EXEC SUMMARY: Scroll down for the latest on impeachment, President Trump's first rally of 2020, Megyn Kelly's 'Bombshell' reactions, huge 'Jeopardy!' ratings, and much more...
532!
In 2009 there were 211 scripted television series on broadcast and cable networks, according to a count commissioned by FX.
In 2014, the first year FX shared its data, the total was up to 376, and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon were in the mix. FX wasn't counting daytime TV or shows for kids or specials -- just regularly scheduled dramas and sitcoms and the like. The growth was explosive. FX boss John Landgraf warned that the industry was living through a bubble. "This is simply too much television," he said in 2015. "My sense is that 2015 or 2016 will represent peak TV in America, and that we'll begin to see declines coming the year after that and beyond."
That's when the notion of "peak TV" was introduced. But we haven't reached the peak yet. New distributors keep getting into the game. On Thursday Landgraf shared FX's newest estimate at the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour: There were 532 scripted programs across broadcast, cable and streaming in 2019, he said, a 7% increase over 2018.
So, for the first time, the industry has topped 500 scripted shows. The question in John Koblin's NYT story: "When will the bubble pop?"
"Bananas"
Brian Lowry emails: It's a dizzying number, one Landgraf said he expects to keep rising, at least in the near term, as more resources are funneled into new streaming services. "That total will increase substantially this year, which to me is just bananas," Landgraf said...
Netflix's view: No 'peak'
Netflix, of course, has rejected the "peak TV" talk while making more and more and more shows. Ted Sarandos pushed back against Landgraf in 2015 and again in 2017. The Netflix argument: "We're making a lot of television because tastes are incredibly diverse. The idea that there's too much out there is silly, and it's a very kind of analogue idea of how to make programming choices."
TV critics can sense the changes...
Lowry adds: The streaming influence is certainly in evidence across the TCA press tour, with Hulu and Apple among the presenters, and emphasis on streaming projects like "Star Trek: Picard" from CBS All Access. Some traditional channels, meanwhile, have shrunk their footprint, seemingly concluding that they're getting less bang for their bucks — and a commentary, as well, on the shifting nature of the outlets covering the event. The press tour continues through January 19...
ONE OTHER NOTABLE BIT OF NEWS FROM TCA...
FX delays Clinton impeachment series
Brian Lowry writes: FX caused a stir when it announced its miniseries about the Clinton impeachment, presented under the "American Crime Story" banner, would premiere Sept. 27, dredging up memories of Bill Clinton's behavior just six weeks before the election. On Thursday, Landgraf now said the date for "Impeachment" is still to be determined -- and unlikely to precede the election -- citing conflicts due to producer Ryan Murphy's schedule as opposed to other considerations. For his part, Murphy -- who is busy directing the movie "Prom," adapted from the stage musical -- said a few months ago that he understood the sensitivities of the project (which includes Monica Lewinsky as a producer) and that the date wasn't set in stone...
NOW TO THE CURRENT IMPEACHMENT...
Friday announcement by Pelosi?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is "indicating that the House would 'soon' end a weekslong impasse and vote to bring the charges to trial," NYT's Nicholas Fandos wrote Thursday night. He said lawmakers and aides are bracing "for an announcement from Ms. Pelosi about her plans as soon as Friday, as senators made final preparations for what would be the third presidential impeachment trial in American history...."
Was the delay inspired by John Dean?
Molly Ball's new TIME cover story about Pelosi includes this detail: "Pelosi, according to an aide, had been mulling the tactic since she heard former Nixon White House counsel John Dean float the idea on CNN on Dec. 5..."
First rally of 2020... | | And the FoxNews.com headline about it is "WILD NIGHT." At the Ohio rally, Trump asserted that Dems "would have tipped off the media" about the Soleimani operation "had they known about it."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- The public is paying close attention to the US-Iran crisis: "Wednesday (43M) and Tuesday (40.6M) of this week were CNN's 4th and 5th largest digital traffic days in history..." (Twitter)
-- FoxNews.com also had "one of the best traffic days in the history of its site" on Tuesday... (Poynter)
-- On Thursday Newsweek was the first outlet (at least the first I saw) to report that US officials believe Flight 752 was shot down by Iran, using two Russian-made missiles, likely by mistake. CBS News was the first network to report the news, and CNN followed minutes later...
