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20 articles
Congressman Brad Sherman Outlines How Dodgers Arbitration Would Work
8 hours ago
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who suggested binding arbitration as a way of ending an impasse that has left about 70% of Los Angeles area residents without TV access to Dodgers games, on Monday provided more details in hopes of bringing pay TV players to the table.
Time Warner Cable, which snapped up the rights last year to distribute the all Dodgers network SportsNet La, has agreed to arbitration, but its largest competitor in the market, DirecTV, has not. The satellite provider’s CEO, Michael White, said on a conference call with analysts last week that he would be open to mediation, which is much different than arbitration, and said that the team also would probably have to be part of the process.
In a letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, Tw Cable’s Rob Marcus and DirecTV’s White, Sherman wrote that the arbitration would be subject to the rules of the American Arbitration Assn. »
- Ted Johnson
NBC Renews Amy and Greg Poehler’s ‘Welcome to Sweden’
9 hours ago
NBC has given a 10-episode, second-season order to “Welcome to Sweden,” the comedy created by Greg Poehler based on his life as a fish-out-of-water American living in Mother Svea.
Poehler, who was named one of Variety’s 10 comics to watch and who is the younger brother of “Parks and Recreation’s” Amy Poehler, stars in the show along with Josephine Bornebusch, Lena Olin, Claes Mansson, Christopher Wagelin and Per Svensson.
“Sweden” received Ok ratings when it premiered in July, with Variety TV critic Brian Lowry calling it “cute” in the best sense of the word.
Exec producers of the Entertainment One Television, TV4, Flx and Syskon show are the Poehler siblings, Pontus Edgren, Carrie Stein, Frederik Arefalk and Felix Herngren.
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- Whitney Friedlander
‘Dig’ On USA: Producers Talk Relocating from Jerusalem to Albuquerque, ‘Da Vinci Code’ Comparisons
10 hours ago
USA Network’s “Dig” is perhaps the cabler’s most ambitious project to date — a high-concept mystery thriller that hails from “Homeland” executive producer Gideon Raff and “Heroes” creator Tim Kring. Set amid the ancient streets and catacombs of Jerusalem, the six-episode event series stars Jason Isaacs as Peter Connelly, an FBI agent stationed in the city, who, while investigating a murder, uncovers a conspiracy 2000 years in the making.
Critics have yet to see the series premiere, but the show still made headlines last month after the escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza forced production to shift from Jerusalem to Albuquerque during a pre-scheduled hiatus. “Dig” is the second of Raff’s shows to be affected by the ongoing violence in the region, after FX’s “Tyrant” relocated from Tel Aviv to Istanbul to finish the last two episodes of its freshman season.
Despite the disruption behind the scenes, Raff »
- Laura Prudom
Fox’s ‘24: Live Another Day’ Finale Surpasses 2010 Series-Ender in Viewership
13 hours ago
If it wasn’t already clear that television viewing on non-traditional forms can boost a program’s ratings profile, consider Fox’s “24: Live Another Day” — whose recent finale ended up drawing more viewers than the show’s official series-ender four years ago.
This is an impressive and telling feat given that in Nielsen’s “live plus same-day” estimates, the series finale significantly outdrew the conclusion of “Live Another Day” (9.0 million to 6.5 million). But once all non-linear viewing is tabulated, Fox projects that the “Live Another Day” finale will hit 10.7 million viewers, ahead of the 10.5 million who watched the series wrap in 2010.
The four years makes a big difference in audience measurement, as the delayed viewing of “24” in 2010 was limited to 1.5 million viewers who watched either within a week of the telecast on their DVR or within the first three days on Video-on-Demand. Last month’s finale of “24: Live Another Day, »
- Rick Kissell
CBS Moves ‘Extant’ Finale Out of Premiere Week; ‘Big Brother’ Finale to Air Instead
14 hours ago
CBS has decided against ending Halle Berry drama “Extant” during premiere week, as originally announced, and will now go with a “Survivor”-“Big Brother” combo on the opening Wednesday of the season.
The move is not a surprise, as sluggish ratings for “Extant” suggest it wouldn’t have held up well opposite season premieres of shows like “Modern Family” and “Law & Order: Svu.” Instead, the drama will wrap its first season a week earlier, on Sept. 17.
In its most recent airing, in its new 10 p.m. time period, “Extant” averaged a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.92 million viewers overall, according to Nielsen’s “live plus same-day” estimates. It the hour, it beat the firstrun dramas on NBC (“Taxi Brooklyn”) and ABC (“Motive”).
