Category Archives: News/Analysis

Neil deGrasse Tyson Is About to Get Yet Another Job Title: Late-Night TV Host

Adweek broke off part of my TCA winter press tour Day 1 roundup into a separate story, focusing on National Geographic Channel’s decision to tap Neil deGrasse Tyson for its first late-night show, Star Talk. As I wrote,

Based on Tyson’s popular podcast and radio show, Star Talk “will bridge the intersection between pop culture and science as it brings together celebrities, comedians and scientists to discuss the latest developments in our vast universe,” said Courteney Monroe, CEO of National Geographic Channels.

Tyson will host the series from the site of his day job: the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in New York.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Is About to Get Yet Another Job Title: Late-Night TV Host

NBC Ditched Tina Fey’s New Sitcom—and She Couldn’t Be Happier

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The first day of TCA winter press tour is in the books, and I rounded up the highlights from Netflix, ESPN and National Geographic Channel for this Adweek story.

Among the highlights: Tina Fey talked about why her new NBC sitcom, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, ended up on Netflix instead:

Given the grim fate of this season’s new broadcast sitcoms (RIP, Manhattan Love Story, Selfie, A to Z and Bad Judge), Fey couldn’t be happier about her show’s unlikely new home. “All of the networks have had a little trouble launching their comedies this season,” said Fey. “I think more people will find us like this.” For ambitious comedies like Community (which migrated to Yahoo Screen after NBC canceled it last May) or Kimmy Schmidt, “it just makes more sense than broadcast.”

The sad truth: Even NBCUniversal realized that its own network wasn’t the ideal place to nurture Fey’s new sitcom. “The show is made by NBC; it’s in NBC’s best interests for the show to have its best home,” said Fey. “And rather than trying to stick it on NBC between a multicam and a drama, they agreed that this would be the right place for it.”

There’s also lots of detail on Netflix’s grand ambitions to be “something for everyone” and ESPN adding short films to SportsCenter.

NBC Ditched Tina Fey’s New Sitcom—and She Couldn’t Be Happier

TV Apps Were Supposed to Keep People Subscribed to Cable, But They’re Creating Confusion Instead

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The first day of TCA winter press tour is in the books, and I have my first — of many —Adweek TCA stories. I looked at TV Everywhere: the industry-wide initiative between the networks and cable providers to give subscribers streaming access to their content, and hopefully keep them from cutting the cord.

While usage is increasing, industry execs remain frustrated by Nielsen’s inability to measure those TVE audiences. As I wrote at Adweek,

Mark Garner, svp distribution, A+E Networks, noted that the measurement abilities “lag behind the technology” to such a degree that they have become “harmful to this business.” As a result, “you’re looking at numbers that don’t really tell the whole story” because they don’t account for TVE viewing, said Erik Flannigan, evp multiplatform strategy and development, Viacom Entertainment Group.

There’s also some interesting insight as to why the phenomenon of people sharing authentication passwords is not as widespread as had been feared.

TV Apps Were Supposed to Keep People Subscribed to Cable, But They’re Creating Confusion Instead

What is TCA Press Tour?

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In a few hours (weather permitting) I will be flying out to Pasadena, Calif. for the start of the Television Critics Association winter press tour. As this is the first TCA tour since I launched the site, it seemed as good a time as any to explain what press tour is, and why I — and almost everyone else who writes about TV — will be talking (and tweeting, using the #TCA15 hashtag) about it nonstop for the next two weeks.

Twice a year, hundreds of TV critics and writers from all over the U.S. and Canada assemble at an L.A. hotel (the Beverly Hilton in summer; the Langham Huntington in winter) for press tour. Each day, a new network presents a variety of panels featuring talent and producers from their new (and sometimes returning) programs, as well as panel with their top executive. There is also a “scrum” after each panel — where smaller groups of reporters gather around certain panel members to ask additional questions — as well as one-on-one opportunities throughout the day and at receptions held during most evenings.

Between the news that breaks during the panels (and at least one panel per press tour goes completely off the rails — Girls, 2 Broke Girls and Stalker are recent examples of this) and the interviews I land outside of the panels, each TCA press tour yields dozens of stories for me, both during the event itself and in stories I bank for the weeks and months to come. If you look at the “popular tags” cloud in the column on your right, the TCA tag is by far the biggest one.

I first attended press tour, and became a TCA member, back when I was TV Editor at People. Now, I cover TCA for a variety of outlets — material I gathered from TCA summer tour ran in Quartz, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Adweek and Today.com — but for winter tour, I’ll be writing about it primarily for Adweek. (As always, I’ll post all my stories here as well.)

And with that, I’m TCA-bound. Have more any questions? Check out Alan Sepinwall’s far more comprehensive TCA rundown here.

