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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • MAY 2011
www.worldscreen.com
L.A. Screenings Edition
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contents
MAY 2011/L.A. SCREENINGS EDITION
Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise
departments WORLD VIEW
Editor Anna Carugati Executive Editor Mansha Daswani Managing Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider Special Projects Editor Jay Stuart Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Executive Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco Editorial Assistant Morgan Grice Online Director Simon Weaver Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell Sales and Marketing Manager Cesar Suero Business Affairs Manager Terry Acunzo Sales and Marketing Coordinator Alyssa Menard Senior Editors Bill Dunlap Kate Norris Contributing Writers Dieter Brockmeyer Chris Forrester Bob Jenkins David del Valle David Wood
UPFRONT
6
New shows on the market.
12 10
14
20
123 The top 50 shows in the U.S. NETWORK SCORECARD
in the news
WORLD’S END
126
In the stars.
THE GOVERNATOR: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
In his first post-gubernatorial media gig, the action star turned politician is being given an animated alter ego in The Governator. —Anna Carugati
behind the scenes
12
TORCHWOOD’S NEW DAY
With a U.S. co-production partner in Starz, the BBC’s new season of Torchwood is set to reach new heights this year, according to its stars John Barrowman and Bill Pullman. —Mansha Daswani
special report
14
COLLAPSING WINDOWS
The evolving media landscape has dramatically altered the way windowing rights are being sold for movies and TV series. —Jay Stuart & Anna Carugati
one-on-one
20 Ricardo Seguin Guise, President Anna Carugati, Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani,VP of Strategic Development
4
A note from the editor.
WARNER BROS.’ BARRY MEYER
As chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Barry M. Meyer sits at the helm of a media company that has numerous business lines, while Jeffrey Schlesinger focuses on the TV activities as the president of Warner Bros. International Television. —Anna Carugati
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ground across the region 70…INTERVIEWS Globo’s Roberto Irineu Marinho 82…Azteca’s Mario San Román 86…Viacom’s Philippe Dauman 105…Mad Men’s Jon Hamm 110…Hawaii
Five-0’s Peter Lenkov 112
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LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! Live-action series appeal to tweens 94…INTERVIEWS Turner Broadcasting’s Stuart Snyder 98… Arnold Schwarzenegger 100… Victoria Justice
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world view
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ANNA CARUGATI
Technology—Friend or Foe? This year, my family bought a weekend home in New England. I have moved more than a dozen times in my life but this house is truly special: a 1851 farmhouse, refurbished just enough to maintain the original charm—fireplaces, crossbeams, cherrywood floors—but equipped with all the necessary amenities. It offers the best of both worlds. Antiques never really appealed to me, mainly because I couldn’t afford them. But now as my husband and I look to furnish our new home, I want furniture that will fit in with its simple, quaint architecture and feel, so we’ve visited our share of antique stores. While I still can’t distinguish Colonial from Shaker from Queen Anne, while looking through these shops I’ve come to appreciate that these tables, desks and cupboards were once parts of people’s lives and I wonder, Who were they? What did they do? How did they live? In that state of mind, I spotted a typewriter, a Blickensderfer, one of the very first portable typewriters. Created by George C. Blickensderfer, a businessman and inventor, it probably dates back to 1893. He spent a lot of time on trains and in hotels, so he wasn’t able to answer letters promptly or preTHE EVER-GROWING pare invoices. He saw the need for a portable typewriter and created one.The BlickensderNUMBER OF fer, the same one I found, became a worldwide bestseller. This little jewel, in its own wooden carrying case, was irresistible, espeSERVICES IS cially because when I started in journalism, we were all using typewriters. Researching the Blickensderfer I was DISRUPTING THE reminded that so many inventions in the history of America were the result of bright TRADITIONAL minds finding solutions to make businesses more efficient and people’s lives more convenient. This ingenuity is what fuels technolSEQUENCE ogy, and alongside valuables from the past, our home will also feature some of the best of DISTRIBUTORS HAVE what technology has given the media world: HDTV and high-speed Internet. I must admit that some of the nostalgia I USED IN WINDOWING experienced seeing the Blickensderfer and thinking back to my first Olivetti was rekinduring the process of buying a TV and PRODUCT. dled dealing with the cable company. My, my, did I miss the days of free-to-air broadcast TV. For my first apartment I just went to the store, chose the TV I wanted, brought it home, plugged it in and, voilà, TV channels right at the turn of a dial. Granted, it was only a handful of channels back then, but the whole process, from thinking “I want to buy a TV,” to sitting down and 4
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watching a show, took a couple of hours. Nowadays, well, after talking on the phone for almost an hour with a salesperson, going through the differences between plasma, LCD and LED-LCD, and settling on two 37-inch HDTV sets, at the moment of scheduling delivery, we were told, “Oh, we only schedule deliveries on sets that are larger than 40 inches.The sets you are buying we send UPS and we don’t know when you’ll get them.” We got a supervisor to schedule the delivery, settling on a Tuesday delivery.We were told we would get confirmation via e-mail, but when we did, the day was set for Saturday. Two more hours of talking to supervisors and we finally got the date changed—to Thursday. We were now three hours into the process and counting. I will spare you the second phone conversation, this one with the cable company representatives.Yes, I had been transferred to three people during the call, all took my name, Social Security number, address and creditcard information. All insisted I should take triple play, which I didn’t want. When I politely said I wanted my phone service through a phone company because we frequently make international calls, the rep enthusiastically replied,“Oh yes, we offer service to Puerto Rico and Canada.” It is now three days from the first three-hour phone call. I have been called by three other cable reps, been given three different confirmation numbers, have been asked three more times if I want triple play and I’m still not sure when I’ll get my cable and Internet service. Technology is wonderful, but it can also be disruptive.This has certainly been the case with the many ways we as consumers can enjoy content. On TV we can watch a plethora of linear channels or on-demand. Online services like Netflix not only offer scores of movies and TV shows, but now are also getting into the programming business.We can also watch on a variety of tablets and portable screens. While all of this is providing us consumers choice and greater control of our viewing experience, the ever-growing number of ser vices is disrupting the traditional sequence distributors have used in windowing product from one platform to another. We examine this extremely important issue in our main feature. Meanwhile, I’m here in an empty house, waiting for furniture, TVs, cable and Internet. At least my Blickensderfer works.
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Bandeirantes Communication Group www.band.com.br/distribution • Angels of Sex • Threedom • The League • Time to Improvise
The team at Bandeirantes Communication Group has been gearing up to serve the diverse needs of the market by providing a catalogue that hits on a number of different targets. “Companies are interested in innovation more than ever,” says Elisa Ayub, the director of international content at Band TV International.“Band is offering Brazilian traditional telenovelas and a lot more,” she adds, noting a variety of styles and an ability to appeal to both genders. Among the highlights are Angels of Sex, about a set of fun-loving angels who are sent to earth to help men and women with their romantic problems, and Threedom, centered on three young people who share the same apartment and experience similar dilemmas. Time to Improvise is an entertainment show in which the best comedians in Brazil compete in an improv battle. The League is an investigative news program that features four reporters from different sectors of society analyzing themes and subjects from their own points of view.
