Pivot just couldn’t pivot fast enough.
The small cable channel shuts down on Monday, ending its short life with the film “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the 2005 movie about Edward R. Murrow produced by Pivot owner Participant Media.
The movie’s title is an appropriate farewell for Pivot, and perhaps also serves as a message for the cable industry in general – as more networks face an uncertain future in the wake of so-called “skinny bundles” (cable packages with fewer channels) and the growth of cord-cutting.
“Some of the cable networks are pulling in very small audiences,” says one production chief whose company produced for Pivot. “How long do you stick with it?”
For Participant Media, it was just over three years. IndieWire spoke with past and present Pivot insiders about the network’s brief run, and the factors that led to its quick demise – although no one wanted to speak on the record,...
The small cable channel shuts down on Monday, ending its short life with the film “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the 2005 movie about Edward R. Murrow produced by Pivot owner Participant Media.
The movie’s title is an appropriate farewell for Pivot, and perhaps also serves as a message for the cable industry in general – as more networks face an uncertain future in the wake of so-called “skinny bundles” (cable packages with fewer channels) and the growth of cord-cutting.
“Some of the cable networks are pulling in very small audiences,” says one production chief whose company produced for Pivot. “How long do you stick with it?”
For Participant Media, it was just over three years. IndieWire spoke with past and present Pivot insiders about the network’s brief run, and the factors that led to its quick demise – although no one wanted to speak on the record,...
- 10/31/2016
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Baratunde Thurston, CEO and co-founder of Cultivated Wit, is joining Participant Media's TV network Pivot as co-host of “TakePart Live.” The comedian, who has been a regular guest co-host on the show, will join Meghan McCain and Jacob Soboroff on the nightly news program, which is produced by Embassy Row (“Watch What Happens Live”). Thurston (pictured above, right) is the author of 2012 New York Times bestseller, “How To Be Black” (Harper Collins). Thurston also served as the politics editor and director of digital for The Onion from 2007 until 2012. Prior to joining The Onion, Thurston co-founded the popular website Jack & Jill.
- 10/8/2014
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
The youthful Pivot network will now be available to college students across the country on Philo, which uses universities’ existing IP networks to stream TV to students’ laptops, tablets, smartphones and TVs. The deal adds Pivot, home to such shows as Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s “Hitrecord on TV” (pictured) and the talk show “TakePart Live,” to a suite of networks that also includes broadcasters Axs TV and HBO. Philo launched at Harvard in 2011 and has since expanded to other university campuses. Schools pay about $1.50 to stream to each campus dorm room, and an additional $3 to $12 depending on channel...
- 8/27/2014
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
Has The View found its new Republican voice? Meghan McCain is being considered by producers for one of the remaining co-host positions, a source exclusively tells E! News. Senator John McCain's daughter is currently under contract as the host of Take Part Live on Pivot, and has made several appearances on the longrunning ABC talk show. McCain's rep could not be reached for comment, while ABC isn't commenting on any rumored replacements for exiting hosts Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy. "Any specific names at this point are rumor and speculation," an ABC rep said. "There are no decisions and we are not ready to make any announcements." A graduate of Columbia...
- 7/9/2014
- E! Online
Pivot president Evan Shapiro says his network's rebooted talk show, “Take Part Live,” will be “everything Ronan Farrow's show was supposed to be.” And it will be different from any news show, he adds, because the hosts will occasionally change their minds. Pivot, the millennial-skewing network that Participant Media debuted last summer, relaunches its signature talk show Monday night to include progressive Republican Meghan McCain, whose Pivot documentary series was one of the network's first cancellations. Also read: Pivot's Evan Shapiro: The TV Exec Who Wants to Slow Down America Also joining the show is lawyer/hip-hop chef...
- 5/12/2014
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
The new Pivot network is ending two shows, Meghan McCain’s “Raising McCain” and the acclaimed docu-series “Jersey Strong.” The cancellations are the first for Participant Media’s network, which debuted last year and skews toward millenials. Also read: Pivot’s Evan Shapiro: The TV Exec Who Wants to Slow Down America Pivot announced at the Television Critics Association that McCain will join the nightly news and discussion show “Take Part Live.” But Pivot chief Evan Shapiro disclosed to TheWrap that that will mean the end of McCain’s own series, which took a first-person approach to examining issues like feminism and online privacy.
- 1/11/2014
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s new “Hitrecord” is a variety show made up partly of clips posted online — but don’t call it crowd-sourced. Crowd-sourcing, he says, reminds him of marketing gimmicks where Mountain Dew asks for consumers’ supposed help choosing a new can. “Hitrecord” will be curated by fans who help choose the best entries. But he’ll choose his favorites based on those getting raves on the Hitrecord website. Also read: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Hitrecord Gets Season 2; Meghan McCain Joins ‘Take Part Live’ “It’s not exactly democratic. We call it more of a benevolent dictatorship,” Gordon-Levitt said at the Television Critics Association winter press.
- 1/11/2014
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
Meghan McCain is joining the new Pivot network’s nightly news and discussion series, ‘Take Part Live,” and Joseph Gordon -Levitt’s variety show is getting a second season, before it even premieres. “Hitrecord” premieres on Jan. 18, but Pivot has made the first episode available online, and it has been viewed 500,000 times, Pivot said. Also read: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Is Back on TV With ‘Hitrecord,’ Watch Entire First Episode (Video) McCain is currently the star of the Pivot documentary series “Raising McCain.” She said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour Saturday that she is ready to co-host “Take Part” five nights.
- 1/11/2014
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
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