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Saturday’s Olympics Action on NBC Down in Ratings From 2010
4 hours ago
NBC of course dominated the ratings race on Saturday, the first official night of competition, though its numbers came in below the 2010 Winter Games from Vancouver.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, NBC’s primetime coverage from Sochi averaged a 6.2 rating/20 share in adults 18-49 and 25 million viewers overall in primetime — down from the 7.5/22 in the demo and 26.2 million total viewers four years ago. Those Vancouver Games generally benefited from advantageous time-zone differences, meaning the primetime events each night were more fresh and sometimes even live.
NBC drew about 10 times the young-adult audience of any of its rivals on Saturday (a 0.6 rating in adults 18-49 for runner-up ABC) and nearly nine times the overall audience of CBS (2.9 million).
The top local markets in the overnights came from Minneapolis (22.4 household rating/41 share), Portland (20.7/34), Salt Lake City (20.6/39), Denver (20.3/37) and Milwaukee (19.8/34).
On Saturday, snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg picked up the first gold medal for the U. »
- Rick Kissell
Cirque Du Soleil, Saban Brands In Pact To Develop Kids’ Entertainment
9 hours ago
Saban Brands and Cirque Du Soleil Media have entered into a pact to develop a children’s-entertainment property based on elements from the live-entertainment company’s long-running productions. The deal includes a new television series, web content, interactive content, and merchandise, the two companies said,
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands, and Jacques Méthé, President, Cirque du Soleil Media. characterized the pact as one in which responsibility was shared. “We are doing this as partners both on the creative and on the business side of things,” said Méthé, in an interview.
The two companies expect to have a property ready by the end of the year, they said.
The Cirque Du Soleil live show “takes you to somewhere else. It’s consistent across the entire experience,” said Dekel. “We believe those elements, those aspects of color, of music, of physical movement, of »
- Brian Steinberg
Ben McKenzie to Play Young Commissioner Gordon in Fox’s Batman Origin Series
23 hours ago
“Gotham” has found its Detective James Gordon.
Fox and Warner Bros. TV have tapped Ben McKenzie to star in “Gotham,” casting the “Southland” alum as a young version of DC Comics’ famed Commissioner Gordon.
Fox topper Kevin Reilly announced at the net’s winter TCA session that “Gotham” will feature the origin story of Gordon along with Gotham City’s notable villains. A young Bruce Wayne will also be featured, as “Gotham” follows Wayne from his pre-teen years to the moment when it puts on the Batman cape for the first time.
Bruno Heller penned the pilot script for “Gotham,” which has a series commitment at Fox. He will exec produce with Danny Cannon, who also helmed the pilot.
McKenzie is no stranger to the Fox family, as the thesp landed his breakout role on the net’s sudsy drama “The O.C.” McKenzie also has experience working in the Batman universe, »
- AJ Marechal
Sochi’s Opening Ceremony, Fallon’s ‘Late Night’ Exit Score Big for NBC
8 February 2014 8:25 AM, PST
Friday was another big night for NBC, with the official Opening Ceremonies of the Sochi Games holding up very well and Jimmy Fallon exiting his “Late Night” post with series-high numbers.
According to Nielsen overnights, the Sochi Opening Ceremony averaged an 18.5 household rating/30 share, off only 8% from the live telecast of the 2010 Vancouver Opening Ceremony (20.0/33). And it was up a big 26% from the last non-live Opening Ceremony of the Winter Games (a 14.7/23 for Torino in 2006).
With a boost from the Olympics lead-in, Jimmy Fallon’s final bow of “Late Night” brought in 6.6 million viewers — the highest total viewer tally for the show since 1993.
The top local markets on Friday were Minneapolis (26.0/45), Salt Lake City (24.4/43), Ft. Myers (21.7/34), Chicago (21.6/34) and Boston (21.5/37).
In preliminary national estimates, the Opening Ceremony did an 8.6/26 in adults 18-49 and 31.7 million viewers overall during primetime.
According to Facebook data editors, roughly 5.9 million people worldwide were chatting about the Opening Ceremony on Facebook, »
- Rick Kissell
Olympic Opening Ceremony Review: Who Says Propaganda Can’t be Entertaining?
7 February 2014 11:47 PM, PST
Say what you want about Communists, but they know how to throw an Olympic opening ceremony.
There are really two ways to watch the Olympic festivities: Laugh at them for the bloated exercises in propaganda that they are, or embrace the pageantry and the one-world ideal. Either way, there was a lot of cool stuff to see on Friday night, as well as much at which one could poke fun, from the glitch involving the Olympic rings (hey, four out of five isn’t bad) to NBC’s ponderous “All of Russian history in six minutes” introductory film package.
