Stern may have
overstated 'Idol's' interest
Other shorts: MySpace CEO Van Natta leaves after 10 months
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 11, 2010
Stern may have overstated 'Idol' producers' interest
King of All Media indeed: It seems that the ever-savvy Howard Stern may be the only one jonesing for Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell on "American Idol." Days after the Sirius XM Radio shock jock confirmed a New York Post Page Six claim that "Idol" producers were wooing him, the Daily Beast reports that "Idol's" interest in Stern has been greatly exaggerated: "Two 'Idol' insiders told The Daily Beast that no offer has been made to Stern, and that in fact, with the new season just beginning, the show is months away from choosing a replacement for Cowell." Though Stern may have gotten some feelers, it seems the hype is mostly of Stern's very astute making. He has now positioned himself as the media's frontrunner, knowing full well that perception is often reality in this business, although he may want to note that calling Ryan Seacrest a s*%^head on the air may not be the best way to ingratiate yourself with a potential future colleague.
MySpace CEO Van Natta leaves after 10 months
If once-hot social networking site MySpace does manage a turnaround, it won't be under chief executive officer Owen Van Natta. He has stepped down from his post just 10 months into his tenure, reportedly after clashing with his boss at News Corp., digital media chief Jon Miller. MySpace's problems started well before Van Natta arrived, but they didn't get any better during his reign. MySpace has fallen behind rival social networking site Facebook in user traffic, and an attempt to revamp as an entertainment destination rather than a social one has been slow to catch on. In December, traffic to MySpace was off 10 percent year to year, according to comScore, to 70 million, about 40 million fewer than Facebook. Van Natta actually worked for Facebook before switching teams. Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, who joined the company along with Van Natta last year, will become co-presidents of MySpace. Whether they'll have more luck than Van Natta at turning things around remains to be seen.
Google delivering super-fast broadband
How long did it take for this page to load on your computer? Imagine a service that made it appear 100 times faster. Search giant Google wants to install lightning-fast fiber-optic broadband networks in towns across the country that could transfer data at a rate of one gigabit per second, or 100 times faster than the bulk of the services Americans subscribe to now. To give a little perspective, it would take about a minute for a high-def movie download. Google is now accepting applications from communities who would like to be involved in the experiment. It promises to share what it learns from the experience with other companies, but don't expect those other companies to be happy about it. By invading the turf of traditional internet service providers, including telephone and cable companies, Google has given them one more reason to be angry. They have quarreled with the Mountain View, Calif., company previously over net neutrality. Google isn't exactly motivated by altruism, however. The faster people can browse the web, the more search results they can generate and the more advertising Google will sell.
SI swimsuit issue: Skimpy suits but fatter revenue
Though the models are as skinny as ever, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has plumped up. Ad sales for the annual bikini-fest jumped 15 percent over last year, when it was hit hard by the recession. Ad pages for the issue slid 33 percent in 2009. This year they stayed steady at 67. The swimsuit issue was released this week, and it includes a spread of Winter Olympics medal hopefuls alongside the usual bevy of size 2 models. The issue accounts for 7 percent of the total annual revenue generated by Sports Illustrated, according to various reports. SI is coming off a tough second half of the year in terms of circulation, like just about every other consumer magazine. Newsstand sales slipped 12.4 percent year to year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, higher than the average 9.1 percent newsstand dip recorded by the more than 470 magazines the bureau tracks.
TeleFutura leapfrogs Telemundo with 'El Capo'
Telenovelas have dominated Spanish-language networks in primetime for years, but there is apparently an appetite for other genres as well. TeleFutura proved that last week with the premiere of “El Capo,” an action-focused drama heavy on special effects. The new 7 p.m. series averaged 1.2 million total viewers last week, making it the most-watched drama premiere in the network’s history. Monday through Friday, TeleFutura averaged 1.05 million viewers and 600,000 viewers 18-49 from 7-11 p.m., boosting it ahead of Telemundo to the No. 2 Spanish-language network of the week, behind usual frontrunner and corporate sibling Univision. TeleFutura is hoping "Capo's" strong performance continues as it tries to become more of a challenger to NBC Universal-owned Telemundo. So far this season TeleFutura has finished ahead of Telemundo among total viewers on 44 nights, compared to just 14 nights through the same period a year ago.
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