***So disappointed with The Rosie Show getting the ax at Oprah Winfrey Network five months into its run. When you introduce a live talk/variety hour at 7 p.m., the same hour as Wheel Of Fortune, Jeopardy! and entertainment news series, chances were it would take a long while for people to drop their long-standing viewing habits and come over. Rosie gave it a fair try, and couldn’t work things out. At the same time, perhaps what audience the program did have and lost week-by-week communicated that in their eyes, fair or not, Rosie O’Donnell couldn’t go back home to being TV’s “Queen Of Nice” again.
***So excited about Comcast finally on square one with its independent/diversity network project, announcing the first quartet of networks selected, and BabyFirst Americas, the first of that quartet, launching April 1. Great move on Comcast’s part to bring all of the nets together in public so soon for a Washington D.C. ceremony, attended by more than 950 people. Love to see a repeat here in New York for the press and advertiser crowds before Aspire, Magic Johnson’s venture, is up next, turning the switch this summer.
***So frustrated another worthwhile event doesn’t pay attention to the calendar and risks losing valuable audience in return. TechCrunch’s two-year-old Disrupt conference, always good to find startups with interactive TV applications, and another place to make the case for greater participation by venture capitalists, angel investors and incubator/accelerator involvement in TV investments, is up against The Cable Show in Boston that week. This follows Internet Week NY’s horrendous upgrade from early June to mid-May, smack into a super-crowded TV upfront period. Still don’t get why IW, having a great time period to stage its expanding carnival of attractions, couldn’t stay put. As for TechCrunch, all of those startups with TV prospects could have used that mid-May time to exhibit at The Cable Show, or participate in that event’s Imagine Park showcase. Great opportunity gone to pot.
***So blown away by Discovery Channel’s Frozen Planet, which started its limited run last Sunday night. The production team behind such Discovery miniseries as Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Life have done it spectacularly again. If one minute you watch doesn’t put the breath on hold, the next minute will. Jet let your eyes and soul follow the journey, while the producers make room on their mantlepieces for well-deserved Emmy and Peabody awards.
Until the next time, stay well and stay tuned!