CBS’s prime-time broadcast of the AFC Championship Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets was a ratings blockbuster, the highest-rated conference championship game since 1987, TVbytheNumbers.com reports. With the usual disclaimer that the numbers could change significantly due…
Can you guess which media company executive pulled down close to $85 million in compensation last year? It’s Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, who received $84.5 million, way more than double the amount he received as compensation in 2009, which was…
Don’t laugh … though you can snicker, sneer and approach a mild, muffled guffaw. TVWeek Open Mic blogger Chuck Ross presents the case for Keith Olbermann joining Fox News. What, you thought there was no case to be made for…
More outlets have turned down airing the controversial miniseries "The Kennedys," the multimillion-dollar production that was initially rejected by the History Channel. The latest distributor to pass is DirecTV, reports our friend Scott Collins at the Los Angeles Times’ ShowTracker blog. …
A third advertiser, Wrigley, has joined Taco Bell and GM in pulling ads from MTV’s new scripted series "Skins," amid controversy over the edgy show’s use of teenage actors, reports the Los Angeles Times’ ShowTracker blog. Jennifer Jackson-Luth, senior manager…
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who announced plans last week to exit his day-to-day chores as the company’s CEO, may be headed for television, reports the New York Post’s Page Six. Schmidt has been talking with Liza McGuirk, executive producer of CNN’s…
Starting with a local TV show in 1951 he became TV’s most famous fitness guru, saying once that dying would be bad for his image. But Jack LaLanne could not out bench-press the grim reaper forever, and he’s died at…
While many viewers were shocked that last Friday, January 21, 2011 MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann announced on-air that that night’s show was the last for the network, the decision came after years of tension and near terminations, reports The New York Times’…
Apple announced that it hit its 10 billionth downloaded app on Saturday morning, Jan. 22, 2011. The milestone was reached when the app for the game Paper Glider "was downloaded by Gail Davis from Orpington in Kent" in the United Kingdom, reports U.K. publication The…
The mega-talents of all those mentioned above were feted recently by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as they were inducted into the ATAS Hall of Fame. TVWeek Open Mic blogger Hillary Atkin was at the ceremony and writes about…