This week with on 900 CHML, Scott Thompson wanted to know if more people sit inside and watch TV during winter snow storms. Generally that’s true. Most series ratings peak around January and February. There are plenty of reasons why the Super Bowl broadcasts dominate the U.S. list of all time highest rated TV shows, but one factor is that the big game occurs smack in the middle of winter. Even the high scores from the miniseries Roots occurred in January of 1977, and there are even January episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies from the ’60s in the all-time Top-50. Eleventy billion-million Canadians watched the Olympics last February in Canada. Witness the spike in Rick Mercer Report ratings last week, up half a million viewers from the season average. Producers and networks must pray for the kind of snow storm that hit parts of Canada this week.
Scott also asks what’s with the talk about Ricky Gervais hosting the Globes again. Doubt that will happen (he basically called the Hollywood Foreign Press crooks), but they’d be smart to hold their noses and sign him up again. Look how dull that SAG Award Teamster party was without him.
Then Scott asked me about efforts to limit the Internet or force charges for web services. I make my half assed rant but please seek out “Law Bytes” columnist Michael Geist for an informed voice on this complicated situation. Since this radio rant Wednesday, news has broken (via twitter!) that the federal government is going to order the CRTC to reverse their decision on Usage Based Billing. Go Internet.
Listen in on the entire CHML radio chat here.
