Category: media

A Canadian Senate committe report recommends removing all commercials for national broadcaster CBC and increasing the network’s funding. “It will recommend boosting CBC’s annual $1-billion budget to make it possible to get rid of ads, the wire service said. The report also examined private-sector newspaper, radio and television concentration.”

Eleven million Americans are now listening to satellite radio. “All these programming and equipment innovations are taking place while broadcast radio does almost nothing to protect its lucrative – but threatened – franchise. The drive-time commercial cram on broadcast radio remains one of the biggest frustrations of the Denver commute: When you punch all six presets and hit a commercial on every one, satellite sounds better all the time.”

Viewers downloaded 11 million shows from ABC.com in a test of free TV downloads for a month. “The ABC.com pilot program in one month outperformed the results Disney had seen in its nine-month partnership with Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes to offer episodes of its hit television shows for download, without commercials, for $1.99 each.”

Apple is negotiating with movie studios to sell movies over iTunes. But there’s a hitch over what the price should be. “As with the recording studios, who have been pressuring Apple to offer different pricing for different songs, the studios want to charge more for their most popular products. But Apple chief executive Steve Jobs wants a flat price of $9.99 per movie.”

A movie association group says pirates in Chine cost the movie industry $2.3 billion in revenue last year. “China’s film industry lost about $1.5 billion in revenue to piracy last year, while the major U.S. studios lost $565 million, according to data released on Monday by the Motion Picture Association.”

An amateur 20-year-old who posted homemade videos to YouTube was signed to a network production deal last week. “Major TV studios have also started trolling YouTube and similar destinations for the next generation of acting and directing talent. In the process, the Web is offering the kind of instant connection to Hollywood that countless denizens of public-access talk shows have craved and seldom received.”

They’re dropping off the pages of American newspapers. “All around the country, experienced critics are being kicked out in favor of glorified interns…who seem excited merely to have been invited to an early screening of `M:I:3′ and who can be counted on to file frothingly appreciative, advertiser-friendly copy.”

“Under the agreement with the Public Broadcasting Service and the Association of Public Television Stations, Verizon will carry up to three digital public television stations in a market, as well their multicast stations.”

How seriously are U.S. broadcasters taking the government’s threat of a major crackdown on foul language and obscenity? Very seriously. Even high-minded PBS, which is feeling particularly vulnerable after several years of right-wing attacks from within, is overhauling its internal regulations on language and content. “The FCC has said it takes context into account when it reviews indecency complaints… But some broadcasters say recent FCC rulings have been arbitrary and confounding.”

None of the 11 new comedies on the four major American broadcast networks has an Africa-American lead actor next fall. “The lack of African American leads in sitcoms is unconscionable. This is historically where many African actors, directors, writers and show runners have honed their artistic skills and found meaningful employment.”