Jeff Immelt, Brian Roberts: Jeff Zucker Has Got To Go
Jeff Gaspin – What The Hell Was That?
The Jay Leno Show cancellation announcement by Jeff Gaspin – Chairman NBC Entertainment – was handled in just about the worst way possible. It should have so simple: Announce the news; admit it was mistake and talk about the exciting changes to come. That’s it.
Instead, Jeff Gaspin’s announcement at the TCA Winter Press Tour was a stunning display on how not to do something. He was defensive (even blaming other parts of the company) and basically said he didn’t really know what they were going to do next.
Let’s break down the key quotes:
Gaspin: “I would have liked nothing more than to give this (The Jay Leno Show) a 52-week try.” (You’re the freakin’ Chairman of NBC Entertainment – don’t you have the power to give it a try for as long you’d like no matter who is against it? Especially if you would have ‘liked nothing more’?
Gaspin: “This was not an issue for the network…” (No, of course not, NBC kicks ass! Fourth place ass. But it still kicks ass!)
Gaspin: “… it was an issue for our affiliates.” (That’s it, blame another part of your company. One great leadership trait is knowing whom should be blamed in a time of crisis.)
Gaspin: “We were making money at 10 p.m. I think, over time, (‘Leno’s’ ratings) might have started to grow. For the network, it was not yet a wrong decision.” (You really went out on a limb on that one. ‘It was not yet a wrong decision?’ What the fuck is that? Come on, Jeff, just say ‘Yes, it was the wrong decision. We failed but we’re going to fix it.’ The culture at NBC has got to change. When the Chairman of the company is afraid of accountability, what hope is there for the rest of the executive team?)
So, Jeff, was “Leno” a mistake?
Gaspin: “I don’t think it’s wrong to take chances. We might have been too early on this one.” (Ah, I see… you’re just ahead of your time. The world is not ready for the bold programming choices coming from NBC. The world is not ready for a powder puff monologue followed by lame celebrity interviews at 10pm. Fight on, lone ranger, one day the world will catch up to your vision.)
You want to know how to avoid a “PR Issue”, Jeff – nut-up and take the blame for a mistake. Obviously, your boss Jeff Zucker is too much of a wimp to acknowledge failure. As I said in October, it’s a stupid TV show that didn’t work – it’s not that big of a deal. It was a programming choice that didn’t work. Simple as that.
Now, get out there and make the best “Law & Order” spin-off that you can.
Godspeed, Jeff Gaspin.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
Should News Corp Buy Viacom
YES!
But only Viacom’s cable networks and digital assets. CBS (not wanting to leave the cocoon of Old Media) should buy Viacom’s Paramount Pictures.
Is there any chance in hell this could actually happen? Could Rupert Murdoch pull off an acquisition of that magnitude?
No fucking way. Not while old man Redstone continues to draw a breath.
So, yes, it’s most likely a non-starter. But even in a fantasy scenario, wouldn’t it be great to finally get rid of Viacom and Redstone? Both are simply a mess and completely unnecessary.
[Note: I realize Sumner Redstone is Chairman of the Board and majority stockholder of CBS, but Les Moonves is the much more appealing face of that company, not Sumner. Sumner is the face of Viacom… and the media world has had enough.]
Imagine News Corp (which has the weakest portfolio of cable assets save Fox News, FX and those regional sports thingies) with Viacom’s cable channels: MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land, VH1, etc. etc.
This would immediately fill all News Corp’s demographic needs and, in the digital channel universe, put them on par with Time Warner, Disney and, in late 2010, Comcast.
Viacom was never going to be on par with anyone as long as Sumner is around (even with those assets)… so it’s time to shut it down.
As for CBS and their acquisition of Paramount Pictures… they, obviously, just want to be an old media company and ride that peaceful, easy feeling all the way into the grave. Buying Paramount Pictures (and, hey, why not MGM while they’re at it!) would help realize that mid-1990s-vertical-alignment-synergy-world they are striving for. And based on Comcast’s purchase of NBCU (which valued Universal Studios at less than $3 billion), Paramount, with its much smaller film and television library, can be picked up at quite a fire sale bargain. (Wait two years and it will be even more of a bargain!)
