ABC UPFRONT SCHEDULE The Alphabet (I really like that nickname, almost too much) released its fall schedule today. The big move is REVENGE setting up shop where the women of Wisteria Lane resided, Sundays at 9pm. HAPPY ENDINGS and rookie DON’T TRUST THE B—- IN APT 23 move to a comedy block on Tuesdays. This is an interesting move, since FOX announced their own comedy bloc yesterday and which should remind all of us that these initial schedules are TBD. Also interesting to note that the new shows don’t seem to have a “blockbuster” name attached. Among the new once and future classics: HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (winter), THE FAMILY TOOLS (winter), THE NEIGHBORS, NASHVILLE (starring Connie Britton), LAST RESORT, MALIBU COUNTRY, and 666 PARK AVENUE. And those timeless classics not returning: CHARLIE’S ANGELS, COUGARTOWN (picked up by TBS), EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION, GCB, MAN UP, MISSING, THE RIVER, PAN AM, and WORK IT.
“TV IS NOT TV ANYMORE” Mark Harris (New York Mag and EW) has an interesting take on the current nature of TV viewing habits and the growing importance of content. This aligns with my First Tenet of TV, which you can find here.
New delivery systems are swell, but TV all the time, on demand, everywhere, is only a positive value when something good is on. That, happily, seems to be more and more often. The next wave of TV innovation looks like it will be about what we watch, not just how.
SAUNA, HAVE A DRINK, SAUNA, BLOOD SAUSAGE, SAUNA One of my favorite voices–not necessarily a celebrity, per se–Anthony Bourdain is a fan of social media. So much so, that he actually listened to a Facebook campaign which urged him to shoot an episode of NO RESERVATIONS in the near-frozen and nearly-never mentioned country of Finland.
WATCH ESPN ON APPLE TV? Though it’s been denied that talks have not occurred yet, it would be immensely interesting to see if ESPN strikes a deal with Apple to authenticate the sports network’s live-streaming app on Apple TV. This would be quite a blockbuster and added fuel to those would-be cord cutters (I myself stick with a monthly cable bill for the sports options).
ESPN INDEED AHEAD OF THE GAME BUT… The network can’t deny this. ESPN has developed a partnership with Twitter that will revolve around major sporting events. The link has details of the first program that will roll out during this year’s NBA Finals. However, doesn’t the program seem a little, oh I don’t know, primitive or basic? I’d like to see more in-game uses or perhaps using the fans in the arena.
NOW WITH SOCIAL! Today, Microsoft rolled out a redesign of its search engine Bing for all users in the U.S. The redesign focuses on displaying search results alongside results pulled from your social networking circles. For example, “movies” returns results from Facebook and Twitter with users you follow who like or have mentioned movies. QUICK REVIEW Just playing with it for a few minutes by trying out different search terms, you can see results vary and don’t paint a full picture from your social networks. Overall, it seems a bit gimmicky at this point but certainly has potential down the road.