Why Crackle, Sony’s Big Digital Video Play, was Sidelined for ‘The Interview’

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For my first story of 2015, I looked at one of the biggest head-scratchers in The Interview’s strange saga: why Sony dropped the ball on the chance to boost the profile of its own streaming site, Crackle. As I wrote at Quartz,

Yet despite a New York Post report on December 21st that Sony was going to stream The Interview on Crackle, a studio source tells Quartz that Crackle was not considered as part of The Interview’s digital strategy, given that the free site has no mechanism in place for charging consumers the $5.99 rental and $14.99 purchase fee for the film that the other VOD outlets have been offering.

Still, this is a major missed opportunity for Crackle, which has been trying to lure new viewers with several new original films and series (though only one, Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, seems to have any real traction).

This would seem to be the last Interview story I’ll do for awhile, but never say never…

Why Crackle, Sony’s big digital video play, was sidelined for ‘The Interview’

‘The Interview’ was a huge online success — but more for Google than for Sony

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Sony has released the VOD numbers for The Interview — and they are impressive. The movie earned more than $15 million during its first four days on the internet, and was rented or purchased more than 2 million times. Yet despite this seemingly terrific news, the long-term Interview forecast is still bleak for Sony, as I explained at Quartz:

By making those day-and-date internet video deals, Sony has also lost out on the additional VOD revenue that would have come 90 days or so after the film’s theatrical release—which means that its chances of making back The Interview’s estimated $75 million budget are exceedingly slim. The film’s online success might be a qualified moral victory for Sony, but it definitely won’t be a financial one—and that’s even before calculating the significant financial fallout from the hacking scandal, which could be as much as $100 million.

I also detail the other big Interview winners and losers from the past week, including Google, Apple and Netflix.

‘The Interview’ was a huge online success — but more for Google than for Sony

‘The Interview’ Will Finally Give Internet Video the Big Moment It’s Been Waiting For

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I squeezed in one last story before Christmas, thanks to Sony, which announced that The Interview would begin streaming today to a variety of platforms, including Google Play and YouTube. I put together this Quartz story about how this unbelievable saga has suddenly given VOD the groundbreaking moment it’s waited years for. As I wrote:

For years, premium video on-demand (VOD) has been a white whale for studios, which have been unable to convince theater chain owners to grant any leeway in their traditional 90-day exclusive window after a film’s theatrical release. Those exhibitors have good reason to be worried: This year’s North American movie ticket sales fell 4%, to $10.5 billion, and one of the most reliable moviegoing demographics, kids and young adults ages 12 to 24, went to the movies 15% less often.

There is a massive audience for this film, and this premium VOD release is perfectly timed for that. After years of stagnation, we’re finally going to find out if premium VOD is worth fighting exhibitors for.

And with that, I hope you all have a happy holiday season!

‘The Interview’ will finally give internet video the big moment it’s been waiting for

Which Networks Made the Naughty and Nice Lists This Year?

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I’ve wrapped my Best (& Worst) in 2014 week, but I have one final look back for this year: my Adweek story about which networks made Santa’s naughty and nice lists in 2014. The easiest call by far? NBC, which topped the nice list:

It was a very good year for the Peacock Network, which won the 2013-14 season in 18-49 (a 2.7 average), its first demo victory in 10 years. The network picked up where it left off this fall, where it’s once again leading the pack in 18-49 (thanks largely to Sunday Night Football and The Voice). Not even Peter Pan Live’s disappointing ratings can stall NBC’s momentum, especially with Super Bowl XLIX waiting in the wings on Feb. 1.

How did the rest of the networks fare? Take a look!

And with that, TV & Not TV will be taking a holiday hiatus for a few days (barring breaking news). But we’ll be back at the end of the week with news of an exciting TV appearance this weekend that should mark TV & Not TV’s television debut.

Until then, happy holidays!

Which Networks Made the Naughty and Nice Lists This Year?

The 10 Most Ridiculous Things Network Presidents Said in 2014

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I had so much fun pulling together this story for Adweek, on the most outrageous statements that network presidents made in 2014. As I wrote,

The network presidents spent much of 2014 bragging about, and defending, their various programming and scheduling decisions, no matter how foolish some of them turned out.

But some of those proclamations were so outrageous that they earned a well-deserved spot on this list of the 10 most ridiculous statements network presidents made this year. (I wanted to call this their “10 Biggest Lies of 2014,” but they actually believed at least some of these things to be true at the time they said them.)

From “Mulaney is the next Seinfeld!” to “We love Bill Cosby, and his troubles will sort themselves out,” see how many of your favorites made the list. And if you think Kevin Reilly, who stepped down as Fox entertainment chairman in May, is going to figure prominently … you would be correct.

The 10 Most Ridiculous Things Network Presidents Said in 2014

My 10 Favorite Stories of 2014

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During TV & Not TV’s week-long look at the Best (and Worst) of 2014, I’ve discussed the best shows of the year, the top performances, the biggest disappointments and named the year’s TV VIPs. Today, we’re concluding the week with something a little different: my 10 favorite stories of 2014.

