March 2006
- March 31, 2006
- 8:16 PM
- Comment
Gloria Monty, 'General Hospital' EP, Dies of Cancer
Gloria Monty, the executive producer of the ABC soap opera "General Hospital" who made the characters Luke and Laura global icons, died Thursday of cancer in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Ms. Monty took over the reins of "General Hospital" in 1978, at a time when the show was struggling. During her 10 years on "GH" she updated the look of the soap opera, added more adventurous, even outrageous, story lines and introduced younger characters, including Luke and Laura Spencer, the first of a series of "super-couples" that helped define the show.
"In the late 1970s, Gloria Monty transformed soap opera viewing from a housewives' pastime to 'the' cool thing to do," veteran "GH" actress Jane Elliot said in a release. "As I was a beneficiary of that transformation, I will be eternally grateful and will miss her terribly. I can't wait to see what she does with heaven."
Funeral arrangements are private. Ms. Monty is survived by her sister Norma.
- March 31, 2006
- 5:34 PM
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VH1 Names Beispel National Ad Sales Senior VP
VH1 this week named Rick Beispel senior VP of national ad sales, MTV Networks executives confirmed. Mr. Beispel was previously VP of new business development at MTV. He succeeds Sean Moran, who moved from VH1 to the top sales job at MTV earlier this year.
more »
- March 31, 2006
- 3:53 PM
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RTNDA Questions Football Team Owners' Decision to Bar Local TV Cameras
The Radio-Television News Directors Association on Friday accused owners of National Football League teams of undermining freedom of the press and asked them to reverse their decision earlier in the week to bar local television stations' cameras from the sidelines during games.
The new NFL policy is meant to prevent unauthorized use of NFL game highlights on the Internet and on TV stations' Web sites.
In a letter to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the leaders of the NFL rule-making committee, RTNDA President Barbara Cochran said the policy discriminates against TV journalists and said, "The National Football League should not be in a position of subverting the American tradition of a free press."
"RTNDA's members are hard-pressed to understand the rationale behind your decision, which effectively prohibits coverage of NFL games by television reporters," Ms. Cochran wrote. "When electronic journalists are denied the ability to report on a news event with their own microphones, cameras and production crews, it allows newsmakers to determine the content of the news, a result that is inconsistent with our society's democratic values."
- March 31, 2006
- 2:16 PM
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FCC's Tate Says She'll Focus on Values for Kids
Deborah Taylor Tate, the Federal Communications Commission's new Republican commissioner, told reporters Friday that she plans to use her office to encourage the TV industry to promote positive values for children. "Everything from healthy lifestyles to healthy eating," Ms. Tate said, in her first official briefing for reporters.
"The media has such an impact on our kids," Ms. Tate said. "What could we do positive?" Ms. Tate also said she wanted to "become more engaged" in issues involving the music industry in her home state of Tennessee. "I haven't really articulated what that might be," she said.
- March 31, 2006
- 1:34 PM
- Comment
Survey: Voters Don't Want Government to Regulate TV Viewing
More than three-fourths (76 percent) of voters will be unhappy if government regulation limits the TV programming choices available, according to a survey released Friday by TV Watch, an organization backed by NBC Universal, CBS Corp. and Fox parent News Corp. Other findings of the study:
"More people believe in alien abductions than think the government should control what adults watch on TV," said Jim Dyke, TV Watch executive director, in a statement.
TV Watch said the nationwide survey was conducted March 24-26 by Russell Research and included 501 registered voters. It gave the margin of error as 4.4 percent. more »
- March 31, 2006
- 12:41 PM
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Starz Signs Affiliation Pact With EchoStar
Starz Entertainment Group said Friday it has reached a new affiliation agreement with satellite operator EchoStar Communications.
The multiyear deal, whose terms were not disclosed, means Starz's package of channels will continue to run on EchoStar's Dish Network satellite service.
Starz offers 16 movie channels, including the flagship Starz and Encore brands, which are available in 14 million and 26 million homes, respectively.
- March 30, 2006
- 8:49 PM
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MyNetworkTV Announces 30 New Affiliates
MyNetworkTV has signed 30 more affiliates, the network announced Thursday. The new deals raise MyNetworkTV's clearances to 96 stations whose signals reach 63 percent of the TV homes in this country.
Thirteen of the deals were for affiliates on the digital platforms of Gray Television Stations affiliated with other broadcast networks. Deals that involved CBS affiliates include WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tenn. (the 58th-largest market in the country); WCTV-TV in Tallahassee, Fla. (market No. 109); WRDW-TV in Augusta, Ga. (115); WSAW-TV in Wausau, Wis. (134); WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kan. (136); KXII-TV in Sherman, Texas-Ada, Okla. (161); and WTVY-TV in Dothan, Ala. (172). Deals that involved Gray-owned NBC affiliates include WSAZ-TV in Charleston-Huntington, W.Va. (64); WJHG-TV in Panama City, Fla. (157); and WTAP-TV in Parkersburg, W.Va. (190). Deals with Gray-owned ABC affiliates include WHSV-TV in Harrisonburg, Va. (181); and WTOK-TV in Meridian, Miss. (184). One deal involved Gray-owned UPN affiliate WSWG-TV in Albany, Ga. (147).
(The Gray stations in Panama City, Dothan and Meridian also are expected to serve as CW 100+ affiliates.)
MyNetworkTV signed two UPN affiliates owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group: WCFN-TV in Champaign-Springfield and Decatur, Ill. (82); and WPNY-TV in Utica, N.Y. (166).
