Charter Communications is still bleeding red ink, but the troubled cable system operator finally appears to have stabilized and may even be on the verge of a turnaround. To be sure, the St. Louis-based company, cobbled together by Paul Allen…
Twentieth Television was close to an off-network deal for Bernie Mac on the Fox Television Stations, and HBO has signed Warner Bros. to distribute Sex and the City in off-cable syndication.The runs for both shows are expected to start in…
MTV is aiming straight for the Big 4 network’s share of the upfront market, targeting a 15 percent to 25 percent spike in absolute dollars by aggressively selling MTV Networks and its diverse branded cable channels.The goal is not only…
Cable giant Comcast fell deeper into the red Thursday, reporting a first-quarter loss of $297 million, or 13 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $89 million, or 9 cents a share. Wall Street analysts were projecting a loss…
Pauley’s departureSay, “Good night, Jane.” Last week, Dateline NBC co-anchor Jane Pauley got a warm and fuzzy sendoff from Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Stone Phillips and others at the Rainbow Room atop the NBC headquarters building she has called her…
Upset about escalating programming costs, major cable TV operators last week publicly embraced proposals that would give cable subscribers far greater leeway to determine the programming they receive and pay for-even if legislation is needed to force the revolutionary change.“Soaring…
“They need to focus on getting back to their original brand-smart, sophisticated, urban adult audience.” … “They’re still in pretty good shape, but their stuff is getting old and [Entertainment President] Jeff Zucker can’t let his own fascination with the…
Even some of News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch’s biggest critics in Washington last week were privately conceding that the company’s $6.6 billion acquisition of DirecTV, though still technically subject to government review, appeared to be a done deal.One of the…
“UPN, with the less-than-stellar ratings for Platinum, finds itself scratching its head again trying to figure out who they are.” … “UPN should go for quality and take a chance on one or two shows. Newton is the best thing…
The winds of change will be felt at The West Wing next year. With the departure of creator and executive producer Aaron Sorkin from the show, insiders speculate that the producers will respond to critics who have complained that the…