Time for Cable a la Carte
A Los Angeles Times columnist says it’s time for the cable industry to switch to an a la carte system that would allow subscribers to pay only for the channels they want to watch. “I never watch ESPN. When I…
Yearly Archives : 2008
Current Cuts Staff, Changing Format
Al Gore’s Current Media eliminated about 60 positions, but said it created 30 new jobs, leaving it with a staff of 410 employees, according to CNET. Sources tell CNET the networks will be shifting from shorter, user-generated videos to more…
CNBC Budgets Cut Despite Higher Ratings
Generating big ratings while covering the stock market collapse has earned CNBC budget cuts, the New York Observer reports. CNBC is expected to have to lower spending by 10%. It wasn’t clear if staffing would be an area where CNBC…
Some Patriots Fans in Dark With Game on NFL Net
While Thursday night’s game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets on NFL Network will also be broadcast by a local station in Boston, Patriot fans in other New England towns will have to get satellite or…
HBO Develops ‘Red Hot’ Kiedis Project
HBO is developing a new series with Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis based on his childhood, Daily Variety reports. The project, “Scar Tissue,” will focus on Kiedis’ relationship growing up with his father. The singer is teaming…
No Ad Recovery Till 2010, Citi Says
Citigroup is forecasting that ad spending will be down 1.8% this year and 3.6% in 2009, Bloomberg reports. “We believe U.S. advertising spending will see the first back-to-back annual declines since at least the 1950s,” a Citigroup analyst wrote in…
Local TV Ads to Fall 7% to 11%
An updated forecast by the Television Bureau of Advertising calls for a 7% to 11% decline in ad revenues at local stations, Television Week reports. Before the economy cratered, the group had predicted a 2% to 5% decline. —Jon Lafayette
KCRA Anchor Team Signing Off
The news anchor team of Lois Hart and Dave Walker will leave their posts at KCRA-TV, Sacramento when the sweeps end on Nov. 26, the Sacramento Bee reports. The pair has been married since 1979 and has served as a…
MSNBC Adds 7-Second Delay
The next time MSNBC host Joe Scarborough drops an F-bomb on his morning show, the network will be able to defuse it after building a seven-second delay into the live program’s production, the Associated Press reports. Other MSNBC shows won’t…
‘Mentalist’ Actor Having Fun
After spending much of his career taking himself too seriously, Simon Baker is having fun with the lead role on CBS’ “The Mentalist,” USA Today says. Co-star Amanda Righetti tells the paper that Baker “does take his work very seriously,…