Touting itself as the first ad-supported on-demand network, RipeTV plans to debut later this year to 10 million on-demand and broadband homes.The multipronged platform is designed to be a fresh paradigm for television that recognizes and embraces the impact that…
Carol Burnett, whose November 2001 reunion special on CBS drew nearly 30 million viewers, will reunite with castmates from her classic sketch comedy show for a CBS special tentatively slated to air during . The previous reunion special, “The Carol…
While many programmers grapple with how new technologies such as video-on-demand will affect their business, World Wrestling Entertainment is climbing into the ring with a new subscription VOD service.This move to VOD, and to be part of subscription VOD in…
The battle over who will lead The Walt Disney Co. continued last week as large institutional investors pushed the media giant to discuss the future of the company and as disgruntled former board member Roy Disney demanded that the company…
The explosion of international programming on cable and satellite can be attributed in part to the 2000 U.S. Census, which helped open the floodgates for delivery of native-language programming to the U.S. mainland simply by asking people which languages they…
UC Berkeley student William Hung’s startlingly popular performance of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on “American Idol” Jan. 27 did not help him on the show – he didn’t win the contest – but it landed him a record deal, a…
The airing of Olympics coverage on CNBC and MSNBC in the year 2000 seemed like a huge opportunity for local cable operators but ended up being a slow race for the gold, at least in the New York market.Will things…
Writers, Producers Schedule TalksThe Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced last week that negotiations for a new contract will begin April 5. “We are prepared to meet with the companies and bargain…
Spanish-language television in the United States today looks a lot like the English-language TV landscape in the 1980s, a time when over-the-air broadcasters still dominated television viewing while cable programmers launched new niche services at a dizzying pace.In the 2004…
Given their penchant for industry jargon, media planners have long been accused of speaking another language. But lately, they actually have been speaking another language: Spanish. With the rapid rise of Hispanics in the U.S. population, and the corresponding shift…