Cynopsis: 10th Anniversary Special Edition: “2005”

11/12/07

Greetings! It’s Monday, November 12, and this is your Cynopsis Special Edition, taking a look back at the Year 2005.

This round-up includes a new category — NEW MEDIA BUSINESS DECISIONS as this was the year of new media with everyone jumping into the multiple platform arena: VOD, new broadband channels, online pay-per-views, podcasts, original webisodes and mobisodes.  Desperate Housewives is first broadcast network primetime series to go to iTunes, and the unions aren’t happy (sound familiar?).

Indecency and the definition thereof, is still a hot topic – this was the year of Saving Private Ryan, Nicolette Sheridan locker room towel, Motley Crue on Tonight Show’s New Year’s Eve show and hearings on fines.

Other highlights – an American Idol Do-Over; Dave Chappelle goes on walkabout; telenovelas coming to syndication (at least that was 20th’s idea in 2005); Michael Jackson and Robert Blake both acquitted; RIAA starts suing grandmothers and college students’ three bills introduced this year – Fairness and Accuracy in Ratings Bill of 2005, Television Viewer Protection Act of 2005, and Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005; Peter Jennings sends a memo to all his ABC News colleagues; Hurricane Katrina strikes.

This was a rocky year — check it out!

THE NETWORKS:

• History Channel launched spinoff Military History Channel
• Animal Planet’s first annual Animal Planet Puppy Bowl
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on New Year’s Eve put the show in the FCC cross hairs as a Motley Crue band member wished another a Happy New Year, with the “f” word tossed in the middle
• MTV Networks launches gay network Logo
• A&E announces its new Crime & Investigation Network
• Michael Jackson is on trial and E! reenacts the days proceedings with actors
• The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show negotiated a dog house for itself on USA Network for the next 12 years
• Dan’s last night at the CBS Evening News anchor desk … CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer begins
• Expo Communications announced the launch of Expo TV
• Comcast’s The International Channel rebrands itself as AZN Television
• Fox Reality Channel is scheduled to debut on June 1
• VOOM expanded its hi-def offerings, adding WealthTV to the lineup
• Digital channel Newsworld International relaunched as Current TV
• Casino and Gaming Television network, announced its plans to launch in 3rd Qtr 2005
• NFL moves Monday Night Football to ESPN … and on NBC a new 6-year deal for NFL Football on Sunday nights
• NBC Universal issued a statement regarding Paxson TV’s plans to terminate the joint advertising sales agreements with NBC O&O stations and various NBC affiliates
• PAX made a filing with the SEC that said it is “currently investing substantial additional amounts in new entertainment programming and are evaluating other programming strategies and opportunities that might be available us that could improve our cash flow.”
• NBC files court papers to stop PAX from moving to a largely infomercial schedule
• PAX undergoes re-branding, changing the name from PAX, to simply “i”
• Turner Broadcasting System unveiled plans to launch GameTap
• Scripps Networks launched HGTV in Hi-Def in January 2005
• “Comedy Central has suspended production on the third season of Chappelle’s Show until further notice. All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future. The third season will not premiere on May 31st as originally scheduled.”
• CHUM Television will carry Monday Night Football games in Canada for one season
• On Memorial Day 2005, Nightline’s Ted Koppel will again honor those who have died in the Iraq war, naming each and every of the fallen
• Bud Paxson responds: The Company will continue to offer the same or an increased amount of entertainment programming than it in the past. However, as we approach the new fall season, the entertainment programs on our schedule may change to allow the Company to give its shareholders a better return on their investment.”
• The Africa Channel launched with James Makawa, CEO
• John Madden will begin calling the shots from the NBC booth for a 6-year stint starting with the 2006 football season
• Cris Collingsworth is switching to the NBC team where he signed a six year deal
• VH1 launches a broadband entertainment “hybrid” network called VSPOT
• HorseTV Media Group, Inc., announced The Horse Channel, set to launch fall 2005
• Wisdom Media Group newly rebranded as Lime – Healthy Living with a Twist
• The Fox Reality Channel made ABC an offer. The cable net would like to acquire the reality series Welcome to the Neighborhood, the same show ABC pulled from its schedule just days before it was set to air because of its potential controversy surrounding discrimination – no response from ABC
• The New York Mets new cable network, SportsNet New York, will kick off next spring in New York with 125 regular season Mets games
• Ted Koppel’s last Nightline episode on November 22 ends with Ted’s warning viewers should give the new Nightline a chance and “If you don’t, I promise you the network will just put another comedy show in this time slot. Then you’ll be sorry.”
• January 1, 2006, will see the launch of a new network called Sleuth, from NBC Universal Cable Entertainment
• NBC will be able to acquire the rest of Paxson and its 60 TV stations
• Rumors swirl around Katie Couric and the CBS News anchor chair
• ABC News announced dual anchors for World New Tonight with Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff, as of January 2

