TVBizWire

DirecTV has agreed to pay the federal treasury $150,000 for failing to file annual equal employment opportunity reports to the FCC between 2003 and 2007, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Under the agreement, DirecTV does not acknowledge any wrongdoing and the company will follow an agreed-to EEO compliance plan for three years. The plan includes reviews twice a year, the creation of an FCC EEO compliance manual and formal employee training.
—Christopher Perez

HBO’s adaptation of the hit BBC comedy “Little Britain” will premiere Sept. 28, C21Media.net reports. “Little Britain USA,” written, performed and created by Matt Lucas and David Walliams, will have the lead-in of established comedy “Entourage.”
—Christopher Perez

Rod Lurie thinks Sen. John McCain’s pick for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, mirrors the plot of his 2005 ABC drama “Commander in Chief,” says the Hollywood Reporter. Both fictional and real-life stories have an older Republican candidate choosing a relatively inexperienced younger woman as his vice president. Lurie called McCain’s move “strategic” and told the Reporter, “The idea of this woman [Palin] actually facing down [Vladimir] Putin and negotiating with [Dmitry] Medvedev is idiotic.” In the TV series, the veep played by Geena Davis becomes president when the president dies soon after the election.
—Christopher Perez

Depending on its impact on the U.S., Hurricane Gustav may delay the Republican National Convention, which is set to begin Monday night in St. Paul, Minn., Broadcasting & Cable reports. A representative for the convention confirmed that organizers are monitoring the hurricane, which many sources believe will make landfall on the Gulf Coast Tuesday morning. Television networks, on the other hand, have confirmed resources are in place to cover both the RNC and Gustav.
—Christopher Perez

Game Show Network will premiere three original specials that look back at television’s most popular game shows, Multichannel News reports. “Play It Back: Game Shows” will feature exclusive interviews with legendary game show hosts including Bob Eubanks, Chuck Woolery and Wink Martindale. The one-hour specials, premiering Sept. 7, will be hosted by Caroline Rhea.
—Christopher Perez

Before the tailgates fly open Thursday, the start of the NFL’s regular season, the NFL Network is featuring three days of pre-kickoff programming, Multichannel News reports. On Tuesday, the network will rebroadcast last season’s Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Premiering Wednesday is the James Gandolfini-narrated “America’s Game,” an original series featuring players, coaches and fans of championship teams throughout the years, Multichannel says. The season premiere focuses on the 2007 New York Giants’ run to Super Bowl XLII and will feature interviews with Tom Coughlin, Michael Strahan and Eli Manning. The pre-season programming culminates with “NFL Total Access Kickoff 2008” broadcasting live from Columbus Circle in New York City, with scheduled performances by Usher, Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield.
—Christopher Perez

The Independent Film Channel is unleashing its presidential coverage with a series of new specials to air Tuesdays beginning Sept. 2, Multichannel News reports. Kicking things off is “The Democratic National Convention,” which will include highlights from the just-concluded DNC. The following weeks will feature “The Republican National Convention,” “The Conventions: Partying With the Parties” and “The Rise of the Independent.” The six weekly programs will be hosted by Will Rabbe and Sarah Scully.
—Christopher Perez

The Disney Channel has extended the second season of its series “The Wizards of Waverly Place,” Multichannel News reports. The series has consistently been the No. 1 program in its Sunday 8:30 p.m. time slot among kids 6-11 and tweens, according to Nielsen Media Research. Its actors have been nominated for Imagen and Alma awards, further evidence of the Disney Channel’s commitment to ethnically diverse casts.
—Christopher Perez

The news networks were surprised when John McCain announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his pick for vice president today, but CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo had interviewed the governor Monday asking her if she was on McCain’s short list, TVNewser reports. Palin said she and the Arizona senator “had talked.” Other topics discussed included the economy and the possibility of drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That interview will be aired today on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” at 4 p.m. EDT.
—Christopher Perez

Jennifer Aniston will be returning to NBC when she makes an upcoming guest appearance on “30 Rock,” TV Guide reports. No details about Aniston’s role were released. This will be her second time appearing on the small screen since “Friends” ended in 2004 after 10 seasons. Last year she made a cameo in her friend Courteney Cox’s since-canceled FX series “Dirt.”
—Christopher Perez

Outside Magazine will debut its first television production for the Travel Channel in November, TVNewser reports. The pilot of “Unsolved Mysteries,” hosted by Tim Sohn, focuses on the strange New Guinea disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, son of Nelson Rockefeller.
—Christopher Perez

Drivers in four major cities will have their toll charges covered this weekend by cable network TNT, MediaPost reports. To get the word out about its new legal drama “Raising the Bar,” TNT will pay toll charges for two-hour afternoon periods Labor Day weekend. In Chicago, Philadelphia and Orlando, drivers must stop at the tollbooth to receive cards reading, “Your free toll was courtesy of TNT and ‘Raising the Bar.’ ‘Raising the Bar’ premieres tonight on TNT.” Atlanta drivers will be able to drive straight through the booths. Signage advertising the show is expected at booths in all cities.