For NBC, of course, the Sochi Olympics — much like Beijing a few years ago — will inevitably be a delicate balancing act. Given the network’s enormous investment and time-shifted coverage that plays as much like a soap opera as sports, it has every incentive for the Games to go off without a hitch. »
- Brian Lowry
Ace Eddie Awards: ‘American Hustle,’ ‘Captain Phillips’ and ‘Frozen’ Top Films
7 February 2014 11:19 PM, PST
“Captain Phillips,” “American Hustle” and “Frozen” took top honors among narrative features as the American Cinema Editors handed out the Ace Eddie Awards Friday evening.
“Captain Phillips” and its editor Christopher Rouse took kudos for dramatic feature, “American Hustle” editors Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten took the award for comedy or musical feature, and “Frozen’s” Jeff Draheim took home the Eddie for animated feature.
It’s the second major honor for “Captain Phillips” in a week, as the picture won the WGA’s adapted screenplay prize last Saturday.
The timing of the award was fortuitous for the A.C.E., as “Captain Phillips” helmer Paul Greengrass was the org’s Filmmaker of the Year honoree.
Tom Hanks introduced Greengrass, but first congratulated the A.C.E. on its 64 years and for having the largest trophy in show business. “Pardon my language but that thing is fuckin’ huge,” Hanks said. »
- David S. Cohen
Fallon Bids Farewell to ‘Late Night’ as ‘Tonight Show’ Awaits
7 February 2014 10:33 PM, PST
New York (AP) — It’s not so much “goodbye” as “on break.”
With Jimmy Fallon’s departure from “Late Night” on Friday after five years in the host chair, he will be off the NBC airwaves a scant 10 days before coming back as host of “The Tonight Show,” which was vacated Thursday by Jay Leno after 22 years.
“I’m really going to miss being on TV at 12:37,” Fallon joked in his farewell monologue, noting that his “fierce rivals” have been CBS host Craig Ferguson “and a Veggie-Chopper infomercial.”
But if he was overjoyed at his promotion to a slot one hour earlier — and he radiated joy all through the finale (taped Friday afternoon) — at the same time he could hardly keep his tear ducts in check.
“I’m not gonna cry,” he vowed early on, “but I’m gonna get really close.”
“You got to pull it together,” teased his guest, »
- Associated Press
Panama City: The Booming Business Hub of Central America
7 February 2014 10:00 PM, PST
A new film hub has suddenly emerged in Central America. Just as its skyline has morphed dramatically in the space of a few years, Panama, sometimes known as the Dubai of the West, has upped the ante on production, offering a 15% cash rebate to foreign shoots and a studio complex and media center set to break ground by late 2014.
All the construction workers toiling on the skyscrapers in Panama City could easily learn to put up film sets, says location manager Sam Tedesco, who has partnered with producer Jonathan Sanger (“Vanilla Sky”) and attorney Michael Moore to build the tentatively dubbed Panama Media Center. Initial plans include four soundstages and office spaces on 20 to 30 acres of land. Tapping both local and international investors, the upcoming facility will cost between $25 million and $50 million to build, according to Sanger, who grew up in Panama.
“Panama is the real hub for Latin America, »
- Anna Marie de la Fuente
Marty Plissner, Longtime CBS News Political Director, Dies at 87
7 February 2014 5:55 PM, PST
Marty Plissner, the longtime political director of CBS News, died Thursday of lung cancer. He was 87.
Plissner is credited with, a half-century ago, coining the phrase “too close to call,” heard often ever since during tight vote counts.
He was known for his extensive political knowledge and his range of political contacts, establishing himself by one appraisal as the gold standard for several generations of political journalists.
Plissner was a pioneer of exit polls and was known to say that members of Congress who had pushed to limit them would nonetheless contact him on primary days seeking information on what they revealed.
Born in Brooklyn, Plissner attended Yale and served in the Navy during WWII.
After graduation and stints at ABC and NBC, he joined CBS News in 1964. He participated in covering the 1964 presidential race as well as the next eight. He retired in 1997 as senior political director.
Plissner’s »
- Associated Press
Woody Allen Responds: ‘I Did Not Molest Dylan’
7 February 2014 5:41 PM, PST
In an open letter to the New York Times, which will appear in the paper’s Sunday Review, Woody Allen has responded to the 1992 molestation allegations from his ex-partner Mia Farrow and their children Ronan and Dylan Farrow.
