Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Numerous reports peg Jimmy Fallon to take over the NBC Late Night hosting gig starting 2009, as Conan O’Brien moves to host the Tonight Show following Jay Leno’s retirement from the late night gig.  NBC is expected to make a full-out announcement of the late night shifts at their May 12 upfront presentation in New York, tho now that the news is out, the official word may come sooner. (Cynopsis 4/25, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117984592.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 4/24)

TNT is scoring some big ratings points with its telecasts of NBA playoff games, averaging a 2.1 household rating, a 16% increase over last year’s games, and 2.3 million homes, according to Nielsen data. TNT, which will present playoff matchups during April and May, is also between 25% and 30% ahead of last year in all male demos. (Mediaweek 4/24)

CBS drama Criminal Minds has found two new homes in national syndication. A&E secured the exclusive cable rights to the series from CBS Television Distribution, airing it as a strip starting September 2009. In the meantime, A&E will air episodes from the first three seasons once a week. In addition, ION Media Networks, Inc. made its own content pact with CBS Television Distribution for the exclusive weekday broadcast syndication rights to the series. ION plans to air the show in primetime next year. (Cynopsis 4/25)

After 765 days of calling on Sen. Barack Obama to appear on “Fox News Sunday,” the perseverance of the FNC show is paying off. On Sunday, the Democratic presidential hopeful will go head-to-head with moderator Chris Wallace, thereby allowing the show to retire its “Obama Watch” clock. (TVWeek.com 4/24)

Jon Stewart Pokes Fun at the “Obama Watch”

If you’ve heard rumors that NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice is considering bringing in OJ Simpson as one of the players, you’ve heard wrong. NBC says it has never considered OJ.  Yes, OJ and Trump spoke earlier this week, but nobody saying what they talked about, only that the idea of OJ being on the show was never considered by either Trump or the network. (Cynopsis 4/25)

Developer M. David Paul/Worthe Real Estate Group is purchasing NBC Universal’s 34-acre Burbank, Calif., lot, according to an internal memo. Among the groups to be moved from Burbank to the company’s Universal location are the local NBC stations and NBC Network News. (Iwantmedia 4/25, http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6554860.html 4/24)

Oxygen is getting rebranded in June as part of an effort to focus in on an audience that it’s dubbed “Generation O.” The network, making its first upfront presentation to advertisers since being acquired by NBC Universal last year, is unveiling a new logo and tagline — “Live Out Loud.” (Iwantmedia 4/25, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i50885cdcb3e92d8871d759bc541e0de7 4/23)

Several major media companies will announce first-quarter operating results next week, including Comcast, Time Warner and Viacom. Analysts expect Comcast to announce Thursday that it earned $8.18 billion in revenue in the first three months of the year, compared with $7.39 billion a year earlier. (MarketWatch 4/24)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Thursday that he would not stand in the way of new cable-leased-access rules from taking effect May 31, as planned. The cable industry is fighting the onset of the rules in federal court, asserting that they will force cable systems to basically give away channel space to independent programmers and lead to subpar content. (Multichannel News 4/24)

Robust ad sales from cable channels such as HGTV, Food Network and DIY helped Scripps Networks increase revenue 6.8% and net income 22% in the first quarter. Overall, cable revenue grew to $311 million and profit rose to $147 million, both 15% increases, during the period. (OneTRAK 4/24)