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BROADCAST/CABLE

USA Network‘s “Burn Notice” pulled in a whopping 6 million viewers for the finale of its second season, coming in third in its time slot behind new episodes of “E.R.” on NBC and “Eleventh Hour” on CBS. “Burn Notice” also scored big with the 18-to-49 demographic group, amassing 2.74 million in the advertiser-coveted segment. TVWeek.com (3/6)

America’s Best Dance Crew finale on MTV Thursday night delivered a 2.97 rating among the 12-34 set, the highest delivery for this series, season to date, out delivering it season to date average of 2.2 rating by 22%. For the whole of the season, America’s Best Dance Crew reached 70.7 million total viewers, and 32.9 million in its sweetspot, persons 12-34. (Cynopsis 3/9)

Scott Carlin, HBO‘s president of domestic distribution, and his team will meet with potential buyers this month about syndication sales of three of the network’s iconic hits: “Entourage,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Sex and the City.” And, despite the economic conditions, Carlin is optimistic about chances for the shows: “Everything has its own life and time. We think now is a pretty interesting time to begin having some conversations with people about these shows.” Broadcasting & Cable (3/9)

Epix, the forthcoming Viacom-Lions Gate-MGM movie channel, is having trouble securing distribution with cable and satellite TV companies. Carriers are skittish about adding a pricey new network during a recession. In response, Epix could turn to online pathways into the home. (Iwantmedia 3/9, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/03/studios-epix-ve.html 3/6)

If it’s March, it must be madness. That’s what CBS College Sports Network and the NCAA are hoping, at any rate, as they begin offering multichannel providers the sophomore season of “NCAA VOD: The Best of March Madness.” “March Madness is a huge event and VOD is an asset that MSOs and other distributors can use to differentiate their products and drive their business,” said Bob Rose, executive vice president of distribution for CBS College Sports. Multichannel News (3/8)

The new AT&T-sponsored Music Vault will enable users to unlock a virtual portal that offers access to music videos from MTV Networks that have never before been released on the Internet. Fans access the videos via an online trivia game and can share their access with friends. (Iwantmedia 3/9, http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/19998 3/6)

CBS and NBC, looking to cut costs as advertising shrinks, are turning to Canadian television producers for new shows. Both networks will debut shows that are filmed and set in Toronto. Canada is “palatable” to U.S. audiences; Canadians “drive on the same side of the street.” (Iwantmedia 3/9, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afYDvToAWJks 3/9)

Bravo’s luxurious mix of shopaholic housewives, millionaire matchmakers and fancy chefs is displaying a good amount of resiliency against hard financial times. In February, the NBC Universal network reported a 16% increase in young-adult viewers over the comparable period in 2008. Variety (3/6)

Fox’s lucrative “American Idol,” the most-watched U.S. television series, is “the last of its breed,” says Fox exec Mike Darnell. “I don’t believe there will ever be another show like this,” as the consumer pool is increasingly splintered by broadcast, cable, DVRs and the Internet. (Iwantmedia 3/9, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090308/ap_en_mu/american_idol_empire 3/8)

Tosh.0 is a new weekly series ordered by Comedy Central with host and comedian Daniel Tosh.  The series will include ten episodes, airing weekly, and set to premiere in June.  The mission of Tosh.0 is to change the way people think about the internet, with a closer look at blogs, vlogs, tweets and pokes. (Cynopsis 3/9)

ABC has ordered a new single camera pilot called Pulling, from ABC Studios.  Based on the 2006 British series, the story is about three women who decide to live together after one of them breaks off her engagement just 24 hours before the wedding. (Cynopsis 3/9)

Disney-owned SoapNet, the cable channel that, so far, has featured reruns of daytime soaps in prime time, is getting into the business of original, scripted programming. Brian Frons, who oversees the network, said SoapNet was investing in two original series — “Julia’s Tango” and “Santa Monica” — and would present them to ad buyers during the upfront selling season. TVWeek.com (3/8)

As the economic tailspin continues, advertisers increasingly are considering the value of the 10-second commercial. These quick-hitting spots, according to Kal Liebowitz of KSL Media, typically cost less than half the price of a 15-second spot and often run in relatively clutter-free environments that are outside of commercial pods. TVWeek.com (3/8)

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