Also, this would give CBS the opportunity to shut down the ridiculous CBS Films vanity project before it becomes a further embarrassment.
So, think about it people. A deal like this would really be a win-win-win for everyone… and help us to get rid of (at least a part of) Sumner Redstone once and for all.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
Xfinity – R.I.P.
Yesterday, I told Comcast to dump Fancast and embrace Hulu.
Today, we learn that Comcast has decided to change the name of Fancast to FancastXfinity or just Xfinity.
Horrible – horrible name.
No one will use it.
Xfinity is dead.
As I said yesterday to Comcast (and say again today), dump Fancast (Xfinity) and embrace Hulu. You might as well get some benefit from this disastrous acquisition of NBC Universal.
All other confusing video watching sites owned by Comcast (currently running or in development) must be destroyed.
While on the subject of Comcast NBC Universal, my boss, Khan Manka, Jr., had a truly bizarre conversation with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts last night. I’m still trying to make sense of it. Check it out here.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
The TV.com Awards?
I received an email this morning from a friend who said: “Jill, OMG, you have to click on this link and vote for my show!”
“Vote for what?”, I said.
“The Best Of 2009 TV.com Awards! My show was nominated!”
Are you fucking kidding me? The Best of 2009 TV.com Awards? What? What I mean say is… huh? The fuck?
I was wondering why everyone here at Manka Bros. is running around so excited. I thought it was because it is Friday – but no, IT’S BECAUSE THE BEST OF 2009 TV.COM NOMINATIONS ARE OUT! (And this is not to be confused with the 2009 TV.com Awards which were announced a month or so ago – I think.)
I am soooo nervous. Will “30 Rock” finally break out and beat “The Big Bang Theory” for their first ever Best of 2009 TV.com Award? Will “The Big Bang Theory” finally emerge from its “Two and a Half Men” shadow and beat “30 Rock” to win their first ever Best of 2009 TV.com Award?
Actually, everyone who wins will win their very first Best Of 2009 TV.com Award. Because this is the first year of the Best of 2009 TV.com Awards!
Seriously, this town has got to stop giving out meaningless awards. I know we thrive on it and need these awards desperately to boost our egos (even more) but enough is enough. As a multi-year winner of the BLOGGY for Best General Media Blog, I know how it feels to have your name called. But we really need to stop it.
Woody Allen said it best in “Annie Hall“: “What’s with all these awards? They’re always giving out awards. Best Fascist Dictator: Adolf Hitler.”
And I have certain questions for the people at TV.com (owned by CBS). Have they only nominated shows from companies that have agreed to license their content to TV.com? Are any shows nominated that can only be found on competitor site Hulu.com, for instance? It makes you question the legitimacy of The Best of 2009 TV.com Awards.
However, the lawyers and executives at CBS don’t have to worry. I’m not going to poke around too much, because I really don’t care. I just wanted you all to know that, if I had to, I could blow the lid off this scandal and bring down The Best of 2009 TV.com Awards!
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
It’s Time To Kill Melrose Place
Attention to Dawn Ostroff and all those concerned at The CW – it’s time.
It was a valiant attempt to bring back the 1990s glory days of small network success, but it’s time – time to kill Melrose Place. The CW IS The WB and should be all about The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl. That’s your sweet spot. Melrose Place is too old. Embrace the mental teenagers that you are! Stop trying to move out of mommy and daddy’s house. Let CBS get old and die. The CW is forever young. Their characters don’t pay bills and rent apartments. But I digress…
Last night’s episode, Episode 6 “Shoreline” received a 1.0/2 rating. That’s not A18-49 – THAT’S TOTAL HHs. It’s over. Air repeats of Roswell or Felicity. Show Color Bars. Show anything. But stop showing Melrose Place. It’s not easy to get that small of an audience. A show really has to work hard at NOT connecting with viewers to get that low of a rating.
