TV STATION CONSOLIDATION

It would be a lie to say these stories are listed in no particular order, which is what end-of-the-year list-makers say to stave off controversy. But 2013 was clearly dominated by the massive consolation of TV station groups, in which Gannett bought Belo, Media General merged with Young Broadcasting, Tribune bought Local TV and Sinclair bought everyone.

TIME WARNER CABLE V. CBS

This one’s a two-parter:

Part one: CBS battles Time Warner Cable over retransmission consent, taking both CBS and Showtime off the air in New York, Los Angeles and other large markets until it gets the carriage fees it wants.

Part two: Subscribers fled Time Warner Cable during that battle - assisted by advertising from Time Warner Cable itself — seeking outlets that were airing CBS and Showtime.

What was unforeseen was that many of those subscribers never returned, causing Time Warner Cable to lose 304,000 subscribers in the third quarter. That hurt Time Warner Cable enough that it’s apparently up for sale, with both Charter and Comcast sniffing around.

Putting one and two together and looking toward 2014, expect Time Warner Cable to change hands and possibly be divvied up between various buyers.

FXX WINS ‘SIMPSONS’’ RIGHTS

After 25 years, ‘The Simpsons’ was finally sold into cable syndication, with FXX the winning bidder. That deal is expected to be worth somewhere between $750 million and $1 billion to 20th Century Fox Television.

BROADCASTERS TAKE AEREO FIGHT TO SUPREME COURT

Barry Diller-backed Aereo arrives, streaming broadcasters’ signals over the Internet to their deep chagrin, and then keeps winning court battle after court battle. Broadcasters are now set up for a final showdown with the Internet streaming company in front of the Supreme Court. Or not if the court decides against taking the controversial case.

(Note: This story also made Brief’s list of Top-Ten Digital stories.)

WOOF, WOOF: HE’S BACK

Arsenio Hall returned to late night produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution and Tribune Broadcasting, but it’s not the triumphant return for which everyone hoped. After a successful marketing campaign, the show opened huge but quickly fell to earth. It’s been hovering around a 0.7 live plus same day national rating for more than two months.

HARVEY DOMINATES DAYTIME

Steve Harvey, who just interviewed President Obama in the White House, secures himself as daytime’s biggest star, with Debmar-Mercury’s “Family Feud” vying for supremacy among the game shows in daytime’s key demographics of adults and women 25-54 and NBCUniversal’s “The Steve Harvey Show” on the rise, surpassing Disney/ABC’s troubled “Katie” in both household and demographic ratings.

Harvey on surprising a White House tour with the President: “I have never been ignored these many times ever.”

DARNELL LEAVES FOX, JOINS WARNER BROS.

This one’s a three parter:

Part one: Fox reality head Mike Darnell departs after nearly 20 years at the network. The move is reported to be of his own accord, but also mentioned is that Fox’s reality mega-hit, “American Idol,” is down 15% year to year, and that’s after being down significantly the year before that as well.

Part two: Darnell is immediately recruited to Warner Bros. by his old boss, Peter Roth. Darnell is named head of unscripted and first-run at the studio, switching sides from buyer to seller.

Part three: Hilary Estey McLoughin, who left Warner Bros. as president of Telepictures in the wake of Darnell’s hire, is then recruited by CBS topper Leslie Moonves to join CBS Television Distribution as president of creative affairs.

‘MODERN FAMILY’ MAKES BROADCAST, CABLE SYNDIE DEBUTS

Twentieth’s “Modern Family” launches in broadcast and cable syndication. It’s not the big bang that “Big Bang” was, but it’s holding its own, slowing gaining steam on USA Network and TV stations.

FOX GETS ‘REAL’

The Fox Owned Stations test Twentieth’s “Kris Jenner” and Warner Bros.’ “The Real” over the summer, and “The Real,” which is hosted by a group of diverse but not super-famous women, is the clear winner. “The Real” is sold into national syndication while “Kris Jenner” fades away, at least in syndication. Not so much on E! and Twitter, however.

‘MEREDITH VIEIRA,’ ‘CELEBRITY NAME GAME’ ON TAP FOR 2014

NBCUniversal’s “Meredith Vieira” and Debmar-Mercury’s “Celebrity Name Game” are both sold for a fall 2014 launch, joining “The Real” as the three major new first-run shows expected out next year.

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