October 2006
- October 31, 2006
- 6:59 PM
- Comment
'Millionaire' Continues to Gain Strength
Four-year-old syndicated game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has continued its surprising ratings climb, enjoying a third consecutive week as the greatest year-to-year gainer among first-run strips.
The Buena Vista series was up a strong 21 percent to a 3.5 for the week ended Oct. 22, according to Nielsen Media Research. The gain is likely due to a confluence of factors, including the recent prime-time success of NBC's "Deal or No Deal," improved time slots this season and host Meredith Vieira's presence on NBC's "Today" show.
Among the freshmen series, the story was familiar: King World's "Rachael Ray" continued to lead by a wide margin, up 5 percent week to week to a 2.1. Sony Pictures Television's "The Greg Behrendt Show" was up 14 percent to a 0.8. NBC Universal Television's "The Megan Mullally Show" was flat with a 0.8.
Warner Bros.' "The Dr. Keith Ablow Show" had an interesting week. The show was up a sharp 22 percent to a 1.1 thanks to an interview with John Mark Karr, the debunked confessor to JonBenet Ramsey's murder. At the same time, the show was downgraded in two markets: Washington (from 4 p.m. to 11 a.m.) and Norfolk, Va. (from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m.).
For the rookie court shows, both Twentieth Television's "Cristina's Court" (1.4) and Sony Pictures Television's "Judge Maria Lopez" (0.9) were unchanged.
Highlights among returning shows include King World's "The Oprah Winfrey Show" hitting a 22-week high with a 6.7 rating; Twentieth Television's "Geraldo at Large" up 15 percent to a 1.5; CBS Paramount Domestic Television's "Entertainment Tonight" with its highest ratings in 32 weeks with a 5.4; and Paramount Domestic Television's "Judge Joe Brown" with a season-high 2.9.
- October 31, 2006
- 5:28 PM
- Comment
FitzPatrick Exits Crown Media Post
A month after former Court TV CEO Henry Schleiff was hired for the top slot at the company, Paul FitzPatrick resigned as chief operating officer and executive VP of Crown Media Holdings, which owns and operates Hallmark Channel.
"Paul has made tremendous contributions to Hallmark Channel," said Mr. Schleiff. "Starting with just 16 million subs, Paul's persistence and expertise were the driving force in expanding Hallmark Channel's reach into 75 million homes today."
Before joining Crown Media, Mr. FitzPatrick was with Golf Channel, News Talk Television, the Weather Channel and C-SPAN.
- October 31, 2006
- 5:00 PM
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The CW Names Two Programming Execs
The CW announced two executive appointments in its programming department Tuesday, both new hires for the company.
Former Regency Television executive Joanna Klein has been named VP of drama development. Ms. Klein previously served as VP of development and current programming at Regency, working on series including "Thief" and "Windfall." Before that she was VP of development and production at Lionsgate Television.
Former Cruise/Wagner Productions executive Gaye Hirsch has been tapped as The CW's VP of current programming. Ms. Hirsch will oversee day-to-day production and act as liaison between the network and producers on various CW prime-time series. At Cruise/Wagner Productions she was a producer on the films "Shattered Glass" and "Suspect Zero," and previously worked at HBO Films.
- October 31, 2006
- 4:45 PM
- Comment
GM Planworks Names Two Presidents
GM Planworks named Mary Carpenter president of strategy and operating and Mike Rosen president of investment and activation.
In her new job, Ms. Carpenter will oversee all planning activity across all General Motors divisions. Mr. Rosen will be responsible for investments in all media.
Both executives report to Planworks CEO Dennis Donlin.
"Mike is emblematic of the next generation of investment talent that can see and manage opportunity in a more free-form content environment, and Mary has been at the center of the organization since its inception and has shaped the strategic approach for each of the divisions," Mr. Donlin said. "Together, the two of them will position the organization to flourish in a multi-connection environment."
GM Planworks, a division of Starcom MediaVest Group, is the dedicated planning, buying and research unit for GM.
- October 31, 2006
- 3:00 PM
- Comment
'Heroes' Continues Climb on NBC
NBC's good news/bad news Monday performance continued this week with "Heroes" once again climbing to a new perch at 9 p.m., only to be followed by a disappointing performance for the10 p.m. drama.
