Fang's Bites

MLB Network to Join Simlucast of Hope for Haiti Now

Just received this press release from MLB Network that states the channel will be the only sports TV network that will simulcast the George Clooney-led fundraiser for Haitian Earthquake relief. Hope For Haiti will be aired across the nation and around the world on Friday starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the networks listed below.

“HOPE FOR HAITI NOW: A GLOBAL BENEFIT FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF” ADDS NEW MUSICAL PERFORMANCES AND CELEBRITY PARTICIPANTS TO SUPERSTAR LINEUP

Beyoncé to Perform in London

Madonna in New York City

Haitian Artist Emeline Michel in Los Angeles

Participants to include President Bill Clinton, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hanks, Will Smith with Muhammad Ali, and More Than One Hundred of the Biggest Names in Film, Television, and Music

“Hope for Haiti Now” to Begin Accepting Donations via Online, Phone, Text and Mail at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT on Friday, January 22

Music Performances Available for Pre-Order Exclusively on iTunes

NEW YORK, NY; LOS ANGELES, CA; and LONDON, ENGLAND (JANUARY 21, 2010) – “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” today announced the addition of new musical artists and celebrity participants to its lineup. “Hope for Haiti Now” will air on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT

Newly added performers Beyoncé in London, Madonna in New York City, and Haitian artist Emeline Michel in Los Angeles will join the previously announced lineup: Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and Sting in New York City; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow in Los Angeles; and Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna in London.

In addition to musical performances, Wyclef Jean in New York City, George Clooney in Los Angeles, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper reporting from Haiti, “Hope for Haiti Now” will feature President Bill Clinton, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hanks, Will Smith with Muhammad Ali, and more than one hundred of the biggest names in film, television, and music.

  

“Hope for Haiti Now” will begin accepting donations at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT on Friday, January 22 via the following methods:

•         Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org

•         Phone: 877-99-HAITI

•         Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555

•         Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation,

1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Music performances from “Hope for Haiti Now” will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Store. Beginning on Friday, iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order both the “Hope for Haiti Now” full performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99).  Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. Individual audio performances will also be available for purchase and download for $.99 cents each in the days following the telethon. Apple, the record labels and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by “Hope for Haiti Now” charities. 

“Hope for Haiti Now” performances will also be available for purchase on AmazonMP3 and Rhapsody, with distribution provided by INgrooves. Proceeds from those purchases will also benefit Haiti relief funds managed by “Hope for Haiti Now” charities.

“Hope for Haiti Now,” will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the newly formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from “Hope for Haiti Now” will be split among each organization’s individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief. With the exception of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, each partner organization was selected for its history of operation and collaboration within the NGO community in Haiti.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will air across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, COMEDY CENTRAL, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV. “Hope for Haiti Now” will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic, and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. “Hope for Haiti Now” will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and SIRIUS XM Radio as a one time only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.

Based on production needs and venue sizes, all “Hope for Haiti Now” studio locations will be closed to the media. Photos, pool video footage and talent interviews from “Hope for Haiti Now” will be serviced to news outlets immediately following the event.

“Hope for Haiti Now” is produced by Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions, in collaboration with Viacom’s MTV Networks and George Clooney.

It’s safe to say that Hope for Haiti Now will be the lone Primetime Viewing Pick from 8-10 p.m. tomorrow.

If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Linkage

Time for some linkage on this Tuesday.

I did listen to the debut of Andy Gresh on Sirius XM Radio last night. It was good. Gresh knows how to generate calls and get people to talk. I listened from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and he had a good interview with former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart in regards to Rickey Henderson’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was typical Gresh and he was able to get some good stories from Stewart on Rickey. Overall, I’d give Greshie a B plus for his debut. If you want more info on the show, you can head to the official website which launched yesterday.

On to the linkage.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today looks at the ratings of selected weekend events.

The Sports Media Watch says the ratings for the Arizona-Carolina NFL playoff game were down from last year. The SMW writes the ratings for the Eagles-Giants game were also down despite having the #1 and #4 media markets. But the ratings for San Diego-Pittsburgh were the highest of the weekend, but were also down from last year. The SMW has some random ratings news. Finally, the blog says T-Mobile has pulled its ads featuring Charles Barkley.

