https://www.mediapost.com/en-usWed, 18 Dec 2013 14:23:06 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/215849/tv-of-tomorrow-reveals-future.htmlThe TV Of Tomorrow NYC conference is to cutting-edge media intellectual property what the CES is to electronics: standing on the cusp of new innovations for the media industry. Even its conference location this year -- in a warehouse building near the new Hudson Yards development -- spoke to an early insider's look of what the future will bring.Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:23:06 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/215849/tv-of-tomorrow-reveals-future.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/215750/the-enduring-appeal-of-a-charlie-brown-christmas.htmlIt hardly seems possible that the big three Christmas specials of my youth - "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" - still attract such large audiences nearly 50 years after their first airing. According to all conventional wisdom, these shows should not do so well. They are not broadcast live, have no major stars, are not edgy or ironic, and have no sex appeal. Moreover, most of the audience has seen the shows multiple times.Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:08:00 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/215750/the-enduring-appeal-of-a-charlie-brown-christmas.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/215257/we-need-both-right-brain-and-left-brain-experts.htmlIt's not every day that you get to sip a glass of wine while listening to NBCU's Linda Yaccarino and Magna Global's Tim Spengler talk about their college days. But Simulmedia's Salon series offers such an opportunity. However October's event was not all waxing nostalgia. Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan also wanted to know how media companies recruit and retain new talent. And that is the $64,000 question today. View video excerpts of the panel here.Thu, 12 Dec 2013 17:52:04 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/215257/we-need-both-right-brain-and-left-brain-experts.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/214830/sports-marketing-moves-ball-into-digital-zone.htmlInnovative cross-platform marketing has been part of the sports marketplace for years. Now, with the ability to leverage social media and partner with a variety of brands, sports is heralding in a new era of cutting-edge partnership and measurement efforts. The recent Promax Sports Media Marketing Summit showcased some of the more ground-breaking campaigns from a range of programmers, brands and advertisers.Wed, 04 Dec 2013 16:09:29 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/214830/sports-marketing-moves-ball-into-digital-zone.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/214700/podcasts-what-to-listen-to-when-youre-not-watchi.htmlYou can tell that television retains its cultural importance by the number of online communications platforms it helps keep afloat. Social media, for example, was supposed to undermine television's dominance -- but Twitter, Facebook, etc., would be considerably less active if users didn't have television to talk about. Similarly, there would be considerably less for bloggers and recappers to write about if television didn't exist. You know there's a power imbalance when one party obsesses constantly about the other (e.g., a teenage girl mooning over the high school quarterback) -- but the other side barely acknowledges its existence. And then we have podcasts.Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:41:13 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/214700/podcasts-what-to-listen-to-when-youre-not-watchi.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/213902/no-asset-identification-no-monetization-of-cross-.htmlThe world of asset identification can be a bit confusing. What exactly is asset identification? What are the different types? Why is it so important? These questions and more were answered at the Digital Management Association conference, where I moderated the panel "Asset Identification - If You Can't Identify It, You Can't Measure It. If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Monetize It." The panelists -- Jane Clarke of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM); MAGNA's Janice Finkel-Greene, Ad-ID's Harold Geller and NBCU's Steven Hernandez -- engaged in a lively discussion of asset identification from both the programming and advertising perspective.Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:14:32 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/213902/no-asset-identification-no-monetization-of-cross-.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/213833/fifty-years-after-jfk.htmlYou may have heard this already, but we are approaching the fiftieth anniversary of two famously important events in television history: the JFK assassination and the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. It doesn't take much Googling to find references to the significance of the assassination for television. The Associated Press maintains that, "in life and especially in death, John F. Kennedy changed television forever" because his murder showed that this then-youthful technology could hold the country together in a moment of crisis. Similarly, there is near-universal agreement that the first televised strains of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" launched a youth culture that has yet to abate.Tue, 19 Nov 2013 14:08:00 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/213833/fifty-years-after-jfk.