Storing Reality

There are at least 3 TV shows about STORAGE LOCKERS!

"Auction Hunters"

"Storage Wars"

and "Auction Heros"

Makes you not want to use a storage locker and
keep things at home.......

Then there's

"Hoarders"

"Animal Horders"

and "Buried Alive"

I think I'll leave everything out in the yard.......

Then Maybe

"Yard People"

"Lawn Luxury"

And "Dating the Guy sleeping on The Grass"

Get Ready

They are coming to a TV near you!

TV Shows That Changed TV 25

The 25 shows that changed television

Here are 25 series, in chronological order, that changed the smallscreen:

1948-71
"The Ed Sullivan Show"
His variety show wasn't unique even when it started and Ed Sullivan himself, a newspaper columnist who wrote about show business, was far from gifted as a TV host. Nonetheless, during the 23 years this show ran, it was America's foremost star-making machine. Among those who made their American television debut on Sullivan's show (initially called "Toast of the Town") were Bob Hope, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, Eddie Fisher, Charles Laughton, the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and, of course, the Beatles. In an era of few viewing options, Sullivan selected guests to please all constituencies, even including excerpts from opera and ballet. Little wonder that he dominated Sunday night in a way today's TV execs can only dream about.
1950-54
"Your Show of Shows"
When TV was in its infancy, this live 90-minute weekly program, originally titled "Admiral Broadway Revue," laid the foundation for nearly every comedy-variety show for generations to come. Regulars Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris formed the nucleus of a cast that pioneered sketch comedy and cultural satire. The characters they developed returned time and again to the delight of the studio audience and the growing number of Americans with TV sets. Although the show featured singers and dancers, it continues to be remembered most for the way it redefined comedy to take full advantage of the visual element of the new medium.
1951-57
"I Love Lucy"
Before "I Love Lucy," TV sitcoms were either live from New York, or filmed with a single camera and sweetened with canned laughter. But Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball broke ground by filming before a live aud with three cameras at once. Not only was a new style of L.A.-based TV production born, but the 35mm quality of the prints led to heretofore unseen levels of syndicated success. It's impossible to overstate the impact of "Lucy" beyond its well-established popularity as great comedy, but it even inaugurated the notion of event television when Ball's character gave birth to Little Ricky on the show the same night Ball herself gave birth to her second child.
1955-75
"Gunsmoke"
John Wayne's stamp of approval marked the premiere episode of "Gunsmoke" in 1955, the first adult Western to hit the air. This series offered complex depiction of ethnic groups, not the standard good vs. bad shown in countless films. With his slow drawl and fast gun, the iconic Marshal Dillon became the face of the American West. The series inspired a different take on the standard horse opera, paving the way for series such as "Have Gun, Will Travel" and "Maverick" during its record run spanning 20 seasons and 635 episodes.
1956-60
"Playhouse 90"
CBS produced what became the crown jewel of live television anthologies with "Playhouse 90." Using a considerable budget and a top-drawer approach to talent that included writers Rod Serling, Horton Foote and Abby Mann, as well as frequent director John Frankenheimer, the series introduced teleplays that have since become dramatic classics: Serling's "Requiem for a Heavyweight"; "The Miracle Worker," which would go on to stage and screen success; and "Judgment at Nuremberg," plus countless literary adaptations. Though it couldn't outlast a changing trend toward filmed or pre-taped shows, its commitment to quality weekly drama was unique for its time.
1962-92
"The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson"
Without Carson, there's no Letterman, no Leno, no Ferguson, no Fallon. They'll be the first to tell you that. But Carson's influence extends well beyond the latenight landscape. He taught two generations of comedians how to tell a joke and, many, including Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher and Roseanne Barr, received their first national exposure on his show. Carson's brilliance transcended his monologues and self-deprecating sketches. He knew how to listen, which endeared him to guests and inspired innumerable off-the-cuff moments. His presence was singular. As Letterman put it: For 30 years, people wanted to end their day being "tucked in by Johnny."
