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CBS Leads Daytime Emmy Nominations
8 hours ago
With “The Young and the Restless” paving the way, CBS led all networks with 50 nominations Wednesday for the 40th annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
“Young” had 23 nominations, followed by ABC’s “General Hospital” with 19 and 17 apiece for NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” and PBS’ “Sesame Street.”
Among talkshows, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was tops with 10 noms.
PBS was second among the networks with 44 nominations, while ABC was third with 38. Syndicated programs had 37 nominations.
Nickelodeon had 36 nominations, including four of the five nods for top children’s animated program, compared with 17 noms for the Hub, 11 for Cartoon Network and 11 combined for Disney Channel and Disney Xd.
Nominated for top drama were “Young,” “Days,” “General,” CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” (15 total noms) and ABC’s “One Life To Live” (three noms).
Lead actor nominations went to Peter Bergman, Doug Davidson and Michael Muhney of “Young” and Jason Thompson of “General.” Lead »
- Jon Weisman
Fox, CBS Finish April as Primetime Leaders
21 hours ago
NBC’s “The Voice” remained the top draw among young adults last week, but it was a more balanced Fox and CBS that emerged the network winners as April came to a close.
“American Idol” placed both of its nights among the week’s top 10 slots, and comedies “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons” joined rookie drama “The Following” in the lower half of the top 20. CBS, meanwhile, had more top 20 shows in adults 18-49 (seven) than any other network — even though it aired no scripted originals on Monday or Wednesday.
It was also a big week for cable hits “Duck Dynasty” on A&E and “Game of Thrones” on HBO, both of which surged to series highs and won their timeslots in the 18-49 demo opposite broadcast fare.
Overall for the April 22-28 frame, according to Nielsen, Fox led in adults 18-49 with a 1.9 rating/6 share, followed by CBS (1.7/5), NBC »
- Rick Kissell
‘Nip/Tuck’ Gets Latin American Redo
21 hours ago
In a region where local TV content readily trumps foreign programming, Warner Channel is producing original content for the first time with the Latin American remake of its Emmy-winning plastic surgery skein “Nip/Tuck.”
“This is a very important project that marks a milestone in the history of the channel, to open new possibilities for us to continue growing and consolidating in the region,” said Vicky Zambrano, VP / Channel Manager of Warner Channel.
Colombia’s Caracol TV is leading the co-production with Warner Channel and Ecuador’s Teleamazonas as partners.
“It will be the first time we have adapted a U.S. format,” said Caracol TV Prods. head Felipe Boshell who has spearheaded Caracol’s mandate to develop more international co productions.
The “Nip/Tuck” Latino version will be titled “Mentiras Perfectas” (Perfect Lies) and run for 60 episodes, stripped Monday to Friday. Caracol and Teleamazona will air skein around the first quarter of 2014, per Boshell. »
- Anna Marie de La Fuente
NewFronts: CBS Crafts Internet Series Based on Primetime TV
22 hours ago
CBS Interactive is introducing seven new online-only series, including two Internet shows based on the Eye’s primetime “Elementary” and “Person of Interest.”
New shows on CBS.com are “Baker Street Irregulars,” live-action skein based on net’s “Elementary,” which follows crew of characters assisting the modern-day Sherlock in solving crimes; and “Person of Interest: Animated,” Japanese anime-style skein produced by namesake series’ creator and exec producer Jonathan Nolan and exec producer Greg Plageman. Shows will debut online in the fall.
CBS announced new Internet video content at Digital Content NewFronts event Tuesday in New York. CBS Interactive prexy Jim Lanzone served as emcee for the evening,
In addition, CBS Interactive will introduce three series on CNET tech property: “Next Big Thing,” covering major technology trends; “CNET Appliances,” delving into smart appliances; and “CNET Español,” Spanish-language program aimed at U.S. Hispanic market.
The Eye also will debut two shows on GameSpot, »
- Todd Spangler
NBC Salt Lake City Affiliate Yanks ‘Hannibal’ Due to Graphic Content
23 hours ago
The Salt Lake City, Utah station that doesn’t bring you “New Normal” or “Saturday Night Live” is also opting out of NBC’s frosh serial killer drama “Hannibal.”
Ksl-tv cited the level of violence in the show, a TV spin on the “Silence of the Lambs” franchise.
On the NBC affiliate’s Facebook page, Ksl TV posted:
Programming Note: After viewing the past few episodes, as well as receiving numerous complaints from viewers, Ksl-tv will cancel the airing of the NBC show “Hannibal” on Thursday evenings. This decision was made due to the extensive graphic nature of this show. The time slot will be replaced with a special edition of Ksl 5 News at 9 p.m.
