Morning Fix: Magic, Diddy get channels! No Barry Diller Oscar party.
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After the coffee. Before figuring out where to hold my Oscar party and who will make the cut.
The Skinny: CBS’ raunchy ‘Two Broke Girls’ may have hit some new lows Monday night. Normally, the Parents Television Council is outraged by the show’s rough language. After last night, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Anti-Defamation League sends a note to CBS too. Tuesday’s headlines include a new cable channel from Magic Johnson, a look at how the youth use (and abuse) media and where to go and not go to party during Oscar weekend.
Daily Dose: It’s a sweeps month, when networks and local stations try to pump up the ratings and start engaging in thinly veiled promotional pieces. That certainly seemed to be the case at KNBC Monday. The NBC-owned station’s 11 p.m. newscast featured a story about the ongoing fascination with Marilyn Monroe on the same night that NBC’s ‘Smash,’ a drama about making a musical about Monroe, airs. No one is saying there isn’t a legitimate story -- particularly in the wake of Whitney Houston’s death -- about the holding power of celebrity. But this time, the motivation was clearly about promoting a TV show.
Magic channel. Comcast is announcing that it will help launch several new cable channels, including offerings from former NBA great Magic Johnson, fashion and music mogul Sean Combs and director Robert Rodriguez. The new channels are part of Comcast’s promise to the government to commit to diversifying the media landscape in return for approval of Comcast’s deal to acquire NBCUniversal. No, there’s no channel for Knicks star Jeremy Lin ... yet. Details from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
Those darn kids. Columbia University has released a survey on the views of young people concerning the media landscape. It said more than 70% of people under the age of 30 have viewed or listened to content illegally, as opposed to 46% over the age of 30. Interestingly, the survey also reported that many young adults are willing to pay for content, but don’t want to have to keep paying for content. In other words, they say, if you buy a movie on one platform, you should be able to use it across many platforms. More on the study from the Associated Press.
What if you build it and they don’t come? It was with great fanfare that the cable sports channel Versus was rebranded NBC Sports Network. Bob Costas was given a show, and the network has also been spending more on programming. Yet ratings were actually down 21% last month versus a year ago. Sports Business Journal looks at the early struggles of NBC Sports Network.
Potential upsets. The Wrap weighs in with its analysis of the Academy Awards, suggesting that Sunday’s scheduled show needs a lot of surprise winners to keep viewers on their toes. Of course, I’m not sure that Meryl Streep getting an Oscar can ever be considered a surprise or upset.
Get off my lawn. Deadline Hollywood has the news that mogul Barry Diller is not holding his annual Oscars party at his house this Saturday, so I’m now free if someone else has something going on. Also bagging her very exclusive party this year is celebrity hostess Dani Janssen. More on the post-Oscars party scene from the Hollywood Reporter.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Sinead O’Connor is on the comeback trail. A look at the woman who played a key role in the proposed merger between actor unions SAG and AFTRA.
-- Joe Flint
Follow me on Twitter. I’m like a beat cop on the corner to keep you safe. Twitter.com/JBFlint
