Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Just four years after the Lord of the Rings film trilogy brought in over a billion dollars into the coffers of New Line Cinema the forty-year old independent film company will be taken over by Warner Bros. and become a much smaller entity. New Line’s Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne have elected to leave the studio, but are in discussions about possible future business relationships with the company. Under Warner Bros. New Line’s projects will include horror, comedy and urban flicks. (http://www.cnbc.com/id/23396229  2/28)

The recently resolved writers’ strike, which created a dearth of new episodes on broadcast networks and a slew of network-to-cable converts, helped propel Viacom profits up 16% in the fourth quarter. The parent of MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and BET announced earnings of $559.5 million, or 86 cents a share, on revenue of $4.25 billion during the period. (The New York Times/Associated Press 2/29)

NBC pulled the plug on quarterlife after just one episode. The online series-turned drama, which drew just over 3 million viewers in its TV debut on Tuesday night at 10 pm (with a 1.3 rating among 18-49 year olds), will now find a home on Bravo according to reports – where the threshold for success is not quite so high. Co-creator Marshall Herskovitz predicted as much on Wednesday at a media conference at the Harvard Business School, calling the show “too specific” for network television. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0055cabe5256398ae1dddcc9dc1c3f36  2/28)

They might not purchase Weather.com with a $5 billion price tag, but execs at NBC Universal say the company will increase its investment in the Peacock Equity Fund to $1 billion from an initial $250 million. The fund has already made investments in digital media outfits Adify and Popsugar. (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/FREE/928321058  2/28)

NBC is crying foul over reports that “Scrubs” is leaving the network and jumping to ABC. The sitcom is produced by ABC Studios. “NBC has a license agreement with ABC Studios, which includes a right of first negotiation and first refusal,” says NBC exec Marc Graboff. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981634.html?categoryid=14&cs=1  2/28)

The future potential of network news lies with cable outlets such as MSNBC and its online counterpart, MSNBC.com, and not with the traditionally omnipotent broadcast networks like NBC, according to Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal. “We are just living in an incredibly different world,” he said. “The definition of NBC News is really changing. And it’s becoming more MSNBC and MSNBC.com.” (Broadcasting & Cable 2/28)

Two new projects have been ordered by Fox, both based on UK formats, says Variety.  Outnumbered from MRC and Hat Trick, is about a family of three unusually bright kids and the trials and tribulations of raising such a brood.  Spaced from Wonderland Sound and Vision with Warner Bros. TV and Granada, is about a two people who pose as a couple in order to win the lease on an inexpensive apartment.

Oxygen’s “The Bad Girls Club,” a reality series focusing on a pack of promiscuous, battling ladies, gave the NBC Universal channel its best rating in eight years during its Tuesday 10 p.m. time slot. The episode attracted 1.17 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, and averaged a record-setting 603,000 women viewers 18 to 49. (Mediaweek 2/28)

James Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision, declined to quell rumors of an imminent sale of Rainbow Media, the company that houses channels such as IFC, AMC and WE TV. “We don’t comment on speculation in the marketplace,” Dolan said. “We feel strongly about our programming services. They’re doing very well, particularly with the new programming that we’ve added, so they should work very well.” (Variety 2/28)

Liberty Media is posting lower operating profits at its key QVC shopping channel due to weakness overseas and a shift to consumer electronics, and says it was eyeing e-commerce acquisitions. Liberty is said to be most interested in companies that could be promoted on QVC. (http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2862873320080228  2/28)