MBS Cancels TV Upfronts On International Space Station
GUEST BLOGGER: JAY MCBEE - PRESIDENT - MANKA BROS. TELEVISION GROUPGood morning. I'm Jay McBee, President of the Manka Bros. Television Group. It is a very disappointing morning for us here in the Television Group. I received a call late last night from Khan Manka, Jr. (Chairman & CEO of Manka Bros.) and he told me that, due to the economy, we would have to cancel our May presentation of the MBS 2009/2010 Fall Television Schedule from the International Space Station. We were really looking forward to this presentation (I was already six weeks into the microgravity exposure program at NASA).
It would have been the first corporate television presentation given while orbiting the Earth and, by far, the most impressive of any of the other networks this year (including Les Moonves' CBS event at Carnegie Hall). Oh, well.I understand Mr. Manka's reservations about the cost, especially in this economy. It was $20 million just to get me up to the International Space Station and, possibly, another $20 million for a tech guy to go with me if I wasn't able to work the PowerPoint. We were planning to project our slides against the galaxy [as seen in the graphic recreation to the left] - which would mean billions of people with telescopes would be able to see our presentation, and (the thinking went) become aware of all the great new shows we have coming up this fall.
So... I suppose we must adjust our expectations and our operating budgets to reflect the times we live in. To that end, our 2009/2010 Fall Upfront Presentation will now be held at the Burbank Airport Marriott on May 18, 2009.
It's still a great line-up of new and returning shows this fall on MBS - they just won't be presented as spectacularly.
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7 Comments
About Khan Manka, Jr.
Khan Manka, Jr. assumed the title of Chairman of the Board of Manka Bros. Studios - The World's Largest Media Company - following his father Harry Manka's death in 1976. Before that he was the member of several Southern California rock bands.
That's a shame. I was really looking forward to that. Especially to see Jay McBee in space.
John Perry - MBS Comedy Development
It was a mistake to even send you to that NASA training center. I knew we wouldn't follow through on that stupid, expensive stunt.
David Chang - CFO - Manka Bros. Studios
I think it would have been a bargain even at $40 million. It would have cost more to advertise on TV to get that kind of exposure.
Dont let them take away yo dream, Jay. If you want to get on a rocketship and give your GD presentation, then just do it. Make them take you! too may pussies in that business.
It would have been an impressive presentation but you've still got to push those crappy shows. It's that whole lipstick on a pig thing.
Wouldn't you have had to blast off from Russia in order to get to the space station. I don't think the U.S. is in the space tourism business.
Hi Rooskyred,
We were going to blast off from Kakzakstan on May 16th. Oh, well.