Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy will move back to its Thursday 9p time period which bumps Lost to the 10p slot starting April 24. Resuming production post-writer’s strike, Grey’s and Lost will each have five new original episodes. The verdict is still out though on when additional episodes of Eli Stone will air and when Men In Trees and Women’s Murder Club will return.
Yesterday, ABC filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit against the FCC. The point of contention is a 2003 NYPD Blue episode that the FCC declared indecent and on Tuesday fined ABC a total of $1,237,500 for the 45 affiliates that aired the program. Despite being opposed to the fines, ABC paid them in full yesterday, making the FCC decision appealable.
News Corp. is raising its stake in Premiere, Germany’s biggest pay-television company, to 19.9%, a month after buying 14.6% of the shares. The media giant says it sees “enormous” growth potential in Germany. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=anmpEZjmnObk 2/21)
Time Warner says in a regulatory filing that it expects to cut more jobs in its magazine publishing division in the first quarter, resulting in $10 million to $20 million in expenses. Time Inc. says that the job cuts affect fewer than 100 people, and that most of them have already occurred. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080222/time_warner_filing.html 2/22)
Showtime cast The Sopranos star Edie Falco for a new pilot. The untitled 30m pilot is a dark comedy about a nurse working for a New York hospital who does whatever it takes to save lives while managing her difficult personal life. The Hollywood Reporter (2/21)
HBO has secured the rights to controversial documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side,” which it will televise in September. The Oscar-nominated film, about the murder of a taxi driver in Afghanistan, will debut on basic cable in 2009 on Discovery Communications’ Investigation Discovery. (The Hollywood Reporter 2/22)
TBS ordered eight new episodes of its late-night comedy series Frank TV, starring impressionist Frank Caliendo as he “channels” celebrities and pop culture icons such as Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and President George W. Bush. The series, produced by TBS Productions, will return to TBS’ line-up later this year.
Rufus Sewell has been signed to take the lead role in Jerry Bruckheimer’s pilot project, The Eleventh Hour for CBS, reports THR. The project is based on a UK show which starred Patrick Stewart, and focuses on a government agent/scientist who with his trust sidekick and bodyguard, protects people from scientific abuses.
Analysts are expecting an increased profit at Viacom when the company reports quarterly results next Thursday, but will be anxious to hear the media giant’s advertising forecasts. The same issue will weigh heavily in the reaction to CBS’s quarterly results, to be released on Tuesday. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/higher-profit-seen-viacom-ad/story.aspx?guid=%7B5E378CCA%2D8996%2D40C9%2D971D%2DDEEF190FA786%7D 2/21)
The three Republican members of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission are voting to approve the deal swapping control of DirecTV from News Corp. to Liberty Media. Even though the deal has majority approval, it cannot be released until all five commissioners vote for it. (http://www.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20080221-001134-1751 2/21)
Comcast, on May 10, 2009, could become sole owner of G4 if EchoStar Communications exercises its right to sell its 15% stake in the gaming channel back to the cable company, according to SEC filings. The price of EchoStar’s portion would be determined by an outside appraiser, but estimates on the value have hovered around $100 million. (Multichannel News 2/21)
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