-- The Globe and Mail is collecting information on all the passengers of Flight 752 and updating this page regularly... (The Globe and Mail)
-- WaPo's lead story in Friday's print edition: "House passes war powers resolution to curtail Trump..."
-- Chris Cuomo's reaction to the vote: "I can't believe it wasn't unanimous!" (Twitter)
Royal fallout
"Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are tearing up long-standing rules of engagement with the media as they try to bypass 'frequent misreporting' by royal correspondents and tell their stories to handpicked media outlets and directly to the public," Hadas Gold writes. "In a statement accompanying the shock announcement late Wednesday that they would be stepping back from their duties as senior royals, the couple wrote that they will no longer participate in the Royal Rota system, the pool of British journalists that for decades has covered all royal events and shares information and photos with other media." Read on...
>> The Atlantic's Helen Lewis says the couple's "decision to 'step back' from the royal family reflects their distaste for the British press..."
>> Press like this? Sky has Friday's UK front pages here. The Daily Telegraph: "The Queen calls family crisis meeting." Metro: "HARRY UP AND GO." Daily Mirror: "Queen fights to save monarchy." Daily Express: "FURIOUS QUEEN ORDERS: SORT IT OUT NOW!" More...
>> NYT's Mark Landler reports: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex "felt forced to disclose their plans prematurely after they learned that the Sun, a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, got wind of the internal discussions about their status and was preparing a story, two people with ties to the family said..."
>> Now what? TheWrap suggests that "one model for the couple might be Barack and Michelle Obama, whose Netflix-based Higher Ground is developing scripted and unscripted content on serious topics like race, class and civil rights..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- The Sun has launched a sister site stateside, "dedicated to publishing news for an American audience..." (PressGazette)
-- Jamelle Bouie writing about Trump: "When are we going to stop trying to rationalize the irrational?" (NYT)
-- Hundreds of people responded to John F. Harris when he asked them to explain why they were standing with Trump during impeachment. "With sincerity, candor, and even a measure of wistful idealism," he says, "people shared their views of a political and media culture they believe is cynical at its core. If almost nothing is on the level, almost anything goes..." (Politico)
-- One of those follow-ups that will never get as much attention as the original stories and speculation did: "Justice Dept. winds down Clinton-related inquiry once championed by Trump. It found nothing of consequence." (WaPo)
-- Coming Friday to the "Reliable Sources" podcast: My sit-down with AP exec editor Sally Buzbee...
FRIDAY PLANNER
Bernie Sanders will be on NBC's "Today" -- and so will his occasional "SNL" impersonator Larry David. Will they appear together?
The BLS will release its latest employment report at 8:30am ET. Here's what to expect.
The sixth Iowa caucus poll by CNN and The Des Moines Register is coming out at 6pm ET.
The deadline to qualify for next week's CNN/DMR debate is at 11:59pm. On Thursday, a pair of Fox polls lifted Tom Steyer onto the debate stage.
Laura Ingraham's interview with POTUS will air on "The Ingraham Angle" at 10pm ET.
Bret Baier says he stands by "Trump Derangement Syndrome" comments
Oliver Darcy emails: On Thursday Bret Baier, the top political anchor at Fox News, stood by his widely criticized remark accusing some critics of Trump's Iran policy of perhaps having "Trump Derangement Syndrome." In an interview with Mediaite's Aidan McLaughlin, Baier said he was "kind of surprised" that his comments "got a lot of pickup."
Baier said, "My point was is that when something good happens, when the end result is good, you can give the hat tip and say, this is a good end result." Baier later added to McLaughlin, "I don't regret it. I think if you watch the whole soundbite it's pretty self-explanatory."
