Exactly 50 years ago tonight, two new half-hour comedies from 20th Century Fox TV that mined the IP of their theatricals debuted back-to-back to lead off their Sunday night prime time schedule. (Yes, this was before 60 MINUTES had that slot; in those days, it aired seasonally at 6 PM once the NFL season ended). … Read more
In a month where every streaming service of consequence seems to be trying to find a way to get still more of us to eschew linear TV, and in a competitive landscape already superserviced with male-appeal sci-fi fantasy, it’s unsurprising, and strategically smart, for Hulu to launch the fifth season of THE HANDMAID’S TALE this … Read more
Tonight could be a watershed moment in the history of televised sports. Amazon Prime Video will debut its Thursday Night Football package, and will have a great divisional matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, featuring outstanding young quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes squaring off having both won their 2022openers, to … Read more
I’m a huge fan of reports based on actual data that reflects actual behavior, not algorithms or “intent to view” metrics that mask as such (yeh, Parrot Analytics, that means you). So when Brandon Katz of The Wrap reported yesterday on an exhaustive study conducted by Samba TV on what and how people consume content … Read more
I had every intention of following last night’s Emmy awards telecast with the diligence of the reporter I once aspired to be. I fixed a healthy salmon salad, I settled into the recliner, and even found my way to the Peacock feed that allowed me to see the lame red carpet interviews in glorious 4K. … Read more
I’ve documented and discussed the growing indifference to awards, and especially awards shows, on several previous occasions. The Emmys have seen an especially precipitous decline in popularity and zeitgeist in recent years, perhaps self-inflicted. Not only has broadcast television been all but ignored in nominations, let alone victories, save for occasional outliers like black-ISH and … Read more
When I ran research projects for various FOX networks, I championed the need to be sure we were not only talking to representative people based on demography and level of interest, but also geography. Long before the cheat of online groups were a viable option, we’d criss-cross the country like surrepititious vagabonds, starting out in … Read more
Forgive my “get off my lawn” attitude when it comes to revisionist history about game shows. It seems that many alleged historians forget that many shows’ histories didn’t necessarily begin when they first became popular. THE PRICE IS RIGHT’s current incarnation turned 50 this year; it was first established as a wildly popular, more sedate show … Read more
One of the joys of working in entertainment if you’re actually a fan of it is if you’re lucky you get to work with some of the most enduring intellectual properties that can be found in any industry. Few studios are as rich in IP as Sony, with rights to decades of Columbia Pictures movies … Read more
Former Disney chairman Bob Iger was the featured interview at the Code Conference yesterday in sweltering Los Angeles, and he made headlines with even hotter takes about the future of the entertainment industry. If you haven’t yet digested his takes, prodded by the brilliant tech/media savant Kara Swisher, I strongly encourage you to do so. … Read more