The movie industry is refusing to be Napsterized.In both an offensive and a defensive move, five major film studios formed Movielink last summer as a joint venture for the on-demand distribution of their films on broadband platforms. The partnership allows…
`Watching Ellie’ watched by 18-49 demoCould Julia Louis-Dreyfus be the first to break the post-“Seinfeld” jinx? Benefiting from an Olympic-sized promo push and a “Frasier” lead-in, Ms. Louis-Dreyfus’ premiere in NBC’s “Watching Ellie” broke out with winning ratings in the…
Alan Cumming has signed to star in a Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment drama pilot for NBC. The pilot, based on the Jake Kasdan motion picture “Zero Effect,” will be written and executive produced by Walon Green. Mr. Kasdan…
Posted Monday, March 4, at 10:55 a.m. (PT); last updated 2:20 p.m. ‘The Court’ getting repurposed for cable Add “The Court,” ABC’s new Supreme Court drama starring Sally Field, to the ever-lengthening list of new broadcast series most likely heading…
In 1992, broadcasters celebrated a major legislative victory: the retransmission consent regulations. Now from the distance of 10 years, many are wondering what all the cheering was about.Under the regulations, included in a major rewrite of the cable TV law,…
Pay-per-view doesn’t sound nearly as glamorous as video-on-demand, but unlike VOD it is an established technology that works for anyone with a set-top box-no high-tech equipment or special skills required.That’s one of the main reasons that Mark Greenberg, executive VP…
We’d all be rooting for the good guys if only we could figure out who the good guys are. Maybe this time there aren’t any. Maybe good guys generally are a fast-dying breed.David Letterman used to seem like a good…
Just when MGM had Wall Street moving into its corner, it dropped a bombshell last week. MGM warned that it now expects to break even in 2002, instead of growing earnings 15 percent as it announced last month, due primarily…
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe may be the biggest private equity firm that actively manages investments in healthcare services, but at least two others firms are active investors in providers.Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, Chicago, manages about $1 billion for institutional…
Orlando `Manhunt’ boosts WOFL-TVFox affiliate WOFL-TV, Orlando, Fla., last month launched “Manhunt,” a campaign to catch local criminals. WOFL profiled the 10 most wanted criminals in Central Florida in every newscast for the first two weeks of the campaign. Re-enactments…