Oscars 2012: A hit in social media

 

Although the 84th Annual Academy Awards came across decidedly old school in its television broadcast, the event delivered high marks in new media. 

Sunday's Oscar ceremony generated 3.8 million comments on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, according to data generated by Cambridge, Mass.-based Bluefin Labs. That made this year's awards show the second most talked-about entertainment event on TV since the company began measuring and analyzing social media traffic several years ago.

CBS' telecast of the Grammy Awards this month was the undisputed champ with 13 million social media comments. The third most popular awards event was last year's MTV Video Music Awards with 3.1 million comments, according to Bluefin Labs.

The ABC television network, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and advertisers stepped up their social media campaigns promoting the Oscars this year, in large part, to keep the TV ratings high. Their efforts appeared to have paid off with Nielsen's estimates that more than 39 million viewers tuned in -- an increase of 1.4 million people compared with last year's show. 

Comments on social media sites surrounding Sunday's ceremony and red carpet arrivals surged nearly 300% over last year's gala. In 2011, there were fewer than 1 million comments. The trend suggests that more people are turning to social media outlets while watching TV by using a "second screen" -- a tablet, smartphone or laptop computer -- to stay connected to their friends and followers who are also watching TV.

Bluefin Labs' analysis found that the gender breakdown for the social media pundits was roughly in line with the composition of the TV audience. An estimated 57% of those who commented were women; men made up 43%.

It was more difficult to ascertain the mood of commenters. Bluefin found that 22% of the comments about the Oscars were positive, 16% negative and 62% neutral.

Peaks in the social media traffic came at somewhat predictable intervals.  The most talked-about moment came at the end of the evening when the nearly silent film, "The Artist," won for best picture. The second most popular portion was the presentation of three awards by Tina Fey and Bradley Cooper -- two crowd-pleasing comedians particularly popular with the social media demographic. 

The pair was on screen several minutes, presenting honors for film editing, won by "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," and sound editing and sound mixing, both won by Martin Scorsese's 3-D family film "Hugo."

Octavia Spencer's emotional acceptance speech for supporting actress for her performance in "The Help" was the third most popular highlight in social media. Remarks about Spencer ranked highest in terms of "most positive." 

And even though, at age 82, Christopher Plummer would seem to be well beyond the Facebook demographic, his win for supporting actor in "Beginners" registered as the fourth most buzzed-about Oscar moment. 

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Oscars 2012:  Like the winning movies, the show celebrates the past

-- Meg James

Photo: Octavia Spencer, escorted by Christian Bale, after Spencer's win for supporting actress for her performance in "The Help." Credit:  Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

 

Don Browne, president of NBCUniversal's Telemundo network, retires

Telemundo President Don Browne is stepping down, clearing the way for his new bosses at NBCUniversal to make sweeping changes to the Spanish-language television operation.

Browne, who turns 68 next month, plans to leave the company June 3 -- the eight anniversary of his arrival at Telemundo after a distinguished career in NBC News. Browne joined NBC in 1979 as NBC News' Miami bureau chief. He eventually became a top executive within NBC News, and later served as general manager of WTVJ, NBC's owned-and-operated station in Miami.

NBCUniversal said it would announce a new Telemundo president "in the coming months."

The architect of Telemundo's entry into the business of original programming, Browne wanted to end the network's reliance on foreign studios for its prime-time shows.  Browne oversaw the construction of a small TV production center in Hialeah, Fla., just outside of Miami. In recent months, the network has grown its ratings on the strength of its original telenovela, "La Reina del Sur."

However, despite investing hundreds of millions of dollars in original programming over the years, the NBCUniversal-owned Spanish-language network has struggled to make headway in the market. It is dwarfed by its more potent rival, Univision Communications Inc., which obtains most of its popular prime-time soap operas, or telenovelas, from its Mexican programming partner, Grupo Televisa.  Univision has a substantial advantage because its telenovelas -- which have already played on TV in Mexico --  are cheaper to acquire and have a track record. Univision schedules the programs that generated big ratings in Mexico and appeal to the large Mexican American population in the U.S.

When Comcast Corp. took control of NBCUniversal in January, Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal's new chief, Steve Burke, said they wanted Telemundo to produce stronger ratings and, thus, more revenue for the company.

Browne was assigned a new supervisor, Lauren Zalaznick, who is dramatically different from the suit-and-tie bosses that Browne had before. Instead of giving Browne autonomy to run his business, Zalaznick was determined to get involved, even taking Spanish lessons and spending days immersing herself in Telemundo's operations in South Florida and Los Angeles.

Since 2005, Browne has been responsible for all of Telemundo's business and programming functions, including running Telemundo's 14 owned-and-operated television stations, including KVEA-TV Channel 52 in Los Angeles. He also managed Telemundo's news and sports operations and its youth-oriented cable channel, mun2.

