2015 Thanksgiving TV Programming

11/24/2015 FYI Television 0 comments
The 89th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
On Thursday, Americans will gather around their tables to celebrate Thanksgiving.

And after consumption of the holiday feast, many retire to their couches for viewing appropriately-themed television programming.

Worth noting are two historical shows – “The Pilgrims” from PBS and “Saints & Strangers” from the National Geographic Channel – which provide additional context regarding the origins of the get-together.

"Americans may be seeking an alternative to watching sports or news highlights from Black Friday riots. Family-friendly Thanksgiving programming with a spice of edginess could be a huge success,” said Ryan McCormick, co-founder of Goldman McCormick PR.

Here’s the list of Thanksgiving and other holiday specials, which rapidly switch to Christmas. All times are EST.


Tuesday, November 24

*8 p.m. “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” ABC.
*8 p.m. “American Experience” – “The Pilgrims,” PBS.


Wednesday, November 25

*11:03 p.m. “The Real Story of Thanksgiving,” History.


Thursday, November 26

*9 a.m. “The 89th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,” NBC.
*12 p.m. “The National Dog Show,” NBC.
*7 p.m. “Saints & Strangers” – Part 1, National Geographic Channel.
*9 p.m. “Saints & Strangers” – Part 2, National Geographic Channel.
*9:30 p.m. “American Experience” – “The Pilgrims,” PBS.
*11 p.m. “Saints & Strangers” – Part 3, National Geographic Channel.


Friday, November 27

*8 p.m. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” (1970), ABC.


Saturday, November 28

*8 p.m. “Frosty the Snowman” (1969), CBS.
*8:30 p.m. “Home Alone,” AMC.
*8:31 p.m. “Frosty Returns” (1995), CBS.
*9 p.m. “The Story of Santa Claus,” CBS.


Author: Brian Cameron

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The Need for Quality Sports Metadata

11/19/2015 FYI Television 0 comments
Sports on TV
When it comes to sports metadata, it turns out that many vendors are highly outdated, supplying clients and customers with archaic information.

Others claim to offer “world class” sports data, but is this really the case?

Reviewing the evidence tends to reveal something else entirely. Spoiler alert: it's not accuracy.

In a recent college football game description, the editorial writer for this TV metadata supplier seemed to think player Nick Chubb would be involved. However, Nick Chubb experienced a season-ending knee injury on October 10 against Tennessee.

Earlier this year, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were listed as competitors during the PGA Golf Tour by this metadata business. The golfers were not at this event.



This television metadata provider seems to be unaware that Marc Trestman was fired from the Chicago Bears in 2014, and joined the Baltimore Ravens in January 2015.



In this example, a metadata company believed the Arizona Cardinals were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates instead of the Chicago Cubs during an important playoff game.

And earlier this week, Wisconsin basketball fans were distressed to discover that this entertainment metadata vendor described the Duke vs. Kentucky game as a “rematch of last year’s national championship” – a glaring error, as Duke battled Wisconsin in that championship.

An accurate listing for that same basketball game, written by experts, looks something like this:
Duke basketball game

A Frank N. Magid Associates survey from September 2015 found that 39% of cord-cutters found sports content as a reason to return to Pay-TV, while 88% of respondents use a television to view sports.

With such a high interest in sports, it is integral that teams, players, coaches and events are reflected accurately on-screen.

Author: Brian Cameron

Image via Shutterstock

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“Master of None” and “Jessica Jones” Creators Discuss Netflix Advantages

11/17/2015 FYI Television 0 comments
Aziz Ansari in "Master of None"
The creators and showrunners for two new Netflix original series recently discussed the benefits of working with the Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming service vs. traditional television cable networks.

Netflix uses data science to analyze the viewing habits of its customers, and incorporates the findings into show production and development. The purpose of this strategy is to generate hit programming that satisfies subscribers and attracts new ones, expanding both their library of content and source of revenue.

Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, responsible for comedy show “Master of None,” which was released on November 6, held a Reddit AMA to interact with fans. The 30-minute-an-episode series revolves around a 30-year-old actor attempting to become successful in New York City.

