The news that emanated yesterday from CBS management should have simply been considered surprising. It’s not easy to generate what by most conventional standards is considered a hit these days, so at least my eyebrows were raised when I saw stories like this from the venerable Rick (THE HOLLYWOOD RE-)Porter: CBS is cutting the ranks … Read more
UPDATED 6:28 PM PT MONDAY WITH RATINGS RESULTS. There were some truly talented and photogenic people on display last night during the 97th Oscars. And there were enough high points and some genuinely engaging moments to keep me engaged and awake–well, the first three hours at least. Memo to self: never mix migraine medication and … Read more
There’s an awful lot of basketball on screens these days, and it’s not just because we’re about to enter March Madness. Even streaming platforms where such rights aren’t ubiquitous are devoting some quality time and algorithm build to it, not that that’s news unto itself. After all, in consecutive years we’ve had the Roman Candles … Read more
At least my news feeds were awash with breaking news yesterday about how the world of television was about to be forever changed. It was apparently significant enough that the NEW YORK TIMES’ Los Angeles-based John Koblin enthusiastically channeled his source’s sales pitch in how he chose to report it yesterday morning: “Wheel of Fortune” … Read more
Consulting and working from home may be your idea of personal nirvana, and bully for you if your life is such where that’s a desirable choice. I’m not quite so fortunate and at the rate this industry and world are going, I’m extremely dubious that’s ever going to change. And that’s even with others actually … Read more
Adam Aron may not be the most well-known name among Hollywood moguls, but in more traditional and insular circles he’s right up there with the likes of Louis B. Mayer and Carl Laemmle. He’s the head of AMC–Cinemas, not the Networks–and he’s clearly someone who wishes he had the job of running a chain of … Read more
Time once was when the news of a network news anchor stepping down from their post was a really big deal. I still recall to this day when Walter Cronkite stepped down from his perch as the paternal face of the CBS EVENING NEWS and turned the reins over to Dan Rather. It was such … Read more
No matter how bad a weekend you may have had (and, FWIW, mine sucked) you likely didn’t have one half as bad as the one that Joy Reid and her team had. THE INDEPENDENT’s Katie Hawkinson was among the many whose own weekend was disrupted to report what happened to them: MSNBC has canceled Joy Reid’s evening … Read more
In case you’ve been out of the country or under a rock, let this musing inform you that for the first time in a REALLY long time NBC will be premiering a series on a Sunday night that they actually believe has a fighting chance of being a winner. SUITS L.A., which virtually every tracking … Read more
To a generation of baseball fans the news that came down this week about the messy divorce between ESPN and MLB wasn’t a total surprise. The fact that BASEBALL TONIGHT is no longer a regularly scheduled program, let alone the appointment viewing it was in the 90s, should tell you enough about the network’s growing … Read more