Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Television program, United Kingdom, Ellen Burstyn, Peep Show, RDF USA, Pony Express, Robert Duvall, British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Spike TV ordered a single-camera comedy pilot, Peep Show based on a current BAFTA Award-winning British series, per THR. The 30m Peep Show is an updated Odd Couple scenario about a slacker musician Jeremy (Rob Chester Smith) living with an uptight office worker Mark (Brad Morris). In this version, the storyline will be delivered via a first-person perspective with voice-overs from the characters. Production just wrapped on the 30m pilot in Chicago and producing is Pangea, the script unit of RDF USA and British company Objective. In the UK, Peep Show will soon begin its sixth season on Channel 4. (Cynopsis 10/1)
I spent much of this past week motoring around LA and for some reason Peep Show kept coming up in conversation. You may remember back several months ago when I went on a bender filled with passion about this show. I feel irksome that Spike TV decided to re-make this series rather than re-broadcasting the original which I truly believe is one of the best comedies ever on television. Check out a piece from the original British version.
Robert Duvall is back in the saddle developing a new Western-themed series for AMC in partnership with the Donners’ Company, cites Variety. The untitled drama will focus on the famed Pony Express with Duvall playing one of the characters. (Cynopsis 10/1)
Ratings for the network were up 32% over a year earlier among viewers 18 to 49, led by “Project Runway,” which drew an average of 2.674 million viewers in that age group. Programs including “Million Dollar Listing” and “Shear Genius” also saw huge growth in audience numbers over 2007. Broadcasting & Cable (9/30)
FOX gave a nod to a 30m animated comedy pilot presentation called Good Vibes from David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) who will write the project about two high school surfer guys living near a California beach. (Cynopsis 10/1)
Ellen Burstyn cast as the matriarch of the Hunt family in the Showtime drama pilot Possible Side Effects, centering inside the pharmaceutical industry, reports Variety. Tim Robbins is writing and directing as well as executive producing with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Daniel Thomas. (Cynopsis 10/1)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Hollywood Reporter, Microsoft, Netflix, Starz Entertainment, Time Warner, Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros., YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
The Hollywood Reporter says Netflix is expected to announce Starz Entertainment as a streaming partner today, having already paired with Disney and CBS. Netflix users will be able to select from 1,000 movies over the Web and 1,500 more soon. The Hollywood Reporter (10/1)
Microsoft is trying anything to get you to use Live Search. And now it’s time to add another to its attempts to try to pay you to use its service. Dubbed SearchPerks, Microsoft’s latest scheme gives users points when they use Live Search, which can be redeemed for prizes. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/01/microsoft-throws-prizes-at-you-for-searching 10/1)
Slide hopes to attract more advertising revenue with the launch of a new service Thursday that allows users of social-networking sites to view clips offered by Time Warner’s Warner Bros., CBS and Comcast’s E! Entertainment channel. The Wall Street Journal (10/1)
GSN has teamed up with Imagination Entertainment to offer more than 1,000 DVD-based games via GSNshop.com. The site will include titles based on the network’s shows such as “Bingo America.” TVWeek.com (9/30)
YouTube has launched a new feature as part of its Insight tool for content creators that allows members to visually examine exactly where in their videos their viewers gain and lose interest. The new feature, called Hot Spots, displays the dropoff data in a dynamic graph that can be viewed alongside the original video. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/30/youtube-hot-spots-shows-publishers-when-their-viewers-jump-ship 9/30)
Google has just launched a new homepage
for its blog search that bears a strong resemblance to Techmeme, Memeorandum and their “memetracker” counterparts. The site displays a listing of the top stories from across a variety of topics including business, politics, technology, and entertainment. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/01/google-launches-its-own-memetracker 10/1)
TBS throws out the first pitch on its MLB baseball playoffs coverage today with a full complement of broadband coverage. The recently re-launched TBS Hot Corner on MLB.com will feature live and on-demand segments (not full games) from multiple on-field camera angles and provide live statistics tracking individual teams and players. The Live Game Streaming application is designed to complement the TBS telecasts, where users submit questions to the booth to be answered on air, participate in polls and interact with other fans in the chat room. (Cynopsis 10/1)
