The Morning Fix: Leno’s losses and Letterman’s gains. Tellem wants new gig. Rush wants the Rams. Michael Vick and BET.
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After the coffee. Before figuring out how to look busy while secretly watching baseball.
Tellem tells him. Another day, another potential shake-up. Nancy Tellem, who oversees CBS Entertainment and CBS TV Studios, is looking to shift out of her day-to-day role into a more strategic position at the company. She’s in talks with her boss, CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves, over whether it can be pulled off. If so, don’t look for Moonves to replace her right away. While not seen as a likely successor to the 60 year-old Moonves, the well-regarded Tellem is in his tight inner circle. News and analysis from Deadline and the Los Angeles Times.
You don’t say. Here’s a shocker. Vivendi is ready to unload its 20% stake in NBC Universal but, get this, it may depend on the offer they get from NBC U parent General Electric. Wow! Who would’ve thought that? Bloomberg reports that if it feels it is being lowballed as part of GE’s efforts to cut a deal with Comcast, it may hold out and go the IPO route instead.
Leno’s losses. USA Today weighs in on Jay Leno’s new prime time show, and it isn’t pretty. ‘The former king of late night is turning into the pauper of prime time,’ writes Gary Levin. Monday’s show hit a new low in viewers with only 4.5 million viewing. That said, the story notes that if Leno performs well when the other networks are in reruns, that could help, and NBC brass also points out that it’s not like they’re giving Jay a decent lead-in.
Letterman’s gains. Who says scandal hurts? David Letterman’s Monday show drew a big number, which seems to fly in the face of this New York Post story that says a survey shows more people are likely to tune Dave out after his revelations about affairs at the office.
Please don’t! New Line is working on a sequel to the ‘Vacation’ franchise focusing on Rusty Griswold, son of Clark, says the Hollywood Reporter. No word on whether an offer has been extended to Anthony Michael Hall to reprise his role in the original. Did someone get a raise for coming up with this one? Are they so out of ideas that they’ll do anything? Is ‘Vacation’ really a brand? My stomach hurts.
Kate’s daytime date (minus 8). With her marriage finished and her TLC show likely approaching the finish line, Kate Gosselin is looking for another 15 minutes and is talking with Warner Bros. about a syndicated daytime ‘View’-like program that would also feature Paula Deen. The New York Times (of all papers) weighs in on the latest back-and-forth between Jon and Kate Gosselin, what it has meant to ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ and her plans for the future.
Wonder if the offense will be conservative. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is part of a group bidding on the St. Louis Rams along with sports business vet Dave Checketts, reports The St. Louis Business Journal. Hope Rush doesn’t try to do play-by-play, fans may not want to hear about how a missed field goal was Obama’s fault.
DVR Data. Fox’s ‘Glee’ and ‘Bones,’ and the CW’s ‘Vampire Diaries’ are some of the shows that are getting ratings boosts from people with digital video recorders, reports the Wrap. Of course, if the people using the DVR are like me, they skip a lot of the ads. Then again, last night I watched ‘Mad Men’ and worked at the same time and let the commercials play.
If you’re serious about Sirius ... The Wall Street Journal looks at Sirius XM’s stock, which has been trading under a $1 for quite some time. While the satellite radio broadcaster averted bankruptcy, it may not be a buy just yet.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Ken Howard gets ready for his most challenging role -- president of the Screen Actors Guild. Michael Vick gets a reality show from BET.
-- Joe Flint
