The Ratings Wizard
Monday, March 8, 2004-Sunday, March 14, 2004TV Season Week No. 24A double dose of “American Idol” gave Fox a weekly victory in adults 18 to 49 with a 4.1/12. In total viewers, CBS won the week with 12 million viewers….
In Depth
Lost Boys Find ‘7th Heaven’
Brenda Hampton, creator of The WB drama “7th Heaven,” has a history of tackling social issues on the show. The latest, scheduled for May 3, is the plight of the Lost Boys of Sudan. “Lost Boys” refers to thousands of…
Samsung, MSOs Launch HD Initiative
High-definition TV set maker Samsung and a coalition of eight cable operators have linked up to promote HDTV in a massive marketing campaign that will blanket leading Web sites and cable markets nationwide with the message that cable is the…
News Videos Spark Inquiry
The watchdog General Accounting Office announced last week that it has launched an inquiry into the propriety of a recent series of Bush administration video news releases promoting the new Medicare law, which featured a public relations professional posing as…
Feds Change the Rules
In a seismic shift in its regulatory approach to indecency enforcement, the Federal Communications Commission last week ruled that use of the F-word and similar expressions runs afoul of agency regulations-no matter in what context the words are used.Also last…
Quick Takes
“Hell yes, I get caught up in it. It’s the best three weeks in sports. Although it’s such a big money maker, you don’t think about that aspect. It’s just the games, the kids, the emotions. For a lot of…
Post-Globes, BBC America Ramping Up
Still riding high from its surprise two-fisted victory at the Golden Globes, BBC America is reformatting its schedule to include theme nights and has ordered four new projects to help maintain its momentum. In the coming months, the network will…
Close-up: John Vitanovec
Tribune Broadcasting has appointed John Vitanovec as group VP, giving him executive oversight responsibilities for additional stations in the company’s television group. He will report to Tribune Broadcasting President Patrick Mullen. Mr. Vitanovec will be responsible for Tribune stations in…
Some Series See Sweeps Spikes
Ratings for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Dr. Phil” and “Access Hollywood” indicated these strips were among the few syndicated series to spike year to year during the recently concluded February sweeps, when syndication viewing audiences overall…
Newsmakers
BroadcastingMark Condron to sports producer, KPIX-TV, San Francisco, from associate producer, HBO Sports.Larry Solitrin to creative services director, KYW-TV and WPSG-TV, Philadelphia, from design director.Michael McCarthy to VP, sales, KNBC-TV, Burbank, Calif., from VP, sales, KVEA-TV and KWHY-TV, Los Angeles.Carolyn…