Michael Eisner-backed web studio Vuguru signed a deal with online ad network Adconion to syndicate its latest original series Back on Topps, which debuted yesterday. (Back on Topps is goofy behind-the-scenes look at the Topps trading card company starring Jason and Randy Sklar, which Eisner’s Tornante Co. happened to purchase for $385m last year.) The show will be the first to take advantage of Adconion’s AMG-TV distribution service designed to increase distribution of video content and improve monetization by introducing partner Omnicon Media Group Digital’s (OMG Digital) client brands to media buying opportunities. However the twice-a-week Vuguru series will be featured initially on MSN-powered FoxSports.com, which negotiated for a 12-hour exclusive window. (Cynopsis 10/1)
Programmers are finding that comedy and sports go well together given the demographic crossover (male 18-49). ESPN.com set a launch date of Nov. 11 for Mayne Street, its first original web series from P3 Entertainment hosted by the deadpan Kenny Mayne. Kenny (who creates those ironic Mayne Event segments for Sunday NFL Countdown) will tool around locations in Bristol and New York City interacting with fictional crew members and real life ESPN personalities. Meanwhile GolTV debuts The Art of Football today at 8pm ET, a comic variety show all about the funny side of soccer hosted by Monty Python veteran John Cleese. (Cynopsis 10/1)
Freshly redesigned video sharing site Veoh, also supported with Eisner funds, added a selection of shows from the new digital theWB.com including TV products The O.C. and Smallville as well as web series Sorority Forever and A Boy Wearing Makeup. (Cynopsis 10/1)
Taking advantage of Korea’s world-leading 94% broadband penetration rate, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution announced it will release a number of movie titles in the territory through VOD or IPTV services two weeks before they are made available on DVD as a test case. Recent research from the Korean Film Council indicates more than 47% of people in Korea have downloaded movies from the internet at least once. (Cynopsis 10/1)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Desperate Housewives, Disney-ABC Television Group, iPhone, LG, LG Electronics, Mobile phone, Nokia
LG Electronics is expected to introduce this month a touch-screen phone with fewer features, but at what it terms an affordable price “never offered before.” The KP500 will feature a 3.2-megapixel camera, 3-inch screen with Bluetooth, the ability to read PDFs and Office documents, and some multimedia capabilities: EDGE connectivity instead of Wi-Fi or 3G. InformationWeek (9/30)
MobiTV reached an agreement with Disney-ABC Television Group to offer full-length episodes of many ABC prime time shows including Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy and Samantha Who?, in addition to a selection of content from ABC Daytime, ABC Family and ABC News. MobiTV has 4 million+ subscribers on multiple carriers including Sprint, AT&T and Alltell. (Cynopsis 10/1)
The number of touch-screen phones will reach 90 million worldwide by next year and account for 7% of all mobile phones sold, according to a study from Strategy Analytics, which said that Nokia and Apple would drive price cuts by ramping up production. cellular-news (U.K.) (9/30)
Cell phones are no longer primarily a business-driven product, according to a study from Artificial Life that finds almost half of all U.S. users depend on their handsets for entertainment, mainly multimedia content such as videos, music and games. Another finding: One-third of the 200 respondents said that entertainment was more important to them than other services, including e-mail, GPS and Web browsing. TMCnet.com (9/30)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Electronic Arts, Games, Hollywood, Nintendo, Video game, Wall Street Journal, Wii, Zack Snyder
Saying the game was not up to its “high-quality standards,” Electronic Arts has halted development of its high-profile “Tiberium” video game, which the company had been working on for more than a year. Also this week, EA reportedly signed a development deal with Hollywood director Zack Snyder, who made the film “300.” The Wall Street Journal (10/1) , Mediaweek/Reuters (9/30)
Nintendo and Marriott have signed a deal for the hotel chain to place the Wii consoles, along with 20 games, in its New York Times Square location and five other cities, the companies said Tuesday. Marriott will offer guests a one-fee subscription plan for unlimited play, according to Nintendo. Yahoo!/CNET (9/30)
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