The years-long feud between Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp and French conglomerate Vivendi Universal ended Wednesday when IAC agreed to sell its 5.4 percent stake in Vivendi Universal Entertainment to NBC Universal for $3.4 billion, giving NBCU full control of VUE.The sale…
CNN announced Wednesday that longtime NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas is joining the CNN roster as a substitute host on “Larry King Live.” Since 2001 Mr. Costas has hosted “On the Record With Bob Costas” for HBO, a corporate stablemate…
Univision, which went to court a year ago in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Nielsen Media Research’s rollout of the Local People Meter service, has signed a new comprehensive contract that includes LPM service in six major markets.The new deal,…
Those celebrating the fact network TV held its own last season, after years of declining audiences, should not read too much into that rebound, because there are still tremendous challenges ahead due to “hyper-fragmentation,” which will mean more outlets, more…
As lawmakers begin a massive rewrite of the nation’s telecommunications law this year, cable TV operators want them to consider eliminating much of the power that local franchising authorities currently hold over the industry — particularly when it comes to…
Twenty-three writers were announced on Tuesday as finalists for the 2005 Humanitas Prize by Frank Desiderio, president of Humanitas. The Humanitas Prize “exists to encourage those who create contemporary media to use their immense power in a humanistic way, to…
In a bid to capture the growing number of dollars directed toward the online comparative shopping sector, E.W. Scripps on Monday said it is buying Shopzilla for $525 million in cash.While at first blush the acquisition is not one that…
A Delaware judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging the appointment of Robert Iger to CEO of The Walt Disney Co. will go forward and begin in August, said Roy Disney and Stanley Gold, dissident shareholders who filed the claim…
“NBC Nightly News” executive producer Steve Capus has been promoted to senior VP of the news division and John Reiss has been promoted from senior broadcast producer to executive producer of “Nightly.”The announcements, which have been expected for some time,…
VH1 said Monday it has ordered 10 episodes of a new reality series dealing with the modeling industry that will air in the fall. The series, tentatively titled “The Agency,” follows booking agents at the Wilhelmina modeling agency. The show…