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Daily Archives : Jun 15, 2009

Television Academy Hosts ‘A Father’s Day Salute to TV Dads’

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will host a "A Father’s Day Salute to TV Dads" on June 18 at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theater in North Hollywood, Calif. The event will honor ten of TV’s most beloved dads…

ABC News to Air Healthcare Conversation With Obama June 24

ABC will air "Questions for the President: Prescription for America" on June 24 at 10 p.m. The conversation with President Obama about healthcare will be moderated by ABC News’ Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer. ABC News’ Medical Editor Dr. Timothy…

MGM’s Vintage Shows Pitched to Strapped TV Stations

MGM is offering financially struggling stations looking to program their digital channels “This TV,” a 24-hour programming service of vintage fare such as “Beach Blanket Bingo,” the Los Angeles Times says. The offerings on the free service include B-movies, and…

Big Media Web Video Businesses Have Failed

The web video ventures launched by the likes of Disney, HBO, NBC, Turner and AOL have failed, the Los Angeles Times says, citing their inability to attract enough ad dollars and find a sustainable business model. –Elizabeth Jensen

Axelist.com Complaints Coming to TV

Axelist.com, a web site where users can complain about the people and businesses they have problems with, is partnering with Prometheus Entertainment to turn the concept into a half-hour TV show, Variety says. –Elizabeth Jensen

Ex-Cons to Cook on Canadian TV

Canadian broadcaster Citytv is pairing ex-cons with a fancy Toronto restaurant for a fall reality series called “Conviction Kitchen,” The Hollywood Reporter says. The show will give former bank robbers, thieves and petty offenders wait-staff and kitchen training and then…

In an Otherwise ‘Relatively’ Smooth Transition to Digitial TV, Two Major Stations, Philadelphia’s WPVI and Chicago’s WLS, Have Had Signal Problems

Philadelphia’s ABC-owned WPVI experienced reception problems after converting from analog to digital on Friday, B&C reports. ABC’s WLS in Chicago was also experiencing some problems, Multichannel News says Many users reported on the WPVI web site that they couldn’t find the…

Once Banned, Ads for Hard Liquor Becoming Increasing Common on TV Stations, Including Those Owned by the Major Networks

It’s become “a real boozy time on television,” the New York Post reports. With TV stations stuggling for ad revenue, “local affiliates are not only accepting hard liquor ads—they are actively courting the $451 million distilled-spirits advertising business," the paper…

‘Lost,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ Among Online Viewing Champs in May

ABC’s "Lost" and "Grey’s Anatomy" and CW’s “Gossip Girl” brought in big online audiences in May, according to Nielsen VideoCensus figures, Variety says. On ABC.com, "Lost" had 36.4 million total video streams (episodes, clips and podcasts) for the top spot….

What Needs to Be Done to Really Mine Set-Top Data to Sell Advertising and What’s Wrong with Nielsen

Jack Wakshlag, Turner’s chief research guru says in this piece by Multichannel News, “If the industry ever gets it right, set-top box data can become immensely useful.” This article tells what needs to be done. —Chuck Ross