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In Depth

Politics Propel ‘View’ to Most Watched Week Ever

“The View” rode its wave of heated political discussions and other “Hot Topics” to its most-watched week ever. The 12-year-old ABC daytime hit averaged 4.24 million total viewers for the week of Oct. 20-24, according to data from Nielsen Media…

Dingell to TV News Bosses: Don’t Call Election Early

The powerful chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., is calling on the national TV and cable news channels to hold off projecting the winner of the presidential election Tuesday night until all polls…

Campaign Ads Boost Hearst-Argyle Profits

Strong political advertising helped drive Hearst-Argyle Television’s profit for the third quarter up 20 percent. The station group reported Thursday that its net income for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 increased to $11.6 million, or 12 cents per share,…

Ad Sales President Close Will Exit MTV Networks at End of Year

Hank Close, president of ad sales for MTV Networks, is leaving the company at the end of the year. In a memo, MTVN CEO Judy McGrath said it was Mr. Close’s decision to leave when his contract expires. Mr. Close…

Rose to Star in USA’s ‘Operating Instructions’

Emily Rose, who recently appeared in “Jericho,” “ER” and “Brothers & Sisters,” will star in USA Network’s drama pilot “Operating Instructions.” Ms. Rose will play a top trauma surgeon who returns from a tour of duty in a battle zone…

Political Ads, Digital Revenues Boost LIN TV’s Q3 Results

Despite an 8% decrease during the third quarter in revenue from core advertising categories, LIN TV reported year-to-year increases of 5% in net revenue and 39% in operating income. Driven by $11.4 million in political advertising and by an 88%…

‘Truth’s’ Guggenheim Had Hand in Obama Infomercial

Barack Obama’s half-hour infomercial, which drew rave reviews for production, was produced by two leaders of the campaign’s ad team—Jim Margolis of ad agency GMMB and Mark Putnam of ad agency Murphy/Putnam—but it had some Hollywood help. Playing a role…

ESPN Preps ‘Your NBA Destination’ Multimedia Campaign

ESPN is launching a multimedia NBA marketing campaign with the tag “Your NBA Destination.” The campaign will feature ESPN anchors Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Stuart Scott and Michael Wilbon, as well as NBA players Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis,…

McCain, Obama to Appear on ‘Monday Night Football’ Nov. 3

Chris Berman will interview John McCain and Barack Obama during ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 3. Mr. Berman will speak to both presidential candidates via satellite from the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., during halftime of the game between…

CBS Corp. Sees Q3 Loss of $12.5 Billion

CBS Corp. reported a third-quarter net loss of $12.5 billion, or $18.58 per share, despite a slight uptick in revenue that came mostly from syndication growth and the acquisition of CNET. CBS had said earlier in October that it would…