Daily Marauder

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NBC says it has landed the “first television interview from the White House” with President Obama since his inauguration. The live interview, with NBC News’s Matt Lauer, will air during the pre-game show before Sunday’s Super Bowl. More of the interview will air the next day on “Today.” (Iwantmedia 1/27, http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/61930374/1 1/26)

Advertisers are paying NBC as much as $3 million for 30 seconds of airtime during this year’s Super Bowl — 11% more than the $2.7 million that Fox charged during last year’s game. Companies say they’re spending big because no other event captures the interest of 100 million viewers. (Iwantmedia 1/27, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-superbowl27-2009jan27,0,7885040.story 1/27)

Tire maker Bridgestone Americas Inc. is again sponsoring the Super Bowl halftime show and will unveil two new TV ads, including one set in space that an executive says is very “high-tech as far as the graphics.”

Lifetime’s “Prayers for Bobby,” the story about a woman whose gay son kills himself, attracted 3.8 million total viewers and a 3.1 household rating in its debut this past Saturday. The premiere pulled in 1 million women in the 18-to-49 age group and 1.1 million women 25-to-54, the network’s two most-important demographic categories. Multichannel News (1/26)

The next season of “Project Runway” may never make it to television, but producers plan to film the big New York Fashion Week finale anyway. The show remains tied up in lawsuits between NBC’s Bravo, its producers at the Weinstein Company and new “Runway” owner Lifetime. (Iwantmedia 1/27, http://www.nypost.com/seven/01272009/tv/can_runway_make_it_work__152186.htm 1/27)

CBS revs up for the fourteenth edition of The Amazing Race on February 15 at 8p with Phil Keoghan as host. (Cynopsis 1/27)

ABC will debut the new Better Off Ted March 18 at 830p following Scrubs at 8p. On Thursday nights beginning March 26 at 8p, ABC will pair the new Megan Mullally/Cheryl Hines comedy In the Motherhood followed by Samantha Who? at 830p. (Cynopsis 1/27)

News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, who turns 78 in March, is said to have “hazy” succession planning. Murdoch dying in office without an anointed family heir could force News Corp.’s board to appoint a new CEO itself — and that person might not be any of Rupert’s offspring. (Iwantmedia 1/27, http://www.businessday.com.au/business/decision-time-is-looming-for-the-murdoch-family-20090126-7q1f.html 1/27)

ABC approved a redo of the 1980s miniseries V about alien lizards landing on the planet. Scott Peters (The 4400) writes the new adaptation and also will executive produce along with Jason Hall of HDFilms. Warner Bros. Television produced the original miniseries and will produce the pilot. (Cynopsis 1/27)

CBS okayed a pilot presentation for a reality program titled Missing You from executive producer Shaun Cassidy about a team of investigators focusing on new missing-persons cases each week. Cassidy and Ned Nalle created Missing You and Nalle will also executive produce along with James Bruce and Raquel Productions. (Cynopsis 1/27)

The Senate passed a bill that would extend the transition to all-digital TV signals from Feb. 17 to June 12, with the hope that those who have not yet prepared for the switch will do so in the additional months. ClipSyndicate (1/26) , The Washington Post (1/27) , Reuters (1/27)

In his first meeting as acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Copps said the FCC’s near-term agenda will be “DTV, DTV and DTV,” and he urged commissioners and staffers to conduct business in a more inclusive manner. These changes, Copps said, will “make the FCC more transparent, open and useful to the stakeholders that we serve. And when I say stakeholders, I include not just the industries that we regulate but, more importantly, all citizens.” TVWeek.com (1/26) , Broadcasting & Cable (1/26)