Tuned In+February 3, 2011

Viacom Makes Hulu Deal; Snooki, Betty White More Elite Than Colbert

By James Poniewozik

Viacom, owner of MTV, Comedy Central and other valuable properties on the Monopoly board of cable TV, has finally cut a deal with Hulu to make its shows available on the online video service. But, for most of its shows, it’ll cost you. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will now be online free the next morning—if using comedycentral.com was too onerous for you—but you’ll need to sign up for a paid Hulu Plus subscription to catch up on Jersey Shore, Hot in Cleveland and Tosh.0, among many others—21 days after the shows air.

I’ll leave it to you to infer what it says about the deal—or our society—that Manswers is considered premium content. Or is it that The Daily Show and Colbert are now considered a public service? Excerpts from the announcement after the jump:

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Tuned In+January 25, 2011

International Incident: Jersey Shore to Shoot Season 4 in Italy

By James Poniewozik

That’s right: MTV has announced that the fourth season of its hit Jersey Shore will send Snooki and the gang to The Boot, as part of the series’ ongoing effort to promote positive images of Italian American culture. I am hoping that it will look something like this (see above). Excerpts from MTV’s announcement after [...]

+Uncategorized | November 18, 2010

The Night Shift: Conan Gives Fans A Mission – And Reminds Us How Late Night Has Become an All-Day Affair

By Steven James Snyder

Something notable is changing about the relationship between late night television programs and the fans who watch them. Once upon a time, the back and forth was based around consistency and  familiarity. People would kick back in the recliner, lay back in bed, and tune in to see their old friend Johnny, Dave and Jay. [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | October 5, 2010

President Trump? Not If Snooki Runs

By James Poniewozik

Over at his redesigned The Page site, my colleague Mark Halperin has been reporting that someone commissioned a poll testing Donald Trump‘s name among a list of potential 2012 Republican Presidential candidates. And in an interview with TIME, Trump is not entirely denying being interested in running: “If I ever did, this would be the [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | August 9, 2010

TCA Roundup: The Cable Guys

By James Poniewozik

The Television Critics Association press tour wrapped up over the weekend, with a blast of announcements from various cable channels. Whether it was the swords of Spartacus and Game of Thrones, the gangland pistols of Boardwalk Empire, or the ripped-bicep gun show that is Jersey Shore, they came heavily armed. (And look! Someone’s shooting a [...]

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Tuned In+July 29, 2010

TV Tonight: Jersey Shore Is a State of Mind

By James Poniewozik

Tonight, Jersey Shore returns to MTV for season 2. Which is not set in New Jersey. Rather, the metaphysical state, or Situation, known as “the Jersey Shore”* has drifted down the eastern seaboard to Florida, where Snooki, The Situation, J-Woww and company relocated earlier this year. *A brief public service to the Garden State, which [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | February 24, 2010

MTV: I Am Too Old & Cynical to Like Jersey Shore

By James Poniewozik

Several months ago, I wrote a post about how MTV claimed it was changing its programming to reflect the idealism and optimism of a new generation and of the Obama era. A few months later, I wrote about how that might not exactly square with the fact that its biggest new hit was about drunken [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | December 7, 2009

MTV Embraces a New Era's Optimism, Underwear

By James Poniewozik

“After years of celebrating wealth, celebrity and the vapid excesses of youth, MTV is trying to gloss its escapist entertainment with a veneer of positive social messages.” –The New York Times, 4/19/09 “There’s a palpable generational shift in attitudes that’s informing a new point of view as we develop content and the brand…. Millennials have [...]