Week of
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Sluggish Friday Ratings Start for CBS Drama ‘Vegas’
12 hours ago
CBS rookie drama “Vegas” is looking like even more of a long shot to return for a second season after a sluggish debut on its new night Friday. ABC won the night in demos as “Shark Tank” hit series highs and both “Happy Endings” and “20/20″ were on the rise.
“Vegas,” the 1960s-set series starring Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis, averaged a 0.9 rating/3 share in adults 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers overall, according to preliminary Nielsen estimates; it had earned a 1.5 demo rating in its final Tuesday airing, behind the popular “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
While no series transferring from Tuesday to a lower-watched night like Friday would be expected to produce as high of ratings, “Vegas” looked particularly shaky given that CBS performed well both at 8 p.m. with “Undercover Boss” (1.6/6 in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall) and at 10 p.m. with “Blue Bloods” (1.4/5 in 18-49, 10.8 million viewers overall).
“Vegas” ran a distant »
- Rick Kissell
SAG-aftra Reaches Deal on Commercials Contract
13 hours ago
Representatives of SAG-aftra and the ad industry have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year deal.
The agreement was announced early Saturday morning after eight weeks of negotiations in New York City. The current pact had been due to expire Sunday, following a one-week extension on March 26.
Leaders of both sides touted the improvements in the successor deal but no details were disclosed. Pact will be submitted for approval at the April 20-21 national board meeting of the union, then sent to out the 160,000 SAG-aftra members for approval.
“We’ve made essential gains for SAG-aftra members and I couldn’t be more pleased,” said SAG-aftra co-president Roberta Reardon, who headed the negotiating committee for the union. “These contracts provide our members with the solid foundation they need to sustain their careers and families.”
Reps of SAG-aftra and the Joint Policy Committee of the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies and the Assn. »
- Dave McNary
French Firm Newen Heads to Mip With Full TV Slate
5 April 2013 4:47 PM, PDT
Paris– Fabrice Larue’s Newen, a three-year-old Paris-based media group which has the ambition of becoming a global player like Zodiak or Endemol, has closed U.S. and Canadian deals on gameshow formats and has partnered with European TV players on a pair of high-profile drama series in the run-up to MipTV, which kicks off Monday in Cannes.
“Braquo” producer Capa Drama, one of the three outfits owned by Newen, has teamed with Germany’s Bavaria Film on “The Agency,” a 12-part English-language thriller series based on former Mossad agent Mishka Ben-David’s novels. Currently at script stage, skein will shoot in Europe, the Mideast and North America in 2014.
Newen has also acquired two fiction formats from Spain’s Globomedia: “The Boat” (“La Barca”) and “Scarlet Shore” (“Punta Escarlata”), to develop French adaptations. “Shore” follows a pair of cops on the trail of two teenagers who disappeared years ago in a seemingly peaceful town. »
- Elsa Keslassy
Peter Chernin Bids $500 Million for Hulu
5 April 2013 4:33 PM, PDT
Peter Chernin may be looking to get back together with Hulu.
Reuters is reporting that the former News Corp. COO offered $500 million for the streaming site, which he was instrumental in launching in a joint venture with NBCUniversal in 2007. A source familiar withthe negotiations confirmed that Chernin bid for the site last month, but the current status of those talks is unknown.
While NBCU now has a non-controlling interest in the property as a condition of its sale to Comcast Corp., News Corp. and Disney are the current owners. The companies are reportedly considering a sale of Hulu given strategic differences they have over the future of the venture, which saw CEO Jason Kilar step down earlier this year.
Since stepping down from News Corp. in 2009, Chernin has led his own media holding company, Chernin Group, which has raised enough capital to go on the hunt for major acquisitions with the scale of a Hulu. »
- Andrew Wallenstein
CBS TV Studios Exec Robert Linden Dies at 57
5 April 2013 3:44 PM, PDT
Robert Linden, associate director of music for CBS Television Studios, died April 3. He was 57 and had been battling leukemia.
Linden began his career after earning a degree in music education at USC. He started as a producer for the Heliotrope and Las Palmas theaters, producing more than 20 shows in L.A., New York and Chicago in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the late ’90s, he joined Paramount Television as a music manager and administrator.
He then joined CBS Television Studios in 2006, where he was a key member of the studio’s music department. Linden was responsible for all West Coast submissions of music cue sheet information for all programs and was on the advisory committee of the industry-wide cue sheet reporting system, RapidCue. He had in-depth music and historical knowledge of key properties such as “Star Trek.”
