Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

AMC’s “Mad Men” was awarded the distinction of being the program of the year at the TCA Awards. In the comedy category, NBC’s “30 Rock” took home the award for best comedy. The Hollywood Reporter (7/19)

NBC Universal said it would reap record ad revenue from the Beijing Olympic Games while reporting that it has sold 90% of its spots and has set a goal of reaching $1 billion, according to this story. The company plans 3,600 hours of coverage on a number of platforms, including its cable channels. Broadcasting & Cable (7/21)

Showtime, coming off the success of “Dexter” and “Weeds,” plans to keep its focus on original programming. “In terms of subject matter and complexity of character development, it has to be really out on the edge,” said Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt in an attempt to detail what will make the Showtime programming cut. Forbes (7/20

A U.S. federal appeals court is dismissing a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson’s breast-baring “wardrobe malfunction.” The Federal Communications Commission “acted arbitrarily and capriciously.” (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080721/cbs_janet_jackson.html 7/21)

Reports that CBS News will replace evening news anchor Katie Couric after the U.S. presidential election or the inauguration are not true, says division chief Sean McManus. “I can say, and I have said, that it’s not true.” Couric adds: “I can’t really control what media writers write.” (http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/07/18/tv-couric-cbs-biz-media-cx_lr_0718couric.html 7/18)

Time Warner Cable on Aug. 1 will add horror-centric network FearNet to its video-on-demand offerings. The carriage deal brings FearNet, which is partly owned by Comcast, to 29 million digital-cable homes. Multichannel News (7/21)