Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Cannonball Run II, CBS, Dom DeLuise, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, New Adventures of Old Christine, Smokey and the Bandit, Warner Bros.
TNT scored with its 2009 NBA Playoffs coverage, delivering the best first round ratings ever. TNT attracted 14% more total viewers than the previous year (nearly 3.4 million vs. almost 3.0 million). Furthermore, TNT’s broadcast of game #7 on May 2 was the most-watched Round One game in cable TV history at 5.0 million viewers with households as well as 7.0 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 5/6)
Lifetime has announced that it will bring back its popular “Army Wives” series for a third season June 7. The show is the most-watched drama among women 18 to 49 on ad-supported cable TV, and its Season 2 finale last November was the most-watched show in Lifetime’s 25-year history. Variety (5/5)
Spike TV has acquired the off-network rights to HBO’s “Entourage” for a reported $600,000 per episode. As part of the deal, Spike, beginning in January, gets to telecast the 78 episodes already produced, the upcoming sixth season and any future episodes. The Hollywood Reporter (5/5)
FOX announced it will not continue with its half-hour Saturday late-night program Talk Show With Spike Feresten for a fourth season. (Cynopsis 5/6)
CBS’ sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine will be back for a fifth season, though which network will carry the series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus is up in the air, reports THR. ABC made a back-up agreement with Warner Bros. TV, producer of the series, for a full-season order of 22 episodes if CBS opts to not pick up the show. (Cynopsis 5/6)
Funny man, Dom DeLuise died Monday night, passing away in his sleep after a long illness. He was 75. With a stage, film and television career spanning 50 years, Dom is remembered for his comedic film roles starring opposite his best friend Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and the Cannonball Run films from 1981 and 1984. (Cynopsis 5/6)
While Walt Disney Co.’s quarterly profit fell 46% in the first quarter, the highly diversified company’s cable unit — which includes ESPN and the Disney Channel — saw revenue of $2.2 billion, a 4% improvement, and operating income of $1.14 billion, a 5% increase. Additionally, Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said the company’s recent investment in online video site Hulu.com would help drive Web traffic back to Disney portals, such as ESPN.com. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (5/5) , The Wall Street Journal (5/6) , Reuters (5/5) , OneTRAK (5/5)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Barack Obama, CBS Evening News, CBS News, Federal Communications Commission, General Electric, NBC Universal, New Adventures of Old Christine, Television
Oxygen on Sunday attracted 145,000 18- to 34-year-old women, its largest audience ever in that demographic, with a marathon showing of “America’s Next Top Model Obsessed.” Total viewers watching the 12 episodes from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. gave the network a 25% gain compared with the average in the same time period for the previous four weeks. Broadcasting & Cable (1/22)
On Wednesday at 8 p.m., CBS will pre-empt “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” to air a special edition of “The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.” The move is not intended as a tryout for a new show, CBS says. The broadcast aims to attract new viewers to the evening news. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/arts/television/23cour.html?_r=1 1/23)
Smells like desperation to me… I think the controversy surrounding Katie’s new haircut is more interesting than her news program.
General Electric is reporting that its fourth-quarter net income fell 44%. “We expect 2009 to be extremely difficult,” says CEO Jeff Immelt. At GE’s NBC Universal, earnings fell 6.3% while revenue slid 2.7% as strong cable earnings were offset by declines at local stations. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090123-710183.html 1/23)
The Disney-ABC Television Group plans to merge its ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios units to streamline the creative process and “address the changing realities” of entertainment. The new unit, the ABC Entertainment Group, will be led by longtime ABC exec Steve McPherson. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20090122-001044-1837&hpadref=1 1/22)
President Barack Obama has named Michael Copps as acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Copps, a member of the commission, is expected to run the agency until Obama’s technology adviser, Julius Genachowski, is appointed. Mediaweek (1/22)
The Screen Actors Guild is losing the support of a majority of its board to vote on a strike after a faction within the union backed a plan to suspend the vote. The update follows months of preparations for a strike vote that would have shut down production of studio movies and television shows. (Iwantmedia 1/23, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_en_bu/hollywood_labor 1/23)
Lifetime has ordered 20 half-hour episodes of a new cooking series, “Cook Yourself Thin,” to start in the spring. Author Harry Eastwood, who penned a book that led to a British TV show, will join experts Allison Fishman and Candice Kumai in demonstrating how to make meals healthier by reducing calories and fat. Variety (1/22)
NBC ordered a 60m pilot titled Mercy from writer Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights), reports THR. The dramedy centers on three nurses who are friends and intertwined in each other’s professional and personal lives. Universal Media Studios will produce. (Cynopsis 1/23)
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