not overwhelming. The two-hour finale averaged 19.19 million viewers, but an hour earlier on CBS, the newly empowered NCIS beat that figure with 20.26 million, and its spin-off, NCIS: Los Aangeles gave Dancing a run for its money by attracting 17.18 million viewers.
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Adam Lambert: No Apologies
25 November 2009 3:58 PM, PST
ABC was clearly in a no-win position Tuesday following its decision to cancel Adam Lambert's appearance on Good Morning America following his racy performance Sunday night on the American Music Awards. The network said that it did so after receiving more than 1,500 complaints about Lambert's Ama act in which he kissed a male band member and had another simulate oral sex on him. ABC said that it felt that Lambert's planned performance on Gma would likely not be appropriate for a morning audience. That prompted CBS, the perennial third-place network when it comes to morning programming, to invite Lambert to appear on its The Early Show. The New York Daily News reported on its website that hundreds of Lambert fans showed up outside the storefront studio, with one of them telling the newspaper, "He's a great performer and I thought I was going to die when [ABC] canceled the show. »
One Third Of HDTV Owners Aren’T Watching HDTV
25 November 2009 3:50 PM, PST
HDTV sets are likely to be the hottest items flying off retailers' shelves on Black Friday, but a new consumer survey indicates that many buyers are wasting their money. Only 66 percent of them, the survey concluded, subscribe to any sort of HD programming. Analysts have long warned that many consumers believe that all they need in order to receive HD programs is an HD TV set. Even when they learn that they must pay an additional amount to their cable companies for HD service, they refuse to do so. "The disparity between HDTV ownership and service adoption reveals challenges for programmers," Maryann Baldwin of Magid Media Futures told Home Media magazine.
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Time Warner To Protest Fee Demands
25 November 2009 3:45 PM, PST
In a kind of no-thanks message to the giant media companies that supply it with content, Time Warner Cable plans to launch an ad campaign on Thanksgiving Day blasting the ever-rising demands from the companies for higher compensation, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Wednesday). The ads indicate that subscribers will wind up footing the bill, saying, "No one likes paying more. Yet, every time our contracts with TV program providers come up for renewal, that's what we face. Price raises. Big ones." The ads seemed aimed in particular at News Corp, whose contracts with Time Warner Cable for its Fox broadcast network and cable channels FX and National Geographic are about to expire. If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement by the end of the year, the Journal noted, programming for those channels could be cut off for customers in several big U.S. cities.
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ABC Says It Was Blindsided By Lambert
24 November 2009 3:43 PM, PST
Reminiscent of CBS's explanation in the aftermath of the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004 that it was caught off guard by the incident, ABC maintained on Monday that it had not expected the sexually explicit behavior of Adam Lambert during his performance on Sunday night's American Music Awards telecast. At no time during the rehearsal did one of Lambert's dancers simulate oral sex on the singer and at no time did Lambert kiss one of the male musicians, the network insisted. "We did not expect the impromptu moments," a spokeswoman for Dick Clark Productions, which produces the awards telecast, told Reuters. Lambert acknowledged that he often departs from the script. "I like to have a framework and just do stuff, so that kind of came about because of the connection that I had with that dancer," he told the Associated Press. In a separate interview with Reuters, he said that »
Fox News Warns Staff About “Series Of Mistakes”
24 November 2009 3:41 PM, PST
The management of Fox News Channel has sent a stern memo to staffers warning them that there will be "zero tolerance for on-screen errors." The memo observed that a "series of mistakes" had gone out on the channel in recent months. "We have to all improve our performance in terms of ensuring error-free broadcasts," it said. Implying that management was not targeting individuals, the memo said that if on-air errors occur in the future, disciplinary action would be taken "against those who played significant roles in the 'mistake chain,' and those who supervise them. That may include warning letters to personnel files, suspensions, and other possible actions up to and including termination." In order to ensure against such errors, it continued, "we will start by going to air with only the most essential, basic, and manageable elements. ... We may then build up again slowly as deadlines and workloads allow »
“Dancing” Scores Highest Ratings Of Season
24 November 2009 3:35 PM, PST
Dancing with the Stars' final performance show Monday night also produced its best ratings for the season. The 90-minute telecast averaged 20.49 million viewers, peaking in the final half-hour at 9:00 p.m. with 21.93 million. Tonight's results show is likely to draw even greater numbers, particularly given the fact that Donny Osmond, who is favored to win, has always managed to attract viewers. CBS took over first place at 9:30 p.m. with The Big Bang Theory, which continues to improve in the ratings (and, critics say, in the quality of its scripts). Monday's episode drew $14.22 million viewers. It was followed by CSI: Miami, which recorded 13.18 million viewers.
