New York Times Praises New Year's Day Classic NHL on NBC

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/sports/hockey/31hockey.html?hp

If it runs. (See posting from yesterday about delay of event possible)

NBC Changes An Hour of Daily Schedule Beginning Next Week

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Posted: 12/30/2009 12:59:41 PM
Air Date: 01/04/2010 Monday
Start Time: 03:04:00 AM [ET]
Show Name: THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN ALL NIGHT
Duration: 00:56:00
Type: Program Change
Message: Effective 1/4/2010: Tonight-AN replaces Fallon-AN

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NBC stations might have appreciated a bit more notice, but that's just my opinion.

Chattanooga and Jackson clients will find the change already made when they next open an avail in MediaOffice.

MediaPost Examines Leno Ratings In December

Not So Funny: 'Jay Leno' Show Under-Performs
Wayne Friedman, Dec 24, 2009 02:54 PM

In the big pool of December reruns -- a place where "The Jay Leno Show" was supposed to shine -- the NBC talk program is still mired in mid 1 ratings among 18-49 viewers, under his season average.

Case in point: in the week leading up to Christmas, "Leno" averaged a 1.4 rating/4 share among 18-49 viewers -- numbers that are down versus its 1.73 season average rating through Dec. 13. His average in December alone is at a 1.5 rating.

NBC has touted that in those lower TV viewing periods, fresh programming from "Leno" would come his way when up against reruns and lesser programming on the network.

The positive for NBC? In some cases, "Leno" has moved into second place during the time period. One Tuesday -- Dec. 22, for example -- a repeat of "The Good Wife" posted a 1.7 rating/5 share, while "Leno" earned a 1.5/5, and a repeat of ABC's "Christmas at The White House" grabbed a 0.9/3.

Rich Greenfield, media industry analyst at Pali Research, says cable's ratings, already on the rise overall, have been higher during the 10 p.m. time period, due in part to "Leno." Cable networks have picked up 1.6 adult 18-49 ratings points, some of this coming from ABC and CBS.

In the first week of Leno's show, curiosity from viewers pushed his average for the week to a 3.42 rating against 18-49 viewers -- twice as high as his current season average. In the weeks following, the show fell to a 1.92, 1.74, then to a 1.66 in weeks four and five.

In weeks six through 11, "Leno" ratings held steady around the 1.5 rating range, with a 1.54, 1.48, 1.48, 1.46, 1.52, and a 1.48. Then they fell in week 12 to a 1.35 average -- the last week in the November sweeps where other networks offered big new programming.

Week 13 spiked up to a 1.72 rating, most of that coming from a big 2.9 rating on Tuesday Dec. 8 following the conclusion of "The Biggest Loser."

NBC also said the Leno show would deliver less time-shifting -- a positive for many TV advertisers that fear viewers who fast-forward through commercials.

According to a report by Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director of media-buying agency Horizon Media, "Leno" viewership has only been boosted by 6.4% over seven days, while the overall prime-time average is up 19%.

Scrooge Traffic @ New Years

Posted: 12/29/2009
Type: Announcements
Message: NHL game on Jan. 1 is played outdoors and is subject to postponement due to poor weather conditions. If postponed, it would be re-scheduled to air on NBC on Sat. 1/2/2010 at 2p ET. Under this postponement scenario, the 2009 NHL Winter Classic game would air in place of the live game on 1/1/2010 and Sports programming on 1/2/2010 would be adjusted but still guaranteed until 6p ET. Full contingency details to follow shortly.

Primetime Changed for Jan 8th..

There will be a program change in primetime on January 8 and will be officially booked later today. Please check APT's what's new posting for this change:


Friday, January 8th
8:00-10:00 DATELINE. (Original)

I'll begin changing my 2010 clients now.

Bengals @ NY Jets Next Sunday

Posted: 12/28/2009 09:53:42 AM
Air Date: 01/03/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 08:15:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Duration: 03:15:00
Type: Announcements
Message: Flex Week #7 teams announced: Cincinnati Bengals @ NY Jets.

Attention: 2010 Clients!

NothingButChange will become password protected in 2010.

I'll be notifying clients by email about the methods used to access this information.

