Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

The record $155.3 million opening weekend of “The Dark Knight” will boost Time Warner’s chances of meeting its full-year forecast, analysts say. However: Time Warner’s stock price fell more than 2% on Monday. “It doesn’t help that the company is having trouble selling AOL.” (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/FREE/509248477/1084 7/21)

NBC says that Jay Leno’s last night as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show” will be May 29, 2009, with Conan O’Brien taking over on June 1. The network refuses to concede that Leno’s departure to a rival network is a fait accompli, saying it continues to “work on ideas” with him. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/arts/television/22late.html 7/22)

Cartoon Network is developing a live-action/CGI made-for-TV movie based on its animated “Ben 10: Alien Force” series. The Alien Force series, CN’s second in the “Ben 10″ story line, made its debut in April and scored as the network’s most-watched original premiere among viewers 6 to 11. (The Hollywood Reporter 7/22)

TNT has ordered up a pilot episode of a new drama by “24″ co-creator Joel Surnow. The show, to be titled “Night and Day,” focuses on an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. (Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter 7/22)

Time Warner Cable has been making a series of moves during the past few months to guard its home turf in New York City against Verizon Communications’ FiOS service, which just won approval to begin operation in the five boroughs on Aug. 1. Among the moves, according to Landel Hobbs, the company’s chief operating officer, are reducing maximum customer wait times for residential service from four to two hours and offering discounts on long-term contracts. (The Wall Street Journal 7/22