Have you seen the latest Obama ad? The latest McCain ad?

If you have, take note of where you saw it. It seems that it is increasingly unlikely you saw the ad during a commercial break.

According to the AP:

"Barack Obama's and John McCain's presidential campaigns are peddling campaign videos as advertising even though they are getting little commercial air time..."

There's a couple great quotes within reporter Jim Kuhnhenn's story from Evan Tracey (the head of a firm that tracks TV ads). Here's one:

"What you have now is that the campaigns say, 'Hey, (MSNBC's) Morning Joe is a food fight, let's supply the tomatoes."

I'm not entirely sure whether or not this is significant, but it is worth noting that a candidate gets more bang for their buck creating ads that cable news will run endlessly, even if a campaign never intends to buy advertising time... throw in youtube, and you wonder how many people it can reach for free.

As cable news stations continue to rely on commentators as ratings earners, to what extent does editorial control amount to free advertising? If Fox News runs a segment asking "Is this McCain ad fair?" and then concludes that the ad is fair, does it matter that the ad isn't appearing regularly on TV in any other forum? If MSNBC does the same with an Obama ad, does it trouble you more if the ad is discussed on their non-biased news coverage versus a program anchored by Keith Olberman? What if if the ad never ran during a commercial break of a regularly scheduled program?

Products get placed into movies all the time, so it is also worth noting exactly who has editorial power on cable news these days. Fox News has been accused of relaying partisan "talking points" to on-air talent or production staff... Michael Moore accused Sanjay Gupta of skewing the facts in a report on the documentary "Sicko" in order to appease the major sponsors of CNN's medical coverage. The selling of the news isn't exactly new, nor is using the news as entertainment (thanks Roone Alderidge), but to what extent do advertisers have control over what's on in between commercial breaks?

So, the next time you watch a campaign ad during a news program, perhaps it might be time to flick on over to a good old fashioned, honest, hardworking infomercial with American values.

Take It To The House

House star Hugh Laurie just signed a new deal with Fox that will pay him $400,000/episode (~$9M for the season). It has been a nice run for Laurie, considering he was only paid 'mid 5 figures' for the first season of Fox's hit show.

It got me thinking about today's highest paid TV stars. I did some digging and the answer I got was a bit shocking to me-- Charlie Sheen ($825,000/episode for Two and a Half Men). William Peterson of CSI was 2nd at $600,000/episode. If Lauren Conrad were on the list, I would have cancelled my cable subscription.

Now...these are stats on a per episode basis. Oprah and Simon Cowell, for example, are paid on a seasonal basis and get a lot more. But, it's also interesting to note that the stars of Seinfeld, Friends, and Everybody Loves Raymond were paid more per episode when those shows were peaking. Reality TV rules these days.

Back to House...the show is entering its 5th season and seems to be pretty healthy. We checked with our friends at jumptheshark.com and things seem to be going well over at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. 7500 viewers are saying it never jumped. And, it was the 2nd highest rated scripted series last season (trailing only Desperate Housewives).

I love the Gregory House character, and the witty scripts. But, the plot formula needs a bit more variety to keep me coming back for more. An ailment is misdiagnosed several times. Incorrect treatments cause a patient's condition to get increasingly worse until House miraculously saves the day at the end of the episode with the correct diagnosis, and while insulting everyone in his path. Can you mix in some curveballs, please?

Where does House rank on your watch list for the upcoming TV season?

"House" star Hugh Laurie Joins TV's Richest List [Yahoo TV]

SportsCenter.com Long Overdue

After over 30,000 episodes, ESPN has launched a website dedicated to SportsCenter.

It's crazy to think about a sports world without ESPN. The network revolutionized the way sports are reported, and the way we talk about sports. "Web gems" have become part of the American sports lexicon. And, catch phrases used by the shows' anchors are as well known as some major sporting events:

Kenny Mayne's "Yahtzee"
Chris Berman's "Back, back, back, back..."
Stuart Scott's "Boo yah"
Keith Olberman's "He pulled a groin. His own we hope." (ok...maybe not this one)

The website features video clips of current sports news, anchor blogs, live chats, and a home video contest (submit a sports play/moment that you have captured on video and it could be featured on a future SportsCenter). And not to be overlooked is a video library of "This is SportsCenter" commercials--the hilarious ad campaign that originated in 1994 and still runs today.



What does SportsCenter mean to you? Which commercial is your favorite?

Back to the Future '90210'

This week, the highly anticipated premiere of 90210 aired on the CW. The teen melodrama is a modern take on the tremendously popular 1990s hit show--Beverly Hills 90210. There are some carryovers from the older counterpart. Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) is the school guidance counselor. Her sister is a student at the school. Nat runs a more hip-looking Peach Pit. And Brenda (Shannen Doherty) pays a visit to her old friend, Kelly.

As you could guess, the new version is not as wholesome as its predecessor. Flashback 18 years--Brandon and Steve are coaching a little league baseball team and teaching the kids and audience about sportsmanship.


Flash forward--the new kids of 90210 are flying private jets, getting hummers in their Hummers, and publicly backstabbing their friends on their BLOGS. Throw in some time tested teen issues of plagiarism, pranks, and drug use and you have 90210 in 2008. The old 90210 would take a season to broach these subjects. In today's 90210, it's all given to us in the first week of school. Think Boston Public meets The OC. Well....that may be a little bit generous at this point. But despite criticism throughout the blogosphere, I'm giving this one a shot (at least for now).

What do you think about the new 90210? Has it already jumped the shark?

Holy Crap--4 million people watch The HIlls

Season 4 of MTV's The Hills started this month, and picked up where it left off in May--hypnotizing a huge viewership with inane content and massaging those eyeballs with advertising--lots of it. The premier reached 3.48 million viewers, not counting those watching streaming video on MTV. com. (For your reference, the NFL preseason game on ESPN attracted the same size audience). The half hour premiere included an 8-minute block of advertising in addition to the traditional advertising slots. With TIVO, it's arguably the shortest 30-minute show in television history.

If you're not among the 4 million or so people who watch the Hills each week, let me give you a rundown (it shouldn't take long). The reality show follows a group of overprivileged twenty somethings around LA as they navigate life's biggest challenges (entry level jobs, shortlived relationships, backstabbing friends, and getting free bottle service at LA's top clubs). Many find it hard to buy into the "reality" of it all, as the show's characters routinely find themselves in "spontaneous" encounters with their enemies.

Why do we watch this show? For those looking for new options, Date My Ex is in the competing time slot on Bravo.

The Hills Draws Demos as MTV Tries Out Mega Pod [Mediaweek.com]

Steve Sanders looking ahead

For all you Beverly Hills 90210 fans out there, the CW will be premiering a spin-off series creatively named "90210." The series will feature some of the old cast members we have come to know and love including Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty.

Noticeably absent from the cast will be Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders). When asked why he won't be involved in the spin-off, Ziering remarked,

“I’m really looking down the line pretty far and this might be a step backwards.”

Ziering is currently involved in the filming of 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus Wallace Leonidas.