Home satellite service DirecTV has been quietly showing free five-minute previews of soft-core adult films in its pay-per-view lineup. The previews, which often display full frontal nudity and simulated sex acts, could be seen by any DirecTV viewer, including children…
Clear Channel Communications last week violated the same public company golden rule that AOL Time Warner, the world’s largest media concern, broke in 2001 and has been paying for ever since: Never surprise the market.The only people who hate surprises…
Upset about a recent court ruling that further relaxes the broadcast ownership rules, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., plans to hold a hearing on the issue this month, possibly on March 20.He’s working with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,…
The National Association of Broadcasters will continue to resist the planned merger of EchoStar and DirecTV despite a pledge by the companies to carry every television station in every market if the deal is approved.“Broadcasters have had a long and…
A proposal designed to reunite stray distributors at the annual National Association of Television Program Executives market has met with positive reaction from domestic distributors, at least for the 2003 gathering.The trade organization, which suffered from defecting longtime exhibitors in…
Parents of small children got some bad news last month when the Disney Channel announced it has begun selling advertising time. The cable channel had been free of ads since its inception 19 years ago.The channel’s new sponsorship deal with…
Though NBC easily won the prime-time ratings crowns during February sweeps, not all the NBC-owned and affiliated stations won all their news races.In New York, WNBC-TV was the model NBC station, winning sign-on to sign-off with a 6.5/15 compared with…
Perhaps it escaped your notice, but the other week they handed out the George Polk Awards for investigative journalism. Considered second in prestige only to the Pulitzers, the Polk Awards are mostly given to the print media. But every year,…
Facing competition from NBC’s Winter Olympics and Fox’s Super Bowl XXXVI broadcast, the February 2002 sweeps resembled a war of attrition for the other broadcast networks-except UPN.In particular, ABC appeared completely exposed, lacking any major program stunting to stem its…
“Aside from the rumor I’m trying to spread about my own investment group buying Disney, I think an NBC purchase of Gannett Stations would be a dynamic acquisition.”Bob Klingle, VP/general manager, WHAS-TV (ABC), Louisville, Ky. “I was surprised to hear…