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At Press Time

Apr 23, 2001  •  Post A Comment

Promotional nightmare
Los Angeles-NBC has to find a way to promote having six contestants from rival CBS’s “Survivor” on its new show “Weakest Link” without using the word “survivor” in the advertising, Reuters has reported.
NBC thought it had scored a coup when it lined up six contestants from the original “Survivor” series to appear on a celebrity version of “Link.”
But NBC is prohibited by CBS from using the “Survivor” name to promote the special “Link” edition, which is set to air May 10-one week after the “Survivor: The Australian Outback” finale.
Another `Jackass’ injury
Los Angeles-A second Connecticut child has injured himself imitating a stunt he saw on MTV’s “Jackass.” An 11-year-old boy suffered second-degree burns when he lit a flammable-liquid-soaked cloth that he had wrapped around his leg. In January, a 13-year-old Connecticut boy suffered severe burns after watching a “Jackass” stunt in which the host, wearing a flame-retardant suit, stretched out on a burning outdoor grill.
Subsequently, MTV moved “Jackass” to a later time period and enlarged and toughened the language of the show’s written disclaimer. Following this latest incident, MTV issued a statement deploring the
injury and disclaiming responsibility.
BET adds channels
Los Angeles-Black Entertainment Television is grouping jazz, gospel, hip-hop and R&B networks into a new digital tier. New channels the Viacom division is adding to its existing lineup will include BET Classic Soul, BET Hip-Hop and BET Gospel.
In other news, Curtis Symonds, the network’s executive vice president of affiliate sales and a 13-year BET veteran, announced his resignation, moving on to “explore other business opportunities,” according to a BET statement.