“We pitched only to premium spots cause we didn't want to deal with content issues. (Example: The show opens with [an explicit conversation].),” Ansari replied to a questioner. “On Netflix, we never had one issue with content. Also, no need to edit to commercials. Most importantly though, Netflix really believed in us and told us they wanted to go straight to series and do 10 episodes. No pilot/development process. It was a great experience. Also, I love how everyone has gotten to just see all the episodes, rather than wait 9 weeks until someone can see an episode I really am proud of like Mornings.”

Ansari’s co-creator and co-writer Alan Yang also weighed in on the selection of Netflix.

“The reception has been great,” Yang wrote. “One thing I thought was especially cool about our show being released all at once was that people could watch a few episodes and see how different they all were. We saw each episode as its own little movie with its own theme. And because each episode touches on a different subject matter, people have a lot of different opinions on which one is their favorite. If your parents are immigrants, you might like Parents, if you're close with your grandma, you might like Old People.”

“Jessica Jones” is a Marvel-inspired series that will premiere this Friday, November 20. The show occurs within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is part of a selection of other Netflix shows, which includes “Daredevil,” that will eventually crossover into one another.

At the Television Critics Association Press Tour in July, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, best known for her contributions to “Dexter” and “Twilight,” outlined why she enjoys the streaming company’s collaborative efforts.

“The beauty of working with Netflix is it’s 13 [episodes],” said Rosenberg. “I’m doing 13. There’s no pilot and getting feedback and reactions and ratings. You’re in this bubble so it’s really all: what’s the story you want to tell? What are your actors and your characters, where do you want to go with them?”

It’s fair to say that the overall sentiment is positivity here.

As television currently experiments with on-demand apps and services, exultations such as these may encourage more high-profile figures to participate as well.

Author: Brian Cameron
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Future of TV Streaming in Focus at Parallel Gatherings

11/12/2015 FYI Television 0 comments
OTT TV World Summit; DPAA
Over the course of one week, two conferences related to online video streaming occurred on either side of the pond: the DPAA's Video Everywhere Summit in New York City, which took place on November 3, and the OTT TV World Summit in London, England, which transpired November 9 – 12.

Speakers, brand delegates, and industry figures appeared at both events, which spearheaded conversations regarding the direction television, advertising and OTT entertainment is headed.

Young & Rubicam’s global CEO David Sable directly took on those who suggest TV is on its way out.

“There will still be TV thousands of years from now. It might be broadcast into your brain telekinetically, but it will still be TV,” Sable said at the Video Everywhere Summit.

Sable added that the concept of “free content” will not be the path forward.

“The future of free is dismal and not sustainable. Advertising pays for content. There are three ways to access content: steal it, pay for it or watch ads.” Sable said. “NFL contracts are up in 2022. That is when the next big change will happen. That will be the next huge inflection.”

Meanwhile, President and CEO of the DPAA, Barry Frey, offered a prediction:

“By the year 2017, more than half of all out-of-home advertising will be digital advertising,” Frey told The Drum.

A variety of topics were covered at the OTT TV World Summit, which spanned four days.

Dom Robinson, co-founder and director at id3as, claims the “the march of 4K is inexorable.”

Simon Trudelle, Nagra’s product marketing specialist, agreed, stating “4K is a new opportunity for pay TV to compete. There is value there that can be leveraged.”

Gene Hoffman, the CEO of Vindicia, provided recommendations for OTT services.


As TV continues to evolve and new technologies emerge, it is these sorts of conversations that are integral.


Author: Brian Cameron

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Set-Top Boxes: A Toxic Colossus?

11/10/2015 FYI Television 1 comments
The FCC
While 2014 was seemingly the year of the set-top box, it is increasingly looking like the cloud may prevail in the STB vs. vSTB debate.

At the end of October, Cox Communications lost a class action lawsuit in Oklahoma, in which customers claimed the cable provider forced them to rent a set-top box in violation of federal antitrust law. The plaintiff was awarded $6.3 million as a result.

