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In Depth

Gigs

RolesAshton Kutcher of Fox’s “That ’70s Show” has signed a deal with the series’ producer Carsey-Werner-Mandabach to stay on through the 2004-05 season. Under the new pact Mr. Kutcher’s per-episode salary is said to be bumped into the low six-figure…

Another Channel by Jake?

Body builder, actor and entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, who runs Body by Jake in L.A., has a favorite motto: “Don’t Quit.” That seems appropriate, because 10 years after he first launched Fit TV, the fitness guru and his partner Tim Robertson,…

Fox Claims Win Over CNN in Cable Upfront

Fox News claims it’s won the upfront among the cable news networks, besting CNN and MSNBC. News Corp.’s Fox pulled in about $150 million in ad dollars, with cost-per-thousand rate increases of 10 percent to 12 percent, said Paul Rittenberg,…

Kinder, Gentler Reality

While the broadcast networks continue searching for the next great twist on reality, cable networks are launching a second generation of reality programming that expands the genre to include more lifestyle-based shows. At the Television Critics Association Cable Press Tour…

CABLE FACES A MEDIA BOTTLENECK

One of my first jobs was as a movie and TV critic on a now defunct Florida newspaper. The pay wasn’t very good, but the editor assured me I could make up for it in free meals, parties, nightclub visits,…

Biz Briefs

The two investment teams vying for the U.S. entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal say they are still in the hunt, despite some minor hiccups that surfaced last week while the French conglomerate’s management continued to review the offers.A spokesman for…

Station Dish: New Morning News, Studio in Windy City

CBS’s Chicago owned-and-operated station WBBM-TV will roll out weekend morning news sooner than planned and possibly as early as this month, after its slow response to the fatal porch collapse in Chicago in late June. The station’s coverage started after…

TCA Notes: TNN Launching Spike TV `As Fast as Possible’

“Leave it to men to launch prematurely,” Albie Hecht joked at the cable portion of the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles. The TNN president said the newly injunction-free net will rebrand “as fast as possible, within a…

advance planning

oct. 10-14MIPCOM 2003Nineteenth edition of the international television program market, Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France. Information: Margot Gardett, 33-01-41-90-45-59 or margot.gardett@reedmidem.com; or www.mipcom.com.oct. 14-17NAB Satellite Uplink Operators Training SeminarSponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters, in Washington. Information: Cheryl Coleridge,…

News Briefs

“The Savage Nation” has been canceled by MSNBC after the show’s controversial call-in host, Michael Savage, went on a rant about “sodomites” and said the caller on the air at the time of the live TV tirade “should only get…