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CBS is canceling the soap opera "As the World Turns" after more than a half-century on the air. CBS says the final episode will air next September, in its 54th year. Daytime dramas have been in a long-term ratings decline, and CBS ended the daytime soap "Guiding Light" earlier this year. [Snip] The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: "The Young and the Restless" and "Bold and Beautiful."

Falling home video revenue is decreasing jobs, film prod'n A regional economic group estimates that dollar DVD rentals from Redbox and others has cost the entertainment industry $1 billion and that the "ripple effect" will cost hundreds of millions more. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. study said the nationwide declines in home video revenue will cause an additional $500 million in losses as more than 9,000 related job cuts wipe out almost $400 million in wages, primarily in Southern California. The dramatic assessment comes amid growing popularity among recession-wracked consumers of ultracheap disc rentals offered by Redbox and...

From Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center, NBC brought Milton Berle, Jack Parr and Johnny Carson into the nation’s living rooms, then broadcast local news to New York City for decades. Last Thursday, it was a stage for a cable takeover as Comcast announced a plan to acquire NBC Universal. There, in Studio 6B, a town hall meeting for NBC employees opened with Jeff Zucker, the NBC Universal chief executive, introducing “our new friends from Philadelphia,” and closed with a formal welcome to the Comcast family by Ralph Roberts, the cable operator’s 89-year-old patriarch. Mr. Roberts received a standing ovation....

As she prepared her daughter for college, Anne Sweeney insisted that a television be among the dorm room accessories. “Mom, you don’t understand. I don’t need it,” her 19-year-old responded, saying she could watch whatever she wanted on her computer, at no charge. That flustered Ms. Sweeney, who happens to be the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group. “You’re going to have a television if I have to nail it to your wall,” she told her daughter, according to comments she made at a Reuters event this week. “You have to have one.” But she does not, actually. For 60...

Here's what I expect for 2010. 1. Control over distribution will shift to consumers. Expect an increasing amount of control over how, when, and where you consume content. A decade after TiVo debuted its commercial-skipping abilities, more and more technological innovations are shifting control from the hands of companies over to consumers. You can watch, listen to or read pretty much anything you want, whenever you want, thanks to Hulu, iTunes, satellite radio, Video on demand and thousands of free web sites. The variety and flexibility of access is only going to become more diverse. In 2010, premium cable content...

*Well, it's all over for "Oprah." Oprah Winfrey's production company says she'll announce Friday that her show will end in 2011. If you recall, earlier this month, we reported that there was speculation that she would end her daily syndicated show on broadcast TV and move to her cable network called OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Then on Nov. 9 her camp released a statement saying that she would make an announcement by the end of the year:

General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt was here Wednesday working to accelerate negotiations to acquire Vivendi SA's minority stake in NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the matter. GE, which owns 80% of NBC Universal, is progressing in talks with the Paris-based media and telecommunications conglomerate, the people said, though it remains unclear whether Vivendi will sell its 20% stake. In recent weeks, GE has ironed out a deal to give U.S. cable company Comcast Corp. control over NBC Universal. The deal hinges on Vivendi's selling its stake to GE. View Full Image VIVENDI Bloomberg News Jeffrey...

- Debbie Schlussel - http://www.debbieschlussel.com - Buh-Bye, Oprah & DLtDHYotWO*Posted By Debbie On November 20, 2009 @ 4:07 pm In Blog Posts, Columns, Movies & Entertainment / Celebrities | 46 Comments By Debbie SchlusselYesterday, word leaked that Oprah Winfrey was to announce, today, that her daytime TV talk show would end in September 2011.(Oprah artwork by Six Meat Buffet/Preston Taylor Holmes)Many readers have asked me about this, since I own the domain name/URL OprahSucks.com, and since I regularly monitor and lambaste the propaganda spews forth on her show and in her magazine with my regular “HOprah Watch” updates.  My criticism...

Remember how big the November sweeps used to be? For viewers, the memory is becoming more distant. On the last Thursday of the still-big November TV period, virtually every network show took it on the chin. Similar ratings trends also took place earlier in the week. Big shows -- such as ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," CBS' "CSI," NBC's "The Office" and Fox' "Fringe" -- all sank lower versus their respective results of a week before. Some of this could be due to a NFL Network Thursday night game between the Miami Dolphins-Carolina Panthers. That network's Thursday games have been pulling in...

