IT’S NOT YOUR FATHER’S BOOB TUBE ANYMORE

Comic Mix is a comic book site with lots of inside info. But although we love comics, what really draws us to it are the columnists. No matter what medium you write for, this post by Mike Gold, for example, is a gem:

by Mike Gold

Gold-barbarellaIt just started to snow out here in the Atlantic Northeast. I got the mandatory robo-call from our mayor telling us the world is coming to its end. There’s just enough white stuff on the ground for a 1980s yuppie to slip into a twitchy nostalgic daze. Going outside would be stupid: people out here don’t know how to drive on snow, and they act as though a little bit of snow is a sign from their lord telling them they’re going to hell. Which, given the fact this is snow and not hot hail, seems oxymoronic.

I’d give up and just watch television, but I really haven’t enjoyed daytime television since Phil Donohue got liquored up and threated to bite Mike Douglas’s balls off, and besides, odds are in favor of my losing power for at least a while. The good news is, I’ve got lots of stuff on my iPad – including work – and I can recharge that in my car. The better news is, pretty soon we’ll all have access to a lot more fun stuff. read article

No Big Surprise: TV Watchers Fleeing Premium Channels For Streaming

They got this right. Just about everybody here at TVWriter™ has said buh-bye to HBO, Showtime, et al. Here’s what’s up:

netflix-bigby Ashlee Kieler

With more and more options in premium television popping up, consumer subscription habits are evolving. So it comes as no surprise that subscription video-on-demand services are on the rise, while premium TV channel subscriptions have declined.

Premium TV subscriptions, such as HBO and Showtime, have declined by 6% over the past two years, while consumers flock to SVOD products such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, a survey by The NPD Group found. read article

Amazon may start live Web TV service to compete with cable

Amazon or Netflix – which of ’em is going to take over the world?!

Bwahhhh:

AMAZON does its thing read article

Verizon Is Buying Intel’s Wildly Ambitious Internet TV Project

Speaking of computer-oriented companies branching out into new arenas:

oldtv

by Jamie Condliffe

After Intel very publicly announced some huge and ambitious plans for its internet TV service, it’s just announced that it’s… selling the project to Verizon. read article

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 1/29/14

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are=&0=&The Formerly Funny Hack Comedian Known as Bill Cosby is looking for a writer for a new NBC comedy series he’s going to star in and which is going to resemble his old NBC comedy series as much as possible. (Usually, this is where I tell you to talk to your agent and get a meeting but Bill Cosby? Word is that he’s the toughest/worst boss in TV since Jack Webb. Who was Jack Webb? Holy crap, do I have to tell you everything? Google him, gang, just google him.) David O. Russell (Yeah, that David O. Russell) & Susannah Grant are developing an ABC series described as “upstairs/downstairs at a private country club,” and no, it isn’t a comedy, it’s said to be an out and out soap. (David O. Russell running a soap. I’d pay to see that. Well, maybe not, but I’ll tune in the first episode…if I remember to set my DVR, that is.) Mike Sikowitz (RULES OF ENGAGEMENT) is now the showrunner of CBS’s upcoming comedy series THE McCARTHYS, about “a sports-crazed Irish Catholic clan in Boston and the gay son…whose greatest sin is…his desire to spend less time with his family.” (We’re saying “new series” even though they’re only just now shooting the pilot cuz…why call a guy a showrunner unless you have a show for him to run?)