It looks like the folks at NATPE must really be happy!

[RobertMoore]

Here's the article from Yahoo/Reuters:

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/va/20060126/113827173600.html

 

[toby]

> Here's the article from Variety:
>
http> ://www.variety.com/article/VR1117936792?categoryid=2116&cs=1

So are you going to provide us all with as subscription to Variety so we can read the article?<P ID="signature">______________
<a href=http://www.triborough.org/blog/>Random Observations on Life, the Universe and Television</a></P>

 

[james32746]

> > Here's the article from Variety:
> >
> http>
> ://www.variety.com/article/VR1117936792?categoryid=2116&cs=1
>
>
> So are you going to provide us all with as subscription to
> Variety so we can read the article?
>
There is a link below the abstract that says Read This Article for Free in large text. That link leads to the ad-supported version of the article that you would normally pay for. Variety.com does this with all of their articles.<P ID="signature">______________
James Westerfield</P>

 

[RobertMoore]

For those who don't subscribe to Variety like me, I reposted another link at the top of the thread.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

The end of the Yahoo!/Reuters article indicated that syndicators who are distriubuting movies would also "see a boost as a result of the news" of the UPN/WB merger, reporting that movies would perhaps be the first content that newly-independent stations would purchase.

I would tend to think that syndicators who have movie packages will be the big winners coming out of NATPE. For newly-independent stations, running feature films weeknights from 8-10 P.M. ET/PT would probably bring them more viewers and revenue than either running off-network programming or syndicated talk, court, or game shows that are usually produced and distributed on the premsie that stations would buy them for daytime, "early-fringe" (4-7 P.M. ET/PT), or (in the case of some game shows) the 7-8 P.M. ET/PT "prime access" hour.

I do recall that the Metromedia independents ran Merv Griffin's talk show (with the company syndicated) in prime-time during the 1970's and early 1980's. But since the late 1960's, independent stations have generally stripped movies in prime-time, in some cases pre-empted now and again for local professional sports. There are a few exceptions, such as WZMY-50 in New Hampshire (available in much of the Boston TV market), which runs Ellen DeGeneres' synbdicated talk show at 8 P.M. ET followed by a local talk show; and KCAL-9 Los Angeles, which runs three hours of local news each weeknight in prime-time.

Certainly, were I the general manager or program manager of a UPN or WB affiliate about to lose it's network affiliation, I would try to get my hands on as many top-notch movies as possible and broadcast them in prime-time to replace the network programming my station would be losing.

 

[ccmfan]

> The end of the Yahoo!/Reuters article indicated that
> syndicators who are distriubuting movies would also "see a
> boost as a result of the news" of the UPN/WB merger,
> reporting that movies would perhaps be the first content
> that newly-independent stations would purchase.
>
> I would tend to think that syndicators who have movie
> packages will be the big winners coming out of NATPE. For
> newly-independent stations, running feature films weeknights
> from 8-10 P.M. ET/PT would probably bring them more viewers
> and revenue than either running off-network programming or
> syndicated talk, court, or game shows that are usually
> produced and distributed on the premsie that stations would
> buy them for daytime, "early-fringe" (4-7 P.M. ET/PT), or
> (in the case of some game shows) the 7-8 P.M. ET/PT "prime
> access" hour.
>
> I do recall that the Metromedia independents ran Merv
> Griffin's talk show (with the company syndicated) in
> prime-time during the 1970's and early 1980's. But since the
> late 1960's, independent stations have generally stripped
> movies in prime-time, in some cases pre-empted now and again
> for local professional sports. There are a few exceptions,
> such as WZMY-50 in New Hampshire (available in much of the
> Boston TV market), which runs Ellen DeGeneres' synbdicated
> talk show at 8 P.M. ET followed by a local talk show; and
> KCAL-9 Los Angeles, which runs three hours of local news
> each weeknight in prime-time.
>
> Certainly, were I the general manager or program manager of
> a UPN or WB affiliate about to lose it's network
> affiliation, I would try to get my hands on as many
> top-notch movies as possible and broadcast them in
> prime-time to replace the network programming my station
> would be losing.
>

I'd hope most of that stations that will lose their affiliation will go with movies to fill their time, but how many major recent movies are tied up at cable networks? WLMT 30 in Memphis and WJKT 16 in Jackson, TN, the UPN stations here, carry movies on weekend afternoons when there is no college football or basketball on, but most of them are at least 10 years old, or ones that weren't big hits.