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Daily Archives : Nov 3, 2008

’24’ Premiere Goes Four Hours

Fox will premiere its season of ’24’ with two two-hour episodes on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 before returning to regular programming the following week, Daily Variety reports. The network on Nov. 23 will air the two-hour “24: Redemption,” which…

Fox Workers Scrooged on Party

Fox parent News Corp. has canceled its annual holiday party at New York’s Manhattan Hilton, perhaps signaling the effect of the economic downturn on TV companies, TVNewser reports. News Corp. reports fiscal first-quarter earnings later this week. —Danny King

Starz Gets TV Rights From IFC

Starz Entertainment acquired cable television broadcast rights from studios that include Lionsgate, IFC and Samuel Goldwyn Co. to premier films such as the Javier Bardem-starring “Goya’s Ghost” and “P2,” starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley, Multichannel News says. Starz also…

Google, Yahoo Make Ad-Deal Concessions

Google and Yahoo amended their advertising partnership to shrink the scale of the agreement, a move aimed to appease regulators concerned about antitrust violations, the Associated Press says, citing people familiar with the process. The two Internet giants shortened the…

‘Grey’s’ Brooke Smith Cut From Show

Brooke Smith from “Grey’s Anatomy” has been cut from the show, signaling that ABC may have been uncomfortable with the direction a story line involving her character’s lesbian relationship was going, Entertainment Weekly reports. Smith, whose Dr. Erica Hahn was…

Sacramento TV’s Gene Nelson Dies at 87

Gene Nelson, who hosted Sacramento’s first locally produced television show in 1953, has died at age 87, the Monterey Herald reports. “Sacramento Varieties,” which premiered on what’s now Fox 40, was the first of a handful of entertainment shows hosted…

‘CSI: NY’ Maintains Syndication Strength

CBS’ “CSI: New York” is continuing the franchise’s success in its first year of syndication, beating ratings for NBC Universal’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for the week ended Oct. 19, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The New York and…

CW’s Female Focus Has Worked

The CW’s focus on attracting younger female viewers with shows such as “Gossip Girl,” “One Tree Hill” and “90210” has been successful amid the expected audience dropoff from the disappearance of “Friday Night Smackdown,” Mediaweek reports. Still, ratings on many…

Age Affects Downloads, Not DVR Usage

Internet downloading differs substantially among age groups, while use of digital-video recorders does not, the Hollywood Reporter says, citing a study by ABI Research. Consumers in their 30s are four times as likely to watch video on their mobile phones…

Court Won’t Release Profanity Case Tapes

The U.S. Supreme Court refused C-SPAN’s request to release oral arguments from last week related to a profanity case pitting the Federal Communications Commission against Fox and other broadcasters, Broadcasting & Cable says. Some media outlets have reported that the…