“We think that consumers always benefit from more competition. More competition equals lower prices and more innovation,” said plaintiff attorney Todd Schneider. “So we think at the end of the day, consumers are better off. But also Cox is better off, frankly. Companies that compete do great things and Cox is going to have to compete now.”

Yesterday, a group of eight senators sent a letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler that referenced this lack of competition after a review of information from Cox, Verizon FiOs, Charter, Dish Network, and others concluded that an American household spends approximately $232 a year on STB rental fees – which adds up to $20 billion per year paid to MVPDs.

“At a time when smartphones, personal computers and tablets have revolutionized the way Americans go about their daily lives and conduct business, set top boxes have lagged behind,” wrote the senators. “Without strong FCC action, consumers may be left with no choice but to rent set top boxes from their MVPD providers in perpetuity, which is akin to the days when consumers had no choice but to rent their rotary dial telephone from the telephone company.”

Already, Time Warner Cable is taking action. The business has been testing a special app in New York City that eliminates a physical STB entirely.

“Where we're headed," said TWC chief executive Rob Marcus, "is the ability of customers to access the complete video product without having to rent a set-top box from us, whether they use a Roku or another [Internet Protocol]-enabled device."

Comcast is endorsing a similar strategy, which it outlined in its own FCC letter:

“The apps-based approach is providing clear pro-consumer and pro-competitive benefits and advancing Congress’s and the Commission’s goal under Section 629 of promoting retail device alternatives to operator-supplied set-top boxes … [it] has a proven track record of success, and is meeting consumer demand for expanded device options for accessing their MVPD service without the need for government intervention.”

The sticking point is whether or not the government should be mandating set-top box changes, or whether MVPDs should be pursuing new developments independently. The letter-writing senators believe that the MVPDs are moving too slowly.

“As a programmer, what I don't want is to have the government force the cable operators to open up the set-top box platform,” Alfred Liggins, chairman of TV One, told the LA Times.

The FCC should respond in early December. No matter what their decision, it sounds like apps may be taking over the STB market.

Author: Brian Cameron
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Entertainment Metadata Genres & Content Discovery

11/05/2015 FYI Television 0 comments
TV genres
Earlier this week Recode’s Peter Kafka wrote an editorial that posited an intriguing question:

“If the future of TV really is apps, who’s going to help us figure out what we should be watching on those apps?”

Excellent inquiry, Peter. The answer is television metadata suppliers, like FYI Television.

Part of highly-curated TV metadata involves genres and categories for shows and movies; these tags allow recommendation engines and content discovery systems to offer related suggestions to viewers.

However, it’s important that an entertainment metadata vendor is accurate and precise when it comes to assigning these genres and categories.

In several cases, it becomes abundantly clear that many vendors have problems.

Like here, where 1989 horror film “Puppet Master” is described by this metadata supplier as “Hobbies & Crafts.”

Or in this example, where a metadata company designates the Arlington Million horse race as belonging to “Water Sports” and “Boating” genres.

In this instance, a flawed metadata service has decided reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” should be in the “Education” category.

This metadata company believes that 1980s classic “Dirty Dancing” is a “Historical/Period Drama.”

And in addition to getting the host’s name wrong (It’s Jimmy Fallon, not Frank Fallon), a metadata vendor thinks that “The Tonight Show” should have the “Action/Adventure/Animated” genres.

It’s defective TV metadata like the previously mentioned examples illustrate that can seriously cause damage to suggestion and recommendation services.

This is what can happen when entertainment metadata is extremely inadequate. A viewer was informed that because he enjoys violent HBO fantasy “Game of Thrones,” he might also like wholesome family drama “The Waltons” and religion-inspired series “Touched by an Angel.” Talk about being misguided.

In summation, indeed if television is headed into a realm where apps will be largely responsible for advising audiences about TV shows and movies, it is enriched metadata that will be powering those apps.

As such, developers or businesses that require metadata for these purposes should demand accuracy.

Author: Brian Cameron

Image via Shutterstock.

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