Broadcasting & Cable back issues from May 2005:
Where to be and what to watch ...(B&C WEEK)
May 02, 2005; ... Monday, May 2 It was double-take time when we clapped eyes on the description of tonight's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: How'd They Do That? (ABC, 8 ET). The guy getting the new-house treatment is James Dolan, the victim of a workplace shooting incident. Yikes! Have things ...
Busy week for 'Idol'.(Corey Clark)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... First, ABC's Primetime Live, looking for a sweeps-ratings spark on the eve of the fall schedule announcements, hyped a May 4 special criticizing the Fox phenomenon. The special will reportedly involve charges that Idol judge Paula Abdul had an affair with second-season ...
VNR Bill introduced.(video news releases)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Frank Lantenberg of New Jersey have introduced their bill requiring visible disclaimers on all government-produced pre-packaged video news releases (VNRs). The bill, christened the Truth in Broadcasting Act, will get a hearing in ...
What networks need this fall: a night-by-night look at strengths and gaps.
May 02, 2005; ... In two weeks, the broadcast networks will begin parading their new schedules in front of advertisers. But between now and May 16, when NBC starts the process by unveiling its prime time, frazzled network executives will look at dozens of pilots and decide the fate of lots of iffy series ...
Woodruff leaving CNN.(Judy Woodruff resigned from Cable News Network)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Judy Woodruff is leaving Cable News Network, she told colleagues April 28, although she will remain a consultant and sometime contributor. "I'm discussing several long-form projects in television," she said. "I'll also teach, do some writing and be an occasional consultant and ...
CNN posts some gains.(Cable News Network)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... CNN can finally crow about something in its ratings struggle against the still-dominant Fox News. In April, CNN's total-day viewership jumped 11% to an average 531,000 viewers, Headline News jumped 21% to 235,000 total viewers, while Fox News dropped 6% to 825,000. ...
AT&T's off-the-hook book: a manual on how to botch a media mega-deal.(End of the Line: The Rise and Fall of AT&T)
May 02, 2005; ... Executives don't really need any more lessons about how to do big deals badly. Sumner Redstone's machinations at Viacom have been a good primer. But a graduate course is the soon-to-be published book about AT&T's disastrous plunge into media. One eye-popping assertion: In its ...
The B&C: week of April 22-28.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 02, 2005 ... <Pre> WEEK OF APRIL 22-28 THE B&C 10WEEK YTD-3.2% -6.4 BROADCAST TV GROUPSWEEK YTD-1.2% 8.9% CABLE OPERATORSWEEK YTD-2.3% -3.8% RADIOWEEK YTD-3.3% ...
Paxson plunges.(Paxson Communications Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... 23% Remember when talk about a takeover of Paxson Communications caused its penny stock to nearly double a few weeks ago? Well, the financial power of former talk-show ...
'Queer Eye' for the naked guy.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ran into a daunting challenge last week while shooting an episode for the summer season. How do you make over a nudist? Clotheshorse Carson Kressley could have been expected to throw up his hands over the fortysomething Mr. Natural from New Jersey, but Carson ...
Reality check.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Where can a production company turn when it needs to find just the right reality-TV contestant? The same place where Flash! scored a sublet apartment and a used, slightly scratched iPod: Craigslist.org. Our recent trolling of the New York and Los Angeles branches of the online ...
Interview deja vu.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Like any network, CNBC is proud of its scoops, proclaiming an interview "First on CNBC" when its producers score a good CEO or government official. The problem is that it's not always true. On April 26, CNBC scored a live interview with Add Al-Jubeir, foreign-policy advisor to ...
Exit strategy.(management at National Broadcasting Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... We found it strange that NBC News' No. 2, Bill Wheatley, was promoted from VP to executive VP after he announced he was retiring in June. Then we recalled that NBC had upped MSNBC VP Phil Griffin to ...
Stevens' FCC pick first in line.(Ted Stevens backs Christine Kurth for president's post in Federal Communications Commission)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Christine Kurth is now the front-runner for Michael Powell's vacant FCC seat. Kurth is deputy staff director of the Senate Commerce Committee, with a specialty in telecommunications issues. Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is pushing the White House to ...
Top techies push DTV deadline.(WASHINGTON WATCH)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... To convince wary lawmakers that a quick switch to all-digital TV is necessary, many of the biggest U.S. technology companies have formally teamed up to push a "hard" deadline for shutting off old analog signals. With House legislation establishing a deadline--perhaps as soon as ...