1965-68
"I Spy"
"I Spy" made the history books for its ground-breaking casting of African-American Bill Cosby in a lead dramatic role (that won Cosby three Emmys), but the 1960s drama deserves a chapter in chemistry texts as well. The give and take between Cosby and Robert Culp, wry but deeply felt, stands against any two-person combo in TV history. Combined with its global, James Bond-caliber playing field, its keen sense of humor and suspense and one of the best damn opening credit sequences you'll ever find, the Sheldon Leonard-produced "Spy" ranks among TV's most important concoctions.
1967-78
"The Carol Burnett Show"
Burnett could do it all: Sing, dance, tug her viewers' hearts as effortlessly as she tugged on her ear. But the genius of her long-running variety show burned brightest in its comedy sketches that showcased the impeccable chemistry between the star and series regulars Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner and Vicki Lawrence. There were plenty of smart parodies, but slapstick ruled the day -- a big reason why the show's appeal cut across generations. Jimmy Stewart served as the series' final guest star in 1978. George Carlin worked the prior episode. Burnett's generosity as a comic ringmaster can be seen in the way Tina Fey and Amy Poehler lead their own inspired ensembles today.
1968-present
"60 Minutes"
The end of the 1960s was a pivotal time for television news. The hourlong docu, once the crown jewel of network news departments, had become nearly extinct amid increasing pressure for ratings and demands that news divisions pay their own way. Then along came "60 Minutes" and the birth of the TV newsmagazine. Its relatively short feature stories and interviews attracted a broad demographic even as it provided CBS with another outlet for its star reporters. A decade after it first aired, the show became the top-rated primetime series. It remained among the top 10 for the next 20 years, with its ticking stopwatch, musings by Andy Rooney and exec producer Don Hewitt's requirement that each segment tell an engaging story.
1970-present
"Monday Night Football"
Football was just football before ABC impresario Roone Arledge made it a weekly primetime event. While the games were entertaining, it was the guys in the booth -- Hall of Famer Frank Gifford, "Dandy" Don Meredith and former attorney Howard Cosell -- whom fans either loved or hated. That type of fervor, of course, led to major ratings, meaning it wasn't only pigskin fans watching. Meredith's end-of-game refrain, "Turn out the lights, the party's over," and Cosell's general disdain for those whom he felt to be beneath him were often much more fun to watch than a 2-yard touchdown run and a cloud of dust.
1971-79
"All in the Family"
Before Norman Lear, television would occasionally touch upon hot-button topics such as racism, women's rights, abortion and homosexuality. Yet Lear's "All in the Family" examined these issues on a weekly basis, using humor instead of sloganeering to look at the seismic changes rocking American society. When the show began in 1971, CBS included a disclaimer, warning audiences of its frank approach. A year later, "All in the Family" hit No. 1 in the ratings, launching Lear's empire that included topical spinoffs "Maude" and "The Jeffersons." After Archie Bunker, nothing was off limits.
1975-present
"Saturday Night Live"
NBC's latenight comedy-variety series was a groundbreaking success upon its arrival in 1975, bringing counterculture laughs to network television and reintroducing the thrill of live performance to viewers. Mixing up-to-the-minute and often controversial satire, surreal humor, hip musical acts and whatever game laugh-getting skills its weekly guest hosts brought, producer Lorne Michaels' edgy jamboree made household names (and movie stars) out of many cast members, from John Belushi and Bill Murray, to Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers, to Will Ferrell and Tina Fey. It quickly became television's premier showcase for emerging comedy talent, and one of the last bastions for sketch humor on the smallscreen.
1977
"Roots"
