NY Times paywall
kicks in today at 2 p.m.
Other shorts: 'Oprah' ends May 25
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Mar 28, 2011
NY Times paywall kicks in today at 2 p.m.
If you viewed a few New York Times stories today before 2 p.m., no worries. The meter wasn't running yet. The newspaper's much-scrutinized paywall goes up at 2 p.m. today, pushed off later in the day over concerns about overtaxing the Times' system during a high traffic period, the early morning. The paper laid out the parameters for the new approach earlier this month. People can view up to 20 stories for free every four weeks, but after that they must pay a minimum of $15 for each four-week period to access additional content, including a smartphone app. They can also access the iPad version for an additional $5 per month. There's been rampant discussion on the internet since the plan was announced over how to circumnavigate the wall, and there's sure to be stories on that this week, as the metered system works out its kinks. Media people will be watching closely to see how the meter affects traffic in the coming months, as the Times is the biggest paper to institute a paywall recently. The Wall Street Journal has had one for years.
Programming notes: 'Oprah' ends May 25
What will undoubtedly be the most-watched episode of a daytime talk show in years has been slated. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will end its run on May 25, Winfrey has confirmed, a Wednesday and the final day of the May sweeps. Winfrey has not said what will take place on her final show. In fact, she's allowing her staff to plan it instead of her. But she did tweet that new episodes of "Oprah," which has been in reruns, will begin airing on April 7. Meanwhile, in other programming, CBS has renewed the reality shows "The Amazing Race" and "Undercover Boss" for their 19th and third seasons, respectively. Last fall's edition of "Race" averaged a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen, while "Boss" is averaging a 3.2 rating. Both air on Sunday. Finally, FX will be getting a Saturday college football package this fall, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The games will be culled from Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA contests that sister network Fox Sports already has the rights to.
ABC slates summer schedule
ABC has become the latest network to announce a reality-heavy summer schedule, following NBC and Fox. The network's summer slate will kick off on May 23, which is technically still the end of the regular season, with the premiere of "The Bachelorette." With about a month of heavy NBA playoffs coverage, the next big premiere won't come until June 16, when it airs a sneak preview of "Wipeout," followed by the series premiere of "101 Ways to Leave a Game Show" at 9 p.m. Scripted series "Rookie Blue" returns for season two at 10 p.m. (Note: These may be pushed off a week if there is a game seven of the NBA finals.) On June 21, "Wipeout" moves into its regular timeslot at 8 p.m., followed by two series premieres: "Expedition Impossible" at 9 and "The Hot Zone" at 10. On July 28, "Take the Money and Run" premieres at 9. "Bachelor Pad" returns for season two on Aug. 8, and the new series "America's Karaoke Challenge" debuts at 10 p.m.
Friday overnights: 'Shark' boosts ABC
ABC's "Shark Tank" returned on Friday to decent ratings, although that's not saying much on slow Friday nights.
The reality show averaged a 1.2 rating among viewers 18-49 in its 8 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen overnights, the network's top rating in the timeslot since Jan. 7 and "Tank's" best Friday night rating ever after moving there last season.
Still, that was only good for a fifth-place finish in the timeslot, behind CBS, Fox, Univision and NBC.
With its coverage of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, CBS led the night among 18-49s with a 2.7 average overnight rating and a 9 share. Univision was second at 1.7/6, NBC third at 1.6/5, Fox fourth at 1.5/5, ABC fifth at 1.3/4, Telemundo sixth at 0.6/2 and CW seventh at 0.5/2.
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. Forty percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for CBS's college basketball coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
CBS finished first during each hour, beginning with a 2.1 at 8 p.m. for basketball, while Fox and Univision tied for second at 1.5, Fox for "Kitchen Nightmares" and Univision for "Eva Luna." NBC was fourth with a 1.3 for "Who Do You Think You Are?," ABC fifth with the 1.2 for "Shark," CW sixth with a 0.6 for a repeat of "Smallville" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.4 for "Aurora."
At 9 p.m. CBS led with a 2.4 for basketball, followed by Univision with a 1.9 for "Triunfo del Amor." NBC was third with a 1.7 for "Dateline," Fox fourth with a 1.5 for the recently renewed "Fringe," ABC fifth with a 1.3 for "Primetime," CW sixth with a 0.5 for a "Supernatural" rerun and Telemundo seventh with a 0.4 for "Los Herederos del Monte."
CBS was first again at 10 p.m. with a 3.5 for more basketball, with NBC second with a 1.8 for more "Dateline." Univision was third with a 1.6 for another hour of "Triunfo," ABC fourth with a 1.4 for "20/20" and Telemundo fifth with a 1.2 for "La Reina del Sur."
Among households, CBS and NBC tied for first for the night, each with a 5.0 average overnight rating and a 9 share. ABC was third at 3.1/6, Fox fourth at 2.4/4, Univision fifth at 2.2/4, CW sixth at 0.8/1 and Telemundo seventh at 0.7/1.
Saturday overnights: Basketball nets CBS win
More college basketball helped push CBS past usual Saturday night leader Fox over the weekend.
For the night CBS averaged a 2.2 rating and 8 share among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, with Fox second at 1.5/6, ABC third at 1.0/4, Univision fourth at 0.9/3, NBC fifth at 0.7/3 and Telemundo sixth at 0.2/1.
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. Forty percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for CBS's college basketball coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 3.0 for basketball coverage, followed by Fox with a 1.5 for "Cops." Univision was third with a 0.9 for the first hour of "Sabado Gigante," ABC fourth with a 0.8 for a repeat of "Dancing with the Stars," NBC fifth with a 0.6 for a repeat of "Harry's Law" and Telemundo sixth at 0.2.
CBS retained its lead at 9 p.m. with a 2.3 for the end of basketball and a "Criminal Minds" rerun, with Fox second with a 1.6 for "America's Most Wanted." ABC was third with a 1.2 for more "Stars," Univision fourth with a 0.7 for "Sabado," NBC fifth with a 0.5 for a repeat of "Law & Order: Los Angeles" and Telemundo sixth at 0.3.
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 1.4 for the end of its "Criminal Minds" repeat and start of "48 Hours Mystery," with NBC second with a 1.1 for a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," ABC and Univision tied for third at 1.0, ABC for a "No Ordinary Family" rerun and Univision for more "Sabado," with Telemundo fifth at 0.2.
CBS was also first for the night among households with a 4.6 average overnight rating and a 9 share. NBC and Fox tied for second at 2.9/5, with ABC fourth at 2.8/5, Univision fifth at 1.2/2 and Telemundo sixth at 0.4/1.
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