Fore! ESPN
launching first 3D channel.
Other shorts: AT&T dials out of Woods sponsorship
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 5, 2010
Fore! ESPN launching first 3D channel.
ESPN is going 3D, and it's doing so before any other cable channel. The sports network said this morning that it will launch ESPN 3D this summer, with its first event the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup between South Africa and Mexico on June 11. In the year that follows, ESPN 3D will broadcast at least 85 live sporting events, including up to 25 World Cup matches, the Summer X Games, college basketball and next year’s BCS college football national championship game. ESPN has been testing the technology for more than two years, and in the fall it produced a 3D version of a college football game between USC and Ohio State that was shown at movie theaters and at USC’s Galen Center. While 3D may be the next big thing in TV, it could be a while before it hits the mainstream; viewers need 3D-capable TVs to utilize the technology, as well as special 3D glasses.
AT&T dials out of Woods sponsorship
Another advertiser has hung up on scandal-ridden Tiger Woods. The question now is who's next, and how many will follow? AT&T said Thursday that it is ending its five-year-old deal with the golfer, who has been in seclusion for weeks following revelations of repeated marital infidelity that first came to light in November. The AT&T logo had appeared on Woods' golf bag, though he was not used in the company's advertising. Global consulting firm Accenture became the first company to drop Woods last month, while Tag Heuer said it would limit his presence in its advertising, presumably until the media firestorm over his cheating dies down. Woods earned nearly $100 million from endorsements last year, and while sports-centric brands such as Nike and Upper Deck have pledged to stand by him, non-sports advertisers have seemed more nervous about offending the public by supporting the world's top golfer, who has two young children with his wife, Elin. Betting parlors in the UK and Ireland have been setting odds on which sponsors will abandon him next. His other endorsements include deals with Electronic Arts and Procter & Gamble's Gillette. Woods is currently on a leave of absence from the PGA Tour.
Sweet Sugar Bowl ratings for Fox on Friday
Tim Tebow’s last college game was a win for the University of Florida and a win for Fox.
The Gators quarterback led his team to a 51-24 win over Cincinnati in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Friday night, and the game earned Fox an 8.5 average household rating and 15.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen fast nationals.
Among viewers the game was up a huge 67 percent from last year’s FedEx Orange Bowl between Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, which also aired on Jan. 1, as well as up 16 percent from last year’s Sugar Bowl between Utah and Alabama, which aired on Jan. 2.
The game led the network to an easy first-place finish on Friday night.
Fox averaged a 4.6 overnight rating and 12 share among viewers 18-49 for the night, well ahead of No. 2 ABC at 2.1/6. Univision was third at 1.1/3, CBS fourth at 1.0/3, NBC fifth at 0.9/3 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-four percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for Fox’s college football coverage and ABC’s Rose Bowl overrun are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
At 8 p.m. ABC was first with a 3.7 for Rose Bowl overrun and the comedy “Better Off Ted” (1.7), with Fox second with a 3.5 for its first hour of Sugar Bowl coverage. Univision was third with a 1.1 for “En Nombre del Amor,” CBS fourth with a 1.0 for a repeat of “Ghost Whisperer,” NBC fifth with a 0.8 for a “Biggest Loser” rerun and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “Smallville.”
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.7 for football, while Univision moved to second with a 1.2 for “Sortilegio.” ABC, CBS and NBC all tied for third at 1.0, ABC for “Scrubs” (1.2) and a “Ted” rerun, CBS for a repeat of “Medium” and NBC for more “Loser.” That left CW sixth with a 0.4 for more “Smallville.”
At 10 p.m. Fox was first with a 4.7 for the last hour of the Sugar Bowl, with ABC second with a 1.5 for “20/20.” Univision was third with a 1.1 for “Rosa de Guadalupe,” NBC fourth with a 1.0 for a repeat of “The Jay Leno Show” and CBS fifth with a 0.8 for a repeat of “Numb3rs.”
Fox was also first for the night among households with a 7.8 average overnight rating and a 13 share. ABC was second at 4.3/7, CBS third at 3.1/5, NBC fourth at 2.2/4, Univision fifth at 1.6/3 and CW sixth at 0.8/1.
Saturday overnights: Fox wins a slow one
Saturday was a much slower night on broadcast, with Fox finishing first among 18-49s with a 1.8 average Nielsen overnight rating and a 5 share. CBS was second at 1.5/4, NBC third at 0.9/3, Univision fourth at 0.8/2 and ABC fifth at 0.7/2.
Fox was first at 8 p.m. with a 1.8 for “Cops,” followed by CBS with a 1.4 for a repeat of “I Get That A Lot.” Univision was third with a 0.7 for the first hour of “Sabado Gigante,” ABC fourth with a 0.6 for a repeat of “Desperate Housewives” and NBC fifth with a 0.5 for a “Mercy” rerun.
At 9 p.m. Fox led with a 1.8 for “America’s Most Wanted,” while CBS remained second with a 1.4 for a “Criminal Minds” rerun. NBC was third with a 0.9 for a repeat of “Law & Order,” ABC fourth with a 0.8 for more “Housewives” and Univision fifth with a 0.7 for its second hour of “Sabado.”
CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 1.6 for “48 Hours Mystery,” with NBC second with a 1.4 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Univision was third with a 0.8 for more “Sabado” and ABC fourth with a 0.7 for a “Castle” rerun.
Among households, CBS was first for the night with a 3.5 average overnight rating and a 6 share. Fox was second at 3.3/6, NBC third at 2.7/5, ABC fourth at 1.8/3 and Univision fifth at 1.3/2.
Fox and TWC make peace in time for bowl games
Disputes between networks and cable carriers never seem to end. The standoff between Fox and Time Warner Cable is over, but a falling out between Scripps Networks and Cablevision is getting uglier. Fox and TWC reached an agreement on Friday that allowed the latter's 6 million subscribers in major markets including Los Angeles and New York to see Friday's Sugar Bowl, as well as the upcoming season premiere of "American Idol" and this week's BCS title game. Fox had been seeking a so-called retransmission fee of $1 per subscriber for the 14 stations on the TWC and Bright House Networks systems, but analysts believe the final number came in at less than half of that. Still, it's considered a precedent for future deals with cable carriers, as broadcasters, battered by the poor advertising environment, search for ways to generate more revenue. Meanwhile, Cablevision and Scripps are sparring over Food Network and HGTV. The cable carrier has dropped both networks for the time being, with Scripps demanding a higher per-subscriber fee to carry them.
Changing Times: DC paper slashes sports section
The skeletal staff at the Washington Times is now producing a more skeletal product. The paper has eliminated its sports section in yet another cost-saving move, printing the final edition last Friday. The Times, which is also getting rid of its Sunday edition, slashed yet more jobs with the move and is also without a top editor, with managing editor David Jones among the casualties. The paper said it cut 40 percent of its staff last week, coming after an executive bloodbath in November that included its publisher and top money man. Editor John Solomon also left and has not been replaced. The 27-year-old paper has a circulation just over 67,000, off 17 percent from last year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and a fraction of the reach of its much larger competitor, the Washington Post. Since the November shakeup, there's been speculation that the beleaguered Times would shut down or go online only. It is owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, and has suffered losses for years.
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