Television

My CES adventure

Vegas, baby! Long lines, high prices, sore feet. If there was any real cutback in the show, it was by consolidating some exhibit space, but it was still crowded and lively.

If you've seen any coverage from CES at all, then you know the headliner was 3D television. And though what I saw from Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and others was terrific, there is one thing I just don't get yet: wearing the glasses and concentrating at the screen. It's one thing to be at the movies, in the theater with a huge screen and a shared … Read more

More TVs than people!

Good news, entertainment fans.

Despite proliferating media platforms and a world of choice, more people spend more of their leisure time with TV than anything else, by far. But we don't rest on our laurels here at CBS. The explosion of video available online--both premium and user-generated--has flooded consumers with an overwhelming amount of choice. And it's growing every second.

And people need a guide to help navigate these options, too. Our mission is to make it easy for them to find and enjoy our content. People don't watch technology; they watch programs. But technology has enabled … Read more

Smart TV

The talk at the recent New TeeVeeLive conference I attended in San Francisco was about connected television, specifically Internet-connected and Internet-delivered video and data to the home TV screen.

Video is now the main driver of the Net. Choice and control--those "c's" again--reigned supreme in almost everyone's talk. See the highlights from this excellent conference.

By the way, Om Malik who runs GigaOM, and who ran the conference, did a terrific job. The sessions were 20 minutes each, which was great for those of us with short attention spans. There also were questions and … Read more

And the winner of premiere week is...CBS

The first week of the new television season is history, and CBS came out the winner. More viewers watched CBS premiere week than any other network, and CBS was the only network to be up over last year. A mighty accomplishment considering the extraordinary amount of competition in the media space. (Spoken like a true marketing guy?)

Now the race goes into its next phase: solidifying the hits and attracting more people to the other shows. We watch the week-to-week trends and see what direction the ratings are headed. Obviously, up is better! So we keep the marketing machine turning, … Read more

This is it: Premiere week is here

It's finally here!

After months of preparation and anticipation, the new television season begins. The networks will launch some 40 new shows, plus bring back returning favorites. There's a lot of media choice out there, and a lot of product calling for the attention of the nation's television viewers. The barrage of messages from on-air promos, print ads, cable, radio, billboards, and interactive technologies all set the stage to create awareness and attention. Now it's up to the audience to tell us what they like, and what they don't. So stay tuned and enjoy the … Read more

Countdown to the new TV season

We've waited all summer and now it's almost here: on Monday, September 21, the new television season officially begins. "Officially" is when Nielsen says it begins, because in the ratings race, Nielsen is the scorekeeper. The TV networks will launch more than 40 new shows in the course of a few weeks. Fortunes and careers will be made and lost in that time. This is one of the only industries that launches so much new product all at once against its toughest competition. This doesn't happen with soft drinks, toothpaste, or detergent.

But that's … Read more

And that's the way it is

When I started my career with CBS, the CBS Broadcast Center in New York was truly "Cronkite's house." The Cronkite Studio was a newsroom of its own--writers, producers, assistants, with Walter at his anchor desk as the Managing Editor. Every day, the whirl of activity in there grew steadily as airtime approached. As an aspiring broadcaster, I loved walking by the door and catching a quick look inside. It was intimidating, and always mesmerizing. Walter (Mr. Cronkite!) truly was a presence. I was lucky enough to be part of CBS News convention and election coverage, and some … Read more

Back in blog biz

My apologies, readers. I had a very busy June with travel to Los Angeles and planning for the marketing of CBS' new season. So, here is some quick catch up.

On the tech front: I've been testing Windows 7 on my home machine. Love it. I got a Verizon MiFi so I can create hot spots everywhere and don't have to pay those ridiculous hotel Web access charges. I love that. I upgraded my iPhone software. Love it. I switched to Avast Virus protection for home machines and home servers. Love it! I went to E3 in Los … Read more

The race is on

OK, we've screened the pilots, discussed the merits of every show, developed a new fall schedule, and unveiled it to the world. So, do things slow down now? No! It's the busiest time in "Network TV Land," because this is when we develop our marketing plans for the new shows and create all the advertising for TV, radio, print, outdoor, and digital...you name it. But this is the fun part. CBS has a really solid schedule of returning shows, and four new ones will join the lineup in September. Now is the time we develop … Read more

Let's see what develops

It's development time in the network television world. That's when we look at all the shows that are contenders for the fall schedule. Network TV is still the biggest dog in the media pack, and people are watching more TV than ever. To that end, there are many more choices.

So, how are they selected? Let me take you through the process at CBS (and it's essentially the same for all the big networks).

We have very talented programmers and development executives whose jobs are to work with writers, creators, and producers to look for material that … Read more