Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

By Frank Macek It's no secret DVRs have been changing the way Americans watch TV. The real news is how fast it's happening. People are increasingly watching TV on their own schedules, instead of the broadcasters. The good news is Americans are watching more TV than ever before. According to a new report by Nielsen, 30.6 percent of households in Nielsen's National People Meter Panel now have a DVR as of March 2009...that is up from 12.3 percent in January 2007. This can be contributed to the integration of DVRs into cable and satellite boxes. Standalone DVRs accounted for only 5% of this amount. Many households have more than 1 DVR...25% had two...5% had 3 or more in their homes. The report also found programs recorded between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. were played back within the same day more often than those airing at 10 p.m. Therefore, DVR playback may have impacted live viewership of programs at 10 p.m. and later, including late news. The highest playback times during the week o...

The Director's Cut Blog would like to wish our dear colleague, Bruce Drennan, a very happy birthday today. Bruce fondly remembers our earlier postings about him and his off the wall hats. So, we'll add this one to the mix. "We Love You, BRUUUUCEE!" Happy Birthday!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Former WKYC weatherman Al Roker is on the move again. Man does he stay busy! ----- Al Roker, widely recognized as America's favorite weatherman, has been named host of Wake Up With Al, a new weekday morning program on The Weather Channel. Roker will join The Weather Channel's Stephanie Abrams, who will serve as his co-host. The announcement was made today by Lisa Gersh, interim CEO of The Weather Channel. The one-hour program will air weekdays from 6-7 a.m. ET and premiere this summer. "Simply put - Al Roker is synonymous with weather. He has an energy and a style that jumps off the screen, and we already know that people want to wake up with him in the morning," said Gersh. "We have spent months coming up with the right way to integrate Al into The Weather Channel's programming, and I think, alongside Stephanie, we've come up with the perfect formula with this announcement." Wake Up with Al will explore all aspects of the day'...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is giving tentative approval to government regulation of the use of even a single curse word on live television. But the court, in a 5-4 decision Tuesday, is refusing to pass judgment on whether the Federal Communications Commission's "fleeting expletives" policy is in line with First Amendment guarantees of free speech. The justices say a federal appeals court should weigh the constitutionality of the policy. The decision throws out a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The appeals court had found in favor of a Fox Television-led challenge to the policy and had returned the case to the FCC to let the agency provide a "reasoned analysis" for its tougher line on indecency. The commission appealed to the Supreme Court instead. Source: The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A WKYC video obituary in memory of Herb Score was awarded top honors by the Society of Professional Obituary Writers at their annual convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The tribute was produced by Dick Russ and video editor Matt Hein and aired following Score's death on November 11, 2008. It is still being viewed on wkyc.com. (See the player below) Alana Baranick, director of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers said the judges "absolutely loved" the production, which recounted highlights of Herb Scores life and career, and his contributions to the Northeast Ohio community. She said the video was selected from among entries which included the network obituaries of Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, and Sir Edmund Hillary. Finalists in the broadcast category included submisssions from CBS News and the BBC. "Matt and I are honored to have been selected," said Dick Russ, who attended the awards ceremony in Charlotte. "I...

In today's turbulent economy, fortune 500 companies are cutting back on their television advertising spending, a move that has opened up more space for "as seen on tv" product ads. It started with an infomercial advertising a blanket with sleeves. And it has quickly become a pop culture craze. Scott Boilen is CEO of the Allstar Marketing Group, the direct response firm never made a blanket before, but now has the Snuggie to thank for adding 100-million dollars in sales to the bottom line. For those scoring at home they've sold enough Snuggies to outfit the entire population of Minnesota. "I never thought we'd have 400 parodies on youtube and 100's of facebook pages," said Boilen. And a pub crawl. Thousands of people are signing up and they're just having fun. Maybe its something about all the bad news out there and people just want to have fun and have a cute little product. Nobody knows. Nobody knows why anything becomes a part...