NBC remains a valued partner to Ksl-tv. Ksl is confident that with the proliferation of digital media, those who wish to view the program can easily do so.
Ksl TV, which has ties to the Mormon church, »
- AJ Marechal
Sinatra Doc, Helmed by Gibney, Targeted for HBO
23 hours ago
HBO plans to air a Frank Sinatra documentary directed by helmer Alex Gibney and produced by Alcon Entertainment’s new TV division.
The untitled doc, a four-hour miniseries, intends to be a personal examination of Sinatra’s life and music and will feature previously unseen footage, including industry and home movies as well as private and professional performances.
Frank Marshall, Nancy Sinatra and Charles Pignone will exec produce with Alcon Television prexy Sharon Hall and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Producing with Alcon are Frank Sinatra Enterprises (a joint venture between the Sinatra Family and Warner Music Group), the Kennedy-Marshall Co. and Jigsaw Prods.
“Alex’s vision for this unique documentary is an exciting one,” Hall said, “taking viewers into the singular and extraordinary world created by one of the greatest entertainers the world has ever known.”
Alcon Television was formed last year to retain domestic and international rights »
- Jon Weisman
April Primetime Ratings on the Rise for CNN, Fox News
23 hours ago
A busy news month, including the Boston Marathon bombings and the Texas fertilizer warehouse explosion, sent more viewers to the cable news networks during primetime in April, with CNN surging and surpassing MSNBC but unable to top longtime leader Fox News.
Nielsen estimates that Fox News averaged 1.97 million viewers in primetime for the period of April 1-28, placing it third among all cable networks, behind only USA (2.51 million) and Disney Channel (2.37 million). The net was up 9% from April 2012, when it had placed seventh among cablers.
Rising considerably more (from its smaller base) was CNN, which grew 79% to 900,000; it ranked 20th among all cablers, up from 39th in April 2012. But MSNBC dropped 9% to 666,000 and ranked 29th.
CNN made it a competitive month in the key news demo of adults 25-54, placing 25th among all cable networks in April (330,000) — a spike of 128% from last year when it ranked 39th. Fnc, with 380,000 viewers »
- Rick Kissell
Obama to Nominate Tom Wheeler as FCC Chairman
30 April 2013 1:55 PM, PDT
President Obama on Wednesday will announce that he is nominating Tom Wheeler, former head of the cable and telecom industry trade associations, as the next chairman of the FCC, a White House official told Variety.
Wheeler would succeed Julius Genachowski, who announced last month that he was stepping down from the post after nearly four years in the job. Obama also will announce that Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will serve as acting chair until Wheeler is confirmed.
Wheeler, currently a managing director at venture capital firm Core Capital Partners, has been a leading candidate for the post. He was president of the National Cable Television Assn. from 1979 to 1984, and led the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Assn. in the 1992 and until 2004.
Broadcasting and Cable reported last week that Wheeler was being vetted for the position.
Speculation that he would be the choice already had drawn some criticism from public interest groups that »
- Ted Johnson
TNT Renews ‘Dallas’ for Third Season
30 April 2013 11:41 AM, PDT
TNT will be heading back to “Dallas” for a third season.
Cabler has ordered 15 episodes of the rebooted drama and will bow the new season early next year.
“‘Dallas’ has built a passionately loyal following with its expertly woven storylines, clever twists and turns, and numerous outstanding performances by a cast that spans generations,” said Michael Wright, prexy and head of programming for TNT, TBS and TCM.
The show lost its iconic character, J.R. Ewing, with the death of Larry Hagman in November. Despite that Wright said, ” ‘Dallas’ has many more stories left to tell.”
Program, from Warner Horizon TV, bowed strongly on the cabler during its frosh run in 2012, but experienced an initial dip in ratings during season two. Ratings picked up towards the end, and averaged 3.8 million viewers in Live+7.
“Dallas” is created by David Jacobs and exec produced by Cynthia Cidre, Michael M. Robin and Robert Rovner. »
- AJ Marechal
Nielsen’s New Digital Test Has Big TV Chasing Elusive Viewers
30 April 2013 10:48 AM, PDT
The TV industry is taking a small step towards catching up with the consumption patterns of its audience, who are increasingly making use of digital technology to watch their favorite programs.
Nielsen and a coterie of TV networks – A+E, ABC, AOL, CBS, The CW, Discovery Communications, Fox, NBC and Univision – have agreed to take part in a pilot for what Nielsen calls its digital program ratings that will tabulate overnight data for unique audience, stream counts and reach by age and gender for TV programming viewed online.