A Farewell To Sunbelt

Your November books are installed. Selling Books have been updated.

Best of luck with Wide Orbit.

Santa Visits Jackson, and someplace up North

My delightful clients in Jackson, MS now have their November 2009 PAVs installed, with every non-sports inventory item getting entirely new audience estimates for each of the next four quarters. A Master Planner has been mailed to Melinda.

Oh, and a true class act got a visit from Santa, too.

May you have a delightful Christmas.

Look What Santa Left!

Posted: 12/23/2009 04:28:07 PM
Air Date: 02/28/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 12:35:00 AM [ET]
Show Name: 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Duration: 02:55:00
Type: Program Change
Message: OLYMPIC PRIMETIME REPEAT moves from 11:35p-3:05a ET/PT and 10:35p-2:05a CT/MT and replaces OLYMPIC PARTY SHOW REPEAT. Duration is now 2:55:00. Clearances assumed based on previously advised clearances for OLYMPIC PARTY SHOW REPEAT. Posted: 12/23/2009 03:57:45 PM
Air Date: 02/28/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 11:35:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Duration: 01:00:00
Type: Program Change
Message: OLYMPIC CLOSING PARTY SHOW moves from 10:30-11:00pm ET/PT and 9:30-10pm CT/MT and expands by 30-minutes. OLYMPIC PRIMETIME REPEAT moves to 12:35-3:30am ET/CT and 11:35pm-2:30am CT/MT. Clearances assumed based on previously advised clearances for OLYMPIC PRIMETIME REPEAT. Posted: 12/23/2009 03:40:05 PM
Air Date: 02/28/2010 Sunday
Start Time: 10:30:00 PM [ET]
Show Name: 'TBA
Duration: 00:30:00
Type: Program Change
Message: ENTERTAINMENT SHOW TBA is booked and moves OLYMPIC CLOSING PARTY SHOW to 11:35pm-12:35am ET/PT and 10:35pm-11:35pm CT/MT.

Who Makes The Menus At Your Restaurant?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dining/23menus.html?em

Do you think successful national chains expect their waiters or cooks to update and plan menus?

Then why do broadcasting beancounters think AEs should create their own estimates?

Nielsen's Mistakes

Mountain Time clients apparently have November data available within MediaOffice.

Either Nielsen made a mistake, or Sunbelt actually paid for tapes they can use for 8 days.

Enjoy.

Chattanooga data arrives...

It's shown up in Birmingham, as have DVDs not due out for a week. 10 DMAs I work with all showed up today.

Chattanooga goes first. :) You want to go first? Ask. It'll cost you.

Chattanooga Update and an FYI for Mountain State RDRx Clients

Ok, I'm confused and it shouldn't be this difficult.

Chattanooga printed copy books WERE shipped yesterday, but not the DVDs, according to Birmingham. So, we're all waiting. Hey, I would have been done by now had the data been here this morning. [sigh]

Attention Mountain Time Clients: I called the Nielsen Book Hotline again today and the message recorded at 4pm Florida time today said Casper, Pocatello and Helena *books* will be shipped today, which is a day ahead of schedule. Since Sunbelt has switched to WideOrbit Sales starting with November 09 data, they should contact WideOrbit per the method WideOrbit has recommended. But just in case...

http://www.wideorbit.com/wideorbit.com/index.php/contact-us.html
(from that page)
For Support On All Other WideOrbit Products:
Normal business hours are 5:00AM PST to 6:00PM PST.

* Please phone +1.415.675.6775

Waiting for Data...

Only some of the markets listed on Nielsen's telephone hotline message last night have been delivered, and Chattanooga has not yet shown up. I've got emails into our staff in Alabama to determine what is going on.

Monday Update: Nielsen Ships Chattanooga November Data!

FedEx should deliver data disks to our Birmingham offices late Tuesday morning, Central time. Within hours, I'll be working on WRCB's Selling Book Estimates.

Ralph's team in Chattanooga should be greeted on Wednesday morning with a new Master Planner, if all data is delivered on schedule.

