The Morning Fix: Network news faces tough future (don’t we all). Paramount and Sony have hot summer. Disney outsources marketing for next ‘Pirates’ flick.
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After the coffee. Before deciding if Reggie Bush should return the Heisman.
Thankless job. ABC and its parent Walt Disney may not have an easy time finding someone to succeed David Westin as president of ABC News. The ideal candidate will hopefully have some news and production experience (although Westin didn’t really have either when he took the job) as well as being able to talk a good game when it comes to new media. While ABC News is profitable and a lot leaner after months of cuts, its audience -- like all broadcast news audiences -- is shrinking and aging and that’s a lethal combination. Furthermore, morale at the unit is pretty low. The new president will have to find a balance between finding ways to reach new viewers on new platforms without alienating the core audience. Oh, and there is this problem the news divisions have of shelling out big bucks for their anchors while cutting budgets everywhere else. But the pay and benefits are probably pretty good and I’ll bet there’s free admission to Disney theme parks, or at least a discount. Analysis on Westin’s departure and what his successor will face, from the Los Angeles Times, Variety, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and the Wrap.
How many marketing executives does it take to release a Disney movie? The Hollywood Reporter scoops that Disney has hired Valerie Van Galder, a Hollywood marketing consultant, to oversee the promotion of its next ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film. The move is something of a surprise, given that Disney not too long ago hired M.T. Carney, an advertising executive, as its new marketing chief. Writes Kim Masters of the Hollywood Reporter: ‘Considering its importance, the move is likely to be perceived in the industry, fairly or not, as a sign that Disney lacks full confidence in marketing chief M.T. Carney, a newcomer to the movie business.’
Paramount summer. Looks like Viacom’s Paramount and Sony Pictures had the most to smile about this summer while 20th Century Fox will likely be looking at replays and wondering what went wrong. Variety offers up a report card on the summer movie season.
Wonder if they’ll have ‘Frasier’ reruns? Kelsey Grammer is fronting a new entertainment network that kicks off this week, aimed at conservatives. Grammer is not producing or appearing in any of the programming of RightNetwork, which the former star of ‘Frasier’ has been touting or some time, according to the Associated Press. The channel is only being offered so far by Verizon’s FiOS service.
Google TV is going global. Although it hasn’t launched here yet, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the search giant already has international plans for Google TV, it’s web-TV service that is to debut in the U.S. in the fall. More from Bloomberg. Inside the Los Angeles Times: Production slows in Los Angeles as the California Film Commission has given out all of the available tax credit funds for the current fiscal year, and now has a waiting list of projects. James Rainey on the rise of Cenk Uyger.
-- Joe Flint
