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Dec23
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Led by their most popular cartoon character "SpongeBob SquarePants," Nickelodeon continues on year-after-year as the No. 1 network for children's television. It's the major reason that the network keeps on leading the cable TV children's channels. Not only is it the No. 1 network for kids, but it includes the top ten shows for children aged 2-11. With their current hold all but impossible to break, Disney (DIS) has responded by going after the niche 9-14 tween group. They've done really well this year as "High School Musical," "Hannah Montana" and "Cheetah Girls 2," has been immensely  popular in this space.
"The momentum just kind of exploded and kept on going as the year went along. ... We're over the moon," says Scott Garner, Disney Channel's senior vice president for programming.
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Dec22
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The leading cable and telephone service providers have increased their broadband subscriber bases by over 2.5 million in the 3rd quarter. Combined they account for 94 percent of the U.S. market.Taken together, the top 20 cable and telephone companies have...
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In a deal that has seemed to be happening for years, News Corp. (NWS-A) and Liberty Media finally reached agreement on the largest share buyback in company history. After two years the two Liberty Media agreed to trade its $11...
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Toronto-based Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (AAC-B), who is 50 percent owner in the CSI franchise, announced that it has put itself up for sale. The strategy would involve CanWest Global Communications Corp. (CGS), and possibly bring as much as $2.2...
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Upscale travel television network Plum TV, has added three new Web sites to it venue of resort towns it covers - Aspen, Vail and Telluride, Colorado. The Web site already has online channels covering the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket,...
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The international division of The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Buena Vista International Television, has come to an agreement with Rogers Cable of Canada in a multi-year deal offering video on demand to their customers. BVITV's Orest Olijnyk, Senior Vice-President and Managing...
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Dec21
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Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield predicts that in 2007, the DVD industry will suffer its first domestic spending decline. "Bottom line, keep an eye on 2007 film industry profits," he wrote. "We suspect the risk to expectations is increasingly to...
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Comcast (CMCSA) looks like it's going to be a tough competitor for years to come as it continues growing and outpacing its competitors. With the recent addition of 1 million new high-speed Internet customers through its investment in Adelphia, it...
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The decision by Dreamworks to send a promotional DVD to the Directors Guild of America, caught its rivals offguard and caused an uproar that required the DGA to respond to the situation.Dreamworks sent its "Dreamgirls" DVD to the guild's 13,400...
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In an expected move, the FCC approved of a plan that would ease the burden on companies to compet in the subscription TV business. Telcos like AT&T (T) and Verizon Communications (VZ) will now have a time limit put upon...
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Dec20
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News Corp. has increased its stake in the National Geographic Channel through purchasing 25% stakes that currently run the international operations of the company on cable TV. Currently the 25 percent stakes are owned by NBC Universal (GE).In a regulatory...
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After last year's disaster that found the domestic box office slipping by 6 percent, this year it looks like it will finish between a 3 to 5 percent increase. In typical Hollywood spin, they're making it look like everything is...
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Time Warner Cable could begin trading shares within a two-week period if a U.S. Bankruptcy judge approves the connected bankruptcy plan for Adelphia Communications.Adelphia, which has a 16 percent stake in Time Warner Cable, will use it to pay off...
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For the next several years, local Spanish-language television and radio stations look for healthy growth until at least 2010. Revenue is projected to grow much faster in this sector than in other general-market stations, based upon data from Kagan Research.Kagan...
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Dec19
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In an interesting experiment, PBS is going to offer a select group of viewers (4,000 in all), the chance to make the decision on what one of three shows in the making, will be the one chosen to be aired...
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In response to the continuing demand for targeted advertising, DirecTV (DTV) has come up with what I think will be a tremendous winner. On their new Hotpass service, DirecTV is offering advertisers to buy an entire Nascar channel.Starting next month, the...