Newsday’s Neil Best does not give Giants unofficial spokesman Antonio Pierce a pass for not talking to reporters on Sunday and Monday, and speaking only to WFAN which is a paid appearance. Neil says it’s only fair to call out Pierce because he himself appointed himself as team spokesman. Neil has posted video of one of the reasons why older Giants fans don’t like attending games in person.

Bill Hutchinson of the New York Daily News writes that Fox Sports’ Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Tim McCarver all received illegal U.S. Marshal escorts to the 2007 World Series in Boston and Super Bowl XLII in Tampa thanks to a Fox staffer who was also a U.S. Marshal. The Smoking Gun has the Report of Investigation into the matter.

Also from the Daily News, Bob Raissman says Fox got the short ratings straw by drawing the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell talks with the outgoing commissioner of the National Lacrosse League. Darren asks for your vote on the greatest TV product. Darren says it’s a good thing that Jim Rice got elected to the Hall of Fame. And Darren writes that FIFA may need a new information technology sponsor for the 2010 World Cup in the wake of Satyam’s economic troubles.

Keith Groller of the Allentown Morning News says Donovan McNabb’s phone antics during the Eagles-Giants game were subject of debates.

Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun talks about some changes in local sports radio. And Ray talks with host Rob Long about why he changed stations.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Cleveland sports radio station WKNR has made a change to its lineup.

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune was not enthused over Mike North’s and Dan Jiggetts’ debut on Comcast SportsNet on Monday.

Ed Sherman of Crain’s Chicago Business has a quick sports business round-up. Ed wonders if the Washington Redskins cutting 20 positions is going to be a trend around the NFL.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Eagles-Giants playoff game was the most watched of the four NFL playoff games locally (scroll down).

Billy Packer and Bob Knight are teaming up for five shows on Fox Sports Net to analyze the NCAA Tournament from the Wynn Las Vegas casino.

Walt Belcher of the Tampa Tribune writes that CBS will have another Super Bowl Commercials special at the end of the month broadcast from Randall James Stadium.

SJ Munoz of the York (NE) News-Times says there was a time when ESPN was actually known for giving sports news.

The Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn feels the Super Bowl is ratings-proof no matter which teams are participating. Barry handicaps the Dallas Cowboys radio rights sweepstakes.

Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball says Vin Scully has been named as Best Sportscaster of All-Time.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has the entire list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All-Time.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says Washington-Oregon will not be on FSN this week.

Starr Begley of the Maui (HI) News goes behind the scenes of Golf Channel’s production of the Mercedes-Benz Championship last weekend.

Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse is not enamored with NBC’s hiring of Matt Millen for the Super Bowl.

Steve Lepore in the Puck The Media blog says the Anaheim Ducks have ended their ice level camera broadcasts on Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. Steve has the final three of the NHL Tournament of Announcers after clearing up some shenanigans with the Jack Edwards-Sam Rosen vote. And Steve has a look at the NHL if it were on The CW.

And I’ll end the links here for now.

Jericho Is Back!

Albeit in reruns on The CW, but starting November 30, the first season of Jericho will be on at 7 p.m. Sundays.

It’s wishful thinking on my part, but perhaps if the ratings do well enough, maybe we can get that third season we’ve all been waiting for?

The CW had outsourced its Sunday primetime schedule and ratings were beyond abysmal.

Here’s the new schedule as of next Sunday.

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.: EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS/THE GAME
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.: THE DREW CAREY SHOW
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.: JERICHO
8:00 – 10:00 p.m.: MOVIE

I’m glad to see Jericho back in any form. Remember, support the show and NUTS!!!!

Beverly Hills 90210 vs. 90210

I’m trying to watch the series premiere of 90210 on The CW tonight. I’ll admit I watched Beverly Hills 90210 especially from seasons 4-9. I especially liked Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (now just Tiffani Thiessen). The girl had this certain look, especially when she pouted.

So far, I’m not feeling it with this new series. While Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling and Joe E. Tata are in the new show, this is trying a bit too hard to show that it’s updated and with the times.

