Upfront Update: Good Feeling at The CW; Unique Moves From Vme and Tr3s - Simon Applebaum

After a record number of New York upfront events and networks participating in them over the last three months we39re over the finish line for 2012 Here39s the final threesome we39ve caught in personThe CWVenue In a year where many locations housed upfronts for the first time The CW held court in the newlyrefurbished City Center on West 55th Street known for its array of dance performances and the popular quotEncoresquot series of Broadway musical revivals with a few notably Chicago returning to the Great White for return engagements City39s look is classy plush and intimate with CW spicing things up via cutout styled images of its lead talent and a disco soundtrack Grade 5 JacksPresentation Fans of previous CW upfronts remember Katy Perry39s live performance of California Girls off the bat two years ago insuring all yes all attending were wideawake for the pitch ahead New poprap sensation Flo Rida went the same route kicking things off with a medley of recent hits led by Good Feeling CW President Mark Pedowitz continued the theme in his opening remarks noting that this quotis a transforming yearquot for his service quotWe have variety quality and strength across the boardand we39re still in the 1834 businessquot Pedowitz said referring to CW39s target audienceHe kept the clips plentiful and limited postclip banter between show stars to a sentence or two to move the pace along Grade 45 JacksNews Breaking on several fronts First the entire 10hour schedule will launch in October a month behind other broadcast networks Second three hourlong dramas will premiere that month all with varying degrees of promise Arrow based on the Green Arrow superhero from DC Comics Beauty ampamp The Beast remake of the 1980s CBS favorite and Emily Owens MD quirky medical drama paired up with renewed rookie drama Hart Of Dixie Third in a big trade of nights America39s Next Top Model which pulled a huge ratings fade this season goes from Wednesdays to Fridays trading places with Supernatural And Gossip Girl will get 13 more adventures before wrapping for goodGrade 45 JacksHost Pedowitz comes across smooth and clear whether about individual series the network39s tone in general or insisting in a postpresentation QampampA with reporters something every channel should do that online views and social media feedback is a better barometer of CW39s fortune than low Nielsen ratings Grade 45 JacksOverall Grade 45 Jacks The CW39s presentation style functions better in a cozy intimate forum like City Center than Madison Square Garden or even Jazz At Lincoln Center39s spacious Rose HallVmeVenue Some votes for most unique 2012 upfront setting should go to Instituto Cervantes the Spainoriented educational and cultural center on the east side of 49th St Beautiful small outdoor patio for cocktail receptions and artwork along the hallways Unfortunately the center39s basement auditorium is also small with a front brick wall which Vme dressed up with posters and a monitor in the center The room barely managed to give everyone attending comfy seats so anticipate a new location next year Grade 35 JacksPresentation Twinkly opening video kicked things off reeling off facts about the Latino market while pointing out the characteristics making this audience worthwhile to serve Fun line from the narrator quotMost people know two words in Spanishsi hola or Sofia Verganasorryquot The Modern Family costar ended up the focus of at least three upfront showcases last week That a record From there Vme executives and talent harped on characteristics separating their net from both other Latino channels and TV in general focus on lifestyle and Latino icons in all walks of life through nonfiction content weekly dramas and miniseries vs nightly telenovelas lighter commercial load 6 minutes an hour against 1213 on most channels and sponsor participation with public service elements using a Clorox campaign inviting kids to develop healthy habits whose online spots picked up several million views quotIt39s about breaking the mold and sometimes refusing to use a mold quot chimed national sponsor sales managing director Court Stroud candidate for best new executive speaker at upfront events Grade 4 JacksNews Under new general manager Alvaro Garnica formerly from Plural the production company behind the groundbreaking Univision weekly drama Al Filo De La LeyAt The Edge Of The Law the channel will boost the amount of USproduced or developed nonfiction fare Journalist Marian de la Fuente will handle two seriesDesaparecidosMissing investigating the more than 500000 US Latinos who disappear each year with help from online and social media resources and Mujeres con PantalonesWomen With Power To Bring Change Destinos con 123Destination 123 looks like another new series grabbing attention as three experts explore the same metropolis from separate viewpointshistoryculture offbeat leisure options and shopping And Oscarnominated actress Adriana Barraza will participate in Una Vida en EscenaAn Actor39s Life doing interviews and roleplaying with actors at her studio in Miami Grade 45 JacksHost De La Fuente shared duty with writercomedian Orlando Urdaneta host of Entre PaginasBetween The Pages another upcoming series about the literature scene Enjoyable and pleasant even when a technical glitch or two popped up Grade 4 JacksOverall Grade 4 Jacks This channel looks like it39s on the move up with the kind of series in play and a quotBe Different Be Youquot theme to build on Start the search for a bigger 2013 upfront space now Vibrant as Institute Cervantes is there39s no way this location can handle the volume of people likely to show up next springTr3s MTV Mamp250sica y Mamp225sVenue Stands to reason that on the final week of upfront season someone would use a place close by the popular High Line walkway near the West Side Highway the in area for 2012 presentations Style Oxygen AOL Nuvo TV etc This time out it was Highline Ballroom occupying the second floor of a building next to a Western Beef market on 16th St A saloonlike floor decorated like a carnival for the occasion with a trolley on one side of the floor and a bar featuring quotRicardo39s Tacosquot on the other Those beef and chicken tacos from Ricardo39s served postpresentation BTW were tasty with or without the chips but how could you forget the salsa or dipping sauce alongside Grade 4 JacksPresentation The focus throughout was on offering more bilingualbicultural programming with a personal touch One example was showing The Ricardo Laguna Project about the popular BMX bike rider and his family exploits in Las Vegas After the clip Laguna came out behind the curtains along with his mom and dad quotWelcome to my lifequot Laguna flashed with a grin in both English and Spanish PS Laguna39s reality series which premiered last fall comes back this fall For a finale Juanes the GrammyLatin Grammywinning star coming off an Unplugged special let it rip with his band in a miniconcert Put this up for best 2012 upfront musical performance Grade 45 JacksNews Eight new series will premiere in the 201213 season with Culture Swap Latino and nonLatino trade lives and families Ultimo Ano a thriller novela with direct involvement by the Population Media Center and Latino Boot Camp young people discover their roots by visiting locations throughout Latin America early standouts Another is Golden Boys dealing with boxers trained by former world champion Oscar De La Hoya Grade 5 JacksHost Actorproducer Wilmer Valderrama moved things ahead while staying personableand urging more diversity in TV quotI worked on That 70s Show at a time when there were few Latino roles on TVquot he said quotWe need to do better and do better creating TV that reflects the nature of all Latinos There39s a new generation out there and it39s paving the wayquot Grade 45 JacksOverall Grade 45 Jacks Every element came off extremely well even to a fair degree the tacos and chips Next time ask the venue39s caterer to dish the sauce out5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badRemember our quotquestions for the weekquot piece We39ll come back and answer those questions based on what transpired last week next columnUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedSimon Applebaum is producerhost of Tomorrow Will Be Televised the weekly Internetdistributed radio program covering the TV scene Simon cal be reached at simonapple04yahoocomRead 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 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 Update: Good Feeling at The CW; Unique Moves From Vme and Tr3s - Simon Applebaum

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Upfront Update: Good Feeling at The CW; Unique Moves From Vme and Tr3s - Simon Applebaum

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