Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey are women whose media prowess cannot be denied.  Both left  network TV and syndication deals for cable (Hallmark and OWN respectively) and their audience is declining.  Why? I think it is because they failed at appealing to the cable TV audience.  Network television is akin to general market advertising.  Cable television is segmented. It is niche market.  For example, NBC Universal has both a network channel (NBC) and many other cable channels, (Bravo, USA).  The cable channels have a segmented market and the branding and advertising for the channels are clearly defined.

OWN most popular show is Sweetie Pie’s  which is not your typical Oprah fare. It is a reality show, but it is not about famous people or self-help gurus.  It is  about a former Ikette, Robbie Montgomerey, who runs a soul food restaurant with her son in St Louis. My friend Nicole said, “Positive, funny, tons of food porn and showing black folks in a positive light.” The show premiered October 15 and in less than two months and no big promotion, it is the highest rated show on OWN.  Now, OWN has to do something that they have been dragged into doing–market the show and network to African American audiences.  Oprah has always sought to transcend color in the programming of her shows and this is a big opportunity. This is a chance for OWN to be a Lifetime Channel for African American women. This is a way to bring family entertainment to a diverse audience. Update: Read Danielle Belton’s article on Clutch Magazine about OWN.

Martha Stewart has a niche that has not been fully leveraged, the convergence of lifestyle content with technology. Martha is a twitter whiz, loves gadgets,  blogging and has launched a few iPad Apps. She is the OG of lifestyle content.  The people who love technology are not watching the Hallmark channel.  Martha should consider either syndication again (either with Hulu or Netflix) or have her full shows available for streaming. People who love Martha would pay.  Also, there’s should be more integration of Martha Stewart radio.

What’s the takeaway from this? Marketing strategies have to change when you go from general market to niche market. Cable television is niche.  Just ask anyone at SyFy channel.

Growing up, I loved watching TV. I would make sure my homework was done, and I tried to have the evening dishes done before Jeopardy! ended on week nights so I can sit in front of the TV for three solid hours. I was supposed to go to bed at 10PM, but I had a TV in my room, so I can watch hour dramas like ‘ER’ on low volume so my parents would not know.

Today, I don’t have a TV. If I did, I probably would not have cable. Thanks to Hulu, Netflix and other URLs, I can watch many of the shows I want and also watch junk just by keeping a tab open on my laptop.

The socialness of TV makes me want to watch. Twitter, Facebook as well as GetGlue and Miso are the new watercoolers for discussion about TV shows.

I have watched the pilots of three new shows so far and here’s my quick and dirty review:

Playboy Club: This show was heavily anticipated by the folks at NBC, but I have a feeling it won’t last much longer than last season’s ‘Lone Star’ which was a better show. The main problem with the show is that they basically stole a story line from ONE episode of ‘Mad Men’ which features the same actress, Naturi Naughton, as a Playboy Bunny. They moved the show to Chicago, added Hugh Hefner voiceover and bad impression of Don Draper by Eddie Cibrian. I bet Eddie watched the last four seasons of Mad Men on Netflix this past summer like I did. a better premise would be to steal the Mrs. Blankenship story line back when she was a young lady. I would have enjoyed that immensely.

Up All Night: This show should “pull a Netflix” and split into two shows. I would like a comedy starring Christina Applegate and Will Arnett about raising a baby. However, I would also like to see ‘Ava’ a sitcom that parodies an Oprah-like talk show host starring Maya Rudolph. She should have a coterie of quirky assistants and Queen Latifah could be her co-star.

The New Girl: This show has introduced television critics and entertainment journalists to the word, “Adorkable”. For that reason alone, I kinda hate this show. The truth is that Zooey Deschanel’s character Jess is neither adorable (Leslie Knope on ‘Parks and Recreation’) nor dorky (Any male character on ‘Big Bang Theory’). Jess is AWKWARD. She is awkward like Awkward Black Girl. Jess is kinda like J. in “White Face”. The writing on The New Girl is “meh” so far. The best joke is the douchebag jar. Every group of friends should have one. I would even download a “virtual douchebag jar” if they made that into a smartphone app. Product placement opportunities are endless!

While Shonda Rhimes, creator of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” gets most of the attention as being one of the few African American women working behind the scenes on network TV today, she is not the only one.

Nichelle Tramble is an author (The Dying Ground, The Last King) as well as writer for a new hospital drama on NBC, Mercy. I am big fan of this show personally and I recommend checking the latest episode on Hulu.

Mara Brock Akil, the creative force behind “Girlfriends” and “The Game” is now working on ABC’s “Cougar Town”.

Angela Nissel is the bestselling author of The Broke Diaries and her memoir Mixed. She also was co-producer and writer on “Scrubs” and consulting producer on “Til Death”.

Update: My friend told me about Millicent Shelton who directed episodes “Everybody Hates Chris”, “Cougartown and “Parks and Recreation”.

iPhone: Checkerboard Chic, originally uploaded by Dyna Moe.

If you watch “Mad Men” then you know about Sheila, the cashier from New Jersey who was Pretentious Paul Kinsey’s girlfriend this season on Mad Men. Now that the season is over, I thought about their short-lived relationship. If you didn’t watch the show, then you may find all this boring, but bare with me.

The interesting thing about the relationship was not just that it was both an interracial and interclass relationship. Paul worked as a creative in advertising agency and Sheila probably made even less than whatever minimum wage was in 1962. They went to Mississippi together to participate in the Civil Rights Movement, but Sheila broke up him with not longer after. [Smart girl] Even though it is 2008, it is still rare that people date both outside of their race and social class. I have dated men who were both, and it can work as long don’t solely identify yourself by your race, ethnicity or how much money you make. I may be rambling on about a show that is fictionally set at a time before I was even born, but it just seems that things have not changed that much in 46 years. It is comforting and disturbing at the same time. Are we ready for change? I really hope so.

Blue Peter, originally uploaded by Dyna Moe.

Last week’s episode of “Mad Men” was great. I realized how much I like Vincent Kartheiser’s acting.  This wonderful illustration is part of a series by Dyna Moe.

Last night my friend invited me to a free screening of “Iron Jawed Angels”, a HBO film. This screening was for the New York Women in Film and Television.

Now that I don’t have cable or even a TV, this was a treat to see! The film is about Alice Paul, a suffragist who fearlessly paved the way for the 19th amendment that granted women the right to vote.

Before the screening, there was a reception where I drank half a glass of red wine and planned to do some schmoozing with women in film. Ironically, the only person I chatted with was an older man who asked me what’s the best way to spread hummus on a pita without using fingers or cutlery. I suggested using another pita slice to do the spreading!

Morning Talk Shows are strange and hilarious! I saw Jackie Collins reading the “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to little kids on “Living It Up With Ali and Jack”. Will she read her latest romance novel as an encore? I wonder…

Seeing Carmen Electra spank Jillian Barberie’s butt on “Good Day Live” has been the highlight of the day.