Saturday, January 1st, 2011

Cynopsis: Year in Review 2010
01.01.11

Happy New Year! It’s Saturday, January 1, 2011, and this is your first early morning briefing of the year. As always, before looking ahead to a brand new year, we take a moment to look back on 2010.

The year began with retransmission and ended the same way. Scripps took its key networks off Cablevision to make a point when negotiations broke down in early January 2010 … others who followed a similar path with various MSOs during the course of the year include MSG Networks, Rainbow Media, Hallmark, Fox, Tennis, Raycom, and Hearst TV. And looking at January 1, 2011 deadlines are Sinclair Broadcast Group in talks with Time Warner Cable, and Comcast’s E! and Style in last minute negotiations with Dish.

It was a year when we saw a handful of real notables ended their run including Lost, 24, As the World Turns, Simon Cowell … and let’s not forget Conan on The Tonight Show. Meanwhile, Hawaii-5-0 returns, Rockford Files is scheduled to return, Michael Chiklis does return to primetime, Skeet Ulrich makes a come back, Kirstie Alley just keeps coming back with more and sometimes less, and William Shatner is everywhere.

By the time you’re reading this, OWN, the new Oprah Winfrey Network will have just launched. The FCC was busy in 2010 with the Comcast/NBCU merger, way to many retransmission disputes, and net neutrality. Tribune Broadcasting and MGM both entered and successfully emerged from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Among the top stories of the year was the BP oil disaster in the Gulf, the economy and its slow but hopefully sure recovery, the earthquake in Haiti, the war in Afghanistan, Wikileaks, UConn’s winning streak and then the end of it and Michael Vick’s stellar season. Two huge news stories of 2010 were reported in Cynopsis:

On September 1, 2010, James Jay Lee entered the headquarters of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland, armed with a gun and an explosive device, taking three people hostage for most of the afternoon. Approximately, 1900 employees work at the Discovery Building and many of the employees were evacuated early on including children in the Discovery Kids Place day care center, while other employees were told to go to the highest floor in the building. Police Chief Thomas Manger of Montgomery County said Lee was shot dead by police at approximately 450p. The three hostages held by Lee for several hours were safe and unharmed.
On Tuesday, October 12, 2010, the world was watching the news from Chile as the 33 trapped miners were emerging finally after 69 days. In the US at 11p when the first miner came to the surface, CNN tallied 3998k among total viewers and 1422k with A25-54; FOX News Channel had 3468k in total viewers and 1046k with A25-54; and MSNBC posted 1083k in total viewers and 279k with A25-54.

Here’s a quick and completely non-exhaustive rundown of some of the major news stores of the year ….

