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There’s nothing on TV. Your DVR is empty. All your favorite shows are in reruns. Now what? Well, Lost Remote’s readers have suggested a long list of little-known or vintage TV shows (most of which are available to watch online) along with cool video podcasts, promising webisodes and even a video game or two. We hope it’ll help get you through the strike.
Click below for the entire list, with all the links…
Read the full post 10 comments December 23rd, 2007
News Corp. has sold eight of its 35 stations to Oak Hill Partners, a private equity firm. The stations sold are: WJW (Cleveland), KDVR (Denver), WGHP (Greensboro), KTVI (St. Louis), WDAF (Kansas City), WITI (Milwaukee), KSTU (Salt Lake) and WBRC (Birmingham). Oak Hill already owns 9 other stations under the name Local TV LLC, and the WSJ reports that the day-to-day operations of all the stations may fall to Tribune. After all, Local TV’s top exec was just hired by Sam Zell to take over Tribune’s broadcast and internet operations.
Plus: So is this what TV stations have become?
3 comments December 22nd, 2007
In a column on notorious anchorwoman Alycia Lane, Philly Inquirer columnist Karen Heller says that “in local TV, sadly, looks are everything.” Cory hooked into the story of Lane being accused of slugging a cop earlier, discussing the nature of crime and celebrity in newscasters, but we didn’t get the sticker shock of Lane’s salary that Heller provides: $700,000.
The price of one pretty local talking head could buy a lot of serious backpack journalists who can actually do their own credible reporting. The conversation has been hot in my offline circles, so I thought I’d bring it to my favorite online forum. The rise of Internet newscasting and the influx of foreign news products like BBC with more stripped-down productions are revealing that the arms race in American broadcast news has led to an evolutionary dead end where glitz is beating substance to the detriment of the product. And said glitz is so expensive to produce, it isn’t going to be pretty when the leaner operations start becoming more substantial. We lostremoters always praise sites who change to cleaner and simpler redesigns, but we never praise broadcasts for that because they just keep going chyron crazy and slapping on more makeup and adding more “centers” via the magic greenscreen.
LR buddy Michael Rosenblum says the first step is admitting you have a problem. Can we get a New Year’s resolution to curb the madness?
16 comments December 21st, 2007
From $8 to $10. Must… expedite… impending… doom. In response, Netflix shares jumped 9 percent on Thursday. As we recently blogged, Blockbuster is bleeding money and closing stores, and some analysts don’t believe it will survive much longer. Maybe that whole screw-the-customer-with-late-fees strategy really didn’t work out, did it?
8 comments December 21st, 2007
The Daily Show and Colbert Report are coming back, sans writers. This ought to be interesting, to say the least. (Thanks, Safran for the tip!)
Add comment December 21st, 2007
The deal is officially done, and Sam Zell is already taking action at the newly private Tribune Co. He shuffled the board, named two new executives and promised more changes to come. “We have a tremendous opportunity to take the great brands of Tribune Company, and the enormous talent within the company, to a new level,” Zell said in a prepared statement. “Tribune, along with the newspaper industry, has been mired in its monopolistic origins, and we intend to create a fresh, entrepreneurial culture that is fast and nimble, and which rewards innovation.” One of the moves is naming Randy Michaels to head Tribune Co.’s internet and broadcast operations. Meanwhile, Zell will oversee Tribune’s newspapers. “You call it CEO and I’ll call it owner,” he said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
1 comment December 20th, 2007
Broadcast Interactive Media (BIM) has relaunched nine Granite TV sites with new designs and the YouNewsTV platform. Up until now, Granite had handled all their sites internally. “Within 30 days of site launch, BIM helped us grow our internet revenue with projects such as Your Health Matters and the YouNewsTV platform,” said Mark DeSantis, WEEK TV General Manager. “WEEK.com alone saw over a 400% return on investment with these sponsorships, as our advertisers just loved the programs.” YouNewsTV allows users to submit video and photos, and all the content is moderated before appearing. WEEK.com’s YouNewsTV section:
Press release follows below…
Read the full post 6 comments December 20th, 2007
In a Harris survey, 65% of adults say they’ve watched a YouTube video, compared to 42% the year before. Meanwhile, 43% said they have watched a video on a TV network site, followed by 35% on news sites.
Add comment December 20th, 2007
My first news director, Bill Bauman, is retiring as general manager of WESH in Orlando. Back in the early 90s, I worked for Bill at powerhouse KCRA, and his commitment to coverage was reflected in the station’s slogan, “Where the News Comes First.” Bill also brought serious news coverage to WESH. “To be recognized for providing superior coverage is what this business is all about,” Bauman said. “Our brand of news is something I’m very proud of.” Such a dedication to quality in local TV news is becoming less popular these days. We need more people like Bill to bring it back.