The twist this week was that instead of struggling "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" occupying the later slot, NBC gave Tuesday night underperformer "Friday Night Lights" a shot. "Friday" scored a 3.5 among adults 18 to 49, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research figures, a number that might change due to a one-minute "Heroes" overrun. That's an improvement on its Tuesday performance, but 8 percent lower than the average "Studio 60" episode—and with less competition since CBS's "CSI: Miami" was a rerun (4.3). "Heroes" drew a 6.4, its largest audience to date among all key demos and, along with "Deal or No Deal" in the 8 p.m. slot, helped NBC win the night with a 4.9.
Second-place CBS had its two-hour sitcom block, all in reruns, with "Two and a Half Men" (4.1) at 9 p.m. continuing to lead the pack, "The Class" at 8:30 still the weak link (2.5) and the 8 p.m. "How I Met Your Mother" (3.0) and "Old Christine" (3.3) at 9:30 performing solidly.
ABC (2.9 for the night) and Fox (2.8) were close for third place, with "Justice" on Fox garnering gains over last week's 9 p.m. time period premiere to score a 2.5. "Prison Break" had a 3.6 at 8 p.m. ABC's shows were all about on par, with "Wife Swap" at 8 p.m. scoring a 2.6, "The Bachelor: Rome" a 3.2 at 9 p.m. and "What About Brian" a 2.9 at 10 p.m.
The CW's comedy block scored some demographic gains, with "Everybody Hates Chris" getting a season-best 1.4 and "All of Us" (1.3) matching its season high.
- October 31, 2006
- 1:44 PM
- Comment
NBC Stations Renew 'Martha Stewart'
Sophomore syndicated series "The Martha Stewart Show" has been renewed for a third season, the show's distributor NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution announced Monday.
The show has been sold to nine of the ten NBC owned and operated stations that carry the show, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco for the 2007-2008 season. The third season has also been sold to stations from Gannett, Belo, Fisher, Scripps and others.
The announcement comes as Co-Executive Producer Rob Dauber exits the production amid a disappointing season-to-date performance compared to the prior year. A replacement has not yet been named.
"The series has distinguished itself by becoming a resource for everything how-to, and this early endorsement from our affiliates indicates their satisfaction with the show's performance and its content," said Sheraton Kalouria, President of Broadcasting, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which produces the show.
- October 31, 2006
- 1:30 PM
- Comment
CBS News Takes Half of Business and Financial Emmy Noms
CBS News romped to an easy lead in the nominations announced Tuesday for the Business and Financial Emmys, to be given out Dec. 7 by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
CBS News nabbed 15 of the 33 nominations in seven categories. In the category of outstanding interpretation of a business news story in a regularly scheduled newscast, "CBS News Sunday Morning" is competing only with itself, taking all four nominations. It received a total of five nominations. CBS's "60 Minutes" faces a similar situation, earning all four nominations in the category of outstanding coverage of a current business news story—news magazines and long form. "60 Minutes" earned a total of nine nominations.
NBC News racked up five nominations and its sister cable channel CNBC claimed four. CNN and PBS programming earned three nominations each. ABC News, Biography Channel and Discovery Times each received one nod.
The luncheon awards ceremony will be held at the Rainbow Room in Manhattan. During the ceremony, the National Television Academy will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Paul Steiger, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and VP of Dow Jones & Co.
A complete list of the nominees can be found at Emmyonline.tv.
- October 31, 2006
- 12:39 PM
- Comment
Martha Stewart Firm Posts Narrower Loss
By Jon Lafayette and James Hibberd
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia on Tuesday reported that its third-quarter net loss shrank to $25.2 million from $26.1 million a year ago.
The loss narrowed as advertising revenues rebounded from the days when founder Martha Stewart's legal problems were front-page news and affected the company financially. "Our return to growth is evident in increased advertising revenue within our existing properties as well as in the success of our diversification efforts, with new magazines and new licensing agreements," said company President and CEO Susan Lyne.