“Band is coming
to L.A. Screenings as a producer and distributor, offering the market different products from different sources.
”
Time to Improvise
—Elisa Ayub
Beyond Distribution www.beyond.com.au • Iconicles • Tati’s Hotel • The Hunks • Design DNA • How Beer Saved the World
Beyond Distribution is showcasing a mix of children’s, reality and factual-entertainment content. In the children’s genre, there are Iconicles, a preschool show that combines 2D animation with live action, and Tati’s Hotel, which stars an 8-year-old heroine who welcomes guests to stay in a magical hotel. The Hunks is a reality series featuring ten physically fit men who spend the summer together attempting to outdo one another while surfing, working out and wooing women. Design DNA focuses on the stories of the world’s most interesting pieces of home design. Rounding out Beyond’s slate of content is How Beer Saved the World, which chronicles the way in which ale gave birth to civilization. “We’ve already secured presales for Design DNA and How Beer Saved the World,” says Sherry Fynbo, the VP of regional sales for the Americas. “However, the remaining titles I expect to be closed at the Screenings.”
Iconicles
“Competition is tough among the buyers, which is great from a sales perspective, as we have more opportunities than the usual suspects.”
—Sherry Fynbo
THE LEADING ONLINE DAILY NEWS SERVICE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA INDUSTRY. For a free subscription, visit: www.worldscreen.com
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Globo TV International www.globotvinternational.com • Passione • The Buzz • Internal Affairs • The Cariocas • Fifties Club
With telenovelas remaining a dominant force in the marketplace, Globo TV International is prepped for the L.A. Screenings with a roster that includes Passione and The Buzz. “We’re betting on the success of Passione and The Buzz,” says Raphael Corrêa Netto, the international sales director. Internal Affairs is a drama series focused on police officers who have to inspect crimes within their own department. The Cariocas features a portrait of ten different modern-day women. Globo is also offering the mini-series Fifties Club.
The Cariocas
“ The telenovela genre is still the most sought after by the market and stands out globally because of the storytelling.
”
—Raphael Corrêa Netto
MediaBiz www.mediabiz.com.ar; www.pol-ka.com.ar • • • • •
More Than Partners
Killer Women Left on the Shelf More Than Partners On the Edge Be Kind to Me
MediaBiz serves as the international sales agent for Pol-ka, responsible for taking its titles to the worldwide market.Alex Lagomarsino, the CEO of MediaBiz, believes a key selling point to Pol-ka’s product are the story lines that are able to attract different target audiences. Highlights include Killer Women, based on real stories of female criminals; Left on the Shelf, about three sisters haunted by memories of their dead mother; and More Than Partners, centered on three female lawyers.There are also On the Edge and Be Kind to Me.
“Through MediaBiz, the goals
for Pol-ka will be focused on promoting the formats of its series.
”
—Alex Lagomarsino
Novavision Promotion Internationale www.novavision.fr
“Having diversi-
• Pop Corn TV • Crazy Hidden Camera • Hilarious Home Video • The QuizZz • Prize of Surprise
fied its activities to include formats, Novavision asserts its ambition to be the one-stop shop for short, funny and non-dialogue programs for the whole family.
Novavision recently acquired the assets of MEG, creating a catalogue that encompasses more than 47,000 clips and 650 shows. François-Xavier Poirier, the CEO of Novavision, highlights the flagship Pop Corn TV for buyers. Crazy Hidden Camera compiles an array of fully edited candid-camera clips, while Hilarious Home Video features home-video clips packaged into a non-dialogue series. Novavision has diversified its catalogue by adding formats to the mix, among them The QuizZz and Prize of Surprise.
”
—François-Xavier Poirier
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in the news
MAKING HEADLINES IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY BY ANNA CARUGATI
He’s Back!
WS: What was it like working with the comic-book vet-
eran Stan Lee?
Arnold Schwarzenegger
SCHWARZENEGGER: When I met Stan Lee, I said to
Few public figures have had as many successful careers as Arnold Schwarzenegger: bodybuilder; Hollywood action star, best known for the Terminator franchise, but also adroit in comedy; businessman; sports and fitness advocate; and governor of the state of California. Now, in partnership with Andy Heyward and A Squared Entertainment (A2), Stan Lee and Archie Comics, Schwarzenegger is returning to the entertainment business with the multiplatform animated property The Governator, which will include a television series, a 3D movie, a comic-book series and a consumer-products program.
WS: What appealed to you about The Governator? SCHWARZENEGGER: My whole life I have always
been interested in doing things that are unique, unexpected, bigger than life—doing the impossible, and this show falls into that category. When I was finished with the governorship, I wanted to do something in entertainment, but something unique that would surprise everybody. It was just coincidentally that we started talking to Andy Heyward and A Squared Entertainment and then he brought in Stan Lee and we started talking about the idea of The Governator. Because so many people have called me Governator over the years, we thought we should do something with that name, which had always signified to people a heroic person, someone that is a combination of the governor and the action-hero Terminator kind of a character. We wanted to bring all of my lives together: the athletic background, the bodybuilding, the entertainment background, the life as an action star and the governor. And this is what the Governator became: a superhero that has never been seen before, someone that has super powers and super gadgets, who has surrounded himself with teenagers that are the brightest of the bright and the most creative. And there will be a lot of comedy and lot of action. [Combining all those elements was a good way of] getting back into the entertainment business. 10
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myself, if only the politicians I’ve met could have some of that enthusiasm and creativity! For hours he spewed out ideas: looks, circumstances, action, funny scenes, and so on. It was just staggering! We hit it off so well and everyone had great ideas. Usually there is always a debate: I don’t like your idea here. Maybe this is better. [With Stan it was just a series of ] great ideas.You very rarely meet somebody that is that creative and has that kind of a mind that just triggers one idea, then another 20 ideas and so on. It was a great pleasure to work with someone like that and to have him assemble a team of writers and to work together with Archie Comics. People will be surprised when they see the stories and really see this character. Of course, we are not trying to make The Governator like some of my movies, which were super violent. We’re taking the violence down and replacing it with comedy, which is much better, and making this really a family-oriented show. But there will be enough action and gadgetry so that the kids like it. WS: Are there certain messages that you’d like to impart
to kids? SCHWARZENEGGER: Inevitably, we want to inspire
kids without preaching to them. When kids watch the three teens that surround the Governator, they will be inspired because the reason the teens are able to give the Governator these extra powers is because they are smart. They are not only smart because they were good students in school, but they’re smart because they’re willing to go beyond what they’ve been taught in school and get really creative. They become experts in hacking computers, they’re experts in creating all kinds of gadgets. The Governator inspires kids to be smart, to always think and to learn. It shows how important math is in order for them to work out formulas, how much medical [knowledge is necessary] to get DNA from someone and re-create someone else. In addition, everyone in the series is super green.The suits will be solar powered.The vehicles may be hydrogen-fueled or battery-run, and it’s really hip so that the kids also get the message that we’ve got to protect the earth. The people that pollute the earth and [exploit] the fossil fuels, they are the villains. There is also the idea that the harder you work, the more you can accomplish and the more successful you can be if you’re willing to take risks. You should never be worried about failure. You’ve got to take risks; that’s what life is about. The more risks you’re willing to take, the further you can go. All of this is in the show, but without trying to make it an educational show. It’s entertainment from the beginning to the end, and every episode will have surprises and be somewhat inspirational.