...praises Fox opinion hosts, saying they "just do something different"
Darcy adds: While speaking to McLaughlin, Baier was asked if Fox's opinion hosts make his job "more difficult." Baier responded by praising the "opinion guys," saying, "They're really good at what they do." Baier then added, "They just do something different. And it doesn't mean we're not under the same umbrella."
KTLA anchor mysteriously absent after accusing Trump
Oliver Darcy emails: KTLA-TV anchor Courtney Friel, the former Fox News reporter who accused Trump of inviting her to his office "so we can kiss," was mysteriously absent from her regularly scheduled anchoring slots over the weekend, Molly Jong-Fast reported for The Daily Beast. Her absence came immediately after the NYDN published an excerpt of her new book in which she made the accusation against Trump. Jong-Fast said that KTLA did not respond to her multiple requests for comment. Friel is on a book tour now, but is scheduled to be back at work later this month...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig have started the promotional push for their new book "A Very Stable Genius," about you-know-who, which comes out January 21... (Twitter)
-- Also out on January 21, a new Peter Schweizer book, revealed by Mike Allen on Thursday. "Profiles in Corruption" is about "abuse of power by America's progressive elite," but the cover already looks out of date, since Kamala Harris is prominently pictured, and she is out of the 2020 race... (Axios)
-- In other book news: Alex Kantrowitz has written a new book, "Always Day One," that will "take you deep inside the tech giants, revealing the unique culture, processes, and leadership practices behind their success." It comes out April 7... (BuzzFeed)
-- BI's Casey Sullivan emails this scoop: "Mike Reed, the CEO of Gannett, is gearing up to make big cuts at America's newspapers and won't have to disclose how much he gets paid for it -- despite helming a public company..." (BI)
Tell me lies, tell me...
"Facebook said Thursday that it was 'not deaf' to criticism of its policy allowing politicians to spread lies on its platform. But it will not change its rules," Donie O'Sullivan reports. A small group of protesters gathered outside FB HQ, per CNBC...
-- Related: This Philip Bump piece resonated with me: "At the heart of Facebook's rocky public position is the scale of its own power..."
Twitter to offer option of limiting replies
Oliver Darcy emails: A new feature from Twitter could put an end to some of the harassment issues on the site. Speaking on Thursday at CES, Twitter exec Suzanne Xie announced that Twitter will add a new setting that controls who can reply to a users tweets. It's broken down into four categories: Global, Group, Panel, and Statement. More here from The Verge's Dieter Bohn...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- In the coming months NewsGuard "will become a paid, member-supported browser extension," with a $1.95/month subscription offer. It will remain free for schools and libraries. (NewsGuard)
-- From Digiday's Max Willens: "As publishers pivot to paid, newsrooms focus more on sales..." (Digiday)
-- Verizon "is eliminating bundles and contracts" and selling Fios TV and internet services separately, Jordan Valinsky reports... (CNN Business)
NYT shakes up editorial board endorsement process
Oliver Darcy emails: Historically, the NYT editorial board's interviews with presidential primary candidates are off the record. That is changing this year. NYT Opinion deputy editor Kathleen Kingsbury gained a lot of attention for her thread on Thursday promoting the board's plans for a transparency process. See the video cameras in this photo: | | All of the candidate interviews are taking place on the record and on camera. Kingsbury said that NYT will publish "the full, annotated transcripts online" next week.
Then, on the January 19 episode of FX's "The Weekly," the newspaper's editorial board will reveal its endorsement. The episode, Kingsbury said, "will feature portions of the candidates' interviews and the board's deliberations." Kingsbury said NYT Opinion's hope is it will be the "most transparent endorsement process to date..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- WSJ W.H. reporter Vivian Salama is joining CNN as a national security correspondent out of DC... (Twitter)
-- Omar Raja, known for founding the House of Highlights account on Instagram, is leaving WarnerMedia's Bleacher Report to join ESPN. Variety's Brian Steinberg interviewed the 25-year-old "potential superstar..." (Variety)
-- "SportsCenter" anchor and "Philly guy" Kevin Negandhi has inked a multi-year contract extension with ESPN, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer... (Inquirer)
-- Marina Walker Guevara, who managed the Panama Papers for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, is succeeding Indira Lakshmanan as Pulitzer Center exec editor... (Pulitzer Center)
Watch this:
Megyn Kelly and three other former Fox News employees watched "Bombshell" together "and discussed their emotional reactions," ET's Meredith B. Kile wrote.