1 comment December 20th, 2007
MTV has recruited 51 teens and young adults to cover the 2008 elections throughout the country. Their blogs, photos and video will appear on Think.MTV.com and a new MTV mobile site. Also, their video will be posted on the AP’s Online Video Network, which by extension would appear on more than 1,800 affiliate sites. The MTV street teams will be geared up with laptops, video cameras and mobile phones — and it’s partially funded by a $700,000 grant from the Knight Foundation’s Knight News Challenge. Great idea!
Think.MTV.com users can set up profiles that outline issues that are important to them. They can also join groups and highlight organizations they support.
1 comment December 20th, 2007
I don’t watch a ton of TV, but a couple times in the last week I found myself surfing Comcast VOD for something… anything… to watch. It seems all the best shows are out of fresh episodes. 30 Rock is done. The Office and The Daily Show are in repeats. Heroes is over. My DVR is empty. Empty! I suspect many of you are in the same boat.
So kind Lost Remote readers, what’s out there that’s worth watching right now? It can be a TV show, movie, podcast, webisode, DVD, video game, anything. As you post comments, I’ll compile a helpful list…
39 comments December 19th, 2007
Pappas Telecasting said its open to selling “a portion” of its 27 stations in 24 markets. “After more than 40 years in the broadcast industry,” said Harry J. Pappas, chairman of the company, “the time has come to simplify my life and spend more time with my family.”
2 comments December 19th, 2007
In a $500 million mega-deal, Viacom has agreed to a broad partnership with Microsoft that spans advertising and content. Currently, Google’s Doubleclick powers ads on Viacom sites. But as Viacom is suing Google over YouTube, the move to Microsoft is not entirely a surprise — especially after Microsoft’s purchase of aQuantive. On the content side, Viacom units MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Paramount Pictures will license video to MSN and Xbox. And the two agreed to continue to work together on game development.
Meanwhile, Google says that the Viacom-Microsoft deal proves the point that there’s plenty of competition in the online ad market. As you may remember, Microsoft claims that Google’s purchase of Doubleclick creates an advertising monopoly. (The deal still doesn’t have a green light from the FTC.) But Microsoft said that even with the Viacom deal, Google+Doubleclick controls more than 80 percent of online advertising.
Add comment December 19th, 2007
The thing about working in local TV news is when an anchor (or reporter) commits a crime, it becomes big news. At this writing, 328 stories in Google News on that KYW anchor who’s accused of slugging a cop. Not because they’re celebrities, really, but because the newspapers love to give local TV types a taste of their own medicine. (And it happened in NYC.)
6 comments December 18th, 2007
This is pretty cool if it works as advertised. The CW station in Houston just launched a new service that lets your mobile device access the live video from traffic cameras along your daily commute. It’s called (get ready for a mouthful of branding) “The CW39 Traffic Jam Cell Cams.” Over 500 cameras around Houston are available from the application you will need to install on your device. The Houston transit department is involved in the program as well. A company called 3rd Dimension developed the technology. I love the disclaimer on the site: “DO NOT USE WHILE DRIVING.” Good advice.
5 comments December 18th, 2007
Lower-third snipe style ads are now appearing on some YouTube clips.
I clicked on a CBS-uploaded clip of a Frosty the Snowman promo, and immediately saw a little yellow tick mark on the timeline:
When the clip reached that point, an animated ad appeared on the clip:
After about 15 seconds, the ad folded down to this:
The new ad structure is appearing sporadically for me - mostly on channels provided by content partners.
7 comments December 18th, 2007
In a vote that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said may help to “forestall erosion of local news coverage,” the FCC commission approved a rule change that loosens its newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. For the first time in 32 years, broadcasters in the top 20 markets could also own a newspaper, assuming a variety of conditions. The vote was along party lines. Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps said the FCC was “just inking up a rubber stamp for another round of consolidation.”
5 comments December 18th, 2007
One of the gold standards for online journalism has been working on a major redesign, and a peek at the homepage of the new look is now in beta. Not only is the new site cleaner than their previous design, but the site is focused on providing customization, allowing users to move modules and set their location. Blogs also have their own widget on the new design that users can customize as well. Plus, check out the analog clock in the upper right. Turns out this is an homage to the BBC 1’s iconic time piece. Lots more on the new design is highlighted on the BBC’s Internet blog.
5 comments December 17th, 2007
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