Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

As expected, Comcast and the NFL Network have made final a carriage deal. The agreement means that the National Football League‘s cable channel will be available by Aug. 1 on the digital-basic tier of the country’s largest cable provider, adding 10.8 million subscribers to the network’s roster. The Wall Street Journal (5/20) , The New York Times (5/19

As Fox’s “American Idol,” U.S. television’s No. 1 series, ends its eighth year, the juggernaut is seeing a 8.4% drop in average audience this season. While advertisers spent $903.3 million on “Idol” last year, it “has begun to show signs of wear,” analysts say. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-05-19-ratings-american-idol_N.htm 5/19)

A few years before NBC signed up Jay Leno to host a nightly series in prime time, the network approached both Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman about taking on similar gigs. NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker says Winfrey declined his offer to move her show to the network. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003977.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 5/19)

The season two finale of HISTORY’s Ax Men on Monday at 10p attracted 1.1 million A25-54 and 1.9 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 5/20)

The final episode of the first season of “River Monsters” on Animal Planet drew 1.4 million viewers, good enough to make the show the most-watched in the network’s history. “River Monsters” averaged 1.4 million viewers in its eight-episode first year, topping “Whale Wars,” which averaged 1 million viewers in its freshman season. Multichannel News (5/19)

A special sponsorship with Subway sandwich shops is enabling NBC to renew “Chuck” for a third season. Subway played a role in an episode of the series last month. Chuck’s girlfriend, Sarah, works at a mall food court. She could be selling Subway sandwiches next season. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/business/media/20adco.html?_r=1 5/20)

ABC confirmed the following returning series Better Off Ted, Castle, Scrubs, True Beauty, America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Brothers & Sisters, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Private Practice, Supernanny, Ugly Betty, Wife Swap, 20/20 and Saturday Night College Football. Cynopsis 5/20

Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation are working on a triple crown of sorts. The two companies, which collaborated on “The Penguins of Madagascar” and recently announced plans for “Kung Fu Panda: The Series,” now say they will team up on a pilot for Nick based on DWA’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” movie. The Hollywood Reporter (5/19)

Eight of the 11 new shows ABC is lining up for next season are made by outside suppliers, breaking with tradition. The move could save money for ABC because most shows fail, losing millions for the studios that produce them. Even successful programs typically lose money. (Iwantmedia 5/20, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-abc20-2009may20,0,441327.story 5/19)

Comcast Corporation made an agreement with Disney and ESPN Media Networks to add ESPNU to its Digital Classic level as well as ESPN360.com to Comcast.net. The launch of ESPNU will coincide with the opening of the college football season. This launch takes ESPNU to more than 46 million subscribers and ESPN360.com will be available to almost 41 million homes. Cynopsis 5/20