Update: 4/24/09 Tonight Show host Jay Leno was released from a California hospital Friday after staying the night for observations. Leno was admitted after he became ill Thursday morning. He will return to taping new shows Monday. ----- Original Post: 4/23/09 The Director's Cut has learned that Jay Leno has checked himself into a hospital - forcing the cancellation of tonight's planned taping of "The Tonight Show." NBC owned "Access Hollywood" says Leno worked all day - but has an apparent case of food poisioning. His spokesman, Dick Guttman, says Leno left his office at NBC's Burbank studios about midday, and checked himself into a hospital for observation. Guttman characterized his ailment as "mild." Tonight's show was to have featured guests: Ryan Reynolds, Jules Sylvester and swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. A re-run will air in its place.

Special honors today for our own Romona Robinson. She is now an official member of the Cleveland Association of Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. Romona was inducted on Wednesday at a special ceremony held at Windows on the River along with Indians Announcer Tom Hamilton and ideastream's Chief Operating Office, Kit Jensen. All three were honored for their work in the broadcast industry and their committment to the community. This was the associations 19th annual Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting. Congratulations to Romona, Tom and Kit.

Planet Earth, you're on the air. Beginning Wednesday evening, a new channel on Dish Network Corp.'s satellite TV service will give subscribers live views of Earth, 24 hours a day on Channel 212. The channel Dish Earth gets its feed from a camera installed on Dish Network's EchoStar 11 satellite, which launched last year. Images from the camera also are for sale through Give the World, a service offered jointly with Houston-based Space Services Inc. The camera was developed by the EchoStar Spacecraft Operations Team, Ecliptic Enterprises Corp. of Pasadena, Calif., and Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, Calif. It is operated under a license from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dish Network is based in Englewood, Colorado. Source: The Associated Press

WKYC News Director Rita Andolsen has announced morning co-anchor Abby Ham is leaving the station to return to Knoxville, Tennessee, and her former station, WBIR-TV, as morning news anchor. Her last day on the air at WKYC will be during the first week of June. "Abby joined WKYC in November 2007 and has been a wonderful addition to the morning show," says Andolsen. "Her heart is calling her home to her family in Knoxville." Channel 3 viewers have fondly welcomed Abby into their homes as part of our morning show, along with co-anchors Mark Nolan and weather forecaster Hollie Strano over the past year and a half. Abby tells the Director's Cut blog: "Cleveland has been so wonderful to me. The people have welcomed me with open arms and I have had a blast with my co-workers. This was a personal decision that took a lot of thought and prayer. My family lives in Knoxville and I miss them terribly. It was just too hard to be away." "I have truly met som...

This is a group of classic Channel 3 Promos from around 2000, courtesy of the "Director's Cut" archives. This latest batch includes cameos from Tim White, Romona Robinson, Jim Donovan, Tom Beres, David Rogers, Mark Nolan, Donna Terrell, Don Hammond and many more. Feel free to post your own comments and share your memories. Just click on the videos to watch. If you can't view them on this page, CLICK HERE

April not only brings April Showers, but also May Sweeps which start on Thursday. This year, the month long period will run from Thursday, April 23rd, through Wednesday, May 20th, thanks in part to an early Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 25th. Nielsen likes to wrap up the survey period prior to the holiday since viewing generally decreases over the long weekend with people doing other activities and watching less television - in theory and a normal economy. In fact, May 21st through May 27th is a "non reported" week by Nielsen terminology. May sweeps will be the last analog book for the remaining stations who will finally convert to all digital on June 12th, including all those in the Cleveland market.