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behind the scenes
CHRONICLING THE CREATION OF TODAY’S BIGGEST NEW SHOWS BY MANSHA DASWANI
Torchwood’s New Day The talent behind the new season of Torchwood—including stars John Barrowman and Bill Pullman—provide a behind-the-scenes look at what’s to come for the show.
Torchwood has been on an upward trajectory since its humble beginnings on BBC Three in 2006. A spin-off of Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who 2005 reboot, the show stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, the leader of an organization that investigates extraterrestrial activity. It moved to BBC Two for its second season and by its third had landed a plum spot on the flagship BBC One. The third season, Torchwood: Children of Earth, a five-night mini-series, generated record ratings, both at home and abroad. Indeed, the stellar numbers recorded by BBC America when it aired the show caught the interest of the U.S. programming community, most notably Starz. In June of last year, the premium network announced that it would coproduce season four of Torchwood with BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Worldwide. “We’re committed to programming exceptional television that is entertaining, imaginative and provides a premium TV experience, and by any measure the new concept for Torchwood fits that mandate,” Chris Albrecht, the president and CEO of Starz, said at the time. 12
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Shot in both the U.S. and the U.K., the new season, Torchwood: Miracle Day, sees original cast members Barrowman and Eve Myles being joined by Bill Pullman (Independence Day) and Mekhi Phifer (ER), among others. It premieres on Starz and BBC One this year, and was launched to the international market by BBC Worldwide at MIPTV. “Torchwood was already popular with viewers all around the world, so buyers in Cannes were very responsive to hearing about the new series,” says Steve Macallister, the president and managing director of sales and distribution at BBC Worldwide. “BBC Worldwide Productions in Los Angeles have produced a fantastic, thought-provoking and thrilling series with a real international feel. Combine this with a cast that features top acting talent from both sides of the Atlantic, a terrific writing team and Starz as our U.S. partners and you have an incredibly compelling combination—which we believe will open this latest installment of Torchwood up to a whole new audience.” Julie Gardner, the executive producer of the show and the senior VP of scripted at BBC Worldwide Productions, says that having a U.S. partner—and a larger budget—“helps us enormously.We are doing bigger stunts, we are able to create more action…there is an on-screen value. But the single most important thing to say is, at heart, the show remains the same.We haven’t been asked to change, we haven’t been asked to be American, whatever that means. Starz and BBC One asked us to make the best quality, most bold offering that we possibly could.” Barrowman backs up this view. “We’re moving on to another page in the history of Torchwood and it’s going to be bigger and better.” This season, the story is focused on the ramifications of “Miracle Day”—the day on which humankind becomes immortal.“It’s not just a good thing,” Barrowman says.“You continue to age, you continue to have illness, but you cannot die.There are people who rise to the occasion and use it to their best advantage.There are people who manipulate the situation.That is the story that begins in episode one and will be answered in episode ten, as to why that happened.” Pullman joins the cast as the villainous Oswald Danes. “There’s a interesting way that personas are invented by a mass consciousness,” Pullman says cryptically about his character. “Some people that have fallen into disgrace [and] by a certain turn of events become media sensations…see an opportunity to climb into a larger arena; this is the kind of character that Oswald Danes is.” Pullman says he has enjoyed his time working on the British co-production, after first discovering BBC programming when he was living in the U.K. in the 1970s. For Barrowman, meanwhile, the newTorchwood marks his return to the U.S. following his stint on Desperate Housewives. “This is a completely different thing to be with Starz, who are the most progressive cable network and the one that seems to be taking the risks and pushing edgy and groundbreaking programming. And to be part of a show that has become this global phenomenon, that started out on a digital channel in the U.K., is thrilling.”
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g n i s p Colla s w o d Win s sell red the way distributor te al ly al ic at am dr s ha scape ti The evolving media land Stuart and Anna Caruga y Ja By s. rie se TV d an the rights to movies
o much has changed in the television business: the number of platforms that offer programming, the many devices upon which consumers can enjoy content and the way viewers are watching favorite films and shows. Perhaps no segment of the industry has felt the impact of these shifts more than the distributors that sell product to broadcasters, cable and satellite channels, and Internet companies around the world. Some 25 years ago, the distribution business was relatively uncomplicated. There was a handful of terrestrial broadcasters in each major territory: the U.S. had three major broadcast networks, a ple-
S
thora of local stations and a nascent cable industry. The U.K. had three main terrestrial broadcasters and cable and satellite on the horizon. Germany, Italy and France had public broadcasters and, with the onset of deregulation, the emergence of commercial networks. With that handful of broadcasters in each territory, the studios and distributors would license the rights to a movie or TV series to the one that would provide the largest audience and pay the top price to air the product for a certain period of time and a certain number of runs.That product was often licensed exclusively. The advent of pay television and the home-video industry prompted 14
distributors to learn how to window their product differently in each territory, creating a flow from one outlet to another, to best exploit the rights to their product—and the licensing process started to get more complicated. Taking the U.K. as an example, the sequence of windows for a Hollywood motion picture has traditionally been: after the theatrical run, the film became available as a retail product on DVD or to be purchased via download. After another 90 to 150 days it also became available via video on demand (VOD), pay per view (PPV) or download to rent. After 12 to 15 months the film went to
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pay TV, after which came free TV and library VOD use. Think that’s complicated? Well, today the number of channels is nearly endless: free TV, pay TV, digital, premium cable, basic cable, thematic or general entertainment. Almost all of them have websites that offer catch-up-TV services. So one of the biggest changes in distribution is that the concept of exclusivity has practically disappeared. In fact, the same show can be licensed to different outlets in the same country and, in some cases, even be on the air on different channels at different times in the same day. And as if this weren’t enough to tax the best rights-management soft-
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ware program, Internet services have lately been altering the sequence of windowing films and TV series from one outlet to another almost daily. “The business has changed more in the last five years than it has in the previous 50, and the way things are going, it appears we will have an equal amount of change in the next five years,” says Mark Kaner, the president of Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution. “The world is definitely a more complicated place and the windows are changing,” adds Jeffrey Schlesinger, the president of Warner Bros. International Television. “In some cases they are changing organically and in some cases they are changing because we are causing them to change.” The situations and practices are different for the distribution of feature films and of television series, but both sectors are being shaken up by new media. NEMESIS OR FRIEND?
The biggest disruption in the way product is licensed has come from the online service Netflix. A high-profile deal sealing its status as a major player in the programming business was signed in April when Netflix acquired the rerun rights of Mad Men from Lionsgate. This means that the reruns of this critically acclaimed series will not air on a broadcast or cable network, as is usually the case with a hit series. Mad Men’s new episodes air on AMC in the U.S. and Netflix is reportedly paying close to $1 million per episode to take it online. Netflix subscribers (an estimated 23.6 million) will be able to stream the first four seasons starting in July, and see the fifth season on broadband as soon as it ends on AMC in 2012. Netflix has a slew of deals with major studios in the bag for feature films and television programs from the likes of CBS (worth “hundreds of millions,” the network said). The company is also in discussions with NBCUniversal over a nonexclusive deal for library TV episodes.