Adam Lambert aimed for the kind of controversy Britney Spears and Madonna are known for generating, completely stunning the audience at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre and the millions watching the American Music Awards live on ABC. Glambert definitely delivered on his promise of a “sexy” performance as he closed the live show with simulated oral sex from a male backup dancer, a brief make-out session with his male keyboardist and a giant mirrored prop so the audience could see the looks on their own shocked faces. Rolling Stone has learned that producers weren’t informed about the guy-on-guy kiss in advance,...

MOBILE, Ala. -- Action movie star Steven Seagal is best known in these parts for having played the cook who thwarted a terrorist plot in the 1992 thriller "Under Siege," which was filmed here aboard the battleship USS Alabama. But these days he has another assignment. For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully commissioned reserve deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana. His law enforcement work is chronicled in a "Steven Seagal Lawman," an upcoming A&E reality TV show that will premiere on the cable channel at 9 p.m. CST Dec. 2. A&E is...

Oprah Winfrey is fleeing broadcast TV for cable. NBC, once arguably the biggest cultural tastemaker in the United States, is being shopped to Comcast, the country’s largest cable company. Have we reached a tipping point that suggests a remarkable decline in the fortunes of broadcast television in America? snip Analysts and executives agree that the economic model of broadcast — which relies more heavily on advertising than cable — is fractured. What they are wondering now is if it is irreparably broken. snip The business model of the big three networks — which became four when Fox began prime-time programming...

I can't believe the Cartwrights sang sooo badly in this!!

Sarah Palin’s appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday rocketed the show to its best numbers in two years, averaging an 8.7 rating/13 share, according to Nielsen. The numbers could hint at a similarly strong showing for Barbara Walters’ interview with Palin tomorrow night on 20/20, writes Media Life.The Palin ep of The Oprah Winfrey Show was up 36% over the same day last year, and pulled more viewers than the Whitney Houston episode that began the television season. It was the highest rated Winfrey show in two years, since the Osmond family appeared in Nov. 2007. Palin is...

"Most Americans probably already know pretty much what's happened by the time they get home at night, with radio and the Internet and iPods," says retired TV newsman Roger Mudd. "So at 6:30 p.m., they don't want to sit in front of television for a half hour and have someone tell them what they already know."

By Michael P. Tremoglie Tremoglie's Tea Time Blog Hill Street Blues was one of my favorite television programs. I watched it religiously each week. Moreover, it was a favorite of my Philadelphia Police Department colleagues. The characters, the chaos of the district headquarters (called precincts in other cities); the challenges of the bureaucracy and the politicos, all of these resonated with cops. Not since Wambaugh had there been such realism. Yet, there existed in the plots certain themes that were disconcerting. There was a subliminal promotion of a certain philosophy. The most obvious example was that of Lt. Howard Hunter,...

CNN was so sick of Lou Dobbs, it gave him an $8 million severance package to leave, The Post has learned. "They wanted him out," according to a source. Dobbs, who a source said had a year and a half to go on his $12 million contract, shocked viewers last Wednesday by announcing he was quitting. CNN boss Jonathan Klein and Dobbs, 64, had been publicly feuding over the kind of reporting Dobbs was doing on his show -- especially stories about illegal immigration and the anti-Obama "birther" movement, which contends the president was not born in Hawaii and is...

The latest object to shoot high-def video from the edge of space is…an arm chair. To promote its REGZA SV LCD TVs (LED backlight, local dimming), Toshiba trekked into the Black Rock Desert with a helium balloon. Watch the result: Click here to go to page with video. This is the first part of the ad. The second half for their Satellite T Series ULV laptops will come out next year. [Toshiba UK via Engadget] Facts about the shoot: • The shots were taken at a staggering 98,268 feet above the earth using Toshiba's own cameras • To reach the...

After losing its ratings lead and falling to last in primetime, the once-dominant CNN stands to lose the last piece of top-shelf value still attached to its business side: premium pricing. Time Warner-owned CNN, while getting beaten handily in the ratings race and having fallen to fourth place in rankings, still commands higher ad rates than rivals -- in some cases double those of Fox News and MSNBC. But perhaps not for long. While advertisers have been willing to shell out more for CNN's venerable brand, broad audience reach and less-opinionated programming, media buyers said the network's ratings slide is...

When, in late September, rumors surfaced that Comcast was trying to buy NBC Universal from General Electric, Wall Street reacted with dismay. Grandiose attempts to combine media production and distribution — programming and plumbing — are nothing new in the entertainment business, but they almost always end in disappointment. Witness AOL Time Warner. So what in the world could be prompting the Comcast chief executive, Brian Roberts, to start down this accursed path? I fear that I’m to blame. A few months ago, while stalking the aisles of my local Best Buy, I gave in to techno-temptation. I bought a...