The miniseries that should have been called a maxiseries. For eight consecutive nights "Roots" riveted the U.S. to its TV, to absorb nothing more than the history of a previously anonymous (save for the Alex Haley book on which the program was based) black family -- and nothing less than the history of America. The premiere episode had a 61 share; the finale, which to this day remains the No. 3 all-time scripted program in overall viewers, a 71. "Roots" spawned a fervor for ancestral research along with an eye-opening appreciation for the lives and trials of slaves and their descendants, and it remains TV's most unforgettable miniseries.
1981-87
"Hill Street Blues"
TV's modern age dawned with the two-hour premiere of "Hill Street Blues," which changed the face of television with unprecedented mix of serialized storytelling, an overflowing ensemble cast, stark themes and docu-style cinemato-graphy with scripts that were critically unsurpassed. Though auds initially withheld their embrace, leaving it among the least-watched series in its first season, the TV Academy rewarded "Hill Street" with a record 21 Emmy noms and eight wins, justifying NBC's faith and setting the series up for a seven-season run that produced 98 Emmy noms in all.
1984-92
"The Cosby Show"
From TV's earliest days, the family-based sitcom had been one of its most popular genres. In the 1970s, viewers bestowed No. 1 status on "All in the Family" and "Happy Days." In the early 1980s, though, the genre struggled and people fretted that America had lost its appetite for family comedies. That notion was quickly put to rest with the premiere of "The Cosby Show," which ranked first for five seasons in a row (1985-90). Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad starred as Cliff and Clair Huxtable, upper-middle-class parents of five children, each with his or her own issues. Funny and hip, the show was guided by Cosby's trademark gentle humor and his doctorate in education.
1989-present
"The Simpsons"
"South Park" co-creator Trey Parker once wrote an episode titled " 'Simpsons' Already Did It," paying tribute to the longevity of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and the other denizens of Springfield. The episode aired … nearly a decade ago. "The Simpsons" is now entering its 23rd season and early next year, probably during sweeps, will air its 500th episode. Its success paved the way for primetime animated series such as "King of the Hill," "Family Guy," "Futurama" and, yes, "South Park," showing there was a huge adult audience hungry for irreverent humor unshackled by the limitations of the live-action format. Best. Show. Ever? One could make the argument.
1989-98
"Seinfeld"
The most dangerous myth about "Seinfeld" is its self-propelled claim to be "a show about nothing." If anything, the NBC laffer was a show about everything, able to comment on attitudes, relationships, world events and whatever else Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and friends could think of. "Seinfeld" also became a structural trendsetter in TV comedy with its Superman ability to leap multiple storylines in a single bound. In a landscape where having a B plot might have seemed par for the course, a typical "Seinfeld" episode might have C, D and even E plots, all of them coming together in a fashion that meant everything to its fans.
1990-2010
"Law & Order"
Like a combo pack of beloved formats, producer Dick Wolf's bifurcated 1990 NBC crime series was half cop show -- detectives investigated a murder -- and half law drama as the prosecution's case made its way through a twisty legal system. The fast-paced, facts-only episodes revived both the procedural as a genre, and New York as a gritty, mood-setting location for tough-minded police shows. De-emphasizing the core characters' personal lives also allowed Wolf to change departing (or fired) cast members without losing viewers, who kept coming back -- often in marathon sessions during its ubiquitous syndicated life on cable -- for stories that were often shrewdly transparent mirrors of true-life cases.
1990
"The Civil War"
Ken Burns turned the nation's TV sets into a virtual campfires and classrooms. In examining the bloody War Between the States, stories were told in vivid detail using personal photos and letters. The docu, which aired over five days in 1990, still holds the record as the most-watched PBS series with more than 40 million tuning in for the initial broadcast. Burns turned history into a living, breathing organism that sparked an interest in how America came to be. Its widespread popularity proved that TV docus were a vitally important programming element that had a place among all other genres.
