Free Republic

The news that both HBO and CBS are launching standalone paid streaming services is a sign that traditional media companies are finally stepping into the space dominated by Netflix. And others seem sure to follow.

Viewers tuned in en masse last week to see the marriage behind "Jon & Kate Plus 8" break down on camera. Here's what they didn't bother to watch last week: the equally stunning collapse of the once-mighty broadcast networks. While cablers glow in the summer heat of TLC's "Jon & Kate," as well as USA's "Royal Pains," HBO's "True Blood," ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and plenty more, over at the broadcast networks ... well, viewers have been treated to a dumping ground of repeats, first-run episodes of canceled shows and "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me...

Why haven't the broadcast networks been going wall-to-wall today with Katrina coverage? It's a perplexing question that baffles the Radio Equalizer. Sure, there were plenty of early morning updates, but at 9am it was abruptly cut off for a return to normal programming. Say what you want about Pat Robertson, but his 700 Club had superb Katrina coverage, while Regis and Kelly were doing trivia segments.... ...In the category of "timing is everything" comes word that among the lawsuits filed by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) against another batch of file-swappers are some against individuals living in NEW...

Accepted wisdom says today's political conventions have become little more than gargantuan, glitzy commercials for each party, good mostly for showcasing each group's rhetoric and alerting inattentive potential voters to the home stretch of the presidential campaign. And for proof, viewers need look no further than TV coverage of both the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Even big-name broadcasters seemed to give up during the Republican gathering last week, with soon-to-retire NBC anchor Tom Brokaw lamenting the stage-managed nature of the proceedings. With just three hours in prime time devoted to the event, Brokaw and his network news colleagues were...

President Bush spoke Thursday night and millions listened - especially on the Fox News Channel. For the third straight night, the cable news network drew more viewers for its 10 p.m. coverage of the Republican National Convention than any other network, broadcast or cable. "I think the last eight years of working hard and putting out a good product paid off," said Bill Shine, the channel's vice president of production. "It also shows the tide is turning and Americans are turning to the 24-hour news channels for news." Fox News Channel averaged 7.3 million viewers to lead the pack in...

September 4, 2004 -- NETWORK news divisions are nursing bruises in the wake of the Republican National Convention, in which viewers found cable news more popular. It was a seismic shift in the history of convention coverage, and it sent a clear message to network news officials that in 2008, things will have to be different. "There's no question that we stood back and said to each other, 'Whoa, what happened there,' " a network news source said yesterday. "I'm not sure what lesson we've learned from this convention," says ABC News senior vice president Paul Slavin. "But there are...

On his last night in the anchor chair at a political convention, Tom Brokaw of NBC was feeling resigned. The conventions, he said in an interview on Thursday, were mere "infomercials," with little to interest anyone beyond political partisans. "These events are managed down to the last semicolon," said Mr. Brokaw, who is retiring after the election. "That's why I find it hard to climb those stairs and get into the anchor chair anymore." Like Mr. Brokaw, a number of television executives yesterday blamed the Republicans and Democrats for the networks' dwindling convention viewership. But as the Fox News cable...

As for coverage of The Republican Convention at 10 p.m., take a look: -Overnights: NBC: 4.3/ 6, ABC and CBS: 3.4/ 5 each -Viewers: CBS: 5.80 million, NBC: 5.50, ABC: 4.12 -Adults 18-49: NBC: 2.4/ 6, CBS: 2.2/ 6, ABC: 1.4/ 4 Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Washington — As a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, I may not agree with many positions taken by speakers this week at the Republican National Convention. Even so, I believe our broadcast media owe us more coverage of an event that remains an important component of the presidential campaign. Yet tonight, if people around the country tune in to the commercial broadcast TV networks, most will not see any live convention coverage. That's not right.

Show Me the Convention By MICHAEL J. COPPS ashington — As a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, I may not agree with many positions taken by speakers this week at the Republican National Convention. Even so, I believe our broadcast media owe us more coverage of an event that remains an important component of the presidential campaign. Yet tonight, if people around the country tune in to the commercial broadcast TV networks, most will not see any live convention coverage. That's not right. Let's remember that American citizens own the public airwaves, not TV executives. We give broadcasters...

The broadcast networks won't air Rudy Giuliani's speech before the Republican National Convention Monday night, but WCBS/Ch. 2 will. Ch. 2 officials have gotten permission from CBS higherups to alter the network's regular entertainment programming Monday night to carry the former mayor's speech. And so far, Ch. 2 is the only local broadcast station to do so. "It's a local story and it's especially important for people in the tristate area to hear this," said Dianne Doctor, Ch. 2's vice president of news. "What he has to say is important and it transcends the fact that it's purely political." CBS...