SYNDICATION:

• King World renewed Dr. Phil through the 2008-2009, later Dr. Phil reups wtih King World thru 2014
• A&E acquired HBO’s The Sopranos
• Mark Burnett teams up with Martha Stewart for prime and syndication = prime doesn’t work, syndication does
• 20th brings back A Current Affair and by February cleared 50% of the country. This show comes back off air at the end of October
• The Tube Music Network will launch for the first time on a local station group in 29 Raycom Media markets
• Megan Mullally a daytime talk show host? At least for a little while
• Tribune Broadcasting-owned stations, Tribune Entertainment Company and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) have announced a new agreement to develop/produce first-run syndicated programs
• For the first time, a cable network picked up the syndicated cable rights to another cable network’s original series. Spike TV picked up The Shield, distributed by Sony Pictures TV
• E! picked up a movie package from Sony Pictures Television. This marks the first acquisition of this type for the cable net
• 20th Television plans to develop a new syndicated talk show with hosts Randy Jackson (American Idol) and Lauren Sanchez
• NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution re-signed Maury Povich to a new multi-year deal
• King World and Harpo Productions are producing a pilot featuring the Food Network’s Rachel Ray for potential syndication deal next fall
• 20th Television will offer English-language telenovelas next year, available for syndication in 2006 … wait for it

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS:

• Here’s how the announcements of this deal came down:
  • Cablevision Systems sold VOOM to Echostar for $200 million
  • Charles Dolan, Chairman of Cablevision, and a group of Cablevision stockholders, have reached a tentative agreement to acquire Voom HD from Cablevision Systems Corp
  • Dolan wants to keep Voom up and going; while son James Dolan, Cablevision CEO, voted to shutter the money-losing satellite venture
  • Voom’s days are numbered. Cablevision’s Board of Directors, including James Dolan/CEO, voted to close down the satellite service as of April 30, but will keep its 21 hi-def channels and market them to other cable providers
  • Rainbow Media LLC announced it will officially launch VOOM HD Networks as a stand alone service
  • The Dolans’ decision last summer to take Cablevision Systems Corp. private, ending up with two companies – the privately held system run by Charles Dolan, and the publicly traded company run by son James Dolan – essentially scrapped
• Bob Sillerman is acquiring Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment in a deal estimated at $174 million, in cash and stock
• Comcast Corp. and Time Warner will purchase Adelphia Communications in a cash and stock deal valued at $17.6 billion
• Emmis Communications put its 16-station group on the sale block in an effort to reduce debt – deals done with four different buyers: LIN TV Corp., Journal Communications, Gray Television, Blackstone Group
• Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActive Corp will sell its minority stake in Vivendi Universal Entertainment for a reported sum of $3.4 billion in cash and stock
• Online ad agency ValueClick come to terms to purchase Fastclick for $214 million in stock
• Raycom Media entered in an agreement to purchase Liberty Corp. for $987 million, and assume approx $110 million in Liberty debt
• News Corp. will acquire IGN Entertainment Inc., an internet company with multiple sites catering primarily to young men interested in videogames
• Granite Broadcasting sold its San Francisco and Detroit WB affiliates to AM Media Holdings for a reported total of $177.5 million in cash, and $2.5 million in AM Media Holdings equity
• Potential acquisition discussions between DreamWorks SKG and NBC Universal have been shut down – later talks are back on and then … NBC Universal is back kicking DreamWorks tires … and then …
• In a deal valued at $1.6 billion (plus assumption of debt), Paramount Pictures swooped in and agreed to acquire DreamWorks SKG
• MTV Networks acquired iFilm Corp

