CW needed to rip up its schedule and start over, and it mostly has.     Let’s take a look night-by-night. MONDAY:  The network is reuniting two of its cornerstone soaps for the Fall, with 90210 as the lead-in for the final 11-episode season of GOSSIP GIRL.  Since CW isn’t planning to begin its […]

> NEW SHOWS in BOLD.  New Time Periods in Italics. WHAT WE LIKE:  A lot of new shows (four new shows on a five-night network).  CW is playing like the clock is running out and trying to make something happen.  Four of five nights feature a new series, with three of the new shows (all […]

  AdWeek has published its annual survey of the actual prices advertisers agreed to pay in the Upfronts for 30-second spots in the network primetime line-ups, and as usual, it’s filled with fascinating information.  It helps, though, to keep the following in mind: A typical network hour contains about 20 30-second national ad spots.  The […]

> DISCLAIMER: These initial impressions are based on the clips (usually 3-5 minutes) released by the networks to use in their Upfront presentations and for promos.  They’re chosen to sell the show, not to accurately represent it.  So take the reactions below with a large satchel of salt–we may well feel differently about these shows […]

> A few notes: these projections are for original episodes (no repeats) aired in the 4th quarter of 2011.  Series premieres will likely be .3-.4 higher, thanks to network marketing pushes, and then tend to go down over time.  We’ll be updating the numbers after we see full pilots and also as we get a […]

> The networks have proclaimed their Fall schedules, the new series have been (partially) unveiled, so… what now?  What will actually be worth watching when network TV comes back to life in a few months?  SHOWBUZZDAILY is here to help you out.  The good news is that since virtually all TV series are available these […]

We’ve reached the broadcast networks’ Upfront Week… which used to be a lot more central to our television lives than it is now.  Ratings everywhere are down, and there’s no reason to think they’ve hit bottom, which has caused seismic changes in the ways networks make scheduling decisions.  Among other things, with revenues from on-air […]

> The week of network scheduling is all a build-up to each network’s Upfront presentation to advertisers, a show that’s as slickly entertaining as the network knows how to make it.  There are production numbers and stunts, surprise celebrity appearances and clever pre-taped mini-movies.  ABC, over the last few years, has had Jimmy Kimmel do […]