NBC has asked NIELSEN to move sweeps to January next year to avoid complications associated with the transition to digital television. If accepted, the February 2009 sweeps would start on January 15th and conclude on February 14th – 3 days before all analog television signals are turned off. The impact of the digital transition is Continue Reading →
FCC
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CBS will announce a new experimental mobile advertising venture, which provides customized ads depending on a user’s location. The targeted ads will appear on the mobile versions of CBS News and CBS Sports using GPS technology from Loopt. Users with GPS-capable phones will be asked to opt-in to the service to ease concerns over privacy. Continue Reading →
SUPER BOWL XLII was the most-watched sporting event on record and the second most-watched TV program in history. Nielsen says an average of 97.5 million viewers watched the Giants-Pats contest. The most-watched program is still the M*A*S*H finale, which drew 106 million viewers in 1983. THE FCC is facing a lawsuit from six cable programmers Continue Reading →
THE FCC launches the highly-anticipated 700 MHz spectrum auction today. Bidding is anonymous and will last two months before winners are declared. Daily updates will be available on auctions.fcc.gov. NBC clarified its stance on pilot season, saying it will not cancel any pilot orders for the upcoming season but will scale back in the future. Continue Reading →
THE FCC will start the highly anticipated 700 MHz spectrum auction this Thursday, January 24th. On the block are some of the nation’s most valuable radio waves, which Chairman Kevin Martin calls “the building blocks for the next generation of broadband services.” This is expected to be the most lucrative auction ever conducted by the Continue Reading →
APPLE CEO Steve Jobs announced iTunes movie rentals with support from all the major studios. DVD-quality rentals will cost $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 new releases. HD rentals will cost $3.99 for library titles and $4.99 for new releases. Users have 30 days to start watching a rental and 24 hours to finish once Continue Reading →
APPLE will reportedly offer iTunes movie rentals from Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount, and Lions Gate. Rentals will cost $3.99 for 24 hours. An announcement is expected during the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld on January 15th. HARVEY WEINSTEIN told reporters that WEINSTEIN CO. has signed an interim deal with the WGA. Weinstein called it a Continue Reading →
FRONTLINE WIRELESS has reportedly shutdown operations following a failed attempt to bid in the upcoming wireless spectrum auction. The company missed Thursday’s deadline for submitting the $128 million auction deposit after being unable to acquire funding. A company spokesperson released a statement saying “Frontline is closed for business at this time. We have no further Continue Reading →
THE NTIA is now accepting requests for coupons toward the purchase of the digital-to-analog converter boxes that will be required to use analog TV sets after the transition to digital in February 2009. 22 million coupons will be distributed on a first-come first-serve basis. Over ten million coupons have been reserved for households that only Continue Reading →
NBC has decided to use reruns from USA Network and internationally-produced shows to help fill the void created by the writers strike. The network will air the “Monk” and “Psych” reruns on Sunday during prime-time. According to Ben Silverman, two shows are currently being produced for NBC outside the US using foreign writers not bound Continue Reading →