Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

It looks like Barry Diller gets to keep his job. A Delaware court ruled in favor of the Chairman of IAC/Interactive Corp. in a dispute with Liberty Media Chairman John Malone over splitting IAC into 5 separate entities. The judge ruled that IAC was not required to receive the consent of Liberty for the spinoffs. (Cynopsis, 3/31)

 
Lauren Zalaznick, the woman who oversees NBC cable networks Bravo and Oxygen, has led the former to a 30% increase in viewership in the last two years and is now looking to replicate that success with Oxygen. “Oxygen viewers have not settled into adult growth patterns,” Zalaznick said. “I’ll dismantle [the network]. I like to dismantle things. I like to put things back together to find the strand of success.” (The New York Times 3/31)

Project Runway on Bravo

 
Nickelodeon is hoping that some of the ratings magic of Disney’s “High School Musical” will transfer to its upcoming “Spectacular!” Like “HSM,” the Nick telepic, which begins shooting April 21, tells the story of high school students in a music-laced comedy. (The Hollywood Reporter 3/30)

 
Spike TV, which holds the basic cable rights to all of the “Star Wars” movies through 2013, will present episodes I, II and III this weekend from 8 to 11 p.m. The channel will run episodes IV, V and VI the second weekend in April. (Multichannel News 3/30)

 
Showtime Chairman/CEO Matt Blank, Disney President Anne Sweeney and Charter Chairman Paul Allen will be among those honored for their contributions to the cable industry at the NCTA’s upcoming annual meeting. The NCTA’s Cable Show 2008 runs May 18 to 20 in New Orleans. (Variety 3/30)

 
Premium cable channel Starz will launch a $25 million rebranding and marketing campaign next Monday under the tagline “Are You Ready?” The multiplatform campaign will run for about six weeks and include TV spots on cable, network and syndicated shows as well as an online component. (Multichannel News 3/30)