Linden was also a seasoned musician who played piano and provided »
- Michael Palumbo
Celebs Prep for Olympics Smackdown
5 April 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
Whether it’s George Clooney’s involvement with the Sudan or Matt Damon’s work for clean water, when it comes to causes, Hollywood is engaged. But look for celebs to grapple with an unexpected issue next: wrestling.
(From the pages of the April 2 issue of Variety.)
In February, the Intl. Olympic Committee decided to drop the sport beginning in 2020. Now a group that includes Billy Baldwin, Ashton Kutcher, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Mario Lopez and Matthew Modine are going to the mat to help it get reinstated.
Baldwin, who was a collegiate wrestler at Binghamton U., is spearheading the effort, personally reaching out to actors on behalf of the cause. While the team has yet to fully spring into action, expect it to make some noise on wrestling’s behalf.
“When the time comes, and that time will be soon, there will be a menu of different things that »
- Josh Chetwynd
Hey NBC, Time to Bring Back ‘The Jay Leno Show’?
5 April 2013 11:27 AM, PDT
Digesting the ratings for “Hannibal” – which considering the list of ingredients, including a presold title, heavy marketing and mostly positive reviews, have to be considered disappointing – one wonders if someone at NBC is thinking, “Hey, how about bringing back ‘The Jay Leno Show’?”
As you might recall, the Leno premise was not about winning in the ratings competition at 10 p.m., but altering the network financial model and, in essence, losing less expensively. And with a tepid audience for such a handsome-looking dramatic series, it’s worth noting NBC could have probably produced several weeks of Leno for roughly the same cost as that “Hannibal” pilot.
At the time, NBC’s real screw-up was in not fully and honestly explaining its strategy to the media and affiliates, with the latter rebelling as the lead-in to their late local news dragged them down. In hindsight, the network’s initial idea – putting Leno at 8 p. »
- Brian Lowry
History Renews ‘Vikings’
5 April 2013 11:19 AM, PDT
History Channel has ordered a ten-episode second season of its first scripted effort “Vikings.”
Program, which bowed last month, ranks as the top new cable series this year. Drama has averaged 5 million total viewers in its Sunday 10 p.m. time slot over the last five weeks, helped in part by its strong lead-in with miniseries “The Bible.”
In March, “Vikings” was the No. 2-rated basic cable drama among adults 18-49, 25-54 and total viewers — second only to AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”
“‘Vikings’ is a win-win for us,” said History’s exec veep of development and programming Dirk Hoogstra. “As our first scripted series, ‘Vikings’ has paid off in a big way with critical acclaim, strong ratings and a passionate, loyal fan base. It came out of the gate strong and has stayed on top, solidifying History as a major player in the scripted genre, just as we are in reality. »
- AJ Marechal
No Big Ratings Bite for ‘Hannibal’ in Premiere — But NBC Has Seen Worse
5 April 2013 9:08 AM, PDT
With little lead-in support, NBC drama “Hannibal” opened to decent-ish but unexceptional ratings Thursday — running third among the dramas in the hour but certainly an improvement over the most recent shows to premiere in what has become a troubled timeslot for the Peacock.
CBS, back with its lineup after two weeks off for college basketball, won the night with ease behind “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men,” Thursday’s top two shows among young adults.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, the premiere of Bryan Fuller-created drama “Hannibal” averaged a 1.6 rating/4 share in adults 18-49 and 4.3 million viewers overall. While not great numbers, the premiere does score points for building on its soft lead-in courtesy of first-year comedy “Go On” (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.4 million viewers overall), which is finishing its season with a pair of Thursday airings.
“Hannibal,” based on characters from the book “Red Dragon »
- Rick Kissell
Tech Glitch Breeds FX Hitch: ‘The Americans’ Missing Ending on DVR
4 April 2013 7:59 PM, PDT
It was the shriek heard ’round the world…
…from fans of FX’s “The Americans,” at least.
Well-intentioned TV auds who set their DVRs for last night’s broadcast of the frosh drama were in for a rude surprise when the final seven minutes of the episode were cut off. The episode, titled “Safe House,” aired from 10:00 to 11:07 p.m., but DVRs — such creatures of habit, you know — triggered the end of their recordings at 11 p.m.
Given that the serialized drama boasts sticky plot turns, those seven minutes were crucial for the viewing experience — and, well, not there.
Oops.
FX flack John Solberg was apologetic over the tech mishap: “The error is regrettable and I apologize to all the loyal fans of ‘The Americans’ who were cheated out of the full viewing experience of one of the most important episodes so far this season.”
