OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network has appointed Liz Dolan as its chief marketing officer. Ms. Dolan will be responsible for the brand identity of the network and its marketing efforts for the on-air launch in late 2009/early 2010. Her marketing…
NBC touted the debut of Ryan Seacrest’s new reality show “Momma’s Boys” as “the most anticipated premiere” of the year, but viewers apparently disagreed. Despite the benefit of a huge lead-in from the season finale of “The Biggest Loser: Families,”…
News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox Television is cutting the budgets of shows in production by 2%, TelevisionWeek reports. The cuts affect shows including “24” “Family Guy,” “Life on Mars” and “Dollhouse.” “Everyone understands that revenues are down and these steps…
Former Screen Actors Guild president Melissa Gilbert calls a possible strike “foolhardy” and warns that with the economy in a recession, “Now is not the time for a strike,” in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. “SAG is…
Television studios are considering producing many of their pilots under American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union representation because of the threat of a strike from the Screen Actors Guild, the Hollywood Reporter says. Warner Bros. TV is considering…
Endemol USA is developing a dozen comedy and drama projects at cable and broadcast networks, including a Western at AMC and an animated show at Comedy Central, Daily Variety reports. The company wants to increase its scripted business from 10%…
With television networks and stations paring their staffs, talent development executives are busy making sure that the right people are on the air, the New York Observer reports. “There are fewer resources, and we want to make sure we have…
Stations in Boston are cutting back as the market faces the national trend of shrinking local advertising revenues, the Boston Globe reports. Comcast will firing more than 50 people at its CN8 operations in the Boston area. Other outlets have…
New York State, facing a $1.7 billion budget shortfall, may tax digital downloads of entertainment products such as television shows and music, as well as end a sales-tax exemption on cable TV, movie tickets and more, the Hollywood Reporter says….
The top 10 advertisers reduced their spending by 0.2% during the first nine months of 2008, compared with a year ago, TNS Media Intelligence reports. Among the top 50, spending dropped 2.1%. The following chart shows that among the top…