U.S. households sped up their effort to prepare for next February’s switchover to all-digital broadcasts by either buying digital televisions or acquiring digital subscriptions or digital-to-analog converter boxes, Multichannel News says, citing Nielsen. The percentage of so-called “unready” U.S. households…
Netflix will add about 300 high-definition titles to its inventory that can be streamed directly to televisions through the Roku set-top box, Video Business reports. Netflix is enacting a similar “soft launch” of HD streaming titles through Microsoft’s Xbox 360…
Discovery Channel tapped Turner Broadcasting programming executive Ken Schwab to oversee its programming starting next year, Multichannel News says. Schwab helped boost ratings among younger adults by adding comedies such as “Family Guy” and “My Name Is Earl” at Turner’s…
“Heroes” showrunner Tim Kring will try to pull the NBC drama out of its ratings slump by being more involved in simplifying the show’s story lines, Daily Variety reports. Kring, who let executive producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb go…
NBC Universal is requesting that its “Project Runway” breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Weinstein Co. be moved back to a New York state court from a federal court, Multichannel News says. NBC, which says Weinstein failed to gave the network first…
HBO is starting a Web series “Ring Life,” which follows eight young boxers, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The series, whose four- to six-minute segments will debut weekly on sites such as HBO.com and HBO’s YouTube channel, will be narrated by…
Online video provider Brightcove is ditching the free version of the service that it has offered for the last two years, the company announced Monday. Brightcove will shut down its so-called “Brightcove Network” on Dec. 17. The free version has…
More than 55 million people watched the 2004 presidential election on the top television news networks combined. This year, the broadcast and cable outlets are introducing new features to top that number today, the Wall Street Journal says. Last time…
CBS News may preliminarily call a winner in the presidential election as early as 8 p.m. East Coast, before polls there close, if Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain clear the minimum threshold of electoral votes, the New York…
Struggling broadcast television shows may get some relief after the election as viewers drift away from addictive news coverage of the presidential race, the Hollywood Reporter says. Cable news has drawn more viewers in the pre-election mania and often viewing…