Fisher Communications Inc. revealed that it rejected a takeover bid in April, TVNewsday reports. The Seattle-based company owns and operates 13 full-power TV stations and eight low-power TV stations, the Web site notes. —Vlada Gelman
ESPN wants to expand into late-night television with “ESPN Timeline” next April, Broadcasting & Cable reports. A format for the program has not been decided, but the network wants to follow it up with a more comedic-slanted show along the…
Tuesday’s premiere of “Wipeout” and “I Survived a Japanese Game Show” on ABC will create the most competitive night of broadcast TV this summer, MediaWeek reports. Tuesday night will also mark the premiere of NBC’s “Celebrity Family Feud,” which was…
The chairman of a U.S. Senate antitrust panel is urging the Federal Communications Commission to take steps to make it easier for independent cable channels to get on cable systems and limit bigger rivals from using channel bundling to disadvantage…
Fox is inviting viewers to weigh in on programming and marketing decisions via a deal the broadcaster inked with technology firm Passenger. Under the deal, Fox will launch an online community for viewers in the 18-to-49 demo to express their…
Comedian George Carlin, whose famous “Seven Dirty Words” routine forced a Supreme Court decision on television obscenity, died today in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 71, Reuters reported. Mr. Carlin complained of chest pains and was admitted to a Santa…
Disney found another suitable home for its television networking programming online. The media company has inked a deal with video-sharing site Veoh Networks to offer ABC shows and ESPN.com short content. Veoh Networks will integrate ABC.com’s full-episode player into its…
Tom Brokaw will serve as moderator for “Meet the Press” through this year’s presidential elections following the sudden death of Tim Russert earlier this month, TelevisionWeek reports. While several other NBC News personalities had been mentioned for the job, “Anyone…
The Federal Communications Commission this week is expected to begin the process of creating new rules about letting viewers know when advertisers have paid for product placement in programming, the Wall Street Journal reports. “You shouldn’t need a magnifying glass…
In light of the economic effect the Writers Guild of American strike had on California, some are asking Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to intervene should the current Screen Actors Guild talks with producers fail, the Los Angeles Times says. SAG, which…