Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE by Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

HBO, looking to regain its position as a hot programming network, named Sue Naegle as president of HBO Entertainment. (http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/04/naegle_named_president_of_hbo.php 4/9)

Sue Naegle

Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions is developing a talk show featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz for an expected fall 2009 launch. Winfrey and her team are meeting with potential distributors, following the same development process Harpo took when launching “Dr. Phil” in 2002. (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6549369.html 4/9)

Dr. Oz

Knowing a good thing when it sees it, Disney has already started developing “High School Musical 4.” “HSM2″ was a huge hit for the network last year, and the third iteration is set to make its theatrical debut in the fall. (The Hollywood Reporter 4/8)

“The Mighty B!” — Nickelodeon’s newest animated series — will premiere at 10:30 p.m. April 26. The series, which was co-created by “Saturday Night Live” star Amy Poehler, will feature the voices of Poehler, Andy Richter and Kenan Thompson. (Multichannel News 4/8)

NBCU‘s Jeff Zucker warned International Advertising Assoc. World Congress attendees how crippling an actors’ strike could be to the TV business, given the current state of the economy and “the future” on the broadcast side. (Cynopsis 4/9)

The celebrated Tivo interface should gain traction abroad, thanks to a new international licensing deal with Gemstar-TV Guide, expanding upon the domestic relationship between the two companies. The deal includes patent license agreements in retail and limited service provider deployments. (Cynopsis 4/9)

A lawyer representing Comcast has asked a U.S. appeals court to reverse an FCC ruling that denied the cable company a waiver to a new rule that, effectively, allows consumers to use set-top boxes from other manufacturers. “We’re left out in the cold. And it’s not a fair result. It’s not a logical result,” Comcast attorney David Murray told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. (Reuters 4/8)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has reversed his position on mandating dual must-carry for smaller cable TV systems after the digital-TV transition. On Tuesday, Martin appeared before a meeting of the American Cable Association and announced that he would be in favor of relaxing the requirements for digital and analog carriage for stations operating at 552 MHz or less bandwidth. (Light Reading 4/9, Multichannel News 4/8)

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