To the Moon: Ohio's Journey" will air again at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 25, on WKYC Channel 3 and is hosted by NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams and WKYC News Anchor Romona Robinson. "To the Moon: Ohio's Journey" features rare interviews, fascinating archive footage and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the next generation of moon exploration. The show includes exclusive interviews with John Glenn, James Lovell, NBC space correspondent Jay Barbree, and Dr. Robert Graham, along with comments from Neil Armstrong during Glenn Research Center's NASA 50th Anniversary Gala. WKYC Channel 3, in partnership with NASA Glenn Research Center, presents a high-definition, hour-long prime time special. As the high definition leader in locally produced programming in Northeast Ohio, WKYC is proud to showcase our region's efforts in space exploration. We have always looked to the sky and, for a brief moment, mankind walked on a heavenly body other than earth. Ohio was at ...

The Federal Communications Commission is unveiling a much improved digital transition website to help improve its image under the Obama Administration. The site is more consumer friendly and has much more timely information about the upcoming all digital transition that stations will make on June 12th. 39% of stations have already made the digital switch, according to the FCC with the latest bunch of stations flipping the switches last Thursday, April 16th. You can find the site at: www.dtv.gov Download the new "DTV Made Easy" guide: CLICK HERE

As we previously mentioned here on the Director's Cut, WKYC will air "To the Moon: Ohio's Journey" on Monday, April 20th from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. hosted by WKYC Anchor Romona Robinson and NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams. As a result, Monday's episode of "Chuck" will be pre-empted. WKYC will air Monday night's episode on Tuesday, April 21 from 3:04 a.m. until 4:01 a.m. so be sure to set your DVR's. You can watch previous episodes of Chuck here: http://www.wkyc.com/video/life/programming/nbc/default.aspx Any comments you may have about this programming decision may be posted at the following link: CLICK HERE

LOS ANGELES -- The Screen Actors Guild and the Hollywood studios have reached a tentative deal on movie and prime-time TV show productions. The previous contract had expired last June. The announcement came Friday, a day before the guild's board was scheduled to meet. The guild said it will recommend approval by the board and then ratification by its members. Both sides said the details of the deal will not be disclosed before the guild's board reviews it over the weekend. Source: The Associated Press

By Frank Macek According to Nielsen, 3.6 million or 3.2% of tv households, are still completely unprepared for the digital tv transition as of April 12th. The good news is Nielsen reports an improvement of nearly 200,000 households in the past few weeks since their March 29th survey. This is down from 4.4% of tv households from February 15th - just 2 days before the original transition date when some stations did make the transition on time. Now, there are just under 9 weeks to go until June 12th. Here is how the numbers broke down demographically from the April 12th report: Overall: 3.2% White: 2.5% African American: 5.9% Hispanic: 5.4% Asian: 4.3% Under Age 35: 5.9% Over Age 55: 1.7% Least Prepared Market: Albuquerque-Santa Fe (9.1%) Completely Prepared Market: Providence-New Bedford The Cleveland market which includes Cleveland, Akron and Canton has 4.3% of households totally unready. This was the 10th least prepared of the 56 metered markets Nielsen surveys. Our neighbors in Colu...

NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol announced today that John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and the most honored broadcaster in sports television history, has decided to retire from broadcasting. Madden issued the following statement today: It's time. I'm 73 years old. My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I'm home and, more importantly, when I'm not... It's been such a great ride... the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion - it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have... that great life with the teams, the players, the coaches, the owners, the League... my broadcasting partners Pat and Al... the production people and the fans...is still great... it's still fun and that's what it makes it hard and that's why it took me a f...

Gannett Co., owner of WKYC-TV, is reporting lower first-quarter earnings and a deepening slump in advertising revenue. Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said Thursday it earned $77.4 million, or 34 cents per share. That was down 60 percent from the same quarter in 2008, when it earned $191.8 million, or 84 cents per share. Excluding one-time gains and losses, earnings came to 25 cents per share. Analysts had expected 24 cents, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue fell to $1.4 billion from $1.7 billion, roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts. Ad sales in the company's publishing unit, which includes newspapers, fell 34 percent. --- Source: The Associated Press

