Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

With the NBC show "Kidnapped" not getting enough viewers to justify it continuing to be broadcast on TV, it has been pulled from the lineup.

What is interesting is that NBC will continue to film all 13 episodes and will present them on NBC.com, and will offer a new show starting on Friday.

What I like about this is that it offers a possibility of seeing how popular an Internet show needs to be to be successful. The viewership online will be an important number to me; to see how many people are "fans" of the show, and if it can be mined for more revenue in other ways that it can't be on network television alone.

Evidently, MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath liked what she saw in CEO Mika Salmi when MTV acquired Atom Entertainment last August. He has already been promoted to president of global digital media in the company. Salmi said he had no... Continue Reading

Leichtman Research Group reveals that video-on-demand is now in 25 million digital cable homes. Of all digital cable subscribers, 60% have used the VOD feature; this is an increase of 25 percent from two years ago. They also estimate that... Continue Reading

Bob Barker announced to The Associated Press today that he will be stepping down from his 35-year stint at "The Price Is Right" in June; he has been in Television for 50 years. Barker said: "I will be 83 years... Continue Reading

Choosing to offer something different for their TV viewers, NBC has decided to put a whole night of comedy on their Thursday prime-time lineup. "We are excited about the prospect of two-hours of top-notch comedy on Thursday nights, which includes... Continue Reading

The Daily Mail reported today that British television and radio channels can now have corporate sponsors of their entire channels. For some this may not seem significant, but Britain has had regulations in place for over 50 years which didn't... Continue Reading

Old media companies are continually trying to get the FCC to relax their regulations so that they can increase their holdings in response to the changing media climate. Some of those opposing them say that if this is done, it... Continue Reading

With Nielsen Media Research showing that viewers of Cable are almost twice as likely to not watch commercials, the Cable networks are saying that it is flawed calculations that are the cause of the disparity, not the reality of what's... Continue Reading

With the cancellation of "Smith" from the CBS (CBS) fall menu, it leaves a lot of questions that haven't been answered. For example, it had a great start with 11 million viewers watching the first episode. The next two episodes... Continue Reading

An article in Slate concerning the alleged connection between Autism and watching TV has stirred quite a controversy online lately. Gregg Easterbrook writing for Slate said: "Today, Cornell University researchers are reporting what appears to be a statistically significant relationship... Continue Reading

The Katie Couric experiment is already turning into a disaster for CBS (CBS). While everyone knew that the "curiosity" numbers would be huge the first week she was on, they also knew that the following period of time would tell... Continue Reading

Jane Wyatt, the beloved TV mom in the popular TV series "Father Knows Best," has died at the age of 96. She died Friday in her home in Bel-Air California, according to her publicist Meg McDonald. She won 3 Emmy's... Continue Reading

There is one thing, if you're part of the General Electric (GE) family of companies, that is demanded by the parent: You're expected to be No. 1 or No. 2 in your competitive category. With NBC currently in 4th place... Continue Reading

Pow! Entertainment said today that they've gotten together with NBC Universal SCI FI to put together its second season of Who Wants to Be a Superhero? It will be an expanded season 10 episodes this year. The original series offered six... Continue Reading

"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's 8-year-old daughter Bindi, will be starring in a series she was working on with her dad at the time of his death by a stingray. Some people believe that she is being exploited over Steve's death.... Continue Reading

The increasing use and demand for digital video recorders (DVR) in showing that it is not having an effect upon "live" ratings of the major broadcast networks' prime-time shows. In the case of the more popular shows, it's showing that... Continue Reading

Virgin America is ramping up its business as it awaits government approval to start its domestic service early next year. They announced that they have individual agreements in place with Disney (DIS), Fox (NWS), Paramount Pictures, and Warner Brothers (TWX) to... Continue Reading

Nickelodeon's newest hit is the 'Mr. Meaty' show, geared toward kids in the 2-11 range.  Media Life said:  For its first and second episodes, airing Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. in week one and 10:30 in week two, "Mr. Meaty" averaged... Continue Reading

VNU, the parent of Nielsen Media Research has announced plans to purchase the 39.5 percent stake in NetRatings that they don't already own. They plan on blending the TV ratings system with NetRatings online measuring service. It will empower marketers... Continue Reading

Hollywood is increasingly using one old technique that industries that can no longer compete do: they get laws passed to stifle the competition. In this case I'm talking about TiVo's (TIVO) new Series3 HD model. It does have one strength... Continue Reading