When the viewership figures for this past weekend’s NFL wild card games are released later today you will note all the sizzle points will reference “total audience”. Although each licensee directs viewers to a primary linear network, each of them used additional networks or platforms to augment their total reach. Some media pundits call this … Read more
Ten years ago this month I was hired for what some accurately called an inevitability. I was given the chance to head programming and scheduling for GSN, otherwise known as Game Show Network. In the impeccable words of yet another prematurely departed colleague, the eloquent David Lyle, it was akin to putting Dracula in charge … Read more
No one close to me died yesterday, thank G-d, so I could move on to something else. And, thankfully, JEOPARDY! has moved on from its troubled 2021 to a stellar start in 2022 both ratings and zeitgeist-wise. Now under the supervision of Michael Davies, who moonlights as a very passionate soccer (ahem , “football”) fan … Read more
I always thought Groundhog Day was a welcome winter event. not to mention a hilarious movie. When it normally arrives on February 2nd, it typically signals that winter has reached its apex, with Punxsatawney Phil, everybody’s favorite rodent who has never earned a dime from Disney, either seeing its shadow and signaling winter has six … Read more
One of the most fascinating developments of pandemic-era television has been the exponential growth of FAST channels, both in terms of adoption and relevance. While the majority of industry attention has been toward the holy war being waged by trillion-dollar tech and media companies with tentacles in SVOD and PVOD and eight and nine-figure investments … Read more
The entertainment world lost other comedy star yesterday, this one far too young and soon. Bob Saget, just 65, was found dead in an Orlando hotel room hours after he did a stand-up act. For who was arguably the quintessential sitcom dad for Gen Xers (and even fringe boomers like myself who couldn’t srop binge … Read more
As the new year starts and the Warner Discovery merger moves toward completion current “business daddy” (God, I love John Oliver!) AT&T released some information yesterday touting how successful HBO was in 2021. For a service that already boasts the brilliance of such series as SUCCESSION, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and yes, LAST WEEK WITH JOHN … Read more
The entertainment world has again lost a brilliant mind with a strong game show connection. Jay Wolpert may not have been as famous as Betty White, but he was an important part of my life and his story is one that deserves to be heard. Jay was a self-described nerdy kid from Brooklyn who became … Read more
America is clearly at an impasse. –Literally half the Senate belongs to a political party as diametrically opposite of the other as at any point in their histories. — In 2021 per Nielsen, 52% of the combined total average viewership of the three most-viewed news and opinion cable networks belonged to MSNBC and CNN combined; … Read more
Those of us seasoned enough to remember when late night television was actually watched late at night recall when Johnny Carson would trot out his Carnac the Magnfiicent act, blithely and sarcastically guessing the answers to questions that were hermetically sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnall’s porch since noon that day. (My … Read more