Through the Wire
by Kent Gibbons and Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 9/14/2008 8:00:00 PM
Fine Living Found 'Martha!' Can It Keep Her Happy?
Martha Stewart was so pleased to be plugging new Fine Living Network show Whatever, Martha!, she vamped her way through remarks at a crowded party on a New York City rooftop last Wednesday without a working microphone. And without throwing a diva fit.
After praising the weather — “have you ever seen such great clouds, oh and the bluest sky!” — the Iconic One explained why she let daughter Alexis Stewart and her pal, Jennifer Koppelman Hutt, do a show that involves watching 1990s episodes of Martha Stewart Living and mocking Martha's on-screen antics.
“I do have a sense of humor,” Stewart explained. “And I love Mystery Science Theater [3000].”
FLN general manager Chad Youngblood loves the show, which debuts Tuesday (Sept. 16) at 9 p.m. He thinks it's a surefire hit that “could be a defining moment for Fine Living Television.”
But will it be a long-lasting moment? Stewart told The Wire if it had been up to her, the show would have been pitched to Comedy Central or maybe Bravo. “And that's where I think it will be, eventually,” she said, because it would fit so well at either of them.
“That doesn't shock or concern me at all,” Youngblood said when The Wire hustled over with that quote. “We all work for Martha. I'm lucky to be employed by her right now.”
Youngblood pointed out Fine Living shows The Martha Stewart Show episodes in primetime and has done numerous specials with her, evidence of a close relationship that engendered the pitch to begin with.
“I think we can hang onto it,” he said.
Meantime, he has big plans for Whatever! After establishing it on Tuesday nights the plan is to run the show a second night, Mondays, with old episodes of Bravo's Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, Youngblood said.
That's a lot of Whatever.
Move of a Lifetime Won't Come Easily
Lifetime Networks' always-active public-affairs and communications staffers have been especially busy lately, hosting parties, “Every Woman Counts” events and even a fundraiser for Hurricane Gustav victims at the Democratic and Republican conventions in Denver and St. Paul, Minn.
So exhaustion mixed with dismay last Tuesday with word that their department and some other functions — about 20 jobs in all — are moving to Los Angeles in January to be closer to the programming and marketing groups.
It's unclear how many will relocate, other than executive VPs Meredith Wagner (communications) and Mike Greco (research). Wagner said the news was “difficult and hard for a lot of people, and painful.” Her group “works 24 and 7 together,” she said.
With no letup in sight. This week there's a New York session with the White House Project, training women who want to run for public office. Screenings of breast-cancer themed flick Living Proof (with Harry Connick Jr.) are coming up in London, L.A., New York and Washington, D.C.
“And I have to learn how to drive,” longtime New Yorker Wagner said, clearly stressed at the prospect.
Lifetime chief Andrea Wong loves advocacy work and wants to integrate it even more into programming and marketing, Wagner said. Bringing the creative groups together should lead to good results, she said. A gain, after the pain.
Spirit of Blutarsky Embodied in Ads
In Animal House, John Belushi's character tries to rally the deflated Delta frat house with his cry: “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
CBS College Sports invokes that spirit in a new ad campaign sending up famous scenes from The Blues Brothers, Jerry Maguire and Animal House.
With the latter, the Bluto Blutarsky wanna-be intones: “Over? Football's never over on CBS College Sports Network. Was It Over when Appalachian State beat Notre Dame?”
For those with the proper scorecard, it was actually Michigan that went down to defeat at hands of the Championship Subdivision school in the 2007 season opener.
“These are films that a lot of sports fans can relate to,” said CBS College Sports president Steve Herbst. “They're designed to have a little fun, break through the clutter and raise awareness for the network.”
Catch them on CBS College Sports, CBS, Versus, The Mtn. and various local outlets.
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