The power of choice: Netflix is becoming an increasingly influential player in the TV business, recently outbidding several cable outlets for the first-run rights to a new original drama, House of Cards.
But the most significant deal of all is Netflix’s purchase of its first original TV series. It is committing about $100 million for 26 episodes of House of Cards, an American remake of a BBC political series, starring Kevin Spacey. Netflix outbid HBO and others for the show from Media Rights Capital. Besides Netflix, there are many factors causing disruptions in traditional ways of selling product. Studios and distributors have to navigate a constantly shifting terrain: technology is continually offering new platforms and devices; new players keep jumping into the
programming game, joining the likes of Amazon and Hulu; and viewers have taken complete control of how and when they watch. “Windows are collapsing to accommodate the changes that are happening,” says Kaner. “There are more businesses being developed and some of the traditional businesses are under tremendous pressure. Some of the physical DVD revenue is disappearing, but Blu-ray,VOD and EST (electronic sell-through) are growing. The
problem at the moment is that the decline is faster than the growth. While this is most prevalent in the feature-film world it is also true in television. It varies country by country, but ultimately it is a problem that we will face around the world. The audience going to the cinema seems to be made up of either adults or young families, and much of the demographic in between is distracted by hundreds of different ways to consume entertainment and information. The cost of production and marketing in both motion pictures and television continues to rise, and that to me may be our biggest challenge.” HOLLYWOOD HITS
All these changes are causing the studios to go with the flow, so to speak. “Certainly in feature films, the windows continue to shorten,” says Warner Bros.’ Schlesinger. “DVD goes earlier, transactional video on demand goes earlier, therefore pay television comes a little earlier, free television comes a little bit earlier, and additionally there are all kinds of new forms of
Portrait of the present: YouTube was the first window for Life in a Day, a crowd-sourced documentary made up of video clip submissions from thousands of people around the world, which is set for theatrical release in the U.S. this summer. 5/11
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Suited for multiple outlets: Hawaii Five-0 is among the CBS series that are seeing strong ratings gains from nonlinear windows, including DVR replays and airings on CBS.com and Comcast’s Xfinity TV service.
on-demand licensing that happen in or after the free-TV window.” In the U.K., a major market, all the U.S. studios make VOD rights available on the same day as DVD. “The film studios tend to have an agreed set of rules which they all stick to when it comes to the rollout of product,” says Michael Barry, the director of programming of BT Vision, the broadband TV platform owned by Britain’s biggest telecom provider, which has more than 500,000 subscribers. At a price of £12.50 ($18.50) per month, customers can get the whole range of VOD except the latest blockbuster movies. “The next step is going to be making a premium VOD window available before the DVD release. That is being talked about in the U.S., but not been confirmed for the U.K.” A premium VOD window is being more than talked about in the U.S.—it has happened, and many in the industry are not pleased. On April 21, DIRECTV’s on-demand platform made Sony Pictures’ Just Go with It available to subscribers for $29.99 for a 48-hour window. The movie had
been released theatrically on February 11. This is an example of an initiative by studios and platforms to launch premium VOD services that deliver feature films to the home some 60 days after the theatrical release, instead of allowing the average theatrical release period of 132 days. The other features that will roll out on DIRECTV’s premium VOD service include Warner Bros.’ Hall Pass, Universal Pictures’ The Adjustment Bureau and Fox Searchlight’s Cedar Rapids. BATTLE IN THE HOME
In response to DIRECTV’s plan, more than 20 Hollywood filmmakers, including James Cameron and Michael Bay, have issued an open letter released by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO). The letter points out that the premium VOD window makes it possible for new movies to be shown in homes while these same films are still in their theatrical run. “Make no mistake: History has shown that price points cannot be maintained in the home video window,” states the letter. “What sells 16
for $30-a-viewing today could be blown out for $9.99 within a few years. If wiser heads do not prevail, the cannibalization of theatrical revenue in favor of a faulty, premature home-video window could lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Some theaters will close. The competition for those screens that remain will become that much more intense, foreclosing all but the most commercial movies from theatrical release. Specialty films whose success depends on platform releases that slowly build in awareness would be severely threatened under this new model. Careers that are built on the risks that can be taken with lower budget films may never have the chance to blossom under this cutthroat new model. Further, releasing a pristine, digital copy of new movies early to the home will only increase the piracy problem— not solve it.” In a separate release from NATO, Cameron said, “You can argue about VOD windows all day long, but what you can’t deny is that there is an overwhelming outcry from the theater owners that they feel threat-
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ened by this.The cinema experience is the wellspring of our entire business, regardless of what platforms we trickle down to. If the exhibitors are worried, I’m worried.We should be listening to them. Why on earth would you give audiences an incentive to skip the highest and best form of your film? My films aren’t going to the home early, but many will, and that will weaken the movie theater industry—and then my movies are threatened.” FINDING A FAIR PRICE
New platforms have the potential of threatening more than the movie-theater industry and top filmmakers. In fact, every new operator and device puts existing business models to the test.To satisfy the demand for product, studios and distributors must find ways of monetizing their content, often carving out new windows. In the U.K. market for feature films, a big recent change is a second pay-TV window. Currently, pay TV—effectively the BSkyB platform—gets an exclusive payTV window about four months after VOD and has that window for about 18 months. Now
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NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. and Sony, among others, have agreed to give BT Vision and Top Up TV a second pay-TV window for their subscribers for one month after Sky’s window, before the titles go to free-to-air television. Then, after about three years on free TV, the rights will go back to BT Vision for VOD. The world of television windows, however, is very different. In the U.K., Channel 4 makes its programs available for VOD as soon as shows air on TV, in most cases. BBC tends to wait about six months, and sometimes longer. The delay can be 18 months or even two years for programs aired on BBC Three or BBC Four. Warner Bros. and Disney are among the U.S. distributors making programs available toVOD within 12 months, but some others hold back for two to as long as five years, either because they have sold the VOD rights and cannot get them back or for strategic reasons. “We are not intentionally buying VOD rights ahead of the linear television channels, but it can happen on occasion when a title has not been acquired by the broadcasters,” says BT Vision’s Barry. “As our customer base grows and there is more money to invest, it will be possible. But buying first-run rights in the U.K. is very expensive and the value to us does not make a good business case for doing that now.” “For television series, a number of interesting things are happening,” Warner Bros.’ Schlesinger says. “In some cases you have preview transactional video on demand, or EST windows, and we did that last year in the U.K., where we launched the first season of The Vampire Diaries on iTunes after The CW network premiere but before ITV2 premiered the show. That was unusual for a first-season show. It was done to combat piracy but also to build awareness for ITV2’s launch. It did quite well on iTunes and ITV2 ended up hav-
The notion of catch-up TV has caught on quickly across Europe. All major channels are offering viewers the opportunity to watch online shows they may have missed during the broadcast on linear channels. YOUTH REVOLUTION
Getting connected: New technology, such as Sony Internet TV, is making it easier than ever for consumers to access their favorite shows instantly.
ing double the number of viewers they expected for the premiere of the series. “In some cases,” continues Schlesinger, “you might have a pay-TV window for a series, with the free-TV exposure following. Regardless, there is a lot of discussion about the catch-up rights that are granted. What has also become
established in addition to catch-up is a nonexclusive SVOD window that runs during the free-TV licensing period, usually after the first telecast of the full season. In many countries we have launched WarnerTV, a branded environment, to exploit and exhibit these SVOD rights with cable and IPTV platforms.”