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The Walt Disney Company (DIS), through its ESPN network, has purchased a minority stake in the Arena Football League. This move will result in the broadcasting of 14 of the leagues games on a Monday night basis, and another 12...
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Southern Comfort has become the sponsor of the Independent Film Channel's "Start the Music Up," a series that focuses on the personal stories of New Orleans area musicians.The IFC network will begin today, and broadcast the films over a three...
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Viacom Inc.'s (VIA) Nickelodeon network scored the highest ratings of the week, according to data supplied by Nielsen Media Research. Actually the network is treated as separate from teh Nick at Nite programming period, which was the second place finisher for...
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In an article called, 'And Seven More Things to Look Forward to in 2007,' the writer quotes Michael Rogers, a media consultant for the New York Times (NYT) concerning what they need to do to become competitive in the new...
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Dec18
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Jerry Seinfeld has decided that he wants to give animation a try, and as a result, is now going to be the voice of a bee who leaves home (the hive), and learns that humans have been taking their honey....
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In a huge deal, two private equity groups bought out Harrah's, the largest casino company in the world, says an anonymous source. The price is for a reported $16.7 billion, two people close to the negotiations said. The official announcement...
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With the O.J. Simpson thing settling down, some have been asking the question on whether there has been anything learned from the debacle. One writer, when pondering what may have been learned from all of this, said, "maybe not a...
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CBS has reportedly sold around 80 percent of its ads for the Super Bowl XLI broadcast on Feb. 4, 2007. John Bogusz, executive vice president for sport sales at CBS said that concerning the first half, that it was "virtually...
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The Venice Project has been getting a lot of buzz online as it has released its beta version for users to try out. Their site promises this: "We're working on a project that combines the best things about television with...
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After being taken private by a group of private equity firms, VNU, the largest marketing and research company in the world, has confirmed that it's put its huge reorganization plan into motion. It was rumored to be reducing its global...
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Dec17
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For weeks, Vivendi has been sitting upon the decision on whether they would make General Electric (GE) make a big payout to Vivendi to buy their stake in NBC Universal. They finally revealed on Thursday that they wouldn't exercise its right...
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In a bid to increase its presence in the gaming and internet space, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (TWX) is about to buy a 10.3 percent stake in U.K. business SCi Entertainment Group. At the same time, Warner will license the...
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Sony continues on its record-breaking year as they scored big again, getting their 13th No. 1 release for the year in Will Smith and "The Pursuit of Happyness." It brings Sony's 2006 box office receipts to $1.573 domestically - setting...
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Dec16
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Joining fellow Antiques Roadshow sponsors Liberty Mutual and sleep aid Lunesta, Suburu has replaced Toyota in the ad rotation. Along with getting two 15-second on-air spots, the auto company will also participate in live "Roadshow" events. They will have an...
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Last year (2005) there were 149 R-rated movies released, which accounted for 44 percent of all films released for the year. But they only generated 21 percent of the annual box office revenue. For 2006, just under 39 percent of...
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Dec15
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While the movie studios have been trying to spin the fair success they've had at the box office this year, as some type of break-through season, it's really not true. Of course anything can look good compared to last year...
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Verizon Communication Inc. (VZ) was approved to offer television services New Jersey on Friday, opening the door to fresh competition for the cable companies in the state.With many of the cable and telco companies crossing each others territory to compete,...
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CBS Corp. (CBS-A) has put plans into motion to resurrect their CBS Records franchise with a focus on the Internet as their distribution model. The company has stated that they will start off small and rebuild the division. They will...
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Marking the first time Oprah Winfrey has given her name to a weekly primetime series, she has sold two reality show to ABC through her Harpo label. The Harpo label was just recently formed for the purpose of developing TV projects....
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For the fifth year in a row, ad-supported cable is looking like it will beat out the broadcast networks in prime time, garnering a 55.4 percent household share year-to-date, in comparison to the six broadcast networks 40.4 share.According to Nielsen...