Net has since »
- AJ Marechal
New Mexico Governor OKs Sweetened Production Incentives
4 April 2013 7:51 PM, PDT
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation to increase the state’s incentives for film and television production.
The provisions, included as part of a tax reform bill dubbed the New Mexico Jobs Package, increases the state’s rebate for series TV production to 30% from 25% of a producer’s total qualified spend in New Mexico. Feature films will also be eligible for a 30% rebate on resident labor if they use a qualified production facility and for a 25% rebate on other expenses.
Martinez and New Mexico legislators worked out a deal last month for a package of tax cuts after Martinez said she could not give tax cuts to only the film industry.
The bill has been dubbed the “Breaking Bad Bill” since the series has been filmed since 2007 in Albuquerque, where its final episodes are being shot. It also provides for the roll-over of up to $10 million in unused funds in each fiscal year. »
- Dave McNary
Al Jazeera U.S. Cabler Hires CNN Anchor Ali Velshi
4 April 2013 6:54 PM, PDT
In a signal a new cable-news outlet backed by overseas interests intends to vie for viewers and, possibly, advertisers with U.S. rivals, Al Jazeera America said Thursday it had lured CNN on-air personality Ali Velshi to develop and host a nightly prime time business news program.
Velshi, who had been with Time Warner’s CNN since 2001, said in a prepared statement that he was “thrilled” to join the fledgling outlet, expected to launch in 2013.
Al Jazeera America is being built out of the remains of Current, the now defunct cable perch backed by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Gore and the network’s other backers sold Current in January. Al Jazeera has been trying for years to establish a U.S. foothold but has not had much success in securing full commitments from major cable and satellite distributors.
Velshi’s new program will initially launch in a »
- Brian Steinberg
Jim Mees, ‘Star Trek’ Series Set Decorator, Dies at 57
4 April 2013 5:32 PM, PDT
Jim Mees, an Emmy-winning set designer best known for his work on the “Star Trek” TV series, died March 29 at his home in Selinsgrove, Pa. after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
Born in Mahopac, N.Y., he befriended textile designer Vera at age 12, whom he credited with inspiring his pursuit of a design career. A Gotham native, Mees relocated to Los Angeles in the 1970s to pursue his design career.
Mees got his start in 1982 on the “All in the Family” spinoff “Gloria” starring Sally Struthers.
In his 30-year career, Mees worked on more than a dozen television shows, spending a total of 14 years on the intergalactic sets of “Star Trek” with “The Next Generation,” “Voyager” and “Star Trek: Enterprise.” He received five Emmy nominations for his work with those futuristic sets.
He also worked on the sitcoms “One Day at a Time,” “The Jeffersons,” “Who’s the Boss? »
- Michelle Salemi
NBC’s Leno Stays on Top, But Others Gain in Young Adults
4 April 2013 3:46 PM, PDT
Amid all the talk of changes in the latenight television landscape, one thing has stayed the same in 2013: NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is No. 1.
But that didn’t stop other networks from touting their own accomplishments Thursday, as the field becomes ever more fragmented and competitive.
For the first quarter of 2013, “The Tonight Show” was the top latenight draw in the key demos of adults 18-49 and 25-54 as well as total viewers. The show was hardly dominant, though, and it was surpassed for the frame by ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in the more narrow adults 18-34 demo — a category that Comedy Central dominates in its 11 o’clock block of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
It’s Kimmel’s advance in the under-35 crowd that spurred NBC to initiate a changing of the guard in latenight, installing Jimmy Fallon to take over for Leno on “Tonight” early next year. »
- Rick Kissell
Jungle of Jobs Takes Toll on Veteran Scribes
4 April 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
The apparent suicide of a wellknown TV comedy writer last month has rattled many people in the creative community.
(From the pages of the April 2 issue of Variety.)
The inexorable tragedy of suicide is that the motivation can never be fully understood. But as news of the writer’s death spread, TV biz vets seized it as a heartbreaking example — rightly or wrongly — of the intensifying pressures that many writers face in the contempo entertainment landscape. The frequent declaration that we are in a Golden Age for television programming is a double-edged sword for the wordsmiths who are the first line of defense between brilliant and canceled.
It’s true that there is more work than ever before for writers because there are more outlets serving up original content. Cable’s appetite for originals has grown faster than anyone could have predicted 10 years ago. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Crackle and a »
- Cynthia Littleton
TV Guide: Price Is Right for CBS
4 April 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
CBS Corp. took a look under the hood of TV Guide Network more than a year ago, but wasn’t impressed by what it saw.
