Frances Fragos Townsend is joining CNN as an on-air contributor providing analysis on national security issues, TVNewser.com reports. Townsend recently stepped down as President George W. Bush’s chief anti-terrorism and homeland security adviser. She remains a member of President Bush’s…
Fine Living Network has added four original series to its lineup, Multichannel News reports. The design competition show “From the Ground Up,” featuring Canadian designer Debbie Travis, will premiere June 1, followed by eco-series “It’s Easy Being Green” on June…
Ion Media Networks signed a deal with satcaster SES Americom’s IP-Prime to distribute its suite of programming, Multichannel News reports. IP-PRIME will carry Ion Television Network, children’s network qubo and Ion Life, the newspaper says. —Vlada Gelman
The 21st season of MTV’s “The Real World” will be set in Brooklyn, the New York Observer reports. MTV also is expanding the series into 13 one-hour episodes to air in early 2009, the newspaper says. —Vlada Gelman
Interim Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will star in Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” Multichannel News reports. The two champions will also square off in the ring for a UFC…
Fox has ordered six hourlong episodes of the reality series “Secret Millionaire” from RDF USA, the Hollywood Reporter says. The modern-day twist on “The Prince and the Pauper” will follow wealthy benefactors as they go undercover in impoverished neighborhoods, the…
The Walt Disney Co. plans to create a lab in Austin, Texas, by the end of the year to measure the biometric reactions of viewers to advertising on new technologies, the Associated Press reports. The lab will pool 4,000 people…
Starz Entertainment will launch Encore HD this July, the fifth high-definition channel in its roster. Programming for the subscription movie channel is set to include HD versions of the films “Cars,” “Click,” “The Guardian” and “Talladega Nights: The Legend of…
Only 1% of people said they “most often” view television by downloading or streaming shows, according to a national survey commissioned by Entertainment Weekly, AdAge reports. Sixty percent of the 1,000 adults surveyed said they still watch their favorites shows…
A study conducted by advertising agency Prime Access and San Francisco-based media company PlanetOut found that Bravo, Showtime and HBO are the most gay-friendly networks, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Bravo placed first among the 5,000 people surveyed, which constituted a…