Four executives-three of them from NBC-will play big roles in the completion of the $14 billion merger of General Electric’s NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment and are likely to figure prominently in the newly merged company as well.In the wake…
The calendar is filling in with dates for 2004 affiliate gatherings, which may include the first full-blown national convention for ABC affiliates since the late ’90s.ABC is giving strong consideration to scheduling a multi-day, family-friendly affair at parent company Disney’s…
For a change, baseball is being very, very good to Fox.In past seasons the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series have disrupted Fox’s fall schedule launch plans and produced declining ratings. But this season the games have been exciting,…
Findings from the first ad-supported video-on-demand test by a major cable TV operator suggest that viewers will gravitate to long-form advertising if they feel they have a variety of unique and entertaining options from which to choose. Cox Media, a…
Bankrupt satellite producer and operator Loral Space & Communications last week rejected EchoStar Communications’ $1.85 billion offer to buy all of its assets, saying the bid was too low. EchoStar’s latest offer, which had been upped from a previous bid…
Starz Encore’s Sie Applauds FCC Action on VOD The fine print in the text of a Federal Communications Commission order released Thursday gives cable TV operators and satellite providers who offer subscription video-on-demand services the right to restrict-or even bar-consumer…
Baseball Wins Again for Fox Fox is on a hot streak with the Major League Baseball playoffs this year. The network won Wednesday night in total viewers and adults 18 to 49 airing National League and American League Championship Series…
Scripps Renews Offer of Free Airtime to Political Candidates E.W. Scripps today announced it will renew its offer of free airtime to political candidates on its nine network-affiliated stations for the 2004 elections. Under the initiative, the company said, its…
NBC Pulls ‘Boomtown,’ Rejiggers Friday Lineup The first big loser of the new season isn’t a new series, but NBC’s critically acclaimed, Peabody-winning sophomore drama “Boomtown.” NBC has pulled it from its schedule after only two weeks in its new…
For TBS’s initial season of “Sex and the City” repeats, media agency executives expect the cable network to ask for a whopping $30 million from one major advertiser and $20 million each from three other sponsors. It’s the first time…