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BROADCAST/CABLE

HBO has ordered a fourth season of “Big Love,” the drama about a polygamist in Utah and his growing roster of wives. The show, starring Bill Paxton, averages about 5 million viewers when time-shifted and VOD viewing as well as encore showings are considered. Variety (2/4)

Live-plus-seven-day figures from Nielsen show that many people like to watch Sci Fi’s “Battlestar Galactica” on their own schedule. The Jan. 16 episode attracted 2.11 million live-plus-same-day viewers, Nielsen said, but the DVR-driven, seven-day data showed the number of viewers increased to 2.8 million, adding 32% to the original showing. Mediaweek (2/4)

Changes come to the Primetime Emmy Awards as the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences voted to increase the number of nominees from five to six in the following categories: Outstanding Comedy and Drama Series programs, Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy and Drama Series. Additionally, the Television Academy Governors voted to eliminate the two-phase nominating process in the series and performance categories. That means the voting for the Drama and Comedy Series programs will be determined by the whole Television Academy membership; nominees in the Drama and Comedy Series performer categories will be voted on by the Performer Peer Group. (Cynopsis 2/5)

VH1 reported its 90m premiere of I Love Money 2 on Monday night at 9p posted a 1.3 rating among A18-49 and 2.3 million total viewers. On the same night at 1030p, For the Love of Ray J opened and held steady with a 1.3 A18-49 rating and increased it’s lead-in among Total Viewers to 2.4 million. (Cynopsis 2/5)

IAC/InterActive Corp’s CollegeHumor.com has evolved into a go-to site for 6 million visitors monthly, a comedy tour, books and now a television series, MTV’s “The CollegeHumor Show,” premiering Sunday. Beer, babes and parodies dominate the site, a favorite of men ages 18 to 22. (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-02-04-collegehumor-show_N.htm 2/4)

ABC acquired the Media Rights Capital comedy Surviving Suburbia, headlined by Bob Saget, and will place it on Mondays following Dancing with the Stars beginning April 6 at 930p. With 13 episodes already produced, Surviving Suburbia was originally planned to be part of The CW’s Sunday night block. The sitcom replaces Samantha Who? which moves to Thursdays. (Cynopsis 2/5)

Ex-Viacom CEO Tom Freston is now a consultant for Oprah Winfrey’s forthcoming cable television channel, OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network, set to launch by early 2010. OWN, he says, “is as big an idea now as MTV was then. It’s the first network about empowerment and life purpose.” (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/03/news/newsmakers/sellers_freston.fortune/index.htm 2/3)

A state tax credit that brought television production in New York City to a record high last year has run out of money, threatening jobs. “None of us has booked a single pilot this year,” says Alan Suna, head of Silvercup Studios. “Everybody is sending their pilots elsewhere.” (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090204/FREE/902049968 2/4)

Time Warner Cable added 44,000 digital-TV subscribers and 124,000 high-speed-data customers during the fourth quarter of last year. It also had 130,000 telephony additions. Overall, the cable provider reported revenue jumped 8%, to $4.4 billion, during the period. OneTRAK (2/4) , Light Reading (2/4)

The last major obstacle in the way of moving the digital-TV transition from Feb. 17 to June 12 was overcome Wednesday when the House of Representatives voted 264-158 in favor of a four-month delay. A similar measure had already passed in the Senate, and now a combined bill will go to President Barack Obama, who has said he is in favor of the June 12 date. The Wall Street Journal (free content)/Dow Jones Newswires (2/5) , Los Angeles Times (free registration) (2/5) , Broadcasting & Cable (2/4)

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