Media Musings

Give CBS a huge standing ovation, even if it may cause you some aches and pains in the process.  They’ve managed to add yet another subcategory to the overarching idea of a reboot and, in the process, kept the industry in the dark for months before springing a surprise that certainly was newsworthy. Since spring, … Read more

Earlier this week, our favorite Teddy Bear, NETFLIX’s supreme ruler Sarandos, used the setting of the Royal Television Conference to crow to the world, or at least those in attendance in London, that his company is leading the way in data transparency, chiding his theoretical streaming competition in the process for their unwillingness to share … Read more

For as little as I arguably should pay attention to the world of comic IP, considering how essential it seems to be to the very survival of at least two legacy media companies, I do take note when something of consequence happens in the world of Batman.  I was an avid reader and even collector … Read more

There’s no getting around it–these are challenging times.  Just ask any member of the Secret Service or any legal immigrant or pet owner in Springfield, Ohio.  Or anyone who thinks those subjects deserve equal time in our minds. Thankfully, we are also starting to get a trickle of new seasons of original series at the … Read more

The surest sign that some sense of normalcy has returned to broadcast television was the premiere of an honest-to-goodness, never-before executed (well, at least in North America) scripted drama in the month of September.  That honor went to ABC’s HIGH POTENTIAL, which had the challenge of counterprogramming an umpteeth rerun of FBI: MOST WANTED and … Read more

Amdist all of the more immediate noise and issues surrounding DIRECTV over the past couple of weeks that ultimately culminated in Saturday’s cease-fire in their war with Disney mere minutes ahead of a second consecutive Saturday without COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMEDAY (more significantly, mere hours ahead of Dana Walden’s personal victory lap not being able to … Read more

It was already going to be an historic Emmy night for FX, and a most deserved one at that.  Its epic dramatic series SHOGUN had already made history last week by winning no less than 14 Creative Arts trophies, establishing an all-time record for wins in a single year, and as THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Patrick … Read more

Just before a second Saturday where the possibility of disenfranchised college football fans suddenly becoming more tech-savvy by necessity unfolded, this relief of a press release from my one-time client hit my inbox: DIRECTV and The Walt Disney Company today announced an agreement in principle that provides greater choice, value, and flexibility to their mutual … Read more

Just about a quarter-century ago, when Peter Liguori laid out his vision for the FX network during the meeting that eventually resulted in my joining his team, he described his burning desire in two words: “free HBO”.  Liguori had some idea what he was talking about; after all, he was a key part of their … Read more