Let me explain: the reason I founded TV & Not TV in the first place was to finally compile all of my stories in one place, because it’s been easy for them to slip through the cracks, even for those who follow me on Twitter. So today, I’ve picked my 10 favorite stories I wrote this year — a mixture of profiles, reviews and analysis, for four different outlets. In case you missed any of them, here’s your chance to catch up!

Here we go, in chronological order:

Swimming with Sharks: The Moguls of ‘Shark Tank’ Tell All About Making Inventors’ Dreams Come True (Parade, March 15)

Shark Tank has been one of the quietest success stories on television, with ratings growing steadily each season, which is unprecedented, especially for a reality show. It’s also largely been overlooked by most outlets who write about TV, which is why I was so thrilled to write the definitive story on the show and its six Sharks — Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran — for Parade.

(While the link above will take you to the main story, you can find the whole thing, including sidebars on all the Sharks, here.)

How ‘Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD’ Finally Found Its Way (The Daily Beast, May 14)

No series arrived this season with more hype, and more disappointment, than Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. But then, thanks to a huge assistant from the twist in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, SHIELD finally became the thrilling show it was always supposed to be. In this Daily Beast review of Season 1, I looked at show’s rocky first season, and its improbable comeback.

Why Most TV Shows Peak by Their Third Season (Quartz, July 19)

You just never know where I great story idea is going to come from. During a Brooklyn Nine-Nine set visit last summer, I spoke with executive producer Mike Schur, whose fascinating thoughts on why most shows peak by their second or third season became my favorite TCA summer press tour story (especially after I paired Schur’s take with that of Modern Family creator Steve Levitan).

How Amazon Built a Studio That’s Finally Challenging Netflix (Quartz, Aug. 12)

I had so many questions about Amazon Studios and the company’s strategy — How does it measure success? Why don’t it disclose ratings info? How does the public pilot process really work? Why didn’t Amazon pick up Community or Enlisted? — and director Roy Price answered them all for me in this Quartz story on the eve of Amazon’s third pilot season.

‘You’re the Worst’: TV’s Best Couple is Awful and Perfect For Each Other (The Daily Beast, Aug. 21)

Some shows are so fantastic that I feel as if I have no choice but to sing their praises to as many people as possible. That’s the main reason that I pushed so hard this summer to review You’re the Worst‚ which ended up as one of my Top 10 Shows of 2014. If you’re still on the fence, read my review, and then start watching!

Joan Rivers Pulled Off Hollywood’s Greatest Comeback (Quartz, Sept. 5)

As Hollywood mourned the death of Joan Rivers, I appreciated the opportunity to recount how she pulled off Hollywood’s greatest comeback, by clawing her way back into the spotlight after Johnny Carson had turned his back on her. While most of her obituaries focused on her work as a trailblazer for female comics, her dogged journey after being blackballed by Carson was equally spectacular.

‘Schoolhouse Rock’: A Trojan Horse of Knowledge and Power (The Daily Beast, Sept. 6)

As I started thinking about which stories would make up my list, this was the first one I wrote down. To celebrate ABC’s upcoming Schoolhouse Rock special, I reflected on the show’s lasting legacy — it was an essential part of my Saturday mornings as a kid — for The Daily Beast, and managed to get my two kids hooked on the show in the process. I’d call that a win-win. Even after all these years, knowledge is still power!

‘NCIS’s’ Mark Harmon is the World’s Biggest TV Star (The Daily Beast, Sept. 23)

Sometimes, the best stories fall into your lap when you least expect them. While I was at People, I spent years unsuccessfully trying to land an interview with Mark Harmon, who rarely grants interviews. But this summer, I was given some face time with Harmon, and turned that into a somewhat unconventional Daily Beast profile of the world’s biggest, yet most humble, TV star.

Why a Great Second Season is Often Too Late to Save a Struggling Show (Adweek, Nov. 11)

Since I began contributing to Adweek this fall, I’ve been tacking some TV issues that have been bugging me for months and years, like why shows that improve by their second season — like Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and FX’s The Bridge — aren’t able to win back viewers who bailed on them in year one. FX Networks CEO John Landraf had great insight (as always) about why this happens, and also shed more light on his agonizing decision to cancel The Bridge.

Why Kim Kardashian is the World’s Best Marketer (Quartz, Nov. 13)

Given that I’d gone on a Kim Kardashian detox after leaving a certain job last year, If you told me I’d be writing a story A) praising Kim Kardashian B) for Quartz C) calling her “brilliant” and admiring her “acumen,” I would have said you’d lost your mind. But I surrendered after her Paper magazine cover went viral — and then again 24 hours later. The result: the only Kardashian story I’ve ever written or edited (and there have been a lot over the years) that I actually enjoyed!

And that — phew! — concludes my look back at 2014. Here’s hoping that TV in 2015 is even better!