THE NETWORKS

Fox airs 450 episode of The Simpsons
ESPN says it will launch ESPN 3D this year …. set to debut in June with Sony as official sponsor
Discovery, Sony and IMAX reveal plans for 3D network
Questions arise around Mark Burnett’s new game show Our Little Genius and premiere date is cancelled … later news came the FCC would be investigating the show based on allegations show staffers may have provided contestants with answers before the taping
Meanwhile Burnett heavily involved with producing newest edition of Survivor – Heroes vs. Villains
Morgan Freeman is the new voice of CBS Evening News replacing voiceover of Walter Cronkite
FX picks up Avatar
The Borgias coming to Showtime after The Tudors run; and Matt LeBlanc gets his own sitcom on Showtime
Former Current Media COO Mark Goldman launches 24/7 hi-def lifestyle and wellness network targeting women 30-65 called BE Network
mun2 launches mun2 Sports in February featuring Mexican National soccer team
TV Land continues to add to its original series list with Harry Loves Lisa, Hot in Cleveland with the hot in 2010 Betty White, First Love Second Chance
TLC gives Kate Gosselin her own show for her and the 8 kids, but minus the now ex-husband
Michael C. Hall star of Dexter announced he is battling cancer …. and then we learn he is in total remission and will go forward with a 5th season of Dexter
Life, Discovery’s epic series with narrator Oprah Winfrey airs Sunday nights
16.9 million tune in to watch 67th annual Golden Globe Awards on NBC
ION launches its first original non-scripted series – The Emeril Lagasse Show
34 US networks air Hope for Haiti special, and the show will be seen on numerous international networks as well as streamed on multiple sites and on radio, making the special available to more than 640 million homes. The special raised $57 million from viewing public and more from corporations
Hallmark Channel and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (MSLO) announced the formation of a multi-year alliance wherein original episodes of the now-syndicated The Martha Stewart Show will air weekdays starting this September
DISH Network LLC launched Centroamerica TV, a channel offering original programming and soccer matches directly from Central America
ABC’s LOST will end its run on May 23, 2010
CBS’ live telecast of Super Bowl XLIV goes down in the television history annals as the most watched Super Bowl ever, with an average audience of 106.5 million US viewers
Sundance Channel moves into the world of original scripted television for the first time with miniseries Carlos
Music Choice has launched a first-time 24/7 interactive music video network called SWRV in partnership with Cox Communications
History’s landmark special, America the Story of Us was introduced by President Obama, was the most special the network’s history, and a DVD was provided to every school in the country
February 12 – 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony – the 17-night coverage on NBC averaged 24.4 million total viewers, up 21% from the 2006 Winter Games in Turin
Cooking Channel, the new channel from Scripps Networks Interactive that is replacing the former Fine Living Channel, launched on May 31
82nd Annual Academy Awards telecast on ABC averaged approximately 41.3 million viewers
NBC renewed its pact with Donald Trump and the Miss Universe organization to keep the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants on the network for three more years
Bravo announced it will expand its schedule to a fifth night of original programming, increasing its original production slate by 20%
Animal Planet welcomes former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson in his own series titled Taking On Tyson
Hallmark Channel picked up the exclusive US TV rights to the library of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (MSLO). Hallmark will launch a new seven-hour daytime block of home and lifestyle programming starting March 29 from 11a to 6p … A month later, Hallmark Channel abbreviated its daytime Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia lifestyle programming block, adding classic TV series Little House on the Prairie in the 3-6p slot, which began last week.
NBC and Donald Trump are reviving The Apprentice which hasn’t been on the air since 2007 with Celebrity Apprentice
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour joins ABC News as new anchor of the Sunday morning political show This Week beginning in August
CBS Sports’ coverage of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Final Four tallied 48.1 million total viewers
ESPN’s first round coverage of the 2010 Masters Tournament averaged 4.9 million viewers – the most-viewed golf telecast in cable history
The Tudors celebrated their fourth and final season on Showtime
The NCAA made a 14-year deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. encompassing television, internet and wireless rights for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship
Newest spinoff of Housewives – Bethany Getting Married … and later, Real Housewives of DC … much later more Bethany
Comcast Corporation launched three new Hispanic HD networks in Northern California – Univision HD, TeleFutura HD and Telemundo HD
YES Network, FSN Northwest and DirecTV will offer the first-ever Major League Baseball games in 3D on July 10
Betty White catapulted NBC’s Saturday Night Live to its largest overnight ratings in 18 months with an 8.8/21 HH rtg in 56 metered markets
ABC’s The View, co-host Barbara Walters told viewers she will undergo heart surgery this summer to replace one heart valve … she returns and all is well … then there’s that walk off snafu with Bill O’Reilly
Comedy Central canceled The Sarah Silverman Program
NBC closed the door on its long-running series Law and Order, canceling the series after its 20th season. Among the other shows not returning for the new season on NBC are Mercy, Trauma and Heroes.
On the eve of its upfront presentation, CBS cancelled seven series – Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer, Numbers, Miami Medical, and three comedies Accidentally on Purpose, New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried
The CW announced Melrose Place will not return in the new season; Smallville will end after its tenth and upcoming season
Fuse, the music television network from Madison Square Garden will air a special hour-long benefit concert GULF AID: Concert for the Coast
Paula Abdul will soon appear on CBS as executive producer, creative partner and lead judge for the network’s new reality competition series Got To Dance
ABC struck a multi-year deal with the Miss America Organization to become the pageant’s television partner starting with the 2011 Miss America Pageant
Disney/ABC Television Group announced it will launch Disney Junior, taking the place of SoapNet
Starz Entertainment picked up the US television rights to the next new season of Torchwood, the drama developed and produced by BBC Worldwide Productions
Moving considerably faster than the 2009 Upfront season, on June 6, Fox and the CW announces they had completed their upfront processes, two days later, CBS has finished, followed by ABC and finally NBC. In total, the five broadcast networks reportedly pulled in an estimated $8.1-$8.7 billion, a small increase over the previous year. Collectively, cable networks were reported to pull in a total of approx $8.0-$8.1 billion.
ESPN3D launched on June 11, 2010 with 3D commercials from SONY, Gillette and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3
Nielsen reports an average of 32.0 million viewers tuned into President Obama’s first address from the Oval Office Tuesday night as he presented plans to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf Coast region
FearNet, the subscription VOD service will launch as a linear channel on October 1
When daytime soap As the World Turns completes its run on CBS, a new live daily talk show, The Talk CBS Television Distribution takes its place, with hosts Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur
A&E Network acquired a pilot FOX discarded titled Breakout Kings, picking up 13 episodes of the 60m drama created by Matt Olmstead
Former Fine Living show Three Sheets saved in large part by fans on Facebook and other social media outlets and will now permanently join Travel Channel’s line-up
Canadian Football League and the NFL made a new broadcast agreement for this year where the NFL Network will air fourteen regular season CFL games
Nielsen reported an estimated 111.6 million US viewers tuned into at least six minutes of World Cup action this year on English or Spanish-language networks
DirecTV announced its plans to launch the country’s first selection of 3D channels, including n3D, Direct Cinema in 3D and ESPN 3D
ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference made a 12-year exclusive rights deal involving conference-controlled football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and Olympics sports games as well as conference championships
Rumors abound … will Piers Morgan be the next Larry King? Yep … officially word came at TCA in August … as for King’s final show, 2.24 million total viewers tuned in
ABC introduces Christiane Amanpour as the new host of This Week starting August 1
FX’s series Damages is moving to DIRECTV in a new deal the satellite provider forged with Sony Pictures Television
ABC News made key changes with Nightline: Bill Weir is joining Terry Moran and Cynthia McFadden as an Anchor.
Martin Bashir is leaving his post as Anchor on ABC News’ Nightline and will move to NBC News/MSNBC where he will Anchor a daytime program on MSNBC and contribute to NBC News’ Dateline.
News arrived late July 28 that Steve McPherson, President of ABC Entertainment Group has tendered his resignation and it has been accepted … open chair is quickly filled by ABC Family President Paul Lee … and the ABC Family post later filled by Michael Riley
President Obama’s unprecedented visit on ABC’s The View last Thursday became the daytime series’ most-watched broadcast ever among total viewers at 6.59 million
CBS Corporation and Comcast Corporation announced they forged a 10-year content and carriage deal allowing for retransmission consent for CBS TV stations until 2020 among other key points
SNY in partnership with The University of Connecticut made a comprehensive, multi-year deal making SNY the official TV home of the UConn Huskies football and men’s basketball
In an 8-K filing, Discovery Communications increased its funding investment for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network set to launch on January 1, 2011. Discovery’s commitment will bump to $189 million up from the previous amount of $100 million. Additionally, Winfrey will host in her own show on OWN
LIVING, part of the LIVING TV Group based in the UK, is dipping into its first scripted drama titled Bedlam
ABC is petitioning the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to disregard the FCC’s $1.4 million penalty against 52 ABC affiliates over a 2003 broadcast of NYPD Blue
A spinoff of ABC’s daytime talk show The View, sporting a more male point of view is in the works
ABC News President David Westin notified colleagues in an email late last night that after 13 years he will be stepping down at the end of the year … Ben Sherwood is returning to ABC as President/ABC News succeeding Westin
Film critic Roger Ebert returns to PBS with his weekly film review show, Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies
Stand Up 2 Cancer commercial-free telethon attracted an estimated 18.3 million total US viewers who tuned in to at least part of the hour-long special
The 24-hour HBCU Network dedicated to the 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) nationwide is set to launch in 2011
CNN US President Jonathan Klein is departing the network after overseeing it for six years … Ken Jautz from HLN will become EVP at CNN/US
Just two episodes into the new fall season and Fox’s Lone Star is the first cancellation of the new season … ABC’s My Generation is the second cancellation of the season … Fox returns with the first freshman full season pick up – Raising Hope
ABC Television Network and its Affiliate Board of Governors jointly announced the institution of the Inventory Exchange System (IES), a method of exchanging ad inventory and thereby creating shared revenue opportunities
The famous DC comic book heroine Wonder Woman will be revamped for a new television series by Warner Bros. Television. David E. Kelley has been tagged to perhaps write and produce the new project featuring the Amazon princess superhero.
YES Network and MP & Silva, the international rights holder of the Arsenal Football club signed a multi-year deal giving YES the rights to televise Arsenal’s English Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League games in hi-def on tape delay
After nearly forty years as a PBS affiliate, KCET/Los Angeles will become an independent station and will not broadcast traditional PBS programming at year’s end
Children and family network, The Hub launched on Sunday 10/10/10
Sony Movie Channel, the first multi-platform television network in the US from Sony Pictures Television has launched on DISH Network, DIRECTV and AT&T U-verse TV
Long-time media veteran, Jon Nesvig, who has been Fox Broadcasting’s President/Sales and with FOX for more than 21 years, announced his plans to retire at the end of this year. … FOX Broadcasting named Toby Byrne to the position of President/Sales
Univision Communications Inc. and the NFL expanded their current partnership making Univision the Official Hispanic Media Partner of certain NFL events surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl XLV in Dallas.
Si TV, the English-language network targeting American Latinos, launched a hi-def version
NBC renewed its longtime soap opera Days of Our Lives for two more years through the 2012-2013 season
Veteran film reviewer and celebrity interviewer, Gene Shalit will leave his post on NBC’s Today after having been with the network for 40 years, saying “it’s enough already.”
Hispanic broadcaster Vme announced it is now available to 10.2 million Hispanic households. The network also said it will become a Nielsen-rated network starting this January
A labor dispute shut down production on NBC’s reality series The Biggest Loser – two weeks later the issue is resolved
FOX is bringing back The Simpsons for a 23rd season
Jeff Gaspin, Chairman/NBC Universal Television Entertainment leaving NBCU soon after the company’s merger with Comcast is final
Discovery Communications and the BBC are extending their current North American co-production partnership spanning 25 years by two more years until 2014
Univision Communications Inc. announced Gary Stone, President/COO of Univision Radio is retiring at the end of this year after dedicating forty years to the radio industry
CBS signed a three-year renewal for its long-running daytime drama, The Young and the Restless through the 2013-2014 season
Comedy Central in the New Year will reveal a new logo and a fresh on-air look
TNT’s The Closer will end its run with a final seventh season next year
Mexico-based Televisa and Univision have finalized a multi-billion dollar agreement taking their long-term program license deal into 2025

