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For whom production tolls: Small tollin/robbins outfit becoming a giant killer

Hollywood loves a rags-to-riches story. It’s Lana Turner being discovered at Schwab’s. It’s Tony Danza being noticed as he’s working out at a boxing gymnasium in New York. It’s Christie Brinkley getting tapped on the shoulder while she’s walking down…

He defined the game: Chick Hearn 1916-2002

We lost another of the Ironmen last week. In sports the term “Ironman” is usually associated with two men in particular: Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripen Jr. And the feat the term refers to is the long number of consecutive…

The ‘Monk’ model: Rethinking repurposing

In an effort to break out of its two-year ratings slump, ABC has joined with former cable nemeses USA Network and Home Box Office to mount new programming initiatives.On paper, it seemed simple enough: USA Network agreed to let ABC…

FCC must make everyone share burden of DTV

The recent effort by FCC Chairman Michael Powell to speed up the digital revolution is a welcome sign from a Federal Communications Commission that has been content for the most part to take a hands-off approach to regulating the media…

FCC orders digital tuners in TVs by ’07

The Federal Communications Commission decided last week that broadcasters should not be the only ones to have to shoulder the burden of the transition to digital, but that it should be shared by TV set makers. The FCC last Thursday…

Friendly week

Fair-weather “Friends” and hot relationships fueled syndicated ratings for the week ending July 28. According to Nielsen Media Research, “Friends” once again took second place among all syndicated shows in households. In the game/relationship genre, “Elimidate” soared to another season…

Hollywood Notes

Gurin Co. buys U.S. rights to ‘Defectors’The Gurin Co., producer of the U.S. version of the hit NBC series “Weakest Link,” has secured the rights to “Defectors,” another British game show with an audience participation component. “Defectors” was created by…

Speculation roiling: Rainbow for sale?

Did General Electric Co. and NBC offer Cablevision Systems a better way out of its $1 billion funding jam?When the matter was briefly raised last week at Cablevision’s first in-person investors meeting in New York, Cablevision executives dismissed it with…

NBC’s audiences are more upscale

NBC’s prime-time viewership has the highest average median household income in virtually every adult demographic and is the only network to have a higher median income than the total U.S. population in all categories.That is the top-line conclusion of a…

The Insider

Adelphia woes hit another stage While the show will undoubtedly go on at the National Cable Television Center and Museum’s theatre, nobody knows who will pay the remaining $500,000 due to the Center for the curtain to be raised. Five…