The cast is great looking. Jessica Walter who was in Arrested Development gets to play over the top. Rob Estes and Lori Laughlin get to the play the Jim and Cindy Walsh roles. Shenae Grimes and Tristan Wilds play the Brandon and Brenda Walsh roles. Right now, I’m not feeling any love for this show. I’m 3/4ths through the 2 hour premiere and I’m wondering how to get the 90 minutes back from my life.

What was great about the original series was how the characters evolved from high school students to college students to young adults. Well, the young adults part was a bit weak, but the college years were some of the strongest seasons that BH90210 had.

It’ll take a while for this new series to get its footing. Lightning doesn’t necessarily strike twice in TV and I don’t know since Darren Star is not part of this production if it can. We’ll see. If this show gets to the college years, then I guess it’ll be a success, but right now, it’s got a long way to go.

The CW has a hit in Gossip Girl. We’ll see if this can follow in its footsteps.

College Football Viewing Picks for 11/17/07 (All Times Eastern)

College Gameday live at Ann Arbor, MI – ESPN, 10 a.m.
Ohio State at Michigan – ABC, noon
Northwestern at Illinois – ESPN, noon
Syracuse at Connecticut – ESPN2, noon
Tulsa at Army – ESPN Classic, noon
UMass at Hofstra – ESPNU, noon
The Citadel at VMI – CSTV, noon

Missouri at Kansas State – FSN, 12:30 p.m.
Harvard at Yale – WGN/CW56 (Boston)/HDNet, 12:30 p.m.

Duke at Notre Dame – NBC, 2:30 p.m. (I dare you to watch this)
Florida A&M vs. Bethune Cookman at Orlando – ESPN Classic, 3 p.m.

ABC Coverage Map
Penn State at Michigan State – ABC/ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
Miami at Virginia Tech – ABC/ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
Iowa State at Kansas – ABC, 3:30 p.m.
Cal at Washington – ABC, 3:30 p.m.

Big Ten Network Coverage Map – Satellite and Cable channel assignments on map
Purdue at Illinois – Big Ten Network, 3:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at Minnesota – Big Ten Network, 3:30 p.m.
Western Michigan at Iowa – Big Ten Network, 3:30 p.m.

LSU at Mississippi – CBS, 3:30 p.m.
Northern Illinois at Navy – CSTV, 3:30 p.m.
NC State at Wake Forest – ESPNU, 4 p.m.

Oklahoma State at Baylor – FSN, 7 p.m.
Southern Mississippi at UTEP – CSTV, 7:30 p.m.
West Virginia at Cincinnati – ESPN, 7:45 p.m.
Boston College at Clemson – ESPN2, 7:45 p.m.
Oklahoma at Texas Tech – ABC, 8 p.m.
Louisville at South Florida – ESPNU, 8 p.m.

Season 4 of Veronica Mars (alas .. what could have been)

So sad not having Veronica Mars on TV somewhere this season. I don’t know who posted this on YouTube, but I’m cherishing this.

This would have been the premiere of Season 4 had The CW picked it up. VM in the FBI. This would have been good. Instead, Kristen Bell is on Heroes. Oh, what could have been. Enjoy.

So sad. I know I would have enjoyed this.

Tuesday Links

Last night, the Ottawa Senators lost Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals putting the Anaheim Ducks on the verge of clinching their first ever championship. But also, the game marked the US debut of Don Cherry on NBC. It was quite the teaming up with Cherry advocating fighting with NBC analyst Brett Hull and host Bill Clement just hanging on for the ride. Unlike his performances on CBC, Cherry was a bit more restrained, but his message about fighting was the same. In addition, Cherry who’s known for his outrageous suits wore a more conservative outfit. Cherry was a bit hoarse but it was nice to see him on US TV.

There are quite a few stories on Cherry. The Detroit Free Press enjoyed it. William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the ratings for CBC and French network, RDS are actually rising while NBC’s are down compared to last year. Larry Stewart of the LA Times says the expected fireworks between Cherry and Hull didn’t materialize. In Toronto Globe and Mail, Eric Duhatschek live blogs the appearance. The AP also had its own story. The Metro in Toronto has its story as well.

Onto to other stuff, Bob Raissman in the New York Daily News says ESPN and Fox glossed over the A-Rod affair.

