News from the Trades - For Week of August 18, 2008
Breaking news on cable television and the media industry.

Cable's Rich Fall Harvest

Summer may be winding down soon, but cable will keep the programming heat on with original scripted fare well into the fall.

In a year that has seen further audience erosion for the broadcast networks, due in part to the Writer's Guild of America strike, an increasing number of cable programmers are going toe-to-toe with the networks and seizing the opportunity to lure viewers to their slate of new shows and returning favorites in September, October and November which, heretofore, has been the prime season for broadcasters.

There are several reasons that account for cable's move beyond summer.

First, consider the onslaught of Emmy nominations and critical acclaim that basic cable shows like AMC's Mad Men and FX's Damages have received recently — quality productions with A-level talent in front of and behind the camera that can compete with the best of broadcast or premium cable.

MultiChannel News, p16 (8-16-08)

Cable Earns Gold Medal With Olympics Coverage

NBC isn't the only network seeing big gains from this year's Olympics.

Even without the benefit of a Michael Phelps or a Nastia Lukin, the Games' breakout stars, most NBC Universal cable networks are seeing solid gains compared to Athens, 2004, and all have notched even bigger increases compared with the same timeslots last summer.

In total, 73.3 million viewers have tuned in to NBC's cable networks during these games, 30 percent better than the total to this point in the Athens Games.

The biggest draw has been the so-called Redeem Team, the men's basketball squad looking to win its first gold since 1996.

Inside Information, online (8-20-08)

Originals on the Rise

Five years ago, Law & Order reruns on TNT dominated the cable charts. These days you're more likely to find original episodes of L&O: Criminal Intent on USA on cable top 10 lists. It all reflects the huge change that has taken place in cable programming since 2003.

CAB argues that this change has also contributed to the continually growing gap between broadcast and cable viewership over the past few years.

Ad-supported cable is pulling a 49.1 share this year, up from 46 last year, compared with broadcast's 33.3 — down from 37.5 last year.

Inside Information, online (8-20-08)