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KEYE’s HD news gets ratings boost … ‘Damages’ survives
Cause or coincidence? Hard to know, but KEYE got a nice little boost in the ratings from its Nov. 1 introduction of HD local news.
It’s still early in the November sweeps, but the 10 p.m. KEYE news, anchored by high-def anchor duo Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira, is now comfortably in second place, behind long-time leader KVUE. That surge gently shoves KXAN into third place at 10 p.m. — at least for now. On Nov. 1, the night the HD newscast debuted, KEYE won the time period with a healthy 7.2 rating and a 12 percent share of the audience.
We’ll have a better sense of how HD is playing into viewers’ choices for local news at the end of the month. We’ll keep you posted.
And while we’re patting KEYE on the back, let’s give it props for something other than high-def. The newscast has ditched the annoying, messy-looking “crawl” at the bottom of the screen. The look is cleaner and clearer. Thanks, guys. I can’t be the only one who finds these grammatically challenged “headlines” distracting.
Blue Monday turned happy
Yesterday, as most Mondays are, was a drag — especially with the writers’ strike threatening to leave us with nothing but “Survivor” and “Big Brother” for months to come.
But we did get a nice piece of good news from FX: “Damages” has been renewed for not one but TWO new seasons. The fabulous legal thriller, which debuted in July, will return next summer, assuming the strike doesn’t drag on and turn it into a winter series. The deal is for a total of 26 new episodes, played out over two summer seasons.
Glenn Close and FX apparently were both on the fence about whether they wanted “Damages” to continue. Close picks her projects carefully, and as the star of an hour-long drama, she knows the work days will be long. FX was disappointed in the lackluster ratings for the show, especially compared to some of its hits, such as “Nip/Tuck” and “The Shield” (which inspired Close’s decision to do a series).
As for details about the new season, we have only a few. Close has signed on (natch), and so has her young protege, played by Rose Burne. Tate Donovan, who co-starred as Close’s right-hand man, will return.
But the corporate villain, played by Ted Danson? Not signed — at least not now. So one might assume that his character really was shot dead in the first-season finale. Maybe.
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By Tom Barry
November 14, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this
Diane, we switched to Judy and Ron from KVUE, but not because of HD (though it sure looks good). These two are at least professional enough not to stumble over their tongues every other sentence. They and their reporters also do not introduce every comment with the word "now," as in "Now, Ron, the council says..." That habit drives me crazy, along with the ubiquitous "reporting live from City Hall." As opposed to dead?