Leno beats Letterman
again, and by a lot
Other shorts: TiVo Premiere: Everything but the kitchen sink
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Mar 4, 2010
Leno beats Letterman again, and by a lot
Make it two-for-two for Jay Leno. Tuesday’s episode of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” Leno’s second since returning to the show, averaged a 1.6 rating among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen fast national data, equal to Monday’s overnight rating. Tuesday night’s episode did slip 12 percent night-to-night among total viewers, from 6.6 million on Monday to 5.8 million on Tuesday. Still, “Tonight” was easily No. 1 in late-night for the second night in a row on both measures, beating out the 1.0 18-49 rating and 3.7 million total viewers averaged by CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” and the 0.9 and 3.3 million averaged by ABC’s “Nightline.” Leno, who interviewed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and U.S. Olympian Shaun White on Tuesday, also once again brought in better numbers than he did as host of “Tonight” last season. Among 18-49s “Tonight” was up 14 percent from a 1.4 last season and up 12 percent versus 5.2 million total viewers. And Leno is thumping the numbers put up by Conan O’Brien during his brief stint as host of “Tonight.” The red-haired one averaged a 1.1 rating among 18-49s and 2.7 million total viewers.
TiVo Premiere: Everything but the kitchen sink
If you believe the hype, TiVo's new set-top box does everything except wash the dishes and fold the laundry, or at least that's what its press releases make it sound like. The company unveiled its latest device this week, which will essentially incorporate offerings from multiple services, including TV and the web, into one presumably easy-to-use service. Called TiVo Premiere and available next month for $300 for the base model, the device is really a DVR-plus. The promise is that the box combines access to cable and broadcast programming, web video, music and movies. But analysts are skeptical whether the new device will actually increase TiVo's subscriber base, which is about 1.5 million. Though millions of homes now have DVRs, many of them are generic ones available through local cable providers. Analysts expect that most of TiVo Premiere's sales will come from current subscribers looking to upgrade.
For the very first time, the Digital Ellie nominations
Publishers are putting more time, effort and staff into their digital divisions, and now the American Society of Magazine Editors is stepping up its recognition of digital journalism. ASME yesterday revealed the finalists for the first-ever National Magazine Awards for Digital Media, or Digital Ellies, with 37 magazine web sites and online-only magazines receiving nominations across 12 categories. National Geographic led all publications with five nominations, followed by New York with four and The Atlantic and Sports Illustrated with three apiece. The Atlantic, Martha Stewart Living, National Geographic, New York and Wired were all nominated for general excellence in digital media, while Esquire, New York, Newsweek, Poetry and Runner’s World were nominated to multimedia feature or package. Six online-only magazines received nominations: Epicurious, The Daily Beast, Life, Slate, Tablet and Yale Environment 360. Money won the very first NMA for digital journalism back in 1997, and last year four digital journalism awards were handed out as part of the Ellies.
Gannett reinstates raises after one-year hiccup
Has the great post-recession thaw begun? Gannett, one of the first newspaper companies to institute furloughs, says that it is ending its nearly year-long wage freeze, which was instituted on April 1 of last year. It will be lifted on April Fool's Day as well, according to a memo sent to employees by Gannett U.S. Community Newspaper division president Bob Dickey. Gannett, which publishes the country's largest newspaper, USA Today, in addition to dozens of local papers, has been hit hard by the recession. In the past year, more than 1,400 employees have been laid off and the company has put employees on three unpaid leaves. Gannett employees will receive performance-based raises going forward, with the ad decline for newspapers easing somewhat during fourth quarter, when spending in a number of categories was down but not as much as earlier in the year.
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