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Dec14
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Turner Broadcasting System announced on Thursday that they are acquiring seven pay TV networks operating throughout Latin America. They are buying them from Claxson Interactive Group Inc. (XSONF.PK) for a reported $235 million, increasing its Spanish-language programming holdings. The portfolio...
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The public's hunger for DVD versions of old TV series doesn't seem like it's going to abate any time soon, as their number keep growing and growing. This year alone, there are 158 new first seasons being offered for sale,...
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The Chinese box office is estimated to surpass the American market by 2050, says a report by Irish media consultancy Research & Markets. The report added that by 2010 the industry will grow to $900 million in China, and will...
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Matt Damon has said that if he was offered the part as a young Captain Kirk in the next Star Trek movie, he would take the part if he liked the script.William Shatner is seemingly unable to come to grips...
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ABC News (DIS) and Yahoo (YHOO) have had a revenue-sharing deal for about a year. Continuing on and building upon that relationship, the two companies announced that ABC News will be their main video content provider as well. ABC will...
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Dec13
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Using data from Nielsen Media Research, Jack Wakshlag, head of research for Time Warner's (TWX) Turner Broadcasting System, showed that TV viewership has been growing and not declining. Of course he picked the data that showed the best side of...
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Syndicated shows, especially sitcoms, have been dropping drastically in viewership for the tv studios. The three largest sitcoms - "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Seinfeld" and "Friends" have done so poorly that all together the declines have resulted in half of last...
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AMC Entertainment Inc., the second-largest theater chain in the U.S., is to be taken public by its parent company Marquee Holdings Inc. They are planning to file an initial public offering of common stock. No details of price, amount of stock...
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Dec12
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Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE) has announced that Mitch Singer has been named as the first chief technology officer in the company."He has an uncanny ability to protect the interests of content providers while finding common ground among the content, IT...
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RIAA has just changed strategy in their fight to get more profits. No, they're not suing little people over downloads; now they're saying that the artists themselves need to take cuts on their royalties.What happened to the defense that the...
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For 12 weeks in a row, CBS (CBS) has won the weekly ratings war, as it kept its perfect record unblemished with another win. In the week just ending, the network averaged 11.7 million viewers for prime time and was...
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The popular Twentieth Century Fox (NWS) Alien franchise is teaming up with Video game software and hardware developer Sega Europe Ltd. to develop games for its next generation gaming consoles.In a joint statement the two companies said that there will...
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The "Apprentice" has made a few changes this year in response to continually plummeting ratings. From a high of a 10.1 rating among the 18-to-49 demographic in 2004, it has now plunged to a 4.0 last spring. A number of...
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Dec11
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The FCC commissioners are holding a series of six public meetings nationwide to hear both sides of the consolidation of the radio industry. In the second of the meetings, both sides gave their opinions on whether it should be allowed...
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Morgan Freeman's online movie-download business ClickStar, has scored a coup as it signed on three major players in early days of the young business. Freeman has been working hard behind the scenes trying to convince the big studios that they...
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If nothing else, the seemingly schizophrenic strategy of TiVo (TIVO) is entertaining to watch. They are attempting to bolster their revenue by using that which they've taken away - ads, and then repackaging them to consumers in a more palatable...
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Dec10
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Disney (DIS) continues to expand its foray into soccer as it has won the rights to air soccer’s 2008 European Championships. While its various ESPN outlets will carry the brunt of the coverage, ABC will show two of the matches.Included in...
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In an effort to gain more control over content and grow local entertainment companies, China has stopped foreign investment in TV and film production companies. They instructed any international media group to work with local partners with individual projects.In 2004 China...
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The media industry will probably continue in a high state of mergers and acquisitions, said Susquehanna Financial Group. The major reasons being the need to find growth in a declining market, and private-equity firms looking for places to put their...
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The Mel Gibson powerful portrayel of a story set in the Mayan civilization "Apocalypto," opened up strong in the box office, taking the No. 1 spot. It underscores Gibson's ability to deliver a compelling story to the screen. It's estimated...
