Thursday, September 23, 2010

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Fox's second-year comedy Glee lived up to the pre-premiere hype last night, posting its second-best rating ever and becoming the overall top-rated show two nights into the new TV season. Glee averaged a 5.5 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, up 57 percent over last year's series premiere and its second-highest-rated episode in the demo. It scored a series-high 6.4 among 18-34s. That led Fox to an easy victory on the night despite merely so-so debuts for new comedies Raising Hope and Running Wilde, which led out of Glee." (Medialifemagazine)

"Blockbuster made it official today, filing its long expected Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with a line of creditors that includes its product suppliers like Fox, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros and Disney. It seems unfathomable that given Blockbuster's supremacy at one time--think of all the mom and pop video stores that went out of business when Blockbuster set up shop nearby--the corporation could not have been more forward thinking. It could have owned the VOD and rental by mail space dominated by Netflix, and it got its head handed to it by Coinstar's Redbox, which offered the same DVDs in supermarket kiosks for 25% of the rental prices charged by Blockbuster. Its forays into those areas came too late because they were locked into the brick and mortar game plan. While Carl Icahn is reportedly buying up Blockbuster debt and somebody might take a shot at resurrecting Blockbuster and its $1 billion in assets, it might well be too late to establish itself in VOD and as a buyer of pay TV rights for films, as Netflix is now doing at a fraction of the costs incurred by Blockbuster to maintain its 3000 stores. It's a cautionary tale about standing pat when the sand is shifting under your feet .." (Deadline)



"Forbes released its annual list of the 400 richest Americans last night, and the two New Yorkers in the top ten have swapped positions. David Koch, the billionaire right-wing Tea Party benefactor, has seen his fortune increase to a hefty $21.5 billion, placing him fifth on the list. (Michael) Bloomberg's riches increased as well — from $17.5 billion to $18 billion — but only enough to secure him the list's tenth slot. In keeping with last year, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet held the number one and two spots, respectively.Other New Yorkers who earned spots on the Forbes list include Si Newhouse and Rupert Murdoch — who are tied at 28 — Ralph Lauren at 60, and Donald Trump staying modest at number 153. Perhaps with the extra cash David Koch can give more money to NOVA, the PBS science show that he helps bankroll. Hey, the kids have to be convinced of the non-existence of global warming somehow." (Observer)



"I had a luncheon appointment at Michael’s at one. Third day of UN Week. Riding across East 57th Street heading toward Fifth Avenue, there were 10 traffic cops working the corner of First Avenue and 57th. At Second Avenue and 57th, the orange cones were up, dividing the six lanes: two in the middle for presumably hundreds of VIPs/diplomats and their thousands of security escorts only. Then there are two bus-only lanes, one in each direction, and two lanes for the rest of us hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers traveling in private cars, trucks and/or taxis on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the nation at midday. New Yorkers are used to the exercising of the “droit de seigneur” of our politicians, riding around in caravans pushing all other traffic aside with their sirens and blue and red whirling lights, as if they’re on their way to more important matters than our day-to-day lives. Even though they’re often just on their way to lunch or dinner." (NYSocialDiary)

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