Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Carolyn Strauss is leaving her position as entertainment president at HBO. Hollywood is said to be waiting for Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes, a one-time head of HBO, to make a bold move to rejuvenate its pay channel. Strauss is in talks about taking on a new role with the network. (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/sources-shake-up-inside-hbo 3/15, The Hollywood Reporter 3/17, Los Angeles Times 3/17)

Time Warner’s CNN switched to taped programming early Saturday even though a major story — downtown Atlanta’s first recorded tornado — literally blew right through its news headquarters. The storm shattered windows at CNN.com and in the network’s library. No one at CNN was hurt. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080315/ap_en_tv/atlanta_storm_cnn 3/15)

A Delaware judge is expected to rule in two weeks on whether John Malone’s Liberty Media can remove Barry Diller from his perch at IAC. The trial wrapped up Friday. Diller testified that Quadrangle Group is a potential buyer for IAC’s timeshare-exchange business Interval. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/03152008/business/diller_duels_in_delaware_102088.htm 3/15)

News Corp.’s new deal to launch two English-language satellite channels in the Middle East was engineered by James Murdoch, the head of the media giant’s Europe and Asia operations. The 35-year-old Murdoch is said to be boosting his reputation as a “potential visionary.” (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982488.html?categoryid=2523&cs=1 3/14)