About 10 million homes will lose all programming and 25 million home have at least one television that won’t be able to receive programming after next February’s switchover to digital broadcasts, the New York Times reports, citing Nielsen Media Research….
Dick Martin, who with Dan Rowan launched the NBC comedy-variety show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” in 1968, died of respiratory failure in Santa Monica, Calif. at age 86, the New York Times reports. Martin also directed shows such as “Archie…
Media Rights Capital, which acquired CW’s Sunday night programming time slots, will air a reality show, a comedy and two dramas starting in September, Daily Variety reports. The shows include “Surviving Suburbia,” from “Reba”’s Kevin Abbott, and “In Harm’s Way,”…
Presidential-campaign spending may top $800 million this year, up from $650 million in 2004, TelevisionWeek reports, citing TNS Media Intelligence. Republican candidate John McCain may boost spending to differentiate himself from President George W. Bush while Democratic candidate Barack Obama…
CBS News’ Bob Schieffer will postpone his planned retirement from “Face the Nation,” TelevisionWeek reports. Schieffer decided he wouldn’t step down after next January’s presidential inauguration when CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus asked him to stay on longer,…
20th Century Fox Television signed “My Name is Earl” writers John Hoberg and Kat Likkel to a two-year, seven-figure agreement, the Hollywood Reporter says. The husband-and-wife team will develop new series in addition to being executive producers on “Earl,” the…
The first game of this year’s Stanley Cup pitting the Detroit Red Wings against the Pittsburgh Penguins, broadcast on Versus, had the Cup’s best Nielsen ratings since 2002, Multichannel News reports. The May 24 game attracted 2.32 million viewers, Multichannel…
Time Warner Cable’s Los Angeles customers receive 16 high-definition channels, the fewest among the five largest U.S. markets and less than many smaller markets, the Los Angeles Times reports. Time Warner Cable, which has about 1.9 million Southern California customers,…
CBS was the only network that agreed to talk to a task force about the $125 million that networks collect in so-called integration fees, TelevisionWeek reports. NBC and ABC both declined to talk to the task force about such fees,…
The Ski Channel, the new video-on-demand channel from Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy, acquired the broadcast rights to such events as the Freeskiing World Tour and World Freeskiing Championships, Daily Variety reports. The network is partners with Mountain Sports International…