Commentary

Insights & Insanity: Paying H.S. Players, DMV TV

Ratings were down for the second episode of MTV's "Jersey Shore." One of the leads, "The Situation," is coming close to really turning off some viewers, so curious if that will impact audience numbers (probably not at all). In any case, it's time for "Insights & Insanity":

--As the debate heats up about paying college athletes, does it trickle down to high schools? ESPN begins its fall h.s. football schedule next week with a three-day blast that has 26 schools playing games on three networks and streamed online.

Somebody's making money.

Proponents of compensating collegians argue they deserve at least a small stipend, partly because they're helping generate massive TV dollars.

ESPN says 15 of the country's best high school players will be playing in its "Kickoff" event. Once the money starts flowing on college campuses, will any high school stars raise the issue at their level?

Maybe it starts in Texas, where there are plenty of paying customers under Friday night lights.

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But maybe it doesn't start at all, if players are concerned about negatively impacting their appeal to colleges. And maybe they're content with the exposure and opportunity, while willing to wait for the college stipends.

Seven of the ESPN games next weekend will touch part of prime time on the ESPN networks or on ESPN3.com. Unlike deals with college conferences, ESPN says it doesn't pay rights fees to high schools. Instead, most of the games are packaged for it by Paragon Marketing Group.

Paragon's Rashid Ghazi said the sports marketing firm mostly pays the travel expenses for road teams, though there can be some other payments, but there just isn't much cash involved. "The idea that there is a ton of money in high school sports is kind of a fallacy," he said.

--TruTV is launching a reality series about the California Department of Motor Vehicles, promising a revealing "behind-the-scenes look" at the "hard-working personnel." Yes, at the DMV!

"California DMV: Field Offices" (working title) will offer a look at what DMV staff deal with when handing out licenses and registrations and investigating complaints, truTV says.

So, the show should offer proof that anyone complaining about the long lines and red tape is clueless. TruTV chief Marc Juris said it "promises to be a fast-paced, fun series," becoming the first person in history to use the term "fast-paced" when describing the DMV.

Speaking of reality series and the government, MediaPost is considering producing one on the marriage bureau at a city clerk's office.

From watching the jaded staff quietly say "well, that'll last -- not" after a ceremony to still-drunk couples showing up in the morning, there should be plenty of material.

If the reality thing doesn't get picked up, no worries. A comedy might be the better route anyway.

--Investors in the Madison Square Garden Co. sure seem optimistic the NBA lockout won't lead to any cancelled games. Or, do they have inside information?

Shares in MSG, which derives a huge portion of its revenues from the New York Knicks, have been remarkably stable.

On June 13, the day after the NBA Finals, MSG shares closed at $25.93.

On Monday, the price was down only 5% to $24.57 in midday trading, a better performance than the S&P 500.

MSG runs a cable network with Knicks games and owns the team's home arena. The Knicks are scheduled to begin play Nov. 2 with a home game against Miami.

--Morgan Spurlock's documentary series created exclusively for Hulu, which follows the likes of Richard Branson and will.i.am for a day, premieres Wednesday. That comes as his most recent venture, the brilliantly conceived film-within-a-film "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," has been a money-loser so far.

The film sought to expose some of the excesses in product placement as it chronicled him successfully raising the $1.5 million film budget through product placement. Marketers putting up some of the money were featured throughout the film.

Yet, the Sony Pictures project has only grossed $638,000 since its April release. Top-line sponsor, the juice maker Pom, may have paid $1 million for its exposure. Others paying considerably less were Sheetz convenience stores and Ban deodorant

Not sure about the ROI. Based on a $10 ticket price, only about 64,000 have seen the film and talk about clutter, Sony announced Monday that the film set a Guinness record for most paid placements: 3,463.

The movie is available via digital download and the DVD release is coming.

The Sheetz deal involved a payment of $100,000 to be in the film and $150,000 more based on other performance metrics, including DVD sales, the Altoona Mirror reported.

"We thought the initial investment was a very good value," Louie Sheetz, executive vice president for marketing at the company, told the Pennsylvania paper. "If we end up paying $250,000, it will be the best $250,000 we have ever spent."

Spurlock's 2004 breakout "Super Size Me" grossed $11.5 million on a budget of $65,000, according to Box Office Mojo.

--MTV turned 30 Aug. 1 and SF Weekly has the 10 most controversial music videos aired over that span.

10) 2 Live Crew -- "Me So Horny" (1989) 9) Pearl Jam -- "Jeremy" (1992) 8) Marilyn Manson -- "Coma White" (1999) 7) Nine Inch Nails -- "Closer" (1994) 6) Sigur Ros -- "Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa" (2001) 5) Eminem -- "Stan" (2002) 4) Justice -- "Stress" (2008) 3) Prodigy -- "Smack My Bitch Up" (1997) 2) Marilyn Manson -- "(s)AINT" (2004) 1) Madonna -- "Like a Prayer" (1989)

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