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Philbin To Get A New Hip; Out Until Next Year
24 November 2009 3:29 PM, PST
Regis Philbin said Monday that he will be leaving Live with Regis and Kelly in order to undergo hip-replacement surgery in New York on December 1. "It really is painful," he remarked on Monday's show, which originated from Las Vegas. A spokesperson for the show said that Philbin would likely return in four to six weeks. The announcement came as reports were circulating on the Internet that the 78-year-old personality is planning to step down as host of the syndicated morning show at the end of his contract in 2011. The tabloid The National Enquirer said last week that Philbin will be replaced by CNN's Anderson Cooper. Such speculation has been circulating since September. Today's (Tuesday) New York Post reported that Cooper will be one of the celebrities replacing Philbin during his absence. Others include Howie Mandel, Michael Bublé, and Christian Slater.
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Shaiman Named Music Director For Oscars
24 November 2009 3:28 PM, PST
Film composer Marc Shaiman, who won an Emmy award for co-writing Billy Crystal's song medleys during the 1992 Oscar telecast and who himself has received five Oscar nominations -- three for original score; two for original song -- has been named music director for the 82nd annual Academy Awards presentations in March. Shaiman will be reunited with Adam Shankman, who is co-producing the Oscar telecast, and who directed the 2007 movie version of Shaiman's 2003 musical Hairspray.
Los Angeles Times
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Adam Lambert Ignites New Censorship Furor
23 November 2009 3:01 PM, PST
Almost certain to provoke a new ruckus at the FCC, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert's live performance at Sunday Night's American Music Awards was regarded as so salacious by ABC, which broadcast it, that portions of it were deleted for the West Coast rebroadcast. Lambert expressed outrage. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lambert said, "If it's gonna be edited, then in a way that's discrimination. I don't mean to get political, but Madonna, Britney and Christina weren't edited. ... It's a shame. Female entertainers have been risque for years. Honestly, there's a huge double standard." The Times offered a clip of the performance on its website, but clicking on it brought up the notice, "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation." Lambert's performance drew attention from the awards themselves and particularly detracted from the triumph of Taylor Swift, who received five trophies. It »
Ama Awards Challenge Football
23 November 2009 2:50 PM, PST
ABC's telecast of Sunday night's American Music Awards averaged 14.16 million viewers and beat out NBC's Sunday Night Football from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., according to overnight Nielsen ratings. The football telecast -- Philadelphia at Chicago -- nevertheless averaged 15.11 million viewers and was the top-rated broadcast of the night, except for the overrun of CBS's own non-primetime football telecast, which pulled in 20.61 million viewers at 7:00 p.m.
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Oprah’s Departure Won’t Hurt CBS, Says Analyst
23 November 2009 2:40 PM, PST
CBS's syndication arm is not expected to take a big hit when The Oprah Winfrey Show ends its run in Sept. 2011, Broadcasting & Cable reported today (Monday), citing a J.P. Morgan research note.
"We think Oprah's significance is likely overblown for CBS," the note reads, noting that while the show accounts for about $300 million in total revenue, Winfrey and her Harpo Productions receive more than $250 million of that amount. "So while the loss of a longstanding distribution deal is disappointing for CBS, it's hardly a material hit to numbers, in our view," the J.P. Morgan note said. The CBS syndication unit, B&C noted, earns far more from Judge Judy and Entertainment Tonight than it does from Oprah.
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Vivendi Could Upend Ge-comcast Deal
23 November 2009 2:37 PM, PST
Vivendi is playing hardball in its dealings with General Electric and is balking at the valuation that Ge and Comcast have placed on NBC Universal. Vivendi must sell its 20-percent stake in the media company in order for Ge and Comcast to form a joint venture that would run it. The Wall Street Journal said today (Monday) that Ge and Vivendi are several hundred million dollars apart on a deal and that Vivendi is also asking Ge to pay at least part of the price before any deal with Comcast closes. The newspaper cited a person familiar with the matter as saying that Vivendi doesn't want to assume the risk that the Ge-Comcast venture could be blocked later on by federal regulators.
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20 articles
