Bush's Iraq speech tanks with public Tuesday
   When the White House said Monday that President Bush would be giving a speech Tuesday night, several networks balked, wondering if carrying the speech would be worth rearranging their entire schedule.
   NBC, Fox and CBS finally relented late Tuesday, but the speech did indeed throw off television viewership, with low numbers for the speech and low numbers for several premieres. 
   President Bush's 8 p.m. update on the war in Iraq averaged just 19.13 million total viewers on the Big Four broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, according to Nielsen overnights.
   That’s down 41 percent from the 32.75 million who watched Bush on the Big Four during a primetime press conference in April, though that speech took place on the first night of May sweeps, when television viewership overall was higher.
   Tuesday’s address drew 21.8 percent fewer viewers than Bush’s State of the Union address in January, which brought in 26.6 million total viewers via the Big Four.  
   For NBC the speech forced a quick switch for the premiere of “Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back,” which moved from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the East Coast.  
   The change definitely hurt. "Joe" averaged a third-place 2.0 adults 18-49 rating last night, less than half the rating for its third-season finale last year.
   ABC's "Empire" also premiered to poor numbers without a strong lead-in. It averaged just 6.4 million total viewers and a 2.0 18-49 rating.
   For the presidential address, CBS led the away among the Big Four with 5.77 million total viewers, followed by NBC’s 5.30 million, ABC’s 4.97 million and Fox’s 3.09 million.  
   CBS led the night in 18-49s with a 2.1 average rating and a 6 share, according to Nielsen overnights. Final numbers will change as overnights measure time period and not program data, but the presidential address leaked over into the 8:30 hour. Fox finished second at 1.9/6, NBC third at 1.8/5, ABC fourth at 1.7/5, and the WB and UPN tied for fifth at 0.8/2.  
   NBC led during the 8 p.m. hour among 18-49s with a 1.6 average for its coverage of the Bush speech. CBS was second with a 1.4 average for the speech (1.3) and a repeat of “The King of Queens” (1.4), while ABC and Fox tied for third, each with a 1.3 average.  
   CBS and Fox tied for the lead during the 9 p.m. hour, CBS with a 2.5 average for “Fire Me, Please” and Fox with an identical rating for a repeat of “House.” Meanwhile ABC and NBC tied for third, each with a 1.8 average rating, NBC for “I Want to Be a Hilton” and ABC for the first hour of part one of “Empire.”  
    CBS led at 10 p.m. with a 2.5 average for “48 Hours.” ABC was second with a 2.1 for the second hour of “Empire” and NBC third with a 2.0 average for “Joe.”  
   Among households, CBS led the night with a 4.3 average rating and a 7 share. ABC was second at 3.9/7, Fox and NBC tied for third at 3.5/6, UPN fifth at 1.7/3 and the WB sixth at 1.4/2.  

Time Inc. will hand over notes in Plame case
Time Inc. said this morning that it will hand over Time correspondent Matt Cooper's notes in the Valerie Plame case. The decision came a day after federal judge Thomas F. Hogan threatened to increase Time Inc.’s fine in the case and jail Cooper if he did not cooperate in the grand jury hearing. In a statement this morning, Time Inc. editor Norman Pearlstine said that with the handover, Cooper should not face prison on contempt charges. The New York Times, facing a similar situation with reporter Judith Miller, said it will not reverse its position. Special prosecutor Timothy Fitzgerald is investigating whether federal officials broke the law by revealing the identity of CIA operative Plame to the media. “Although we shall comply with the order to turn over the subpoenaed records, we shall continue to support the protection of confidential sources,” the statement said in part. The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case earlier this week.

G+J casualties: 85, including Family Circle editor
Gruner + Jahr's U.S. odyssey is basically over. Meredith, which is buying the company's four women's magazines for $350 million, welcomed about 315 G+J employees into its operation yesterday. But about 75 G+J employees, including CEO Russell Denson, were let go, and about 10 others were not offered new positions at Meredith. Among the casualties are Family Circle editor Susan Ungaro and publisher Peg Farrell, who will be replaced by James Carr, Meredith's Midwest Living magazine publisher (see People section for more). "I don't think you can deny that Family Circle has been challenged in the marketplace," Meredith VP for corporate communications Art Slusark tells Media Life. "The people there did the best job that they could, but we think it needs a fresh start and a fresh approach. We thought it best that we start now rather than six months down the road." Slusark says many of the administrative jobs that had been performed by G+J staffers in New York will now move to Meredith's corporate headquarters in Des Moines.

Infinity'll boot me by fall, Stern says. Infinity: Nah.
Howard Stern doesn’t start his new job at Sirius Satellite Radio until next year, but he could be off terrestrial radio sooner than expected. “Technically, we're working for the summer, and then we're done here — that's what I heard,” Stern said on his show yesterday. “The theory is that if we’re here for the ratings period in the fall, they can’t sell advertising because [ad buyers] are going to go, ‘Those were Howard's ratings and we’re not going to pay.’” Despite the comments, Stern’s employer, Infinity, says there are no plans to take him off the air. Stern has a point, but advertisers who have already booked for fall might revolt should he go early. Last year Stern signed a five-year, $500 million deal with Sirius, where he moves in January.

Survey says analog switch may put 80M sans TV
Legislators are trying to move up the deadline for the broadcast industry to move to all digital signals before 2009, but consumer groups are pressuring them to resist. A new survey by the Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America shows that 39 percent of the country’s TVs aren’t connected to satellite or cable, meaning about 80 million sets could go dark when the switch from analog to digital signals takes place. Another group, the Consumer Electronics Association, counters only about 33.6 million TVs would be affected, because there’s a large number of sets used just for video games or movies. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission want to move the deadline to Jan. 1, 2009, but consumer groups say the government should subsidize converter boxes that would allow TVs not connected to satellite or cable to receive digital signals. At about $50 per converter box, such a measure could cost the government up to $3.5 billion.

Programming notes: HBO's high hopes for 'Rome'
With viewership for its current shows notably low, HBO really needs a new hit. It’s trying to ensure “Rome” is just that. The network has moved up the launch date of the 12-episode series to Aug. 28 to take advantage of a free preview it’s offering Sept. 3-7. The network hopes to hook potential new subscribers with the free peak at the much-anticipated miniseries. HBO also plans to launch the third episode of “Rome” on HBO On Demand even before it airs on the main HBO network, a first. In other programming, TNT yesterday renewed “The Closer” for a 15-episode second season. Three episodes of the Kyra Sedgwick drama have averaged 5.5 million total viewers. ESPN has ordered eight episodes of the reality show “Bound for Glory,” where Dick Butkus takes over as coach of a subpar Pennsylvania high school football team and tries to turn it around. A premiere date hasn’t been set. Discovery Home Channel will debut “Flip That House” July 14 at 9:30 p.m., about home buyers selling quickly and for large profits. And TBS has renewed a deal with King World to broadcast repeats of “Everybody Loves Raymond” through 2016, including the final season.