Mark Wahlberg will cameo as himself in the fifth season of “Entourage,” the Hollywood Reporter says. Wahlberg, who is an executive producer on the HBO series, revealed that his scene will be alongside Jeremy Piven, the newspaper says. —Vlada Gelman
Lifetime has ordered drama pilot “The Amazing Mrs. Novak,” the Hollywood Reporter says. The project, about a supermarket manager who unexpectedly becomes governor of New Jersey, comes from Vanessa Taylor, the newspaper says. —Vlada Gelman
Google has cluttered embedded YouTube players with ads, the New York Times argues. The result looks “closer to the gaudiness of MySpace than the sterility of Google,” the newspaper says. Google has been experimenting with ad formats in order to…
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” will feature special reports by senior foreign correspondent Rob Riggle from China next week, Multichannel News reports. Riggle will report from Beijing, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall, the newspaper says. “Rob…
Publicis Groupe has acquired Performics Search Marketing from Google, Online Media Daily reports. The unit will be integrated into Publicis’ VivaKi Nerve Center, which was created to develop new services, tools and partnerships through the leverage of Digitas, Starcom-MediaVest, Zenith-Optimedia…
“The Hills’” Lauren Conrad will guest star as herself on the second-season finale of ABC Family’s “Greek,” Entertainment Weekly reports. Conrad will help Casey (Spencer Grammer) with a major decision in a dream sequence, the magazine says. The episode airs…
Time Warner is spinning off its AOL Internet access unit to focus purely on content, Online Media Daily reports. AOL’s overall revenues decreased by 16% to $1.1 billion as a result of declining subscription revenues, the Web site says. Time…
Retro Television Network will replace late-night paid programming with live talk shows beginning in September, TVNewsday reports. One talk show will feature Robin Leach, best known for hosting “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” the Web site says. The talk…
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin doesn’t expect any more markets to pull the plug on analog TV service early, as stations in Wilmington, N.C., will do on Sept. 8, Broadcasting & Cable reports. General awareness of the DTV transition…
ESPN and MediaFLO USA have teamed to provide NASCAR races in August on ESPN Mobile, Media Daily News reports. Viewers will have access to live coverage from the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races through Aug. 31, the…