NBCUniversal said Browne was "an early and fervent supporter of NBC's investment in Spanish-language television and played a key role in the company's 2001 acquisition of Telemundo."

"Don Browne has had an outstanding career as a broadcaster and executive, from his years as a bureau chief and executive vice president of NBC News to his tenure most recently at Telemundo," Burke said in a statement Tuesday announcing Browne's retirement.  "We are grateful for what he has accomplished."

-- Meg James

Photo: Don Browne. Credit: Telemundo / NBCUniversal

 

MTV names Stephen Friedman as its new president

Veteran MTV executive Stephen K. Friedman was promoted Wednesday to president of the influential youth-orientated cable network.

Friedman, 41, has served as MTV's general manager since 2008, running the day-to-day operations and becoming a key player in the reversal of the channel's prolonged ratings slide.  For more than a year, MTV has been on the march with such popular shows as "Jersey Shore," "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant."  Friedman will continue to report to Van Toffler, who is president of the MTV Networks Music and Logo Group.  

"Since Stephen took over the helm at MTV 2 1/2 years ago, he has done an incredible job helping spearhead the reinvention of the MTV brand for millennials," Toffler said in a statement announcing his lieutenant's new assignment.

Viacom Inc.'s MTV also has experienced some of its best ratings in years for its signature award shows, including the "Video Music Awards" and the "MTV Movie Awards."  The ratings spikes reflect how Internet buzz can help expand audiences for TV shows, and how audacious and culturally relevant TV shows can spark Internet chatter and trends.

Friedman came to MTV in 1998 to launch MTV's strategic partnerships and public affairs department. Over the years, he has been instrumental in many of MTV's social and political causes.  In 2004, he helped launch mtvU, the channel dedicated to college students, and as general manager he helped craft the channel's Emmy Award-winning Sudan campaign to protest genocide in Darfur. He was deeply involved in MTV's award-winning "Fight for Your Rights" campaign and its "Choose or Lose" political drive. Before joining MTV, Friedman was director for the PEN American Center, an international writers' human rights organization.

When former MTV President Christina Norman left the channel in 2008, Friedman stepped in as general manager, assuming most of her duties. Norman is now running OWN, the joint venture between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications Inc.

-- Meg James   

Photo: Stephen Friedman. Credit:  MTV Networks

Univision gains on NBC, signaling shifts in population trends

Univision last week attracted more prime-time viewers than NBC, the second time in four weeks that the Spanish-language network edged out one of the Big Four.

Univision still trails NBC by a wide margin on a regular basis. But the New York-based network has been slowly narrowing the gap against its English-language compadres as it continues to add viewers while the mainstream TV networks, including NBC, lose them.

Univision sees more growth ahead: Results of the 2010 census underscored that Latinos make up the fastest-growing segment of the population. 

Tuesday, Univision said that on about 50% of nights during the first quarter of 2011, it attracted more viewers ages 18 to 49 than NBC. That demographic is a crucial target audience for advertisers.

The first quarter is a particularly weak period for NBC because that's when it loses its fall juggernaut, "Sunday Night Football," a bulwark for the network's ratings.

Univision trails NBC by an average of 579,000 viewers a night in the adult demographic during the period measured, Dec. 27 to April 3. During the comparable period a year earlier, NBC had an advantage of 1.9 million viewers. But NBC's ratings last year were fueled by its coverage of the Olympic Games in Vancouver in February 2010.

And in the recently ended quarter, the peacock network lacked blockbuster events, making its ratings challenges more apparent.

Separately on Tuesday, NBC corporate parent NBCUniversal said it was launching a sales initiative called "Hispanics at NBCU." The media giant owns the Telemundo Spanish-language network, which competes with Univision. It said its new campaign was aimed at connecting marketers with Latinos, particularly Latinas, whom NBCUniversal called "a powerful audience that is extraordinarily underserved."

Univision, obviously, doesn't think so. 

-- Meg James

Photo: Actors Guy Ecker, Blanca Soto and Julián Gil star in the popular Univision prime-time telenovela "Eva Luna." Credit:  Univision Communications Inc.

Riding the Jersey wave, MTV wraps quarter with poufy high ratings

 

MTV is finishing the first quarter with its highest ratings in five years, a noteworthy 27% jump among young viewers compared with the first quarter of 2010.

The Viacom Inc.-owned network's numbers were fueled by the third season of "Jersey Shore," which soared to the top of the ratings chart in the youth demographic of 12- to 34-year-old viewers. The show, which launched in December 2009 and features the Italian American New Yorkers Vinny Guadagnino, Mike "the Situation" Sorrentino and, of course, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, who made the hair pouf sort of fashionable again, attracted more young viewers than television's top-rated show, "American Idol," according to MTV.