1992-present
"The Real World"
Before there was a "Big Brother," there was "The Real World." Premiering in 1992, the Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray documentary-style series took the MTV generation into a house where eight strangers lived in a hip spot "when people stop being polite and start getting real." And the next phase of reality television was born. In the third season, the show came into its own with a cast in San Francisco that included Pedro, a young man struggling with AIDS. That story helped put a face on the disease and was more of a teaching tool than anything else on TV that year.
1999-2007
"The Sopranos"
An early promotional tagline for the HBO series said it all: "Hell hath no fury like the Family." The beauty of "The Sopranos" lies in the fact that the ad could have been talking about mobster Tony Soprano's crew, his Mafia rivals or his own blood relations. That kind of complexity had rarely been seen on television before and certainly not with the kind of artfulness that creator David Chase brought to each episode. After Tony Soprano, television embraced serial storytelling and conflicted antiheroes with a passion i.e. "Dexter," "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men." We could go on. It's a long list full of brilliant shows, none of which would have been made without the success of "The Sopranos."
2000-present
"Survivor"
CBS' summer 2000 "reality" experiment in alternative programming -- stranded contestants in a remote location battling the elements and each other for $1 million -- spawned a massive franchise hit worldwide, countless copycats and a whole new programming genre that, for the first time, threatened the impenetrable hegemony of scripted primetime TV. It forever set high bars for casting (having produced memorable good guys and bad guys from its many contestants), iconic touches ("The tribe has spoken"), memorable moments (Susan Hawk's season one "rats and snakes" speech) and the efficacy of a good host (globe-trotting tribe-wrangler Jeff Probst). That it's still going strong is a tribute to its unique mix of gameshow suspense, beautiful scenery and outsized personalities in stressful situations.
2002-08
"The Wire"
David Simon and Ed Burns' sharply written, brilliantly acted Baltimore-set drama for HBO about cops and criminals barely made a dent in visibility when it premiered in 2003. But its fans were talkative, its network was loyal and by the end of its run "The Wire" had set a television benchmark for complex longform storytelling, realistic portrayals of urban life, emphasis on African-American characters, location verisimilitude and the thematic possibilities for an hourlong drama. Simon and Burns didn't care to repeat plot points to placate distracted viewers the way TV shows often do, but they did care about novelistic sweep (creating dozens of memorable characters) and depicting -- detail by detail -- how heartbreakingly easy it is for modern institutions to fail us.
2002-present
"American Idol"
No one expected much from the singing competition series searching for the next big pop superstar, especially when the judges were faded pop queen Paula Abdul, obscure music producer and bassist Randy Jackson and unknown Brit Simon Cowell. Yet, the series captured something in the zeitgeist that drove viewers to their sets, turning it into a ratings behemoth. Critics dubbed it "The Death Star" as would-be timeslot competitors had little or no chance of capturing eyeballs. And when the series felt tired after nine seasons, a new judging panel gave it renewed freshness that still makes it a nearly indestructible force.
2007-present
"Mad Men"
Notice those billboards for the upcoming series "Pan Am" and "The Playboy Club"? Seem familiar? That's because "Mad Men" got there first. For a show sporting fantastic drama and a compelling, smoke-filled re-examination of recent American history, "Mad Men" has been most influential with its arresting visual style. The series is the antidote to casual Fridays, launching its own clothing line at Banana Republic and reviving interest in the politically incorrect early '60s. Its attention to period detail is amazing, but the fashion never takes precedence over the storytelling. Fill a tumbler with your favorite beverage and raise a glass.