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/213096/qa-with-annalects-jed-meyer.htmlJed Meyer was recruited by Nielsen out of college and from there launched a stellar career that took him all across the United States and as far as China. His experience includes building the set-top-box data and Web measurement businesses for Nielsen, and elaunching television measurement program for Nielsen in China. Now, as U.S. research director for Annalect, he is responsible for all the day-to-day research at OMD, as well as all of the data-driven businesses owned by Annalect itself.Fri, 08 Nov 2013 08:40:13 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/213096/qa-with-annalects-jed-meyer.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212825/those-cozy-tv-critics.htmlTelevision is arguably the country's dominant art form, but it has yet to spawn a really great critic who can make sense of it all. Oh, there are lots of good television writers, but no authoritative cultural thinker to compare with the likes of such great mid-century film critics as Andre Bazin, Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, John Simon or Stanley Kauffman. As Kenneth Tucker, himself a respected TV reviewer, admits: "Unlike film or rock criticism, television criticism has never yielded a significant body of work-or at least an acknowledged one enshrined with any permanence in book form."Tue, 05 Nov 2013 13:57:44 -0500https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212825/those-cozy-tv-critics.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212620/the-power-of-the-crowd-according-to-twitter.htmlThe State of TV conference held this week as part of NYC's Television Week explored the impact of the crowd on advertising, sports, online, broadcast and cable. Does it shift the business model away from the predictability of what is and what is not "successful" content? And what does successful mean anymore: Ratings? Affection? Acceleration? Does the expansion of platform choices cannibalize or complement media choices? The answers may surprise you.Fri, 01 Nov 2013 13:57:04 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212620/the-power-of-the-crowd-according-to-twitter.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212034/the-future-of-tv-content-everywhere.htmlThe future of television is a hot topic today, with many experts offering compelling insights. And so it was at the Cynopsis Future of TV conference in New York City, where industry execs and analysts predicted that we'll soon be working in a very different type of television space, and business concerns and financial projections must adapt. Here are the major themes as I saw them at the conference:Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:53:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212034/the-future-of-tv-content-everywhere.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211844/what-your-dvr-says-about-you.htmlWhat does your DVR say about you? Are you the kind of obsessive-compulsive person with only a few carefully curated items on his or her Recorded List? Or maybe you're a slob who never clears out any recorded shows until the hard drive is full. Or maybe you're indecisive and can't decide what shows to erase and what to keep. (Really, at this stage, will you ever watch the final episode of "Talking Bad" or the premiere of Mom"?)Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:42:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211844/what-your-dvr-says-about-you.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211175/the-tv-ad-revolution-wont-be-televised.htmlEven in the midst of a golden era for TV programming -- a time when Walter White, Don Draper and Daenerys Targaryen make Sunday night lineups nationwide social-media-watercooler events -- television's traditional format is under heavy fire. Consumers have more ways than ever to access programming, with Google's Chromecast just the latest in a long line of Trojan horses bringing that content to their televisions.Wed, 16 Oct 2013 14:30:06 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211175/the-tv-ad-revolution-wont-be-televised.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211306/views-from-a-trailblazer-qa-with-simulmedia-cto.htmlSimulmedia CTO Alison Lowery is one of a very few female chief technology officers in the industry. Originally a software engineer for a big pharmaceutical company, Allison went back to school for two masters degrees: one in computer science and the other in business. From there, she launched her media career at a series of start-ups, including two by Simulmedia's CEO Dave Morgan. The rest is history. In the my interview with her, Allison talks about the dearth of women in technology, new data sets, Simulmedia initiatives, and the future of media.Tue, 15 Oct 2013 12:07:44 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211306/views-from-a-trailblazer-qa-with-simulmedia-cto.