Read his full response below:
Twenty-one years ago, when I first heard Mia Farrow had accused me of child molestation, I found the idea so ludicrous I didn’t give it a second thought. We were involved in a terribly acrimonious breakup, with great enmity between us and a custody battle slowly gathering energy. The self-serving transparency of her malevolence seemed so obvious I didn’t even hire a lawyer to defend myself. It was my show business attorney who told me she was bringing the accusation to the police and I would need a criminal lawyer.
I naïvely thought the accusation would be dismissed out of hand because of course, I »
- Variety Staff
Sneak Peak: AMC’s Revolutionary War Spy Drama ‘Turn’
7 February 2014 5:16 PM, PST
With just under two months to go until the premiere, AMC has released a new sneak peek at its highly-anticipated scripted drama series “Turn.”
“Turn,” a spy thriller set during the American Revolutionary War, is based on research from Alexander Rose’s book “Washington Spies.” The show tells the story of Abe Woodhull (Jamie Bell), a farmer living behind enemy lines in Long Island. Abe and a cohort of childhood friends form a team of secret agents known as The Culper Ring who use espionage to turn the war in favor of the rebels.
“Nikita’s” Craig Silverstein serves as the showrunner, writer and developer of the series, alongside exec producer Barry Josephson. In addition to Bell, “Turn” also stars Seth Numrich, Daniel Henshall and Heather Lind.
“Turn” will kick off with a 90-minute premiere on April 6.
»
- Andrea Seikaly
CBS Orders Comedy Pilot From ‘Happy Endings’ Writers
7 February 2014 4:45 PM, PST
CBS has ordered the multicamera comedy “Cuz-Bros” from “Happy Endings” executive producers David Caspe and Jamie Tarses and co-exec producer Erik Sommers.
The show, penned by Caspe and Sommers from Sony Pictures Television and CBS Television Studios, follows a suave single guy whose life gets turned upside down when his train-wreck cousin crashes with him. Caspe, Tarses and Sommers will serve as executive producers.
Caspe’s relationship comedy “Marry Me” has already received a pilot order at NBC.
»
- Whitney Friedlander
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy to Guest on ‘Parks and Rec’
7 February 2014 4:30 PM, PST
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy is set to appear on an upcoming episode of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” alongside stars Amy Poehler and Chris Pratt.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Tweedy will guest star on the show some time in early spring, playing the former lead singer of a band called Land Ho!
“Parks and Rec” exec producer Michael Schur told the mag that plot details have Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Andy (Chris Pratt) “trying to convince him to reunite for the big Unity Concert they are organizing to solidify the merger of Pawnee and Eagleton.” Tweedy’s character, however, is more reluctant since he and his fellow band members did not end things on good terms.
The first half of “Parks and Rec’s” season six has already featured several guest stars, including Kristen Bell, Henry Winkler, Tatiana Maslany, Sam Elliott, Billy Eichner and Heidi Klum. “The Daily Show’s »
- Andrea Seikaly
Fox Cancels ‘The X Factor’ After Three Seasons
7 February 2014 4:00 PM, PST
Fox is pulling the plug on “The X Factor,” after the singing competition failed to gain a substantial Stateside audience despite the format’s success overseas.
“American Idol” creator and judge alum Simon Cowell ushered the unscripted program to the U.S. in 2011. The competition show was seen as a strong addition to Fox’s fall lineup when “Idol” was on hiatus and was also viewed as an eventual replacement for “Idol,” which was beginning to show signs of aging in both ratings and brand identity following the exit of original judges, including Cowell.
“X Factor’s” U.S. debut was softer than most expected, however: Its series premiere drew under 13 million viewers — a strong rating relative to Fox’s other primetime offerings, but clearly not in “Idol’s” league.
Show saw significant ratings falloffs in each of its next two years, and its adults 18-49 average for the current »
- AJ Marechal
CNN Pulls Anderson Cooper’s ‘AC360 Later’ From Primetime
7 February 2014 1:19 PM, PST
CNN has taken the relatively new ‘AC360 Later,” a second primetime hour for popular anchor Anderson Cooper, off its primetime schedule for the foreseeable future, a spokeswoman for the network confirmed Friday.
Cooper, who recently signed a new deal with the Time Warner-owned cable-news outlet, is entrenched at the network, and is already the anchor of its 8 p.m. hour. Staffers on “AC360 Later,” which debuted in September, are expected to be absorbed into other positions at the network.
