Nov 122012
 

By Brian Stelter (NY Times) MSNBC, a unit of NBCUniversal, has a long way to go to overtake the Fox News Channel, a unit of News Corporation: on most nights this year, Fox had two million more viewers than MSNBC.

But the two channels, which skew toward an audience that is 55 or older, are on average separated by fewer than 300,000 viewers in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic that advertisers desire. On three nights in a row after the election last week, MSNBC — whose hosts reveled in Mr. Obama’s victory — had more viewers than Fox in that demographic.

via MSNBC, Its Ratings Rising, Gains Ground on Fox News – NYTimes.com.

 November 12, 2012  Posted by at 9:15 am Comments Off
Sep 042012
 

By Annalee Newitz (io9) Last night, robots shut down the live broadcast of one of science fiction’s most prestigious award ceremonies. No, you’re not reading a science fiction story. In the middle of the annual Hugo Awards event at Worldcon, which thousands of people tuned into via video streaming service Ustream, the feed cut off — just as Neil Gaiman was giving an acceptance speech for his Doctor Who script, “The Doctor’s Wife.” Where Gaiman’s face had been were the words, “Worldcon banned due to copyright infringement.”

via How copyright enforcement robots killed the Hugo Awards [UPDATED].

 September 4, 2012  Posted by at 7:59 am Comments Off
Mar 042012
 

(Travel Channel) Ever wonder what happens to your lost luggage? Travel Channel provides a glimpse into the very profitable business of bidding, buying and reselling unclaimed property in the new original series “Baggage Battles,” premiering with a special one-hour season opener featuring back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, April 11,10|9c. The half-hour series follows 3 teams of savvy “auction specialists” who travel to some of the most important and unknown auctions where their bids are based on sight unseen instincts. The season premiere will kick off at Miami International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, and then the auction pros will jump across “The Pond” to London.

“Baggage Battles” features 3 teams of savvy “auction specialists”: Laurence and Sally Martin, a married couple, have been in the antique business for over 20 years co-owning Studio Antiques in El Segundo, CA. Mark Meyer is a young entrepreneur and owner of Long Island, New York’s The Nifty Thrifty store. And, Billy Leroy is the owner of the iconic Billy’s Antiques and Props, one of the last eclectic props and antique stores in NYC. With dozens of auctions to visit, thousands of bags to explore, and millions of dollars at stake, these auction specialists need both skill and luck to hit the jackpot. They don’t know if it’s junk or a jackpot until they win the bid and open the suitcase.

via Baggage Battles.

 March 4, 2012  Posted by at 6:07 am Comments Off
Dec 252009
 

By David Sarno

(LATimes) In the wake of the transition to digital television, Southland viewers are finding they can get nearly three times as many channels as they once could with an antenna. And rather than the erratic, fuzzy reception of yesteryear, today’s rabbit ears are capable of delivering a surprisingly clear high-definition picture.

Read the rest: Rabbit ears make comeback in digital TV era — latimes.com.

 December 25, 2009  Posted by at 1:12 pm Comments Off