For those of you watching the early morning news on Channel 3 this morning, you may have noticed some "technical difficulties" as we say in the broadcast industry. Our main control room news switcher locked up completely at 6:30 a.m., bringing the entire show to a screeching halt. As computers overtake our lives in the broadcasting industry more and more, we [mortals] find ourselves at their mercy when something goes wrong. Most of the time, mistakes you see on the air are a result of human error. I push a wrong button and something ugly gets on the air that is quite unexpected - and at times humorous (News Director never think this though). In the good ole days, switchers were much less complicated than they are today. Our Sony HD switcher uses software that practically controls everything that happens on the air. The Directors (who also switch their own newscasts now at WKYC), still physically push buttons to take sources to air, but each of those buttons are software contr...

EDITOR'S NOTE: For those of you following the WHDH-TV station vs. NBC goliath story over the airing of Leno this fall, we finally have some resolution: the TV station backs down. ------ BOSTON -- Boston's NBC affiliate has decided to air Jay Leno's new show, after all. WHDH-TV owner Ed Ansin issued a brief statement Monday saying that "upon further consideration," the station had decided to telecast Leno's 10 p.m. talk show beginning in September. WHDH had previously said it would run a local newscast in that time slot instead, prompting a threat from NBC to strip the station of its network affiliation. Ansin said he enjoys Leno's humor and hopes the show is a big success. Leno is a native of Andover, Mass. NBC TV Network President John Eck said in a statement Monday the network was "very pleased" with WHDH's decision, calling Leno "one of the most bankable stars in the business." Source: The Associated Press

UPDATE: Friday Night Lights will air this Sunday morning from midnight until 1 a.m. Set those DVRs! CLEVELAND -- The season finale of NBC's Friday Night Lights will be re-aired on Channel 3. Channel 3 News is aware that the final episode was pre-empted by the Cleveland Indians Home Opener. The episode will be re-aired in its entirety at a date to be announced on wkyc.com. The exact date and time is not known at this time. Channel 3 must receive permission from the network to re-air the episode.

New NBC cop drama "Southland" premieres tonight on Channel 3 beginning at 10 p.m. in the old "ER" time slot. Mark Barger has a preview:

What happens when a well-intentioned but clueless manager of a parks and recreation department goes on a campaign to make a park out of a dirt pit? You get NBC's newest comedy, starring Amy Poehler of "Saturday Night Live". Set in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, the show was developed by Mike Schur and Greg Daniels of "The Office." It's shot in the same mockumentary style and co-stars "Office" cast mate Rashida Jones. "Parks and Recreation" is shot almost entirely in L.A., but the show's creators did meticulous research into Hoosier life so that the references on the show are true to Indiana. The show premiers Thursday night on NBC.

Economically battered Detroit got a little comic relief Tuesday night. Comedian Jay Leno performed the first of two free shows for the Motor City. The crippled and crumbling auto industry has left so many in the Detroit area without a job and without much hope. Leno says he hopes the shows can provide a little relief even if only for a few hours. "I'm a big believer in the power of getting out forgetting your troubles, at least for a night, you know?," said Leno. Along with the free show tickets, parking was free. About 20,000 people were able to attend each show at The Palace. Leno is only the eighth comedian to play The Palace in the building's 20-year history.

Channel 3 is your official Indians station! You can catch all the exclusive Opening Day action on WKYC this Friday, April 10th! Starting at 2 pm, it's our "Tribe Time" Home Opener special. Only Channel 3 has access inside the ballpark with interviews with players, their wives and much more. That's followed by "Indians On Deck" at 3:30 pm. Then, the Tribe takes on the Toronto Blue Jays live from Progressive Field at 4:05 p.m. And think you missed out on a pair of free tickets to the sold out Ppening Day this Friday? Fear not. Log onto right now to wkyc.com , click on the "Life tab" and "Twitter" to start following us on-line. During the day Friday, we'll send out a special tweet on what you need to do to get our final pair of tickets.