WEB WATCHING LIKE TV

Ways to Make Web Watching More Like TV, Less Like a PC

By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
Some folks watch movies, TV shows and videos from the Internet on their TVs by plugging in their computers, using ugly cables, keyboards, or mice that seem out of place in the living room. That PC-to-TV experience is more like using the computer than leaning back to enjoy TV.WSJ Personal Technology Columnist Walter S. Mossberg reviews three devices which promise to bring streaming and shared video content to your television.

So this week, I decided to try out three inexpensive set-top boxes that aim to make this process easier and neater. They are the $100 Roku 2 XS, the $99 second-generation Apple TV and the $199 Boxee Box from D-Link. The intent of the three products I tested is to do what a computer can, but in a simpler, cheaper and more TV-like manner—with easy setup, clear onscreen menus and small, simple remotes.

None of these boxes can handle your regular cable or satellite service. Typically, you plug these gadgets into a separate input on your TV and switch to that input to use them, just as you do when using your DVD or Blu-ray player. Nor do these boxes play discs.

While all three products carry some of the same popular Internet video sources, such as Netflix, YouTube, MLB.TV and Vimeo, they otherwise have different offerings. Apple's huge and popular iTunes video store is available only on Apple TV. But Roku and Boxee each have numerous sources that Apple lacks, such as Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video on Roku, and Vudu on Boxee.

Of the three, I'd recommend Apple TV primarily for people who frequently use iTunes, or who own an iPad or iPhone. I'd recommend Roku for people who aren't hooked on the Apple world and crave simplicity, variety and a low entry price. I'd only recommend the Boxee Box for techies because of its complexity.

Roku 2 XS

This is the smallest of the three, a tiny black gadget about 3 inches square and less than an inch thick. It's the high end of a lineup that starts at $60.

The Roku uses a large, simple menu of "channels" of content providers—some free and some requiring a subscription or a pay-per-view fee to the content provider.

In my tests, the Roku 2 XS set up easily on my 50-inch Pioneer Plasma TV, and provided sharp, clear high-definition TV shows, movies and other videos from a wide variety of sources. Menus were mostly consistent and clear. I was able to watch TV shows like "30 Rock" and movies like "Star Trek," though the most recent movies aren't available and the selection of newer TV episodes was spotty.

The newest feature of the Roku is casual gaming, notably the popular "Angry Birds." However, the Roku can't access video, photos or music from computers on a home network, though it can play content from a USB drive.

Apple TV

This small black box seems to have inspired the new Roku design, although it's a bit larger. It allows you to rent movies and buy TV shows from the iTunes store. A new feature also allows you to stream, for free, any TV show you've purchased from iTunes, even if you bought it on another device.

Though Apple won't confirm this, I expect this same free feature to apply eventually to movies as well.

In my tests, Apple TV delivered great video, even though its resolution isn't as high as those on the other two devices. Its user interface is clean, simple and consistent, and its remote is tiny and very simple.

The selection of non-Apple Internet sources on Apple TV is very limited. It includes a few paid services and some free ones, but ignores most of the non-Apple video on the Internet. But Apple TV really shines in fetching video, photos and music from any PC or Mac on your home network that is running iTunes.

Apple TV is becoming even more useful as an adapter for an iPad or iPhone. Using a feature on those devices called AirPlay, you can wirelessly beam some videos to your TV via Apple TV.

And, with a software update due soon, you'll be able to wirelessly mirror the entire display of an iPad 2 to your TV, and stream music and photos you've stored on Apple's new iCloud service.

My main gripe with Apple TV, in addition to its limited Web content, is that the remote lacks a "home" and "back" button.

Boxee Box

This is a much larger device, with an unusual, angled shape that costs twice as much as the others. Even with a new software update, I found Boxee more confusing and geeky than the other two.

Boxee's strongest feature is that it has loads of content, and can play almost any video format. But this content is presented in two very different ways. If you just select a movie or TV show, you may find yourself in a Web browser, trying to control the video with a cursor—a scenario I find annoying from 10 feet away. If, however, the content comes from an app, such as Netflix or Vudu, it's presented in a TV-friendly fashion. Depending on how you navigate to the video, you may be surprised by which interface you get.

In addition, Boxee has the flavor of a techie device. For instance, it includes setup choices like Deinterlacing Policy, and watching content from your home network requires you to choose from a geeky list of options.

Boxee also is rough around the edges. It failed to play any of the standard-formatted songs on my home network, and it froze on me twice.

A free Boxee iPad app can fetch videos from social networks or bookmarked Web pages, and has its own method for sending videos to the TV via the Boxee Box. Boxee also claims to support Apple's official AirPlay feature, but, in my tests, this failed more often than it succeeded. (The company calls this feature "experimental.")