To fill out Sept. 24, CBS has scheduled an expanded, 90-minute premiere of “Survivor,” to be followed by the 90-minute finale of “Big Brother.” The 29th edition of “Survivor, »
- Rick Kissell
Eddie McClintock Joins ‘Backstrom’ on Fox
15 hours ago
“Warehouse 13″ star Eddie McClintock has been cast on Fox’s upcoming crime drama, “Backstrom,” starring Rainn Wilson.
McClintock will appear as Lieutenant Sam D’Agostino, a neighborhood bully who grew up with Wilson’s Backstrom. Per the character description, McClintock’s Sam was a “rotten, thieving punk,” responsible for stealing from Backstrom. Now grown, Sam and his brother are firefighters who everyone believes are heroic, though Backstrom is convinced that they are the same “worthless bits of slime” that they always were.
McClintock tweeted the news Sunday evening.
Incredibly stoked 2 B heading up 2 Vancouver, 2 work with @rainnwilson & @HartHanson, on their new show @BackstromFOX. #Goodcompany—
Eddie McClintock (@EddieMcClintock) August 04, 2014
McClintock’s recent TV appearances also include guest roles on “Castle,” “Modern Family,” and “The Mentalist.” He’s previously made several appearances on another Fox procedural, “Bones.”
“Backstrom” is currently slated to premiere midseason on Fox.
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- Shelli Weinstein
MTV Latin America Launches ‘Acapulco Shore’ (Exclusive)
15 hours ago
In keeping with its strategy to increase original programming at the local level, MTV Latin America has kicked off production on “Acapulco Shore,” the first Latin American version of MTV’s hit reality show “Jersey Shore,” which ran 2009-2012. Skein will track the lives of eight young Mexicans living in and around the beach resort town of Acapulco.
Skein debuts simultaneously on MTV Latin America and MTV’s bi-lingual U.S. network Tr3s in September.
New Latino version follows the other adaptations made in the U.K. (“Geordie Shore”), Poland (“Warsaw Shore”) and Spain (“Gandia Shore”).
“Drama, friendship and partying — the hallmarks of the MTV franchise are all encapsulated in ‘Acapulco Shore,’ said Maria Iregui, Brand Manager of MTV Latin America.
“Acapulco Shore” is one of the first new skeins under the creative oversight of Iregui, a former Telemundo programming exec who joined MTV Latin America in April. Iregui and Federico Cuervo, »
- Anna Marie de la Fuente
NATAS Announces Technology and Engineering Emmy Recipients
15 hours ago
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced the recipients of the 66th Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, to be presented at the Consumer Electronics Show.
“The National Academy’s Technology and Engineering Achievement Committee is pleased to honor these technology companies and individuals whose innovation and vision have materially affected the way the audience views television and have set the standard for technological excellence in the industry,” said committee chairman Robert P. Seidel in a statement. Seidel is vice president of CBS engineering and advanced technology and chairman of the engineering achievement committee, NATAS.
The honorees include:
Pioneering Development of 2nd Screen Navigable Mosaic for Direct Programmer
Offerings to Consumers via the Internet
• Home Box Office (HBO)
• Netflix
Development of Low Latency Video Streaming Live Captioning Systems
• Eeg
• Xorbit
Television Enhancement Devices
• Apple
• Roku
• Microsoft
• Sony
• Tivo
Non-Live Large Scale Online Video Systems
• Netflix
Personalized Recommendation Engines »
- Shelli Weinstein
TV Land Renews Cedric The Entertainer’s ‘Soul Man’
16 hours ago
TV Land has renewed its Cedric “The Entertainer” and Niecy Nash-fronted “The Soul Man” for a fourth season, announced Larry W. Jones, president of the net.
“We are thrilled to bring back Cedric, Niecy and ‘The Soul Man’ for another season,” said Jones. “TV Land has loved working with this cast and crew who come together each week and create one of the funniest half-hours on TV.”
“The Soul Man” follows R&B star-turned minister Reverend Boyce “The Voice” Ballentine (Cedric) and his wife Lolli (Nash) who are learning to adjust to a new life after relocating from Las Vegas to St. Louis. Wesley Jonathan also stars as Cedric’s brother Stamps.
The series has been picked up for 12 new episodes and follows a season studded with guest stars Brandy, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, Yvette Nicole Brown and more.
Cedric and Suzanne Martin (“Hot in Cleveland”) serve as »
- Shelli Weinstein
HBO Realigns Domestic, International Distribution Under Single Leader
16 hours ago
HBO is looking to bring more of a worldwide focus to its distribution strategies with the appointment of company vet Tom Woodbury as president of global distribution.
