CBS Hints at Better-Than-Expected 4Q

NEW YORK (TheStreet) – Even as Oprah Winfrey reportedly mulls leaving the network for her own cable channel, CBS(CBS Quote) boss Leslie Moonves hinted late Thursday that the company’s fourth-quarter results will come in better than expected, receiving a big boost from strengthening spot rates for television ads.

In response to questions during a conference call to discuss third-quarter results with analysts, Moonves explained that CBS decided to not sell ad inventory earlier in the year, when prices were weak. The company has been rewarded, evidently, as rates for spot TV ads have climbed 25% compared with earlier in the year, during the so-called "upfronts," when the networks hawk their fall shows to advertisers.

read the entire article from The Street.Com

British Companies Adopt Digital Theatre

Five leading British theatrical companies have signed on to a new online service called Digital Theatre that will make stage productions available for high-definition download.

Stage director Robert Delamere and producer Tom Shaw, partners in Altered States Media, founded the company, which launched Oct. 26 with the English Touring Theatre production of "Far From the Madding Crowd" in a new adaptation by Mark Healy. Downloads cost £8.99 ($14.69).

The Young Vic will follow with a production of Clare Bayley’s "The Container" in association with Amnesty International. The Almeida Theatre, the Royal Court, and the Royal Shakespeare Company will also participate, and the venture has the support of U.K. unions Equity and BECTU.

Delamere and Shaw said they aim to make digitaltheatre.com, which they said works on all major browsers and operating systems, "the focal point for theatre-based entertainment online."

from Backstage

Winds Darken Ferguson Set

Host forced to finish taping by flashlight

"Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson had to finish taping his program by flashlight on Tuesday after high winds knocked out power at CBS Television City in central Los Angeles.

Show publicist Katie Barker says lights started dimming and then suddenly went black about 5:45 p.m. as Ferguson was interviewing actress Alicia Silverstone, leaving both in the dark as to what was going on.

Producers decided to keep the blackout as part of the show and handed Ferguson a flashlight.

With wind gusts reaching up to 70 mph (112 kph), scattered power outages have been reported around the greater Los Angeles region.

from Variety

Composers Consider Unionization

SCL mulling affiliation with Teamsters Local 399

For the first time in more than a decade, composers and lyricists working in film, TV and videogames are considering unionization.

The Society of Composers & Lyricists was scheduled to announce at its annual membership meeting Tuesday night that an "informational meeting" about the possibility of affiliating with Teamsters Local 399 will be held Nov. 16 at the Pickwick Gardens Conference Center in Burbank, Calif.

The SCL, a nonprofit group whose estimated 1,200 members include many of the composers who work in pics, TV and vidgames, has not taken a position about union representation, SCL officials said.

Emails alerting members of SCL; performing rights orgs ASCAP, BMI and SESAC; and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences were expected to go out this morning. A website has also launched at Composersguild.org.

Composers and lyricists are among the few creatives left without a collective bargaining agreement. Services like orchestration, conducting and music performance are covered by American Federation of Musicians (AFM) agreements, but not the act of writing music or lyrics.

read the entire article from Variety

NBC Universal’s Q3 Profits Up 13 perent

NBC Universal recorded a 13% increase in profit in the third quarter to $732 million.

Thanks to a gain related to the company’s investment in A&E Television Networks which has merged Lifetime into the fold. Revenue fell by 20% in the same period.

The company did, however, have some write-downs. Indian broadcaster NDTV is buying back NBCUs stake in the venture and the entertainment giant also recorded an impairment charge related to its Weather Channel investment. After tax, General Electric said NBCU recorded a gain of $89 million because of the changes in the quarter.

For the first nine months of the year, profit at NBCU was down 27%, to $1.66 billion from $2.2 billion in 2008. Last year, NBC aired the Beijing Olympics and its news networks had the benefit of political dollars and more viewers.