Neil Best in New York Newsday has a story on New York Jets coach Eric Mangini who made an appearance on “The Sopranos” on Sunday. Best also has a couple of tidbits in his blog. On the Red Sox NESN broadcast late last night, Jerry Remy referenced to an incident between New York and Boston baseball writers during their semi-annual baseball game at Fenway on Sunday. Apparently, Red Sox Spanish radio announcer Uri Berenguer was beaned by Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record. Best writes about it. And Best has some comments made by 1050 ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay regarding WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog.

It appears the NBA will remain on current TV partners ESPN/ABC and TNT. Sports Media Watch says Disney and Turner will sign for a total of eight years.

Thursday is the day when ESPN2 televises the MLB Draft. Frank Burlison of the Long Beach Press-Telegram writes about one player who could be drafted.

Bob Wolfey of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says the Brewers’ hot start is garnering attention from ESPN and Fox.

George Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal has a profile on Fox Sports Net’s Chris Rose of the Best Damned Sports Show who is an unabashed Cleveland Cavs fan.

And to the TV front, Gail Shister of the Philly Inquirer says the CW is getting the younger viewers that advertisers crave.

That’s it for now. We’ll return later.

The Fox Upfronts

The last upfront was from Fox. This has been the winner of the 18-49 demographic for three seasons running thanks to American Idol. It tries to branch out from the umbrella of AI and introduced some older skewing programming including the promising “Back to You” which stars Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. Virginia Heffernan of the New York Times says “Back to You” looks good.

One thing Virginia notes is that Fox toned down the glitz from last year.

Just as he did with The CW earlier today, Michael Ausiello of TV Guide did a running blog of the Fox Upfronts. One of the gems Ausiello finds is that House gets the coveted post-Super Bowl slot in February.

Ausiello caught up with Veronica Mars Exec. Producer Rob Thomas. Needless to say, he’s very sad.

Cynthia Littleton of Variety has her take on the Fox fall sked.

I’ll have a final post on the Upfronts on Friday and that will do it.

Thursday Links

Back after being away from a computer for most of the morning. Let’s go into sports and the upfronts. Fox and the CW go today.

ESPN’s Suzy Kolber adds a new role to her resume. She’ll be host of the pre-race show, NASCAR Countdown. The sideline reporter for Monday Night Football will be double duty as she’ll host the pre-race show and also be on the sidelines. Brent Musburger will be in-race host. Whatever.

Houston Rockets coach (for now) Jeff Van Gundy will be doing some work for ESPN/ABC this weekend.

I saw a couple of blogs on this yesterday. ESPN employees were encouraged to wear Arena Football League t-shirts to work to welcome AFL officials to Bristol. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune calls the stunt a conflict of interest. I agree, but then again, ESPN is all-knowing and sets the sports agenda so what people see as a conflict of interest is a promotion opportunity for the Alleged Worldwide Leader.

The UConn Huskies have a new TV outlet for football and basketball.

CBS golf analyst David Feherty made an appearance at a Denver-area luncheon the other day.

Some St. Louis Cardinals fans don’t have access to an additional 20 games added to the Fox Sports Midwest schedule.

Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star says the court decision against the NFL Network and for Comcast to put the channel on a sports tier will do nothing but help the cable industry.

To the upfronts.

Fox unveils its lineup today. It tries to come back to the sitcom genre which it did so well when it launched in the late 1980′s. One that has potential is “Back to You” which brings Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton back to series television. Gary Levin of USA Today handicaps the Fox fall season.

The CW also takes the wraps off its lineup today at Madison Square Garden. Levin has his take on it.

Here’s the CW lineup:

CW’s fall lineup (new shows in bold; new time slots in italics).

-Monday
8 p.m. -Everybody Hates Chris
8:30 – Aliens in America
9 – Girlfriends
9:30 – The Game

-Tuesday
8 – Beauty and the Geek
9 – The Reaper

-Wednesday
8 – America’s Next Top Model
9 – Gossip Girl

-Thursday
8 – Smallville
9 – Supernatural

-Friday
8 WWE Smackdown

-Sunday
7 – CW Now
7:30 – Online Nation
8 – Life Is Wild
9 – America’s Next Top Model (repeat)

Michael Ausiello of TV Guide.com is blogging live from the CW Upfronts. And so is Virginia Heffernan of the New York Times.