On the other hand, the Boxee remote is the only one with a built-in keyboard—on the back of the remote. With the others, you have to peck out letters on an onscreen keyboard when doing things like searching.

Bottom line: To watch Internet video easily on a TV, either Roku or Apple TV is the best choice for average consumers.

SUPER Bowl ADS

Only a handful of the broadcast's in-game slots are still available for the Feb. 5 match.
With a good five months before the Super Bowl kicks off in Indianapolis on Feb. 5, NBC has nearly sold out all of its most valuable football inventory.
Dick Ebersol Returns to NBC Sports as AdvisorAccording to Seth Winter, senior vice president of NBC Sports Group Sales & Marketing, "literally a handful of units" remain available in its Super Bowl XLVI broadcast. An estimated 63 in-game slots were up for grabs; of these perhaps as few as six remain.

Such is the strength of the market that NBC is guaranteed to smash all previous pricing records for the game. While Fox commanded $3 million per spot a year ago, NBC has raised the bar to as high as $3.5 million a pop.

"We originally set a target of $3.5 million. That was our asking price in the market," Winter said. "But as we ventured into the market with the Super Bowl, we were always look for broader commitments across our sports assets. We don't just sell Super Bowl positions, so depending on what other buys the clients made, the final price of an individual spot is a function of these other commitments."

Each Super Bowl unit sold thus far is attached to some other NBC Sports offering, Winter said. Key among these is the 17-day 2012 Summer Olympics spectacular, which will unfold in London July 27-August 12.

Despite fears that the NFL season would be delayed or scuttled altogether, sales of NBC's Super Bowl inventory proceeded without interruption throughout the four-month labor dispute. In fact, two months after the lockout began on March 11, NBC had already sold half of its Super Bowl slots.

The fast-moving market is a recapitulation of Fox's early sell-off of Super Bowl XLV. By early June 2010, Fox had already wrapped 80% of its Super Bowl business, a remarkable feat given that broadcasters had previously only reached that milestone in October--or about six weeks into the NFL regular season.

Then, as now, automotive dollars sparked the demand. And while Winter declined to identify the clients who have already committed to the Super Bowl, he acknowledged that NBC's broadcast will be just as flush with car dollars as last year's production.

"You will see the same strength in auto this year that you did last year," Winter said. "I can literally count on the fingers of one hand the number of car advertisers who won't be back."

Last year, eight automakers bought 20 in-game Super Bowl spots, accounting for nearly one-third of the broadcast's total avails. Among those who ponied up for the exposure were Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Kia. The game marked Mercedes' first foray into America's great secular holiday; moreover, Fox welcomed back BMW after a 10-year absence.

The Steelers-Packers showdown smashed the record for the most-watched single TV event in American history, as an average 111 million viewers tuned into Fox on Feb. 6. With peak viewership reaching 162.9 million, more than half the total US population saw at least part of the game, according to Nielsen.

Along with the in-game spots, NBC is doing well with its shoulder programming around the event. "We are very well sold throughout the day. As you know, there are people who for whatever reason do not buy the Super Bowl but want to be involved in the day. Those clients are buying category exclusiveness and [marquee] sponsorships in the programming leading up to the game."

In the near term, NBC is all but sold out of its Sunday Night Football inventory. Loaded with big draws like the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Giants, the SNF slate kicks off Sept. 8 with an NFC matchup between Green Bay and New Orleans.

According to Nielsen, NBC last season averaged 21.2 million viewers per SNF broadcast, making it the most-watched package on television. "We are extraordinarily well sold in the regular season, and while the season hasn't even started yet, we've already exceeded last year's final revenue tally," Winter said. "That in itself should speak to the increasingly healthy NFL marketplace."

Fewer Women Primetime & money wrap

Fewer Women Are Working in Primetime TV

The CWThe number of females working both in front of and behind the camera has decreased, according to a new study.

By Rebecca Ford

According to a new study, there were fewer female faces both in front of and behind the camera on primetime television last season.