The young target of Channel 4’s outlet E4 makes new media an important part of the strategy for that channel and has an impact on the windows structure. Most programs are shown on linear first and then streamed on 4oD, the group’s video-on-demand service. But E4 does the occasional launch on 4oD seven days before the show airs on the linear channel. This works best with returning shows such as Skins. E4 also premiered the latest season of Misfits with an episode on iTunes seven days in advance. “After a series builds a following, there may be an appetite to see episodes before they are on free TV,” says BT Vision’s Barry. “It’s possible that they might find some customers on PPV. But most people, if they know something is going to be free,
Calling the shots: The hit FOX show Glee gets a boost from its presence on Hulu, which streams recent episodes shortly after their linear airdate and also offers past seasons and clips. 5/11
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are prepared to wait for it. It depends on the series. It would tend to be the case more with the cult-type shows than mainstream series.” But catch-up is not an easy thing for the industry to digest. Warner Bros.’ Schlesinger states it flatly: “One of the very strong feelings we have is that the catch-up rights should be advertiser-supported, and we believe they should have an ad load that is equivalent to what is in the linear broadcast stream. A lot of our discussions with broadcasters revolve around the desire to put less advertising in the shows when they are offered on demand. They might say it’s a much better experience to watch without ads, but then the question is, Who is paying for it? Do we really want to teach a generation to expect that they don’t have to pay for something and they can get it without or with very little commercial interruption? If they are paying for it, fine. But if they are not paying for it, then we need to insure that we help keep the broadcasting industry healthy and don’t create an expectation of viewers watching without payment and without commercials. Nor do we want to draw them away from the linear broadcast stream where they are watching commercials to go watch online with far fewer commercials in a catch-up TV environment.”
air it.Therefore we have to get holdbacks for ad-VOD”—advertisingsupported VOD—“which is a freeTV right, and DVD and much more. On the other side we are a force in new media with our maxdome VOD platform and MyVideo, which is a free online platform. Mostly we acquire rights for exclusive free TV (including adVOD) with a holdback against pay, and we air the series as soon as possible. We also buy basic pay and nonexclusive rights for maxdome. And we have some very good ideas on how MyVideo fits in. Every contract is different.” A SHARED JOURNEY
At the end of the day, both sellers and buyers are feeling their way together in the new market landscape. “Our licensors react differently in negotiations,” Böss adds. “Some are very reluctant, some are easier, but mostly we are all sitting in the same boat. We want to entertain, satisfy the audience— and make money out of it.The studios know that we are very good clients, not only because of our deep pockets but because we are the best way to deliver their product to the audience.”
It’s not always new platforms and technology that create the new windows. Sometimes it’s conditions in a given market that cause the change. In Italy, the traditional windows have been shattered in part because Warner Bros. identified an opportunity. “We went to Mediaset and licensed the pay and free rights to both our features and series,” explains Warner Bros.’ Schlesinger. “That allowed them the flexibility to decide whether they would utilize a payTV window or bypass the pay-TV window and go to free TV earlier. In the case of features, this could be a very interesting thing to do because we have been seeing in many countries a decline of audiences for features on free TV because they are commercially interrupted and only available significantly after theatrical release.” Other times, programmers want to create new windows, Schlesinger says. “In cases where broadcasters come to us and ask for broader rights, more extensive rights, we engage in a conversation to really understand what are they going to do with those rights. Are you asking for them to protect your business? Are you asking for
them to exploit new media? Are you asking for them to extend your reach? Are they going to be free, advertiser supported, paid for? And then, most importantly, how will we participate in the additional revenue that will come as a result of exploiting those rights?” Certainly, the media landscape has become ever more complex. However,Twentieth Century Fox’s Kaner believes that “where there are enormous challenges there should be enormous opportunity as well. The lines between free TV and pay television continue to blur, and traditional linear players more and more want to be involved in digital businesses. In some ways it’s completely understandable because they want to protect their core audience and attract a new one as well. The battle between the computer screen and the TV set is over. Everything will go to the flat-panel TV screen and it will travel there wirelessly. The question remains what will be the nature of the content that people watch on that screen and, very importantly, how do we monetize it? We’re working on that every day, and it is both a very exciting and complicated time to be in entertainment.”
DEAL-MAKING FLEXIBILITY
With all of the possible ways of exhibiting product, broadcasters naturally aim to make deals that leave them plenty of room to move between windows. “We try to obtain as much flexibility in our deals as possible,” says Rüdiger Böss, the senior VP of group programming acquisitions for ProSiebenSat.1 Media. “With more players involved, the cake will not get bigger, the size of the pieces will change.This has to be reflected in our deals.We have to protect our free-TV rights, because we still spend most on these rights, and we don’t want people to know the answers in a series like Lost before we
In the game: Microsoft signed a deal with ESPN to bring the sports service to the Xbox 360, with viewers able to watch live sports in HD via streaming to the game console rather than having to tune in to the cable network. 18
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one on one n April 1923, four brothers from Youngstown, Ohio, officially incorporated their motion-picture company. Never mind that at the time their only bankable movie star was a dog called Rin Tin Tin. They were ambitious and visionary and, by the end of the ’20s, they had their first hit, The Jazz Singer, and several stars, including Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney. We’re talking, of course, about the siblings who founded Warner Bros., the studio that became home to Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor, just to mention a few. During the ’50s, Warner Bros. first responded to the potential threat of television by embracing the new technologies of the time, CinemaScope, 3-D and Eastmancolor, and later embraced the small screen and became a leading producer of TV dramas and comedies. In the ’60s and ’70s, the studio took risks with pictures like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Bonnie and Clyde and gave chances to young filmmakers like Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick. Into the ’80s and ’90s, it gambled successfully on
mega-budgets and tent-pole films, producing the hit franchises Superman, Batman and eventually the extremely successful Harry Potter. Today, Barry M. Meyer, as chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment (a Time Warner company), sits at the helm of a media company that had revenues of $11.6 billion in 2010 and whose businesses range from feature films, television and home-entertainment production and worldwide distribution, to DVD, digital distribution, animation comic books, licensing and international cinemas and broadcasting. Meyer joined the company in 1971 as director of business affairs for Warner Bros. Television. He quickly moved up the ranks and in 1999 was named chairman and CEO of the studio. Under his leadership, Warner Bros. reached several high points. In 2010, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group broke the all-time industry worldwide box-office record with receipts in excess of $4.8 billion. That also marked the tenth consecutive year the group passed the billion-dollar mark at both the domestic and international box office, and it was the year the studio had five films gross more than $100 million at both the domestic and overseas box office—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Inception, Clash of the Titans, Valentine’s Day and Due Date. The Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) produced 40 television series for the 2010–11 season for a variety of broadcast and cable networks, including Two and a Half Men and The Mentalist for CBS; Harry’s Law for NBC; The Bachelor franchise for ABC; Gossip Girl for The CW; The Closer for TNT; Pretty Little Liars for ABC Family and Shameless for Showtime. WBTVG is also a fifty-fifty partner with CBS in The CW Television Network. Meyer has announced that he will retire in December 2013. Alan Horn, who has been the studio’s president and COO, recently stepped down and Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner’s chairman and CEO, has put in place a succession plan by creating the Office of the President, which brings together three of the studio’s top managers: Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov; Warner Bros. Television Group president Bruce Rosenblum; and Home Entertainment chief Kevin Tsujihara. These three executives are charged with carrying on Meyer’s vision of creating the very best product, making it available to as wide an audience as possible and protecting it from piracy.