The test does not take into account people who watch TV via mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets – meaning that no matter how successful the idea is, it will not capture a viewer behavior that is on the rise and growing.
Nielsen already has a means for measuring online viewership, but its technology requires the TV program being viewed to have »
- Brian Steinberg
Video: ‘Gma’ Engages Jason Collins in Relaxed Interview
30 April 2013 9:40 AM, PDT
In his interview for ABC’s “Good Morning America” with NBA center Jason Collins, the first active player from a major U.S. team sport to reveal he is gay, George Stephanopoulos enabled Collins to revisit many of the points the athlete expressed Monday in his first-person piece for Sports Illustrated.
Questions from Stephanopoulos included “You always knew you were gay?” and “What do you say to the 12-year-old boy who’s out there practicing right now, wants to be a pro ballplayer, and happens to be gay?”
Soft-spoken but articulate, while occasionally poking fun at himself, Collins added some texture to the initial revelation.
“I sort of describe it as, ‘You know the sky is blue, but you keep telling yourself it’s red,’ ” Collins said. “But when you finally get to that point of acceptance, there’s nothing more beautiful.
Part 2 of the interview: »
- Jon Weisman
Maria Shriver to Return to NBC News as Special Contributor
30 April 2013 9:36 AM, PDT
NBC News veteran Maria Shriver is returning after a long, self-imposed absence.
The NBCUniversal unit said Shriver, who left in 2003 when her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, ran for governor of California and won, will serve as a special anchor reporting on the evolution of women’s roles in modern society.
NBC News said Shriver will contribute a series of special projects that could take the form of primetime reports and appearances across various NBCUniversal outlets, including NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and NBC Sports. She will also serve as an editor at large for topics related to women’s issues across NBC News’ digital properties, working with personnel to expand appropriate content and news programming.
Shriver will remain based in Los Angeles and continue to produce other television, film, book and live event projects under the auspices of her own production company, NBC News said.
As part of the pact, NBC News »
- Brian Steinberg
Fox’s ‘The Following’ Finishes First Season Strong on Monday
30 April 2013 9:10 AM, PDT
Fox drama “The Following,” perhaps the most impressive of this season’s rookie class in the young-adults demo, closed its season on an uptick Monday, ranking second to NBC’s “The Voice” in its timeslot and standing as the night’s top drama.
NBC easily won the night in key demo categories even though “The Voice” posted its lowest Monday scores of the current cycle and “Revolution” matched its low. ABC rolled in total viewers with “Dancing With the Stars” and “Castle.”
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “The Following” averaged a 2.6 rating/7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.8 million viewers overall, rising 8% week to week for a seven-week high and beating out original episodes of the CBS comedies for the first time. The Kevin Bacon-fronted drama, an especially strong performer in DVR playback, is the season’s No. 2 new program among adults 18-49 — behind NBC’s “Revolution” — but »
- Rick Kissell
Ryan Seacrest, Gwyneth Paltrow in AOL Deal (Exclusive)
30 April 2013 8:00 AM, PDT
Ryan Seacrest is moving his production company into the digital original-programming business for the first time via a shortform 10-episode series with appearances by Gwyneth Paltrow.
“It’s a new focus for us, in the context of this company,” he said of digital development at Ryan Seacrest Prods.
The Paltrow project emanated from TV development that Ryan Seacrest Prods. was working on with the A-list actress. “Second Chances,” which co-stars fitness guru Tracy Anderson, reveals the inspiring stories of women who’ve overcome all manner of adversity.
AOL is expected to announce “Second Chances” as part of its newfronts slate on Tuesday in New York.
Project will be overseen by Sibyl Goldman, whom Seacrest hired last year to lead Rsp’s digital production efforts. Formerly VP of entertainment at Yahoo, Goldman works closely with the TV production unit to mine low-cost concepts that can work outside the traditional channel universe. »
- Andrew Wallenstein
Viacom in Fighting Shape for Second Quarter Earnings
30 April 2013 7:00 AM, PDT
The perception of Viacom has improved drastically over the past 18 months, and the second-quarter earnings report this week will likely emphasize that there has been more stability in Viacom’s model than people realized.
(Article by David Bank, Senior Equity Media Analyst, Rbc capital markets; Edited by Rachel Abrams)
A year and a half ago, critics said the conglom’s programming had become irrelevant, the company had cannibalized its audience by selling content into online distribution, and kids were watching shows on their iPads instead of on Nickelodeon, which had suffered double-digit ratings declines. To many observers, it appeared that MTV had lost relevance to its key demographic. But all of that may have skewed investors’ perception of Viacom’s health.
