Best Local Political Ad of 2014

Haven't commented much about politics lately on this blog. However just want to note that Lt. Governor Shan Tsutsui's 30 second TV spot is warm, entertaining, different and right on. Plus he's a good guy. I'd vote for him over anyone else in the Lt. Governor's primary if I pulled a (D) ballot. August 9. Coming soon.

April 12 - You've Got the Power Premieres

The following is reprinted with permission from HawaiiReporter.com

A new half hour television show, You've Got the Power, produced by Malia Zimmerman, Irma Baptiste and Shaunna Touchi of Luminescent Productions, will air on Saturday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m. on KGMB TV and Saturday, April 19 at 6 p.m. on KHNL.

See a 30-second clip of the show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkv6EO5UmmA&feature=youtu.be

The half hour show, which focuses on people who have overcome great odds to be successful and then help many other people, features Skylar Soares, Delorese Gregoire and Mo Maurer in the first episode.

Soares, 12, is the SBH Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013. She founded with the help of Make a Wish Foundation and Hawaii Pacific University, the HiSky retail business.

Gregoire is the founder of Winners Camp and has helped 15,000 teenagers discover their leadership skills and talents. Maurer, a Maui resident, founded Assistance Dogs of Hawaii and has helped thousands of people in need find they joy and independence they deserve.

Sponsors include HMAA, King Windward Nissan, InControl Diabetes Center, Pharmacare, Revolusun, Hawaii Homestay and Ted Hong - attorney at law.

Dean Kaneshiro is the videographer, director and editor of the show, while Candace Nashman is the producer and Luke Trimble is providing his musical recordings.

If your company would like to be a sponsor of this new inspirational show, contact Irma May Baptiste at irmamaybaptiste@gmail.com

Photos from the premiere party held on April 8 at Dave and Busters.

KITV Goes to Black on Time Warner Oceanic Cable

Time Warner Oceanic Cable (TWOC) subscribers have not been getting KITV 4′s signal since early Tuesday morning, July 10. The station is off the TWOC TV line-up as a result of a carriage negotiation dispute. Basically the two firms, Hearst Television, owners of KITV and Time Warner Cable have not been able to agree on a fee that will allow the channel to be carried on the cable system.

The blackout impacts programs shown on the ABC TV network as well as MeTV. KITV carries both networks on their primary and secondary broadcast channels.

KITV is still available on satellite systems and free over the air with a standard TV antenna (outdoor or indoor depending on your location). Channel line-up for broadcast are: KITV 4.1 (ABC network) and KITV 4.2 (MeTV).

MORE WITH LINKS FROM THE HAWAII RADIO & TELEVISION GUIDE BLOG

Hawaiian Telcom to Offer Cable TV Services

It has been one of Hawaiian Telcom's long standing plans - become a cable TV provider for Hawaii. The State Dept of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) granted Hawaiian Telcom a 15 year franchise fee to set up and operate a competing cable TV system that will mount a challenge to longtime incumbent Time Warner Oceanic Cable.

Hawaiian Telcom is the state's largest phone company. They recently came out of bankruptcy. Due to a changing marketplace where many people have opted for cellular phone service instead of a traditional landline, the phone company has decided to pursue to cable TV option and offer its services as a package along with telecom and internet services.

More details at the following links:

Hawaiian Telcom gets a license for cable TV
Hawaiian Telcom Gets OK To Offer Cavble TV
DCCA Press Release (PDF)

Publisher's Comment: Competition is usually a good thing. We'll see how this pans out for consumers in relation to prices and packaging offered by Hawaiian Telcom. Hopefully the new competition will bring cable TV prices down or at least stabilize them at a certain level. It is also hoped that better TV channel packages are offered or even the possibility (highly unlikely) of ala carte cable.

This post also appears on the Hawaii Radio and Television Guide Blog. Photo by Ryan Ozawa.

Variations on a Theme

Here we go... versions of the world famous Hawaii Five-0 theme done by various marching bands in the U.S.A. The original song was written by Morton Stevens and popularized over the decades as the theme song to the venerable hit TV series starring Jack Lord. The song was also recorded by The Ventures and became a top 5 hit in 1969. As a high schooler I remember playing this for band. Fun song. Easy to learn and play.