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/210946/rentraks-bruce-goerlich-using-big-data-in-the-el.htmlI sat down with Rentrak CRO Bruce Goerlich to discuss subjects ranging from the company's purchase of ITVX to measure in-program product placement, international movie measurement in China -- and, arguably the most interesting, the expansion of the use of the company's data capabilities in the political realm by adding Republican campaigners.Wed, 09 Oct 2013 13:18:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/210946/rentraks-bruce-goerlich-using-big-data-in-the-el.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/210832/there-is-no-golden-age-of-television.htmlI don't know about you, but I'm pretty sick of hearing about the "Golden Age of Television." Like many other cultural tropes, the concept contains an element of truth, but the sheer repetition of the phrase has started to sound self-congratulatory, as if we were geniuses for choosing to live through such an epic era.Tue, 08 Oct 2013 11:42:39 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/210832/there-is-no-golden-age-of-television.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/210461/the-future-of-television-may-be-only-one-screen.htmlYou know that the definition of television is changing when a Future of Television conference is hosted by a company called Digital Media Wire. This event was part of the NY Games Conference, indicating to me that all content, no matter how it is delivered and used by the consumer, is part of the new and complex television ecosystem.Wed, 02 Oct 2013 13:48:46 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/210461/the-future-of-television-may-be-only-one-screen.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/209838/duck-dynasty-whos-exploiting-whom.htmlLike many people who think they know a lot about television, I was almost completely unacquainted with the reality TV series "Duck Dynasty" until the premiere of its fourth season. With more than 11.8 million viewers, this episode, seemingly out of nowhere, became the most-watched nonfiction cable telecast in history. This was twice as many viewers as watched the vastly more-anticipated season premiere of "Breaking Bad."Tue, 24 Sep 2013 13:19:01 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/209838/duck-dynasty-whos-exploiting-whom.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/209741/qa-with-maxxcoms-steve-farella.htmlSteve Farella CEO, Maxxcom Global Media and Targetcast TCM, started his career in the "Mad Men" era at Benton and Bowles with the P&G, GM, and BMW accounts. In my interview with him, Steve takes an agency-centric look at the industry -- an area of great change as digital and creative opportunities expand and consumer behavior can be quantified on more and more platforms. Steve talks about his plans for Maxxcom, creating a modern model of an ad agency, the future of ad agencies and the media in general.Mon, 23 Sep 2013 13:43:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/209741/qa-with-maxxcoms-steve-farella.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/209042/television-one-zero.htmlRecently, eMarketer released a report touting digital's coming of age. Haven't you heard? In 2014, digital media usage is predicted to eclipse television usage? Astounding, considering that there is a three-year trend of increasing TV usage informing this unprecedented and highly anticipated decline.Mon, 16 Sep 2013 10:42:04 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/209042/television-one-zero.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208975/how-to-brand-a-tv-network-qa-with-turners-jon-m.htmlJon Marks has had a long and successful career in media, starting out of college at Young and Rubicam, where he worked for industry veteran David Marans in the media research department. Research is a passion with Marks; he believes that it is a great place to absorb and learn about our business. From the advertising world, he moved to Telemundo, when the network had just signed on for Nielsen measurement. Ultimately, his career path led to Turner Broadcasting, where, as senior vice president, he is responsible for programming, marketing and digital research for TNT, TBS, TruTV and TCM. In my interview with him, Marks discusses network branding, his work at Turner, Telemundo and Channel One, and his specialty data and analytics work.Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:22:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208975/how-to-brand-a-tv-network-qa-with-turners-jon-m.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208849/why-cant-tv-get-it-right.htmlThe Aug. 25 episode of "The Newsroom" offered a line of dialogue that amused the small fraternity of geeks who think about media measurement. Sam Waterson, playing the news division president at the highly fictionalized Atlantis Cable News, gleefully tells Jeff Daniels, the new anchor, that the "fast nationals" for the previous night's show reported a whopping 5.8 million viewers. He goes on to say, "That's going to double when they add Live Plus Same Day and Live Plus Seven." What's funny about this comment is the notion that the ratings for a news show would ever double over the course of a week.Tue, 10 Sep 2013 16:06:50 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208849/why-cant-tv-get-it-right.