Making the most of Donny Osmond
My first sense of stardom came at the old McCormick Place in Chicago during my first live concert performance. I was 5 years old and had just made my TV debut on “The Andy Williams Show.” That night, Andy introduced…
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Laughs are key, but best sitcoms reflect times
From “I Love Lucy” to “Seinfeld,” situation comedies have been a staple of the syndication market since its earliest days. While the pipeline of off-network sitcoms has slowed somewhat in recent seasons, a spate of current hits such as “Malcolm…
PROFILE: Colin Tinto
Title: Chief technology officer of Home Media Networks, a U.K.-based technology company that develops PC software for the digital entertainment sector. Mr. Tinto helped co-found the company in February 2000.About ShowShifter, the company’s first product: “ShowShifter lets you turn a…
Sitcom evolution
Nov. 18, 1947“Mary Kay and Johnny” Premiere episodeDumontA debate ensues over whether this 15-minute program is the first sitcom developed exclusively for television. “The Goldbergs,” which premiered Jan. 17, 1949, on CBS, was a continuation of a hit radio show…
Broadcast factions banding together
Top network and station executives have been meeting behind the scenes for the past six months to figure out how broadcasters can tap a second revenue stream, said executives who have attended the meetings.Sources said that one idea some representatives…
TV IN TRANSITION: NBC lowers the bar with $500,000 hours
The broadcast networks, all pinched by double-digit ad revenue losses this season, are floating trial balloons about dramatically cutting the license fees on scripted series.As part of NBC’s presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif., last…
Syndication Ratings: Xmas kind to veteran talkers
Christmas week brought presents for daytime players but left access shows lumps of coal. Talk shows and court shows built on their audiences, according to Nielsen Media Research for the week ending Dec. 30, as audiences stayed in from the…
Two critics is one too many
“The critics loved it.” Oh did they? As do most critics-I hope-I dislike that phrase. It always makes it sound as though critics are cattle, roaming about in a herd and mindlessly mooing the same tune. We chew our cuds,…
Lyne takes over ABC’s hot seat
A week ago, longtime ABC marketing chief Alan Cohen encountered longtime ABC programming executive Stu Bloomberg in the halls at ABC.“I’m leaving,” chirped Mr. Cohen, who is going to market movies for 20th Century Fox.“I’m fired,” said Mr. Bloomberg, who…
At Press Time
Lyttle, Kahl mulled as new UPN executivesLos Angeles-Larry Lyttle, president of Paramount TV Group’s Big Ticket Entertainment, is being considered to replace Dean Valentine, the embattled UPN president who left the network on Friday, according to sources at sister network…