Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CNN, Fox News Channel, Hallmark Channel, HBO, MSNBC, News broadcasting, Time Warner, Weather Channel
HBO is developing what is being described as a dark comedy about a down-on-his-luck father who discovers that his below-the-belt girth can help transform his life. The show, titled “Hung,” is the first project for Sue Naegle, who became HBO’s entertainment chief Monday. (Variety 4/23)
A Chinese school teacher and a beautician are filing a lawsuit against Time Warner‘s CNN over remarks they say insulted the Chinese people and are seeking $1.3 billion in compensation — $1 per person in China. Commentator Jack Cafferty had described the Chinese as “goons and thugs.” (Iwantmedia 4/24, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSPEK30866720080424 4/24)
CNN’s coverage of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary Tuesday averaged nearly 2.56 million viewers, good enough to overcome the other top cable news channels for the night, according to Nielsen. Fox News Channel recorded 2.36 million viewers, and MSNBC had 1.62 million. (Multichannel News 4/23)
Based on a Hallmark Channel analysis of Nielsen’s C3 commercial-ratings data, Nick at Nite retained 95.5% of its audience through commercial breaks in the first quarter — the best of any cable net. Hallmark finished second with 93.2% and was followed by The Weather Channel with 92.5%, TV Land with 92.1% and Cartoon Network with 91.4 to round out the top five. (TVWeek.com 4/23)
NBC and the National Hockey League are continuing their partnership through the 2008-2009 season. Under this agreement, NBC will air the NHL Sunday Game of the Week during the regular season per usual utilizing flexible scheduling, broadcasting nine Sunday afternoon games in all. The network will also provide coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final which may equal 15 post-season games in total. (Cynopsis 4/24)
Fox has ordered up a new pilot from exec producer JD Roth called Bad Dads, hunting down deadbeat dads who owe ex-wives child support, reports THR. At the helm is Jim Durham, who is also the head of the National Child Support Center. Durham first calls the dads and offers them a chance to make things right, and when that doesn’t work, in classic ambush TV style, he finds and confronts deadbeat dads in public places. (Cynopsis 4/24)
Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have pulled out of a joint venture with Sprint Nextel to develop a quadruple play of voice, video, Internet and wireless services under the banner Pivot, according to this article. “We remain committed to bringing a wireless component to our portfolio of services, but we don’t believe Pivot was the best option,” said Jill Ullman, a spokeswoman at Cox. (MSNBC/Associated Press 4/23)
Comcast filed for a restraining order against AT&T in Chicago complaining its U-Verse service is causing problems for its cable modem customers, reports Ars Technica. AT&T says it added 148,000 new U-verse customers this quarter, bringing its IPTV base to 379,000. (Cynopsis 4/24)
Computer hacker Christopher Tarnovsky is testifying in court that News Corp. unit NDS Group hired him to develop pirating software. But he denies using it to penetrate the security system of rival satellite-TV service Dish Network. The trial could result in millions of dollars in damages. (Iwantmedia 4/24, http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23591694-5014239,00.html 4/24)
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