Stern: I may leave
satellite radio for mobile
Other shorts: ABC News president Westin leaving
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Sep 7, 2010
Stern: I may leave satellite radio for mobile
Howard Stern was a pioneer on satellite radio. Might he become a mobile pioneer next? Perhaps, if you believe what he's saying on his Sirius XM Radio show, though the fact that he's in the midst of negotiating his next contract makes it rather difficult to take Stern at his word. The shock jock said during Thursday's show that he's "pretty sure" he will leave satellite upon the expiration of his $500 million, five-year contract late this year. But he did not say definitively that he'd retire. Instead, Stern suggested that he might move to yet another new medium, perhaps mobile, for which he'd charge a monthly premium to listeners that would go mostly into his own pocket. When he signed with Sirius, Stern became the biggest name to jump from terrestrial radio to satellite. Since then, satellite has matured into an outlet where big names like Rosie O'Donnell and Martha Stewart have their own shows, though the medium itself is unstable; the merged Sirius XM conglomerate flirted with bankruptcy last year and will not give Stern as much money as he got five years ago. Stern claims that one big sticking point in negotiations is the length of the contract; he wants a shorter deal while Sirius XM is pressing for a longer one. Still, most think Stern will eventually end his posturing and sign. As anyone who's listened to him knows, he gets a lot of material for his show from complaining about his contracts and his bosses.
ABC News president Westin stepping down
ABC News has slashed hundreds of jobs over the past couple years, but it will be hiring for at least one new position soon: David Westin, president at ABC News since 1997, is stepping down. He will stay on until the end of the year while parent company Disney finds a replacement as unconfirmed rumors swirl that he is leaving because he did not want to cut any more jobs. The network eliminated some 400 jobs earlier this year as it attempted to make the division more profitable. There's no word yet on what Westin's future plans are, but in an email to his staff he wrote, "There are some other things I want to do professionally — things that I cannot explore while fulfilling my responsibilities here." Under Westin's watch, ABC News replaced "World News" anchor Peter Jennings after he died in 2005, with eventual successor Charles Gibson actually lifting the telecast to No. 1 over longtime leader NBC briefly. Westin also George Stephanopoulos to "Good Morning America" and Christiane Amanpour to "This Week."
Thursday overnights: 'Big Brother' lifts CBS
CBS's "Big Brother," one of only a handful of original programs on broadcast Thursday night, continued its recent hot streak, hitting a season high and helping the network to a comfortable first-place finish among viewers 18-49.
"Brother" was the night's top-rated show, averaging a 3.3 rating in the demo in the 8 p.m. hour, according to Nielsen overnights, up 0.5 from its previous season high and propelling the network to a 2.7 average rating and an 8 share for the night.
NBC finished second at 1.8/5, Univision third at 1.7/5, ABC fourth at 1.6/5, Fox fifth at 1.5/4 and CW sixth at 0.6/2.
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. Thirty-seven percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. CBS led with the 3.3 for "Brother," while ABC and Univision tied for second at 1.8, ABC for a repeat of "Wipeout" and Univision for "Hasta que el Dinero Nos Separe." Fox was fourth with a 1.6 for a "Bones" rerun, NBC fifth with a 1.5 for repeats of "Community" and "30 Rock," and CW sixth with a 0.7 for a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries."
CBS was first again at 9 p.m. with a 2.7 for a repeat of "CSI," followed by Univision with a 2.1 for "Soy Tu Dueña." NBC was third with a 1.9 for repeats of "The Office" and "Community," ABC fourth with a 1.8 for "Rookie Blue," Fox fifth with a 1.4 for a "Fringe" rerun and CW sixth with a 0.6 for a repeat of "90210."
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 2.0 for a repeat of "The Mentalist," with NBC second with a 1.8 for a repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." ABC was third that hour with a 1.3 for "NightlinePrime" and Univision fourth with a 1.2 rating.
CBS also finished first for the night among households with a 6.2 average overnight rating and a 10 share. ABC was second at 3.9/7, NBC third at 3.4/6, Fox fourth at 2.9/5, Univision fifth at 2.0/3 and CW sixth at 1.1/2.
Green with envy? NBC follows ABC with Shrek special.
After the success of ABC's Shrek-themed Christmas special a few years back, NBC is bringing the green ogre to its airwaves for a Halloween special this fall. "Scared Shrekless" is one of two new DreamWorks Animation specials NBC has slated for fall, building on last year's "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space" and "Merry Madagascar." "Shrekless" will feature the gang from "Shrek," whose last adventure came out this summer, and air on Oct. 29 with last year's "Pumpkins," according to The Hollywood Reporter. NBC will also air "Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special," a spinoff of the smash movie from two years ago, on Nov. 24, along with the "Madagascar" rerun. NBC's interest in developing its own stable of specials isn't surprising. Holiday specials tend to be solid performers for the networks year after year, even in the adults 18-49 demographic, with parents watching the shows with their kids.
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