NBC Finale Dates For Non-Clients

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC has ordered 12 additional episodes of its Friday newcomer "Howie Do It."

The extra half-hour installments will keep the series on the Peacock's schedule through April 24.

Meanwhile on the non-freshman front, network sources have confirmed the bulk of its production commitments for the rest of the 2008-09 season.

The number of episodes have been detailed for the following shows (season finale date in parenthesis): "Chuck" (22 episodes, April 13), "Heroes" (26 episodes, April 27), "Medium" (19 episodes, two hours on May 18), "The Biggest Loser: Couples" (19 episodes, May 12), "Law & Order: SVU" (22 episodes, May 19), "Life" (21 episodes, April 8), "Law & Order" (22 episodes, May 20), "My Name Is Earl" (26 half-hours, May 14), "The Office" (29 half-hours, one hour on May 14), "30 Rock" (22 episodes, May 7), "Friday Night Lights" (13 episodes, April 10) and "The Celebrity Apprentice" (11 episodes, May 17).

Note that "Life" had originally been set to film 22 installments, while "The Biggest Loser," which wrapped its sixth cycle after 13 weeks, will go for 19 this edition. And finally, "Medium" will fill out its 19-episode commitment with back-to-back installments starting at 9:00/8:00c on May 4, May 11 and May 18.

Note from pah: why do I say "for non-clients?" My clients had this information in ClearView as soon as 2 hours after finale dates were announced. This listing is for those without my service.

"Howie" Does Well Enough To Be Renewed

January 29, 2009 11:41 AM

NBC Renews ‘Howie Do It’

By Josef Adalian

"Howie Do It"? Apparently, pretty well.

NBC has given the thumbs up to 12 more episodes of the Howie Mandel hidden-camera comedy "Howie Do It," the network announced Thursday. The episodes are already in production.

Mr. Mandel's show premiered earlier this month and has increased NBC's low-rated Friday 8 p.m. hour by 64 percent in adults 18-49 vs. earlier this season.

"'Howie Do It' has proven to be a solid performer for NBC on Friday nights," said Paul Telegdy, executive vice president of alternative programming for NBC and Universal Media Studios.

NBC Prime/Specials/Finales Ready Everywhere

I forgot to post this last night... all my NBC clients now have more than 100 different inventory items in Prime and Specials, each with newly tweaked audience estimates and updated rationale.

Clients can find an updated NBC Prime/Specials/Finales avail in the Public Area of Saved Avails. Open it As Template to fiddle with the estimates before sending out, or just print it as is for quick reference.

Look for Olympic estimates in February.

Four Stations Updated Same-Day

I've finished four clients this evening, but will call it a night at 2:20am.

WRCB and Sunbelt stations are complete, and I'll finish the rest in the morning.

But wait.. there's MORE....

Most of the guesses I've made regarding replacement programming have been spot on.

One new program you've probably not heard of: Who Do You Think You Are? on Mondays in May.. one to appeal to Ancestry.com

THE ANSWERS LIE IN THE PAST.

From producer Lisa Kudrow comes a new series that is unlike anything on U.S. television. Based on the popular BBC documentary series, Who Do You Think You Are? takes viewers on an inspiring and personal journey into the past of America's best-known celebrities, sharing their emotion and surprise as they uncover stories of heroism, tragedy, love and betrayal that lie at the heart of their family story. At the same time, the series celebrates the making of our great nation and the people who traveled here in search of freedom and opportunity.

All these changes equal about 2 hours per client. It's gonna be a long night.

Finale Dates Announced..

I'm adding all of the dates into inventory now.

However, the announcement does not contain replacement programming, so a lot of time periods will be TBA in 2nd Quarter Prime until NBC discloses more.

Mix Wrestling & Downhill Skis

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/sports/othersports/24cross.html?8dpc

You'll notice several of these events on NBC's Winter Sports schedule, and it's worth noting the Olympic tie-in for 2010. Yep, hard to believe, but Winter Olympics are just 13 months away.

