Friday’s Must Reads
What’s good on TV for the weekend? Walking Dead mid-season finale is likely to ignite a little buzz. In sports, it’s championship weekend in college football. In social media, Facebook and Zynga rework their relationship. Click the link to read these articles and so much more. Our picks for social TV professionals. Your suggestions and comments are welcome on Twitter @socialtvdaily
Top Read
King of TV for Now, CBS Girds for Digital Battle
While the headline says digital, this is a profile of Les Monves of CBS and how he has led the network to dominance.
“We’re seeing a brave new world,” Mr. Moonves told a team of CBS executives who had gathered one fall afternoon in his Los Angeles office, where he spends half his time.
Seated in front of a television lighted up with the network’s schedule, he observed that viewership was fragmenting by video on demand, streaming and digital video recorders. “We’re seeing some shows with a million and two million viewers added with delayed viewing,” he said. “These numbers have to be counted, because they are substantial now.”
Read the article, via Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323830404578141561687144972.html
Ratings
TV Ratings Thursday
‘Big Bang Theory’ Not Quite as Big, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Person of Interest’ & ‘The Office’ Down, ‘Scandal’ & ’30 Rock’ Up
Read the article, via Zap2it http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/11/30/tv-ratings-thursday-big-bang-theory-not-quite-as-big-greys-anatomy-person-of-interest-the-office-down-scandal-30-rock-up/159688/
Weekend TV
- Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire Finales
The Walking Dead midseason finale, ominously titled “Made to Suffer” and written by comics and series co-creator Robert Kirkman, promises a showdown between the people of Woodbury, led by the deceptively folksy but privately tormented Governor (an impressive David Morrissey), and the rescue party from the prison, led by tragic hero Sheriff Rick (Emmy-worthy Andrew Lincoln).
Read the article, via Seattle PI http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/tvguide/article/Weekend-TV-Walking-Dead-Boardwalk-Empire-Finales-4080600.php#ixzz2DiyMgcRW
- College Football
College Football Saturday Preview: Conf. Championship Weekend
- UCLA vs. Stanford (Friday, 8pm ET, FOX)
- Alabama vs. Georgia (Saturday, 4pm ET, CBS)
- Texas vs. Kansas State (Saturday, 8pm ET, ABC)
- Northern Illinois vs. Kent State (Friday, 7pm ET, ESPN2)
Read the article, via Crave Online http://www.craveonline.com/sports/previews/200755-college-football-saturday-preview-conf-championship-weekend
- NFL
NFL schedule 2012, Week 13: Primetime NFC East showdowns highlight weekend NFL action
The Philadelphia Eagles’ strive to snap their seven-game losing streak against their division rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night is among the NFL’s highlights during Week 13.
A full slate of games also includes a primetime Monday-night meeting between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants, both of which the Eagles and Cowboys continue to chase in the NFC East as the season hits its final stretch.
Read the article, via SB Nation http://philly.sbnation.com/philadelphia-eagles/2012/11/28/3700356/2012-nfl-schedule-week-13-philadelphia-eagles
Piers Morgan Talks Twitter Feud with One Direction
“Nobody warned me that there are five of them and each of them has 7 or 8 million followers on Twitter. They have this army of mad fans called Directioners.”
Read the article, via Extra http://www.extratv.com/2012/11/29/piers-morgan-talks-twitter-feud-with-one-direction/
Local News
Salt Lake City NBC moves away from ‘traditional local news feel’
Many screens, all over the place.
Read the article, via Newscast Studio http://www.newscaststudio.com/blog/2012/11/30/salt-lake-city-nbc-moves-away-from-traditional-local-news-feel/
Sports
- Motorsports Forum: Seifert Says Authenticty Trumps All Factors In Brand Success
Ogilvy & Mather North America Chair & CEO John Seifert, the keynote speaker at the ’12 Motorsports Marketing Forum said the key to brand success in today’s world of social media is authenticity, not smart marketing or clever creative.
Read the article, via Sports Business Daily http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2012/11/29/Events-and-Attractions/Conference-Seifert.aspx
- Sports TV Notes, via USAToday
CBS to debut new lens for ‘enormity’ of SEC title game
Read the article, via USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2012/11/29/hiestand-on-tv-alabama-georgia-cbs-sec-gary-danielson/1735605/
- Notre Dame football as a social-media case study.
Notre Dame was unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and without an official football Twitter account until Aug. 1. The 12-0 Fighting Irish have since earned a spot in the BCS title game, added more than 31,000 followers on Twitter @125NDFB, increased the number of likes on the Notre Dame Football Facebook page by 36 percent to 322,732 and racked up more than 4.2 million YouTube views on the Notre Dame Athletics channel, as of Wednesday.
Read the article, via ESPN http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/trending/post/_/id/11589/trending-notre-dame-pushes-social-media
Games
New Facebook-Zynga deal could alter social media game landscape
NEW YORK — Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) and Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA) have loosened terms of their longstanding alliance, making it easier for competing game developers to vie for users on the world’s largest social-networking service.
The new terms eased log-in, payment and advertising requirements for Zynga, which makes most of its money by selling virtual goods in games played on Facebook.
Read the article, via WRAL TV, via Bloomberg http://wraltechwire.com/new-facebook-zynga-deal-could-alter-social-gaming-landscape/11829031/
