The annual television upfront week took place recently in New York and lasted one week, helping to draw attention to related shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs).Stuart Eliot and Brian Stelter for The New York Times report that the annual television upfront week highlights the ups and downs of network television and took place last week. Here are just a few of the highlights:
- Comedy: Jay Leno leaves “The Tonight Show, and Conan O’Brian takes over; George Lopez is is enlisting one of the biggest names in the world to promote his program: the president of the United States. “Lopez Tonight” is to have its premiere in November on the TBS cable channel, appeared on Wednesday at the upfront presentation of the TBS parent, Turner Entertainment Networks, a part of Time Warner.
- Gossip: CW which is owned by Time Warner and CBS is hoping “Gossip Girl” will become more popular in the 2009-10 season.
- T.V. or Not “Inside The Box” is a new comedy drama that was created by the same creator of “Grey’s Anatomy”. The status of the series is still unknown.
- Most Desired: While the CBS unit of the CBS Corporation has placed first during the current season among total viewers, Fox is on track to be No. 1 among viewers ages 18 to 49 — those most desired by advertisers — for the fifth year in a row. Maybe the network has a chance with “Glee.”
An ETF that holds affected media companies during these competitive times for network media:
- PowerShares Dynamic Media (PBS): up 15.9% year-to-date; Liberty Media Corp., 5.2%; The DirecTV Group, Inc., 5.2%; Time Warner Inc., 5.2%.
- PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment (PEJ): up 14.3% year-to-date; Discovery Communications, 4.7%; Liberty Media, 5.2%; Disney, 4.9%
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.