News Round-up

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES beats Globes and 24 in the ratings
The Globes had their lowest ratings since 1995. ABC’s DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (13.8 million viewers) beat the Globes during the 9 p.m. hour among adults 18-49 (5.2 rating/12 share vs. 4.7/10) but nevertheless tied its lowest-ever rating for an original episode.

TV's 18-49 demographic may not matter anymore
There are growing signs that network TV is moving away from its relentless focus on demos -- and that could have a huge influence on future programming. There's a growing sense in the industry that the 18-to-49 category's importance to marketers may be wildly overblown. Moreover, in an age of DVRs, multichannel systems and increasingly tiny ratings, the demo obsession may itself be pushing down ratings, exacerbating the industry's problems and excluding from consideration too many programs that could have broad appeal.

This season, in fact, CBS has zoomed to first place in both mass audience and the more carved-up, youth-skewing demographics by sticking to a "big tent" strategy of such crowd-pleasing, familiar shows as CSI and NCIS, plus a new crime drama with broad appeal, THE MENTALIST.

"Our philosophy has always been [that] limiting the world to 18-to-49 was rather short-sighted," CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said in a recent interview. "I think it's rather ironic that as of today we're in first place in every single demographic, including 18-to-49. We have always believed that a wider tent was a much smarter way to go."

New audience measurement systems from TRA Inc
A new research company called TRA Inc. has the potential to revolutionize audience measurement with a system that attempts to analyze how viewers -- including those 50 and over -- spend their money, rather than just tally what they watch. That could enable marketers to target audiences with much more precision than in the past, network executives and media buyers say, and reveal previously unrecognized purchasing habits across all age groups.

As Steve Sternberg, executive vice president of audience analysis at the New York-based media firm Magna, puts it, "While demos are still important, the industry needs to move beyond them." Sternberg believes the networks often forget that, even in an era of multiple television sets in each home, most prime-time TV shows are still watched by families. "TV has always been and will continue to be a group medium: About 80% of homes have only one set on during prime time."

Why Yahoo's plan to merge the Internet and television isn't the future of home entertainment
"When it comes to TV, we're more discriminating about interactivity. Numerous attempts to bring the Web to the tube have failed, which is why announcements by LG, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Vizio that their new TVs will let you access Yahoo and MySpace seem so silly."

Some B&S stars don't want to lose Balthazar Getty
Getty may be rubbing cast and crew of BROTHERS & SISTERS the wrong way, but some of his costars insist they don't want to see him off the show.

"I think the show is going through a slight transition period," Matthew Rhys, who plays Kevin Walker on the hit ABC drama, told us last night at the pre-Golden Globes benefit for the Art of Elysium in downtown Los Angeles. "How much we'll see him next season, I don't know."

Kerr Smith to star in LIGHT YEARS
Shiri Appleby, Kristoffer Polaha and Kerr Smith (ex-Ryder, ATWT) have been tapped to star in the CW's hourlong pilot LIGHT YEARS for CBS Par and director Gary Fleder.

KYLE XY returns tonight with a prom-themed episode
In tonight's episode, Kyle tries to locate true-love Amanda (Kirsten Prout), while Lori, Declan, Josh and Andy (April Matson, Chris Olivero, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Magda Apanowicz) deal with the aftermath of the prom. (9 p.m., ABC Family).

REVIEW: Daniel Goddard's Kiss of the Vampire
"Goddard is simply terrible as the lead, Alex, and sadly, it's not really his fault. He's given nothing to do for most of the picture, other than sulk, and when he's finally does speak, his dialogue comes off as cheesy and mechanical."

How Alec Baldwin Soothed His Coke Highs
Being a budding soap opera star [on THE DOCTORS] and in possession of a chestful of hair that would put Wolverine to shame, Baldwin lived a life of excess that regularly included all-night coke fests that, when they didn't end on the floor of some stranger's apartment, found him standing in front of a Galaga cabinet, blasting away at aliens in Namco's classic shooter.

"I would play video games from, like, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and I would wind down. Then I'd go home and go to bed," Baldwin related in "Moments of Clarity," a new book about addiction. "This was the only way I could go 'beta' and go into that state I needed to be, where I could calm down and take my mind off everything. I didn't want to see anybody, talk to anybody, deal with anybody."