ESPN had been trying to confirm the story that Manti Te’o’s girlfriend – whose apparent death from leukemia became a rallying cry for Notre Dame football and a selling-point for the linebacker’s Heisman candidacy – was a hoax. But the network was hoping for an interview with Mr. Te’o and lost the story to Deadspin.
The money was noticeably tight at Sundance Film Festival, where $6 million was considered a big acquisition price – sobering news for independent films, which still struggle to recoup production costs. Some of the big purchases so far: HBO bought the documentary “Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer,” and Relativity Media bought “Don Jon’s Addiction,” a comedy about a man who watches too much Internet pornography.
CNN dominated ratings for the presidential inauguration, although ratings across the board were down from 2008. Surprisingly, Fox News beat out liberal rival MSNBC during prime time.
On Monday, Cumulus Media announced an end to the 17-year drought of country music radio in New York. The new station, WRXP at 94.7 FM, will feature a country format called Nash that will play some of the biggest hitmakers in music – country is one of the few bright spots for the industry – and promote the “country lifestyle” to city dwellers whose idea of a stampede is the Q train at rush hour.
Fox’s huge marketing push behind the gruesome serial killer procedural “The Following” paid off with a 3.1 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic for the show’s premiere.
The Super Bowl ad juggernaut continues with the usual suspects – beer, cola and car companies – pouring money into this year’s broadcast.