BC Beat
Commentary, analysis and observations on the business of television from the staff of Broadcasting & Cable.
A New Day on 'Today'
When NBC officially debuts its new Today show co-anchor team of Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie on the morning of July 9, it will represent a significant change to the morning show landscape. But it’s unlikely to look that way on TV. After a rocky transition from Ann Curry to Guthrie at the end of June that many say was mishandled by NBC as the negotiations to replace Curry played out in th ...... Read More
Comments (2)NOMINATIONS: Digital All-Stars 2012
B&C is happy to announce that we are now accepting nominations for our 3rd annual Digital All-Stars special report, in which we salute professionals across the television business who are demonstrating the unique ability to accomplish what everyone in media is attempting — to make the digital world work for them and their businesses. We will profile the Digital All-Stars 2012 class in t ...... Read More
Comments (0)Anderson Cooper's Revelation: Will It Help Ratings?
Citing professional reasons for why he waited and social reasons for why he’s now speaking up, Anderson Cooper came out publicly as a gay man in a letter to the Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan, published Monday. Cooper, CNN anchor and host-executive producer of Telepictures daytime talk show Anderson, writes to Sullivan that in addition to wanting privacy for personal reasons, as ...... Read More
Comments (1)Hunkering Down in 'The Bunker' for the Greatest Day in Tennis
It’s one of the most cramped, claustrophobic TV booths in all of sports. Announcers and crew can’t stand up straight in it without banging their heads. It was built way back in the radio days, and not much has changed since then. But oh, the view…just 15 yards away from the players and the drama on Centre Court at Wimbledon. Welcome to “The Bunker,” tennis’ ...... Read More
Comments (0)NBCU’s Burke: Olympics Will Help “Revitalize” ‘Today’ Show
Amid reports that NBC could replace Ann Curry on the Today show within the week, NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke said Wednesday that he is counting on the network’s coverage of the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in London to “revitalize” the newly vulnerable (and hugely profitable) morning show. At a NBC Sports Group Olympic press conference in New York, Burke called the ...... Read More
Comments (1)Where to Be, What to Watch: Week of June 25-July 1
Here is a rundown of where to be and what to watch the week of June 25-July 1. * Tuesday, June 26 * PromaxBDA Station SummitWhere: Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas When: Tuesday-Friday Click here for more information. TLC’s Craft Wars Series PremiereWhen: 10 p.m. ET TV Land’s Retired at 35 Season Premiere When: 10 p.m. ET Bravo’s Real Housewives of Orange County Season Finale When: ...... Read More
Comments (0)'The West Wing' in a 'Newsroom?' You May Hate It, But I'm In
I am on the record as saying that the Aaron Sorkin years of The West Wing represented the best written dramatic television of all time. And A Few Good Men would absolutely make my list of five movies to take with me if I were marooned on an island, or if Netflix went out of business. So given that — along with being a TV news junkie — it should come as no shock that I haven ...... Read More
Comments (3)CBS Fires Back at ABC's 'Glass House' With "Completely Original and Non-Derivative" 'Dancing on the Stars'
The reality wars are getting heated, with CBS on Wednesday issuing a press release to announce “an exciting and completely original reality program” it is calling Dancing on the Stars. The (fake) show, which “owes its concept and execution to nobody at all,” according to the release, is a blatant jab at ABC, whose new reality series Glass House premiered on Monday despi ...... Read More
Comments (1)88 Reasons Christmas Came Early for NASCAR
Tiger Woods falling apart in a U.S. Open golf tournament that ended on Father’s Day is about as fitting an outcome as there can be, in my opinion, for a person that totally failed as a father, but it was still not the most noteworthy development in the sports TV world over a busy weekend that also included some epic Euro 2012 action (how good has this tournament been, seriously?) and the He ...... Read More
Comments (1)Where to Be, What to Watch: Week of June 18-June 24
Here is a rundown of where to be and what to watch the week of June 18-June 24. * Monday, June 18 * New York State Broadcasters Association’s 50th Executive ConferenceWhen: Monday-Tuesday Where: Sagamore Resort Hotel, Bolton Landing, N.Y. Click here for more information. Second Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards When: Evening Where: Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills Click her ...... Read More
Comments (0)Gotlieb Cautions Against Overreliance on Data at ARF Conference
New York — At a gathering of advertising research executives, GroupM Worldwide chairman Irwin Gotlieb cautioned the room against reading too much into research in an age where data is abundant but often unreliable. “Research at the end of the day, is only meant to give us a representation of the truth,” he said in a keynote speech at the ARF Audience Measurement 7.0 conference ...... Read More
Comments (0)Where to Be, What to Watch: Week of June 11-June 17
Here is a rundown of where to be and what to watch the week of June 11-June 17. * Monday, June 11 * Banff World Media FestivalWhere: The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff, Alberta, Canada When: Sunday-WednesdayClick here for more information. ABC Family’s Bunheads Series Premiere When: 9 p.m. ET * Tuesday, June 12 * 2012 NBA Finals: Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder Where: ABC When: ...... Read More
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