Videoage International October 2017

36 October 2017 V I D E O A G E In its business section, The Los Angeles Times reported, “TV lineups playing it safe,” andgave half a page to the fact that “TV networks are bringing back sitcoms,” focusing on the ABC revival of Roseanne , a hit from 1988 to 1997, with its original cast. The paper also pointed out that “NBC is bringing back Will & Grace , one of its top comedies from 1998 to 2006,” also with its original cast, and other revivals, such as American Idol (now on ABC and originally on FOX), Dynasty (on the CW) and S.W.A.T. (on CBS) are headed to the TV screens. The New York Times too continued its new TV season coverage on the business page, but gave it a political twist with, “TV in the Age of Trump,” which was in the same vein of VideoAge ’s story in its April 2017 Issue announcing the “L.A. Screenings Under the Signs of Rooster [Chinese investments in Hollywood and] Trump.” In its article, the Times singled out new series with military and religious themes (which tend to be favoredby President Trump’s core constituents), such as SEAL Team (CBS), Valor (CW) and The Brave (NBC) for the military, and The Gospel of Kevin (ABC) and By the Book (CBS) for the faithful. However, strange as itmight seem, conservative television — full of nostalgia, military action and faith — is nothing new, as reported by VideoAge in its 1981 review of that season’s new TV series. On Sunday, May 21, the first bombshell article appeared, courtesy of The Los Angeles Times , with a back-handed compliment declaring, “People who get rid of cable TV might not save money,” and “Cord cutting might not cut costs.” And then, the L.A. Screenings’ period closed on Thursday, May 25, with an article in USA Today pointing out how a channel restructuring by Charter, the second largest cable TV provider in the U.S., would end up costing subscribers more. Both articles indicated that, perhaps, the future is more problematic for cable TV than for broadcast television, which today operates with an unprecedented four-tier business model: advertising, retrans fees, SVoD and international program sales. However, as reported in the front- cover story about Mediacom, cable can still be resilient. Nevertheless, despite falling ratings and fears about cord-cutting, major advertisers at the upfront ad sales market placed orders for $19.7 billion worth of primetime commercial spots on cable and broadcast TV networks, an increase of 5.9 percent over last year, according to the Nutley, N.J.-based research firm Media Dynamics Inc. The total ad orders represented a new record for the upfront market. The major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the CW) increased their combined upfront ad haul 4.1 percent over 2016 to an estimated $9.1 billion. For its part, cable-TV networks collected $10.6 billion in advertising commitments, a 7.6 percent gain over last year. Increased sales for cable-TV time surprised some analysts because cable has experienced a dramatic loss of subscribers. The Upfront accounts for between 75 and 80 percent of the overall TV primetime ad market, and if the economy improves, the nets can expect an increase in rates for the balance of the airtime L.A. Screenings Review Evening party on the Fox studio lot NBCUniversal’s Belinda Menendez, with LATAM buyers during the lunch break Lionsgate’s Peter Iacono rented two theaters at the London West Hollywood Hotel for back-to-back screenings. The Indies Muscled in: Caracol’s Lisette Osorio (center) presented a red carpet for her executives and stars before heading to her screenings and party. Telefilms’ Tomás Darcyl (second from the l.) and Ricardo Costianovsky (second from the r.) staged elaborate screenings followed by a cocktail party. Sonar’s David Ellender (left) and Tom Lesinski screened its new miniseries Mercedes and co-sponsored a cocktail with NATPE. The Baywatch party at Paramount Studios Despite falling ratings and fears about cord-cutting, major advertisers placed orders for $19.7 billion worth of primetime commercial spots. The 12th annual L.A. Screenings Veterans luncheon was attended by 13 veterans. (Continued from Page 34) (Continued on Page 38)