Norfolk gets rarity: new TV station.(WASHINGTON WATCH)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... The first major-market TV station to be built from scratch in more than a decade will soon get a green light from the feds. As early as this week, the FCC is expected to let local developer Robert O. Copeland build a station to operate on ch. 21 in Virginia Beach, Va. (in the ...
Activists aim at Adelphia deal: coalition seeks conditions on approval.(NEWS & COMMENT)(Adelphia Communications Corp.)
May 02, 2005; ... Media activists, with major union backing, are preparing an all-out assault on the Adelphia deal, where Comcast and Time Warner plan to divvy up the spoils of their $17.6 billion purchase of the troubled operator. Leading the charge are the Center for Digital Democracy, Common ...
Ratings 4/11-17/05: Nielsen Media Research.(SYNDICATION)(Illustration)
May 02, 2005 ... <Pre> Top 25 Shows HOUSEHOLDS PROGRAMAA GAA 1 Wheel of Fortune 8.3 NA 2 Jeopardy! 7.1 NA 3 Everybody Loves Raymond 6.3 7.8 4 Oprah ...
L.A. berth pains: Buena Vista can't be sure where Danza will run.(SYNDICATION)(Buena Vista Television)
May 02, 2005; ... Lightning has stuck twice for Janice Marinelli, president of Disney's Buena Vista Television. Eighteen years ago, BVT rolled out a talk show with Regis Philbin using a very unusual sales strategy: launch it in the graveyard shift on KABC Los Angeles and without a clearance in ...
Syndie stays in sunny daze.(IN FOCUS)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... Access and early-fringe shows rebounded a bit in Nielsen's national rankings the week ended April 17 but mostly stayed in the dark as the second week of daylight-saving time continued to hurt viewing levels. In access, Everybody Loves Raymond (6.3), heading to its final ...
Local news taps into cable VOD.(STATION TO STATION)(Video on Demand)
May 02, 2005; ... When the local news anchor sings out, "Welcome to live, local news at 6 p.m.," on some TV sets, the clock in a viewer's living room might actually read 6:48 p.m. or 10:22 p.m. Viewers in about a dozen markets are watching local news on their own schedules as local broadcasters partner with ...
Martin pushes self-control: industry efforts not quite good enough.(NEWS & COMMENT)(Kevin Martin)
May 02, 2005; ... FCC Chairman Kevin Martin promised lawmakers last week he will pressure TV execs to clean up programming themselves, rather than relying on mounting government fines to scrub sexual scenes and crass language from prime time. True to his pledge, the next day, Martin dissed the ...
At a glance.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 02, 2005 ... <Pre> The Market DMA Rank63 Population 1,298,000 TV Homes 492,000 Income Per Capita $16,587 TV Revenue Rank 61 N Revenue $82,300,000 ...
Shoring up the market: Mobile-Pensacola area rebuilds after Ivan.
May 02, 2005; ... Nine months after Hurricane Ivan battered the Alabama coast and Florida panhandle, the region is still cleaning up. The most ferocious storm since 1998 had mixed effects on the local economies in Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., the No. 63 TV market. Homes and businesses were destroyed, ...
Networks switch, but not viewers.(WALA Mobile)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... WALA Mobile-Pensacola is not your typical Fox station. The Emmis Communications-owned VHF outlet is more akin to traditional affiliates, with heavy local news and top-notch syndicated fare. On weekdays, WALA offers 4.5 hours of local news and heavyweights The Oprah Winfrey Show, ...
The demos.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 02, 2005 ... <Pre> THE DEMOSSHARE OF WHO POPULATION INDEX * White76% 92 Black20%167 Hispanic 4% 32 Asian 1% ...
Universal helps NBC keeps its balance: in some mergers, timing is everything.(National Broadcasting Company Inc. )(Interview)
May 02, 2005; ... If NBC were to mark the one-year anniversary of the takeover of Vivendi Universal with a TV movie, picking a title capturing the importance of the deal would be easy: Just in Time. NBC completed the $14 billion deal on May 11, 2004. Just four days earlier, the network aired the ...
One year later, Wright likes the view from his studio.(Bob Wright )(Interview)
May 02, 2005 ... The NBC Universal pairing creates flexibility and new opportunities While other media companies cancel top execs almost as readily as they drop bad reality shows, NBC can boast one long-running executive hit: the Bob Wright show. Wright has run the place since 1986, when he came ...
