Logo

Previews

Nov 24, 2003  •  Post A Comment

The 77th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off the holiday season Thursday at 9 a.m. (ET) with live entertainment and more than 200 parade elements, including bands, cheerleaders, helium balloons and colorful floats. It starts with Tom Turkey and ends with Santa Claus. For more than 50 years, the 21/2-mile procession has aired on NBC, which this year features the “Today” show team of Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker as commentators. For the second year the parade will also be broadcast in Spanish on sister network Telemundo, with hosts Roberto Angelelli, Candela Ferro and Mauricio Zeilic.
Paging Lost Boys
On Monday, a white paper prepared by Nielsen Media Research for its clients (TelevisionWeek, Nov. 17) is scheduled to be delivered, detailing research done over the past three months into why TV ratings dropped this fall for 18- to 34-year-old men. The report is expected to be voluminous, with a number of charts and extensive data analysis. For TV execs in a hurry, it is also said to include an executive summary.
Cap Flap Continues
A move by Congress to roll back the Federal Communications Commission’s cap on national TV ownership, despite opposition from the White House, remained a rider on a major spending bill late last week. However, a conference committee was still at work, and the rollback remained vulnerable to attack by House GOP leaders this week. If it survives, the legislation could still face a veto by President Bush. However, that would require him to also veto money to keep several government agencies running, so the final decision remains a cliffhanger.