we made the news!

The LA Times has a really awesome article about how my life got ruined this week.

ReelzChannel drops 'Dailies' show

More than 40 workers are laid off as the network responds to a slump in advertising.

ReelzChannel, the cable and Web network launched two years ago to feed the seemingly insatiable appetite of movie aficionados, this week canceled its signature show, "Dailies," and laid off more than 40 people who worked in its Los Angeles studios.
The "Dailies" program provided a recap of the day's movie news and previews of upcoming films. The cancellation was not a retrenchment of the channel's ambitions but a recognition of the souring advertising market, said Gary Thorne, president of ReelzChannel.

The operation, owned by Hubbard Media Group of St. Paul, Minn., continues to employ about 175 people, including 125 who work at the sprawling Los Angeles Center Studios on the western edge of downtown. "We took this occasion to look at everything that we are doing to find efficiencies and make some adjustments," Thorne said. "We don't have a crystal ball, but as we look going into 2009, it doesn't look too good."

Instead of focusing so much energy into producing a show every weekday, Thorne said, Reelz hopes to improve its programming by providing movie news in shorter segments that run throughout the day.
The channel is available in 43 million homes, up from 28 million when it launched in 2006. This year it added digital cable subscribers of Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications in Los Angeles.
As part of its strategy to get traction for the channel, Hubbard Media provided the programming free of charge to the cable companies.
The channel and website have relied on advertising revenue to cover costs, which makes them vulnerable in a recession."The advertising market is basically blowing up right now, and they are one of the few cable channels that have no license fees to support it," said Derek Baine, cable analyst with SNL Kagan. "For a network to be 100% reliant on advertising could be a disaster in this market," he said.

Still, Thorne said that ReelzChannel's roster includes more than 50 national advertisers, including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. "Our business is growing and proving itself even in this tough economy," he said.