Posted by Bud on May 19, 2010 at 22:02:02:
Courtesy of Phil Rosenthal at the Chicago Tribune:
Kimmel tells truth, and upfront ad buyers laugh
His comedic take is reliable highlight of the process
"All these analysts say the networks are losing ground to cable. I disagree. I believe we're gaining ground on newspapers," Jimmy Kimmel told the ad buyers in New York at ABC's upfront presentation, part of a weeklong ritual in which the TV networks unveil their fall schedules in a bid to secure advance advertising commitments.
Kimmel's comedic takedown of everything connected with the process has become a reliable highlight of what is less a dog-and-pony show than a dog-as-pony show, given the harsh reality that most of what's introduced at these often elaborate sales pitches will last only a matter of weeks on the air.
"You people never learn, do you?" Kimmel told them, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times and others. "And we know you have money this year, by the way, so don't try to act all poor."
Every year, Kimmel tries to warn the buyers.
At his first ABC upfront eight years ago, months before "Jimmy Kimmel Live" made its debut, he told the Madison Avenue crowd how unlikely it was that he would be addressing them.
"It looked like David Letterman was coming to ABC, and instead you got me," he said. "This is not a step in the right direction."
Last year, he flat out told them: "We're going to cancel about 90 percent" or more of the new shows. "Every year we lie to you, and every year you come back for more. You don't need an upfront. You need therapy."
But he also observed a year ago that NBC had prevented Jay Leno from coming to ABC by putting him in prime time, in effect saying it would do whatever it would take to prevent Leno's exit, "even if we have to destroy our own network to keep him."
And it didn't take long to see Kimmel was right.
This year, he pointed out that NBC "canceled 'Law & Order' and picked up 'Law & Order: Los Angeles.' You know, the last time NBC took a show that had been on for 20 years in New York and moved it to L.A., it wound up as the lead-in to George Lopez on TBS."
Kimmel said he read in the morning paper "that Jeff Zucker is building a 40-ton solid-cement containment dome that he hopes to lower down over the fall schedule."
The late-night host said he loved the episode of CBS' "Undercover Boss" in which "the president of Hooters pretended he didn't know that Hooters waitresses get sexually harassed," suggesting the guy ought to win an Emmy.
Kimmel quoted ABC boss Steve McPherson as saying the network wanted "shows to break the mold," right before McPherson touted a new medical drama from Shonda Rhimes, creator of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice."
"Fox made a weird announcement yesterday," Kimmel said. "The coveted post-Super Bowl slot next year is going to 'Glee.' Apparently they're trying to set a new Guinness World Record for most drunk 43-year-old guys saying, 'What the …'"
Kimmel said he would miss ABC's "Lost," which ends its run Sunday. "Watching 'Lost,'" he said, "is what I imagine it must be like to be trapped inside the brain of Paula Abdul."
Label it what you will: If you wonder why some reporters at Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.'s WGN-Ch. 9 might be seen wearing jackets with both the station's logo and that of L.L. Bean, it's because the station has a barter arrangement with the outfitter.
A newscast credit shown at the end of each week will note the retailer's contribution.
Channel 9 news boss Greg Caputo said he saw nothing wrong with the arrangement, saying the station provides personnel with the outerwear but has no requirement that anyone wear it. Staffers also are free to cover up the L.L. Bean logo if they choose.
"I don't care what they do," he said, adding WGN does not cover L.L. Bean as a company and Tribune Co. lawyers vetted the deal.
"You can hardly buy anything today that doesn't have somebody's logo on it somewhere," Caputo said. "We have over the years provided outerwear for our people at various times, and this came along and it seemed to make sense. … They give us the jackets, we give them (a credit at the end of the week), and there's a value attached to both sides of it."