Paul Wendkos, who directed the 1959 surfing classic "Gidget" and two sequels, died early Thursday at his home in Malibu... His feature film credits include 1961's "Angel Baby," with George Hamilton and Mercedes McCambridge, and 1971's "The Mephisto Waltz," starring Alan Alda and Jacqueline Bisset...

Much of the talk in the sports media world last fall centered on whether an effective competitor would step up to compete with ESPN. ESPN had just outbid Fox by $100 million to secure the rights to college football’s Bowl Championship Series through 2014, thanks mainly to its dual revenue stream that has cable and satellite operators making a monthly payment of more than $4 per subscriber for the channel. At the time, some sports league executives were fearful that ESPN would become a de facto monopoly that eventually would wind up driving the cost of sports rights down. If...

With the news that Oprah Winfrey may take her daily talk show away from broadcast affiliates and to her own OWN cable network, that got us wondering: should Glenn Beck, now the #2 show on cable despite airing in he afternoons, be Oprah's syndicated replacement? Beck is well-rounded. Between his #1 best-selling books and comedy shows he's a three-dimensional talent that could easily adapt to daytimes. He could also use his radio audience to promote to local affiliates. Just yesterday, the New York Times reported novelists are considering Beck to be the "New Oprah," when it comes to endorsing political...

THE END OF 'OPRAH' AS WE KNOW HER: Daytime Diva Giving Up Syndicated Talk Show & Moving To Her Cable Network In 2011 EXCLUSIVE: One of the biggest questions in the TV biz has been when, and even if, Oprah Winfrey would give up her daytime syndicated talk show to focus on OWN, her long delayed Oprah Winfrey Network in 70 million homes that was supposed to launch in place of the Discovery Health Channel as a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications. The industry has been betting that the daytime diva would extend The Oprah Winfrey Show for...

Barbara Walters will sit down with former Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for a five-part series of ABC News interviews to begin airing on "Good Morning America" Nov. 17, the morning her highly anticipated book "Going Rogue: An American Life" is released. The wide-ranging interview will cover her public life as Governor of Alaska and her Vice Presidential run in 2008, as well as her private life. This is Walters' first interview with the political figure.(continued)

Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care. The news media swoons in admiration. The public is likewise smitten, except for a few patriots who circulate disturbing rumors on the Internet about the leader's origins and intentions. The leader, undismayed, offers assurances that are soothing, if also just a tiny bit condescending: "Embracing change is never easy." So, does that sound like anyone...

I made this as soon as I heard the remake of the old "V" mini-series goofs somewhat on Obama's galactic personality cult. Feel free to spread this virally and contribute your own versions. I could definitely see Michelle swallowing a few hampsters.

With the noise level rising over consumers possibly paying a fee for TV shows online, now comes a report that iTunes is considering an all-you-can eat $30-a-month TV service. A new subscription service would turn iTunes into a pseudo cable and satellite TV operator -- a company that charges monthly fees for traditional TV/cable networks. The difference is that iTunes service would be sans advertising. Shows would not be distributed via linear networks -- but, as iTunes does now, by program. The story was first reported in AllThingsD.com. Apple's iTunes Stores is the original digital video Internet service, launching with...

Violence against women has increased on TV programs, according to a new study by the Parents Television Council. “Women in Peril: A Look at TV’s Disturbing New Storyline Trend” found that incidents of violence against women and teenage girls increased 120 percent on television in the in the past five years, while overall violence on primetime broadcast entertainment programs increased only 2 percent in the same time period. Violent incidents against teen girls on television programs increased 400 percent since 2004. Television programs depicted violence or the “graphic consequences of violence” toward women 92 percent of the time, compared to...

Local TV teeters as staff, anchors are axed As a top anchor in Los Angeles, John Beard worked during the heyday of local TV news -- covering earthquakes, riots and the occasional celebrity on the loose. Beard was a familiar presence on L.A. TV screens for 30 years, via lead anchor roles on KNBC and then KTTV. But three decades after arriving on the West Coast from Buffalo, Beard is back where he started, anchoring a morning newscast in that small western New York community. Beard had a great run in the nation's No. 2 market -- but his exit...