No Changes Since Monday...

A website you might enjoy.

Pandora.com is a great way to add music to your office/cubicle with your choice of musicians, songs, etc.

It's like Last.fm or Slacker.com, but without a lot of interruptions.

A Moment of Gratitude

Did you know ABC and Fox each have about half as many different Prime & Specials in the next 2 quarters as NBC? It keeps me busy!

Nothing new from NBC today.. parts of 2nd Quarter are still vague.

OneDomain B'ham Offices Closed Today

The State of Alabama recognizes today as Martin Luther King Day, and our Birmingham offices are closed.

I'm working today, but I've got a secret. When Martin Luther King Jr and his hundreds of thousands of followers marched through Washington in the Summer of 1963 on his way to deliver the "I have a Dream" speech, I was 9 years old, and sitting on a curb on Washington Circle in D.C. For a white kid having grown up in the 1950's in segregated suburbs, the impression of so many people totally different, all united in joy, was a life-changer.

Today, we honor a man who, although not perfect, had a higher goal than just himself.

Tomorrow, we all honor a man who suggests we do the same:

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other." Grant Park - 11/4/08

More than 40 different programming changes..

NBC clients now have nearly 100 different lines of Prime and Specials inventory within their ClearView systems.

Remember, you MUST select the FEBES, MAYES and SPECIALES Selling Books to see the audience estimates I've created for you.

ER, Southland, Amy P's new show....

Tons of changes, with extensions for Chopping Block, E.R. and Knight Rider.
Amy Poehler's Show and Southland join Thursday night prime in April.
Kings is moved to Sundays at 8pm.. go figure..

This change involves 27 different lines of inventory per station, plus editing and re-documenting Selling Book estimates for each, plus a check of hiatus dates for the next three months.

I'll be updating my clients all day Friday.. I'll send a quick note to your Sales Managers when I've finished with each one.

Did you know ClearView will soon be called MediaOffice? It's slick, fast and has all of the tools you use now plus a few more.

Tomorrow! Kath & Kim out; Earl in 830p/730p Thursday 1/15

Sort of a stealth programming change, NBC... Sneaky!

East and Central Time Zones have to JIP Earl at 8:15/7:15p because of W's TV swan-song.
Mountain and Central Times will run the "15 minutes" live before prime.

However, NBC has replaced Kath & Kim at the :30 with another My Name is Earl for ALL time zones. If your client specifically bought K&K, you'll need to review the first item in your Specials & OTO delivery to see how this replacement will do compared to K&K.

Of course, all of these changes are already in your ClearView system. But you'll have to close ClearView and re-open it to see changes made since you last fired CV up.

Here's NBC's Spin on Recent Ratings...

Click on the Headline above to see the entire press release.

Here's a snippet:

"Through the first 16 weeks of the 2008-09 season, NBC is now the "second youngest" of the major broadcast networks, with a median age of 46.9 years, only 1.2 years "older" than Fox (45.7 years). By comparison, ABC's median age is 49.7 and CBS's median age is 53.7. Season to date, NBC is running within 0.2 of a rating point of first place in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49."

Still nothing about E.R. Finale date or if Kings will be moved. Since the TCA is going on this week, I expect we'll learn more soon.

NBC formally announces Chopping Block; Still no firm ER/Kings info

01.09.09 - 08:07 PM NBC PUTS WEDNESDAYS ON THE "CHOPPING BLOCK" By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC is set to put Wednesdays on the "Chopping Block," multiple sources confirmed on Friday. The eight-week reality competition series, featuring "rock-star chef" Marco Pierre White, will premiere Wednesday, March 4 at 8:00/7:00c, replacing the departing "Knight Rider." Said hour features teams of couples as they face off to win a chance to open their own restaurant. It's understood the Peacock will formally unveil the show during its TCA Winter Press Tour session on Thursday. In addition to "Block," NBC is also expected to announce revised departure and arrival dates for "ER" and "Kings," respectively. David Barbour and Julian Cress are the executive producers of "Block," a Granada America production.