Watch Kelly's 30-minute YouTube video here... | |
Today at the Weinstein trial...
On Thursday "the judge in Harvey Weinstein's criminal case rejected the defense's motion request that he recuse himself two days after the judge threatened Weinstein with jail time for repeatedly using a cell phone in court." Details here...
>> Ronan Farrow tweeted Thursday night: "Source involved in Weinstein trial tells me close to 50 potential jurors have been sent home because they said they'd read 'Catch and Kill.'" Speaking of..
Inside day one of jury selection
Marianne Garvey writes: A friend of mine had jury duty on day one of the Harvey Weinstein selection process, and was one of the 120 brought in Tuesday morning at the start of selection. She describes a strict judge who had Harvey turn to face potential jurors, and many prospectives who were let go because of ties to Hollywood or the the celebrity-heavy witness list, which includes Charlize Theron and Salma Hayek. Some interesting notes:
-- When one male potential juror said he has dined at Cipriani, Judge James M. Burke replied, "Do you live at Cipriani? No? Please sit down," says our source.
-- An older prospective juror said he hadn't seen a movie since the '70s and wasn't familiar with Weinstein, according to the source. More here...
| | Lowry reviews "Like a Boss"
Brian Lowry writes: January usually brings low-key movies as awards contenders expand to wide release and gobble up attention, a la "1917," which is expected to top the box-office this weekend. Enter "Like a Boss," an R-rated comedy that clearly aspires to tap into the "Bridesmaids" niche, starring Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne. Set in the cosmetics industry, the predictable premise operates in a thin foundation...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- This long read made rounds on Thursday: Journalist and essayist James Pogue writes that "America's higher echelon of long-form journalists can now expect to make more money from Hollywood than they do from the publications that print their stories..." (Baffler)
-- Lisa Respers France writes: Celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels has been slammed for comments about Lizzo's weight. But Michaels is insisting it's all love...
-- Marianne Garvey writes: Hey fans of Fran Drescher's "The Nanny" -- she's teamed up with "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" co-creator Rachel Bloom to bring the 90's sitcom to Broadway as a musical...
-- Huge! On Wednesday "Jeopardy: The Greatest of All Time delivered 14.82 million viewers for ABC at 8 p.m., about 400,000 more than Tuesday's outing..." (THR)
"Creative differences," Disney style
Brian Lowry emails: A pair of high-profile projects — both under the vast Disney umbrella — are losing their creative leads, in both instances citing "creative differences." Scott Derrickson is leaving the sequel to Marvel's "Doctor Strange," Variety reports, after having directed the original. Elsewhere, "Lizzie McGuire" creator Terry Minsky is exiting a Disney+ revival of that show, with a spokesman telling THR, "After filming two episodes, we concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show."
>> It's a further reminder when it comes to these massive franchises belong to the studio, not the talent, and when push comes to shove, it's the studio's vision that's going to prevail...
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
Wajahat Ali's daughter celebrates cancer-free diagnosis with her liver donor | | Katie Pellico writes: CNN contributor Wajahat Ali shared "a video to give you hope & make you smile" on Wednesday night, showing his 3-year-old daughter and "warrior princess" Nusayba running into the arms of her liver donor in a hospital hallway while wearing a red superhero cape. Ali wrote, "After 9 months of enduring stage 4 liver cancer, she is officially cancer free. I'm so proud of her. She is the bravest person I know."
>> CNN's "New Day" covered the story Thursday morning, and co-anchor John Berman remarked, "When I read this yesterday I screamed with joy."
| | | Thank you for reading! Send me your feedback via email... And we'll be back tomorrow... | | | |
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