Directors Guild Deal With Studios Could Point Way To Writers Pact

Foo Fighters manager John Silva contributed:

"There's no question that the Grammys are a highlight of every year for the industry and audiences alike, and we're thrilled that the Foo Fighters will be performing on the show."

The news release, issued by the academy with assistance from crisis-management public relations firm Sitrik and Co., comes one day after academy President Neil Portnow did that thing male peacocks do when they want to show each other what's what. In his case, it involved noting that the interim agreement the Writers Guild had been offered by the producer of the Grammy Awards, broadcast on CBS, includes the same terms as the interim deal the WGA had accepted from David Letterman's Worldwide Pants company, which produces Letterman- and Craig Ferguson-hosted late-night shows -- also broadcast on CBS.

The Writers Guild had previously let it be known it was inclined to deny the producer of the Grammys a waiver should it receive a request for one. That request was formally made earlier this week. No announcement at press time from the WGA.

* * *

The 30-million-plus people who tuned in to "American Idol" for its first Wednesday night show this TV season was nearly 7 million shy of last season's debut Wednesday but still a large enough crowd to flatten the competition.

Likewise, the number of 18-to-49-year-olds -- the hot blond chicks of the advertising world -- who caught the Dallas auditions, including "Idol" wannabe Renaldo Lapuz singing his ode to Simon, "We're Brothers Forever" (now a YouTube hit), was down 19 percent compared with last year's Wednesday opener. Still, it attracted 30 percent of viewers in that age bracket who were watching TV between 8 and 10 that night.

In contrast, NBC's Wednesday lineup attracted 7 percent of the 18-49 crowd, ABC's and CBS's each attracted 5 percent and CW just 1 percent.

The "Idol" showing was strong enough to push the network into first place for the season in that demographic derby. For the past couple of seasons Fox has broken into first place at some point during its "Idol" run, but this is the earliest that's ever happened.