Today "Hawaii Five-0" is one of the most recognized songs on the planet and is once again the theme for the new "Hawaii Five-0" TV series now showing on CBS. Here are the videos... enjoy!









This one's funny...





There's more. Just do a search on YouTube.com.

Hawaii Five-0 Coming Back to CBS

"Hawaii Five-0" is coming back to CBS network TV in a new form. The network announced this past week that a complete reboot of "Hawaii Five-0" will air during the Fall 2010 season on Monday nights at 10 pm (9 pm Hawaii time).

The new "Hawaii Five-0" will have an all new cast, and according to many news sources, is not a sequel to the original but a total re-boot or re-imagining if you will. The young cast includes:

• Alex O'Loughlin as Detective Steve McGarrett
• Scott Caan as Detective Danny "Danno" Williams
• Daniel Dae Kim as Detective Chin Ho Kelly
• Grace Park as Detective Kona "Kono" Kalakaua
• Jean Smart as Governor Patricia "Pat" Jameson
• Taryn Manning as Mary Ann McGarrett

The new show is being produced by Peter Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci who did a reboot of the Star Trek series with a new movie in 2009. The show is supposed to be shot in Hawaii. The pilot was done on Oahu this past spring.

The new "Hawaii Five-0" comes just in time after the long running ABC TV series "Lost" ended its run this year. That show shot mostly on Oahu and brought in more than $400 million into the state's economy over the last 6 years. Cast member Daniel Dae Kim is already a familiar face in Hawaii as he played the character Jin on "Lost" since the program's start in 2004.

I am cautiously optimistic that the new "Hawaii Five-0" can become a hit, if they keep most of the elements of the original show intact. A good start is the theme song which has already been released to the public and can be viewed and listened to by selecting the video at the very top.

The one thing that I am concerned about is that one of the producers said that comedy will be included as part of the new show. As I recall after watching the original "Five-0" for many years, that the program was just hard hitting and contained almost no comedic parts at all. I am afraid that comedy in the rebooted "Hawaii Five-0" may not work for the old time fans of the original.

Hawaii Five-0: Behind the Scenes



CBS News Online: Hawaii Five-0 interview




Additional Links

• Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Wikipedia entry
• Hawaii Five-0 - Original series (1968-1980)
• Discussion topic @ HawaiiThreads.com
• CBS TV 2010 - Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii TV to go All Digital January 15, 2009

Hawaii will convert all of its full power over the air TV stations from analog to digital broadcasts on January 15, 2009. The new deadline will put the state one month ahead of the rest of the nation which is mandated to make the switch by February 17, 2009.

The digital switchover will affect all full power broadcast TV stations and those viewers who get their TV reception over the air through a rooftop or "rabbit ear" antenna. The changeover for cable TV and satellite TV subscribers will be transparent and unnoticeable. There will be no need for cable or satellite TV customers to buy a digital converter box. Cable TV and satellite TV subscribers already have digital boxes supplied by their service providers.

For antenna users with standard analog TV sets, a converter box will be required to accommodate the change. The federal government is subsidizing converter box purchases with a coupon program. Digital converter boxes are available at most major electronics retailers.

Antenna users can also buy a new TV set. All new TV sets ranging from low end CRT models to high end flat screen HDTV sets now come with built in digital tuners. Antenna using consumers who already have a TV with digital tuning or who are going to buy one by January 15 will not have to get the converter box.

Hawaii's local TV stations will be launching a public information campaign over the next 120 or so days to inform the public about the switch. The P-R campaign for the February 17 deadline is now a moot point in Hawaii.

The switchover from analog to digital is being hastened in Hawaii mainly in an effort to move Maui's TV transmitters from the top of Haleakala to a new location a few miles downslope from the present place near the mountain's summit. This is being done to accommodate the nesting habits of some rare birds on Haleakala.

Over the air consumers will be impacted by this switchover for all islands except Kauai, who get their analog signal from low power (LP) transmitters not currently mandated by the digital change.