Woodbury will now oversee international and domestic distribution operations, with toppers Simon Sutton (president of international) and Shelley Brindle (exec VP of domestic) reporting to him. The move comes as recognition that domestic and international concerns are becoming more aligned at a time when broadband and over-the-top options are poised to become a bigger piece of the pie for the premium cable giant.
Woodbury was most recently general counsel and exec VP of network business affairs. He’ll continue to oversee biz affairs and report to CEO Richard Plepler.
Woodbury “has long been a central participant in shaping HBO’s strategy,” said Plepler. “Additionally, he has proven to be an invaluable advisor to many and we are fortunate that he will now lend »
- Cynthia Littleton
Ray Lewis to Help Coaches In ‘Coaching Bad’ for Spike TV
16 hours ago
Spike TV has brought together NFL legend Ray Lewis and anger management specialist Dr. Christian Conte to tackle the growing problem of coaches with uncontrollable anger issues in a new original series, “Coaching Bad.”
The show features nine coaches who have recognized that they need to take action about their combative behavior if they want to continue in the profession that they love. The coaches, from a variety of different sports around the country, will move into a Coaching Center in Los Angeles for intense retraining and reconditioning, designed personally by Dr. Conte and Lewis.
During the program, various sports figures will lend their perspective on the negative effects of caustic coaching, with guest speakers including Chuck Pagano, Bill Romanowski and Glen “Big Baby” Davis.
“Spike TV is thrilled to partner with one of the greatest players in NFL history in a compelling new series that will shine a light »
- Shelli Weinstein
Jess Marlow, Los Angeles News Anchor, Dead at 84
16 hours ago
Respected Los Angeles news anchor Jess Marlow has died at age 84. Hailing from Salem, Ill., Marlow was born in 1930 and began his career in 1958, where he worked at a station in Rock Island. Previously, he spent ten years as a railroad telegrapher.
Marlow became a reporter for Los Angeles’ Knbc in 1966 and two years later, he was promoted to the anchor’s chair. In 1980, Marlow moved over to Kcbs, where he spent six years before returning to Knbc. The anchor remained there until his retirement in 1997.
That leave was shortlived, as Marlow returned to the airwaves in 2001 as co-host of Kcet’s “Life and Times Tonight” with Val Zavala. He remained involved with the show until 2003, at which point he moved to Santa Fe, Nm, to fully retire from broadcasting.
Marlow received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 14 May 1999, and was the recipient of a Los Angeles »
- Variety Staff
After Skewering Commercials For Decades, ‘Saturday Night Live’ Starts To Embrace Them
18 hours ago
After creating fake ads for dubious products like Mom Jeans, Little Chocolate Donuts, the Bathroom Monkey and the CNN Pregnancy Test, “Saturday Night Live” is developing a stronger interest in real ones.
Broadway Video, the production company behind the venerable program, is seeking a sponsor or sponsors for activities related to the 40th season of the comedy showcase, which could give a marketer the opportunity to have its name associated with an exhibit related to the show, among other things. And “SNL” has in recent months allowed cast members like Cecily Strong and Kyle Mooney to appear in ad campaigns for Jeep and Sprint. These practices, say ad-agency executives familiar with the program, have been viewed warily by “SNL” creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels for years.
Does “SNL” see more commercial opportunities for a show that once boasted of its cast as “The Not Ready for Prime Time Players »
- Brian Steinberg
NFL Returns Down, Wins Night for NBC; ‘Big Brother’ Top Series
18 hours ago
The NFL returned on Sunday with its annual Hall of Fame Game, down in the ratings from last year’s contest but big enough to dethrone CBS’ “Big Brother” as the night’s top program among young adults.
According to preliminary affiliate-based national estimates from Nielsen, NBC’s telecast of the Hall of Fame exhibition game between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills averaged a 2.5 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers overall on the network’s stations from 8 to 11 p.m., with these numbers expected to rise by roughly 10% in the nationals when all West Coast viewing is accurately included. Last year’s game, featuring the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, did a 3.3 demo rating in the prelims and a 3.8 in the nationals (and 10.1 million total viewers).
In Nielsen’s metered-market households, probably the most reliable apples-to-apples comparison for sports, the game was down 15% from last year (5.8 vs. »
- Rick Kissell
‘The Big Bang Theory’ Drama Ends as Actors Close In on Mega-Bucks Deals
18 hours ago
The three central stars of “The Big Bang Theory” are closing in on megabucks new deals that will keep them on the hit CBS/Warner Bros. TV comedy through the 2016-17 season.
Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco are poised to see their salaries triple to about $1 million per episode under the three-season pact, according to a report on Deadline.
Plus, each of the three thesps is expected to receive a full backend point in the show, up from a fractional point under their previous pacts. And the deals include other perks such as development agreements. A rep for Warner Bros. TV declined comment.