LENO vs. CONAN vs. NBC

January 8 – NBC won’t confirm a decision to cancel Leno’s primetime 10p show and move him back to late night. Network only says in statement they are committed to Leno and to Conan …
January 11 – At TCA Gaspin announces Leno’s last primetime show will be Feb 12 and further said “goal right now is to keep Jay, Conan and Jimmy as part of our late night line up.” Propose Leno to 1135p, Conan to 1205 and Jimmy to 105a.
January 13 — Conan says he will not continue as host of Tonight Show if moved to 1205a because it no longer is The Tonight Show, and has no other offers to jump to another network, finishing his statement to the People of Earth with this closing: “Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way. Yours, Conan”
January 22 — Conan’s deal finalized with NBC; Dateline begins airing weeknights at 10p, this is last night Conan will host The Tonight Show which then goes into reruns until Leno returns after the Olympics on March 1. Conan can appear on another network after September 2010.
March 12 — Conan O’Brien announced yesterday he will launch a live 30-city comedy/music tour titled Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour beginning April 12
March 23 — FOX and Conan O’Brien started up talks again about the possibility of O’Brien headlining a late-night talk show for the network
April 13 – TBS announces Conan will make his return to television late night this fall on TBS
May 4 – Sunday’s Conan O’Brien-Steve Kroft interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes drew in 13.34 million total viewers for the 7p hour
September 1 — Conan O’Brien yesterday unveiled the name of his new late-night talk show on TBS as … Conan.
October 13 — Conan O’Brien’s longtime comedy sidekick, Andy Richter is joining O’Brien on his late-night TBS show
November 8 — Conan debuts on TBS and draws 3.3 million A18-49 viewers, 4.1 million total viewers for the premiere; the opening week averaged 2.1 million A18-49 viewers and 2.9 million total viewers

WHEN THINGS DON’T EXACTLY WORK OUT AS YOU PLANNED …

Scripps in a scrap with Cablevision takes Food Network and HGTV off systems in tri-state area – finally on January 21 the two sides came together and restored the networks on Cablevision systems
David Hasselhoff says he will leave America’s Got Talent … to appear on Dancing with the Stars (thankfully briefly) and to star in a show of his own on A&E (also notably brief) … and then signs with Britain’s Got Talent as a judge
The Rockford Files on NBC’s early 2010 development slate and yet another Adam Carolla project
ABC orders pilot project Generation Y from ABC Studios … it airs only twice
ABC News announced plans to eliminate 300 positions within its division between now and the end of this year
Nielsen reports US ad spending dipped -9% in 2009 based on early figures
WABC and Cablevision go toe to toe on retransmission, and as usual a Congressman joins in the fun [Joe Barton (R-TX)] … and a big show waiting in the wings – the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. The two kiss and make friends almost in the nick of time, just 15 minutes into the Oscars
ABC introduces a new untitled reality/competition show from BBC Worldwide Productions, putting celebrities on ice skates … again?
Andy Whitfield, star of the freshman drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand on Starz diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, halting series production … we later learn he will be unable to return for the 2nd season
Katherine Heigl announced she will no longer be part of the cast of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy
FOX and the producers of 24 have mutually agreed this current eighth season of the action series will be its last
HBO canceled its sports talk show Joe Buck Live after airing only three episodes. Again.
American Bradley Cox’s documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea? about a major political assassination in Cambodia apparently struck a pretty strong cord because it was banned in its home country. A subsequent airing several months later also drew police and was shut down.
FOX is working on a new game show pilot based on a hit from the UK called The Million Pound Drop produced by Endemol UK. Retitled Million Dollar Money Drop, the show debuted at the end of the year and just before the Christmas holiday news came a couple had been on the show and lost $800,000 on a question it was later determine they actually answered correctly. So far, Fox has offered the couple another shot on the show, tho no mention of the lost $800k
MSG Media takes its cable net Fuse off Dish Networks due to break down of retrans negotiations; Dish replaced Fuse with MTV Networks’ Palladia
Rainbow Media Holdings, owner of the cable networks AMC, WE tv and IFC said AT&T U-Verse customers may not receive these three networks when the distribution deals with AT&T expire … an agreement is reached in the 11th hour
Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the FCC’s indecency enforcement policy citing it as “unconstitutionally vague and chilling.”
When that whole Vice Presidency thingy didn’t work out exactly as planned, Sarah Palin got a show on TLC – Sarah Palin’s Alaska. The premiere delivered 4.96 million total viewers, the best premiere episode in the network’s history
Hallmark Channels said customers of AT&T U-verse TV will not have access to Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel if a new carriage distribution deal is not hammered out before August 31 expiration date … As of 1201a ET on September 1, AT&T U-verse dropped Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel from its lineup following an impasse between the two entities
Cast members from TLC’s newest reality television series Sister Wives involved in a bigamy investigation led by police Lt. Darren Paul in Lehi, Utah
Tribune Company announced it is supporting an agreement from its unsecured creditors involving a reorganization plan that would allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy … Tribune filed a Plan of Reorganization with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware with the goal to keep the company whole, to reduce its debt and turn ownership over to holders of the company’s Initial and Incremental Term Loans. … Sam Zell declared his intention to step down from his position as Chairman of the Tribune Company following its emergence from Chapter 11 status
Fox Networks and Cablevision Systems have less than a week before their retransmission-consent agreement expires … On October 16 Fox pulls its stations off Cablevision in the tristate area … dueling press statements ensue … various Senators jump into the fracas … FCC Chairman Genachowski attempts to mediate … cease and desist letters … lawsuit filed … and then moments before the opening pitch of the World Series Game #3, an accord was reached
The proposed merger between LionsGate Entertainment Corp. and MGM won the backing of boardroom heavyweight Carl Icahn, who owns shares in both companies … Lionsgate filed a lawsuit against Carl Icahn saying he was operating a “double game” by publicly opposing a merger with MGM while at the same time stockpiling stake in MGM’s debt. … MGM’s creditors agreed on a reorganization plan which excludes billionaire Carl Icahn. Rather than selling their debt to Icahn, the creditors instead moved MGM into Chapter 11 bankruptcy … A judge has approved MGM’s financial restructuring plan and the company will enter its Chapter 11 reorganization phase in the next two weeks following a confirmation hearing in New York … MGM has emerged from bankruptcy after seven weeks with $500 million in funding to restructure the studio. MGM said its secured lenders are exchanging around $5 billion which includes interest and fees for the majority of the equity in MGM
Fox Networks and DISH Network LLC forged a new carriage deal roughly two days before their current agreement set to expire at midnight on November 1
Comcast-owned cable network G4 pulled off of DIRECTV’s lineup after negotiations halted on Sunday
AT&T U-verse and Scripps Networks, AT&T opted to pull Scripps’ owned networks – HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country off the air, affecting 2.7 million customers … two days later the two sides reached a deal and the networks were restored
Time Warner Cable is experimenting with a lower-priced cable package called TV Essentials in the New York City market as well as in northeastern Ohio. The TV Essentials package will include ESPN News, TBS and CNN though does not include ESPN, TNT, Comedy Central, Fox News and MSNBC
Outside mediation efforts to try and resolve the carriage dispute between Comcast and Tennis Channel did not work, despite both parties agreeing to the mediation process
January 1, 2011 is the deadline for retransmission talks between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Time Warner Cable, and Comcast’s E! and Style with Dish Network

