CNN’s YouTube debate scores big ratings
Lost Remoters have given their impressions about the YouTube CNN debate, but to the network executives, the real results are in. The format that some call ‘gimmicky’ delivered the highest viewership for a debate among adults 18-34 in cable news history. Overall, Nielsen says the debate averaged 2.6 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched debate [...]
New NBC stations chief praises niche strategies
New NBC owned-and-operated stations chief John Wallace is urging his GMs to take a niche approach to their local markets. “You’ll see a big change in the focus on local, in terms of our digital strategy,” he says. “It’s our intent to have a bigger presence in niche communities and get away from general news.” [...]
SF power outages crash major sites
I was wondering why Craigslist was down. And Technorati, Yelp, LiveJournal and many more, thanks to six back-to-back power outages in the SOMA neighborhood of SF. Brutal.
Online sports ad spending to skyrocket
Online ad spending for sports will hit $727 million this year, including paid search. And it will top $1 billion by 2011, predicts a report from eMarketer. The only challenge is sports video, which is riddled with restrictions and relatively unpopular — only 11 percent of users are “likely” to watch sports video online compared [...]
Paula Zahn out at CNN
First, Campbell Brown leaves NBC for CNN. Now Paula Zahn is leaving CNN.
ABC.com debuts high-def player
As promised, ABC.com has launched its high-definition video player in beta — the first for a network TV site. It includes a single episode each of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty to get you started before the new fall season. ABC.com says there are a few system recommendations including a “late model, [...]
Lost Remote getting new jobs section
Yes, I know, I know, I’m way behind updating jobs. It was getting too much to handle manually, so I’m doing a deal with a vendor to power a new jobs board, coming ASAP. And yes, my real job has been busy lately. Cool new stuff coming soon.
Photos of the hated NFL vest
As you probably know, the NFL has a new rule that will require sideline photographers to wear a red NFL vest with Canon and Reebok logos plastered on it. Photo District News has photos of what it will look like here. (Thanks, Allen!) Adds Jeri in comments: “I think the vests could’ve been a hell [...]
TiVo HD goes on sale for $300
TiVo has debuted a new high-definition DVR, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than the $799 Series 3. The $299 TiVo HD can record 20 hours in HD (180 in SD), can records two shows at once, but it’s not compatible with TiVoToGo. (Thanks, Eric!)
SI buys stake in Takkle.com
With all the activity surrounding the high school sports space, it’s no surprise that Sports Illustrated is making a minority investment in Takkle.com. The two companies already have a content-sharing partnership surrounding SI’s “Faces in a Crowd” feature.
Hearst buys UGO Networks
In the latest media acquisition of a technology company, Hearst has purchased UGO Networks for around $100 million, reports Forbes. UGO is a network of young male-targeted websites that brings in 11 million uniques a month. “CEO J. Moses has been trying to sell his company for more than two years,” writes Erika Brown in [...]
Reactions to the new NFL rules
If you work for a local TV station, let us know how you’re dealing with the new NFL rules in comments below (you can be anonymous.) Training camps are getting underway, and I’m curious how far stations will go to fight the NFL’s mafia-like restrictions…
Your impressions of CNN-YouTube debate?
So, how did it go? There are a billion reaction stories online, among them… – NY Times: “Yet while there was a new format for the debate, which was sponsored by CNN and the video-sharing Web site YouTube, the change went only so far: Candidates frequently lapsed into their talking points, and there was [...]
iPhone could be vulnerable to attack
Apple’s Macintosh is renowned for its nearly virus-proof operating system. But a report in today’s New York Times suggest that the company’s iPhone (built on that same operating system) might not be quite as secure. A former employee with the NSA had his iPhone log on to a custom-built website. The site then “injected a [...]
Briefs: Carey, TV about TV news, ‘Ghetto Mess’ cleaned up
Lots of interesting items on the AP wire today… – Drew Carey to snag Bob Barker’s skinny mic at The Price is Right – If you like TV shows about your job making TV shows, Fox has your back – BET’s ‘Hot Ghetto Mess’ now has a new title, [...]
YouTube’s home page outdated after debate
It’s a big night for YouTube and CNN – as the two banded together to hold a democratic candidate debate. I just dialed up YouTube.com – nearly an hour after the debate, and found a link to “submit your question” right on the home page. The debate’s over, and TVNewser says they had all the [...]
NBC digital employees moving to N.J.
As expected, NBC is shifting about 1,000 staffers from 30 Rock across the Hudson to Englewood Cliffs, N.J., already the home of CNBC. NBC’s digital staffers as well as the folks from the stations division are among those making the move.
Sirius CEO: Merged satellite radio would offer ala carte
So I had the privilege of lunching today with Mel Karmazin (CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio), Gary Parsons (CEO of XM Radio), and several dozen others at the National Press Club. Mel talked about the proposed merger of the two companies and how horrible life is with competition from terrestrial radio to Internet radio to the HAM operators. His big announcement was that the merged company would be offering ala carte packages to subscribers, which is a first among subscription services. He blasted back hard at the NAB, who earlier today were applauding NPR, who recently voiced their opposition to the merger. Honestly, I came away from the event thinking that terrestrial broadcasters really don’t have anything to gripe about, but not because of anything that Karmazin said outright. Why? Well, follow me to the jump, intrepid LostRemoters!
MySpace briefly blocks “I”
Put this one in the: “say what??” category: MySpace was stripping out the letter I from all blog entries for a time today – replacing that crazy little vowel with “..”. The very odd error seems to be corrected, but the diggers are having a pun-tastic field day: :: Just like my little league coach [...]
Could Leno’s NBC future be digital?
Weekly Variety has another look at the Leno to Conan transition scheduled to happen in 2009, when the red-haired host takes over the Tonight Show from the large-chinned one. Its no secret that the peacock wants to keep Leno as one of its feathers – but how it does that without the prime 11:35 p.m. [...]
