Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

“The Sopranos’” swan song on HBO earned the acclaimed drama 15 Emmy Award nominations this year, more than any other series. HBO again dominates the vote totals with 86, but ABC has a strong showing with 70, followed by NBC’s 69. The awards ceremony will air Sept. 16 on Fox. (http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/televisionawards/emmys/2007-07-19-emmy-noms_N.htm 7/20)

Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom and CBS, is clashing with his daughter and potential successor, sparking speculation that it could lead to a sale of the companies. Shares in Viacom rose after reports that a rift had opened with Shari Redstone over the running of Viacom and CBS. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/07/20/bcnviacom120.xml 7/20)

German publishing exec Dieter von Holtzbrinck is resigning as a director of Dow Jones to protest the board’s endorsement of a deal to sell the company to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Von Holtzbrinck says he is concerned that Dow Jones’s journalistic values would “strongly suffer.” (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118479154947870694.html 7/20)

 Twentieth Century Fox is on the edge of a publicity crisis, as a boycott on the studio’s films expands to more U.S. markets. Journalists are protesting Fox’s practice of limiting online critics’ access to screenings. Nowadays, says Dan Gire of the Chicago Daily Herald, “we’re all online critics.” (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-online20jul20,1,5630682.story?ctrack=2&cset=true 7/20)NBC Universal is partnering with Premier Retail Networks, a unit of Thomson, to develop short-form content offering advertisers “integrated branding opportunities designed specifically for the supermarket environment.” The content will air on PRN’s Supermarket Checkout TV. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nbc-universal-prn-agree-supermarket/story.aspx?guid=%7B23A691D4%2D1C14%2D423C%2DB50F%2D255E8841DC26%7D 7/20)

Who wants to be a millionaire? Hard-charging business school students, who are being pitted against each other in CNBC’s first-ever game show. “Fast Money MBA Challenge,” is an attempt to attract young viewers to a network more accustomed to boardrooms than surf boards. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070719/ap_en_tv/tv_cnbc_game 7/19)

CBS chief Les Moonves is said to have laid down the law: Fix the Tony Awards, or they’ll get the hook. This year’s “bland” telecast was the lowest-rated since the Tonys were first televised in the 1960s. Moonves, a theater fan, is reportedly “the only reason” the Tonys are still on CBS. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07202007/entertainment/theater/bway_getting_all_dollyd_up_theater_michael_riedel.htm?page=2 7/20)

Sixty percent of consumers don’t know about the Feb. 17, 2009, switch to all-digital signals, according to an industry organization. Nielsen Media Research estimates that 85% of Americans, who watch TV via cable or satellite, already have sets that will work after the transition, but customers who rely on rabbit ears for receiving their signals will need to upgrade to cable or other TV services, buy new digital TVs or pay for a converter box. (Houston Chronicle 7/20)

Cablevision will start offering its home-based customers up to four lines of phone service. The new lines, which are part of Cablevision’s Optimum Voice service, are available to high-speed-Internet customers who may wish to provide the separate numbers for their children or home businesses. (Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.) 7/19)