Jimmy Kimmel Tells the Truth About the Upfronts

(MoneyWatch)  Much has been written about Jimmy Kimmel's comedy riff to advertisers at this week's ABC upfront presentation -- in fact, there have even been hints that he might get handed his job because of it -- but none of the posts I've read have actually posted the video, so here it is.

In reality, the reason it's getting so much buzz, I think, is because it portrays the unvarnished truth about the upfronts, which is that they throw lots of stats at advertisers and then trade on media buyers' celebrity worship -- worship that is no less intense than anyone else's -- to rake in ad dollars for the networks. And it works. TV, and network TV in particular, still get an inordinate amount of advertising money when compared to how people actually consume media, and it's partly because the glitz of these presentations causes a certain amount of well, blindness. (If you don't believe media buyers worship celebrities, look at some of the tweets about LL Cool J performing "Momma Said Know You Out" at yesterday's CBS presentation.)

Here's one particularly good snippet from Kimmel's upfront stand-up:

Did you know that viewers of my show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," have the highest household income, see more movies, buy more music and spend 14 percent more on beer and 11 percent more on cars than any show on television? And you know why you didn't know that? Because it's bullshit, I made it up. In fact, everything that you're going to hear today, everything that you're going to hear this week, is bullshit.

Thanks for the reality check, Jimmy.