| Cyn Wkndr 12/6/07 |
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Cynopsis:
Weekender 12/6/07 Good morning. It's Thursday, December 6, 2007, and this is Cynopsis: Weekender. Below are a handful of industry stories - with which you may agree or disagree. If you'd like to be heard - put together your own 350 word submission! Details below. 70/70? By Louis Chunovic The question: Does cable's infrastructure now reach 70% of American households, and if so, have at least 70% of them become subscribers? If the answers are yes, the so-called 70/70 rule, passed by Congress in 1984 to "promote diversity of information sources," takes effect and the Federal Communication Commission can move to regulate the industry. And that means, among other things, possible rules capping size and limiting content. The occasion: The FCC reports annually to Congress on the state of 70/70, as part of its "Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming." The current report, number 13, is roughly nine months overdue. There are five FCC members, two Democrats and three Republicans, including Chairman Kevin Martin. He and the two Democrats were expected to vote to adopt the draft report that said the 70/70 threshold had been passed. The showdown: A morning vote was set for last week. Of course, invoking 70/70 is vehemently opposed by the cable industry, which believes that Martin is doing the bidding of telcos that want to see cable constrained, and of social conservatives, who want to see it censored. Shortly before it was due to start, the vote was postponed for two hours, then it was postponed again. Time ticked by, and as the day passed, most reports concluded that the meeting had been canceled outright. Then, that night, approximately 12 hours after it was due to begin, the meeting suddenly was called to order. The analysis: The "first prong" of 70/70 has been met, an FCC analyst said, adding that, according to Warren Communications News (publisher of Communications Daily), a "source upon which we have traditionally relied." The "second prong" also has been met, with 71.4% of homes passed subscribing. The debate: The FCC's own numbers contradicting Warren's data "were suppressed ... until the last moment," Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein charged, adding angrily that it wasn't until after 7p the previous night that he'd learned the FCC had data showing that only "54% of homes passed subscribe to cable." He called the proposed report an attempt to "cook the books." Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell called the report a "radical departure" and the Warren data the "only fig leaf that could be found in an attempt to trigger an avalanche of unnecessary regulation." Chairman Martin, in turn, defended the Warren data as the "most accurate and most precise." He said that two consumer groups (and AT&T) also contended that 70/70 had been surpassed. The lower, FCC-generated penetration number "wasn't suppressed," he said. "It wasn't asked for until yesterday." The result: The FCC voted to postpone adoption of the report while it requires cable companies themselves to provide, within the next 60 days, the homes-passed and subscriber data. Bravo, Cable Operators Push Interactive TV on "Project Runway" By Daisy Whitney The television industry is taking another stab at interactive television, an area that has eluded networks and advertisers as a major cash cow for the last several years. Bravo has rolled out interactive voting and polling for "Project Runway" across some Comcast, Time Warner, Charter and Cox systems. The effort represents an important first step toward standardizing cable technology for advanced advertising and if successful could pave the way for advertisers to pour more money into interactive campaigns. Satellite and cable operators have tested similar polling and voting applications over the years, but most have failed to take off and generate meaningful revenue. That's partly because widespread rollout of interactive TV ads has been hampered by the lack of a national footprint across cable operators. However, the Bravo project could change that because it's a cross-industry partnership. If the "Project Runway" interactive features captivate consumers, then MSOs could attract more national networks and advertisers to sponsor interactive advertising campaigns. "We need to have a single platform that goes across all the major MSO footprints to get scale for us to be able to generate some incremental revenue," said Brian Hunt, SVP/Marketing and Sales Strategy for NBC Universal. The Bravo initiative is sponsored by Brother International Corp., the company that makes typewriters, printers and fax machines as well as the sewing machines used in the fashion reality show. Executives at Time Warner Cable and Cox are hopeful that the "Project Runway" initiative will open the floodgates to more advertiser interest and experimentation in interactive TV. Ad experts are excited about the potential too. "This is a prototype for operators to work together," said Mitch Oscar, EVP/Carat. The Bravo project relies on technology from Navic networks and has been running in seven markets since the season launched Nov. 14. Bravo ran interactive polling and voting for the first two seasons of "Top Chef" across a handful of Time Warner markets and with EchoStar for the third