The third season of "Jersey Shore" became MTV's highest-rated show ever. It grew 35% compared with the second season and averaged 7.9 million viewers per episode. Production of the fourth installment of "Jersey Shore" recently got underway in Italy.

MTV's ratings resurgence has significantly helped Viacom's cause on Wall Street. Viacom common stock has been trading close to its 52-week high of $46.65 a share.

MTV's "Teen Mom 2" also netted substantial ratings, becoming cable television's No. 2 original show with an average of 3.8 million viewers an episode. "Real World: Las Vegas" was MTV's third show in cable's top 10, with ratings 11% higher than the previous installment of the show. It averaged 2 million viewers an episode.

Sister Viacom channel Nickelodeon said it posted its most-watched quarter with an average of 2.4 million viewers. During the quarter. Nickelodeon put forth several of the top preschool programs in television with "Bubble Guppies," "Max & Ruby," "Team Umizoomi," and "Go Diego, Go!"  It also boasted basic cable’s top three animated series with the perennial favorite "SpongeBob SquarePants," as well as "T.U.F.F. Puppy" and "The Penguins of Madagascar." 

-- Meg James

Photo: The cast of "Jersey Shore." Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press  

The Morning Fix: Gores back in Miramax mix! Justice Department nibbling at Apple. CBS and Fox crow! 'SATC 2'! Can you feel the excitement?

After the coffee. Before figuring out which "Sex and the City" character is me.

Back to the drawing board. With the Weinstein Co. and Ron Burkle out of the picture (for now anyway), Walt Disney Co. is resuming talks with Alec and Tom Gores, the billionaire brothers, about buying the studio's Miramax library. Apparently there is no rush at Disney to unload the library, for which the studio wants north of $600 million. When the Gores bid last time around, they offered about $550 million. More on the latest in this soap opera from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal  and New York Times. Also weighing in with how the Weinstein talks blew up are Deadline Hollywood and the New York Post.

Digging into Apple. The Justice Department is looking into Apple's digital music operations and how it deals with labels and potential rivals, according to the New York Times. That the Justice Department is looking does not mean that an investigation or probe is in the making. The department often looks at businesses and companies without proceeding with a full-blown antitrust investigation.

New York, New York. Almost two years after it gutted a chunk of its studio lot, Universal Pictures this week will unveil its redone New York City movie set, which is the largest in town. But the new set is not without controversy, according to Richard Verrier of the Los Angeles Times. The studio is going to take down or relocate other sets to clear the way for a residential development that has some worried it will be harder to shoot movies and TV shows on-site.

Moron check. Dave Poland's Hot Blog has some harsh words for those who analyze box office and those who write about box office. Writes Poland: "I am SICK TO DEATH of entertainment writers taking their expectations of box office, based on tracking and spin and rarely any facts, and forcing the stench of failure onto a success. And conversely, hyping mediocre numbers into An Incredible Event every time they get surprised by something doing decent business." How does he feel about those who write snarky links to those who cover box office?

End of the season wrap. The TV season draws to close Wednesday, but the results are pretty much already settled. CBS will win in viewers, and Fox in viewers under the age of 50. NBC (thanks to the Olympics) tied ABC (thanks to a crappy 10 p.m. performance) in adults 18-49 and 25-54. More fun with ratings from Variety.

The check's in the mail ... yeah, that's the ticket. Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Jon Lovitz loves the Dodgers. Apparently he just doesn't like paying for his Dodgers tickets, so the team has filed a breach-of-contract suit against him seeking more than $95,000!  That's a lot of Dodger Dogs. More on Lovitz's baseball blues from the Wrap.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Betsy Sharkey on "Sex and the City 2." James Rainey sticks up for Gustavo Dudamel. The FCC wants to know just about everything there is to know about Comcast and NBC, and that could present some dilemmas for the two merging companies. 

--  Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. It's free! twitter.com/JBFlint

'Glee' hits high note for Fox

The "gleeks" were out in force Tuesday night.

The return of Fox's "Glee" drew it biggest audience yet with 13.7-million viewers singing along even if some of us AC/DC fans cringed when one of the characters started belting out "Highway to Hell." The show also posted a record 5.6 rating among adults ages 18 to 49, which is the highest rating in that demographic for any new show this season except the premiere of CBS' "Undercover Boss," which made its debut after the Super Bowl. Each rating point in that demographic equals 1.3 million viewers. Technically speaking, "Glee" actually premiered last May, but Fox calls that episode a "preview" not a premiere. That premiere preview, by the way, averaged 9.6 million viewers and also followed "American Idol."

"Glee" was expected to deliver a big number for Fox. There has been a slew of publicity everywhere. The cast recently visited the White House, went on a tour and even landed on the cover of Rolling Stone although the article on them was hardly flattering. 

