Upfront Reviews: CMT, Screenvision, Amazon

Venue Second goround in a month for TimesCenter on W 41st St As with The Weather Channel CMT used the ground floor Stage auditorium welcoming visitors with country music videos on a big screen famed by wispy green trees Grade 4 JacksPresentation quotFun fresh originalsquot in CMT president Brian Philips39 words keeps the channel in rocksolid shape as in up 31 percent in primetime and 22 percent in total day ratings so far this year After going thick on the ratings news for all of 2013 and so far this year Philips let development executive Jason Dinsmore intro what39s new and ahead with a plentiful serving of video clips then turned matters over to superstar group Lady Antebellum for a threesong set highlighted by their megahit quotNeed You Nowquot The performance drew a standing ovation Grade 4 JacksNews From here on more emphasis goes to documentary specials and seriesminiseries about either legendary musical landmarks and personalities or families at turning points Upcoming examples of the landmarks They Called Us Outlaws think Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings involving Breaking Bad producer Mark Johnson Urban Legend When A Nation Went Country influence Urban Cowboy had on music and pop culture and Johnny Cash American Rebel Highlights of the latter Promiseland a fourhour look at American farmers from Ridley Scott Freedom by Morgan Spurlock and My Dysfunctional Family chronicling parents at odds with teenagers at risk The wave of offbeaten path programming will continue this fall and winter with Death Valley and competition series Broken Skull Ranch One more landmark Crossroads the acclaimed set of specials bringing country and poprock artists together marks its 50th episode June 13 pairing Katy Perry with Kacey Musgraves Unlike the previous 49 this hour will run on MTV VH1 and other Viacomowned channels following CMT39s premiere Grade 5 JacksHost Philips and Dinsmore brought plenty of enthusiasm to their presentation contribution Grade 4 JacksOverall Grade 4 Jacks A balanced effort highlighted by the new documentary direction the channel39s taking under the supervision of top producerdirectors as Scott Johnson and Spurlock5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badA few observations from the passing paradeScreenvision one of two cinema advertising organizations entering the upfront scene with events last spring treated an audience at the Ziegfield Theater last Wednesday to a preview of Captain America The Winter Soldier The formal upfront pitch came from a wellanimated prefeature video introduced by chief executive officer Travis Reid and chief revenue officer Jim Tricarico Since adopting a quotWeekend Daypartquot strategy with intheater messages sold by dayparts days and seasons 50 advertisers have joined Screenvision39s roster over the last 12 months Reid and Tricarcio expect to draw more clients with placement in or alongside new short subjects from Entertainment News Television and Defy Media Grade 45 Jacks for the videoIt will take a while to see if Amazon Fire TV introduced at a NY press event last week becomes a universechanger for smart TV adoption and usage What39s clear is that Amazon with a deep rep for customer service botched the event for many members of its intended audience yours truly included With so many places available and suited to handle what clearly was the major TV presentation of the week the PR agency working on Amazon39s behalf chose a venue way too small to house the anticipated crowd Milk Studios near the High Line overhead walkway on W 15th St Camera crews were not allowed to tape the event Also with the event filled to capacity just a few hours after invites were emailed to journalists Thursday morning there was no effort in the interim to secure a place reporters could watch via teleconference or organize a postevent conference call End result A classic case of event mismanagementCongratulations to all the Peabody Award winners from Orphan Black and Orange is the New Black to Frontline and Outside the Lines39 respective NFL concussion episodes Fortysix picks in all most ever from mass media39s Pulitizer Prizetype annual honors Pivot will showcase the winners and the Peabody ceremony next month here in NYC on an original special this summerNext up with upfronts Discovery CommunicationsUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Upfront Reviews: CMT, Screenvision, Amazon

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Simon Applebaum

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Upfront Reviews: CMT, Screenvision, Amazon

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Simon Applebaum

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

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