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Dec 9
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In a report on what 2007 will bring for a variety of industry groups, Business Week talked some on traditional media and entertainment, and it doesn't look too good for them next year.The report projects that advertising growth will be...
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Four of the big media companies have joined talks about creating a video web site for the purpose of competing with Google's (GOOG) YouTube, ZDNet reports, citing a Wall Street Journal article. The four companies in the talks are Fox...
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In a deal reported by the Wall Street Journal, European private-equity group Permira, has made a bid for music company EMI Group PLC for an estimated $3.9 billion. While the deal hasn't been completed yet, the sides are said to...
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With a strategy of building up its business based upon offering niche sporting events not shown on regular TV sports channels, College Sports Television (CSTV) has been building up a solid user base from its offerings.The company is looking to...
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Nicolas Cage announced that he is considering taking more time off between movies to help develop the emerging independent film industry in the Bahamas. He recently bought an undeveloped island there, while having a current home in Paradise Island.Cage told...
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In a lawsuit filed by Time Warner (TWX) Cable against its competitor DirecTV Group (DTV), they allege that the satellite tv service put out ads that deceived consumers into believing that could only watch some specific football programming throught the...
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Dec 8
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BitTorrent Inc., in a move to become a larger competitor, has acquired µTorrent, another file-sharing application company. This is a bid to increase its presence in the online content business. They've been moving that direction in the last couple of...
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The fruitless battle to maintain what they were in the past, is already over for traditional and cable TV networks. The future is already upon us, and will continue to unfold day-by-day. It's now the days of fragmentation and deeper...
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The Ohio state senate approved Senate Bill 155, called the Ohio Motion Picture Investor Tax Credit, by a unanimous vote. If the bill is voted into law, it will offer a number of state tax incentives to attract the production...
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In response to their declining male viewers, Viacom (VIA) has created a new division built for the purpose of recapturing the 18-34 male demographic.There strategy is to bring together various properties like their regular networks Spike TV, Comedy Central, and...
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Dec 7
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Led by their usual strong contender "House," Fox won the Tuesday night battle for the 18-49 demogaphic, even though it was a rerun. House finished with a 4.7 score for the night.A few years ago it looked like the Victoria...
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With the dismal failure of Hollywood and the Gaming industry attempting to merge their two products together, it's a wonder that they keep trying to do it. A lot of people many not know that the gaming industry is far...
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For the first time in its history, and only the fourth time in overall motion picture history, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE) reached global sales of $3 billion in one year. In the international market, Sony has already achieved its...
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George Clooney has partnered with Warner Bros.' (TWX) to purchase the rights to John Grisham's first nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man."While the exact terms of the deal weren't disclosed, it reportedly paid Grisham something in the seven-figure range, and also...
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Dec 6
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Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television entered into an agreement with TNT to take the Stephen King-Peter Straub novel "The Talisman" and bring it to the small screen.The novel which was originally published in 1984, has been given the ok to...
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With the investment bank UBS recently valuing Disney's (DIS) ESPN division at around $28 billion, it caused people to ask if it was a possible spinoff candidate. Tom Staggs, ESPN's CFO, responded that at this time there was no plans...
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Just a few short weeks before he takes leadership of Discovery Communications, David Zaslav said that his strategy will be to dig deeper into the market to attract viewers who are "more passionate and devoted" to the company's channels. His...
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BSkyB (BSY) announced that it has entered into a partnership with Google (GOOG) use the company's search, advertising and video functions on its broadband service. CEO of the company, James Murdoch said that they would be launching a search portal,...
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In the new digital distribution world, Time Warner (TWX) Chairman-CEO Dick Parsons says that the company is trying to find a balance between "leading and following the customer." He added that part of that reality is not to get too...
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Dec 5
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Speaking at a conference, president and COO of News Corp. (NWS-A), Peter Chernin talked about the next several years and what it would bring News Corp.One of the things he asserted was that they should be able to sustain double-digit...