Revenue was off 20% in the third quarter, at $4 billion, down from $5 billion in the year-ago period. For the first nine months of 2009, revenue was off 11%, at $11.1 billion, according to a press statement from GE. GE’s total net earnings were $2.5 billion for the third quarter, down 44%

read the entire article from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

Broadcast Shows Reach Auds Online

Tweets and Web feeds keep TV fans engaged

The major TV networks still rely on broadcast as their primary venue, even as the Internet lures away a growing portion of the audience that want social interaction, not just passive viewing.

Even the remaining viewers are likely to be multitasking on the couch. Fox network data shows that more than half its audience interacts with their computers while watching television.

So instead of treating the Internet as the enemy, networks have turned online content and social networking into an important tool for keeping their audience engaged.

"Our viewers happen to be using all these different things in tandem with the broadcast," explains Bill Bradford, Fox’s senior vice president of content strategy. "We want to harness that activity and turn our viewers into marketers."

read the entire article from Variety

Five New Rules Of Production

Industry panel offers guidelines for navigating TV’s troubled waters

The harsh reality of television production today—no matter the genre, daypart or mode of delivery—is that it’s scattered with land mines for producers and production companies.

The 2007-08 WGA strike left lasting bruises on relationships throughout the TV community, and the cratered economy has only exacerbated executives’ and producers’ struggles with financial models. Budgets and license fees continue to tighten, viewers’ expectations and habits are morphing, and basic rules of engagement evolve on a daily basis.

But TV people are “a resilient bunch,” said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler during a panel discussion of industry experts who participated in Broadcasting & Cable’s live, free Webinar, “New Rules of Production,” held on Oct. 6. “We’ve all seen our industry face many challenges over time.

“What you’re seeing is people really stepping up and embracing those challenges and committing to great storytelling, creating great content and dealing with the challenges that we’ve dealt with since the beginning of our industry,” she added.

read the entire article from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

Comcast – GE Discussing Joint NBC Universal Venture

The new company would be majority controlled by Comcast which would own a 51% stake in NBC Universal versus General Electric’s 49%

Comcast is discussing the formation of a new joint venture company in partnership with General Electric, according to executives familiar with talks.

The new company would be majority controlled by Comcast which would own a 51% stake in NBC Universal versus General Electric’s 49%. Comcast’s only cash outlay would be in the $4 billion to $6 billion range, according to one person in the midst of talks. CNBC had reported that Comcast would kick-in as much as $7 billion. That point appears to be one of many still under negotiation. One executive said General Electric would also contribute $12 billion in debt to the spun-off entity. Comcast’s assets include: E!, Style, Golf Channel and a group of regional sports networks.

read the entire article from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

NYC-Entertainment Engineering: Structural and Financial Strategies For Production Companies

On Monday, October 26, the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT), and HSBC will hold a panel focusing on small businesses in the entertainment industry and how to navigate the current economic situation.

The panel will take place at the HSBC Building, 452 Fifth Avenue; Reception 6:00; Panel 7:00452 Fifth Avenue; entrance on 40th Street. RSVP and registration is required.

Today’s weak economy presents a particular challenge for small businesses in the entertainment industry, so NYWIFT, HSBC and the Mayor’s Office for Film, Theatre and Broadcasting have assembled a panel of top legal, accounting, banking, production and financial planning experts to help you navigate the tricky waters.

read the entire article at Broadcast Union News

WGAE Signs First Digital Media Companies

11 companies added under its Writers Guild 2.0 drive to expand representation to online series

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable

The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE)  has signed up its first digital media companies under its Writers Guild 2.0 drive to expand representation to online series.
The 11 companies have over a dozen Web series currently online, according to WGAE.
The new signatories include Dinosaur Diorama TV, Kapri Productions, New Jill Productions, Heroic Pictures, Tailslating, CJP Communications, and Hedge Fund Productions.
"We are pleased these companies recognize the value of a Writers Guild contract, and we look forward to working with them as the industry continues to evolve,” said Lowell Peterson, WGAE executive director, in a statement.

from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine