It’s upfront season again. The broadcast networks have put their schedules out there and the selling has begun. Cable is right behind them. Series, specials, events, renewals as far as the eye can see. For television junkies it’s one of our favorite times of the year. A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to [...]

Every father wants the best for his son.  Good health, a great family, a big house.  And, a fantastic job.  My dad was no different.  Corporate executive, high powered banker, maybe a lawyer.  Major league ballplayer, preferably for the New York Yankees would have been great.  Naval officer with a degree from Annapolis was pretty [...]

It’s October and Fall is upon us.  From New England to the Carolinas, crimson, orange, and yellow foliage is beginning to burst out all over.  Light jackets and sweaters are the norm.  And for baseball fans like me, the postseason and World Series are here.

Ratings. They’re the universal figures by which we determine so many things in our business. Success. Failure. Ranking. Advertising. Renewal. Cancellation. For some it’s a daily report card. Others, it comes weekly or monthly. Some live and die by the numbers. Others isolate them as one slice of feedback amongst many. For some, they symbolize [...]

One of the fringe benefits about working in our industry is the opportunity to meet and work with celebrities of all kinds. Rubbing elbows with the famous and almost famous from the worlds of music, science, sports, politics, history, pop culture, news, and of course, Hollywood. But, if you’re really lucky, you get to cross [...]

When it comes to programming, networks have been consistently vocal about wanting something new, fresh, innovative, and a number of other adjectives that describe all of the above. That’s good. Television always needs new ideas and creative approaches in storytelling, character development, and content selection. OK, so that’s nothing new. The challenge is finding all [...]

MIP, MIPCOM, NATPE, Realscreen, London Screenings, Monte Carlo, Sharing Stories.  Over the years I’ve probably been to more than a hundred television markets and conferences, all of them as a network programmer.  Last month at Realscreen, for the first time, I attended as seller.  What a difference.   Experiencing what a producer/seller goes through at [...]

The Super Bowl is behind us.  Credit card bills are piling up from Christmas purchases.  Congress has returned to the Capitol.  The winter cold snap is at its peak and a storm is predicted for midweek.  It must be Realscreen time in Washington. It’s been just over a decade since the first Realscreen Summit in [...]

Greatest television story of the year was, of course, the seemingly endless Presidential election.  Hillary or Barack?  Barack or Hillary?  McCain comes back.  Iowa, New Hampshire Michigan, Florida.  The conventions, the balloons, more speeches, the debates, and polls.  Tons of polls.  Battleground states, Chuck Todd, Allen County, Indiana.  It was the best serial television out [...]