Best July 4th Fireworks on TV

Basically, besides whatever coverage of local fireworks you have in your city tonight, there are three choices on national TV networks.

First choice of TV Critic Robert Bianco of USA Today, is A Capitol Fourth (8 ET/PT), on your local PBS station. The 90-minute show from Washington, D.C. features Aretha Franklin, Michael Feinstein, Barry Manilow, the casts of Jersey Boys and Sesame Street, and the National Symphony Orchestra. The host is Jimmy Smits. 

After that choice, Bianco likes both the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (9 ET/PT) on your local NBC station, or the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular (10 ET/PT) on your local CBS station. The Macy show has singer Kenny Chesney, the Pops show has singer Neil Diamond.

--Chuck Ross

E! Will Air Jackson Memorial Live on TV and Online; Ticket Demand for Service is Massive

Demand for the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday hit more than half a million requests in the first seven hours fans were allowed to register for the lottery for the 8,750 pairs of tickets that will be available, according to a Jackson spokesperson. Each lottery winner can order up to two tickets, though some of the seats will be in the Nokia Theater to see the service on giant TV screens.

For those who don’t win tickets to attend in person, E! has said it will air the memorial live on its network and online.

—Chuck Ross

Comcast, Time Warner Cable to Test Expanded Video-on-Demand

In what Multichannel News is calling an "Internet Acid Test," Comcast and Time Warner Cable are going to allow 5,000 subscribers to see new episodes of TV shows on the Internet.

Cable TV executives have talked about a concept they call TV Everywhere, but they want to make sure that only paying subscribers have access to TV shows in non-traditional TV venues.

--Chuck Ross

Report: TV Stations Degrading Main HD Signals in Favor Multicasting

TV stations are increasingly "degrading their hi-def picture quality. The culprit is multicasting, i.e., transmitting digital subchannels alongside the primary HD stream within a station's 19.4 Mbps digital TV pipe," according to B&C. The reason is to increase revenues through the subchannels.

--Chuck Ross

The Buzzmakers: Four Shows You Need to Be Watching

The Fourth of July holiday is upon us—and that means it's time to declare your independence from subpar television.

All this week, TVWeek.com has beeb turning the spotlight on some of the small screen's most promising new series, young shows with breakout potential.

We're calling these shows the Buzzmakers. You'll call them signs of intelligent life in a TV universe dominated by summer reruns and reality retreads.

Our selections:

"Being Erica" (SoapNet) - The Canadian drama first premiered up north on CBC Television, but found a following in the states after a run on SoapNet. The series has earned positive notes from The New York Times (“a sweet, blender smoothie of a concoction”), Entertainment Weekly (a “rare find—a smart, funny single-girl show that’s shockingly relatable for being about a gal who can time travel”) and USA Today (“a time-traveling, funny, romantic drama” that “reminds me a lot of 'Felicity,' a tad of 'Lost' and has a bit of '90210'-esque soap-y flavor thrown in”).

"Better Off Ted" (ABC) - “Better Off Ted” is giving NBC's “The Office” a run for its money as TV's most so-true-it's-funny workplace comedy. The show has enjoyed critical raves and a loyal viewer following stemming from Fresco's previous cult comedy “Andy Richter Controls the Universe,” giving the network that inexplicably kept renewing “According to Jim” some major credibility in the comedy department. Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey Star-Ledger called it “one of the funniest shows on TV right now,” while Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker raved that a recent installment had “more good jokes per minute than on any other sitcom this year.”

"Party Down" (Starz) - With a dream cast featuring regular Judd Apatow players (Martin Starr, Jane Lynch, Ken Jeong), numerous cult film and TV stars (Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan) and a gaggle of regular cast (Ryan Hansen, Adam Scott, Marino) and guest stars (Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni) from co-creator Rob Thomas' canceled fan-favorite “Veronica Mars,” each cast member of “Party Down” brings his or her own built-in fanbase. 

"Sons of Anarchy" (FX) - While some critics were slow to embrace "Sons" when it bowed last September, by the time season one wrapped up, many were downright giddy with enthusiasm for Sutter's creation. Alan Sepinwall of Newark's Star-Ledger raved "the show has improved so much that its continued existence is one of the few things making it easier to accept" the end of "The Shield."
 

‘Jon & Kate’ Drama, Ratings Has Producers Shooting for New Reality

TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8’s” strong recent ratings performances, fueled by real-life marital woes, has other reality TV producers hoping for the same kind of hype, the Hollywood Reporter says. 

"You don't want something to happen like what's happened to Jon and Kate, but you hope someone does something to shake things up,” reality program producer JD Roth said. “That's what moves the drama forward."

While controversy has helped boost the show’s numbers, some of the drama can also lead to changes in the show’s format. VH1’s “Scott Baio is 45 and Single” updated to “Scott Baio is 46 and Pregnant” after the surprise pregnancy of Baio’s girlfriend, and the network’s “Hogan Knows Best” changed the focus from Hulk Hogan to daughter Brooke in “Brooke Knows Best” after Hulk and wife Linda separated.

TLC is taking a break from production of “Jon & Kate” in light of their recent divorce announcement, which drew 10.6 million viewers on June 22, in order to devise a new plan.

While producers hope that media attention will help increase the show’s visibility and appeal, some are still weary of the effects real-life events can have on a show.

"You want your shows to get attention, but you want to be able to control it. Good controversy is something that happens within the context of the show that isn't bigger than the show itself," producer Arthur Smith of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and ABC's "I Survived a Japanese Game Show,” tells the Reporter.

--Sergio Ibarra
 

NBC Universal, Group M Upfront Deal Said to Be Wrapped

NBC Universal and Group M have wrapped up the first upfront deal of the year, sources tell Broadcasting & Cable.

The two companies denied that the deal is complete. Source said the agreement calls for an overall 7 point CPM decline on the broadcast side and a 3 point decline on the cable side. The network part of the deal was divided into two parts, with higher CPMs for NBC’s 8-10 p.m. block and lower ones for the 10 p.m. Jay Leno talk show strip.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Big Payday for News Corp.’s Chase Carey

Chase Carey will be rewarded handsomely for his decision to rejoin News Corp. as deputy chairman, president and chief operating officer, the Los Angeles Times says.

He received a signing bonus of $10 million, will earn a base salary of $8.1 million and could earn annual performance bonuses of as much as $25 million during his five-year contract, according to documents the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Kate Gosselin’s Clothing Line Delayed

“Jon & Kate Plus 8” star Kate Gosselin’s project to promote a clothing line for Healthex is on hold in the wake of her divorce filing, Usmagazine.com says.

The clothes are in Wal-Mart stores but Gosselin isn’t part of the deal.

--Elizabeth Jensen

CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tracks Down Jackson’s Chimp Bubbles

CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday tracked down another former player in singer Michael Jackson’s life, his former pet chimpanzee Bubbles, the Huffington Post says.

Cooper found Bubbles in an animal sanctuary in Florida, and learned that the singer never visited the former pet after giving him up.

--Elizabeth Jensen