Spike will debut the Mark Burnett-produced rodeo reality program called “Toughest Cowboy” on Jan. 29, Daily Variety reports. The program will award a Wyoming ranch to the winner of contests such as bare-back and bull riding. —Aimee Picchi
Robert Carlyle, the actor who starred in “The Full Monty,” will take the lead in Sci Fi Channel’s new series “Stargate Universe,” the Hollywood Reporter says. The program is the third series in the “Stargate” franchise, and will begin next…
John Malone’s Liberty Media authorized a plan to split off a unit that controls DirecTV, the Wall Street Journal says. The new unit, Liberty Entertainment, would own a 52% stake in DirecTV and three regional sports networks under the proposal….
HBO will preview the first episode of the new season of its comedy “Flight of the Conchords” on the FunnyorDie.com Web site this week, a month before the series launches on the cable channel. HBO bought a stake in the…
Cable Net Wants to Expand on Success of Family Sitcom
Real Estate Fare Holding Up Despite Slump in Housing
The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research and Cablevision Systems raised more than $1.5 million at the eighth annual Holiday Rock & Roll Bash on Dec. 11. Cablevision is underwriting all of the Lustgarten Foundation’s administrative costs, ensuring that all…
Writers for VH1’s “Best Week Ever With Paul F. Tompkins” have signed contracts to work under the Writers Guild of America. Producers of the show signed deals with the WGA East to cover writers under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement….
A&E Television Networks last week cut 20 employees, half of whom were freelancers and the rest largely from its digital media unit, Advertising Age says. The layoffs are notable because A&E Television Networks, which is made up of A&E Network,…