SYNDICATION:

Tyra announces this will be her last season in syndication
20th’s Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? renewed for Fall 2010 on Fox stations
Debmar Mercury working on new daytime series starring UK talk show host Jeremy Kyle Show … wait for it …. announced in November the show will be offered for Fall 2011 start in syndication
20th announces at NATPE it will launch syndicated version of Don’t Forget the Lyrics for Fall 2010
Program Partners partners with Knowlera Media to develop “21st century program offerings”
NATPE moving to Miami for 2011 confab
The Nate Berkus Show cleared a slot on NBC’s 10 O&Os
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has renewed Telepictures Productions’ The Ellen DeGeneres Show for three additional seasons on the ten NBC O&O stations through the end of the 2013-2014 season
ION Network goes on a shopping spree — Two seasons of Shark and 4 seasons of Texas Justice(Twentieth Television); and two film packages – one from Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television Distribution and the other from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Twentieth Television, Inc. announced its syndicated version of Don’t Forget the Lyrics! hosted by Mark McGrath will now be seen in 155+ markets, representing 65% of the US
Entertainment Studios, Inc. said a variety of station groups acquired the new syndicated program America’s Court with Judge Ross for a Fall 2010 launch
Access Hollywood Live, making its debut this September, picked up by the Fox Television Stations group in six markets
Disney-ABC Domestic Television and Showtime Networks Inc. made an exclusive output deal for 35 of DreamWorks Studios’ films
Career Day, produced and distributed by Entertainment Studios, Inc. picked up by the Sinclair Broadcast Group for a Fall 2011 launch
Rosie O’Donnell is returning to syndication helmed by Dick Robertson and Scott Carlin for new daytime talk … the show is eventually sold exclusive to OWN
Tribune stations pickup Career Day from Entertainment Studios for its 23 stations
CBS Television Distribution announced Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! were renewed through the 2013-2014 season
Comcast Entertainment Group bought the basic cable television rights to the HBO series Sex and the City for E! and Style
Si TV acquired the series Prison Break from Twentieth Television
Tribune Broadcasting has a one-hour daily talk show in the works helmed by syndicated radio host Bill Cunningham, with Tribune as the launch group for Fall 2011.
Twentieth Television is also embarking on a test run for a half-hour talk show hosted by former late-night personality Craig Kilborn
Twentieth Television, Inc. announced a second cycle renewal in off-network syndication for the one-hour drama Bones.
CBS’ comedy The Big Bang Theory will launch in syndication fall 2011 on the Fox Television Stations and also on TBS, distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Syndication
Craig Kilborn, former host of The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn, is back in the hosting seat for a new program called The Kilborn File produced by Twentieth Television
ABC Family picked up the basic cable television rights to air Friday Night Lights in an agreement with NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution
MGM Worldwide Television made a long-term affiliation deal on behalf of digital network THIS TV with Tribune Broadcasting, thus securing renewals on existing stations and picking up new clearances in several markets
Sony announced it renewed frosh talk show Dr. Oz in four top markets through the 2013-2014 television season
ION Television made an agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to acquire the syndicated drama series Without a Trace
Canada’s kelencontent sold season one of the tech-centered series Gadget Girlz to ION Life in the US with 26 half-hour episodes. ION Life additionally picked up the series Body Fuel from kelencontent with 13 half-hour episodes
Debmar-Mercury and ITV Studios are working together on a new talk show titled The Chefs with Debmar-Mercury picking up the global ownership rights to the series
Endemol signed a deal with TV Land, part of the MTV Networks Entertainment Group, picking up the worldwide distribution rights to the new original sitcom Hot In Cleveland
Oxygen Media signed an exclusive multi-year agreement with Twentieth Television for the basic cable syndication rights to FOX’s musical series Glee
In another Twentieth Television deal, USA Network acquired the exclusive syndication rights to ABC’s comedy Modern Family .. Later, Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television forged a deal for the broadcast syndication rights
Twentieth Television announced seven Fox O&Os will air a six-week preview run of The Huckabee Show
WBDTD’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been cleared in 99% of the US for the 2011-12 season
Twentieth Television, Inc. sold the USA Network series Burn Notice in syndication to the Fox Television Stations as well as to Sinclair and Gray stations, representing 60% of the US for a fall 2012 launch
WBDTD’s Nip/Tuck dips its toe into cable syndication and is picked up with a four year deal on Logo … shortly thereafter WBDTD made a 4-year deal with Netflix for streaming rights to all 100 episodes, as well as a handful of other WB series
Later in the year, NBCU also signs deal with Netflix for streaming rights to several series
Turner picked up the network TV rights to several top films from Warner Bros. including this weekend’s #1 movie Inception. The movie package also includes the titles Jonah Hex, Clash of the Titans as well as Inception for TNT and Sex and the City 2, Valentine’s Day and the upcoming fall release Due Date for TBS. Each movie will open on TNT and TBS in late 2012.
Debmar-Mercury is partnering with ITV STUDIOS and has acquired the domestic distribution rights to the series Hell’s Kitchen
Twentieth Television’s sci-fi animated comedy Futurama from Matt Groening sold into broadcast weekend syndication to the Tribune television stations starting in fall 2011
AMC picked up the exclusive US cable rights from Paramount Pictures to the trio of Godfather films
Twentieth Television said it sold the weekly movie package, 20th Primetime Pics to Tribune, CBS, Sinclair, Weigel, Newport, Capitol, Raycom, Nexstar, Griffin, Local TV and CW100 Plus stations for the 2010-2011 television season
Twentieth Television, Inc. clears new US syndicated series Pt. Dume on Tribune Broadcasting Stations
REELZCHANNEL made a deal with Disney-ABC Domestic Television for the non-exclusive, off-network basic cable rights to Brothers & Sisters
Live Well Network TV, the digital channel operated by ABC Owned Television Stations Group, will launch November 8 on five Belo-owned stations in major market
WBDTD has decided CNN’s Anderson Cooper is ready for daytime and the clearances add up quickly
DIRECTV’s The Dan Patrick Show will go into national television syndication on a collection of more than 25 regional sports networks.
Lisa Oz, wife of Dr. Oz is involved in a daytime talk show pilot with Sony Pictures Television
Fran Drescher will host a daytime talk show set to debut this November as part of a three-week preview on six FOX O&Os, distributed by Debmar-Mercury
ION Television secured multiple deals with major Hollywood studios, picking up more than 85 theatrical film titles from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures Television and MGM.
Andrew Young Presents, the quarterly series from Tim Voit and Sewee Entertainment renewed for a fourth season in 2011
WBDTD announced it has sold the sitcom Two and a Half Men in its second off-network syndication run
ABC Family picked up the last two installments of the Harry Potter film franchise in a new agreement with WBDTD. The deal allows ABC Family to air Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in spring 2013 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (in theaters on July 15, 2011) during winter 2013
Debmar-Mercury and ITV Studios America are working together to launch the one-hour talk show The Jeremy Kyle Show for the 2011-2012 season
Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced its classic TV network Me-TV will go national as a free, over-the-air channel for local television stations perhaps as early as January 2011
For the first time, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has sold Law & Order to local broadcast stations for a fall 2011 weekend syndication launch
Entertainment Studios, Inc. said it reached a multi-year carriage extension with Verizon FiOS TV for its six 24-hour hi-def television networks
Entertainment Studios, Inc. said its America’s Court with Judge Ross has received a firm go for a second and a third season
In February 2011, syndicated game show Jeopardy!, distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution will air the first-ever man vs. machine battle
BBC America acquired the Showtime drama series The Tudors from CBS Television Distribution, giving the network the exclusive basic cable rights to all four seasons.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS:

