SUPER BOWL BLACKOUT GAVE ADVERTISERS A BONUS

That half-hour blackout during the Super Bowl gave some advertisers a free extra spot, according to Advertising Age. Although well over 100 million viewers remained tuned to the “Super Bowl Delay,” CBS executives had no idea how many would be tuned in. They aired the spots originally scheduled to run during the game during the […]

NO BOX OFFICE REPORTS FOR DARK KNIGHT RISES THIS WEEKEND

Warner Bros. announced late today that they will not be releasing box office figures for The Dark Knight Rises until Monday “out of respect for the victims and their families.” The Hollywood Reporter quoted a studio spokesman as saying that it would be “insensitive” to be talking about the numbers in light of the midnight […]

RATINGS UP FOR BELMONT DESPITE WITHDRAWAL OF STAR HORSE

NBC had a good day at the races for its coverage of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. But not a great day. The telecast drew 7.7 million viewers, up 13 percent from last year when it attracted 6.8 million. However, Advertising Age called the result a “massive disappointment” for the network, which had been heavily […]

DISH NETWORK’S ERGEN DEFENDS AD-SKIPPING DVR

DISH Network Chairman Charlie Ergen has indicated that his company introduced its Hopper ad-skipping DVR in an effort to level the playing field between traditional TV and Internet TV. In an interview with today’s (Friday) Wall Street Journal, Ergen said said that the advent of cheap or free Internet video threatens the pay-TV ecosystem and […]

CBS CHIEF WARNS HE’LL YANK NETWORK FROM DISH

Until now, DISH network’s plan to provide DVRs to subscribers that will allow them to skip commercials automatically has received a muted response from network executives. But CBS chief Les Moonves warned today (Wednesday) that his network plans to battle DISH over the DVRs. “They can’t just take our signal and change it and put […]

NBC CHAIRMAN HOPPING MAD OVER HOPPER

Besides unveiling its comedy-rich schedule of new programming for next season, NBC Broadcasting Chairman Ted Harbert on Tuesday called for some fundamental changes in the way other companies approach the business. In particular, he took a swipe at Echostar and its corporate cousin DISH network for its introduction of a new DVR called The Hopper […]

SUPER BOWL ADS ONLINE GOING FOR SUPER PRICES

On a cost-per-thousand basis, the NFL is asking more than NBC for commercials that will run during its online live coverage of next month’s Super Bowl, MediaPost said on its website. According to the trade publication, the online pricetag will be $275,000 for each 30-second commerical, or $55 per thousand viewers. By contrast, NBC’s CPM […]

COURIC SHOW COMMANDING HEFTY AD PRICES

Katie Couric’s syndicated talk show isn’t even on the air yet. She flopped in her most recent gig as a network news anchor. She could suffer the same fate as befell another Today show co-host, Jane Pauley, when she attempted to go solo on daytime television. But the New York Post reported today (Thursday) that […]

OSCAR UNAFFECTED BY ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

Despite deteriorating ratings in recent years, next February’s Oscar telecast commands the same price for a 30-second commercial as it did a year ago, about $1.6-1.7 million, according to Advertising Age, which cited “a person familiar with the tone of negotiations.” This year’s Oscarcast attracted 37.9 million viewers, down from 41.7 million tuned last year. […]

PBS PLANS TO AIR ADS THROUGHOUT SHOWS

A New York Times report earlier this week that PBS is planning to break up its “pods” of acknowledgements — essentially commercials — at the end of each broadcast, distributing them instead into its programs at roughly every 15-minute mark, is already beginning to generate controversy. PBS maintains that the move is not intended to […]

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