(From the pages of the April 2 issue of Variety.)
The cabler had wide distribution in 80 million homes, but its carriage pacts were weak and coming up for renewal. Although the Eye has been eager to expand its holdings in cable, it passed on TV Guide even though the asset had the “Reduced for Quick Sale” sign hung over it by owners Lionsgate and Jp Morgan’s One Equity investment arm.
But in a surprise move, CBS quietly came back into the picture with a steal of a deal unveiled March 26 to buy One Equity’s half of TV Guide Network and the TVGuide.com online operation for just under $100 million. The deal gives CBS the benefit of a general entertainment outlet to help it squeeze »
- Cynthia Littleton and Rachel Abrams
Triple Threat: FX to Unleash Clone Channel
4 April 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
Do TV viewers need twice as much FX?
The cabler has long been a standout, thanks to edgy, no-holds-barred programs like “Sons of Anarchy” and “Rescue Me” that give their producers tons of creative freedom and their audiences a set of hardcharging protagonists.
(From the pages of the April 2 issue of Variety.)
Now News Corp. wants to bolster its flagship general entertainment cabler by committing a form of cell division. The hope is that by spinning off a new network, Fxx, the conglom can extend the company’s reach into the younger part of the demographic most coveted by advertisers (and, let’s be honest, give it more heft when it comes time to negotiate carriage fees with the nation’s big cable and satellite companies).
The new channel aims to reach more deeply into audiences between the ages of 18 and 34, leaving its older sibling, FX, to better define itself by going after 18 to 49ers. »
- Brian Steinberg
Film London Gets Cash Infusion
4 April 2013 1:00 PM, PDT
London — With new U.K. tax relief for high-end TV and animation approved by the European Commission last week, London mayor Boris Johnson has announced £2 million ($3 million) in new investment in film and media agency Film London.
“We are at the dawn of a golden age of TV production in London,” said Johnson, speaking Thursday at the capital’s Ealing Studios. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to grow this exciting sector to deliver jobs, produce more world class British drama and, above all, make London the city of choice for TV and animation production. Let’s make sure that all future ‘Downtons’ are filmed on our turf.”
Ealing is home to Julian Fellowes’ “Downton Abbey” and Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s performance-capture studio The Imaginarium (pictured above).
Film London is charged with bringing in $303.3 million of extra production expenditure from TV and animation and creating 1,000 new industry jobs in the capital. »
- Robert Mitchell
Showbiz Plays Up Papal Opportunities
4 April 2013 12:38 PM, PDT
Rome — What’s in a new pope’s name?
The recent election of Pope Francis is prompting a flurry of showbiz opportunities, including the launch of “Francesco,” an English-language skein about St. Francis of Assisi to be helmed by Liliana Cavani (“The Night Porter”) and shopped at next week’s MipTV mart in Cannes.
“When I heard that the new pope had decided to call himself Francis, there was an immediate exchange of phone calls between myself, Liliana and the head of drama at (pubcaster) Rai,” said Italo TV producer Claudia Mori (pictured above), who had a project about the saint set up that suddenly gained more impetus.
Rai head of drama Tinny Andreatta and a sales exec for Mori’s Ciao Ragazzi shingle will be seeking international co-producers at Mip for “Francesco,” which is currently casting.
Plan is to start shooting late summer in the Assisi area and the outskirts of Jerusalem. »
- Nick Vivarelli
Paramount Channel on a High in Spain
4 April 2013 11:29 AM, PDT
Madrid — Hollywood studios are continuing to exploit digital TV opportunities in Europe.
Exhibit A: Paramount Channel. The Spanish digital terrestrial TV service has just celebrated its first anniversary hitting three highs: Its biggest monthly market share in Spain (1.3% in March), its highest daily performance (March 30, 2.3%), and its best movie result (3.3% and 606,117 viewers for golden oldie “Escape From Alcatraz,” pictured above).
In international markets, Hollywood studios’ core business remains licensing content in exclusive multi-year product deals and launching branded channels on pay TV.
But the majors work individual territories on a “case-by-case” basis,” said Guy Bisson at Ihs Screen Digest.
“Every major U.S. Group is looking at opportunities around free to air,” he added.
“In countries where Dtt is a large enough platform and pay TV small — so the risks of cannibalizing a core pay TV business is low — where the opportunities present themselves, the studios may take them on Dtt. »
- John Hopewell
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