Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: A&E Network, Girls Next Door, HBO, Hollywood Reporter, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Kendra Wilkinson, Television, TLC
TLC‘s widely popular “Jon and Kate Plus 8” opened its fifth season Monday with a whopping 9.8 million viewers. The show, about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight children, was the most-watched show that night on cable or broadcast TV. TVWeek.com (5/26)
“The Link,” a two-hour special on History that focused on a 47-million-year-old fossil that could have been a missing link in the human evolutionary chain, attracted 2 million viewers to its May 25 premiere. The much-hyped show scored well in all demos, averaging 904,000 between the ages of 25 and 54 and 756,000 between the ages of 18 and 49. Multichannel News (5/26)
A&E Network opened season seven of Intervention on Monday at 9p with 2 million viewers. Then at 10p, A&E debuted the new original series Obsessed which attracted 1.8 million viewers. (Cynopsis 5/27)
Also on Monday, E! aired the season three finale of Keeping Up with the Kardashians at 1030p, delivering a 1.93 HH rating among metered markets. In E!’s newest reality series, Kendra Wilkinson, former star of The Girls Next Door, headlines her own show, Kendra opening June 7 at 10p with limited commercial breaks. (Cynopsis 5/27)
ABC is said to be preparing for “executive shuffling and pinkslipping,” as Steve McPherson consolidates his power as head of ABC Entertainment Group overseeing both ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios. Layoffs are expected in business affairs, publicity, legal and other areas. (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/abc-network-studio-shakeup-coming 5/26)
With international TV buyers spending the week in Hollywood, HBO has decided to enter the global distribution fray. The pay-cable channel screened three of its upcoming shows — “Hung,” “Bored to Death” and “How to Make It in America” — for international buyers looking to cut licensing deals. The Hollywood Reporter (5/26)
Bravo announced Tuesday that it would spin off a new version of its “Real Housewives” franchise — this time in the nation’s capital. The news about “The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C.” closely follows the May 12 premiere of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” which attracted 1.72 million viewers. Mediaweek (5/26)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Carl Icahn, Facebook, Huffington Post, Lazard, Los Angeles, Time Warner, Tucker Carlson
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Internet investment group Digital Sky Technologies, based in London and Moscow, is investing $200 million in Facebook for a 1.96% equity stake at a $10 billion valuation. The new investor says it sees “tremendous value” in social networks “as they redefine how people communicate.” (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/social_network/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217700121 5/26)
Conservative political pundit Tucker Carlson is planning to launch a political news competitor to the Huffington Post, reports The Hill today. <!–
class=”snap_preview_icon”> The site will be called TheDailyCaller.com and will be focused on reporting news about the Obama Administration but will add “facts to the conversation.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/26/political-pundit-tucker-carlson-to-launch-competitor-to-huffington-post 5/26)
Lazard eviscerated Time Warner in 2006 with its report supporting activist investor Carl Icahn’s campaign to break up the media giant. The investment services firm is now said to be vying for a mandate from Time Warner to spin off AOL. The move could make Lazard “millions.” (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124337772665256101.html 5/27)
Two AOL subscribers are filing a lawsuit against the company for inserting advertising in its email service. Los Angeles residents Rande Bronster and Robert Nachshin allege that such ads are unlawful under the federal Electronic Communications Act and California law. (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=106721 5/26)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: AdamLambert, AmericanIdol, Android Developer Challenge, Arkansas, AT&T, Google, Kris Allen, Text messaging
AT&T, one of the biggest sponsors of “American Idol,” might have influenced the outcome of this year’s competition by providing phones for free text-messaging services at parties organized by fans of Kris Allen, the Arkansas singer who won. Fox officials decline to comment. (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/business/media/27idol.html 5/26)
In an effort to continue fostering the Android development community, Google has announced the second round of its Android Developer Challenge class=”snap_preview_icon”> – a competition that rewards some of the platform’s best applications with large cash grants. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/27/google-kicks-off-android-developer-challenge-part-deux 5/27)
Mobile music will bring in $5.5 billion by 2013, compared with $2.5 billion today, according to a new Juniper Research report that pointed to a wide array of new streaming and downloading services in the pipeline. MediaPost Communications/OnlineMediaDaily (5/26)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Console Platforms, Games, New York, Nintendo, Nintendo America, Reggie Fils-Aime, Video Games, Wii
Nintendo has some tricks up its sleeve, but adding voice services to its consoles is not among them, an executive said. “Telephony is not in our wheelhouse. It’s not something I anticipate us getting into,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, the head of Nintendo of America. But he added that Nintendo was considering adding Wi-Fi connectivity to its handheld games. The New York Times/Bits blog (5/26) , MocoNews.net (5/27)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Hardware, iPod, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Portable media player, Television, Zune
Microsoft this fall will debut a new version of its Zune portable media player, the software giant’s competitive answer to Apple‘s iPod. The new Zune will feature HD video, Wi-Fi and touch-screen technology. Reuters (5/26) , Digital Trends (5/27)
About a half hour ago, Amazon opened up a new feature on the Kindle: the ability to read your notes and highlights on the Web. Readers have always been able to make notes and highlight text on the Kindle itself. Now those annotations appear on your account at http://kindle.amazon.com <!–
class=”snap_preview_icon”> . Once you sign in, you can see all your notes. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/26/kindle-notes-and-highlights-now-accessible-on-the-web 5/26)
Disney’s ESPN and Walt Disney World resort are building a new research facility at the Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. Dubbed the “ESPN Innovation Lab,” the operation will allow the cable-sports network to test new applications, such as virtual graphics. (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney-espn-sports-052609,0,5846696.story 5/26)
LG Electronics has started shipping its new LH55 LCD TV line, which was first introduced at the International CES. The line — which comes in 37-, 42-, 47- and 55-inch varieties — features the company’s TruMotion backlight technology, which is designed to improve picture response time and reduce blurring. TWICE (5/26)
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