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In Depth

CBS’s ‘Courting Alex’ Debuts Strong

The premiere of CBS’s new Monday night comedy “Courting Alex” outperformed its 9:30 p.m. (ET) time period average, giving the network a No. 2 finish in the time slot, behind Fox’s “24.”“Alex,” which stars Jenna Elfman, scored a 5.1 rating…

‘Megan Mullally’ Cleared in 70 Percent of Country

NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has sold the talk strip “The Megan Mullally Show” in more than 70 percent of the U.S. for its fall 2006 launch in national syndication. The announcement was made Tuesday at the NATPE annual convention…

Tribune Execs: All Eyes on Fox in Wake of UPN-WB Merger

How Fox handles the news that The WB and UPN are merging will in large part determine how significant the merger’s impact will be on the television business overall, according to Tribune Broadcasting’s top programming executive, Marc Schacher.“The ripples will…

‘Family Guy’s’ Stewie to Host Web-Based Talk Show

Fox is planning to launch a Web-based late-night talk show featuring Stewie, the toddler character from the animated series “Family Guy.” Ross Levinson, president of Fox Interactive Media, made the announcement Tuesday during a session at the annual National Association…

Sinclair Shares Take Hit on Worries About CW Impact

Shares in Sinclair Broadcast Group tumbled nearly 16 percent Tuesday as Wall Street began speculating about how the shuttering of The WB Network and UPN might affect the Baltimore-based station group.At the market’s close Tuesday, Sinclair’s shares had sunk $1.40…

NATPE Conventioneers Speculate on Future of UPN, WB Stations

The announcement by CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Television that they are dumping UPN and The WB for new joint venture The CW left attendees at the first full day of the National Association of Television Program Executives annual convention…

Disney to Acquire Pixar

The highly anticipated marriage of The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation came to fruition Tuesday, when Disney agreed to pay $7.4 billion in stock to acquire the respected animation studio.As part of the deal, Disney will pay 2.3 shares…

New Network Could Leave News Corp. Scrambling

Although the merger of The WB and UPN into new network The CW is being hailed by most observers as a smart move that addresses uncertain futures at both networks, the combination also is proving to have some unintended consequences…

Stevens Supports McDowell for FCC Post

Robert McDowell, an industry attorney widely rumored to be under serious White House consideration to fill the fifth position at the Federal Communications Commission, has the backing of Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the senator confirmed Tuesday during a briefing with…

CMT Scores Record ‘Miss America’ Ratings

CMT Scores Record Ratings for ‘Miss America’: CMT scored record ratings for its airing of the Miss America Pageant. The Jan. 21 event was seen by 3.1 million total viewers, besting CMT’s previous record holder, the “CMT Music Awards,” which…