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HBO Opener Vies with ABC
The most-watched cable premiere year to date was the long-awaited sixth-season debut March 12 of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” followed by the premiere of its freshman drama “Big Love.” The expectations game played against the mob drama, with critics slamming the…
‘Tyra,’ ‘Judge Alex’ Up From September Debut; ‘Martha’ Down
Warner Bros.’ rookie syndicated strip “The Tyra Banks Show” and Twentieth Television’s “Judge Alex” saw their household rating averages grow for the February sweeps over their September debut week, while NBC Universal’s “Martha” saw a decline.“Alex” scored a 2.3 national…
CBS Forms Band for ‘Rock Star’ Second Season
Three musicians are forming a band as part of the second season of CBS’s summer reality series “Rock Star,” and will select a lead singer as part of the show’s competition between a group of musical hopefuls. The new band,…
ABC Wins Thursday With ‘Inventor’
ABC won Thursday night among adults 18 to 49 with the two-hour premiere of its reality series “American Inventor,” eclipsing CBS’s NCAA basketball coverage and NBC’s comedy block.“Inventor” scored a 5.4 in the demo, a number that includes live-plus-same-day viewing,…
Martin Plans Hearing on Media Ownership Rules Revision
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Friday that he plans to launch proceedings “as soon as we can” to consider revising the agency’s media ownership rules. In addition, during a briefing for reporters, Mr. Martin said he continues to…
ABC Family Acquires Several Warner Bros. Films
ABC Family acquired TV rights to a slate of movies from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, including “Corpse Bride,” “The Polar Express” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and two of the Harry Potter films, the companies said Friday. The…
Viacom to Sell DreamWorks Library
Sumner Redstone’s Viacom said Friday it has reached an agreement to sell the 59-title DreamWorks film library for $900 million to an investment group led by billionaire George Soros.The sale of the library, which includes films such as “Saving Private…
CBS Paramount Sells ‘NCIS’ to USA
CBS Paramount Domestic Television has sold the off-network rights to CBS’s drama “NCIS” to USA Network.USA will begin running “NCIS” sometime in 2008.
CW Signs 27 More Affiliates, Including Nine Pappas Stations
The CW announced Thursday it has signed long-term affiliation agreements with 27 stations reaching more than 66 percent of the TV homes in the country. The new CW stations announced today include nine Pappas stations, eight of them now affiliates…