On February 3rd, C-SPAN will cover the Comcast/NBC Universal hearing live in front of the House Communications and Internet Subcommittee … April 19 – FCC has temporarily halted the review process of the proposed $30 billion merger between Comcast-NBC Universal until it receives two additional economic reports … NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker announced he is exiting his position once the merger transaction between NBCU and Comcast Corp. is complete … Comcast Corp. and General Electric moved to appoint Comcast COO Steve Burke as CEO of NBC Universal … Comcast officially unveiled its new post-merger management team for NBC Universal, naming no less than 6 Chairmen to key positions under Comcast COO Steve Burke … NBC Universal and Comcast on Friday agreed to a 90-day extension involving their proposed joint venture valued at $30 billion … December 23rd – Comcast will not be able to finalize its merger with NBC Universal as planned by the end of this month. The deal completion process will extend into 2011, though no date has been specified … FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski signaled yesterday the Comcast/NBC Universal joint venture is in the public interest even though the agency is layering in various conditions to the deal
Inception Media Group, LLC will soon purchase Trinidad Media Services, Inc. (TMS), a digital distribution service provider working with film studios, television networks, video distributors and independent content owners.
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI Media) is purchasing KWHD-TV based in Englewood, CO and licensed to serve the Denver market from LeSEA Broadcasting Corporation
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI Media) purchased its ninth O&O television station in the Chicago market from Trinity Broadcasting Network, Inc. for its Hispanic broadcast network, Estrella TV
CBS Corporation announced it purchased EcoMedia, a company involved with public-private partnerships benefitting environmental projects
In an effort to stabilize its financial and business outlook and to support growth efforts, independent network Si TV announced yesterday it has tallied $24 million through equity and debt financing transactions
CBS Corporation made a deal to sell WGNT-TV in Norfolk, VA, an affiliate for The CW, to Local TV Holdings, LLC
Worldwide sports, entertainment and media company, IMG Worldwide, Inc. bought ISP Sports, a US college media rights management firm based in Winston-Salem, NC
Endemol, a global company specializing in multi-platform entertainment programming, is purchasing a majority portion of Authentic Entertainment in the US
All3Media announced on Friday it will acquire the UK-based independent company Optomen. The deal also includes One Potato Two Potato, the 50/50 joint production company owned by both Optomen and Gordon Ramsay
Warner Bros. Television Group finalized the purchase of a majority stake in Shed Media, an independent production and distribution company with offices in the UK and the US. Shed Media will retain its independence as a production company though its distribution arm, Outright Distribution, will be merged into Warner Bros. International Television Production division which is also based in the UK
Barry Diller, CEO is departing IAC and simultaneously, John Malone’s Liberty Media said it will sell off its complete equity stake in IAC for a combination of $220 million and assets consisting of Evite and Gifts.com.
Trinity Broadcasting Network, Inc. has closed the sale of its television station, WESV-LPTV in Palatine, IL to Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. for $1.25 million
Meredith Corporation finalized the purchase of Real Girls Media Network, an online social content destination for women

THE COOL TO THE RIDICULOUS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN:

On February 24th news came that actor Charlie Sheen entering rehab as a “preventative measure” … he later in the year gets into another mess and has some serious explaining to do but in the midst of all of this, he signs to stay with the show for two and a half more years.
Volcanic ash cloud kept MIP TV attendees stranded in Cannes for more than a week and people all over the planet grounded for longer
In January Simon Cowell announces he’ll be leaving American Idol … in July Ellen Degeneres says she’s leaving too, and before the summer ends Kara DioGuardi is also out; the only judge left standing is Randy Jackson … rumors begin as to who is on the short list for judging … Chris Isaak, Justin Timberlake, will Paula come back? Elton John, Jennifer Lopez, Stephen Tyler …. oops, Lopez is out …. oh no wait, Lopez is in … and finally it’s official. 2010-11 American Idol judges are Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Stephen Tyler. Producer Nigel Lythgoe is signs as executive producer for FOX’s American Idol
The Oprah Winfrey Show reunites the entire cast of the hit musical movie, The Sound of Music for the first time in 45 years
CNN announced it let anchor Rick Sanchez go on Friday after Sanchez said incendiary remarks about Jews and specifically Jon Stewart
Within two days of the Chilean Miners being lifted back to the surface, Discovery Channel schedules its one-hour special Rescued: The Chilean Mine Story will air in less than two weeks; elsewhere Spike TV says its works on a new series with Thom Beers called Coal about the coal mining industry
Bristol Palin … still?
President Obama made a walk-on appearance on Discovery Channel’s series Mythbusters
NPR terminated the contract of its senior news analyst Juan Williams following remarks he made on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News program
MSNBC suspended Keith Olbermann, host of the nightly Countdown program, indefinitely without pay. NBC News, parent of MSNBC, cited Olbermann had made three political contributions to Democratic candidates toward the end of October violating an NBC policy
A film version of the 1960s gothic daytime soap opera Dark Shadows is being resurrected starring Johnny Depp
Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe suspended last Friday from MSNBC after informing management he had made eight political contributions between 2004 and 2008
Will Selva, ESPN Reporter, is suspended for plagiarism

etc.

