Contrary to the opinions of so many people who would still claim to be friends of mine, when it’s brutally clear that no matter how much logic, reason or fact may go into what classifies as nothing more than an educated POV based on decades of actual experience, if there is a narrative that absolutely, … Read more
Byron Allen’s back in the news cycle again, and yet again there seems to be shock that he’s mentioned in the same breath as some of America’s largest media monoliths as a serious candidate for the ownership of a conglomerate as storied as ABC (not to mention a few other significant Disney assets). Google some … Read more
If nothing else, the actions and reactions to the two polarizing celebrities that have dominated trade press and zeitgeist surrounding the crippling dual strikes against the AMPTP have brought to mind the reality that you honestly never know how much people one might intuitively believe have nothing in common actually do. Drew Barrymore and Bill … Read more
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to connect via a high-profile friend with David Kenny, who at the time was the CEO of Nielsen. I had never personally met David; my dealings at those levels preceded David’s tenure, and he cut his teeth with executive positions on the agency side. I expressed to … Read more
There was once a time not too long ago when there was genuine excitement and anticipation that was in the air. Waaaay back in November 2019, we were on the cusp of dramatic expansion of brand new, exciting streaming platforms to challenge the dominance of Netflix, none quite as intriguing as the launch of Apple … Read more
Drew Barrymore hasn’t been this controversial since she overreacted to an alien and overaroused a late night talk show host. These days, Drew has somehow become the poster child for CBS daytime, defying both marginal ratings and a myriad of obstacles, starting with a global pandemic, to begin her fourth season as the host of … Read more
A very busy day yesterday began with a hopeful argument from a friend who was particularly concerned about the lack of progress in the Charter-Disney dispute that had disrupted his extremely nuanced, eaborate and established setup of how he could view and record a multitude of college football games on a timetable that would often … Read more
You’d be hard pressed not to find someone not in a reflective mood today. 9/11 has brought out those kinds of emotions now for 22 years, which means that this year’s college graduating class has never known a world where this day doesn’t have the same kind of relevance and connection that, say, Pearl Harbor … Read more
More than three decades ago, I at least got the chance to turn my childhood obsession into a business strategy. Game shows were (and still are) the highest-rated and most profitable programs on TV, and while they were dominating late afternoon and early evening lineups, and still fairly prominent in the morning programming of the … Read more
Right up front, let me assure you all: the last word of today’s title is spelled WITH AN L. Just like my last name is spelled with two. Believe me, it’s been mispronounced more than once, and while I embrace the nickname, I still bristle when someone leaves the second “L” out of my last … Read more