By Frank Macek Despite this year's move of the February book to March in anticipation of the switch to all digital broadcasting, WKYC wound up the month with a strong showing, particularly in the most important age demographics. As you know, the transition date for most stations moved to June 12th, but Nielsen went ahead with their original March book plans as scheduled. Stations were previously interested in claiming victory based on Households (HHs) before Local People Meters (LPMs) came to Cleveland last August. This was mainly because Nielsen took several weeks after the actual sweeps period ended to release the break down of individual demographics. Stations were quick to use the total amount of people watching to begin selling their next quarters. Now, the demographic breakdown occurs instantly and continuously. And stations have a much clearer, daily picture of how their products are attracting the coveted "money demo" audiences. Those keys to success are measured...

By Frank Macek Hopefully you got to see our special "Rock Hall Induction Preview" that aired last Friday from 7 until 8 p.m. The show featured hosts Mark Nolan and Carole Sullivan, Jeff Maynor and Monica Robins on location at the Rock Hall giving you a preview of this year's Inductees and the stories behind the music. As I mention earlier, I had the pleasure of being the Director for the show and wanted to spend a few moments talking about what went into the broadcast for our readers interested in getting into television or knowing more about how television works. The planning started weeks ago with the Rock Hall and our producer, Amanda Subler, who began putting a rough outline of the show together. This included scouting locations where we would put our talent, gathering information about the Inductees and putting a rundown together for how the show would flow. After our plans were finalized and the program was scheduled by the station, the reporters and producers went ...

Last night, the series finale of "ER" delivered the highest 18-49 rating for a drama series finale on the broadcast networks in nearly seven years and the biggest overall audience for any drama series finale in 13 years, according to updated "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research. Last night from 9-11 p.m. ET, the series finale of "ER" (6.0 rating, 16 share in adults 18-49, 16.4 million viewers overall) scored the highest 18-49 rating for a drama series finale since "The X-Files" wrapped with a 6.3 on May 19, 2002. In total viewers, "ER," with an average 16.4 million viewers, assembled the biggest overall audience for a drama finale since "Murder, She Wrote" concluded with 16.5 million on May 19, 1996. "ER," which made its original series debut on NBC on Thursday, Sept. 22, 1994, following a two-hour movie on Monday, Sept., 19, 1994, concluded its 15th and final season with last night's ...

Special to the Director's Cut By Mark Barger The doors at County General Hospital are officially closed now, as "ER" aired its final episode Thursday night. As you might imagine, a lot has gone into the production of the show over its 15 years on NBC. For instance, the trauma doors at County General have swung open more than 3,000 times with more than 5,453 actors passing through. 750 of those actors were trauma patients arriving by ambulance another 500 patients just walked right in to talk to one of 10 different desk clerks. Those patients have spurted more than 180 gallons of fake blood. That's brought on more than 160 chest tubes and 300 intubations. There've been 23 different doctors and they've ordered up more than 450 x-rays. And along with the 31 different nurses they used more than 447,000 latex gloves and worn more than 130,000 pairs of hospital scrubs. Add in more than 4 dozen directors almost 3 dozen writers and hundreds of crew membe...

For its 14th consecutive year, NBC's "Today" is bringing together the biggest, boldest names in music to rock the Plaza. This year's "Toyota Concert Series on Today" kicks off with a special comeback performance by Grammy Award-winning rock band No Doubt, Friday, May 1. No Doubt has been on a multi-year hiatus, and the innovative band's "Today" performance marks the group's first concert together in five years. The live concert will also mark their first-ever "Today" performance. The "Toyota Concert Series on Today" continues its tradition of bringing "Today" viewers the hottest hit-making artists in the industry. This year's concert series also features special performances by Dave Matthews Band and Kings of Leon, both bands' first morning television concerts. America's favorite morning program will also feature surprise guest performers throughout the series. Following is a list of concerts schedu...