Sr. Writer/Editor, MSNBC.com
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Read the full post September 26th, 2006
Archive for September 26th, 2006
CBS wins 1st week of season, but ABC wins 18-49s
It’s that time of year! No - not the start of the fall season, although it is that, too. It’s the start of the “No, WE won the ratings when you look at a given demographic” season. And while Lost Remote knows the whole concept of TV ratings and its limited demo measurement is d-e-a-d, we’ll nonetheless report the following: CBS took in the most viewers (13 million) for the first week of the new fall season. But ABC was number one among the 18-49 year-olds. And there’s this sentence from TV Week, which I never thought I’d read (emphasis added): “ABC also had the top-rated show for the week in adults 18 to 49 with the Thursday season premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy,” which scored an 11.0 rating, which includes live viewing and same-day viewing via digital video recorders, according to Nielsen Media Research.” DVRs count in ratings! Woo Hoo!
Add comment September 26th, 2006
GE takes stake in Brightcove
Some day we’ll write some bad news about Brightcove. Hasn’t happened yet, though. The latest coup for Jeremy Allaire’s video syndication platform comes in the way of $5 million in credit, led by GE. (The credit comes in exchange for equity.) Brightcove has built up an impressive list of clients, partners and investors in the past year. It’s easy to see why people are confident in Brightcove: Allaire gives an excellent presentation, and the product is very easy to use.
6 comments September 26th, 2006
Clinton clip pulled from YouTube
BuzzMachine reports that Fox News had YouTube pull this clip of Clinton’s Fox News Sunday interview from the site. “Fools. They would be getting a whole new audience,” writes Jeff Jarvis. Interestingly, there’s a bunch of interview clips still on YouTube.
8 comments September 26th, 2006
Comcast users in Mass. can’t access Google
Well, I’m not crazy! eWeek is reporting that Comcast and Google are aware of that some Comcast users in Massachusetts (yup that’s me!) are unable to access Google sites. Another poster on Bostonist says it’s an issue with an AT&T router (I told that to the Comcast customer service rep, but they insisted that couldn’t be the problem). I also have a call into Comcast headquarters. Who knows? What have I learned today? My life is way too dependent on Google (although their services have made my life so much easier). Interestingly enough, when I just logged onto Digg.com this was the top story. The top story on most of the Boston news sites is the Hood blimp crash. Which story do you think most Bostonians really care about?
11 comments September 26th, 2006
NBC to offer shows through Viiv PCs
Two weeks ago, AOL announced a deal with Intel to distribute TV shows on Viiv PCs. Now NBC is expected to announce later this week that Viiv PC or Centrino notebook users can download shows like Heroes and Studio 60 on Sunset Strip. (While I’m on the topic, Heroes is the best new show of the season I’ve seen so far.)
Add comment September 26th, 2006
TiVo Series 3 units confounded by plasmas
Proud new owners of TiVo’s Series 3 DVR are discovering the remote controls basically don’t work if they have a plasma TV set. Turns out those plasmas emit a lot of frequency noise and confuse IR sensors nearby. While TiVo has yet to offer a solution, the folks at the TiVo Community are coming up with ways to work around the problem. There’s the GLAD Press ‘n Seal solution, which involves filtering out the bad frequencies by sticking a few layers of plastic over the sensor. And of course, taping a cardboard hood around the end of the remote.
2 comments September 26th, 2006
Boondocks boots picas for pixels
Aaron McGruder is having a better time with “The Boondocks” in Hollywood than he had in newspapers. Universal Press Syndicate is warning clients that the edgy strip may not return to print any time soon. Meanwhile, Cartoon Network has renewed the late-night animated show for another season, the first-season DVD is selling, and rumors are a film is in the works, leaving print writers to wonder if the future of the funny papers is in pixels rather than picas.
Add comment September 26th, 2006
Gmail down?
Safran and I have been unable to log into our Gmail accounts since 8:30amEST today. We’ve tried doing Google searches for any known issues and have called Google directly. No answers. We can’t even launch the Contact page on Google! Anyone else experiencing similar problems? You would think Google could post some sort of announcement on its website. Whether we like it or not, we are all in the customer service business now. Even you Google! Update: After some more digging, I’m fairly certain this problem is native to Boston Comcast customers and apparently, I’m not the only one wringing my hands. I contacted Comcast and they were less than helpful shall we say. Maybe if enough of us call they will do some investigating.
28 comments September 26th, 2006
Rosenblum launches Verizon-backed news unit in DC
Michael Rosenblum is working with Verizon to launch a video news project that will converge news gathering and distribution via cellphone, web and cable. Terry Heaton reports that the pilot could very well be the first of many to come in several cities and might give traditional TV news operations reason to watch closely. The model is inexpensive and is worth keeping an eye on. Writes Terry: “The news will be by and for young people, I’m sure, and it by-passes all the traditional routes.”
6 comments September 26th, 2006
Tribune execs would sell ‘many’ TV stations
The Chicago Tribune reports that Trib management’s favorite scenario would be to “spin off many of Tribune’s roughly two dozen television stations in a tax-advantaged transaction, unload several of the smaller papers and take the rest of the company private in a leveraged buyout.” The stations to keep? New York, LA and Chicago. But the idea will have to wait until recommendations from a new independent panel.
8 comments September 26th, 2006
Business Week’s Best of the Web 2006
Readers’ picks for the best websites are featured as part of Business Week’s special report, “Best of the Web 2006”. (How very Web 2.0 of them.) The list is divided into 23 different categories organized into four groups, Information Overload, Money Matters, Not at Work, and Do-It-Yourself Web. Many of the top picks aren’t that surprising, but some you may be unfamiliar with (at least they were to me) including SparkPeople for Health, Ask a Ninja for Podcasts, Become for Buying & Selling, and SimplyHired for Jobs.
2 comments September 26th, 2006
Washington Post wins first broadband news Emmy
60 Minutes walked away with the most Emmy’s Monday night in the 27th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards ceremony. CNN’s Anderson Cooper won two awards. NBC won for its breaking news coverage of Katrina, and ABC took home a trophy for its “Money Trail” series of investigative reports, among others. And the first ever broadband news Emmy goes to… WashingtonPost.com’s Travis Fox for his coverage of Katrina. (Watch his winning entry as well as the finalists’ videos here.) Also, congrats to WBBM and WBAL for winning awards in spot news and investigative reporting, respectively. Check out the full list of winners.
2 comments September 26th, 2006