Cynopsis.com launches new website
Best Super Bowl commercial goes to Snickers for commercial with Betty White and Abe Vigoda; best CBS promo during the game including Oprah, Letterman and Leno, all watching the game together on the couch
Barbara Walters said after 29 years, her 2010 annual Oscar Night special, The Barbara Walters Special will be her final one
David Canary, known for playing the roles of twins Adam and Stuart Chandler on ABC’s All My Children, retires from the show
A poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media found 40% of Americans trust PBS and its news and public affairs programs the most with Fox News second at 29% and CNN in third place at 27%.
82nd Annual Academy Award Winners – “And the Oscar goes to …”: Best Picture: The Hurt Locker; Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker; Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart; Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
NBC confirmed veteran TV actress Betty White, 88, will host Saturday Night Live on May 8
S. Epatha Merkerson, a 16-year veteran of NBC’s Law & Order has asked show producers to end her contract
Nielsen began television audience measurement in Puerto Rico
In April, ZenithOptimedia revised its global ad forecast for 2010, upping the projected growth to +2.2% from the former prediction of +0.9%.
Bret Michaels remains in critical condition after suffering a brain hemorrhage … and then recovers and goes on to win Celebrity Apprentice
Nielsen Wire reports the average American home now has 2.93 television sets
After five seasons, Elizabeth Perkins is leaving her role on Showtime’s Weeds
Kyle MacLachlan is leaving his role on ABC’s Desperate Housewives after four years
Patrick Stewart, known for his television role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation knighted by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace
Cross-Mediaworks launched IndieShop a new combination television and online shopping service.
Julia Stiles joined cast of Showtime’s Dexter for the series’ fifth season
Katalyst Media, the production company founded by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg signed a new overall two-year agreement with Warner Horizon Television
Harpo Studios revealed it is expanding its creative services department forming a new entity called Harpo Creative Works, comprised of a team of designers, writers and producers who will offer the unit’s services to media clients outside of Harpo Productions
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences met to discuss the possibility of moving up the Oscars telecast to January instead of February
The upcoming seventh season of NBC’s The Office will the last for star Steve Carell
Jeff Goldblum announced yesterday he is departing USA Network’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent series after starring on the drama two years
Ryan O’Neal will attempt to reconcile with his estranged daughter, actress Tatum O’Neal in a new docu-soap series, Lost and Found that is being pitched to networks by Endemol USA
Mary Hart, the long-time host of Entertainment Tonight, declared yesterday the upcoming 30th season of the syndicated show would be her last
Joining the cast of castaways on the Fall 2010 cycle of CBS’ Survivor: Nicaragua is 67 year old sports broadcaster Jimmy Johnson
Here is a new twist in product placement, V1 Entertainment Films is auditioning advertisers and sponsors to feature prominently in its new NASCAR-themed television series, The Ride set to debut in 2011
Petry Television, reported the national spot television advertising sales market is trending up by +48% and +54% for third quarter 2010
Saturday Night Live alum for eight seasons, Will Forte will no longer be a part of the NBC weekly show when SNL premieres its 36th season this fall
And the Winners of the 62nd Primetime Emmy ® Awards are …
- Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men – AMC – Lionsgate Television
- Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Bryan Cranston as Walter White – Breaking Bad – AMC – Sony Pictures Television
- Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson – The Closer – TNT – The Shephard/Robin Company, in association with Warner Bros. Television
- Outstanding Comedy: Modern Family – ABC – Twentieth Century Fox Television
- Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper – The Big Bang Theory – CBS – Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television
- Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton – Nurse Jackie – Showtime – Showtime Presents, Lionsgate Television, Jackson Group Entertainment, Madison Grain Elevator, Inc. & Delong Lumber; A Caryn Mandabach Production
- Outstanding Reality Competition Program: Top Chef – Bravo – Magical Elves, Bravo
- Outstanding Made for Television Movie: Temple Grandin – HBO – A Ruby Films, Gerson Saines Production in association with HBO Films
Tribune Broadcasting is launching a new digital network, Antenna TV on January 1, 2011
Nielsen based on its Total US Television Household Estimates by Race and Ethnicity: 2010 and 2011, estimates Hispanic TV homes will increase by 3.07% to 13.348 million or 40% of new US TV homes this season will be Hispanic households
Nielsen said for the 2010-2011 broadcast season, it estimates the total number of TV households in the US will increase to 115.9 million
Content partners for Google TV include Turner Broadcasting comprising TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; NBC Universal will offer a CNBC Real-Time application featuring news feeds and stock results; NBA Game Time will offer real-time game scores and hi-def video of NBA game highlights; HBO Glo with movies and TV shows on-demand; YouTube, Twitter and the music services Pandora and Napster will also be available.
Reality producer, radio personality and FOX’s American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest is talking with talent agency CAA and entertainment company AEG about the possibility of jointly launching a new cable network
Jo Frost says this will be her sixth and final season of ABC’s Supernanny
Nielsen reported a combined average of 35 million viewers watched the 2010 mid-term election coverage
Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA forged a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new, three-year contract
According to new poll findings released from Harris Interactive, one out of five Americans have canceled or reduced their cable television service in the last six months to save money
Patricia Arquette, star of CBS’ Medium said this seventh season of the drama will be its last
Media Rating Council dropped its accreditation of Nielsen measurement in the 154 diary-only markets, making it effective back to 2009
FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake outlined the FCC’s plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking pertaining to retransmission-consent negotiations. The proposal’s goal is “to advance the statutory objectives of allowing retrans fees to be set by market forces while protecting the interests of consumers” in addition to defining more distinctly what makes up good faith bargaining
On December 21, FCC passed the net neutrality regulations by a 3-2 vote after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski obtained the backing of the agency’s two Democratic commissioners on Monday

EXECUTIVE MOVES: NEW TOPPERS ONLY (too many to include everyone!)

