Category: media

Or They Could Just Make Better Sh… Nah, Too Obvious

Getting viewers to watch an evening of programs on traditional over-the-air television networks can be a trying proposition these days, with low-budget niche cable networks chiseling away at the national audience. So the Big Three networks have been trying out a new tactic in the ratings wars: clock manipulation. Rather than ending one program at 7:59 and starting the next one at 8pm, for instance, the network might run the first program a few minutes long, and then immediately start a new show at 8:03, by which time you, the viewer, have already missed the opening of shows on other channels, and are more likely to stick with the network you’re already watching.

Land Before Time – The Prequel

Sequels have a bad rep in Hollywood, where they’re often little more than cheap rip-offs of a hit franchise. And then there are prequels – sequels that purport to tell the story before the original movie. “I think Hollywood is always looking for a new device to avoid original thought, and for a long time that was the sequel. But then I think the sequel got kind of strip-mined and depleted, so now we’re into the prequel. So it’s just another way of avoiding ever thinking of anything new, which is the ultimate goal of the Hollywood hit machine.”

Hollywood’s Blockbuster Year (But Smaller Audiences)

Hollywood is making more money than ever, but fewer people are going to the movies. “With nearly two weeks to go before the end of 2004, domestic box-office receipts appeared likely to top last year’s total of $9.27 billion, nearing $9.4 billion. But an increase can be attributed to a rise in ticket prices, up 3.85 percent to an average of $6.25, while attendance fell by 2.25 percent this year after dropping 3.8 percent in 2003.”

Did BBC Cut Too Far?

The BBC’s new chairman made major cuts in the corporation, but did he go too far? “My fear is that the government will say, fine, we’re pleased to see you’re prepared to beat yourself so willingly, we’ll finish off the job. And if he has got it wrong, thousands of staff will have lost their jobs for nothing.”

Oscars Won’t Revive Original Musical Category

The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has decided not to activate its dormant original musical category because only five films would have qualified for consideration. “Although academy rules state that the original musical category can be activated provided there are at least five movies eligible, the board chose not to go that route.”

Religious Lobbyists Say American TV Is Anti-Religion

The Parents Television Council (aka the FCC spammers) issues a new report saying (surprise, surprise) that American TV networks are anti-religious. “At a time when nervous media outlets are taking the national temperature and deciding a particular conservative strain of religion is in, there’s the possibility the Parents Television Council study may be taken seriously. That would be an unthinking response.”

Who Cares About Critics?

Barry Koltnow doesn’t have a high opinion of movie critics (he is one himself). And he wonders why people put so much stock in what they write. “Why do you believe anything a movie critic tells you? Just because they see movies all the time doesn’t make them an expert on what you want to see.”

The Downloading Accomodations

It’s clear that downloading music and movies (and whatever else) isn’t going to go away. And it’s clear that making enemies of downloaders probably isn’t a good strategy for producers looking to sell their work. So slowly but surely accomodations are being worked out to create new business models for the online world.