Posted on 02/22/2007 5:11:30 AM PST by IrishMike
Satire scores for Fox News net 'News Hour' pilot bows with 1.5 mil viewers
It got mixed reviews, but Fox News Channel's take on news satire scored with the only voters that matter. Heavily promoted on FNC and on conservative talkradio, the first pilot episode of "The ½ Hour News Hour" premiered with nearly 1.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's a big number for an unknown show in a Sunday timeslot.
First episode opened with some conservative star power, with Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter hamming it up as fictional -- or perhaps fantasy -- president and vice president in the Oval Office.
The show gained about 300,000 from its lead-in, "Hannity's America," and increased FNC's fourth-quarter average for Sunday at 10 p.m. by 69%. In the adults 25-54 demo, the show took 499,000 viewers, up 94% from its timeslot average.
FNC topper Roger Ailes is weighing whether to commit long-term to the series, created and produced by "24" creator Joel Surnow and co-exec producer Manny Coto.
Pilot for the conservative take on news satire took aim at Hillary Clinton, the ACLU, politically correct children's lit and Hollywood political activists. The Washington Post's Tom Shales summed up in his review: "In a nutshell: It isn't terrible."
But in terms of ratings, its opening number puts it in a league with Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," which averages 1.6 million, and "The Colbert Report," which averages 1.2 million.
In a sign of the high number of viewers who tuned in specifically for the premiere, the aud dropoff for the following show, "The Line-Up," was nearly 50%.
A repeat of the first episode is skedded for Sunday. The second episode airs March 4.
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
IS this a weekly or nightly program?
I heard Rush speaking about it last week.
There are three pilots (Rush & Ann were in the first), the first was televised last Sunday after the new Hannity show.
If successful it will be produced ...
Republican Satire, we have a sense of humor ?
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Rush's site has a link to the segment.
FoxTabloidTrashNews is turning into a comedy channel anyway, what with all their Anna coverage, etc.
Maybe it is a good thing that they are seeking alternative programming. They have become very shallow regarding real news.
I'd have watched, if I'd remembered! It's on against Crossing Jordan, which usually has some pretty slick plot lines if you can ignore the PC crap.
A big thanks to the shows creators for stepping up and giving this a try.
Hope they keep on plugging!
The pilot was a bit weak (as most of them are) but the concept is a good one. Fox should give this show a chance.
It's weekly. Sunday at 10 pm in the east, on the FOX News Channel. It looks like this week's will be a repeat of the first one.
Rush admitted as much on his show, pilots are usually low budget etc etc...
if taken up as regular fixture, budgets would increase, quality and show writers would improve.
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Remember the first episode of Dallas and how many watched ?
How many watched the last ?
Of course it got "mixed reviews." As long as the libs run the media you've gotta expect that.
thx!
Ever seen the original Star Trek pilot? Yikes!
I miss the old "Animal Rights Update" with "Born Free."
The worst is Law & Order. The "Munch" character (Richard Belzer) sounds more like an ACLU attorney than a hardened street cop.
Richard Belzer is a way out on left field leftest liberal.
I thought the program was both clever and entertaining. The two hosts (names fail me)were really good at projecting their material--they were convincing actors in their respective roles.
Much less professional was Rush and Anne. They seemed wooden and not really into their roles, but rather just playing themselves.
I plan to watch.
Just MO
Belzer is liberal to the left of Soros but in his comedy days he was a prince to comedians helping them find work and writers " for a chance". In that vein is is decent.
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