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Daily Archives : Mar 26, 2008

Couric May Get Clinton-Obama Debate

CBS anchor Katie Couric may get finally get to moderate a profile-raising debate this presidential season, the New York Times reports. Ms. Couric, whose show is in last place among the network newscasts, has personally been in touch with the…

NBC, NFL Move Kickoff to Avoid Tackling McCain

The NFL and NBC bumped up the starting time for the upcoming season’s opening game in September by 90 minutes so that it will end before what’s likely to be Sen. John McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention…

NBC Plays the ‘Feud’ in Prime

NBC and “American Idol” producer FreemantleMedia North America are producing a celebrity version of “Family Feud,” that marks the first primetime appearance for the game show this summer, Daily Variety reports. “Feud,” which started as an ABC daytime series in…

Daytime Emmys Go to Court

The Daytime Emmys for the first time this year will have a special category for court shows, Daily Variety reports. Series such as “Judge Judy” until now were eligible only for the “special class series” category, the newspaper says. Daytime…

Hallmark Boosts Ratings, Buys ‘Girls’

The Hallmark Channel will finish seventh in ratings among ad-supported cable channels, Television Week reports, citing Henry Schleiff, CEO of Hallmark parent Crown Media. Hallmark, which will produce 30 original movies this year, also acquired rights to “The Golden Girls,”…

‘Grey’s’ Adds Madigan in Shrinking Role

“Grey’s Anatomy” producers have brought on actress Amy Madigan to play a psychiatrist in a recurring role for the rest of this season on the high-rated medical drama, the Hollywood Reporter says. Ms. Madigan recently appeared in the movie “Gone…

USA’s Wachtel Wants ‘High-Concept’

USA Network programming chief Jeff Wachtel said the cable-ratings leader wants more shows with “high-concept characters,” and is planning to order at least three pilots by the summer, Daily Variety reports. By adding more original programming, the NBC Universal-owned channel…

ABC Orders ‘Plan,’ Thomas Pilots

ABC ordered two pilots, including an hour-long comedy about a family of criminals created by Rob Thomas and “Five Year Plan” from Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, Daily Variety reports. Mr. Port and Mr. Wiseman have worked on “The Office”…

Dish Faces Big Bill to Go On Demand

Dish Network’s $711 million purchase of airwaves in a government auction may be insufficient to cover on-demand services for the entire U.S., the Wall Street Journal reports. To use the spectrum to compete with on-demand services offered by cable operators,…

ABC News Names Hubbard Co-Anchor

ABC News named Jeremy Hubbard co-anchor of “World News Now” and “America This Morning,” Daily Variety reports. Mr. Hubbard was a Chicago-based correspondent for ABC affiliate news service NewsOne before joining the parent network in July, the newspaper says. —…