CBS: DVR's And Couric

"Could the writers strike foreshadow life without advertiser support for scripted TV programs?

A media world without scripted programming -- something more likely as the strike drags on -- may start to look a lot like the coming world of heavy DVR penetration that could render ads on scripted TV shows largely powerless. If the strike forces advertisers to shift their focus to live and reality programming, it will effectively lift the curtain on a future in which live events command the biggest ad bucks and dramas and sitcoms lose much of their cachet. After all, if advertisers find effective ways to market without those scripted shows -- today or tomorrow -- some may never come back."



"With Katie Couric's perky personality and "Today" background at the ready, her arrival at CBS to anchor the evening newscast was billed as a chance to reinvent the program in a way that would attract more women and younger viewers. That hasn't exactly worked out. Now CBS is promoting the show as if Walter Cronkite still sat behind the desk.

"Experience You Can Trust," under a picture of Ms. Couric, was the slogan in an ad for the CBS Evening News that ran in USA Today last week. The ad also used quotes from various newspaper and online reviews to talk about the "impressive" and "poignant" reporting on the newscast. CBS said the ad is part of the network's regular promotion of the program."