Trade Round-Up: August 22, 2007
Variety‘s TV insider Brian Lowry breaks down Star Jones‘ return to television, reviewing her new Court TV talk show. Lowry gives Jones a lashing, writing that her new star vehicle is “utterly off-putting” and reminds viewers why Oprah Winfrey‘s skills aren’t easily cloned, saying she delivers “incomprehensible” questions and is poorly cast. However, the Var reviewer does offer a bit of optimism by concluding that Jones and her team “may gradually revise the formula to better suit her limitations.” Find out what those are by reading his entire review here.
Another Var television expert, recent THR defectee Cynthia Littleton, does her own dissection of something on the small-screen, centering her latest blog posting on what else, Disney’s ubiquitous “High School Musical 2.” Littleton’s report centers on the aftermath of the telefilm’s debut: exactly who helped the sequel break so many records and why they watched. What’s interesting in her “On the Air” blog is that one-third of the viewership was adults 18 and over and that so many boys flipped on the tube to see a whole lot of singing and dancing. Read why Dis execs had so many reasons to brag about their “High School” baby here.
Look out iTunes, MTV Networks, RealNetworks and Verizon Wireless have pacted to push their own version of an integrated digital music service that is designed to give iTunes a run for its money. THR reports on the new service, which replaces the offering each company currently has in place.
If you’re reading this, then you are the type of person talked about in a new survey by IBM that says consumers are spending enough time on the Internet to rival the time they spend in front of the television. THR’s business guru Georg Szalai ingests the study’s findings in today’s story, which also points out that the findings suggest “studios, advertisers, ad agencies, content distributors and other industry players must continue to adjust their business strategies amid changes in media usage and consumers’ increased expectations for control and community.” We can only hope that leads to more money in ad revenue for FBLA!
– CHRIS GARDNER