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208805/local-television-in-2018-more-news-on-the-go.htmlAs viewers continue to acquire tablets and smartphones, there will be ample opportunity to deliver more news to the engaged and mobile viewer. The television continues to be the primary source for local news, while mobile screens can serve as a complement. The busy, commuting viewer will consume more information on all screens, and we believe there are more opportunities to connect with these viewers.Tue, 10 Sep 2013 11:45:03 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208805/local-television-in-2018-more-news-on-the-go.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208623/will-the-new-american-idol-dream-team-bring-back.htmlThe official start of the 2013-14 broadcast television season is still two weeks away, but its biggest story is already beginning to play out: the announcement earlier this week of the new Dream Team of judges on Fox's "American Idol," as well as long-time "Idol" judge Randy Jackson's decision to remain with the show as mentor to the contestants, a position vacated by the departure of music producer Jimmy Iovine.Fri, 06 Sep 2013 12:05:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208623/will-the-new-american-idol-dream-team-bring-back.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208526/local-television-in-2018-news-less-linear-more-o.htmlThe local news hour is coming to a screen near you, even the one in your pocket, throughout the day. Over the next five years, TV stations will produce fewer hours of news for their linear, broadcast channels, while increasing focus on mobile platforms for news delivery, allowing consumers untethered access to what's going on in their communities. To fill the gap in their programming schedules, broadcast stations will experiment more with other types of local programming such as talk shows, variety shows, and local sports in efforts to draw wider audiences.Thu, 05 Sep 2013 12:54:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208526/local-television-in-2018-news-less-linear-more-o.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208374/mobile-tv-clean-data-qa-with-tvbs-stacey-lynn.htmlStacey Lynn Schulman discovered research through her college internships. In fact, she is a great proponent of internships as a way for students to explore different career opportunities and to make important contacts for employment after graduation. She launched her career at the rep firm Katz Television, followed by stints at CBS, ad agencies, Turner -- and ultimately at the TVB, where she is CRO. Her responsibilities include supporting the marketing and sales efforts of member television stations across all of their platforms.Tue, 03 Sep 2013 23:26:52 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208374/mobile-tv-clean-data-qa-with-tvbs-stacey-lynn.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208196/miley-cyrus-and-mtv-make-a-late-summer-bummer.htmlWhat more is there to say about that profoundly disturbing performance by Miley Cyrus at this year's MTV Video Music Awards that hasn't already been said, as the resultant late-summer controversy rages on?Fri, 30 Aug 2013 15:43:40 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208196/miley-cyrus-and-mtv-make-a-late-summer-bummer.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208005/t-minus-1-million-and-counting.htmlIt's 6:13 AM EDT.One million seconds from the moment this column posted, the face of TV game shows - and possibly television as we know it -- could change forever, thanks to what clearly is one of the most ambitious TV programs ever to make it to network prime-time TV: NBC Universal's "The Million Second Quiz."Thu, 29 Aug 2013 06:13:00 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208005/t-minus-1-million-and-counting.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207817/leave-it-to-beaver-and-the-joys-of-nostalgia.htmlYou may have seen the recent New York Times story claiming that nostalgia is good for you That was all the justification I needed to embark on a mini "Leave It to Beaver" marathon. NetFlix, God bless them, is a veritable time machine, with more than enough shows to make me nostalgic for every period of my life. But "Beaver" is special.Tue, 27 Aug 2013 11:09:12 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207817/leave-it-to-beaver-and-the-joys-of-nostalgia.htmlhttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207466/controversial-dads-is-already-the-most-talked-ab.htmlFox's "Dads won't debut until Sept. 17, yet it is already the most talked-about new series of the 2013-14 broadcast television season. That isn't necessarily a good thing, unless the old saying that "there is no such thing as bad publicity" proves true in the case of this unsurprisingly controversial sitcom, which its critics are insisting will be an affront to everything that is good and decent in our society. I'm not sure that's true, but many things about it are certain to offend many people.Fri, 23 Aug 2013 11:53:11 -0400https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207466/controversial-dads-is-already-the-most-talked-ab.html