Free Republic

Big advertisers from General Motors Co. to PepsiCo Inc. to General Mills Inc. are seeking to walk back spending commitments they made to broadcast and cable networks, a dynamic that is testing the industry’s five-decade-old way of doing business. TV ad spending fell in the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, but was insulated from an even bigger drop. That is because the majority of the roughly $42 billion spent on national TV ads in the U.S. is bound by contractual commitments that are made well in advance of a new TV season, which starts each September. Under those “upfront”...

The NFL’s TV ratings are being monitored on Wall Street, with some financial analysts saying that another big ratings drop could affect the standing of some broadcast companies. “We continue to believe the NFL is the single biggest swing factor for media earnings and valuation,” read a research note released this morning from MoffettNathanson. “Any sign of continued NFL ratings weakness could pose a long-term risk for broadcasters who may be forced to bid up for rights.” The most interesting part of the report looks into the next round of rights negotiations, with the report suggesting that ESPN should drop...

The amount of homes that don't own a TV has at least doubled since 2009. According to the USEI survey, 2.6% of American homes didn't have a TV in 2015. That's a huge increase from the 1.3% of American homes that didn't have a television in 2009. In fact, from 1997 to 2009, the percentage remained stable at 1.3%, except for 2001, when the percentage was 1.2%. The huge surge in homes without TVs proves that companies making TV content can't ignore that viewers are turning to other screens, such as computers and mobile devices, ... The survey also shows...

Aereo, a service that lets you stream live broadcast networks like NBC, CBS, and ABC, is the focus of a big Supreme Court case today that could determine the future of TV.The networks are suing Aereo, claiming it violates copyright laws. If the networks win the case, Aereo will likely have to shut down.What is Aereo and how does it work? The company assigns each subscriber an antenna that can access programming broadcast for free over the air.The antennas look like this. They're stored in Aereo's server centers in the local markets Aereo serves: APAereo then streams that content to your...

Under pressure from the Hill, the Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing the adoption of the so-called "Katie Couric" clause. The SEC wants publicly traded companies to give shareholders more information about multimillion-dollar salaries of their executives and employees. The name comes from the "Today Show” co-host, who is leaving NBC at the end of May to join CBS as anchor and managing editor of the to be retitled "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric. " It’s been widely reported that Couric is to receive $15 million over five years. The SEC proposal – primarily aimed at requiring the disclosure...

The TV networks are getting edgier in their '06 pilot plans. The nets have filled their development slates with a bevy of brave ideas and bold format experiments, VARIETY reports on Monday, including shows about THE END OF AMERICA! ABC alone has at least two would-be shows set in post-apocalyptic America ("Resistance" and "Red & Blue") while Gavin Polone and Bruce Wagner are teaming for the comfy-sounding plague drama "Four Horsemen" at CBS (which also is developing "Jericho," about life in a small town after America is destroyed). Says Fox exec VP Craig Erwich: "The creative community appears to be...

Mainstream Media Meltdown II On the occasion of today's gruesome statistics on the continuing fall of newspapers, here's an updated look at mainstream entertainment and media in decline (April's version is here). Down: Box Office: down by 7% this year (tickets per capita have fallen every year since 2001). Newspapers: circulation, which peaked in 1987, is declining faster than ever and is down another 2.6% so far this year. Music: Sales are down another 5.7% this year; although digital downloads (still just 6% of the business) are climbing nicely. Radio: down 4% this year alone, continuing a multi-decade decline. Books:...

Do you remember how fast the TV networks called Florida for Al Gore in 2000? BEFORE 8 PM Eastern Time? BEFORE the polls closed in the Florida panhandle located in the central time zone? Gore lost the state by 500 votes. Now fast forward to 2004. Its 3 and one-half hours after the polls close in the panhandle and four and one-half hours after the polls close in the rest of the state and the networks are still saying Florida is "too close to call." Funny, Bush wound up winning Florida by FIVE FULL PERCENTAGE POINTS over Kerry with a...

CNN) -- Although the Bush and Kerry camps have meticulously crafted an agreement on the rules for this year's presidential debates, the television networks broadcasting them refuse to go along with the plans. Specifically, the networks object to provisions in the agreement that place limits on their cameras, including prohibitions on shots of one candidate while the other is answering questions.

Quick, can you name a new hit show this fall? No? You're not alone. There aren't any. In a fall season that usually showcases network TV at its boastful finest, the words "disconcerting," "depressing" and "malaise" are on the lips of network executives as new series falter and returning hits fade. Fox's critically praised Skin, NBC's massively hyped sex comedy Coupling and WB's heroic Tarzan — each considered a network best bet as the season began — are among the first casualties. Young-adult viewers, the darlings of Madison Avenue, are more scarce than ever, defecting in larger numbers as older...

Anti-Israel bias 'destroying credibility'. Fundamental precepts of honest reporting have been abandoned, Israel Asper saysPervasive anti-Israel bias in the media is a "cancer" that is destroying much of the media's credibility and eroding support for the Jewish state, CanWest Global founder Israel Asper says. In a hard-hitting denunciation of media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Asper charged that "much of the world media ... have abandoned the fundamental precepts of honest reporting." None of the major media call "the so-called Al Aqsa uprising or intifada" what it really is, Asper said, describing it as "the current version of the Arab...