Friday, July 18

Who knew? HULU


As NBC sheds off its o & o stations (like the Miami station this week), it's another signal the company is moving away from old media and embracing new media. NBC's has some mixed signals in the news that shows users of HULU are happy and the demos are good-- but the numbers are not as BIG as hoped.

TV WEEK
runs donw the numbers...

Despite a high-profile in the media business, only 15% of online Americans have even heard of Hulu.com, the NBC-Fox online video venture. But those who have used the site like it a lot. That’s the conclusion of a recent study from Solutions Research Group. Hulu users say they like the ability to search and find both old episodes of TV shows and recent ones they missed. Hulu visitors also like that the shows are free and that the service operates as something of an online digital video recorder.Their only complaint is that the site offers only the most recent episodes of certain shows.The average age of a Hulu user is 32, 10 years younger than the average online American. Also, two-thirds of Hulu users are male. Solutions Research Group said 51% of users are between 12 and 29, and their average income is 22% higher than the U.S. average.Hulu users are more likely to own laptops, smart phones and video-capable MP3 players than the average online American.About 39% of Hulu users said they “frequently paid attention to ads seen online.”


Meanwhile, the online video thing appears to be catching on for ABC. The network reports
ABC.com users clicked on and watched a record 815 million minutes of full-length episodes during the month of May.

Why do you need an affiliate? Maybe that's why NBC is turning the tables now and making the affiliates pay the network. The day is coming when the networks will abandon the local stations.

And the Primetime Emmy nominations are,,,

With all the reality crap on network television, there's little wonder why the big drama series prize now includes shows from basic cable networks like FX and AMC. Where are the quality shows, NBC, CBS? But hey, the Emmy's cultivates more reality/game show programming by creating a new category this year for best reality competition show host. Like Howie Mandel needs an Emmy for keeping people waiting through the next commercial break?

Here's the complete Primetime Emmy nomination list.
This is the 60th anniversary for the event.


I predicted in a pervious post that I think Mad Men
will walk away with the outstanding drama series Emmy since television is all about the business of advertising. Mad Men is a great show worth finding and watching (just like BSG). It's tragic characters bring the days before seat belt laws to life as children jump merrily on big bench seats of the cars of the early 1960s as mommy struggles to light up a smoke and navigate the road. The show has a bitter-sweet irony yanking on the nostalgia and romanticism of the era. Mad Men has great moments peppered with twisted little background elements showing the naivete' of the times-- like mothers scolding children playing with dry cleaning plastic because they're worried about the clothes and oblivious to the suffocation risk it poses. That same simple nostalgia and romanticism is carefully manipulated by the ad men and women the show is about as they ply their trade on Madison Avenue.

While I'm a big
LOST fan, my money is on Mad Men. My wife's now squarely behind Dexter after watching it on TiVo downloads. I was disappointed to see Pushing Daisies was passed over in the outstanding comedy series category. A couple of the actors from that show received some Emmy noms. I guess I must be missing something for not being plugged into Two and a Half Men all these years.

Outstanding Drama Series

  • Boston Legal
  • Damages
  • Dexter
  • House
  • Lost
  • Mad Men