The prime time race.(Illustration)
May 02, 2005 ... <Pre> Top 10 Basic Cable Shows April 18-24 Total Households (in millions) PROGRAM DATENET HHS 1. NFL Draft4/23ESPN3.8 2. WWE Raw 10p 4/18...
Nielsen ratings: April 18-24.(evaluation)(Illustration)
May 02, 2005 ... <Pre> NIELSEN APRIL 18-24 RATINGS abc MONDAYWeek31 5.3/88:00 65. Extreme Makeover Home Ed: 8:30 How'd They Do That? 4.3/79:00 40. The Bachelor 5.5/8 9:30 10:00 ...
Coming to a small screen near you: in an uncertain time for advertisers, movie studios still find TV crucial.
May 02, 2005; ... Over the next couple of months, Hollywood will give movie fans super villains, an alien invasion and a trip to the Dark Side. Studios will bombard TV viewers with commercials for Batman Begins, War of the Worlds and the last of the Star Wars trilogy, Revenge of the Sith in one of the most ...
Live TV on your cellphone: a much improved service could be in hand next year.(TECHNOLOGY)
May 02, 2005; ... Today, cellphone users can watch prerecorded TV snippets on Sprint and Cingular's MobiTV or Verizon's Vcast. But by next year, they may be able to watch live TV content from a variety of cellular phones. As a step toward inaugurating its Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld ...
Grass Valley eyes competitors: new strategies as big players get bigger.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... When it comes to driving the global TV-production market with the right product introduction, there is little doubt that Thomson, particularly its Grass Valley division, is at the top of that game. Headed up by President Marc Valentin, the company continues to look for ways to ...
Deals.(acquisition contracts)
May 02, 2005 ... TVS K14LJ LAUGHLIN, NEV. PRICE: $10,000 BUYER: NBC/GE (Jay Ireland, president, TV stations) SELLER: Summit Media LP (Scott Gentry, president) FACILITIES: Ch. 14, 10 kW, ant. 2,316 ft. COMMENT: Purchase price is portion of ...
Datebook.(Calendar)
May 02, 2005 ... THIS WEEK MAY 2 THE NATIONAL TELEVISION ACADEMY 26TH ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY AWARDS Frederick P. Rose Hall/ Lincoln Center, New York. Contact: Tanya Lopez, Goodman Media 212-576-2700 ext. 230 or tlopez@goodmanmedia.com MAY 3 BEACON AWARDS (DURING ...
Never two busy: Bravo/Trio's Zalaznick always has a couple of projects going.(PEOPLE)(Biography)
May 02, 2005; ... Lauren Zalaznick tackles her tasks in twos. She had both premed and English concentrations in college, worked on film and TV careers, took charge in marketing and programming positions, and is now president of two NBC Universal cable networks, Bravo and Trio. The New York native ...
KUSI San Diego.(Douglas Friedman appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, partner, Malibu Marketing, Calabasas, ...
E! Networks.(PROGRAMMING)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... NEIL BAKER, senior VP, advertising sales, E! Networks, New York, ...
Fox Cable Networks.(Claudia Teran promoted at Fox Cable Networks Group)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... CLAUDIA TERAN, VP, business and legal affairs, Fox ...
Comedy Central.(Val Boreland appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... VAL BORELAND, VP, scheduling, planning and acquisitions, Lifetime Television, ...
Fox Television.(Steven Kuo appointed at Fox Broadcasting Co.)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... STEVEN KUO, senior VP, business development, Fox Television, ...
Bill Bell, director/producer, Baltimore Orioles/Washington Capitals, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Bethesda, Md., promoted to director, operations.(PROGRAMMING)
May 02, 2005 ... BILL BELL, director/producer, Baltimore Orioles/Washington Capitals, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Bethesda, Md., promoted to director, operations. Promoted to VP/creative ...
Universal Studios Home Entertainment.(Lea Porteneuve appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... LEA PORTENEUVE, public relations consultant, named ...
National Lampoon.(Douglas S. Bennett, Lorraine Evanoff, Sara Rutenberg appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... At National Lampoon, Los Angeles: DOUGLAS S. BENNETT, president, adds chief financial officer; LORRAINE EVANOFF, controller, TAG Entertainment ...
World Christian Broadcasting.(Paul Ladd appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... PAUL LADD, morning-drive news anchor/producer, Metro Networks Nashville, ...
