Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

The second-season premiere Thursday of USA’s “Burn Notice” attracted 5.39 million viewers overall — a 35% increase over its series debut one year ago, according to Nielsen. The show also performed well with the 18-to-49-year-old demographic group: It scored a 1.8 rating/6 share in the advertiser-friendly demo. (Variety 7/13)

Just five weeks into the second season of its “Army Wives,” Lifetime has announced a third season of the popular series. At the Television Critics Association press tour, Lifetime President and CEO Andrea Wong explained the early renewal: “Since premiering last year, ‘Army Wives’ has become a game-changer for Lifetime.” (Yahoo!/E! Online 7/11)

Crash, the original drama series based on the Oscar winning movie of 2006, is set to debut on Starz on Friday, October 17 at 10p.  Co-produced by Lionsgate and Starz Entertainment, the series stars Dennis Hopper. Starz has ordered 13 episodes. (Cynopsis 7/14)

Richard Parsons, CEO of Time Warner, says he is “much more bullish” on the media industry than investors. “People will continue to consume more and more of what entertainment companies produce,” he insists. Parsons adds that companies can’t create value by merely breaking them up. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOi7d6Jog9WY 7/11)

Scripps Network Interactive, which houses cable nets such as HGTV, Food Network and DIY, remains at the center of speculation about an acquisition by NBC Universal. Such a deal, according to this article, could fetch more than SNI’s $6.5 billion market capitalization. (Multichannel News 7/13)

NBC Universal says its profit rose just 1% in the second quarter, as revenue growth at cable networks USA, Bravo and Sci-Fi were partially offset by declines at the NBC broadcast network and its owned-and-operated TV stations. NBC primetime ratings are down about 10%. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nbc-universal-profit-inches-higher/story.aspx?guid=%7B52515315%2D51C3%2D4E48%2D88D0%2D0A8E3F2AF990%7D 7/11)

John Malone has spent about $95 million on 3.8 million shares of Liberty Capital Group, one of the tracking stocks connected to his Liberty Media firm, according to this report. Assets in Liberty Capital include the Atlanta Braves as well as minority positions in Time Warner and Sprint Nextel. (Multichannel News 7/14)

A survey by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation reported that FX, HBO and Showtime offer the most responsible coverage of gay and lesbian characters on cable TV. HBO also was singled out for having the most ethnically diverse characters. (Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter 7/14)

In a statement issued early Friday evening, SAG leaders said they still want to negotiate the final offer given to them from the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers nearly two weeks ago. The AMPTP said their offer was indeed the last and best offer available, calling it a “take-it-or-leave-it proposition” which will not be enhanced further. (Cynopsis 7/14)