Chuck Ross

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Chuck Ross is the managing director of TVWeek.com. He's been involved in the TV business ever since he sold cable TV subscriptions in Santa Monica, Calif., door-to-door in the mid-to-late 1970s. He's had regular gigs reporting and/or editing about TV and advertising for Cablevision magazine,The Hollywood Reporter, the San Francisco Chronicle, Inside Media and Advertising Age. He first joined the predecessor to TVWeek, Electronic Media, in 2000.

What’s Really Going on With the Latest Challenge to Nielsen?

By Chuck Ross This week saw the official announcement of a group of media buyers and sellers who could possibly challenge Nielsen’s dominance in media measurement. First, some stats: Name: Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM). At least that’s what…

All About GM’s New Auto Ad Campaign

By Michael BushAdvertising Age General Motors Corp. marketing chief Bob Lutz swears the automaker’s new TV spots featuring GM Chairman Ed Whitacre are nothing like the Lee Iacocca ads Chrysler ran back in the 1980s. Mr. Whitacre, a white-haired former…

Blog: The U.S. Supreme Court Heard a Case Yesterday That Could Affect Millions and Millions of Dollars Spent on Networks and Local TV Stations. And It’s Very Possible the Decision Will Go the Way That Will Allow This Spending to Happen

TVWeek’s Chuck Ross, in his latest Open Mike blog entry, writes about the most important issue for those in the TV industry that will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this year. How the court decides will likely affect…

The U.S. Supreme Court Heard a Case on Wednesday, Sept. 9th, That Could Affect Millions and Millions of Dollars Spent on Networks and Local TV Stations. And It’s Very Possible the Decision Will go the Way That Will Allow This Spending to Happen

The case in question involves corporate and union funding of political ads. Here’s the long and short of it: right now, for all intents and purposes, corporations and unions cannot fund these ads. But that could change, and if it…

Fox Surprises All of Us—Picks Ellen DeGeneres to Replace Paula as Fourth Judge; Fan Reaction Mixed. BONUS: Revealing Video From Simon’s Appearance on ‘Ellen’ Earlier This Year

The producers of Fox’s “American Idol” took an unexpected turn and tapped talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, a self-described big fan of the show, as "Idol’s" fourth judge, filling the seat held since the show’s beginning by Paula Abdul. “Think of all…

Ion Tries to Go to Next Level With Edgy New Series

Ion is trying to shake its old Pax network roots once and for all by airing a series that’s much more edgy in nature, reports our TVWeek colleague Elizabeth Jensen in the New York Times. The show, "Durham County," according…

CNN Star Christiane Amanpour Gets Own Talk Show

Award-winning CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour is getting her own talk-show on the all-news outlet, Variety reports. "Amanpour" debuts on Sept. 27th on CNN. –Chuck Ross

‘SNL’ Shocker: Michaela Watkins Fired

Michaela Watkins, who last season made quite an impression doing impersonations of Arianna Huffington and Hoda Kotb on "Saturday Night Live," has been fired, EW.com says. EW’s Michael Ausiello interviewed Watkins about the firing: "EW: What explanation did [show creator and showrunner Lorne…

‘Desperate Housewives’ Creator Marc Cherry to Produce Weekly Soap Opera Within the Show—As Ads for Sprint

In a bid to stop DVR fast-forwarding through ads, Marc Cherry, the creator and showrunner of “Desperate Housewives,” has been enlisted to make Sprint commercials in the form of an eight-episode soap opera that will run during selected commercial breaks of the…

There’s a Huge Buzz About The Release Wednesday of ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ Video Game, But Will That Translate Into Profits For Game Owner MTV Networks?

The short answer is probably not right away, according to an article at Bloomberg.com. According to the report, one analyst, Michael Morris with UBS AS has written that "The ‘Rock Band’ franchise is unlikely to produce a profit this year or next. While…