Barry M. Meyer
Warner Bros. Entertainment
WS: You have been at Warner Bros. for nearly four
decades. Which of the studio’s many successes are you most proud of? MEYER: Certainly we’re extremely proud of Harry Potter, and I must tip my hat to my longtime partner Alan Horn, who did a magnificent job transforming J. K. Rowling’s literary genius into the most successful film franchise in history, cinematic spectacles that people have embraced beyond our wildest dreams.Then you look at the resurgence of the 20
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Batman franchise, TV mega-hits like Friends, Two and a Half Men, ER, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, the list goes on. And certainly our aggressive and successful move into digital entertainment and video games, the exciting possibilities a newly strengthened brand like DC Entertainment offers…we feel good about the future. WS: In an interview with Jeffrey
Bewkes, he said that despite franchises like Harry Potter,Warner Bros. is still a director’s studio. How do you ensure that with the increasing need to make franchise movies and sequels there still is room for mid-budget movies? MEYER: We cherish our reputation as a director’s studio and plan on keeping it that way.While we remain committed to our tent-pole film strategy, producing four to six blockbusters each year, there will always be a number of berths on our slate for mid-budget films. Look at a movie like The Town and the directing job Ben Affleck turned in—that’s a critically acclaimed, financially successful mid-budget film and one that we’re all very proud of. WS: Have you seen an industry-wide shift away from movies that are the fruit of one director’s voice to moviemaking by committee in which
marketing concerns outweigh the director’s voice and vision? MEYER: Again, we’ve found that success in this business is based on the ability to tell compelling stories that audiences want to see, and the director’s voice is pivotal to this. Warner Bros. has seen distinctive, unique and incredibly successful visions from a variety of filmmakers in just the last few years: Christopher Nolan with Inception and the Batman films,Todd Phillips with The Hangover, Guy Ritchie with Sherlock Holmes, and of course the incomparable Clint Eastwood, whose body of work continues to astound. Clearly, vision and voice remain the essence of great filmmaking. WS: How do you protect Warner
Bros.’ assets as broadband connections improve and people become increasingly able to download movies and TV shows in seconds, not hours? MEYER: Warner Bros., along with most other entertainment companies, has adapted its strategies and integrated multiple new digital delivery models that enable consumers to access content across multiple platforms and myriad devices.We seek to deliver high-quality content, a wide variety of choices and portability all at reasonable price points.
Ready for action: The hotly anticipated Green Lantern, coming this summer, is the blockbuster film adaptation of a beloved DC comic book. WS: What has been Warner Bros.’ strategy in the fight against piracy and what inroads are being made? MEYER: As far as piracy [goes]— let’s call it what it really is, digital theft of the entertainment community’s work. And this theft is a threat not only to every entrepreneur, from the independent filmmaker to a budding TV writer, but also to the thousands and thousands of working-class people around the world whose livelihoods depend on the entertainment business. It’s incumbent upon us all—the studios, the unions, guilds and the very people who work in all areas of creating films and TV—to aggressively protect this intellectual property with every means at our disposal. We’re talking about technical tools such as watermarking and filtering, partnering with different industries and companies to create secure distribution channels for our content, and reaching out to ISPs to enlist their help in combating digital theft. WS: Will 3D technology help pre-
vent piracy? MEYER: 3D makes digital theft more
difficult as a result of the enormous file size and the need for a 3D player. WS: In China how do you balance
Embracing the small screen: The Vampire Diaries, which just wrapped its second season, has found a strong following among young-adult viewers on The CW. 5/11
the potential for business opportunities against the dangers of piracy? MEYER: China is making significant strides in the local motionpicture business and is positioning itself to become a major player in the field. The films their own people are funding, creating and producing—coupled with quality exhibition venues springing up all over the country—can ultimately build a vibrant film community,
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which would in turn create business opportunities for Warner Bros. As China becomes more economically vested in this burgeoning business, we anticipate increased enforcement of laws to combat digital theft with a decidedly positive residual effect for Warner Bros. and our industry as a whole. WS: Technology keeps changing the media business and investors don’t like uncertainty; that is one of the reasons why the stock prices of media companies have not grown significantly in the past several years. What can media companies do to assure investors of the long-term prospects of growth? MEYER: I can only speak for Warner Bros., where we have experienced consistent growth and success over a long period of time. Our film division, for example, broke industry worldwide box-office records in 2010 with over $4.8 billion, the second year in a row and sixth in the last ten we led market share. Our home-video operations once again held the top spot in domestic market share, and our best-in-class television companies produce some of the most popular and profitable series on television. We pride ourselves on that commitment to excellence and consistency. WS: What challenges face the man-
agement team that will succeed you? MEYER: The challenges facing
our company are no different than those facing our peers. We’re all charged with profitably producing compelling entertainment for the global audience while keeping pace with changing consumer tastes, viewing habits and emerging technologies.
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one on one Girls. We are now looking at buying production companies in several other territories with the goal of developing a network. One of the things we got when we bought Shed was a group of people who are experts in licensing and selling formats. This will turbo-charge our ability to roll out our formats internationally. However, we only intend to license our formats in countries where we do not own production companies. Where a WB company operates, they will have the rights to develop and produce local versions of our shows. The good news in terms of format licensing is we’ve had a bit of a resurgence with The Bachelor. It was recently announced we are going to do a U.K. version of The Bachelor with Channel 5.We also expect to do a new version in Germany. And we have about a dozen in production in smaller territories.
Jeffrey Schlesinger President, Warner Bros. International Television Warner Bros. International Television not only sells shows to a wide range of U.S. broadcast and cable networks, it also distributes feature films and TV series worldwide. Among the studio’s strengths are procedurals and non-serialized shows like The Mentalist and Fringe, which work very well around the world. While keeping to its core business of scripted comedies and dramas made in the U.S., as Jeffrey Schlesinger explains, the studio will now also produce locally in key territories.
