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There seems to be no stopping the “absorbent and yellow and porous” one. A half-hour special episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” on Nickelodeon on Oct. 13 attracted a whopping 7.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, including 4.1 million in the 2-to-11 age group, 2.7 million in the 6-to-11 segment and 2.3 million in the 9-to-14 demo. Mediaweek (10/15)

TLC’s fourth season premiere of Little People, Big World Monday at 8p attracted 1.1 million A25-54; 742,000 W25-54; 713,000 W18-49; as well as 2.3 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 10/16)

CBS handed out a full season order for frosh drama The Mentalist starring Simon Baker. So far The Mentalist has averaged a 3.8/9 with A18-49 and a 5.3/12 with A25-54 in its Tuesday 9p time slot. (Cynopsis 10/16)

NBC okayed three additional scripts for midseason drama Medium, writes THR. NBC may add the series to its schedule before the end of the year instead of waiting until 1st Qtr. (Cynopsis 10/16)

ABC is moving forward on four more scripts for Eli Stone produced by ABC Studios, says THR. (Cynopsis 10/16)

VH1 brings back Best Week Ever, the 30m series parody of pop culture topics, for a new season beginning October 24 at 11p. Paul F. Tompkins joins the ensemble cast as host. (Cynopsis 10/16)

If you’ve ever wondered who would win in a fight between Genghis Khan’s Mongols and Nordic Vikings, you might want to check out “Deadliest Warrior,” a computer-generated series being developed for Spike TV that will feature imaginary battles between historic figures. The testosterone-laden network is also developing a series to be called “Surviving Disaster,” which will serve up advice on how to survive day-wreckers such as earthquakes, plane crashes and bioterrorism attacks. Variety (10/15)

Fox Business News celebrated its one-year anniversary Wednesday. The Roger Ailes-led network is now in about 43 million homes and soon will be adding to that total, thanks to new carriage pacts with U.S. Cable and Insight Communications, which will bring FBN to places such as Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky. Multichannel News (10/15)

MTV is giving rapper mogul 50 Cent his own show, 50 Cent: The Money and the Power, a reality competition series designed to teach aspiring entrepreneurs how to build their own business. The series opens November 6 at 10p and follows 14 contestants as they maneuver through business challenges while living together in a Brooklyn warehouse called Camp Curtis. 50 Cent will be actively involved in working with the contestants and narrowing the field down to one who wins $100,000. (Cynopsis 10/16)

Major League Baseball said FOX could move the start time of the World Series Game 6 back by 15 minutes on October 29, allowing for a half-hour time buy from Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Last week, the Obama campaign bought 30 live minutes on the same night from CBS and NBC, wanting to lock in FOX as well. The potential World Series Game 6 would then begin at 835p. (Cynopsis 10/16)

A recession could boost traditional media’s control over the digital media ecosystem by giving it an opportunity to buy smaller upstarts or watch them get crushed. Advertisers are shying away from “experimental” platforms, which could hurt the likes of Facebook but maybe not “old” media. (http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/10/15/internet-media-advertising-biz-media-cx_jea_1015ads.html 10/15)

Comcast subscribers in Denver and Chicago as early as next week will have the opportunity to buy two Panasonic TV models that come equipped with tru2way technology. The television sets — the 42-inch Viera TH-42PZ80Q and the 50-inch Viera TH-50PZ80Q — will take advantage of tru2way interactivity, including video on demand without the use of a set-top box. Light Reading (10/15)

If the transition to digital TV were to happen today, one out of every 12 U.S. homes would not be ready, according to a new study from the Nielsen Co. The study also found that less affluent households, those with incomes below $25,000, are five times more likely to be unprepared for the transition than those earning more than $75,000. TVWeek.com (10/15)

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