Patrick Stewart gets upped to Sir Patrick Stewart at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2009
GroupM reorganized its executive management team, naming Rob Norman as CEO of GroupM North America where he will provide oversight of the company in partnership with Rino Scanzoni, CIO. Rob replaces Marc Goldstein in this position who departs the company March 31 and will continue as a senior advisor to the management group
Michael Bremer advanced to SVP/CFI and COO with Discovery Networks Latin America/US Hispanic.
Comcast Corporation renewed the contract for Ted Harbert to remain as Comcast Entertainment Group President/CEO for five more years through 2016
News Corporation revealed a new upper management structure: Peter Rice will head Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) and FX Networks; David Hill, Chairman/CEO, FOX Sports will oversee all sports operations
Mitch Goldstein joins QVC in the newly created role as GM/On-Air
Hollywood Studios International named Eric Christenson as President/Acquisitions and Distribution
Sandy Grushow, founder of the digital entertainment studio Filmaka, tapped by media advisory firm MediaLink LLC as CCO
Tracie Savage, a veteran anchor/reporter at KNBC/Los Angeles, has established Tracie Savage Communications, a firm providing companies with media and presentation training.
CBS Local Digital Media hired Ezra Kucharz as President/Local Digital Media
Robert Dodds named CEO of 19 Entertainment
Andrea Wong, President/CEO with Lifetime Networks announced in an email to staffers, she is exiting the company
Ryan O’Hara, President of TV Guide Network is leaving … just days later it was announced Ryan was hired by The Topps Company as President/CEO
MediaCom advanced Euan Jarvie to the new position of COO/MediaCom U.S.
Newswire.net, Inc., a unit of Extensions, Inc. appointed Erin Saxton as CEO
Sucherman Consulting Group Inc. advanced Matthew Wagner as Head/SCG Executive Search
Michael Birkin established The Red Peak Group with Jay Lenstrom as CEO
Gary Schneider named President/GM of KTVT-KTXA/Dallas-Fort Worth
NESN elevated Ray Guilbault to COO/CFO
Geri Wang appointed President/Sales and Marketing at ABC Television Network
Transit advertising company, Titan elevated Scott Goldsmith to President/Transit up from General Counsel/EVP; Titan additionally promoted Craig Abolt to the role of EVP/CFO and Chief Administrative Officer
Brad Navin, who has been the interim CEO with The Orchard, has been named CEO as well as a Director of the company
Leslie Moonves, President/CEO of CBS Corporation reupped a new long-term agreement with the company that retains his position with CBS through February 22, 2015
TVGuide.com named Christy Tanner as GM
Here Media elevated Mark Smelzer as VP/Publisher for the Advocate and Gay.com brands.
OpenGate Capital appointed Lori O’Connor as Publisher of TV Guide Magazine
Marc Goldstein, is leaving his position as CEO of GroupM North America today to established Marc Goldstein, Media Solutions LLC based in New York
The Orchard, a global company involved in music and video distribution, named Prashant Bahadur as GM
Fox Networks Group launched Fox LOOK with David Lyle as President
David M. Taghioff becomes COO at Octagon Entertainment
Matt Prohaska named CEO at Smartclip LLC
Mohamed Sayed upped to CFO with Channel One Network, an Alloy Media + Marketing Company
Laureen Ong appointed President of Scripps Networks’ Travel Channel
Five more years for Viacom’s President and CEO Philippe Dauman, who will also continue to serve as a member of the Viacom Board
Veria, the natural health and wellness company encompassing Veria TV, a website and an all-natural product line, tapped Hal Rosenberg as GM
South African-based production company Aquavision named Dave Keet as GM
Una Vez Mas, an Azteca America affiliate group, hired Luis F. Hernandez as VP/GM in the Dallas market
Grey Group promoted Amy Tunick to the position of President/Alliance
Bob Ramsey stepped down from his position as VP/GM of Tribune-owned FOX affiliate, KTXL/Sacramento
Man Made Music promoted Kim Paster to GM and SVP/Production
Nancy Dubuc named President/GM of Lifetime Networks
Television distribution veteran, Janice Arouh will join Entertainment Studios Networks as President/Domestic Distribution and Marketing
Tribune Broadcasting put Marty Wilke, VP/GM of Chicago’s WGN-TV also in charge of CLTV, Chicago’s cable news station
Ed Wilson, Chief Revenue and Sales Officer with Tribune Company since 2009 and also Tribune Broadcasting’s President since 2008 announced over the weekend he is leaving both positions
Tribune Company appointed Jerry Kersting as President of Tribune Broadcasting
CBS Television Stations named Michele Scaringella as EVP/CFO
Paul Kingsley joins Red Peak Group as COO
Bill Koenigsberg, President/CEO and Founder of Horizon Media Inc. tapped as Chairman of the 4A’s Media Policy Committee
Tribune Broadcasting named Sean Compton as President/Programming
Universal Pictures elevated Jimmy Horowitz to President, Universal Pictures
Barbara Yolles will begin May 25 in the newly-created position as EVP/CMO with McCann Midwest
Inferno Entertainment’s new sales label, Ember Films named Kimberly Fox, President/International Sales
Fran Perdisatt appointed as GM of Zephyr Media Group
Tribune Company appointed Don Meek as EVP/Chief Revenue Officer
KPDF/Phoenix elevated Gabriela Cardenas to GM
Scripps Networks Interactive named Bob Baskerville as GM for Scripps Networks International
Doug Thomas upped to EVP/GM for Tribune365, the national sales solutions team for Tribune Company
Tribune Broadcasting upped John Cruse as VP/GM for the company’s TV duopoly WGNO/WNOL in New Orleans
ABC Owned Television Stations Group announced Walter Liss, President is retiring from his position. Rebecca Campbell named as Liss’ replacement as President of ABC Owned Television Stations Group
Comcast Entertainment Group announced Neal Tiles will remain in his position as President of G4 for three more years
Chairman of Bright House Networks, Robert Miron announced his retirement at the end of 2010. Steve Miron, current CEO of Bright House Networks will take over as head of the company while Nomi Bergman will continue as President.
Frances Berwick elevated to President of Bravo Media
Herb Scannell named President of BBC Worldwide America in charge of the company’s US operations
bpg bumped Andy Robbins to the newly-minted position of COO
Sportsman Channel, part of InterMedia Outdoor Holdings tapped Gavin Harvey as CEO
Brien Kennedy has become VP/GM at WCCO/Minneapolis
NBC Local Media appointed Michael Jack as President/GM of WNBC and Tom O’Brien as EVP/Nonstop Network
Bill Goodwyn elevated to the dual role of President/Global Distribution and CEO/Discovery Education at Discovery Communications
Tom Cosgrove appointed President/GM of the new joint 24/7 3D television network venture from Sony Corporation, Discovery Communications and IMAX Corporatio, , n
Jason Klarman elevated to the position of President, Oxygen Media
Chris Mansolillo advances to President of ExerciseTV
Discovery Communications appointed Wonya Lucas as EVP/COO for Discovery Channel and Science Channel
Joe Earley advances to President/Marketing and Communications with Fox Broadcasting Company
Bankable, founded by Tyra Banks in 2003 and comprised of the units Bankable Digital, Bankable Studios and Bankable Books, tapped Patrick Vien as President/COO
Univision Communications Inc. hired Peter Walker as President/Univision Local Media
Univision Communications, Inc. further announced Joanne Lynch, President/Univision Television Station Group is retiring at the end of August. She has been with Univision for almost 20 years.
Steve Schiffman upped to President of National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD
David Nevins will become the new President/Entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc.
Global Media Exchange, the B2B professional video marketplace powered by Ascent Media Group, elevated Mara Sternthal to GM
J. David (Dave) Davis appointed President/GM of WABC/New York
Shevick*Zupon Entertainment officially launched yesterday and is headed by Jerry Shevick as President, Mark Zupon as CEO
Bonten Media Group appointed Lyle Schulze as VP/GM of WCTI-TV (ABC), WFXI-WYDO-TV (FOX) and ENC-TV-Digital based in Eastern North Carolina
Cineflix added Christina Wayne as President of the company’s newly-established scripted entertainment business, Cineflix Studios
Digitas North America restructured its North American offices giving Tony Weisman, Global Client Lead and President of the Chicago office additional scope in charge of the Boston and Detroit offices. Joanne Zaiac, President of the New York and Stamford offices will expand her duties to include oversight of the Atlanta office
Kip Spidell recruited as President of BFS Film & Television Productions Inc.
Jeff Kapugi advances to COO with Tribune Interactive
Kathleen Burns Rohr begins a new position at Kinetic Content as COO
J. Antonio “Tony” Canales named VP/GM for Azteca America’s affiliate group, Una Vez Mas in the Houston market
Michael A. Rosenberg, President/GM of Hearst Television Inc.’s KITV/Honolulu (ABC) is retiring at the end of 2010
Diana Mogollon tapped as GM for mun2
Entertainment Studios appointed Brandon Tansley to manage the company’s 24-hour HD television channel, CARS.TV
Meredith Corporation tagged Tom Harty as President/National Media Group
WNET.ORG named Roslyn Davis as GM for THIRTEEN; John Servidio as GM of WLIW21; and Mary Lockhart as GM of CreativeNewsGroup
McCann Midwest tapped Joe Garcia, as President
Peter Block joins the VOD service and website, FEARnet as President/GM
Joan Robbins elevated to President/Talent Relations with Entertainment Studios, Inc.
Canada’s Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) named Keith Pelley as President for Rogers Media
Entertainment Studios, Inc. promoted Terence Hill to COO
Ronald Verberg joins Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE) as GM/Universal Pictures Benelux
Paul Montoya elevated to President/Media Sales at CBS Television Distribution to head three sales offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles
Perry Simon takes on the new position as GM/Channels with BBC Worldwide America
Tribune Broadcasting appointed Eric Meyrowitz as VP/GM of WPIX/New York
Bitcentral, a company providing digital news delivery systems, added Gary Coats as COO
Ann Sarnoff tapped as COO for BBC Worldwide America
Susan Danaher will become President of the Digital Place-based Advertising Association (DPAA)
Andy Sareyan advances to President/Consumer Brands at Meredith Corporation
Imagem’s CEO Andre de Raaf announced Richard Stumpf will become President of Imagem Music USA
Martha Van Gelder tapped as President for the entertainment and educational company, Zula
Madison Square Garden, Inc. announced David Clark appointed EVP/GM of Fuse
Warner Bros. unveiled its management succession plan with Barry Meyer, Chairman/CEO extending his position for two more years through the end of 2013 though Alan Horn as President/COO will depart next April. With Horn leaving, three top studio executives will share the Office of the President and those executives include Jeff Robinov, President/Warner Motion Pictures Group; Bruce Rosenblum, Warner Bros. Television Group President; and Kevin Tsujihara, head of Home Entertainment. All three will jointly oversee the studio with Meyer remaining for two additional years in a transitional period. To date, the company has not announced a strategy to replace Horn’s role as President/COO.
Scripps Networks’ HGTV moved Kathleen Finch into the newly-created position as SVP/GM to supervise the network’s program development and production
MedHelp, an online outlet for the health community appointed Richy Glassberg as COO
Achilles Media names Mark Greenspan as COO
Kevin Crull added at CTVglobemedia Inc. as COO
Tribune Broadcasting added Jerry Del Core as VP/GM of KTXL-TV in Sacramento
IMG Worldwide, Inc. finalized its previously announced purchase of ISP Sports, a top US college media rights management company. Ben C. Sutton, Jr., the Founder/CEO of ISP will become President of the newly merged business, IMG College
Ajay Chacko named President of AETN18 MEDIA PVT. LTD, the new joint venture between AETN and Network18
Screenvision’s acquisition by Shamrock Capital Growth Fund is complete and the company tapped Travis Reid as its new CEO
Superna Kalle tapped as GM for Sony Movie Channel
In light of Tribune Company’s CEO, Randy Michaels’ resignation, effective immediately, Tribune said its board of directors has formed an Executive Council to take on the duties of the Office of the Chief Executive/President
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. named Susan Adams Loyd as Branch President of its Minneapolis/St. Paul Division
Anita Helt tapped as President/GM within Gannett’s Broadcasting Division to head KXTV/Sacramento
Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Geographic Society, announced his retirement at the end of this year. John M. Fahey, President/CEO appointed Chairman/CEO and Timothy T. Kelly, President/CEO of the Global Media Group will move into the position of President of the National Geographic Society.
Robert W. Sprague upped to President/CEO, effective immediately, at PCI Communications
Sarah Trahern moves up to GM/SVP at Great American Country
Universal Music Group (UMG) upped Rob Wells to the new position of President/Global Digital Business
Meredith Corporation expanded the role of Pete Snyder by naming him President of its newly-formed Emerging Markets Group
Oil Studios, a multi-platform interactive content studio named Simon Rees as company Chairman
India’s VenSat Tech Services, Pvt. Ltd. is establishing a new US business unit, VenSat America which will be supervised by Ken Silverman as CEO/President
Andrew C. Jackson is returning to KITV/Honolulu this month to become President/GM
Mark Snow joined the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) as VP/GM
David Lebow named to the Board of Directors of Oberon Media, a multi-platform casual games company. Additionally, David appointed as Acting CEO.
Discovery Networks International will be headed by Luis Silberwasser named EVP/CCO
Charlie Holmes promoted by NCC Media to VP/GM Satellite Sales.
Steve Forbes, Chairman/Editor in Chief of Forbes Media named Mike Perlis will become President/CEO of the company
Adam Levy is taking charge of CBS Television Stations’ Miami stations, WFOR-TV (CBS 4) and WBFS-TV (TV 33) as VP/GM
John Ford joins ION Media Networks as President/Programming
Canada’s CTV announced Robert Hurst, President /CTV News and Current Affairs, will be soon be leaving the company though will remain with CTV News until his replacement is named in the next several weeks.
Louise Clark has established a new production venture named Lark Productions in Vancouver and will serve as President
Jana Bennett will be joining BBC Worldwide as President/Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer
Kevin Adell, CEO of The Word Network will continue in this role and will additionally assume the title of President of the religious broadcast company, replacing outgoing President Lewis Gibbs. Additionally, Steven Antoniotti named as the new President/GM of WADL-TV, owned by Adell Broadcasting Corporation, also succeeding Lewis Gibbs. Previously, Steven served as VP/GM.
Ashley Messina named VP/GM of Tribune Broadcasting’s WDCW-TV in Washington, D.C.
Univision Communications Inc. tagged veteran journalist Isaac Lee as President/News and also named Alexander “Sandy” Brown as President/Sports
Miramax named former Fox Entertainment and News Corp. executive Mike Lang as CEO
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) said Randall Rothenberg, President/CEO will be departing IAB as of January 17, 2011 to join Time Inc. as Chief Digital Officer
Laura Caruso elevated to VP/GM of WTOG/Tampa-St. Petersburg and Tom Canedo upped to VP/GM of WUPA/Atlanta.
Carlos Silva, President of Universal Sports Network Properties and the previous President/COO of Universal Sports and Perkins Miller, COO of Universal Sports jointly announced Carlos will be departing the network now that the transition to new management under Miller and David Sternberg has taken place.
Patrick A. Trueman appointed as CEO of Morality in Media by its Board of Directors
Retirement Living TV (RLTV) announced the network has named Paul FitzPatrick as President/COO