Women made up 15% of working writers on broadcast programs during the 2010-2011 season, a decline from 29% in 2009-2010, according to a new study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.

Women comprised 25% of all individuals working as writers, producers, creators, directors, executive producers, editors, and directors of photography on broadcast television programs during the 2010-11 prime-time season. That represents a decrease of 2% from the previous season.

The number of women directors also declined from 16% in 2009-2010 to 11% in 2010-2011.

As for on screen, women accounted for 41% of all characters, a decline of 2% from the 2007-08 season when female characters accounted for a historical high of 43% of characters. “Programs with at least one woman creator or writer featured more female characters than programs with no women creators or writers,” the study stated.

Interestingly, the CW got the highest marks being the only network with accurate proportion of females based on the U.S. population. Female characters accounted for 52% of all characters last season.

 

Media Earnings Wrap

Cable companies see major revenue increases

By Katie Feola

If one thing marked media holding companies’ summer earnings reports, it was the big jump in revenue from their cable networks—with a major factor behind those jumps. “It’s not subscriber growth driving the numbers. It’s more [carriage] revenue,” says Jessica Reif Cohen, a media analyst with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, about the renegotiations over affiliate fees—the chunk of cable subscription revenue paid back to content owners. As entertainment networks ramp up spending on original productions and acquired series, the owners are covering costs by raising fees. Meanwhile, former startup networks that are now established are also commanding more money from the companies that distribute them.

News Corp. is a prime example. Its cable networks reported a 12 percent yearly uptick in operating income—$631 million—with quarterly affiliate revenue growth of 7 percent domestically and a staggering 30 percent internationally. Justifying the higher programming costs at FX and renewals of Fox News affiliate deals accounted for much of the jump. “Now that [Fox News] ratings have significantly improved... the cable operators are being asked to pay extremely significant increases,” says Tuna Amobi, a media analyst with Standard & Poor’s, about the latter.

Viacom’s networks—home to MTV’s ratings juggernaut Jersey Shore—raked in some $2.4 billion in revenues, an increase of 16 percent. “They’ve benefitted from better ratings” as well as affiliate fee rises, says Cohen. Indeed, Viacom saw worldwide affiliate revenues totaling $971 million—a 19 percent increase.

Angry Birds TV

A New Roost for Angry Birds: Your TelevisionBy GREGORY SCHMIDT

The Roku 2 XS includes an enhanced remote control and the Angry Birds video game.

As more and more content is crammed into our little mobile phones, one tech company is going in the opposite direction, putting the ubiquitous cellphone app Angry Birds onto our big screen TVs.
Roku, a company that makes devices for streaming entertainment from the Internet onto television, is adding casual games to its lineup. First up is the epic battle between that titular flock and a bunch of egg-stealing pigs.
Angry Birds is typically played by sliding a finger across a touch screen, so to avoid smeared fingerprints on your TV, Roku has updated its streaming player to include an enhanced game remote with motion control. Once the player is set up, the game downloads and is ready to play. With the flick of your wrist, you can catapult the birds into those flimsy swine structures (those pigs seriously need to get some nail guns).
This second-generation player, the Roku 2, has been streamlined with a sleeker design and comes in three models: HD, XD and XS. The basic model, the $60 HD, supports up to 720p high-definition video quality. For $20 more, you can get the XD with 1080p. At about $100, the top-of-the-line XS has the same features and comes with Angry Birds and the game remote (a $30 accessory).
Roku is remarkably simple to set up and use. Each model has built-in wireless capability, so you need to establish a wireless network in your home. The XS includes an Ethernet port for a wired connection.
There is no off switch, but the player appears to go into a sleep mode when the TV is not in use. More than once, however, it took a couple of minutes to wake up.
Roku has added more channels and now has nearly 300, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Crackle, Pandora, Vimeo and FoxNews. For sports fans, Roku streams live and on-demand sports from NBA Game Time, NHL GameCenter Live and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Channels with pay content require online registration, so have your credit card ready.