Removal of the program from the lineup illustrates the ongoing experimentation at work behind CNN’s primetime schedule, which CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker has indicated is ripe for shakeup due to flailing viewership. CNN has been running documentaries at 10 p.m. on recent Thursday nights and tested a panel show, “The Point,” featuring ad man and TV personality Donny Deutsch last Spring.
While executives at the network were said to »
- Brian Steinberg
AMC Greenlights Los Angeles Football Team Docuseries
7 February 2014 1:03 PM, PST
AMC has ordered a docuseries focused on the first season of the La Kiss arena football league team, the network announced today.
From ThinkFactory Media, show will travel with Los Angeles’ new arena football team and feature players and coaches along with La Kiss owners, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. AMC has ordered 10 episodes of the project.
“We look forward to capturing all the trials and tribulations of launching a sports franchise in a great sports city like Los Angeles,” said Eliot Goldberg, AMC’s senior vice president of unscripted programming. “These are incredibly dedicated athletes, coaches and management who want to win, and the fact that the team has rock and roll royalty in the owners box just adds another great dimension to the series.”
“We are thrilled to partner with AMC in bringing our show to the viewing public,” Paul Stanley said. “Anyone who knows Gene and I »
- AJ Marechal
Is Madison Avenue Leaving America Behind?
7 February 2014 11:39 AM, PST
ABC’s “Modern Family” is one of the most-loved programs on television. So why are advertisers sparking backlash when they try to adopt its storylines?
Coca-Cola Co. and General Mills have vaguely similar businesses. One makes and distributes sodas, waters, juices and teas, while the other packs grocery-store shelves with cereal, cinnamon rolls and chicken soup. On one thing the two typically agree: Never offend any part of your audience.
And yet, that’s exactly what both have done. How could the owner of the slogan “Have a Coke and a smile” and the owner of the Pillsbury Doughboy do such a thing? With kindness, believe it or not.
General Mills’ Cheerios cereal generated some nasty reaction last Spring when the venerable bowl of oats ran an ad called “Just Checking” featuring an interracial family –a Caucasian mother, an African-American father, and their cute daughter, “Gracie.” Comments on a YouTube »
- Brian Steinberg
ABC, Dick Clark Prods. Extend Pact for ‘American Music Awards,’ ‘Rockin’ Eve’
7 February 2014 11:18 AM, PST
ABC and Dick Clark Prods. have extended their broadcast agreements for key live broadcasts, tacking on a whopping nine years for “American Music Awards,” and ten years for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”
“We are delighted to remain at ABC, the home of many of Dcp’s franchise events,” said Allen Shapiro, CEO of the production company. “Both the AMAs and Nyre continue to exhibit tremendous growth year to year.”
Seacrest’s deal to host and exec produce “Rockin’ Eve” runs through 2017.
News of the hefty broadcast deal extension follows solid ratings performances for both the “AMAs” and “Rockin’ Eve.” 2013′s “American Music Awards” scored the show’s second biggest audience in 11 years, and the recent “Rockin’ Eve” telecast drew its largest audience since 2000.
»
- AJ Marechal
Simon Cowell Rejoins U.K. Version of ‘The X Factor’
7 February 2014 10:54 AM, PST
Simon Cowell is to return as a judge to the British version of “The X Factor,” which airs on ITV.
Cowell left the series in 2010 when he launched the U.S. version of the show, which airs on Fox. Since his departure the U.K. show’s ratings have been in decline. Last year’s final pulled 9.6 million, compared with 17 million in 2010.
Cowell appears as a judge in the U.K. on his other show, “Britain’s Got Talent,” which also airs on ITV.
Both shows are produced by Cowell’s company Syco with FremantleMedia.
»
- Leo Barraclough
‘Real World’ Format Twist Draws Strongest Ratings in Three Seasons
7 February 2014 10:24 AM, PST
The most anticipated episode of “Real World’s” latest season arrived this week, and with it came a surge of viewers.
Wednesday night’s broadcast of MTV’s “Real World: Ex-Plosion” featured the exes of the housemates moving into the San Fran loft (a long-awaited twist), and drew 1.5 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the venerable franchise in three seasons.
“Real World” ranked as the top program in its 10 p.m. timeslot across all television in women 12-34, and was the No. 2 cable series on Wednesday in viewers 12-34.
With roughly 15% growth in viewership each week since its January debut, “Real World: Ex-Plosion” is expected by the MTV brass to be the best-performing edition of the Bunim-Murray-produced program since 2011.
Insiders had speculated that, should “Real World: Ex-Plosion” not perform well in ratings, MTV would pull the plug on the program. The notable uptick in ratings with the format »
- AJ Marechal
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