season. More than 25% of viewers participated in some cases. The real-time voting and polling for "Project Runway" is available to Cox customers in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., San Diego and Las Vegas; Charter customers in Los Angeles; Comcast customers in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, Fla.; and Time Warner Cable customers in Greensboro, N.C. The More Things Change, Imus-style By Circlewipe After an 8 month paid vacation, Don Imus has returned to broadcasting. His settlement with CBS Radio was lucrative, as is the reported deal with Citadel Broadcasting and RFD TV. Millions are being transferred from corporate coffers into Mr. Imus' pocket, on the bet that his audience will thank his sponsors, spending millions on products and services. Commerce! As a regular viewer on MSNBC, the return of The I-Man this week was must-hear radio (no RFD-TV here … yet). What would he say about The Incident? Who would he surround himself with? Would he be overly chastened, or be his old irritating/irritated self? The debut show was a special event, with a live audience in a Times Square theatre. Imus addressed at length the repercussions of his idiotic remark about the Rutgers basketball team, both thoughtfully and articulately. The coda to his mea culpa signaled that the road ahead will reflect the road behind: "Dick Cheney is still a war criminal, Hillary Clinton is still satan, and I'm back on the radio." Also back, reassuringly, is newsman and ballast Charles McCord. Less so is producer Bernard McGuirk. Back are those characters from yestermonth, sadly still providing cheesy locker-room humor in the voices of Bill Clinton, Dr. Phil, and Hulk Hogan. Two new voices may eventually find theirs. Comic Karith Foster so far has delivered chunks of stand-up style material, with faint laughter. Tony Powell does sportschat. Knowledgeable as a fan, but lacking the insight and energy of a sportscaster. His best material comes reactively, when Imus interviews him. Back is the quirky ad lineup: Mohegan Sun, Hackensack University Hospital, Bigelow Tea and NetJets. Plus a new one … the rehab center where he got sober. Back is good ol' American music, but, except for the first show's live performance by Levon Helm's band, it'll be awhile before musicians will take a chance. The new studio has been plagued by crippling audio problems this first week. Imus and audio pros on the web bemoan the sub-standard attention to the most critical of broadcast detail. Back are familiar guests who helped Imus attract desirable demos with engaging topical conversation rather than the fleeting plugfests of network TV morning shows. Writers Doris Kearns Goodwin, Patricia Cornwell, Tom Friedman, Mike Lupica. Candidates McCain, Dodd, Huckabee, & Richardson. Pity the fair weather guest who wants a "cooling off period". It will be so noted on air. Finally, finding the broadcast is frustrating. With no radio stations carrying the show in most markets, and no RFD on most cable line-ups, WABC online is the only resource. It's an interesting experiment in broadcasting: how Imus' presence might impact the radio universe, and RFD's proliferation on MSO's, and his guest line-up. But first … the audio!
* WEEK'S RECAP *
Friday, November 30, 2007
SUBMISSIONS / AD SALES/ SUBSCRIBE & UNSUBSCRIBE Cynopsis Ad Sales - Mark Bohn - 203-583-1224 / Article submissions for Cynopsis: Weekender are welcome, provided they are no longer than a maximum of 350 words. News articles used are paid at the rate of $1/word. Not all submissions are used. Editorials (also 350 word max) may be submitted but are not paid, and not all are used. Send submissions to Cynopsis at . The Weekender edition is published every Thursday and includes a few items to ponder over the weekend, as well as the highlights from the week. It is delivered to the entire Cynopsis subscriber list, unless you specifically request to be unsubscribed. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your email subscription, go to the Cynopsis website, www.cynopsis.com and click on the subscribe tab. Emails to the Editor: subject E-Mails to the Editor Copyright Cynthia Turner 2006 Later -- Cyn 12/6/07 What's On This Weekend: Saturday: 8-11p, December 8, 2007 ABC: Movie: How the Grinch Stole Christmas [r], Women's Murder Club [r] CBS: Numbers [r], NCIS [r], 48 Hours Mystery FOX: Cops, Cops [r], America's Most Wanted ION: Lonesome Dove (Parts 1 & 2) [7p] MNT: NFL Total Access, Control Room Presents NBC: Chuck [r], 30 Rock [r], SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell [r] PBS: Austin City Limits [r] [9p] TELE: Cine Nuestro [7p], Cine de Impacto UNIV: Sabado Gigante Sunday: 7-11p, December 9, 2007 ABC: AFV, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Movie: Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day CBS: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race 12, Cold Case, Shark CW: CW Now, Aliens in America [r], Life is Wild, America's Next Top Model FOX: King of the Hill [r], King of the Hill [r], The Simpsons [r], King of the Hill, Family Guy [r], American Dad ION: Lonesome Dove (Parts 3 & 4)) NBC: Football Night in America, Sunday Night Football: Indianapolis at Baltimore PBS: Nature [r] [8p] TELE: Intimamente con Valentin Elizalde, Cine Nuestro UNIV: Destino 2008 Foro Presidencial Republicano, El Gran Estreno Guadalupe |