Soupy Sales died at age 83 yesterday. He hosted an afternoon kiddie show that reached its height of popularity in the mid-1960s. He was totally unlike other kids-show hosts of that, or any other, era. He wasn’t soft-spoken, like Mr. Rogers; he wasn’t grandfatherly, like Captain Kangaroo; he didn’t want to teach you anything, like Mr. Wizard. What Soupy was was a unique combination of silly and hip. He mixed slapstick with self-conscious irony. He was forever getting a pie thrown in his face. He talked to puppets, especially two — White Fang and Black Tooth — that were really...

You'll be able to watch popular cable television series such as HBO's "Entourage" and AMC's "Mad Men" on your computer by the end of the year without paying extra — as long as you're a Comcast Corp. subscriber watching at home. Comcast will be the first cable TV operator to unlock online access to a slate of valuable cable shows and movies, aiming to replicate what's available on television through video on demand. Time Warner Cable Inc. and others plan to follow as the pay-TV companies look to satisfy growing consumer appetite for online video while preserving subscription revenue. Access...

Fox talking head Glenn Beck has White House communications director Anita Dunn in his crosshairs, but the administration isn't exactly sweating. "I caught some of that from the Glenn Beck show yesterday, but I don't think anybody takes it—takes his attacks very seriously," the deputy White House press secretary said today of Beck's vitriolic reaction to a video in which Dunn says Mao Zedong is one of her "favorite political philosophers." "We go day to day in this White House trying to ensure that people know the truth about the policies and programs and positions that the president holds, and...

George Stephanopoulos will be the primary substitute for Diane Sawyer when she becomes anchor of “World News” next year, expanding his already formidable command of the airways as ABC’s chief Washington correspondent and anchor of “This Week.” “As Diane Sawyer prepares to assume her new role at ‘World News,’ George Stephanopoulos is also expanding his duties,” a network official said. “It’s just been established that George will be Diane’s primary substitute on 'World News.' In addition, he will also be at her side on set for all major ABC News special events coverage.” Stephanopoulos has made his George’s Bottom Line...

Miss America officials have decided to kill off their beauty pageant. That's not what they're saying, but you tell me what it means when a beauty pageant that professes to champion America's young women issues a news release with "Rush" and "thrilled" in the same sentence: "We are thrilled to have Rush join us for our pageant this year," said the Miss America Organization's president and CEO, Art McMaster. "We know that the 2010 Miss America Pageant will be filled with new twists and exciting opportunities with him as one of our national judges." No, he's not talking about the...

WASHINGTON - Fox News Channel types were ready to rumble Tuesday and are eagerly awaiting the next White House salvo. Fox cable biggies Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly could hardly contain their delight at being labeled GOP shills Sunday by Obama administration Communications Director Anita Dunn, a charge that will likely prove a big ratings booster for the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet. "They’re more worried about the war on Fox than the actual war in Afghanistan," Beck crowed on his show. "Anita, do enjoy the show."

For media, this is the best of times and the worst. The best because the cost to publish news, make a video or distribute a song has never been lower. But also the worst because it's hard to find a company, new or old media, that has emerged with a sustainable business model. Consumers are left wondering how much longer their favorite sources of news and entertainment will be around. The most recent stark contrast was between the $1 billion valuation for pre-revenue startup Twitter and the shutdown of the iconic Gourmet magazine. A new book provocatively entitled "The Curse...

It's the end of the road for drama "Southland," which has been canceled before the launch of its sophomore season. Production on the John Wells-produced cop series is being shut down after six episodes. "Southland," from Warner Bros. TV, was originally slated to debut in its new Friday 9 p.m. time slot during premiere week, but in August, NBC opted to push the start to Oct. 23 and air "Dateline NBC" in the meantime. "Dateline NBC" will now continue to run in the Friday 9 p.m. hour. It is not clear when the six produced new episodes of "Southland" will...

"D'oh!" doesn't even start to cover it. Marge Simpson -- the blue beehived matriarch of America's most loved dysfunctional family - is Playboy magazine's November cover, the magazine said on Friday. Simpson, tastefully concealing her assets behind a signature Playboy Bunny chair, is the first cartoon character ever to front the glossy adult magazine, joining the ranks of sex symbols like Marilyn Monroe and Cindy Crawford. Playboy said the cover celebrates the 20th anniversary of the "The Simpsons." Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have already been honored this year with a set of U.S. postal stamps. The magazine promises...

Popularity has dipped 8 percent since MayDavid Letterman may have ticked off more than just his wife by revealing his indecent liaisons with "Late Show" staffers. A new poll says that 29 percent of Americans are less likely to tune in to Letterman's shtick following his admission that he had affairs with woman who work for him. The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey, however, found that five percent of those polled thought that the naughty misdeeds made them even more likely to watch the show, and 63 percent say their viewing decisions have been unaffected. Dave's popularity ratings in general...

