The Morning Fix: YouTube and studios talk streams; Sawyer goes from day shift to night shift; NBC to make ‘Prime Suspect”
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After the coffee. Before sending an audition tape to ‘GMA.’YouTube’s new tube. Google’s YouTube is in talks with several Hollywood studios about getting rights to stream movies around the same time they go to DVD and video-on-demand. The deal would give YouTube hot content that it could charge users for, and although the bulk of the money would trickle back to Hollywood, a deal could inch the online video site closer to making money -- or at least to losing less of it. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, PaidContent and The New York Times.
From good morning to good evening. ABC’s Charles Gibson is stepping down as anchor of ‘World News Tonight,’ and ‘Good Morning America’ anchor Diane Sawyer will take the chair starting in January. Though the move cements Sawyer’s legacy as a groundbreaking TV journalist, it also leaves a big hole to fill on ‘GMA,’ which is a cash cow for ABC and parent Walt Disney Co. Perspective from the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Don’t mess it up. NBC is developing an American version of the British hit ‘Prime Suspect,’ which starred Helen Mirren as a hard-living, tough detective. Variety reports that Hank Steinberg, creator of ‘Without a Trace,’ will develop and direct a two-hour pilot. Already fans (OK, not fans, but a few media reporters) are obsessively tweeting (tweeting or twittering?) about who should get Mirren’s role in the new version.
Not exactly gleeful about this. President Obama’s decision to speak to Congress about healthcare reform in prime time on Wednesday has put Fox and NBC in a pickle since they both have big shows going that night. Fox, the Wrap notes, has spent millions hyping the premiere of ‘Glee,’ so be sure to look for that scroll at the bottom of the screen telling viewers to switch to Fox News if they want Obama.
Covering your boss. As professional sports leagues expand further into owning their own programming outlets, one of the potential headaches is having to cover themselves. The Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard takes a look at the issues and how the leagues are doing.
Inside today’s Los Angeles Times. Mike Judge’s latest subversive take on work. SAG gave itself nice raises in the face of a big deficit.
-- Joe Flint
