TLC Goes Dancing
TLC is throwing its hat into the dance competition ring with “Master of Dance,” a new reality series. Hosted by Joey Lawrence, the show will step up the competition by adding the element of surprise: The song, and the style…
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ESPN Rise Spotlights High School Sports
ESPN is launching ESPN Rise, a new content brand aimed at high school athletes and fans across television, print, mobile and Web media. The content initiative is set to roll out in August and will include a social networking site,…
Canal Plus Puts Disney Product on VOD, PPV
Disney-ABC Television and French pay TV platform Canal Plus are partnering to bring film and series content to video-on-demand and pay-per-view programming. The multiyear agreement brings film content from Walt Disney Pictures, Disney/Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films to Canal…
A&E’s ‘Bounty Hunter’ Returns
A&E’s “Dog the Bounty Hunter” will return this summer after being off the schedule for months, the Associated Press reports. Reruns will begin airing June 25, with unaired episodes from the fourth season to follow, the wire service says. The…
Comedy Central Adds Atom Content
Comedy Central announced at its upfront presentation that it will add webisodes and shorts from Atom.com to its schedule, Animation Magazine reports. Atom TV will begin airing June 2 at 2 a.m., the magazine says. The network also will air…
Comcast to Buy Social Site Plaxo
Comcast Corp. plans to acquire social networking Web site Plaxo, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cable operator is seeking to broaden the range of services for its 27 million subscribers with the contact-information and media-exchange Web site, the newspaper…
OMD’s DeSocio Moves to Lifetime
Lifetime Networks executive VP Debbie Richman has hired David DeSocio, her former colleague at media buyer OMD, as senior VP of Lifetime Partnerships. At Lifetime, Mr. DeSocio, who had been chief strategy officer at OMD, will work with sponsors to…
Rounding Up HD News: Seeing Starz, Blu-ray Delay
Starz Entertainment to Add Encore HD in July Starz Entertainment will have its fifth high-definition channel when it adds Encore HD in July. The Liberty Media unit said the HD version of Encore, whose flagship channel has more than 31…
Cox, Charter Quietly Joining the HD Fray
With about half as many high-definition channels as satellite TV leaders DirecTV and Dish Network, cable providers Cox Communications and Charter Communications are still maintaining their subscription base and sales largely by boosting the number of HD subscribers. Cox and…
This Week in HD: New York Stories
HD programming picks for May 15-21: “Hot Dog Paradise,” “End of the Century,” Mets vs. Yankees “Hot Dog Paradise” (Travel Channel). Thurs., May 15, 8 p.m. New York’s ultimate street food gets the fancy treatment as Travel Channel examines the…