WS: Tell us about the new divi-
sion, Warner Bros. International Television Production. SCHLESINGER: We set up this division to get into local production. Our goal is to buy or build
production companies in the top ten markets of the world just as Endemol and FremantleMedia have done, and be a local producer that will develop local ideas and produce them. We will also plan to take our shows that are formatable, like The Bachelor, and produce local versions of them. Thirdly, we hope to find or develop ideas that we can produce locally and then bring back to the U.S. The first step was to buy Shed Media, which is one of the top independent production companies in the U.K., that produces hit unscripted shows like SuperNanny, Who Do You Think You Are? and World’s Strictest Parents. They also produce successful U.K. scripted shows—New Tricks, Waterloo Road, Footballers’ Wives and Bad 22
WS: FremantleMedia and Endemol have been producing locally for a longer period of time. What production expertise does WB bring to the business? SCHLESINGER: We certainly have expertise in the U.S. and we are going to acquire local expertise, but what I think we have that they don’t is a factory of IP here in Los Angeles. Any single independent production company might have a very good business, like Shed or Tiger Aspect. If they are part of a network of companies where there is a U.K., French, German, Spanish, Italian company and they are able to circulate successful shows around, that is much better. If you anchor that network of companies together with a studio, like we have here, that is constantly creating both scripted and unscripted programs and has tons of concepts, treatments and pilots that never even make it to the screen available for development, you then have a pretty good combination. Hopefully, in five years’ time we’ll be competitive with Endemol and FremantleMedia,
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because we have the benefit of the anchor here. Will we have the next American Idol? I don’t know. WS: The debate about the expense
of pilots and whether they are worth doing has been going on a long time. A few years ago NBC said pilots are too expensive, too risky, they were going to go straight to 13 episodes. SCHLESINGER: You learn a lot in making a pilot and you learn a lot over the first season of a series. I think to go into production without first evaluating the pilot is pretty risky. At the present time, I don’t see the networks going right to series without having a chance to evaluate the success or casting of a pilot. I’ll give you a perfect example.We didn’t show the original pilot of Harry’s Law last year at the Screenings.They knew they had something, but it wasn’t ready so they took it back, reworked it, recast it, reimagined it, and came out with a great new pilot and, as a result, the show is a hit on NBC. I would say had we not been able to look at the results of the first effort that show would not have been successful. Most people don’t remember that The Big Bang Theory was a result of the second pilot attempt. We did one pilot for CBS. They had some issues with the show but they loved some of the cast members, especially Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons. Chuck Lorre took it back, reworked it and did another pilot for the next year. It sold and is a smash success.This isn’t a science; this is an art. Yes, it’s expensive to produce pilots, but it’s more expensive to go to air and fail as a result of not having the opportunity to rework something that is not perfect that can be identified at the pilot stage. Everything we do is expensive and risky, but fundamentally, we are in the risk business. However, we minimize that risk by being in business with some of the top creators and producers in the business such as Jerry Bruckheimer, J. J. Abrams, David Kelley, John Wells and Chuck Lorre.
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american network scorecard Source: The Nielsen Company, September 20, 2010, to April 24, 2011 A rating point represents 1,159,000 TV households; shares are the percentage of sets tuned to a particular program or station. Courtesy of ABC.
Rank Program
Network
Distributor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 11 12 13 14 14 16 17 18 18 18 18 22 23 24 24 24 24 28 29 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 38 40 41 41 43 44 44 46 47 47 47 50
FOX ABC FOX CBS ABC CBS CBS CBS ABC CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS ABC ABC CBS CBS NBC CBS ABC CBS ABC CBS CBS ABC CBS CBS FOX ABC CBS CBS FOX CBS FOX NBC ABC CBS NBC NBC CBS NBC ABC ABC NBC FOX CBS ABC
FremantleMedia Enterprises 14.3/22 BBC Worldwide 13.7/20 FremantleMedia Enterprises 13.3/21 CBS Studios Intl. 11.9/19 BBC Worldwide 11.6/18 CBS Studios Intl. 10.3/16 Warner Bros. 9.4/16 Disney Media Distribution 8.7/14 Disney Media Distribution 8.5/14 CBS Studios Intl. 8.5/14 CBS Studios Intl. 8.4/13 CBS Studios Intl. 8.3/14 Warner Bros. 8.1/12 Warner Bros. 7.9/13 CBS Studios Intl. 7.9/14 CBS Studios Intl. 7.6/12 Disney Media Distribution 7.4/11 Disney Media Distribution 7.3/11 CBS Studios Intl. 7.3/12 CBS Studios Intl. 7.3/12 Warner Bros. 7.3/12 ALL3MEDIA International 7.2/11 Disney Media Distribution 7.1/12 CBS Studios Intl. 7.0/11 Warner Bros. 7.0/11 Warner Bros. 7.0/10 Disney Media Distribution 7.0/12 Twentieth Century Fox 6.9/11 Disney Media Distribution 6.8/10 CBS Studios Intl. 6.8/12 Twentieth Century Fox 6.7/11 Zodiak Rights 6.6/11 CBS Studios Intl. 6.5/11 Warner Bros. 6.4/10 NBCUniversal 6.1/9 Disney Media Distribution 5.8/9 Twentieth Century Fox 5.7/9 NBCUniversal 5.6/9 Disney Media Distribution 5.6/9 Twentieth Century Fox 5.5/8 FremantleMedia Enterprises 5.4/9 NBCUniversal 5.4/9 Sony Pictures Television 5.3/8 Shine International 5.2/8 Disney Media Distribution 5.2/9 Endemol Worldwide Distribution 5.1/8 Shine International 5.0/8 Sony Pictures Television 5.0/8 CBS Studios Intl. 5.0/9 Warner Bros. 4.9/8
American Idol: Wednesday Dancing with the Stars American Idol: Thursday NCIS Dancing with the Stars: Results NCIS: Los Angeles The Mentalist Criminal Minds Body of Proof 60 Minutes CSI The Good Wife Two and a Half Men The Big Bang Theory Blue Bloods Survivor: Nicaragua Desperate Housewives Grey’s Anatomy Hawaii Five-0 CSI: Miami Harry’s Law Undercover Boss Castle Survivor: Redemption Island The Bachelor Mike & Molly Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Modern Family The Amazing Race 17 CSI: NY Bones Secret Millionaire The Defenders $#*! My Dad Says House The Amazing Race 18 Glee Law & Order: SVU Brothers & Sisters How I Met Your Mother The Apprentice 11 Law & Order: LA Rules of Engagement The Biggest Loser 11 Private Practice Extreme Makeover: Home Edition The Biggest Loser 10 Breaking In Medium The Middle
Average Share
Kids
Teens
M18–49
F18–49
M25–54
F25–54
M50+
F50+