Some Maui and neighbor island antenna viewers who will get their over the air signal from the new digital transmitters at the new Maui location may get a weaker signal or no signal at all since some of the digital channels on Maui were relocated from the VHF portion to the UHF portion of the dial.

Hawaii Radio & Television Guide will be updating its TV channel grid in the next few weeks to accommodate the change.

Links to more information

• DTV 2009 Hawaii Goes Digital
• Hawaii First State to Make DTV Switch
• Broadcasters May Budge for Birds
• DTV 2009 - Federal Government
• Hawaii Media Forum Discussion Topic
• DTV 2009 - Audio & Video Media
• DTV 2009 - Coupon Redemption Program
• DTV 2009 - FAQs

This was originally posted to the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide website.

News from Around the Dial

As originally posted to Hawaii Radio & Television Guide*

The economic downturn has hit KGMB TV. Erika Engle at StarBulletin.com reports that 9 employees at the TV station were laid off. None of the on-air talent were laid off. Advertising revenue at media outlets are down this year. Details at this link.

KSSK radio's morning duo of Michael W. Perry and Larry Price celebrated their 25th year on-air this past Saturday (August 9) during a live radio broadcast aired from the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral ballroom. More than a thousand people showed up for the breakfast broadcast. The duo was on air for 3 1/2 hours and were honored by dignitaries including Governor Linda Lingle, Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Congressman Neil Abercrombie.

More on Perry & Price's 25th anniversary:

• 2 for 25 Years, StarBulletin.com
• 25 Years Together, MidWeek.com

The Big Island's KIPA radio station has returned to the airwaves with new call letters and a new format. The station now goes by the call sign KHNU. AM 620 was silent for about a year and is now airing a news and talk format. The station is owned by Mahalo Broadcasting LLC in Arizona. The KIPA call sign was immediately acquired by Buddy Gordon at Parrot Broadcasting for use on a new FM under construction in Kona, also on the Big Island of Hawaii. More details at this link.

"Honolulu Skylark" Jacqueline Leilani Rossetti has joined Kimo Kahoano as a new co-host for the Hawaiian Talk Radio Show produced by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) called Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino. The morning show airs Monday through Friday on Cox Radio's KKNE AM 940 and statewide to various stations on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai. "Skylark" is a longtime radio personality who has been on various stations since the 1970s. More details at this link.

Local computer and internet enthusiasts get their own radio show via Burt Lum's and Ryan Ozawa's newly launched Bytemarks Cafe radio talk show airing on KIPO 89.3 FM (HPR). It is a weekly "one-hour radio magazine that showcases the innovation and creativity in Hawaii's tech community." More details at the Hawaii Public Radio website and Bytemarks Cafe blog page.

* I am the publisher of the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide.

Gene Simmons Rocks SBH Conference

KISS front man and A&E TV star Gene Simmons was in town last week to be the keynote speaker at the annual Small Business Hawaii Conference. The guy is the consummate promoter and entrepreneur. His foray into rock n roll was just was the launching point for his plan to become rich and diversify into a number of successful business enterprises. He said to a packed house at the SBH conference that a good businessperson does not put all of his eggs into one basket. Good advice I say for all.

Simmons was spotted at a number of locations on Oahu as he and the film crew from A&E recorded several segments for his successful cable TV show "Gene Simmons' Family Jewels". His appearance at the SBH Conference was extensively videotaped with segments to air this spring on A&E.

Mr. Simmons was the founding member of the rock group KISS, who have been together for more than 30 years and enjoyed success on the Billboard charts with hits such as "Rock n Roll All Night," "Beth," "Hard Luck Woman." and "Christine's Sixteen." They have reportedly sold more records than The Beatles and Elvis in the United States.

Additional Links

Gene Simmons Shares Secrets of Success - By Sam Slom for SBH - HawaiiReporter.com

2008 SBH Conference Photos

Simmons Gives His Secrets to Success - HonoluluAdvertiser.com

Gene Simmons in Honolulu - Video Clip