ESPN President John Skipper said that the company's acquisition of FiveThirtyEight.com "doesn't signal a new shift in network strategy." Skipper: "Not very much. The material business of ESPN is going to be in sports." Skipper and FiveThirtyEight Editor-In-Chief Nate Silver spoke at the Paley Center's Int'l Council Summit on Thursday. Skipper said that buying FiveThirtyEight "represented a special opportunity." He added, "If there are other unique opportunities we will look at them. But this is not a significant new (initiative)." BROADCASTING & CABLE's Tim Baysinger noted ESPN and Silver are "taking a longterm approach" with the site, "noting that they won't be paying attention to how many page views a singular story may get, but rather that they are growing the brand overall." Silver said, "I don't spend a lot of time looking at statistics for individual stories" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 11/21).
AS SEEN ON TV: In DC, Sarah Kogod noted CBS' "The Millers" on Thursday night featured a Capitals game as "a brief backdrop for part of a story line." Show Creator and Exec Producer Greg Garcia said, "Growing up in Arlington, Va., I've been a Caps fan for a long time. Once my son Nathan started playing hockey, we started watching the Caps together. Since The Millers takes place in Leesburg, Va., it makes sense that the characters are Caps fans as well" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 11/21).
MEN WILL BE MEN: In N.Y., Dana Jennings criticizes the approach of advertisers during NFL games, writing most ads "resemble fun-house mirrors." Jennings: "The marketers think they know the men who are watching -- and it is still mostly men -- and what their deep-down desires are: tanklike trucks, Arctic-cold beer, smoldering chicks (and the occasional pizza). But I just don’t see myself when I peer at these commercials." Advertisers "seem convinced that watching attractive women shake their bikinied assets -- after getting pinched by a cantankerous crab -- will make us drool over a Fiat 500L." Jennings: "Here's the bottom line in most ads: male insecurity" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/22).
