The Morning Fix: How much does a spot on `Glee’ cost? Eisner’s new pals. Life after DVDs. Inside Letterman’s head.
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After the coffee. Before figuring out why `Whip It’ didn’t do better.
It costs what? Advertising Age has released its annual breakdown of what a 30-second spot costs on each network show. Though shows are seldom bought on an individual basis, AdAge surveys agencies to analyze how a buy is spread out across a schedule to determine what each show is worth. Networks always hate the story. ABC’s ‘FlashForward’ was the most expensive new show with a spot going for almost $176,000. The Most expensive night to buy NBC’s ‘Jay Leno Show’? Tuesday. Cheapest night? Friday. The figures, AdAge says are ‘indicators, not gospel.’
Life after DVDs. No longer cash cows, movie studios are preparing for life after the DVD, and if that means streaming movies online and alienating their own retail partners, so be it. The New York Times takes the pulse of the business.
Bringing Bollywood to America. Big Cinemas, India’s largest theater chain, now has 18 theaters in the U.S. targeting regions with large Indian populations. Movies aren’t the only thing on screen; the occasional cricket match also pops up. The Los Angeles Times’ Richard Verrier looks at one of the few growth areas in the theater business.
No play without pay. Lot of tough talk coming out of News Corp. COO Chase Carey in this interview with Broadcasting & Cable. Carey says Hulu will ultimately be a pay service and sports rights are out of whack with the economies of the broadcast business. Meanwhile, for a glimpse of the future, read David Colker’s piece in the Los Angeles Times about people who are cutting out the middle man when it comes to watching TV.
Good news, Lions Gate! Activist shareholder Carl Icahn has resigned from Yahoo’s board of directors, according to the San Jose Mercury News. He praised new CEO Carol Bartz in his letter detailing his exit from the board and said he doesn’t have time anymore for the company. Guess that means he can spend more time with Lions Gate, where he also has been sharply critical of management for some time.
Eisner’s new friends. Michael Eisner’s Internet production company, Tornante Co., has formed a partnership with Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Communications that will provide funding for up to 30 Web shows through the mogul’s Vuguru production house. Details from Variety.
We knew this was coming. New York weighs in with a lengthy look at David Letterman’s life off-camera, including his history of dating staffers on his late-night show. The article looks at Letterman’s love life, his angst and other things we won’t likely see on a top 10 list any time soon.
Of course, there’s Letterman and then there’s ESPN. Steve Phillips, the married baseball analysis whose fling with a 22-year-old staffer (who subsequently allegedly harassed Phillips and his wife) has rocked Bristol, Conn. (that’s where ESPN is based for all you non-insiders) has been given his walking papers. One wonders if that would’ve happened if the story had never gotten out. Details from the New York Post, which has been having a field day. If you want real gossip, the sports blog DeadSpin.com, angry that it was waved off this story months ago by ESPN, has posted every nasty rumor about the place it’s gotten over the last year or so.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Matea Gold’s take on the Fox News vs. Obama battle. ‘Paranormal’ cuts up ‘Saw’ at the weekend box office.
-- Joe Flint