Having "American Idol" as a lead-in didn't hurt. Simon Cowell & Co. delivered 20.6-million viewers to "Glee" in an episode that ran almost 90 minutes, from 8 p.m. to 9:28 p.m. "Glee" then ran until 10:28 p.m.

Although "American Idol" is clearly showing its age, the 20.6-million viewers and its 7.3 rating among adults 18 to 49 is on par with last week's numbers.

--  Joe Flint

Photo: "Glee." Credit: Carin Baer / Fox

Cable ratings: Lifetime gets younger, E! and History hot, Hallmark and CNN not

Looks like Lifetime is getting younger.

The cable network saw its prime-time audience drop 6% in the first quarter of 2010, compared to the same time a year ago. While that's bad news, the good news is that most of the decline appears to be among adults over the age of 60. Among adults 18-49, Lifetime was up 5%, and with adults 18-34 it was up 18%. The channel also made a slight gain with adults 25-54. Lifetime's median viewer age dropped 2 years and three months to a little over 47, compared to first quarter of 2009.

Now, before we start getting e-mails complaining about suggesting that somehow older viewers don't matter, that is not what we're saying. It's just that advertisers pay a premium for younger viewers. There is a theory that though older people have more money, they are also more set in their ways when it comes to buying things. Younger viewers, the thinking goes, are more likely to be swayed by a commercial. So take it as a compliment that advertisers don't see folks over the ago of 60 as being gullible. For what it's worth, I'm still in the 18-49 demographic and I'm pretty consistent with my toothpaste, but I do experiment with shampoo.

The Lifetime numbers are only one of many interesting things in a report from Turner Broadcasting on first-quarter television ratings. Among the networks making big gains were the Fox Soccer Channel, up 75%, and ID, which is Discovery's recently rebranded crime channel. Its audience grew almost 60%. Of course, gains that big mean that both channels have small ratings and distribution and hence even a minuscule improvement in audience results in a large percentage gain. 

Among the bigger networks, History Channel had a strong three months. Its audience grew 14% and it was up 26% with adults 18-34. Before you smile to yourself thinking that kids are getting into history, keep in mind that three of the network's top shows are about pawn shops, lumberjacks and people who go antiquing. In other words, a lot of history is now history at the History Channel.

Comcast's E! also delivered. Its audience grew by 25%  and thank-you flowers are no doubt on the way to the Kardashian girls. E! was also up 24% with adults 18-49 and 30% in the 18-34 category.

Enduring a tough three months was Turner's CNN, off 39% in viewers, and the Hallmark Channel, which saw its audience drop 34%. Turner's other networks -- including TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network -- also experienced declines.

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Camryn Manheim in Lifetime's "The Pregnancy Pact." Credit: Lifetime.

ABC dances away with Monday's ratings crown

Is there anything Kate Gosselin can't do?

The reality star made her debut on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" and helped power the talent show to its best season-premiere numbers ever. Almost 24 million people tuned in to the two-hour episode and helped drive ABC to a Monday night win in both viewers and key demographics.

Of course, many may have been tuning in to see if Gosselin would stumble and still others might have checked out the show to see what Pam Anderson would wear or whether football star Chad Ochocinco would score big off the field. Wonder if Jon Gosselin would get as big an audience.

Besides landing 23.9 million viewers, "Dancing with the Stars" scored a 6.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen. Each rating point in that demographic equals 1.3 million viewers. For ABC, the Monday numbers were its best since the 2001 Rose Bowl.

The strong numbers from 8-10 p.m. had a trickle-down effect for ABC's "Castle," which beat CBS's "CSI Miami" for the first time in the 10-11 p.m. hour.

For the night, it was ABC in first with 20.2 million viewers and a 5.4 rating in adults 18-49. CBS was second with 11 million viewers a 3.9 rating. 

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Kate Gosselin. Credit: Katy Winn / Associated Press

FX's 'Justified' fires off big number in debut; Oxygen's 'Bad Girls' delivers

"Justified," the latest testosterone-fueled drama from FX, scored big numbers in its debut Tuesday night.

The show, which stars Timothy Olyphant as a quick-draw U.S. Marshal who returns to his native Kentucky, where some of his old pals are now drug-running white supremacists, drew almost 4.2 million viewers. That makes it the second biggest premiere for an FX show behind "The Shield," which averaged 4.8 million in its 2002 debut.

Most of the audience for "Justified" was adult males. It was basic cable's top-rated show among all men. That would explain the abundance of beer commercials in the program.

It was also a big night for Oxygen. Its "Bad Girls Club" reunion show scored a record 2.66 million viewers. Of that more than 1 million were in the women 18-34 demographic.

The broadcast networks had an off night, particularly ABC, where "Lost" hit a season low in viewers with just 8.9 million watching.

-- Joe Flint