The Morning Fix: Emmy recap! Inside Cook’s swift exit. ABC’s risky fall bet. Epix not epic yet. FCC on net neutrality.
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After the coffee. Before straggling into work late.
Emmy recap. No huge surprises at last night’s Emmys as ‘Mad Men’ and ’30 Rock’ again took the major awards, but there were some upsets, including Kristin Chenoweth and Toni Collette. General consensus is Neil Patrick Harris killed. More interesting were the candid concerns about the future of broadcast TV expressed by winners and presenters. Julia Louis-Dreyfus cracked that it’s the last ‘official year’ of network television. Well, for what’s its worth, when the ratings come out, odds are the Emmys will have been trounced by the Giants-Cowboys game, which was also on network TV. Analysis and critiques from: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, USA Today and The Wrap. If for some bizarre reason you missed the show, here’s our play-by-play recap. Not even a gold watch? After 38 years at the company, it took less than 10 minutes for Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook’s career at the Mouse House to come to an end. The skinny on what went on behind the scenes from the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Beast. Separately, a lawsuit could cause headaches for the Marvel deal, says the New York Times.
ABC’s risky bet. Although much of the attention on the fall TV season has focused on NBC and its Jay Leno experiment, ABC is taking big chances too. The network is launching eight new series, and though the buzz on the shows is good, there are concerns that many will struggle to get noticed by viewers in this crowded environment, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Epix is a short story for now. The new pay-TV channel Epix, from Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate, is still looking for major carriage. Its broadband component ‘may well be one of the best online movie services most people will never see,’ says PaidContent.
Malone and NBC? Sounds crazy, right? Well, who knows. The New York Post speculates (or fantasizes) that cable mogul John Malone could throw his hat into the ring if Vivendi’s 20% stake in NBC Universal goes on the block. Of course, earlier this summer the same paper said Malone was going to back the Weinstein Co. Just saying ...
FCC makes stand on Net. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski laid out his blueprint for network neutrality in a speech this morning. If you are a big or a small media company, you should care. Here’s the transcript.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: More Emmy news and gossip than you’ll know what do with can be found at the Envelope. Weekend box office report. Patrick Goldstein on Disney.
-- Joe Flint
