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Posts tagged as “CBS”

Is NBC reviving television?

Is NBC reviving television?

Okay, so we know that the people running NBC are the reincarnation of the Devil and/or are morons.
But is what they are doing such a bad thing?
You’re probably pulling hair out of your head right now.

And this leads me to my second shocking question of the week:
Is NBC reviving television?

Or rather: Are Dumb and Dumber indirectly boosting creative content?

As I pointed out yesterday, the 10PM slot is begging to be changed.
Well, not really “begging”.
CBS’ Les Moonves himself declared the other day that “Taking a third [broadcast] competitor out of the marketplace will make us even stronger”, though he said that for different reasons (“‘CSI: Miami’ on Monday at 10 o’clock will beat Jay by a lot. Remember that. By a lot.”).
The Leno-move should not be without consequences for the 10PM slot on the other nets.
I am not talking about drastic schedule changes here (even if I’m guessing it’ll unfortunately come to that — affiliates anyone?).
I am talking here more about quality changes.
We have in one corner C.S.I., and in the other Jay Leno.
Bring on the alternative!

And if there isn’t any alternative on the Big Five, then we sure as hell will tune to other content-providers.

Like Cable.

Less network series means more cable series.
More cable series means (generally) more quality-content, more creative control and more options.
And all this leads to more cable channels taking chances on new talent.

We have already covered in much details the cable scenario though, so I won’t repeat here.

An Nth movie channel by Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate is even in the works.
How long before they are making their own original content?

And don’t forget the Internet!

Leslie declared that CBS has “about 12 different ways” to monetize “their content” after its first run.
Wait…
I thought that no money could be made off the Internet?
Or was that only during the strike?
I’m confused.

Anyway, there’s plenty of opportunities over the Internet.
A new wave of entertainment is arriving.

Let us sum up everything neatly with this great metaphor:
Basically Jay Leno moving to primetime is like the wings of a butterfly flapping in Central Park, causing an earthquake in Asia/Television.
Wait.
This metaphor is clearly not the right one as it far from represents this duality that all the various repercussions from the Jeno-move (will) have on the entertainment industry.
But whatever.

Congrats to NBC on a coup that will for sure change the industry.
Or at least make everyone in the Biz crazy right now.

Is NBC killing television?

Is NBC killing television?

Yesterday’s Leno-primetime announcement shakeup led to various online articles on the subject.
Such as an article by the co-writer of Leno’s autobiography (yes, I know that doesn’t make much sense) on “how Leno won again.”
EW is also explaining the 101 on why NBC is doing the move.

Still, the move is clearly a gut-punch to fellow TV writers as Shawna points out.
Temp X has also a post up explaining how NBC is actually run by aliens.
Don’t be fooled by their moronic attitude!

Meanwhile, ABC is also considering merging TV divisions.

This leads me to this shocking question:
Is NBC killing television?

Or rather: Are Dumb and Dumber slowly destroying original content?

The merge-move and Leno in primetime makes perfect sense business-wise.
After all, it cuts cost, and the show will most likely do better than what is currently on at 10PM.
But is it a good entertainment-move?
Me think not.
Is NBC really going to destroy the 10PM slot because of their failed shows from this fall?
Sure, “E.R.” will be gone soon, and so will be “L&O:SVU”. “Enemy” is out and the rest of the shows are sadly pointless.

But stop blaming all your problems on crappy shows.
And stop replacing said crappy shows by even worse shows!

Making new with old is good for some stuff, but faking new with old is far from creating “new” content.

Be original for frak’s sake!

If everyone would pull a Zucker, and every network would simply remove dramas from the 10PM slot, original primetime content would be swallowed by clones of clones of clones of shit.

How did CBS become number one?
By making “The Golden Girls 2: Touched by a David Letterman”?

No, by banking on some island-reality-show and a revolutionary procedural.
I’m not saying find the next great cash cow or cool reality hit.
This craze is gone.

Don’t hang on to the past, look towards the future.
For instance, find original stuff that can successfully make the bridge between TV and the Internet.
Don’t just dump money on “Nude Dance Competition with Your Pets XI”.

To be honest, The Leno Show will probably do well, but don’t think that means we want more talk-shows in primetime instead of solid drama.

Think with your brains, not with your wallet.

I have faith that CBS will pull out “CSI: My Ass”.
I’m hoping though that FOX/ABC will wake the fuck up and seize this great opportunity to be the underdog; bringing alternative, groundbreaking content to this 10PM slot.

Don’t ruin this for us, guys.
Please.

The smell of change in the morning

Some more fresh news hot off the printer.

Let’s begin with a quick follow-up to my awesome prediction from the other day on how 3-D will rule us all in a decade or so.

What’s the one industry that can make or break a format? Or, in our case, a new era of entertainment pleasure?
Was your first thought ‘porn’?
If yes, then you’d be right.
If we would have been talking about the 90s.
Porn embraced first HD DVD and look where that format went.
Bottom line is: Porn endorsement is now kinda useless, especially when everyone is basically downloading his (her?) porn.
There’s also no 3-D Porn in the works as far as I know.
But I have high hopes (or is that low expectations?) that one is coming our way soon.
No pun intended.
Seriously.

Don’t worry, I’m going somewhere with all of this.

So, back to the question.
What’s the industry that will lead Joe Six Pack to watch 3-D stuff?
It’s not per se an entertainment industry, but it definitely has its own (big, huge) weight.
I am of course talking about sports.
And to be more precise, the NFL.
Tomorrow night will be broadcast live in 3-D to theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders.


I may go out on a huge limb here again, but I’m pretty sure that in 2 decades, if not less, watching 3-D sports at home will become a common thing.

Also, LG announced that they would try to market at least one 3-D TV in 2009.
And we’re already in December 2008 folks.

Meanwhile, CBS just announced its mid-season schedule while ABC the premiere date of some of its new shows.

Let’s begin with CBS.
First things first, Flashpoint season 2 will premiere Jan. 9.
Did I forget to mention that the missing 4 episodes from season 1 are added to the whopping total of 18 season 2 episodes ordered?
That’s a full season of 22 episodes for you.
The 13-hour Harper’s Island (I sense a backdoor series somewhere) will be broadcast from April 9 to July 2.

Not much more news regarding dramas since there hasn’t been much canceling lately on CBS’ side.

Remember how NBC only announced their January skeds?
Well it seems that ABC is announcing the premiere of its new shows — for around March-April.
Mondays (March 9) will see the arrival of the long-awaited Castle (by most Nathan Fillion fans).
The reboot of Rob Thomas’ Cupid will premiere meanwhile starting March 24 on Tuesdays.
The Unusuals will take place on Wednesdays (beginning April 8).

Why so late?
Well, you might have guessed this, but ABC wants to finish showing its fall shows before beginning its mid-season’s.

Notice a trend in all of this?
Mid-season shows are beginning more and more frequently to premiere late in the season (as late as April-May for some).
Are we converging to year-long original drama programming or what?