ABC’s “College Football Countdown” is making the switch to high-definition this fall, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Along with that transition, the show’s studios will move from ABC’s headquarters on West 66th Street to Disney’s Times Square headquarters. “Countdown” airs Saturday afternoons before ABC’s 3:30 p.m. college football telecasts.
—Christopher Perez

Lifetime is premiering the Renee Zellweger-produced original movie “Living Proof” Oct. 18, Multichannel News reports. Harry Connick Jr. co-stars in the made-for-TV movie, which tells the true story of Dr. Denny Slamon, the UCLA doctor who was instrumental in developing the breast cancer drug Herceptin 2. Written and executive produced by Vivienne Radkoff, the film marks the Academy Award-winning actress’s first TV project.
—Christopher Perez

Wednesday night’s second-season finale of Bravo’s “Shear Genius” drew an estimated 2.54 million viewers, Multichannel News reports. The numbers are up 52% from the previous week’s 1.67 million total viewers. The biggest news, however, was the finale’s 95% improvement over its first-season finale.
—Christopher Perez

As the U.S. population grows, so does the number of television households, MediaPost reports. The Nielsen Company estimates the number of TV homes will increase 1.5% to total 114.5 million homes for the 2008-09 TV season. The fastest-growing audiences are Asian and Hispanic TV homes. Baby boomers also are swelling the ranks of older TV viewers. The geographic areas with the biggest increases were the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions.
—Christopher Perez

Tyra Banks’ umbrella company, Bankable Enterprises, has named Susan Moultrie, formerly of Sony BMG, its chief operating officer, MediaPost reports. Moultrie will manage Bankable’s current ventures, which includes The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” and the new “Stylista,” and spearhead investment in future ones.
—Christopher Perez

Several major cable operators are offering an Elections '08 On Demand channel in an effort to test weather the industry can work together as partners under the new industry initiative Canoe Venture to compete against Web video for viewers and advertising dollars, the New York Times reports. Up since January, the channel is available in 32 million homes and offers about eight hours of political material ranging from Lyndon Johnson's famous “Daisy" ad to an infomercial for Barack Obama. Only 500,000 of the segments have been viewed, the paper says. "What we’ve accomplished with Elections ’08 may not feel and sound like a huge success story to the layperson, but behind the curtain, we've laid the foundation for the cable operators working together in an unprecedented manner," says David Porter, VP for marketing and new media at Cox Communications, one of the operators involved in Canoe, which aims to standardize and coordinate interactive and addressable advertising for the cable industry.
—Sergio Ibarra

The Justice Dept. filed a civil antitrust suit against Raycom Media because it still owns two television stations in Richmond, Va., reducing competition in the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Justice Dept. asked Raycom to divest CBS affiliate WTVR-TV within 90 days of its April purchase of NBC outlet WWBT-TV for $583 million, the paper says.
—Sergio Ibarra

David Duchovny, who stars as a writer with a sex addition on Showtime's series "Californication," has checked himself into a rehab facility to help him deal with a real-life sex addiction, People Magazine reports, citing the actor's lawyer Stanton "Larry" Stein. Duchovny entered the facility "voluntarily," he said in a statement.
—Sergio Ibarra

Nielsen Media Research finds that the number of viewers over age 55 is increasing twice as fast as the general TV audience, Daily Variety reports. The ratings company says that viewers over age 55 increased by 2.7% from last year, reaching 71.4 million viewers, while the general TV audience over the age of 2 increased by 1.3% to 290 million during the same time period. The oldest age group is also outpacing other age groups, the trade paper says. Advertisers have traditionally been interested in reaching younger consumers.
—Sergio Ibarra

The Big Ten Network is expanding the roster of cable operators who carry the channel, adding Mediacom Communications and Cox Communications, TelevisionWeek reports. Earlier this week Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications announced distribution deals with the year-old network. Comcast set the pattern for the cable industry when it signed on in June, TVWeek says.
—Sergio Ibarra

Olympic superstar Michel Phelps is continuing his post-Beijing media frenzy by acting as presenter at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Associated Press reports. Earlier this week NBC announced Phelps would host the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live." He also has a cameo on HBO's "Entourage." The VMAs will broadcast live from Los Angeles on Sept. 7 on MTV.
—Sergio Ibarra

BBC controller Jane Tranter, the person responsible for the company's drama and comedy commissioning, is said to be in talks to relocate to the U.S. and lead the new BBC Worldwide West Coast drama production group next year, the Hollywood Reporter says. Tranter is responsible for greenligting "Doctor Who" and "Life on Mars," among other series. The BBC did not comment on the matter, the trade paper reports.
—Sergio Ibarra

Media company Havas SA posted a 40% profit increase in the first half of the year. Last month, its chief executive Fernando Rodes Vila warned that the company was preparing for "more fragile economic times ahead," the Wall Street Journal reports. Similarly, Aegis Group PLC, a major ad buyer, said its profits were up 17% in the first half. Its chief executive, Robert Lerwell, said: “We anticipate a lower rate of market growth than in the first half and are therefore taking some early steps to tighten our cost base in a number of markets,” according to the paper.
—Sergio Ibarra