NBC - NO GLOBES; NBC GIVES BACK GOBS

NBC is not waiting to see how its press-conference version of the Golden Globes will do on Sunday before reaching out to advertisers and offering to refund the money they paid for spots on the program. Advertising Age, citing people familiar with the situation, said today (Wednesday) that the network could wind up returning as much as $10-15 million to Golden Globes advertisers. Meanwhile, the trade publication noted, ABC is also contacting media buyers who have bought spots in this year's Oscars telecast to discuss a course of action should the strike shut down that awards show, too. (On Tuesday night a taped version of the People's Choice Awards on CBS drew its smallest audience ever -- half of what it was a year ago; it averaged a 4.3/6 vs. an 8.4/13 in 2007.)

NOTE:
In our item Tuesday about the return of the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert shows, we noted that Stewart appeared critical of the WGA's demand to receive residuals from Internet downloads, likening them to free cheese samples at specialty food stores. Some readers have written maintaining that Stewart was actually mocking the network attitude. We based our report on comments that appeared on several blogs following the broadcast. It should be pointed out, however, that Stewart has previously complained about Viacom's efforts to prevent his show from being uploaded to video-sharing sites, arguing that those uploads effectively promote the show. By the same token, the Stewart and Colbert shows are available (legally) via iTunes at a price of $9.99 for 16 episodes -- or 62 cents per episode, a figure not likely to generate significant revenue to Viacom and Apple given the current rate of paid TV downloads. Others have also pointed out that even such a low price structure is unrealistic -- and that paying for just four or five half-hour shows at iTunes's "Multi-Pass" fee would equal the total cost of one-month's basic cable service. Daily Variety reported today that the consensus among TV executives who participated in a forum at the CES show in Las Vegas Tuesday is that paid downloads have seen "little traction" and will soon become "a thing of the past."

09/01/2008