Equity Broadcasting Corp. made affiliation deals for four stations: WB affiliates KWBF-TV in Little Rock, Ark. (57) and KWBM-TV in Springfield, Mo. (77); UPN affiliate KFDF-TV in Fort Smith, Ark. (104); and for secondary affiliate status with Fox-affiliated WMQF-TV in Marquette, Mich. (180).
Three deals involved stations owned by Mission Broadcasting: UPN affiliate KCPN-TV in Amarillo, Texas (131); ABC affiliate WTVO-TV in Rockford, Ill. (133); and UPN affiliate KJBO-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Lawton, Okla. (144).
MyTV also signed three Sainte Partners II stations: UPN affiliate KRVU-TV in Chico-Redding, Calif. (130) and KUVU-TV in Eureka, Calif. (194); and independent KFBI-TV in Medford-Klamath Falls, Ore. (141).
Also included in the deals announced Thursday were Sandra Powley-owned WB affiliate WBLU-TV in Lexington, Ky. (63); WBHQ Columbia-owned WB affiliate WBHQ-TV in Columbia, S.C. (83); Trans-America Broadcasting's UPN affiliate KAIL-TV in Fresno-Visalia, Calif. (56); Holston Valley Broadcasting's UPN affiliate WAPK-TV in Tri-Cities, Tenn. (91); and Josie Park Broadcasting-owned UPN affiliate WRJM-TV Montgomery-Selma, Ala. (116).
Fox is scheduled to launch the new network Sept. 5.
- March 30, 2006
- 7:35 PM
- Comment
First-Run Strips Grow, but Veterans Decline
The three debuting first-run syndicated strips saw growth for the week ended March 19, even as many veterans saw declines and pre-emptions due to the first week of CBS's telecasts of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Twentieth Television's courtroom show "Judge Alex" grew 5 percent from the previous week to a national household rating of 2.3, a number that includes live-plus-same-day viewing, according to Nielsen Media Research. NBC Universal's freshman talk strip "Martha" increased 13 percent for the week to a 1.8, while Warner Bros.' "The Tyra Banks Show" was up 6 percent to a 1.7.
Among young female demos, "Tyra" was the show to beat. In women 18 to 34, "Tyra" scored a 1.3, "Alex" scored a 0.7 and "Martha" rated a 0.5. In women 18 to 49 "Tyra" also scored a 1.3, with "Alex" at a 1.0 and "Martha" a 0.8. In women 25 to 54 "Tyra" and "Alex" tied with a 1.2 and "Martha" came in with a 1.0.
Among debuting off-network sitcom strips, Warner Bros.' "Sex and the City" was up 5 percent from the previous week to a 2.1 household rating, Buena Vista's "My Wife and Kids" was down 5 percent to a 2.1, Twentieth's "Bernie Mac" dropped 9 percent to a 2.0 and Debmar/Mercury's "South Park" grew 8 percent to a 1.4.
For first-season hour weeklies, Twentieth's "24" declined 4 percent from the previous week to a 2.5 household rating, while Buena Vista's "Alias" declined 13 percent to a 2.0. Tying "Alias" was Program Partners' "Da Vinci's Inquest," down 5 percent. Warner Bros.' "Smallville" was up 6 percent to a 1.8, Sony's "Stargate: Atlantis" declined 6 percent to a 1.5 and Paramount's "Star Trek: Enterprise" dropped 7 percent to a 1.3.
- March 30, 2006
- 7:28 PM
- Comment
New Wednesday Series Down in Sophomore Outings; 'Diaries' Disappoints
Two new 10 p.m. network dramas saw declines in their second airings, while veteran "CSI: NY" maintained its time period dominance.
"CSI: NY" scored a 4.6 rating in the adults 18 to 49 demographic, a number that includes live-plus-same-day viewing, according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC's time period competitor "The Evidence" scored a 3.0 in the demo, an 11 percent decrease from its premiere last Wednesday, while NBC's "Heist" dropped 17 percent from its debut last week to a 2.5.
At 9 p.m. (ET) the series premiere of The WB's "Bedford Diaries," which faced some last-minute editing on network concern that the episode's sexual subject matter might draw the attention of the Federal Communications Commission, finished last in the time period with a 0.9 in the demo, even with the network's four-week time period average, but down 31 percent from its lead in, "One Tree Hill" (1.3).
At 9:30 p.m. the second week of "American Idol" lead out "Unan11mous" scored a 6.4, down 10 percent from its premiere the previous week but still high enough to rank No. 3 for the night in the demo behind "Idol" (11.3) and ABC's "Lost" (6.7).
CBS's second time period outing for comedies "Out of Practice" (1.6) and "Courting Alex" (1.6) in the 8 p.m. block saw declines from last week, with "Practice" down 20 percent and "Alex" off 6 percent. The big winner at 8 p.m. was NBC's special telecast of "Deal or No Deal" (5.5).
Fox was the No. 1 network for the night in adults 18 to 49 with a 6.4, followed by ABC (4.1), NBC (3.6), CBS (3.2), UPN (1.7) and The WB (1.1).
- March 30, 2006
- 5:13 PM
- Comment
Mediaedge:cia Launches MEC Entertainment
Media investment management company GroupM's Mediaedge:cia has launched MEC Entertainment to handle original entertainment content creation for agency clients and has hired Chet Fenster to run the venture.
Mr. Fenster has been named managing partner and director of content creation for MEC Entertainment. Based in both New York and Los Angeles, he will report to GroupM Entertainment President Peter Tortorici.
Before joining MEC, Mr. Fenster was head of program development for music network Fuse. He has also worked with ESPN, where he helped launch the network's first original movie, "A Season on the Brink." In addition, he is the founder and president of Kinetic Productions.
