The News Corp COO not surprisingly says that changing viewership patterns — not mediocre shows — are primarily responsible for broadcasters’ startlingly weak primetime ratings this fall. “We recognize we’re below our expectations …we’re realistic about that” he told analysts in a quarterly call to discuss earnings — which, once again, didn’t include CEO Rupert Murdoch. Along with the generally lousy ratings, Chase Carey noted that the San Francisco Giants’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series “was not what we had hoped for” in the best-of-7 contest. But Carey added that “there is no question that you are seeing an ongoing change in how people view this content.” As growing numbers of people watch programming from DVRs, mobile devices, and VOD, “we need to work with Nielsen and others to see how we measure that viewership.” He also would like to see the cable industry move more quickly on initiatives including dynamic ad insertion for VOD, and TV Everywhere. “We’re not where we should be” on that, he says. “We need to make sure we continue to grow the business model.” On the advertising front, Carey says that sales seem to be improving but the market has “limited visibility.”

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