4.9 2.3 4.6 1.1 1.9 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.5 0.9 1.1 0.5 1.6 1.1 1.1 0.6 0.7 0.4 1.0 0.5 1.6 1.1 0.7 0.6 1.3 1.4 0.6 1.0 1.5 0.5 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.6 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.7 1.2 0.6 1.6 1.4 1.1 0.5 1.2
5.9 2.2 5.3 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.5 1.7 1.1 0.9 1.5 0.7 1.5 2.0 0.7 2.2 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.2 0.7 1.4 1.2 2.1 1.8 1.1 1.1 2.2 1.9 0.8 1.8 1.7 0.8 1.4 1.7 1.6 3.8 0.9 0.7 1.3 1.2 0.6 1.1 1.6 0.8 1.5 1.4 1.7 0.7 1.4
6.9 2.6 5.9 3.8 2.4 3.4 2.8 3.1 1.8 2.7 2.8 1.8 4.0 4.2 1.8 3.7 2.3 2.1 3.0 2.5 1.8 3.1 2.0 3.4 1.8 3.0 2.3 4.1 3.2 1.6 2.7 2.3 2.0 2.9 3.3 2.5 2.8 1.9 1.3 3.4 2.6 1.7 2.9 2.1 1.2 1.8 2.1 2.5 1.1 2.0
11.1 6.9 9.8 4.6 5.3 4.1 3.7 4.7 3.9 2.2 3.8 3.3 4.4 4.6 2.7 4.9 5.4 6.5 3.5 3.3 2.8 3.7 3.8 4.1 5.3 4.0 3.5 5.5 4.4 2.6 4.2 3.5 2.5 3.3 4.5 3.5 5.0 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.8 2.8 3.2 4.2 4.5 2.9 4.1 3.4 2.4 2.9
8.4 3.6 7.3 5.3 3.3 4.6 3.8 3.9 2.6 3.7 3.7 2.6 5.2 5.4 2.6 4.8 2.9 2.6 4.0 3.2 2.6 4.0 2.6 4.4 2.1 4.0 3.0 4.7 3.9 2.3 3.2 3.1 2.8 4.0 3.9 3.3 3.1 2.3 1.8 4.0 3.1 2.1 3.8 2.6 1.5 2.3 2.6 3.1 1.6 2.5
12.9 9.3 11.5 6.3 7.4 5.6 5.2 6.1 5.4 3.2 5.1 4.9 5.8 5.8 3.9 6.4 6.3 7.1 4.8 4.5 4.1 4.9 4.9 5.5 6.2 5.3 4.7 6.2 5.5 3.6 4.8 4.7 3.6 4.5 5.0 4.7 5.0 4.0 4.5 4.4 4.9 3.5 4.0 4.9 5.1 3.6 4.8 4.1 3.4 3.7
8.8 8.9 8.7 12.7 7.9 10.7 9.2 7.0 6.5 10.3 7.6 7.1 7.3 6.3 8.3 6.2 3.9 2.9 6.4 6.5 7.1 6.3 5.1 5.8 2.8 5.7 5.5 3.6 5.1 6.4 5.2 4.9 6.6 5.6 4.1 4.9 2.4 3.8 2.5 3.7 3.0 4.1 4.3 2.3 1.8 3.1 2.2 3.3 3.6 3.2
12.7 19.1 12.6 14.8 16.2 12.4 12.0 10.2 11.3 9.9 10.0 11.3 7.5 7.2 11.0 7.6 7.8 6.6 7.9 8.8 9.8 8.0 8.7 7.1 7.6 7.1 8.4 5.3 7.0 9.3 6.7 7.9 8.0 6.5 5.0 6.2 3.8 5.7 6.4 3.9 5.2 5.9 4.3 4.8 5.1 5.7 4.3 4.4 6.6 5.1
For a complete list of the top U.S. network shows, visit www.worldscreen.com. 5/11
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world’s end
IN THE STARS
Almost every national constitution forbids the establishment of an official state religion. But this secular bent doesn’t stop people from looking to the heavens for answers to life’s most troublesome questions: Will I succeed? Will I find love? Will Donald Trump ask to see my birth certificate? Every day, papers and magazines worldwide print horoscopes—projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many people rely on these daily, weekly or monthly messages for guidance in their lives, some readers skip over them entirely. The editors of WS recognize that
Donald Trump
Nicolas Cage
Natalie Portman
Donald Trump
Natalie Portman
Global distinction: Potential presidential contender. Sign: Gemini (b. June 14, 1946) Significant date: April 27, 2011 Noteworthy activity: Trump fuels controversy regard-
Global distinction: Oscar-winning actress. Sign: Gemini (b. June 9, 1981) Significant date: April 16, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The brunette beauty comes under
ing the birthplace of U.S. president Barack Obama. When the long form of his birth certificate is produced, Trump takes credit for the act. He tells reporters, “Today, I’m very proud of myself because I’ve accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish. I am really honored, frankly, to have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue.” Horoscope: “Be quick to point out when you see an injustice. When you know you’re right, say so. It’s important that others respect you.” (whatsonsanya.com)
scrutiny about the amount of real dancing she did in Black Swan. Sarah Lane, a soloist with American Ballet Theatre, says the filmmakers are “completely lying” when they insist Portman did most of her own dance scenes in the Oscarwinning role. She appears on 20/20 with her allegations. Horoscope: “Do not let someone else take credit for all of your hard work. You must stand up and make others take notice of your abilities. New opportunities will be made available to you as a result.” (tri-cityherald.com)
George Michael
these little pearls of random fore-
Charlie Sheen
sight occasionally prove prophetic.
Global distinction: Scandal-prone sitcom star. Sign: Virgo (b. September 3, 1965) Significant date: April 2, 2011 Noteworthy activity: After experiencing a public melt-
But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimate the science. As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on signif-
Lindsay Lohan
Global distinction: ’80s pop icon. Sign: Cancer (b. June 25, 1963) Significant date: April 15, 2011 Noteworthy activity: As a royal wedding present, the
down and subsequent firing from his hit sitcom, Sheen takes his outrageous antics on the road with a 20-city tour. His show, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth,” gets off to a rocky start when the star is heckled and booed off the stage during the first night of the performances. Horoscope: “Because you may be prone to living in denial, it is important that you communicate with others often, to evaluate things from their perspective.” (zodiacsigns-astrology.com)
Wham! star records a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “You and I,” making it downloadable free of charge. However, the singer forgets to clear this gift with the song’s rights holder, EMI Music.“Those ****ers at EMI wanted to charge me for every download,” the singer Tweeted. Wonder himself waives the licensing fees, sparing Michael “the most expensive wedding pressie I ever gave anyone.” Horoscope: “Your generosity to others has always been given freely and with your whole heart. Now it is your turn to see how dearly others feel for you.” (astrologyzone.com)
Nicolas Cage
Lindsay Lohan
Global distinction: Action star. Sign: Capricorn (b. January 7, 1964) Significant date: April 18, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The actor is taken into custody for
Global distinction: Hollywood party girl. Sign: Cancer (b. July 2, 1986) Significant date: April 25, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The hard-partying starlet is sen-
public intoxication, disturbing the peace and domestic abuse. Dog the Bounty Hunter, a bail bondsman who stars in his own reality show, reportedly posts the $11,000 to spring Cage from a New Orleans jail. Horoscope: “A Capricorn will get someone back on their feet again with a steady plan for success and for all this, they expect nothing in return. Along the way, you will find friends in unlikely places who will do the same for you.” (zodiac-signs-astrology.com)
tenced to 480 hours of community service for violating her probation. She will spend a good portion of those hours at the L.A. County Department of Coroner’s facility, doing janitorial tasks. “She won’t be handling any dead bodies but she’ll certainly see them,” Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells People. Horoscope: “Actions have consequences. Pay attention to what it is you really desire. Have patience and use this wise totem to ground yourself.” (t2conline.com)
icant days, they could have avoided a few surprises.
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