- Syfy has renewed Face Off for a 10-episode third season, reports Multichannel News. The competition/elimination show pits special makeup artists against one another, with top Hollywood talent (e.g., Tom Savini of numerous Living Dead movies) as judges. Face Off airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m., and scored 2.5 million viewers for its January 11 Season 2 premiere.
- Black Entertainment Television (BET) has revealed what the LA Times calls an “ambitious development slate.” Among the offerings, a new sitcom from the Wayans family; “Gun Hill,” the channel’s first scripted drama; and projects involving minister T.D. Jakes, comedian-author Steve Harvey,actor Jamie Foxx and TV judge Greg Mathis.are behind various reality projects, including one series that will revamp "Showtime at the Apollo". BET also operates the BET Vertical AdNetwork, targeting the $821 billion buying power of African-Americans.
- Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger announced that ABC has sold out commercial time for this year’s 84th Annual Academy Awards broadcast on February 26. As the LA Times reports, Iger told analysts in an earnings conference call that this is unusually early to have offloaded all inventory, even with a few more spots for the 2012 broadcast than in 2011. ABC took an average $1.7 million per 30-second spot.
- News directors don’t think much of one another’s product revealed a survey by TVNewsCheck. news directors at stations across the U.S. were asked to grade networks on their overall journalistic quality. None received As, though NBC news scored highest, and Fox News Channel (FNC), lowest. Fox News scored highest in conservative bias, and MSNBC on liberal bias. The GPAs listed refer to the “grade point average” scale of 1-4. These figures are way out of whack with public sentiment: FNC just celebrated a decade run as the most watched cable news network, with MSNBC in the #2 slot.
Online Ads: Poll Finds 15 Seconds the Limit for Consumers
Consumers understand that free content online is supported by advertising. But the majority at 54% considers 15 seconds the limit for in-stream and online ads, according to a survey by Poll Position. The company conducted a survey of 1,179 registered U.S. voters.
Of those polled, 54% felt that 15 seconds was acceptable, and 12% went as high as 30 seconds. But the numbers climb even higher, when you exclude the 27% who had no opinion. Of those who do have an opinion—
- 73% find 15 seconds acceptable;
- 5% find 30 seconds acceptable.
Demographic Divides
Interestingly, the figures were fairly close for male versus female voters and Republicans versus Democrats. But some significant demographic differences emerged.
Consumers in the 30-44 age group had the highest tolerance for 15-second ads, at 60.5%. Those in the 65+ demographic are far less patient, and only 40.1% of those consumers find 15 seconds acceptable, versus the 54.1% mean.
Among ethnic groups, 60.3% of white consumers find 15 seconds acceptable, but only 40.1% of Hispanics, and 33.3% of African-American respondents.
Glenn Beck Wraps Up at Fox News | Musicians Protest Changes to Grammy Awards
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Glenn Beck’s final Fox News broadcast was a trip down memory lane while also defending his voluntary decision to leave the network to the mainstream media that has suggested otherwise. Beck’s opening monologue, which clocked in at 21 minutes, featured video comments from young people praising Beck’s show, a run-down of a chalkboard list titled “Things We’ve Learned.” Beck also brought his two writers out on stage, writes Broadcasting & Cable.
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A coalition of musicians that has protested the Recording Academy's decision to drop 31 categories from the Grammy Awards is stepping up the pressure, calling for a boycott of the Grammys' telecast partner, CBS, and hiring a lawyer to explore legal action. The group has claimed the reductions unfairly target ethnic music and called the Academy's decision racist, according to AP reports.
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Starz said today that due to significant production challenges, the network has decided not to exercise the option for subsequent seasons of its freshman original series Camelot. Camelot wrapped its first season earlier this month by drawing 1.5 million total viewers, the second-highest viewership for the series behind its two-hour premiere, which set a network record for a series bow. It had been on a ratings upswing for its final few episodes, reports Deadline Hollywood.
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Fox News Channel will launch a weekday ensemble opinion program on July 11 at 5 p.m. to replace Glenn Beck through the summer. Titled The Five, the new show will feature a roundtable of five rotating Fox News personalities "who will discuss, debate and at times debunk the hot news stories, controversies and issues of the day," reports Broadcasting & Cable.
NBC’s $4.38 Billion Bid Brings Four More Olympic Events | Nexstar to Carry Bounce TV in 10 Markets
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NBCUniversal won the broadcast auction with a bid of $4.38 billion. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the U.S. media rights to the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games. ESPN, Fox and NBC also submitted their proposals to the IOC. The negotiation process started earlier this year with preliminary discussions conducted with all interested parties. NBC has broadcast a total of 12 Olympic Games, and the 2012 London Summer Olympics will be NBC’s 13th Olympic Games broadcast and seventh consecutive.
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Nexstar Broadcasting Group will carry Bounce TV, the new broadcast television network for African-American audiences, in 10 markets when the network launches this fall, the company said. The multi-year agreement includes Nexstar stations in Little Rock, Rochester, NY, Jacksonville, Peoria/Bloomington, Beaumont, Monroe and other markets.
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Adult Swim and Kia Motors have started the second season of Monday Adult Swim Singles Program, reports Broadcasting & Cable. The a 10-week online music singles and video series that feature new, unreleased tracks from indie rock, rap, metal and pop artists. Music content, videos and interviews with performers are all available through the Adult Swim website.
Social Media, Cause Engagement Linked For African-Americans and Hispanics
Nearly one in three African-American adults (30%) and four in ten Hispanics (39%) say they are more likely to support a cause or social issue online than offline today—both significantly higher percentages than Caucasians (24%), according to the new Dynamics of Cause Engagement study conducted in late 2010 by Georgetown University's Center for Social Impact Communication and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.
Other findings including African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to believe that they can help get the word out about a social issue or cause through online social networks (58% and 51%, respectively, vs. 34% of Caucasians). They also subscribe more readily to the belief that social networking sites like Facebook make it easier to support causes today, and that these sites help increase visibility for causes. And while half of Caucasians and Hispanics (48% and 51%, respectively) agree that they get too many emails about causes now, a significantly lower number of African Americans (33%) feel this way.
MTV Networks CEO Resigns | PBS Summer Lineup | Bounce TV Gets First Distribution Deal
- Judy McGrath, one of the architects of MTV, is stepping down as chairman and CEO of MTV Networks, positions she has held since 2004. MTVN parent Viacom said a successor would not be named, writes multichannel.com. With McGrath's exit, the programmer's operating units will be headed by MTVN Entertainment president Doug Herzog, MTVN Music & Logo Group president Van Toffler, and Nickelodeon & MTVN Kids & Family Group president Cyma Zarghami. They will report directly to Viacom president and CEO Phillipe Dauman. McGrath started her career with the company as a copywriter for MTV in 1981. "The people of MTV Networks have always been singularly important to me. Together we have built world-class brands that connect with fans from kid to adulthood, from SpongeBob to Hot In Cleveland, from Unplugged to The Daily Show," said McGrath in a statement.
Chart: Mobile Phone Use Demographics