Fox News.(Irena Briganti promoted Fox News Network L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... IRENA BRIGANTI, senior director, media ...
ESPN Bristol.(Katina Vlahadamis Arnold promoted at Entertainment and Sports Programming Network)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... KATINA VLAHADAMIS ARNOLD, senior director, affiliate and new technologies ...
MZA Events.(David W. Harleston appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... DAVID W. HARLESTON, executive producer/business and legal affairs consultant, MZA Events, Los ...
Good Morning America.(Chris Sheridan appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... CHRIS SHERIDAN, supervising producer, Today (NBC)/senior producer, The News With Brian Williams (MSNBC), Los Angeles, named executive ...
CNN.(John King appointed at Cable News Network)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... JOHN KING, senior White House correspondent, ...
Goodman Media International Inc.(Liane Ramirez Swierk promoted)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... LIANE RAMIREZ SWIERK, senior account director, ...
Bader Rutter & Associates.(Colleen Grams, Sabrina Kahler, Joel Patrick Kennedy appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... At Bader Rutter & Associates, Milwaukee: SABRINA KAHLER, media analyst, Kohl's, Milwaukee, joins as media buyer/ planner, media group; COLLEEN GRAMS, meteorologist, WDJT Milwaukee, joins as account executive, public ...
Dayport.(Lon Bencini, Tom Guzik appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... At Dayport, Mankato, Minn.: TOM GUZIK, founder/CEO, Computer Mind Ltd. and Air Communications, Thunder Bay, Ontario, named senior VP/GM, business ...
Wine Network Inc.(Ann Mather appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... ANN MATHER, executive VP/CFO, Pixar, Emeryville, Calif., ...
CABLEready.(Sabrina Sachez-Ayala appointed)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... SABRINA SANCHEZ-AYALA, director, program marketing/ Latin programming ...
Greater Media Inc.(Mat Mills became the member at National Association of Broadcasters)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... MATT MILLS, VP/GM, Greater Media Inc., Boston, elected ...
Family Friendly Programming Forum.(TECHNOLOGY)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005 ... HELEN GRIFFIN, distribution analyst, Fairchild Publications Inc., New York, appointed ...
O'Brien returning to 'insider'.(FAST TRACT)(Pat O'Brien)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... Pat O'Brien, the former CBS sportscaster who left Access Hollywood last year to co-anchor Paramount Television's Entertainment Tonight spinoff, The Insider, will return to the gossipy entertainment newsmagazine May 5, Paramount said. O'Brien left a substance-abuse rehab facility ...
FCC gets new indecency czar.(FAST TRACT)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has named Kris Monteith as his point person overseeing the agency's crackdown on broadcast indecency. As chief of the FCC's enforcement bureau, she also will be charged with investigating alleged violations of rules governing broadcast-tower operations, ...
Sundance cuts staff, shifts direction.(FAST TRACT)(Sundance Channel L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... Cable network Sundance Channel has laid off 10 staffers, mostly in programming, which a Sundance spokeswoman says was part of a shift in ...
Rigases agree to pay $71.5 million.(Adelphia Communications' Rigas)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... Adelphia Communications' Rigas family has agreed to settle a federal fraud investigation by paying $715 million to an investor fund. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that Adelphia founder John Rigas and his family have agreed ...
ABC picks up 'Jim,' 'Videos'.(FAST TRACT)(American Broadcasting Companies Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... ABC has given early-season pickups to sitcom According to Jim and reality vet America's Funniest Home Videos as it prepares its new fall schedule. Jim, already in its fourth season, has been ABC's top sitcom this season in households and the key 18-49 demo. Up ...
L.A. marks the spot for X games.(FAST TRACTS)
May 02, 2005; ... ESPN's X Games will remain in Los Angeles through 2009 under a deal with AEG, owner and operator of the Staples Center and The Home Depot Center, ...
Kids upfront drags feet.(FAST TRACT)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2005; ... Major advertisers responsible for 80%-90% of kids-TV spending have finalized their budgets and submitted them to networks to begin negotiations. Turner's Cartoon Network has closed a few deals, and a spokesman for Nickelodeon expects to close "a significant amount of business shortly," ...
NBC adopts content ratings.(FAST TRACT)
May 02, 2005; ... NBC has joined ranks with the rest of the networks on the TV-ratings system. The network said last week that it will immediately begin including content descriptors in its TV ratings--"V" for violence, "S" for sexual content, "L" for vulgar language, "D" for suggestive dialogue ...