| EVENT REPORT 08.24.09 2:58 PM |
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CW Launches Melrose Place With Saturday-Night Street Party in the Shopping District
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When the CW hosted a party to launch the new incarnation of the Melrose Place TV series, the venue of choice for the party was a no-brainer: Melrose Place, of course. On Saturday night, the network took over a stretch of street in the famed shopping district. CBS Television's vice president of talent relations and special events, Ian Metrose, oversaw the event, tapping Poko Event Productions to produce it. (It was the same team that worked on the network's party for the new 90210 this time last summer, speaking of 1990s TV revivals.)
"We wanted people to feel comfortable, with a little wow factor," said Metrose. "We chose the same place where the first launch party for the first series was, but we went in a totally different direction."
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Melrose Place, The CW, CBS, AT&T |
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| EVENT REPORT 08.07.09 4:03 PM |
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T.C.A. Press Tour Brings Croquet, Ice Bars, and Iron Chef to Town
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 | Fox's T.C.A. event
Photo: Courtesy of Dan Scott |
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The Television Critics Association, which represents more than 220 journalists in the U.S. and Canada, brought its twice yearly press tour to town, a chance for the group to have face-to-face contact with network execs, producers, and talent. The exhaustive presentations and programming officially began at the Langham hotel in Pasadena on July 28 with related events at nearby venues; the tour wraps on August 8.
Among the programming was a July 30 event for the Food Network at a private residence in Pasadena. Kristi Foley and Joey Forster of Bounce produced the event celebrating the announcement of the network’s new shows, What Would Brian Boitano Make? and the upcoming season of The Next Iron Chef. Food Network senior vice president of programming and production Bob Tuschman introduced Boitano, and Alton Brown presented the 10 finalists of this season's Next Iron Chef.
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Television Critics Association, Fox, CBS, Food Network, The CW, Showtime |
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| INFLUENCES 07.27.09 9:00 AM |
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Reality vs. TV: The Events of Gossip Girl
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 | The runway for the Eleanor Waldorf fashion show
Photo: Warner Bros. Television Entertainment/Giovanni Rufino |
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For fans of Gossip Girl, what the show’s characters are wearing and where they’re going can be as important as whom they’re sleeping with or scheming against. That focus on the visual creates the challenge and the charm of the job for Loren Weeks, production designer for the CW’s ratings-challenged but much-obsessed-over chronicle of pretty private-school kids on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
It seems like every other episode has a reference to “the social event of the season,” so some of the show’s most lavish and labor-intensive sets are for events: school dances that likely don’t look anything like your prom or uptown benefits that could pass for the real thing. “They’re important to the show because we’re portraying a group of people who live in high society, in which there are lots of events,” Weeks says. These gatherings also spark pivotal scenes, when characters fight, kiss, or get caught doing one or the other. “Everyone needs a reason to get dressed up and come to one place,” says art director Malchus Janocko.
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The CW, Gossip Girl, Warner Brothers |
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| NEWS 05.18.09 1:56 PM |
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In-Person Deals Keep Upfronts Afloat in Uncertain TV Industry
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 | NBC executives at New York's "infront" earlier this month
Photo: © NBC Universal Inc. |
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FROM NEW YORK
Today marks the start of the television networks’ annual Upfront Week, and though the industry has seen significant changes over the last few years, the practice of courting advertisers in person doesn’t look to be going anywhere.
“As long as media agencies and their clients are interested in gathering in one place for one week, the upfronts will continue to happen and be very important to this industry,” said Rick Haskins, executive vice president of marketing and brand strategy at the CW, who returned the network to its traditional Thursday presentation after an experiment with a cocktail party last year. “Going back to the old format just felt like the right thing to do this year.”
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Upfront Week, Upfronts, NBC, The CW |
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| NEWS 04.30.09 3:14 PM |
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Upfront Update: Who's Doing What During the TV Networks' Big Sales Week
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 | The 2008 Fox upfront party
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash |
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FROM NEW YORK
Cable upfront presentations have been under way since mid-March, but May heralds the arrival of the network presentations, with their heavy delegations of out-of-town media buyers and—when it suits them—some fairly elaborate parties. Upfront Week itself is little more than two weeks off, starting with Fox on Monday, May 18, and concluding Thursday, May 21, with the CW. Although events look to be subdued once again, they’re looking up from 2008.
Last year NBC sent the already W.G.A. strike-addled upfront schedule into a tizzy by abandoning its long-established Monday presentation and opting for a series of meetings in early April. Sort of sticking to its guns, the network is still meeting with buyers early, but not as early as last year. After a small pitch at this year’s Super Bowl, NBC’s big sell takes place next week in its 30 Rockefeller headquarters, with a series of meetings and conference calls on May 4.
