Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

MTV has ordered eight episodes of a series that will be based on “Ladette to Lady,” a popular contest show in the U.K. about young women who are shipped off to boarding school to undergo a regimen of self-improvement and empowerment training. In the U.S., the as-yet-untitled show will be produced by RDF USA and Donald Trump’s Trump Productions. (Variety 3/25)

Ladette to Lady

 
As one season ended, another was announced as MTV and Diddy will return Making The Band for a new season. Danity Kane, Day26 and Donnie Klang will appear in new episodes scheduled for air this summer. (Cynopsis 3/26)

 
USA will hold its upfront presentation tonight for advertising executives with a strong message: It was more profitable last year than many broadcast networks, its president has a new contract with expanded duties and first-quarter viewership is up 7% compared with last year. “It’s probably become the single most important entity within the entire portfolio” of NBC, Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, said of USA. (Los Angeles Times 3/26)

 
Rob Thomas’ third project this season, Good Behavior was picked up by ABC. The 60m dramedy, produced by ABC Studios, is about a family of criminals whose mother decides the family must now go straight, after dad has been caught and thrown in the pen for the next five years.  (Cynopsis 3/26)

 
Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House are in early talks with Sprint Nextel and Clearwire Corp. about creating a wireless company that would promote WiMAX technologies that would give super-high-speed access to computers, cell phones and other mobile devices, according to this report. Sources said that Comcast would be the lead cable investor, followed by Time Warner Cable and Bright House. The cable companies were unavailable for comment on the report. (The Washington Post/Reuters 3/25, The Wall Street Journal 3/26)

 
The 45 cable networks monitored by TNS Media Intelligence turned in a 6.5% increase in advertising revenue in 2007, the research firm said. Overall, the cable nets generated $17.84 billion in ad sales, while network TV fell 2%, spot TV dropped 10.2% and syndication sagged 1.5%, TNS reported. (Multichannel News 3/25)