Changes to 1st Quarter, plus post-Olympic Schedules Announced

The following will be booked:

Thursday, January 14th
9:00-9:30 30 ROCK (Original)

Sunday, February 7th
7:00-9:00 THE BIGGEST LOSER (Repeat)
9:00-11:00 THE BIGGEST LOSER (Repeat)

Monday, March 1st - March 29th
8:00-9:00 CHUCK (Original)
9:00-10:00 PARENTHOOD (Original)

Thursday, March 4th - April 2nd
8:00-8:30 COMMUNITY (Original)
8:30-9:00 PARKS AND RECREATION (Original)
9:00-9:30 THE OFFICE (Original)
9:30-10:00 30 ROCK (Original)

Sunday, March 14th - March 28th
7:00-8:00 DATELINE (Original)
8:00-9:00 MARRIAGE REF (Original)
9:00-11:00 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE (Original)

released 7 minutes ago, and should be in RDRx client inventories later today.

2nd and 3rd Quarter Golf Schedules Hit APT

I'll be coming back to tweak these after I make sure everyone's 1st Quarter Prime is all set... I'm clicking a lot of Hiatus buttons for the last half of February.

NBC: Dec 23rd and Jan 1 Prime Changed

From NBC just 10 minutes ago....

"We making changes to primetime on December 23rd and January 1st.

On Wednesday, December 23rd, we're putting in 2 episodes of MERCY at 8 & 9PM ET, replacing the 4 episodes of THE OFFICE. We'll still have an OFFICE marathon on December 30th, but we want to reinstate MERCY in its regularly-scheduled time period on the 23rd and give it some added exposure at 9PM to target female viewers on a night where there might be some extra holiday sampling.

Also, on New Year's Day, we're scheduling a repeat of last night's inspirational season finale of THE BIGGEST LOSER to air from 8-10PM ET, replacing repeat episodes of LAW & ORDER and DATELINE NBC. THE BIGGEST LOSER finale was a huge hit last night and repeating it on the 1st will be good counter-programming to the very male-skewing Sugar Bowl and be a strong promotional platform for the new season of THE BIGGEST LOSER couples premiering on January 5th."

NBC RDRx clients are being updated today.

100 Questions Nipped In The Bud After 6 Episodes

NBC trims its order for 'Questions'
Midseason comedy reduced from 13 episodes to six.
By Nellie Andreeva from HollywoodReporter.com

Dec 6, 2009, 11:00 PM ET
NBC has cut the order for midseason comedy "100 Questions" from 13 to six.

The cast and crew of the UMS-produced show were informed about the network's decision on Friday when they wrapped production on Episode 6. NBC explains the order reduction with the full-season pickups given to freshman comedy "Community" and sophomore half-hour "Parks and Recreation."

With NBC having secured its two-hour Thursday comedy block, which also includes veterans "The Office" and "30 Rock," for the rest of the season, and the network also set to preempt its programming for two weeks in February to carry the Winter Olympics, it opted to reduce the order for "100 Questions," an NBC rep said.

Earlier this fall, the network also scaled back the order for midseason drama "Day One," which will now air as a four-hour miniseries.

NBC's other scripted midseason entry, drama "Parenthood," will produce its full 13-episode order.

"Questions," from UMS, is a multicamera comedy unlike the four NBC comedies on the air, which are single-camera. However, the network is developing mostly multicamera sitcoms for next season.

The project, which underwent recasting of several roles after the upfronts, starts Brit Sophie Winkleman as a young woman looking for love who joins a popular online dating site.

"Questions" is the latest new midseason series to get an order reduction this fall. In addition to "Day One," Fox's drama "Past Life" and ABC's comedy "Romantically Challenged" at ABC also were cut, with the networks touting the success of their new fall offerings as a reason for the lack of midseason shelf space.

Second Quarter Sports Specials Announced by NBC

It's Friday! So, NBC posts 21 Sports Specials airing April through June 2010 in APT.
Most of my clients already have all these specials listed, but now I go through and double check my earlier guesses against APT. By Monday, clients should be in sync.

26 days till December 31.

January "Face The Aces" Fold

NBC Sports has canceled Face The Aces in January, and is moving World of Adventure and Freestyle Skiing on the 30th. RDRx clients will begin to see changes today.