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That the traditional upfront commitments has changed, it a gross understatement. Some huge companies, like Johnson & Johnson didn't even participate this year.The major reason is that there are so many opportunities around the year now, and from other outlets...
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Disney (DIS) has lengthened its sporting horizons as it has agreed to purchase the NASN sports channel that is based in the UK. The North American Sports Network, isn't about offering local fare that Europeans are used to getting, rather...
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On the news that Sirius (SIRI) Satellite Radio was lowering its 2006 subscriber forecaste, satellite radio stocks plunged to even lower than they have been. Sirius itself lost almost 8% of its value, going down to about 3.85 a share,...
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Dec 4
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With France soon to have only one pay TV operator, the news is that they may be negotiating with Hollywood studios to cut the cost of its deals by as much as 30%.The company, Canal Plus, is about to be...
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Willie Nelson, who played in the first Austin City Limits show in 1974, has now bought into the upcoming new studio that will host the show when it's finished in 2010. Nelson, and his nephew, Freddy Fletcher, will be partners...
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A huge misunderstanding of the American Hispanic population has caused media companies and advertisers to miss possibly the most important segment in the country.Cable companies and advertisers, to their hurt, don't understand that study after study shows that young American...
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CBS announced that their late-night comic, David Letterman has signed on with them through 2010. Rumors have been swirling around for several months that he had accepted the offer.Letterman said: "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS (CBS), at...
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Dec 3
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In a very short time, Beyonce Knowles has put herself into position to become the highest paid black woman in Hollywood, with her performance in the upcoming Dreamgirls.The show itself is a fictionalized mirror of the popular 1960s act Diana...
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At the Cannes film festival in 1982, Steven Spielberg was premiering his soon-to-be blockbuster "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial." What hasn't been widely known is that Spielberg also took part in the filming of a documentary on the state of Hollywood and...
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For the third week in a row, "Happy Feet" and "Casino Royale" finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the weekend box office race.The family animation story "Happy Feet" stayed at No. 1, taking in another estimated $17 million. Its...
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American Indian groups have handed out a lot of praise and appreciation for the way Mel Gibson went about making the Disney (DIS) movie Apocalypto.His insistence on looking for and finding indigenous cast for the movie has sent a message...
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Dec 2
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How popular is Amitabh Bachchan? Right now when he hosts the Indian equivalent of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the average viewership is 250 million. If he gets injured or sick while filming, millions of Indians do acts so...
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Two studies have concluded that the National Geographic Channel scores the highest on consumer engagement, according to a report by Ad Age. The high scores seem to be connected to its very specifically defined content. It's another way of saying...
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In an interview with the Hollywood Wiretap, Chronicles of Narnia producer Mark Johnson offers some insights into the current state of Hollywood. He is currently in pre-production on the next installment of the Narnia series: "Prince Caspian." In confirmation of...
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With movie production having a temporary slowdown in Louisiana as a consequence of "Katrina," it is now coming back with a vengeance as numerous projects are underway across the state.The latest film to get going is "Microwave Park," starring Robert...
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Dec 1
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Taking note of the growth possibilities in India, Hollywood has been increasingly reaching out to include Indian actors and storylines in their productions.One of the latest ventures is a film directed by Tom George Kolath called "Gandhi Park," a love...
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The one powerful thing that the movie industry does have going for itself is its impact upon the locations they decide to shoot in. Whether the movie makes money or not, the economy of the states receiving the business has...
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With all the major networks claiming victory for the November sweeps period, it brings to mind the declining importance that it has in the TV world. One of the key reasons behind this decline in importance is the ability to...
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In an almost unbelievable move, the California assembly voted down an anti-pretexting bill - the same stuff that Hewlett Packard used to uncover information that caused heads to roll. While the vote was on August 23, it has just come...
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popular in this space.
