• Cable Networks Execs -- Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Fire Away
    For cable networks, only one show is needed for success --- but at least one. These days if you are without, you'll need a winner fast. Spike TV doesn't have that - and neither does BET, which has proven to be dangerous ground for networks and their executives.
  • Stopping Media Consolidation
    Media consolidation is still a headache, still a threat, and advertisers are still footing the bill. Under chairman Michael Powell, the Federal Communications Commission was moving towards wholesale media deregulation. But a federal appeals court last year ordered the FCC to reconsider its action. Now the Bush Administration has decided not to challenge that decision - which critics say effectively kills the FCC's efforts.
  • Demanded by Viewers, Not Networks
    Video on Demand (VOD) has a lot of demand from viewers, but little demand from networks right now. The Wall Street Journal reported on the subject today with the angle that while VOD is most assuredly the next wave of TV, the networks aren't biting with their big popular primetime TV shows. According to David Zaslav, president of the cable division at NBC Universal, it's because VOD doesn't have a promising economic model.
  • Ted Turner, Hitler, Fox News, and Bison
    The mouth from the South is at it again, spicing up a National Association of Television Program Executives meeting in Las Vegas to the delight and chagrin of press and executives, respectively. The wide-ranging interview covered Turner's philanthropic activities, environmental issues, a growing liking of Bill Clinton, as well as his involvement in a chain of restaurants serving bison burgers.
  • TV Sampling by Internet Search
    For years TV marketing executives have moaned about the decreasing ways viewers can sample their new shows.
  • NBC Hails Late-Night King Johnny Carson and Upfront Ad Market
    The day after NBC Universal TV Group president Jeff Zucker said NBC was headed for another "very good year" in upfront ad revenues, Johnny Carson, the network's beloved long-time late night host, died.
  • The Big Cheese In Branded Entertainment
    When it comes to cooking up a delicate branded entertainment deal, some consumer product companies get it well done; others get it cheesy. Give Burger King its due.
  • ''American Idol'' Sings From the Humble Expectations Songbook
    National TV advertisers who bought Fox's "American Idol" must be thinking Christmas has come again --- about 11 months early.
  • Making Network News Younger
    Future news personalities on "The CBS Evening News" will be younger, and not the "voice of God, single anchor" type, according to Les Moonves, co-president, co-COO of Viacom and chairman of CBS.
  • Reality Ingredients Don't Stir the Pot
    Tasting a reality programming recipe gone wrong, Fox offered some change to its main course. But no harm here -- the business press hasn't taken a bite so far.
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