“Big Bang” became the source of big drama in the TV world last week as the studio was forced to delay the start of production on the show’s eighth season because the key cast members had yet to finalize new deals. After a few days of finger-pointing, »
- Cynthia Littleton
Nickelodeon Orders ‘School of Rock’ Series
19 hours ago
Nickelodeon has given a straight-to-series order for “School of Rock,” Variety has confirmed. The cable network will partner with Paramount TV for the adaptation, which is based on the 2003 Jack Black comedy of the same name.
The show will focus on Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher at an elite prep school and introduces the precocious students to the appeal of rock ‘n’ roll. “School of Rock” has received a 13 episode order in its freshman season, with production slated to commence this fall for a spring 2015 debut. Jim and Steve Armogida will write, executive produce and serve as showrunners, while “School of Rock” director Richard Linklater and producer Scott Rudin will executive produce.
Musical maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber is also developing “School of Rock” for the stage, aiming for a 2016 Broadway bow for his adaptation, which will utilize new material written by Webber as »
- Laura Prudom
Nascar Enlists Img To Secure International TV Rights
20 hours ago
After establishing deals with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox in recent months, Nascar is turning its attention to international opportunities: The racing organization said it selected Img to help it navigate pacts with foreign broadcasters as its international agreements are set to expire at the end of the 2014 season.
Currently, Nascar races are broadcast in more than 175 countries through more than 20 broadcast partners worldwide. Img will begin assisting Nascar with creating and executing a new international media strategy for 2015 and beyond.
Img will work to secure broadcast exposure for Nascar’s national series as well as other Nascar series in hundreds of countries across the globe outside of North America and South America, including countries which have not broadcast Nascar content in the past.
These new international broadcasting rights will coincide with the domestic broadcasting rights partnerships with Fox and NBC announced last summer. Beginning in 2015, Fox Sports »
- Brian Steinberg
Italy’s Wildside Recruits Hot Scribes To Pen International TV Projects
22 hours ago
Rome – Expanding Italian production company Wildside is looking to grow its presence in the international TV arena with several new projects, including high-concept skeins being penned by two of the country’s best-selling authors, Niccolò Ammaniti and Paolo Giordano.
Giordano, whose novel “The Solitude of Prime Numbers” won Italy’s top literary nod, the Premio Strega, is at work on a scripted series working-titled “Lo Sciamano” (The Shaman) about a man who emanates what are believed to be magic powers in a European city outside Italy. “Numbers” was adapted into a Wildside-produced film helmed by Saverio Costanzo. It went to Venice in 2010.
Ammaniti is instead at work on “The Miracle,” a mystery/thriller/drama which turns on a magical event that impacts the lives of characters across borders, including in an anglo-saxon country. A top Italian director will helm the skein, now in advanced scripting stages. Ammaniti’s books have been made into six movies, »
- Nick Vivarelli
AMC Networks Rebrands MGM Channel as AMC in Int’l Territories
4 August 2014 3:10 AM, PDT
London — AMC Networks is rebranding its MGM Channel in international territories as AMC. The rebrand marks the first distribution outside of North America for AMC.
AMC will begin launching locally versioned channel feeds on cable and satellite platforms across Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East later this year. Also accompanying these channels will be AMC VOD, HD and TV everywhere services.
AMC Networks’ original series “Halt & Catch Fire” and “The Divide,” produced by AMC Studios, will be among the first original series to premiere on the channel internationally in an exclusive first TV window, this year.
In addition to premiering original programming from AMC Networks’ own studios, AMC will also feature movies from the Hollywood film libraries, including MGM, Paramount and Sony.
Bruce Tuchman, president AMC Global and Sundance Channel Global, said, “There is a huge appetite for AMC original programming abroad. That interest, coupled with our »
- Leo Barraclough
HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’ Heats Up After Tepid Start (Spoilers)
3 August 2014 8:02 PM, PDT
Few TV shows turn the corner creatively speaking quite as quickly as “The Leftovers,” which with its fifth and sixth episodes has significantly raised the bar from where the show began, becoming a far more engrossing experience. Indeed, had the HBO drama started out with similar vigor it would have likely drawn a rave review from this quadrant, instead of the tepid response it received.
Producers Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, working from the latter’s book, have been frittering around the edges of something interesting in the early episodes, but seriously struggled with conveying why the audience should give a damn about its characters despite the sobering nature of their situation. There’s also the little matter of the triggering event — the sudden disappearance of 2% of the world’s population, which some perceive as the Rapture.
Initially, the series was weird, even eerie, but not particularly engaging. Sure, there »
- Brian Lowry
20 articles