IN MEMORIUM:

Art Clokey … David Gerber … William J. Brooks … Jean Simmons … James Mitchell … Pernell Roberts … Mera Lome … Johnny Seven … Jim Jeffrey Lyle … Aaron Ruben … Frances Reid … Frances Buss … Captain Phil Harris … Andrew Koenig … Corey Haim … Merlin Olsen … Peter Graves … Fess Parker … Robert Culp … Malcolm Poindexter … David Mills … John Forsythe … Dixie Carter … Kathleen (Kathie) A. Juan … Patricia Neal … Ron Scalera … Fabio Ostroviesky … Myles Wilder … Lynn Redgrave … Helen Wagner … Art Linkletter … Michael H. Jordan … Dennis Hopper … Gary Coleman … Eddie Garrett … Art Linkletter … Eugenia Paul … Rue McClanahan … Jimmy Dean … George Steinbrenner … Peter Fernandez … Daniel Schorr … Bernie West … Mitch Miller … John Aylesworth … Lorene Yarnell … Jay Larkin … Harold Dow … Edward Kean … Dr. Maura Clancey … David Dortort … Gene Case … Kevin McCarthy … Harold Gould … Edwin Newman … James Bacon … Greg Giraldo … Tony Curtis … Stephen J. Cannell … Richard (Dick) Gold … Barbara Billingsley … Simon MacCorkindale … Tom Bosley … James MacArthur … Charlie O’Donnell … Joseph F. Cifarelli … Jill Clayburgh … Arthur Bernard Lewis … Coleman Jacoby … William Self … Al Masini … Marty Miller … Ronni Chasen … Lauren Ann Heller … Don Meredith … Richard B. (Dick) Noonan … Blake Edwards … Leslie Nielsen … Steve Landesberg … Fred Foy … Elizabeth Keller … Bud Greenspan … Billy Taylor … Aron Abrams

Later — Cyn
1.1.11

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