• by John Gaffney , September 17, 2002

Siddown. Have Some Bragioli: The Sopranos protected their turf Sunday. They won the Sunday night 9 pm time-slot no ifs, ands or buts. Beat CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC…..who else you got? This is significant for the obvious reason (a paid cable series show kicking some network tush) but let’s consider some less obvious points here. One: If this doesn’t say a whole lot about the continuing diffraction of the TV consumer base, I don’t know what does. Two: The number one show on Sunday night doesn’t accept advertising. Does HBO rethink that policy in these days when its parent company needs money worse than pasta needs gravy? Three: Network TV needs to push the content envelope after nine pm, or it will risk more ratings defeats like this. Four: Drama still works on TV. You don’t need reality TV drama to get it done. This is the most dramatic show on TV. Maybe the most dramatic show ever on TV. Regardless of the mob cool and fiendish family ties, its drama is its strong point.

Case Closed: Getting Steve Case out of AOL (as has been rumored) does nothing to change the fundamentals of the AOL/TimeWarner merger or the revenue problems at AOL. It will be a symbolic gesture. New AOL chief Jon Miller will still need to create new revenue sources and lean on sales VP Jimmy DeCastro to fire up the ad team.

One Week To Go: Forecast 2003. I can personally vouch for the quality of the panelists, the Ivy League cool of the venue (The Yale Club) and the menu at lunch. Now you need to show up. You still have a week left. Check it out here.