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BROADCAST/CABLE by Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

NBC today made official a plan that’s been talked about since 2003, when a network executive first broached the idea of doing a talk show with Jimmy Fallon, the former “Saturday Night Live” star. (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gG42WUKXbqIj-XXOx9cBfkwdPQ4wD90KDKM80 5/12)

ABC will bring back Boston Legal for a fifth season this fall after the network concluded negotiations with creator David E. Kelley over the weekend. (Cynopsis 5/12)

The final two seasons of ABC’s Lost will be extended by one hour each, taking both seasons to 17 total hours instead of 16. Since the WGA strike cut back this current season by three hours, ABC added the two hours to equal the same number of episodes that the produces and the network negotiated in 2007. (Cynopsis 5/12)

MTV picked up a new reality game show from FremantleMedia North America called The Phone with executive producer Justin Timberlake. The Phone will debut this fall and is based on a Dutch reality game show. Taking a cue from films such as Bourne Identity, The Phone will open each episode with two hidden cell phones ringing at opposite ends of a major city. Whoever answers the phones will have five seconds to decide if they are playing, then the pair works together through challenges and race against time to win a large cash prize. (Cynopsis 5/12)

The CW ordered season three for The Game from CBS Paramount, reports Variety. (Cynopsis 5/12)

ABC has ordered 13 episodes of Opportunity Knocks and the show is probably looking at a fall berth.  The gamer has hosts traveling house to house asking questions and awarding cash for the right answers. ? (Cynopsis 5/12)

The CW ordered a pickup of Stylista, the second fashion reality series from Tyra Banks and Ken Mok. In Stylista, eleven contestants will battle for an editorial job with Elle magazine. It is likely the series will air on Wednesday nights making that night a full Banks/Mok night along with their America’s Next Top Model series. (Cynopsis 5/12)

FOX decided to move ahead with the J.J. Abrams drama Fringe and it may add it to the schedule this fall. FOX granted pickups for two other new shows, the animated Class Dismissed (formerly Sit Down, Shut Up) from Sony Pictures Television and 20th Century Fox Television and the comedy The Inn from 20th Century Fox Television, Reveille and Principato-Young Entertainment. (Cynopsis 5/12)

VH1 ordered another new reality series, reports THR, this one featuring Eddie Griffin and tentatively titled Eddie Griffin: Going for Broke. The eight-episode series will look at how Eddie balances his life as a player and family man. (Cynopsis 5/12)

Playboy plans to move into the gay market with an adult video-on-demand service with Time Warner Cable. Although Playboy has been linked with heterosexual men’s entertainment since the magazine’s first issue in 1953, the struggling company is seeking more ways to boost revenue. (Iwantmedia 5/12, http://www.xbiz.com/news/93658 5/9)

With Comcast and Cox expected to offer more video-on-demand titles in high definition soon, some observers are beginning to wonder whether companies have secured enough bandwidth to carry out their ambitious goals. Floyd Wagoner, senior director of global marketing and marketing communications for Motorola’s Access Networks Solutions division, said VOD penetration was now at 26% and that “it isn’t hard to see the growing demands on bandwidth. Any operator that isn’t looking for ways to address that is going to face some serious trouble.” (Multichannel News 5/10)

ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC posted a 14% decline in 18-to-49-year old viewers during the writers’ strike, and those viewers are still down 13% since shows came back in April. Meanwhile, advertising-supported cable increased its share to 47%, from 43%, according to Turner Research. (Iwantmedia 5/12, http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/FREE/309855478/1040 5/9)

Starting this week, U.S. broadcast networks will host their annual presentations to advertisers and reveal their fall schedules. Media buyers say major ad-spending categories are likely to be down. Procter & Gamble is considering cutting its ad budget as much as 10%. (Iwantmedia 5/12, http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121055293815783981.html 5/12)

Cablevision and Tribune Co. announced today that the New York-based cable provider would buy New York Newsday for about $650 million, which will create a vast multimedia regional news and advertising network. For Cablevision, it is the second major acquisition announcement in as many weeks: The company said last week that it was buying Robert Redford’s Sundance Channel. (ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg 5/12, The Wall Street Journal 5/12, Los Angeles Times 5/12)

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who just shut down two of the company’s film studios, is expected to turn to the Time Inc. publishing unit for more cost cutting. A sale of the slow-growth Southern Progress division, which publishes Sunset and other magazines, is seen as a “no-brainer.” (Iwantmedia 5/12, http://www.thedeal.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1210002272195&pagename=hpa&c=TDDArticle&p=M4YD5AR1 5/9)

Dish Network moves to reduce its deficit in HD offerings today by adding 22 additional national HD channels including ABC Family HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network HD, Sci Fi HD, USA HD, CNBC HD, CNN HD and Disney HD. Regional Comcast Sports Nets from the Bay Area and New England will also be added on Wednesday. The additions bring DISH’s total HD lineup to over 95 channels. (Cynopsis 5/12)

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