CAPTURING THE HISTORY OF ‘SNL’
Charles Foster Kane thought “It would be fun to run a newspaper.” Did I think it would be fun to write a book? No, I’m not that naive. But the project sounded seductive: a 25-year history of “Saturday Night Live,”…
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NATPE 2004: Finding Its Rhythm
Last week, in Part One of our annual syndication roundtable, TelevisionWeek’s panel of experts, who this year represent differing aspects of the syndie business, debated the erosion of the daytime audience, competition from cable and the impact of consolidation. The…
News Briefs
NBC and Vivendi Universal on Friday moved a step closer to completing their $14 billion merger of the broadcast network and the French conglomerate’s U.S. entertainment assets by receiving deal approval from the European Union Commission. The all-stock transaction, announced…
Syndication on the Way to a Comeback
The dark era may or may not be over. Analysts and insiders, who for years predicted the fall of syndicated programming, received a thump in 2003 as audiences rediscovered syndie fare, new series broke from the pack and ad rates…
A haircut, a shave and a cell
This amusing photo hit the Internet not long after Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces in Iraq. The artist, who used a computer program to combine the cast of the hit show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” with…
Cable Put VOD, HD, DVR in the 2003 Mix
The biggest advances in television technology in 2003 came in the form of cable operators’ mix of new services-video-on-demand, high-definition TV and digital video recorders. VOD made the transition from a visionary technology to a bona fide business; the burst…
Double Issue
This is a special year-end of TelevisionWeek. We will next publish Jan. 5, 2004. Happy Holidays! Chart on the WebThe Nielsen prime-time ratings chart for the week of Dec. 8 to 14 does not appear in this issue. It can…
Media Brace for Fallout From News Corp. Hughes Takeover
Forget visions of a new 800-pound gorilla. Think more along the lines of an 800-pound octopus.That’s the assessment by one analyst of the impact of News Corp.’s deal to assume control over DirecTV parent Hughes Electronics, which was approved by…
Previews
When Bon Jovi fans check out the band’s Web site for info on the upcoming New Year’s Eve pay-per-view event, “Bon Jovi: Full House, the Concert From the Boardwalk,” they will find a five-minute video vignette of the taped concert…
Sheehan Gets a Positive Review
After his last broadcast as entertainment editor of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles two weeks ago, David Sheehan had little time to contemplate a key turning point in his landmark 33-year career as one of the premier entertainment reporters and reviewers…