Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker reportedly will be much sought after at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, where media titans including Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes and Liberty Media’s John Malone may be seeking him out to discuss possible mergers or other deals, this article says. “Zucker’s made it pretty clear that he’s looking to do deals and remake NBC’s overall approach,” a source said. (New York Post 7/9)

A&E’s fourth season of Criss Angel Mindfreak will debut with a one hour show on July 23 at 10p, and followed a week later with a first-time live special on July 30 at 10p. During the live episode titled “Building Implosion Escape,” Criss will be chained to a 6-story building in Florida and must free himself before it implodes. (Cynopsis 7/10)

HBO is working on a new pilot titled Fat Sells which will delve into the herbal weight loss industry. Forrest Whitaker and 25/7’s Dave Broome are set to executive produce. The story is about a weight loss business kingpin whose life gets shaky when the FDA starts investigating his company’s claims. (Cynopsis 7/10)

William Shatner will host a new celebrity interview series called Shatner’s Raw Nerve for A&E’s Bio Channel, premiering August 19 at 10p. As he chats with his fellow celebrity guests, Shatner will attempt to find their raw nerve touch points to reveal interesting, surprising and funny facets about their personalities. Some of the celebrities slated to appear include John Voight, Judge Judy, Valerie Bertinelli and Leonard Nimoy among others. (Cynopsis 7/10)

Verizon Communications and the Big Ten Network have inked a carriage deal that will put standard and high-definition versions of the sports network in more of the telecom’s FiOS TV service markets in the next few months. Verizon intends to add the channel on a region-by-region basis. (Broadcasting & Cable 7/9)

Time Warner Cable is about to ramp up its video-on-demand offerings in Southern California. According to SEC filings by Concurrent Computer, Time Warner Cable’s VOD vendor, the cable provider plans to spend about $2 million for VOD equipment in San Diego and Los Angeles. (Multichannel News 7/9)