Changes finished.. more this weekend

I'm on the very last of my client's Inventory systems now, so by the time you've read this all of my clients will have had NBC Prime and Specials entirely updated through the end of June, including changes announced in the past 30 hours.

Next to be entered in your systems, NBC has changed skiing run times and slightly expanded pre-Pro Bowl coverage on February 7 & 8. You'll find these, fresh as powder on Snowmass, when you come to work on Monday morning.

Do you know of an NBC station who might need our help? Let us know!

Have a great weekend!

E.R. Update... and Howie Does It info

The Hollywood Reporter is also claiming there will be three extra E.R. episodes, but I've yet to see what will happen to Kings, and all other programming which will have to be moved to make room for E.R. Those in ski areas this time of year understand avalanches.

Until I get some kind of info, I'm leaving things as is for E.R. The finale estimate for E.R. or the estimates for Kings won't change for audience even if it airs four weeks later.

Need help selling Howie Does It beyond my estimates? Here's an interview with the King of OCD himself: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20090108_howiedoit

E.R. Gets 3 More Episodes? ER Finale & Kings Impacted

From Variety.com

Wells' 'Police' close to series order

Final season of 'ER' to be extended?

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

NBC and Warner Bros. are close to sealing a series order for John Wells' "Police" -- with an episodic extension of "ER" to boot.

Such a deal comes following weeks of heated negotiations on "Police." The two sides had also been talking about prolonging "ER's" swan song as part of a "Police" pickup (Daily Variety, Jan. 7).

According to insiders, the Peacock is expected to add three more segs to "ER's" 15th and final season and will pick up six episodes of "Police."

The extra "ER" segs could impact the launch of NBC's new drama "Kings," set to bow on March 19, in "ER's" old slot. (The series finale for "ER" was originally set for a two-hour slot on March 12).

Meanwhile, it's still undetermined where "Police" may wind up.

NBC and Warner Bros. had been kicking around several "Police" scenarios for weeks. It's understood that at one point, NBC offered a 12-episode order but at a license fee Warner Bros. rejected.

Clients: I'm going to wait for another source to confirm this move. I'll update you as I find out.

Citrix Outage! I hope it's temporary

Well, at least my friends in Jackson, Fresno, and Chattanooga got updated before Citrix crashed this evening. You'll find a Prime & Specials through June 2009 Planner in the Public Area within Saved Avails in ClearView.

When trying to access the Citrix service, I continue to get a "down for scheduled maintenance, try again later" page, so Sunbelt stations... I'm still knocking!

NBC Tweaks Weekends & Brings Out Chopping Block

Changes to Sunday, Jan 18th..
Chopping Block begins Wednesday 8E/P March 4th..
More info to come...

Welcome back, WISE/WPTA!

We'll begin updating NBC and (shhh.. ABC) this afternoon.

KSEE & WRCB Sports Are Ready..

Did you know?

If you have a customized iGoogle page, you can include updates from Nothing But Change..

See the Atom link below for Google and other connection options. Having this info as soon as I do means you won't sell the program NBC just cancelled. And you won't have to keep coming back here to read these blurbs.. they'll come to you.

It's NBC Sports Update Week!

For the past decade, I've found the first full week in January the perfect time to triple-check known NBC Sports programming and update Selling Book estimates. During this week, you may notice I'm on your server longer than normal.. NBC has a LOT of sports.. 54 different programs in Golf alone.

All RDRx NBC clients will find a Sports Master Planner for the first half of 2009 within the Public Area of their Avails by Friday, January 9th.

Finally, I'll be mentioning various websites and software tools my clients might find helpful every once in a while. Today's mention is TVRD.org, run by some media geek in Las Vegas. (umm.. me.) If you're curious about the world of audience measurement, take a look. Heck, you can join and add in your own perspective! It's free, of course.

Happy New Year!