The Morning Fix: Networks growing old; Disney’s next Miley; Beck grows as advertisers flee
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After the coffee. Before deciding when to go through the rest of those pilots.
Is 50 the new 49? Broadcast networks are always talking about the 18-to-49 age demographic, but heading into this season ABC, CBS, and NBC are all expected to have audiences with a median age of over 50 for the first time ever and Fox is not too far behind. Variety reports on a new analysis from advertising industry consultant Steve Sternberg. Part of the cause of this is that the networks got out of the children’s TV business, make fewer sitcoms that attract younger viewers and bet heavily on procedural shows that appeal to older audiences.
Hippies vs. freaks. This weekend’s box office pits horror movies ‘Final Destination’ and ‘Halloween II’ against each other, and if that’s not enough, you can relive (or pretend to anyway) your long strange trip to Woodstock with Ang Lee’s ‘Taking Woodstock.’ Box-office analysis from the Los Angeles Times, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
Building its next idol. Walt Disney Co. is putting its muscle behind Selena Gomez, who has a CD coming out and a movie based on her Disney Channel sitcom, and telling her not to grow up too fast, reports the Wall Street Journal. In other words, no racy photo shoots in Vanity Fair.
Barry Diller’s next bet. The media mogul is reinventing himself again, this time as a forceful advocate of pay content online. Business Week looks at what he’s up to and his chances for success.
‘Project Runway’ meets ‘The Cleaner.’ NBC Universal, Hearst Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are merging some cable network operations into one company. The complex deal involves Lifetime, A&E, History Channel and some smaller networks and is really about reducing and eventually buying out NBC’s stake in said networks, says the Los Angeles Times.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Walt Disney Co., which has a well-earned reputation for taking a hard line when it comes to protecting its content and image, is not going after a parody of a Miley Cyrus video featuring seven gay men in speedos. Instead the maker of the video got a nice phone call from Disney Channel chief Rich Ross, reports the New York Times. Hopefully they won’t do another video pole-dancing on an ice cream truck.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Glenn Beck’s ratings on Fox News grows as his advertisers flee. The Tennis Channel fights for serve against Cablevision. Sprucing up the Daytime Emmys.
-- Joe Flint
