Cable

Mark Burnett Sells Game Show Pilot to ABC

The problems with “Our Little Genius” haven’t knocked producer Mark Burnett out of the game. ABC ordered a game show pilot from him, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The show is called "Trust Me, I’m a Game Show Host." It will pit two…

Betty White Will Host ‘SNL’ on Mother’s Day Weekend

Betty White will host “Saturday Night Live” on Mother’s Day weekend, May 8, USA Today reports. The 88-year-old will be the solo host, but she’ll be joined on the show by six former female “SNL” stars: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler,…

Legendary Low Budget Movie King, Who Just Received an Honorary Oscar—Roger Corman (‘I, Mobster,’ ‘Wasp Woman,’ ‘Little Shop of Horrors’)—Making TV Movie For Syfy

Roger Corman, who once directed nine low-budget theatrical movies in a single year, is making a new movie for Syfy, the channel has announced. Corman, who recently received an honorary Academy Award recognizing his huge B-movie career, will produce "Sharktopus" for…

Broadcasters Fight Back on Retrans

The National Association of Broadcasters, countering cable and satellite operators’ request for changes in the retransmission consent system, says the system is working just fine, B&C reports. In his own letter to lawmakers, NAB Chairman Paul Karpowicz notes that Congress…

Discovery Exec Says Why Broadcasters’ Retrans Demands Will Hurt Cable

Discovery Communication’s President of Digital Media and Corporate Development, Bruce Campbell, told industry analysts that more aggressive bargaining by broadcasters over retransmission fees could hurt cable programmers, Multichannel News reports. Campbell, speaking at the Bloomberg/BusinessWeek Media Summit, said broadcasters are likely to…

CNN Eyeing Morning Shakeup?

CNN may be looking to jump into the more-opinionated morning show format that rivals MSNBC and Fox News have, TheWrap reports. The site says that CNN is developing a pilot for the morning that includes personalities debating politics and opinions….

Olbermann Criticized for Likening First Amendment Lawyer to Nazi Collaborator

MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann is being taken to task for likening one of the country’s top First Amendment lawyers to a Nazi collaborator, B&C reports. The First Amendment Advisory Council of the Washington-based Media Institute called on Olbermann to apologize…

ABC News Fakes 2-Second Video in Report of Toyota Cars Accelerating

In a recent report about the acceleration problems Toyotas have, ABC News used 2-seconds of footage taken in a parked car, but claimed it was taken in a moving one, the Associated Press reports. According to the AP report, written by longtime TV reporter David…

Eye-Opener: Iger Open to Spinning Off ABC

Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger told shareholders Wednesday that he was keeping his options open when it to ABC, even possibly spinning the network off from Disney, Reuters reports. ABC has come under scrutiny lately, specifically in its news division….

Will It Soon Be Legal To Bet Which New TV Shows Will Be Successful?

Starting next week, the public can place real monetary bets on how well they think Hollywood films will fare at the box office, when the Cantor Futures Exchange opens its online futures market for movies, the New York Times reports….