You pulled the trigger at the right time on The Beautiful Life:TBL, it’s time for the characters of Melrose Place to strap on the mini-dresses, stick their feet in cement and jump into the pool.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
The Beautiful Life: TBL – CANCELLED!
After only two pathetically rated episodes, The Beautiful Life: TBL has the distinction of being the first show cancelled of the 2009/2010 television season.
Sorry Mischa. You heard it here first… last week.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
It’s Time To Kill The Emmys
Frankly, no one gives a shit anymore. Last night’s show was painful.
A tour of the set? Seriously? Matthew Weiner, creator of Mad Men, is unable to give an acceptance speech for winning Best Drama because there was a five minute TOUR OF THE SET at the beginning of the show? “Where we will all be spending the next three plus hours!”
The opening number from the Academy Awards winning for Best Musical Number? Best Musical Number?
That painfully long Family Guy bit with the baby killing the dog (full disclosure – I’m a Simpson’s girl and think Family Guy sucks so I probably wouldn’t have liked even if it were short and funny).
There there was bit-after-painful-bit about the demise of television. Television, the way it was in 1979 is dead – TELEVISION ISN’T DEAD! What else are we supposed to do to pass the time on this miserable planet? We like the internet, we like television, we like movies, we like going out to dinner, we like talking on the phone, we like working out, we like going to the park with our kids, we like going to Disneyland… just because we spend a few hours less watching TV doesn’t make it the end of the world!
I know there is a lot of insecurity in this town and a very strong need to give each other awards. But would the programming change if there wasn’t Emmy Awards? Are the actors from NCIS: Los Angeles relevant in any way? Was an appearance by the Gossip Girls a way to reach out to 15 year olds? As an experiment, Television Academy, why don’t you put next year’s awards on the Disney Channel and see how many young girls you get to watch… But that would never happen because the Emmys are much too prestigious for that.
I know the old white executives want it to be 1979 again when the television audience apparently actually cared if M*A*S*H would win or lose – but those days are gone.
It’s over. Kill it already. Every year it sucks and every year we watch. Over half that crowd (i.e., the late night comedy show writers), wanted to be watching the Giants/Cowboys game on NBC. Myself included.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
The Beautiful Life: TBL – R.I.P.
With a 1.1/2 rating for its PREMIERE, this show is done.
Sorry Dawn. One out of three ain’t terrible. If it weren’t for The Vampire Diaries… well, you know the rest.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
Dawn Ostroff Compares Picking TV Shows To “Sophie’s Choice”
[From The Hollywood Reporter: “It was really a ‘Sophie’s Choice,’ Ostroff said of trying to choose projects for next season with only 10 hours to fill.]
Ms. Ostroff made this horrific comparison yesterday in Pasadena at the Television Critics Association Press Tour.
Seriously, Dawn? There was no other phrase you could use.
“Sophie’s Choice” was a decision Holocaust survivor Sophie Zawistowski had to make on which of her children would live and which would die in a Nazi concentration camp.
Sure, it was a work of fiction by William Styron – but he has even said that it was based on a real story (fyi, Meryl Streep won the Academy Award for her portrayal in the movie).
The decision on which child a parent would choose to live and which to die is the same as which TV show on The CW makes the schedule and which doesn’t?
The Gossip Girl spin-off or The Vampire Diaries?
Supernatural or One Tree Hill?
I know it was said on the fly and was meant to convey that it was a difficult choice – but come on.
Imagine what the Right Wing Pundits would say if President Obama, during the recent Beer Summit, said “It’s really a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ in deciding which beer to drink.”
I started OnMedea with the intention of having a positive tone in regards to the world of media (with the exception of anything concerning Ben Silverman) – but that’s been really difficult based on what I’m discovering out there.
I certainly hope Ms. Ostroff made the right decision and the new “Melrose Place” lives up to her expectations.
For the record, Sophie chose the boy.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
(I understand the slight irony that I write these things under the blog title OnMedea – a fictional woman who slaughtered her kids after finding out her man had an affair.)