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Upfronts, Upfront Week, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, ESPN, Turner Entertianment, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim |
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| NEWS 01.30.09 12:09 PM |
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This Year's Upfront Week Falls Into Place, Starts at Super Bowl
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 | The 2008 Fox upfront party
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash |
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FROM NEW YORK
The economy and the television industry may not be in the most stable position at the start of 2009, but The Hollywood Reporter noted that this year's upfront sales pitches—slated for May 18 through 21 in New York—won't look much different from the pared down, more businesslike presentations seen during the 2008 Upfront Week.
NBC still plans to forgo its old presentation at Radio City Music Hall for intimate "in-front" meetings with advertisers in April, and there definitely won’t be a return of last year’s carnival-like “NBC Experience” at Rockefeller Plaza.
The network actually plans to get an early jump on advertiser wooing at this Sunday’s Super Bowl. "They would never show you programming," a media buyer told The Hollywood Reporter, referring to past sporting events where networks entertained buyers. "I think the NBC plan is smart because they have a larger percentage of clients at the Super Bowl than they would at the upfront."
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Upfront Week, Upfronts, CBS, NBC, The CW, ABC, Super Bowl |
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| EVENT REPORT 08.27.08 11:41 AM |
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90210 Party Takes to Beverly Hills Mansion—in Malibu
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 | The scene at the CW's 90210 party
Photo: Joel H. Mark |
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Beverly Hills. It's nice and all, with its gracious mansions and generously spaced property lines, but homes in the landlocked city don't offer much in the way of ocean views. Not typically, that is.
For Saturday night's premiere party for 90210, the CW's update of the '90s high school drama, organizers recreated the look of a rich Beverly Hills home up the coast, taking over a Malibu lot on 300 feet of Pacific Ocean frontage south of the Pepperdine University campus. CBS vice president of talent relations and special events Ian Metrose oversaw the event for about 450 cast members, network and studio execs, affiliates, and press folks, tapping Inna Poncher of Poko Event Productions to produce and design it.
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The CW, CBS, 90210 |
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| NEWS 04.30.08 4:05 PM |
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Scaled-Back TV Upfronts Go On With Fewer Stars, Programming Details
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 | The Ugly Betty cast at last year's ABC upfront
Photo: ABC/Donna Svennevik |
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FROM NEW YORK
The WGA strike put a kink in the TV networks’ plans for a traditional Upfront Week, but all five of the major players are going ahead with some sort of event during the week of May 12. Variety reported yesterday that this year’s festivities will be largely symbolic, with many executives and talent staying behind in Los Angeles to work on the pilots that haven’t yet been produced.
Variety cited industry insiders who think this year’s efforts are “smaller,” “slim pickings,” and “a shame.” This is all a far cry from the upfronts of yore, or even last year, when the cast of Ugly Betty opened the ABC presentation with a musical number.
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Upfronts, Upfront Week, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, NBC Universal |
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| NEWS 02.15.08 2:23 PM |
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CBS, NBC, Fox, and Others Confirm Upfront Presentations
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FROM NEW YORK
CBS led the charge of upfront-related news yesterday, announcing the network will once again host a presentation for advertisers on May 14 at Carnegie Hall—quelling months of speculation that the major networks would forgo the fancy (and costly) presentations and parties altogether. That said, CBS declined to comment on whether or not it will return to Tavern on the Green for its annual lavish after-party, though Variety reported that Tavern's sales office confirmed the space has been reserved for the afternoon and evening of May 14, adding "It's hard to believe CBS wouldn't offer advertisers some form of food and drink."
Reuters is reporting that because of the WGA strike, development plans for the 2008-2009 television season are much-delayed: "The usefulness of the presentations—where the networks parade out stars or their own executives for skits and dance numbers—[has become] the subject of the sharpest criticism."
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Upfronts, Upfront Week, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, NBC Universal |
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| NEWS 11.30.07 3:08 PM |
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With Strike Still On, Industry Scales Back Holiday Parties
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The continuing writers strike is affecting—more like crushing—industry holiday parties, with studios scaling back and agencies largely canceling plans altogether, The Hollywood Reporter says.
Fox Entertainment Group is going forward with a leaner version of its party on December 12, despite questions about whether it would continue under the strike. Disney will have a gathering in its commissary. MGM sent out invitations for a party but later canceled it, and the CW will have a potluck. As for talent agencies, ICM, WMA, and UTA have canceled their parties, and Endeavor is doing a scaled-back version. CAA has not announced plans, but it did not have a holiday party last year, The Reporter says. —Alesandra Dubin
RELATED TOPICS
WGA, Writers' Strike, Holiday Parties, The CW, MGM, ICM, WMA, CAA, Fox, Endeavor, UTA |
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