4.0 jacks for Bravo; 4.5 jacks for Discovery - Simon Applebaum

Again we have a pair of upfront events happening last week They involve one channel dishing out a brief pitch and lots of party and a group of networks with no shortage of original content worth pitching aboutBravoVenue The network finds no shortage of unique places year after year to stage Upfront finding another winner in Stage 37 close by the Jacob Javits Center on W 37th St An aqua carpet and giant string ball from a tenttop placed outside welcomed the crowd Small groups were brought in at a time to watch a video then ushered into the big room resembling elements of a desert island populated by the channel39s array of personalities Choice delectables were all over the place from rice paper rolls and apple slicetopped chicken cubes to meat and fish buns In a bow to vegan or cholesterolwatching people in attendance there were veggie versions of the rice rolls and buns Grade 5 Jacksamp160Presentation Not much aside from the welcoming video Bravo president Francis Berwick and programming chief Andy Cohen made brief remarks from a DJ tower looking down on the crowd Both cited Bravo39s rise to top 10 cable network status among various demographics A few sentences later back to the dining networking and IPhone picturetaking of all those Bravo personalitiesNote Bravo did a special breakfast presentation for press the day before this reporter was not invited to that event Grade 3 Jacks News Seventeen new unscripted series to crow about premiering between May 1 and December 31 Among the most promising Newlyweds The First Year covering four couples during their first 12 months of marriage Taking Atlanta about upandcomers in that city39s fashion housing and arts scene and Thicker Than Water The Tankards about gospel singer Ben Tankard and his family The news that didn39t break Bravo finalizing its first scripted series to run this fall which was widely anticipated Big bet is on Rita featuring Breaking Bad costar Anna Gunn Three projects were added to the scripted development roster Girlfriend39s Guide To Divorce High ampamp Low and Heiresses Grade 45 JacksHost No onethe scenery did the talking Grade 0 JacksOverall Grade 4 Jacks When it comes to splashy gatherings Bravo can whip them up with anyone That ability somewhat counters the lack of formal upfront protocol Tasty cod rice paper rolls or chicken buns with radish topping sure helps5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badDiscovery CommunicationsVenue Two things you know off the bat about Discovery39s annual upfront ritual One is where you39ll go see itJazz At Lincoln Center39s Rose Hall numero uno in demand for such ceremonies because of its staging capabilities The staging can be as simple or complex as desired Simple ruled this time with one big video screen center stage and small panels on either side BET moves in next Tuesday night and you can expect one or two more networks showing up here before late May Grade 5 Jacksamp160Presentation A long twohourplus showcase is the other thing you know given the 13 channels in Discovery39s portfolio The annual trick is how to showcase them and entertain simultaneously This time the game plan led off with a big trick aerialist Nick Wallenda walking a tightrope across Rose Hall39s balcony in promotion of his live Discovery Channel special this summer where he39ll tightrope above the Grand Canyon No problem for him Then came a switcherooDiscovery Channel usually the last network showing its wares on stage going first Oprah Winfrey Network first last time flipflopped with Discovery with Tyler Perry alongside Oprah to introduce that channel39s new shows Throughout each channel39s executives or talent served as segment hosts connected by clever blackandwhite videos from Discovery CEO David Zaslav Others onhand NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon Morgan Freeman William Hurt and Honey BooBoo plus mom A performance from pop star Collie Collait another thing you don39t see from Discovery wrapped things up Grade 45 JacksNews Take your pick of upcoming series to follow whether The Huntsmen Hidden Kingdom and Survival Discovery Family SOS With former Supernanny Jo Frost TLC Epic Destination America Surviving Evil hosted by actress Charsma Carpenter Investigation Discovery Catch and Release Animal Planet Americarna Velocity or Running From Crazy with Mariel Hemingway OWN produced by Oscarwinning documentary director Barbara Kopple Several series originally announced at last year39s event but have yet to launch turned up again including the James Woodshosted This Changes Everything on Science Channel coming this November OWN also offered clips of both Tyler Perry series premiering next month sitcom Love Thy Neighbor and drama The Haves and the HaveNots Out of this year39s picture The Hub and 3net Isn39t it time for them to get their own events Grade 5 JacksHost All the Discovery service executives on stage represented their services well Grade 3 5 JacksOverall Grade 45 Jacks This organization continues to produce one of the most comprehensive and entertaining events of its kind on an annual basis With all the original programming in their corner that39s not easy 5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedSimon Applebaum is producerhost of Tomorrow Will Be Televised the radio program all about TV Tomorrow runs live Mondays and Fridays at 3 pm Eastern time noon Pacific Time on wwwblogtalkradiocom with replays available at wwwblogtalkradiocomsimonapple04 A weekly TV series edition will soon premiere on the new UBCTV network Have a question or reaction Email it to simonapple04yahoocom or tweet UBCSimonTWBTRead all Simonamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Tomorrow Will Be TelevisedCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author 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4.0 jacks for Bravo; 4.5 jacks for Discovery - Simon Applebaum

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4.0 jacks for Bravo; 4.5 jacks for Discovery - Simon Applebaum

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