Latest from Next TV in Pot

House Protects Broadcast Pot Spots

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 20:44:38 +0000

Broadcasters are praising the House of Representatives for telling the FCC to "Keep off the grass"... advertising, that is.

The House Wednesday (July 20) passed the 2023 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which prevents the FCC from taking any actions against broadcasters who air cannabis advertising if it is not against the law in the state or jurisdiction in which the station is licensed.

"Broadcasters have been looking for such protections, arguing that without them they cannot air cannabis ads even where the product is legal, which is in most states.

Also: House Committee to Broadcasters: Roll Your Own Pot Spots

Cable and streaming services, with essentially no FCC licenses at risk, can and do air cannabis ads.

State broadcast associations have been pushing for the right to air ads for a legal product in their states. The New York State Broadcasters Association has pointed out that stations currently run the risk of losing their license -- a risk the bill is meant to remove -- for airing any cannabis ads since the substance remains illegal under federal law.

The National Association of Broadcasters has also pushed for a more level playing field with cable and online.

"For too long, local broadcasters have been stuck in a regulatory purgatory because of conflicting federal and state cannabis laws," said NAB spokesman Alex Siciliano. "Today’s passage marks an important step towards allowing broadcasters to receive equal treatment for cannabis advertising that many other forms of media have enjoyed for years. While we are pleased to see the House act, broadcasters will continue to work with policymakers for a permanent resolution to this competitive disparity to the benefit of consumers.” ■

HBO Gets 'High Maintenance'

Leslie Jaye Goff — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 17:15:00 +0000

Premium cabler HBO has ordered six new episodes of popular online video series High Maintenance, about a weed delivery guy in Brooklyn, and said it will distribute all 19 existing episodes across its platforms.

One of the most well performing series on Vimeo (trailer here), High Maintenance follows previous HBO ventures into THC TV such as Bored to Death and Silicon Valley, among others.

The series stars Ben Sinclair -- co-writer and co-creator with his wife, Emmy-winning casting director Katja Blichfeld -- as the amiable pot dealer, known as “The Guy” by his clients, an eccentric group of stoners. Guest stars have included Hannibal Buress (Broad City) and Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey).

In addition to writing and starring in the series, Blichfield and Sinclair EP, cast, direct and edit it.

“We have been growing this show organically for three years now, and we are elated to bring it into full maturity at HBO," Blichfeld and Sinclair said, working the marijuana metaphors for all they were worth.

The show's original 19 episodes, which debuted on Vimeo, will be available later this year on HBO, HBO Now and HBO Go, the network said.

"High Maintenance has proven to be one of today’s most highly-acclaimed online comedies,” Michael Lombardo, president, HBO programming, said. “We are thrilled to bring this sophisticated and clever series to our HBO audience.”

High Maintenance is produced by Janky Clown Productions; Russell Gregory also serves as an executive producer.

Weed on TV: Just Say … Why Not?

Leslie Jaye Goff — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 12:00:00 +0000

In HBO’s season-two trailer for Silicon Valley, a hulking, Birkenstock-wearing computer programmer grabs an enormous bong and fires it up to the relentless strains of Danny Brown’s “Smokin’ & Drinkin.’”

The series, which returned April 12, is but one of many premium, basic-cable and broadcast shows in which weed plays into the story line in one form or another. In Comedy Central’s Broad City and Workaholics; Showtime’s Episodes; IFC’s Maron; and even A&E’s Bates Motel, where the local town is run by a weed cartel, getting high is just something people do. On a fairly regular basis. And the act is not just implied or covered by a jump-cut to the after-effects; characters are casually toking away on screen.

Download the 4/20 timeline.

With 23 states and Washington, D.C., having legalized marijuana in one form or another, TV programming has gone to pot as well. Since the earliest references to weed in scripted TV shows to today, pot-related story lines have evolved from “Protagonist smokes weed — with disastrous results” to “with nostalgic results” to “with comic results” to, essentially, just “Protagonist smokes pot.” It’s tangential to the results.

Is TV merely reflecting the nation’s changing attitudes about pot or are we a nation under TV’s influence? In an effort to answer this 4:20-inspired question — that being the legendary time of day stoners would gather after school to get high, making the date April 20 a totem on the stoner calendar — Multichannel News presents this “4/20 Timeline” looking at the concurrent evolution of pot and plot.