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09 Oct 2011 11:17

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Culture: The Simpsons gets a longer lifespan, but the voice actors lose out

  • whoo-hoo After a few weeks of tense negotiations with the show’s voice actors, “The Simpsons” will have two more full seasons before it finally goes into syndication heaven — making for 25 full years.
  • d’oh The negotiations centered on a fight over giving the voice actors back-end profits, which appears to be something they weren’t able to get. Also, fans of the show may just want to see it end. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 10:18

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Culture: Will “The Simpsons” end due to a salary fight? Quite possibly, kids.

  • what “The Simpsons” is facing some significant budgetary issues, and Fox is trying to figure out a way to cut costs so the show remains profitable. If it can’t, the 23-year-old show, which predates every other scripted show on the prime-time schedule, will face cancellation.
  • why The big problem is that the voice actors on the show, who fought for higher wages (and won) many times, are being asked to take significant cuts in salary (they make $8 million per year), which they’re fighting. Also, it probably doesn’t help that ratings are down. source
  • » Putting the D’oh out to pasture? The Simpsons is still widely-regarded, but with roughly 500 episodes under its belt, Fox may be ready for the next step in the “Simpsons” phenomenon — its own cable network. It’d be interesting if the salary battle is really an excuse to end “The Simpsons” outright.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Sep 2011 12:18

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Culture: Fox considering creating an all-Simpsons cable network

  • They certainly have enough episodes to pull it off. One of News Corp.’s greatest pieces of entertainment could eventually become a franchise all its own. With the series likely to pass the 500-episode mark with its upcoming 23rd season, Fox is reportedly talking about a long-term plan for the franchise, involving a cable network of its own. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to do this right away — most of the series is embedded in long-term syndication deals — but once those expire, a single network approach might prove to be more financially sound as the series reaches its point of quarter-life crisis. So how would this work, anyway? Let’s do a quick number breakdown:
  • 245 length, in hours, of the series’ current 486 episodes, plus “The Simpsons Movie,” with commercials
  • 10.2 number of days that would manage to fill up, including commercials, before you’d run into a show repeat
  • 35.7 number of times the network would cycle through every single episode, plus a movie, in a single year source
  • » So, what do you guys think? Is a network built around a single show, even one as diverse and far-reaching as “The Simpsons,” something you’d watch? Or would it be like the original MTV — where everyone loved the idea of it, but didn’t necessarily stick with it? We’re not sure, but there are probably some pretty killer OWN Network jokes they could make if Fox did this.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jan 2011 23:15

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Culture: Fox, unsurprisingly, nixes “Jesus Hates Obama” Superbowl ad

  • Here’s the surprising thing: The ad itself is pretty innocuous. It depicts an Obama bobblehead being pushed into a fishbowl by a Jesus bobblehead, apparently by way of telekinesis (it’s a bit unclear). All in good fun, right? And all that’s being advertised is a comedy website that peddles anti-Obama mugs, T-shirts, and (presumably) bobbleheads. So why the controversy? Well, the website is called “Jesus Hates Obama.” So, yeah. Probably not gonna fly during the biggest television event of the year. (We should note that, according to the site’s front page, they don’t actually believe that Jesus hates Obama; it’s just a provocative title to catch people’s eyes). source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Nov 2010 09:58

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Culture: With latest renewal, “The Simpsons” will clear 500 episodes

  • 23 the number of seasons “The Simpsons” will have after its latest renewal by Fox
  • 515 the number of episodes the long-running show will have at that point, which is kind of a lot source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Oct 2010 20:00

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Biz: Cablevision, Fox finally settle whiny baby dispute – after two weeks

  • 14 number of days the cable network stalemate went on
  • 3M number of customers affected by the cable stalemate
  • eight MLB playoff games (and two weeks of football) went off the air source
  • » Why did the stalemate last so long? Well, Cablevision wanted regulatory intervention from the government, who wanted the two companies to decide things for themselves. Usually, these things last two days, tops. And it’s possible that the long stalemate has hurt Fox’s overall ratings, which are down 17 percent from a year ago. To both of these companies: Who benefits from this?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Oct 2010 14:02

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Culture: Whiny babies Cablevision, News Corp. fight over money in public

  • The question becomes, how long is it going to last and who’s going to blink first?
  • BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield • Regarding Cablevision’s dropping of local Fox network stations from its lineup in a financial dispute. Who gets hurt when giant media companies fight over stupid crap like money? Sports fans, of course. If this isn’t resolved by Sunday, they could lose a number of football games. If it’s not settled by tonight, they could lose game one of the NLCS – especially problematic because the Philadelphia Phillies are in the series and Cablevision covers mostly Philly and NYC. We know you babies love being right and winning a war over money, but most people don’t like being inconvenienced. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

11 Oct 2010 22:23

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Culture: On Banksy, “The Simpsons,” News Corp. and YouTube

  • You can’t be serious. it’s like you’re hiding this. Banksy’s “Simpsons” couch sequence has been the talk of the Web all day. It packs a visceral effect that wears off after the first time, but it mainly works because it’s so out of left field – even for the Simpsons. Anyway, the video that everyone was linking from a YouTube channel called “banksyfilm” – you know, Banksy’s own account. Now it’s been taken down for copyright reasons and people have been told to watch it on Hulu, which, besides the country restrictions, is annoying because they initially didn’t even have the Banksy intro pulled out as a clip. The effect feels akin to censorship, considering the very viral subject matter can no longer be viewed in Asia. (Fortunately, we found another version.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Sep 2010 20:19

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Culture: New TV season: Critically-respected “Lone Star” the first to fall

  • 8 days and done for the first series cancellation of the season source
  • 4.1 the series’ ratings for its first episode last Monday
  • 3.7 the series’ ratings for its lamentably last episode this Monday
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Mar 2010 22:58

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Culture: “24” producers decide 192 hours of Jack Bauer is enough

  • Fox is ditching the series, but a movie could be forthcoming. Jack Bauer fans, prepare to let go. Fox’s signature action series is going to end at the end of this season, capping a key period in the network’s history. Part of it was declining ratings, but a bigger part was that eight seasons of the hour-by-hour format got a little formulaic and difficult to keep up. “We’ve really had what feels like our last day,” said executive producer Howard Gordon. Kiefer Sutherland may enjoy playing another character – he reportedly spends 10 months a year working on “24.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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