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Out & About

Showtime’s Matt Blank, left, writer William Mastrosimone and star Tom Cavanagh at a special screening of “Bang Bang You’re Dead” at the National Education Association in Washington, D.C., Oct. 10.Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, left, MTV Networks International President William Roedy,…

Spectrum fees would finance ads

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced legislation last week that would require broadcasters to pay spectrum fees to help underwrite advertising for federal political candidates.Under the measure, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Russell Feingold,…

Study: Stations dropped ball in election coverage

Coverage of political campaigns and elections is sorely lacking at television stations around the country, according to a study released last week by the Lear Center Local News Archive.The study analyzed more than 2,400 local news broadcasts from the top…

The Insider

A court show you can’t refuseGoing to court is always traumatic, but how would you feel if the real-life version of Vito Corleone or Tony Soprano was serving as judge, jury and executioner? Pretty scary, huh? Well, that’s what a…

Hollywood Notes

ABC has issued a full-season order for sophomore sitcom “George Lopez.” “Lopez,” which airs at 8:30 p.m. (ET) Wednesdays, earned a nine-episode back order to carry it to a full season’s complement of 22 episodes. Last week’s telecast of “Lopez”…

Briefly Noted

ABC Television affiliates have approved a new network-affiliate plan for the next two years in an effort to strengthen the company’s distribution system. The agreement covers a range of issues, including continued financial support from affiliates for “Monday Night Football,”…

At Press Time

Los Angeles-Regal CineMedia, the country’s largest theater owner, sealed a deal with NBC in which the network will provide short-form programming content for Regal’s proposed in-theater Digital Content Network. Regal is aiming to revolutionize cinema advertising by linking with entertainment…

Guarantees dropped in scatter

Guarantees have all but disappeared from broadcast scatter this year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t reappear suddenly, perhaps at one network, as a ploy to gain tactical advantage.“I think that all things being equal, assuming that everyone’s writing business…

Tauzin’s DTV deadline bill still has life

A controversial proposal that would force broadcasters to switch to digital TV at the end of 2006, whether consumers are ready for it or not, isn’t dead-despite the assurances to the contrary from broadcast industry lobbyists.That was the word last…

NBC investigating WSMV-TV

WSMV-TV in Nashville, owned by Meredith Corp., is under investigation by NBC for allegedly using a Time Machine to add commercial inventory during prime time. A Time Machine can eliminate duplicative frames in a TV signal’s picture so commercials can…