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Tom Gilbert 4,032 Entries
Tom Gilbert

Why Judge Refused to Toss the Letterman Alleged Blackmail Case

A Manhattan judge turned down a request by a CBS producer charged with attempting to blackmail David Letterman to throw out the case, the Associated Press reports. According to the report, "Whether Halderman’s conduct amounted to commerce or crime ‘is…

Conan Books Big Names For What’s Expected to Be Final Week

Conan O’Brien is going for ratings gold this week — which could be his last on NBC — with a big-name guest slate, The New York Times reports. Friday, which is expected to be his last night, he’ll have Tom…

‘Smarter Than a 5th Grader’ Gets Second Year in Syndication

With NATPE approaching, Twentieth Television renewed “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” for a second season, B&C reports. Tribune, Fox and Local TV picked up the show again for fall. Meanwhile, CBS Television Distribution, which has already announced its…

NBC Expects to Lose $200 Million on Winter Games

NBC expects to lose $200 million on the upcoming Winter Olympics, The New York Times reports. The network has itself to blame, the paper said, by far exceeding rival bidders in order to land the rights, and failing to plan…

New Study Says Youth Viewing Dropping

A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that the amount of time that youths ages 8 to 18 spent watching regularly scheduled TV dropped by 25 minutes between 2004 and 2009, B&C reports. That’s the first time viewing has dropped. Nonetheless,…

Is This New Ad DVR-Proof?

The virtual phone system company Grasshopper says it has come up with a DVR-proof ad, reports Adgabber. Viewers can still fast-forward through it, of course, but the company’s grasshopper mascot named Gary stays visible and immobile in center screen throughout…

New Strategy for MyNetworkTV Seems to Be Working

MyNetworkTV’s syndication-based programming strategy, introduced last fall, seems to be working, B&C reports. The primetime audience is up 28% in viewers compared to a year ago, according to Executive VP Paul Franklin, although the audience remains small at an average…

MGM Attracts More Than Half-Dozen Offers

More than a half-dozen offers have come in to buy all or part of MGM, reports The Hollywood Reporter. None of the bids reached $2 billion, but they were high enough that the process will continue to a second round….

FCC Extends Deadline for Comment on Kids TV Content-Control

The FCC has agreed to a request by advertisers to extend the deadline to comment on its inquiry into kids TV content-control strategies in a digital world, B&C reports. The American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the…

Big Numbers for Nick’s ‘Big Time Rush’

Nickelodeon’s Jan. 18 debut of “Big Time Rush” was the network’s highest-rated and most-watched live-action Nick series premiere, Multichannel News reports. It benefited from a lead-in from a new episode of “iCarly,” which drew its best numbers ever. The “iCarly”…