Archive for August 20th, 2006
It’s certainly standard fare these days for TV award shows to offer expanded video programming online, but MTV is planning to go to the next level with the Video Music Awards on August 31. Using its Overdrive broadband service, MTV.com says it will offer extensive live coverage from the press room to backstage to the dressing rooms. “I have personally spoken with a number of artists about this and the reaction I have gotten is ‘that is so cool, that’s what you should be doing, that’s what I want to watch’ — even though they’re the ones that are involved in it,” said Dave Sirulnick, MTV executive VP.
August 20th, 2006
As a new season gets underway, local TV stations are fuming at the NFL rule that bans cameras from the sidelines. There’re have been plenty of stories written in the local press, and now NFL VP of public relations Greg Aiello has written a response, which follows…
Read the full post August 20th, 2006
Tracy Morgan in an NBC promo for the new show, 30 Rock, that aired during Sunday Night Football: “Before I do the show I have some demands that have to be met. I want Monday Night Football to be played on Sunday where it’s supposed to be. I want Katie Couric off the network. And I want all the black people on Deal or No Deal to win.”
August 20th, 2006
The Today Show will debut new anchor Meredith Vieira in 1080i high definition on September 13th. “It’s been a tremendous overhaul in terms of the set, the studio and the control room,” says John Wallace, NBC executive VP. NBC has doubled the size of the control room and added a second floor in the studio. Meanwhile, NBC is working with its bureaus and key affiliates to outfit them with 16×9 standard definition cameras. “There will be 4:3 materials that we will still receive,” says Wallace. “The reality is that, for the next three to five years, I can’t imagine all affiliates that contribute material will be 16:9. It’s a challenge all broadcasters will be facing for the foreseeable future.” To say the least.
August 20th, 2006
Only about 10 percent of broadcast network TV ads in primetime are in high definition, so what’s the hold up? “Until Nielsen starts measuring HD viewership, advertisers will be in no rush to run into the space,” says Tim Hanlon, senior VP of ventures for Publicis’ Denuo Group, the media futurist division. “According to the Nielsen measurement system, HDTV users don’t exist. That’s ludicrous.” Over 20 million U.S. homes have HDTV.
August 20th, 2006
Washington Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser made his debut on ESPN’s Monday Night Football last week, and fellow WaPo scribe Paul Farhi was given the task of reviewing it. Farhi didn’t care for Kornheiser’s work, writing: “It wasn’t exactly clear at times why he was there at all… He wasn’t especially witty, provocative or insightful… It was enough to make one yearn for Dennis Miller.” Kornheiser bit back on ESPN radio, saying “I apparently got ripped in my own newspaper, the ‘Washington Post’, you know by a two-bit weasel slug named Paul Farhi who I would gladly run over with a Mack truck, given the opportunity.” Sunday, on CNN’s Reliable Sources (transcript), Farhi said he didn’t mind the kinda-jokey personal jab, but: “I thought he sort of stepped over the line when he talked about the paper going soft on him. You know, we don’t go soft on anybody just because we have some relationship with him. He knows better than that.”
August 20th, 2006
The movie with the most viral hype in the history of Hollywood has debuted as the number one movie over the weekend, but there’s not much competition out there. Beyond the initial burst of pop culture curiosity, I wonder if SOAP will quickly fall out of favor in the days to come. Did you see it? Your predictions?
August 20th, 2006
