The word: NY Times
erecting a pay wall
Other shorts: Sunday's NFL games deliver big ratings kick
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 19, 2010
The word: NY Times erecting a pay wall
Newspapers have been experimenting with walled-off content for years, and the number of experiments has grown over recent months as their circulation and advertising revenue declined. Now comes word that the New York Times is about to adopt a pay model that could be announced as soon as next week, in a move that would really shake up the industry, despite continued reports that users are not willing to shell out for online content. New York magazine reports that NYTimes.com will adopt a metered system, in which users pay per article rather than forking over a hefty fee upfront a la the Wall Street Journal. The new system won't go into effect until spring, but speculation is that the Times will have some sort of content deal with Apple for its new tablet computer, also rumored to be debuting next week. Still, many newspaper analysts are skeptical of the report, noting that such a radical shift would be difficult to sell to the public barely three years after the Times' plan to charge for certain web content failed. Newspaper readers have said consistently that they are not willing to pay for the content they are now receiving free. A recent Harris Poll found that 77 percent would not pay.
Sunday's NFL games deliver big ratings kick
The NFL playoffs continue to pull huge ratings heading up to next month's Super Bowl. CBS's game between the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets Sunday averaged a 23.1 household rating, according to Nielsen overnights, the best AFC divisional game in five years. The Jets scored a surprise 17-14 victory, boosting the matchup 8 percent over last year's equivalent Chargers-Pittsburgh Steelers contest. Fox also scored stronger numbers for its Sunday NFC divisional game between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, which averaged a 23.9 rating, 14 percent better than last year's New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles game. The previous weekend featured record ratings for the wild card games on NBC, the best in two decades. CBS will carry Sunday's AFC championship game between the Jets and Indianapolis Colts while Fox will have the Vikings-New Orleans Saints game.
Friday overnights: CBS wins dramatically
Talk about consistency: Original episodes of CBS’s Friday night dramas, “Ghost Whisperer,” “Medium” and “Numb3rs,” each averaged a 2.2 Nielsen overnight rating among viewers 18-49 on Friday, leading the network to a first-place finish.
CBS averaged a 2.2 rating and 7 share in the demo for the night, with ABC and NBC tied for second at 1.5/5, Univision fourth at 1.4/5, Fox fifth at 1.0/3 and CW sixth 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. Thirty-four percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
CBS led each hour of the night, beginning with a 2.2 at 8 p.m. for “Ghost,” followed by ABC with a season-high 1.6 for “Supernanny.” NBC was third with a 1.4 for “Law & Order,” Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “En Nombre del Amor,” Fox fifth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Bones” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a “Smallville” rerun.
At 9 p.m. CBS was first with a 2.2 for “Medium,” while Univision moved to second with a 1.7 for “Sortilegio.” ABC and NBC tied for third at 1.6, ABC for “Shark Tank” and NBC for “Dateline,” with Fox fifth with a 0.8 for “Dollhouse” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for another repeat of “Smallville.”
CBS was first at 10 p.m. with a 2.2 for “Numb3rs,” with ABC and NBC tied for second at 1.4, ABC for “20/20” and NBC for “The Jay Leno Show.” Univision was fourth with a 1.3 for “Rosa de Guadalupe.”
CBS also led the night among households with a 5.5 average overnight rating and a 10 share. NBC was second at 4.5/8, ABC third at 3.2/6, Fox fourth at 1.9/3, Univision fifth at 1.8/3 and CW sixth at 0.8/1.
Saturday overnights: NFL lifts CBS to victory
On Saturday night, CBS’s coverage of the NFL divisional playoff game between the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens led the network to an easy first-place finish, averaging a 9.5 Nielsen overnight rating and a 27 share among viewers 18-49s. Fox was second at 2.3/6, Univision third at 0.9/2, NBC fourth at 0.8/2 and ABC fifth at 0.6/2.
CBS averaged 26.4 million total viewers from 8 to 11 p.m. for its coverage of the game, though ratings for CBS’s NFL coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
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.
At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 9.1 for its first hour of football, with Fox second with a 2.5 for “Cops.” Univision was third with a 0.8 for the first of three hours of “Sabado Gigante,” ABC fourth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “Grey’s Anatomy” and NBC fifth with a 0.4 for a “Mercy” rerun.
CBS was first again at 9 p.m. with a 9.9 for football, while Fox remained second with a 2.2 for “America’s Most Wanted.” NBC and Univision tied for third at 0.8, NBC for a repeat of “Law & Order” and Univision for more “Sabado Gigante,” with ABC fifth with a 0.6 for a repeat of “Private Practice.”
At 10 p.m. CBS was first with a 9.4 for more football, with NBC second with a 1.3 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Univision was third with a 1.0 for the final hour of “Sabado Gigante” and ABC fourth with a 0.7 for a repeat of “Castle.”
Among households, CBS led the night with a 14.7 average overnight rating and a 25 share. Fox was second at 4.2/7, NBC third at 2.6/4, ABC fourth at 1.7/3 and Univision fifth at 1.4/2.
White House: SOTU address will air next week
The good news for the White House is that it won't face fans' ire over bumping "Lost's" much-anticipated final-season premiere next month. The bad news is that "American Idol" fans will have to tune in an hour earlier. President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address on Jan. 27, six days before ABC's "Lost" is slated to return. There had been a minor online furor among the show's devoted fans when word leaked that the president was considering delivering the address two weeks from today, which would have bumped the three-hour event to the following week. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs even acknowledged the uproar last week, when he assured fans that the president would not preempt the show. Instead, Fox's "Idol" will likely be moved from 9 to 8 p.m. to accommodate the 9 p.m. address, bumping "Human Target" to Tuesday and knocking an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" off the schedule. CBS may move "Criminal Minds" an hour earlier to make way for the speech, preempting its comedies "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried," while some of ABC's comedy block and NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" will also be pushed off the schedule.
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