MGM HD, the high-definition channel of MGM Studios, has partnered with several cable systems to carry the network, including RCN in Chicago and Ace Communications in Minnesota. The high-definition channel recently signed agreements with seven cable providers. The others are…
MediaCom U.S. has hired Margaret Lewis as chief strategy officer. Ms. Lewis, who had been executive VP and U.S. director of communications planning for Universal McCann, will be responsible for aligning the agency’s insight and analytics capabilities with the media…
After pointing to a number of reasons for a dark final quarter of 2007 for DVD sales, studio executives see universal Blu-ray adoption as the major reason to hope for a brighter 2008. Of six studios that have reported end-of-year…
The player: Thomas Hayden, executive vice president and general manager at Smithsonian Networks The play: Hayden last year began leading Showtime’s development of Smithsonian Networks, a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. The joint venture was started in early 2006 to…
HD programming picks for Feb. 14-20: “My Cousin Vinny” (Cinemax). Friday, Feb. 15, 11:30 a.m. ET. Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, who won the supporting actress Oscar for this performance, star in the courtroom comedy set in the South. Fred…
Gallery HD Channel Puts U.K. Forgery Specialist in Classroom Voom’s Gallery HD visual arts channel on March 3 will start airing a 10-episode series featuring convicted forger John Myatt teaching students the art of replicating the paintings of master artists….
Netflix hit first, but Best Buy may have hit harder. Toshiba’s next-generation HD DVD format received two pieces of bad news this week, when Netflix and Best Buy both said they will progress toward exclusively backing Sony’s Blu-ray format this…
DIC Entertainment has launched Kewl Cartoons, a dedicated online video channel and interactive community for children and families. The 24/7 on-demand content will include both new and classic DIC cartoons, such as “Dino Squad,” “Inspector Gadget” and “The Littles.” Kewl…
CNN has officially launched its beta version of iReport.com, a news site featuring unfiltered and uncensored user-generated content. The new site builds on the success of CNN’s initial iReport initiative, where viewers were asked to submit photos and videos for…
Writers Guild of America members voted to end the 100-day strike that hobbled the broadcast television networks in a fight over how to split revenue from digital distribution of TV shows. The Tuesday vote means writers can go back to…