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Preaching To The Choir

By: R Thomas Umstead Feb 1 2013 - 9:15am

The ongoing Time Warner Cable/AMC Networks carriage negotiations took center stage at an unusual venue Thursday: The 16th annual Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project Economic Summit Luncheon in New York led by Rev. Jesse Jackson.

TV Fans Speak — and Are Heard

By: R. Thomas Umstead Jan 22 2013 - 4:43pm

Online viewer petitions for television shows aren’t particularly new or trendy, and most of the time they don’t alter TV executives’ decisions to launch or cancel a program.

Occasionally viewer outcry can force a temporary reprieve for a show with a small, vocal cult following. In 2006, for example, fans of CBS’s post-apocalyptic themed drama series Jericho won the series an additional seven episodes after mailing 20 tons of peanuts — a nod to a famous line in the series’ first season finale — to CBS executives.

Oxygen Pulls Plug On 'Baby Mamas'

By: R. Thomas Umstead Jan 15 2013 - 8:14pm

Some television reality series can often push the limits of what is perceived as reasonably tasteful and acceptable to a majority of viewers or a particular group of watchers.

When a show crosses the line for those audiences, viewers often express their displeasure by not tuning in, or, as in the case of Oxygen’s proposed reality show All My Babies’ Mamas, nearly 80,000 people sign online petitions against the special.

Cable Stars Shine At Nomination Time

By: R. Thomas Umstead Dec 18 2012 - 11:58am

Anyone questioning whether 2012 was a big year creatively for cable programming need only to look at its multitude of nominations for TV industry awards last week.

Pacquiao KO Major Blow For PPV Boxing

By: R Thomas Umstead Dec 9 2012 - 4:05am

It’s way too early to determine how many pay-per-view buys Saturday night’s Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight generated, but it’s not to early to speculate on the damaging effect the bout's outcome will have on the PPV boxing category's immediate future.

Bigfoot, Tattoos & The Apocalypse

By: R. Thomas Umstead Nov 21 2012 - 3:15pm

Recently cable networks have explored unique topics that at first glance may seem strange or

unorthodox, but nevertheless have found a loyal and passionate audience.

 

For decades, traditional media has poked fun at the legend of Bigfoot (e.g., the Sasquatch-themed

Slim Jim commercials). But to Animal Planet and Spike TV, the legend is no laughing matter.

Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot, in which true believers actually seek out evidence to prove the

Food Network Gearing Up For Its Super Sunday

By: R Thomas Umstead Nov 17 2012 - 2:06am

The NFL’s Super Sunday is still months away, but Food Network’s Super Bowl happens this Sunday with the premiere of its Thanksgiving Live special.

 

Terrence J Looks To Strike Chord At `E! News'

By: R. Thomas Umstead Nov 12 2012 - 2:19pm

Actor and TV personality Terrence Jenkins will move into the E! News anchor desk tonight (Nov. 12) as co-host of E!’s popular entertainment news show. Jenkins, who most recently served as co-host of BET's 106 & Park daily music countdown show, is no stranger to the entertainment business: he’s also appeared in such recent theatrical features as Think Like a Man, Burlesque and Sparkle, as well as BET's top scripted dramedy series The Game.
 

Performing A Pay-Per-View Comeback

By: R. Thomas Umstead Oct 15 2012 - 12:08pm

Event providers not offering boxing, wrestling or UFC shows have all but abandoned the pay-per-view industry over the past decade.
 

PPV Boxing's New Contenders

By: R. Thomas Umstead Oct 9 2012 - 6:38pm

For the first time in several years, the future of the pay-per-view boxing category includes fighters other than Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
 
While both fighters remain the sport’s pound-for-pound PPV champions, a new crop of young, talented and exciting fighters are poised to challenge for the crown. Both Showtime and HBO’s Sept. 15 boxing cards showcased two of those fighters in Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
 

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