While ad revenue may have declined last year, affiliate fees — which are not connected to ratings — have seen steady growth. Stock buybacks show a long-term plan to return capital to shareholders. »
- Corporate Forensics
TV Review: ‘Newlyweds: The First Year’
30 April 2013 7:00 AM, PDT
Like a bad first date, “Newlyweds: The First Year” begins with promise and anticipation, before rapidly descending into “Check, please” mode. While the challenges of marriage should be fertile Bravo territory without resorting to unnecessary histrionics, the channel has cast the show on the extreme fringes of its “Real Housewives” franchise, with crazy brides (mostly) posturing and pouting through the 90-minute premiere. With practically every participant crying in the opener or the “this season on” tease, “Newlyweds” promises no shortage of melodrama. Any viewers hoping for something more elevated than the standard formula, however, should seek a quickie divorce.
If there’s a telling moment that this is simply going to be more of the same, it comes early during the introduction of the four couples. Each pairing has at least some connection to media occupations, including a correspondent for an Australian TV show, a Bollywood actress, a music executive and his stylist betrothed, »
- Brian Lowry
Netflix Sets July 11 Bow for ‘Orange is the New Black’
30 April 2013 5:00 AM, PDT
Netflix has set July 11 as the launch date for its original dramedy “Orange is the New Black,” from “Weeds” creator Jenji Kohan.
The Netcaster said it will make all 13 segs of the hourlong Lionsgate TV series available as of 12:01 a.m. Pt.
“Orange” adds to the Netflix originals pipeline stoked so far this year by “House of Cards” and “Hemlock Grove.” The long-awaited return of “Arrested Development,” which had a starry premiere bash at the Chinese Theater on Monday night, lands May 26.
“Orange” stars Taylor Schilling as a Gothamite who gives up her comfortable life when she goes to prison because of her past association with a drug-runner, played by Laura Prepon. »
- Cynthia Littleton
Roland Emmerich to Develop Lawrence of Arabia Miniseries
30 April 2013 2:47 AM, PDT
London – Helmer-producer Roland Emmerich is to develop a miniseries based on the life of Lawrence of Arabia for FremantleMedia Intl.
Emmerich, best known for “Independence Day” and the upcoming “White House Down,” is developing the series with Marc Frydman (“Straw Dogs,” “Murder in the First,” “Nil by Mouth”) and Rod Lurie (“The Contender,” “The Last Castle,” ABC’s “Commander In Chief”).
Lurie will pen the six-hour skein with Clive Bradley (Channel 4’s “City of Vice,” the BBC’s “Waking the Dead”).
Biographer Michael Korda, whose tomes include “Ike,” “Ulysses S. Grant” and “Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia,” will be the historical consultant on the project.
British Army officer T.E. Lawrence became known as “Lawrence of Arabia” owing to his efforts to unite Arab opposition to the Ottoman Empire during Wwi. David Lean’s 1962 film “Lawrence of Arabia” won six Oscars.
FremantleMedia Intl. CEO David Ellender said, »
- Leo Barraclough
Emmys Double Down on Second Screen
29 April 2013 4:55 PM, PDT
TV’s increasing efforts to target viewers across platforms is connecting with one important audience: the TV Academy. For this year’s edition of Primetime Emmys, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is doubling down on its commitment to show love for interactive programming.
The Academy’s 12-year-old interactive media peer group — 627 members strong and one of the Acad’s fastest-growing entities — will move from two to five awards in recognition of the growing diversity of offerings in the field.
“Look, there’s all these things going on,” says Lori H. Schwartz, governor of the Academy’s interactive media peer group. “The Emmys need to be leading in recognizing them.”
Chief among the changes is the establishment of a competitive award for outstanding interactive program, saluting either a standalone experience or one that serves as a companion to a TV program. In the Emmy context, “interactive” denotes anything that encourages »
- Andrew Wallenstein and Jon Weisman
Broussard Shows Espn Only Knows One Way to Keep Score
29 April 2013 3:39 PM, PDT
Truth be told, nobody was really interested before Monday in whether Espn basketball analyst Chris Broussard thinks homosexuality is a sin. For the most part, he’s content to weigh in on whether the Lakers need to make a change before the trade deadline, or Oklahoma City has enough firepower to win a playoff series with star Russell Westbrook out of the lineup.
Still, there was Broussard being asked to discuss the news that NBA center Jason Collins had revealed he’s gay, becoming the first U.S. player in a major professional team sport to do so. And Broussard responded by unleashing this lesson on biblical theology: “If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, (but) adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals … I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ,” he said. “I would not characterize that person as a Christian, »
- Brian Lowry
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