But, alas, it's not viewers returning to broadcast Typically, the cable networks see their ratings rise in the summer as they roll out new and returning original series, at a time when the broadcast networks are running either repeats or reality series, with their ratings well down from the regular season. But how does cable fare when the broadcast networks break out their new shows in the fall? It's an interesting question, and at first glance it would appear they’re suffering as viewers swing back over to broadcast, where there are a number of new shows that could become breakout...

Cannot post due to copyright issues: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/10/column-in-defense-of-glenn-beck-.html

The chairman of Universal Pictures Marc Shmuger and David Linde, have been ousted from the studio, in the latest sign that parent General Electric Co. has tired of disappointing results at much of its NBC Universal entertainment arm. After three and a half years, Shmuger and Linde have been replaced by Adam Fogelson, who had been Universal's head of marketing, according to Universal. Production president Donna Langley will serve as co-chairwoman, reporting to Fogelson. The move comes at a time when GE is in talks with Comcast Corp. about selling a 51% stake in NBC Universal to the cable operator....

A recent shift in merchandising strategy by the world's largest retailer spells more trouble for DVD sales and the entertainment industry that depends on them for profits. As part of a larger effort to clean up its aisles and appeal to higher-end shoppers, Wal-Mart is doing away with display cases to promote the latest hot movie titles. The move comes as major film studios are reeling from declines in revenue from DVD sales as cash-strapped consumers turn to low-cost rental services and digital downloads for home movies. "We think the new strategy implies Wal-Mart no longer sees DVDs and Blu-ray...

On Fox News Sunday, with substitute host Bret Baier, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham was asked whether Glenn Beck represents the Republican party. "No," was Graham's answer, adding, "It's not the kind of political analysis I buy into." Then later on CNN's State of the Union with John King, which, about the broadcast network Sunday shows likes to use that dismissive line: "we watch so you don't have to," the husband-wife, left-right team of James Carville and Mary Matalin weighed in on what Beck means. Matalin's analysis was measured and thoughtful; Carville's was, not surprisingly, a bit more blunt: "I think...

A deal to merge General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal into a new joint venture with Comcast Corp.'s cable networks might solve pressing needs for both companies. But a number of financial and legal issues still hang over the talks, which are still at an early stage. While both sides hope to complete a deal, people familiar with the matter give the transaction "50-50" odds of coming together. In the deal under discussion, Comcast would contribute cash and its cable networks to NBC Universal for a 51% stake in the expanded company. NBC Universal would borrow money that would be turned...

Looking for a fitting historical analogy to describe the current "cable wars?" Try the firebombing of Dresden. Fox News has been dominating its competitors now for some time, but the latest round of Abritron ratings shows FNC absolutely scorching rivals CNN and MSNBC: (Chart at link) As you can see, every show in the top ten is from Fox News, as are 13 out of the top 15. In fact, only one of Fox News' fourteen programs is ranked below #15 in the ratings. That show is Red Eye, which airs from 3-4am - and it still pulls in more...

Brian Roberts built Comcast Corp. into the world's largest cable company by being a visionary who has kept the company on the vanguard of phone, broadband and television technology. But his strategies indicate he's still worried that the Internet could one day become one of the leading forms of television distribution. That is one reason why he is determined to buy more cable channels and other content -- a strategy that has moved him from his failed effort to take over Walt Disney Co. in 2004 to his current interest in buying a piece of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal....

Cable giant Comcast Corp. is weighing a potential deal involving General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the matter, adding intrigue to the fate of the movie-and-television company. Comcast has held talks with GE, which owns 80% of NBC Universal, according to the people. It isn't clear if the discussions will lead anywhere. The future of NBC Universal has been the subject of speculation for weeks, as French conglomerate Vivendi SA mulls possibilities for its 20% stake. Each year, Vivendi has an option to force a sale of its stake to GE or to public investors. As...

IAB figures show that of the total £1.75bn spent on internet advertising, £1.05bn, or 60%, was spent on search advertising on websites including Google. The UK has become the first major economy where advertisers spend more on internet advertising than on television advertising, with a record £1.75bn online spend in the first six months of the year. The milestone marks a watershed for the embattled TV industry, the leading ad medium in the UK for almost half a century. It has taken the internet little more than a decade to become the biggest advertising sector in the UK. UK advertisers...