The company's broadcast group, which includes the syndicated "The Martha Stewart Show" as well as Ms. Stewart's satellite radio program, showed an increase in revenue to $10.1 million, up from $2.9 million a year ago. Its operating loss was $1.8 million, compared with $3.9 million a year ago.
According to the company, ratings for the TV show are on track with expectations. "Advertising sales were strong and the show was well sold through the upfront season," the company said.
The company also said it expects to settle a class-action lawsuit against it, Ms. Stewart and two former officers for $30 million, and has set aside $18.2 million to cover its part of the settlement and legal fees. Ms. Stewart was found guilty in 2004 of lying about a stock transaction and served time in federal prison in West Virginia.
On Monday, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution announced the renewal of "The Martha Stewart Show" for a third season with several major station owners, including the NBC-owned station group.
Other station groups agreeing to carry the program's third season include Gannett, Belo, Fisher Broadcasting and Scripps.
The announcement comes as co-executive producer Rob Dauber exits the production amid a disappointing season-to-date performance compared with the prior year. A replacement has not yet been named.
"The Martha Stewart Show" is produced by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and distributed by NBC Universal. Mark Burnett and Ms. Stewart are executive producers.
- October 31, 2006
- 11:36 AM
- Comment
MSNBC Partners With HotSoup Web Site
MSNBC.com and MSNBC TV are partnering with HotSoup.com, a new Web site for political and public issue debate.
HotSoup's "Hot Loop" by editor-in-chief Ron Fournier will be posted daily on MSNBC.com. Mr. Fournier, who broke a number of big political stories when he worked for the Associated Press, also will write a weekly analysis piece for MSNBC.com. The new feature can be found at Politics.MSNBC.com.
Since going live Oct. 19, HotSoup has already attracted thousands of members some very high-powered politicians, including both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and her husband, former president Clinton.
HotSoup.com co-founders Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign, and Joe Lockhart, Mr. Clinton's former press secretary, will make weekly TV appearances on "Hardball With Chris Matthews" and other MSNBC programs.
"We're excited to be able to tap into the HotSoup community," Tammy Haddad, MSNBC's Washington VP and "Hardball" executive producer, said Tuesday. The relationship "will allow MSNBC to bring the voice of the voter into our political coverage," she said.
- October 30, 2006
- 6:56 PM
- Comment
ABC Reclaims Sunday
Free of World Series competition, ABC reclaimed Sunday night with its drama-and-reality lineup and held off a surprisingly strong charge from the NFL on NBC.
Leading the evening with a 5.6 rating among adults 18 to 49, ABC led with "Desperate Housewives" (8.3), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (5.5) and "Brothers & Sisters" (5.0)—all of which posted gains over the prior week, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen Media Research.
NBC was in second place with a 5.2 for the night thanks to "Sunday Night Football" (5.8) and a pregame show (3.4). That's its highest rating since the Sept. 10 season opener and a 15 percent increase over last year's comparable Monday night telecast on ABC.
Third place CBS had its mixture of news magazine ("60 Minutes," a 4.1), reality ("The Amazing Race," a 3.9) and procedurals ("Cold Case" and "Without a Trace," a 3.6 and 3.7 respectively).
The Fox comedy block earned a 2.0 average for the night.
For Saturday, ABC screened "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2.0) and won the night among a largely rerun field, according to the national ratings.
Friday saw Fox's Game 5 of the World Series easily besting all challengers with a 4.3 for the match. The figure confirms this World Series as the least-watched yet, down 15 percent from last year's final four-game average.
CBS was in second place with "Ghost Whisperer" (3.1), "Close to Home" (2.7) and "Numb3rs" (3.1) earning a collective 3.0.
That beat out NBC (2.8), which had a disappointing night. First, "1 vs. 100" garnered only a 2.8. The new game show won the past two Fridays with a "Deal or No Deal" lead-in and a 9 p.m. slot. But it was moved to 8 p.m. and was down considerably from its former 3.7 rating. While at 9 p.m. the fourth season premiere of "Las Vegas" (3.1) was the lowest-rated premiere of the series to date.
ABC came in fourth place (2.5) with an airing of the classic special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (2.6). The special gave a viewership boost to "Men in Trees" (2.2), which had its best performance in five weeks.
