The news that CBS’ AFTER MIDNIGHT was coming to an abrupt end in June after a mere two years took me and others by surprise; after all, we had heard little about any disenchantment with ratings or cost from either the network or its affiliates. It was especially surprising to moi considering when it was … Read more
Credit where credit is due: I’m at least aware that THE CONNERS are back for what they’re claiming to be their final six episodes beginning tonight on ABC. The Disney marketing monolith had the spot running ubiquitously across their gamut of properties this past weekend, sometimes with multiple spots in a single extended SPORTSCENTER break. … Read more
When Nielsen began to compile its monthly report called THE GAUGE it was done as a marketing move to give the company increased visibility and theoretical currency in a streaming world they haven’t quite fully figured out. As I’ve mused on numerous previous occasions, Nielsen still has only a partial lens on who watches non-linear … Read more
Optimism isn’t easy to come by these days, especially when even what one might assume to be upstanding, responsible and auspiced institutions reveal themselves to be little more than merely as minimally principled as anyone they might otherwise come out against. We thought we had a fighter in Maine governor Janet Mills, who even THE … Read more
I don’t have any kids, which I’m told both by folks who have them and especially those who knew my ex-wives I should consider to be a blessing. More often than not, I’ve questioned if their counsel was merely apolegetic or perhaps far more of a reflection that they thank the stars that I didn’t … Read more
It wasn’t a physical hurricane that hit South Florida this week for a change, but in the media world, particularly those with any vested interest in broadcast television, it was the equivalent. The newspapers that still remain part of that ecosystem certainly covered it that way. The MIAMI HERALD’s Devoun Cetoute, for one: WPLG-TV, known … Read more
I’ll qualify this musing by admitting I’m more than a tad biased towards the good folk at Apple TV+. I worked with many of them for years and I have immense respect for their taste and talents. And if one were to look at the data from the smart TV in my living room you’d … Read more
It’s quite likely Ted Sarandos has been at his current job longer and done it better than you. VARIETY! took special note of his silver anniversary year by making the Netflix czar a cover boy of this week’s issue and gave him the conquering hero treatment in the process. It took a two-on-one approach from … Read more
To some of you, there’s no getting around one indisputable fact. By certain standards, I’m old. Forget how I believe I tend to think, which is often through the lens of how someone else thinks. Decades of training listening objectively to people in thousands of focus groups and disseminating reams of survey information from all … Read more
The story of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group will someday soon make for some interesting subject matter for some advanced media strategy seminar at some university. I oughta know, since when the most recent iteration of it was being put together I actually spent an entire class using it as a prime example of how to … Read more