NEW MEDIA BUSINESS DECISIONS:

• Sirius Satellite Radio is getting into the mobile video content business with a roll out expected in 2006
• Fox is offering its cancelled series on line – some on a pay-per-view basis, and some free
• CSTV: College Sports Television secured a multi-year deal with CBS SportsLine.com and the NCAA for the exclusive video streaming rights for out-of-market game coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship
• OLN will launch three free VOD networks this year
• Lifetimetv.com will launch webisodes called Kiss & Tell with Dr. Ian Kerner
• NBC Universal inked a video content deal with CinemaNow’s VOD service
• AOL will provide weekly online recaps of ABC’s hit series Desperate Housewives
• Comcast Corp. will provide its Dating on Demand VOD service nationally
• Comcast will offer TIVO service to its 21.5 million subscribers as an added option
• Comedy Central announced the launch of its new broadband channel, MotherLoad
• Verizon Wireless is bringing 1 minute original episodes to its phone service (called mobisodes) to its V Cast subscribers
• Two Minute Television Network presents Genius on a Shoestring, a series of 2-minute reality programs available to run on websites, on broadcast or cable nets (primarily as hour-enders) and on cellphones
• OLN’s two VOD channels launch: Hooks & Bullets and Hazardous
• ABC News announces ABC News Now, a multimedia news initiative that includes 24-hour news channel ABC News Now, and video-on-demand reports from all ABC News broadcasts
• MTV Networks will launch MTV Overdrive, a hybrid channel that will live on broadband with VOD capabilities
• FNC will provide live content via cellphones to Sprint subscribers
• Showtime will provide content to Verizon FiOS, and everyone else will jump on board quickly enough
• Tivo is expanding its reach — soon it will be available on mobile phones and pocket pcs which run on the Microsoft Windows mobile software
• Peer to peer file sharing services can be held accountable for copyright piracy committed by individuals who are encouraged to use its service for the illegal downloading of music and movies, says US Supreme Court
• Cynopsis launched Cynopsis: In Your Ear – the audio podcast version
• SCIFI.COM, the official Web site of the SCI FI Channel, will begin offering an exclusive video blog for one of its original series – Battlestar Galactica
• Walt Disney Internet Group and Sprint inked a new partnership to introduce Disney Mobile, a family targeted US wireless service
• NerdTV, available only on the PBS.org website, is the network’s first downloadable series
• Court TV News content on their SmartVideo mobile video provider to cellphones
• Yahoo! announced agreements with both CNN.com and ABC News wherein both will provide daily news feeds to Yahoo! News
• NFL and Sprint Nextel have teamed up to offer game highlights and original content – both audio and video as well as text – via your cellphone
• CBS is moving further down the podcast road with the creation of CBS Netcast
• By the time 2010 reaches its end, 65 million global mobile phone users are expected to subscribe to streamed or broadcast television services according to Juniper Research’s new report, Mobile TV
• Mobile ESPN will be available to Sprint customers starting February 5
• Yahoo launches Yahoo! Podcasts service
• ABC/Disney announced iTunes deal to provide Lost, Desperate Housewives, among other shows for download
• SAG, AFTRA, WGA west, WGA east and DGA have all come together in their call for their union members to receive a proper cut of the revenues generated from selling television shows to iPod Video users
• The Food Network will launch an internet-only series on November 21st called Eat This with Dave Lieberman
• NBC News will begin streaming its evening newscast on the internet
• CBS.com began offering streaming video of three episodes of its freshman drama Threshold
• The Pentagon is getting into the podcast business
• Burger King’s video podcast – and yes, The Subservient Chicken is involved
• CBS Digital Media announced a deal with AOL to provide current, up to the minute, broadband video and text news programming from CBSNews.com for the AOL News channel
• National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (the Emmy people) announces plans to create a new award category that will recognize original video content “airing” on computers, iPods, cellphone and other mobile devices
• AOL is diving deeper in the TV business, announcing it will begin distributing episodes of more than 300 television series starting in January
• Lost Video Diaries are 20m original episodes, not aired on television, that will soon be available for your mobile – called mobisodes
• Tivo is making it easier and easier to watch television no matter where you are: you record your favorite episode of Lassie or the Rangers game or whatever on your Tivo, then you’ll be able to transfer that recording to your Apple iPod video player, or your Sony Playstation Portable and off you go
• Fuse signed a deal with MobiTV, Inc., the mobile TV and digital radio service provider, which will see fuseMobile be initially offered by a national wireless carrier
• Digital cable network TRIO as a television service goes dark. Instead it will be re-launched as a broadband initiative under the BravoTV.com banner
• CBS will offer as many as 56 games from March Madness on the internet thru the regional semi-finals round at at NCAAsports.com
• NBC jumps into iTunes pond with programming from NBC, Sci Fi and USA
• CBS is getting into the content-on-cellphone business with Verizon Wireless V Cast
• The Scripps Networks will launch a new broadband channel this month on a trial basis, and go live in early January to all consumers, called HGTV KitchenDesign
• CBS and UPN will provide content to Amp’d Mobile broadband wireless phones
• MTV Networks and Microsoft have announced a partnership whereby they will jointly develop a digital music service called Urge, designed to rival Apple iTunes
• MTV Networks announced it would invest $50 million in the Amp’d Mobile service, and provide video clips, ringtones, ringbacks, screensavers, wallpapers, etc., from MTVNs’ various properties
• Cingular Video’s new mobile phone on-demand service gets a decent shot in the arm with the addition of clips from HBO’s The Sopranos among other shows
• The WB cut a deal with Verizon wherein it will supply video clips from many of its programs to Verizon wireless subscribers
• ABC News will make some of its on-air content available to Verizon customers via the Verizon mobile service VCast

THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS, AND ALL IN BETWEEN

• Richard Hatch tries to duck the IRS
• Jay Leno is under a gag order and is not permitted to discuss (or joke about) the Michael Jackson case … his comedian friends step in and read his copy for him
• Robert Blake was acquitted of all charges
• ABC’s General Hospital celebrates 42 years on the air
• Dennis Rodman competes in the 2005 Wife-Carrying World Championships in Sonkajaervi, Finland
• Michael Jackson acquitted of all charges
• The NHL officially cancelled the 2005 hockey season
• Kari Smith auctions advertising space on her forehead on eBay, and GoldenPalace.com wins with a bid of $10,000 to tattoo a message on her forehead
• John O’Hurley was robbed … robbed I say! .. on Dancing with the Stars … wait for the rematch …
• Martha removed her ankle bracelet
• John Daly will be the first to try to hit a golf ball across Niagara Falls
• If in 2005 you invested in a new television series called DHS (Department of Homeland Security), produced by Steeple Entertainment’s Joseph Medawar, and believed the show was endorsed by the President of the United States as well as Tom Ridge, and believed a number of episodes have already been produced and the show sold in well over a hundred countries …. then you were bamboozled. Medawar was charged by the FBI with mail fraud and obstruction of justice
• Scott Stevens, weather guy at KPVI / Pocatello fired after making public on air his theory that using a machine developed by the Russians in 1976, the Japanese mafia created Hurricane Katrina, and then directed where it would make landfall
• The name is Craig … Daniel Craig … aka Bond … James Bond

etc …

• There is concern over how Nielsen is measuring the African American viewers as broadcast shows with predominantly African American casts on UPN are all falling off
• GoDaddy.com’s second commercial for the Super Bowl doesn’t air after complaints follow the first spot
• The House Commerce Committee yesterday voted unanimously to goose the indecency violation fines from $32,500 to $500,000 for television stations, per incident; and $11,000 to $500,000 for performers and artists (with no warning following the first incident) in the Broadcast Indecency Enforcement Act of 2005
• FTC rejected a petition by Commercial Alert that would require television shows to individually identify every promotional product placement incident as a paid advertisement via immediate pop-ups and pre-show notices
• “ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, that the Complaints filed against the licensees of the ABC Network Stations regarding their broadcast on November 11, 2004, of the film “Saving Private Ryan” ARE HEREBY DENIED.”
• Time Warner pulled the plug on Fox Sports Net and MSG Network in NYC – both Cablevision-owned networks
• FCC determined that the Monday Night Football/Desperate Housewives opening move with Nicolette Sheridan dropping her towel in the locker room, is not indecent
• Sumner Redstone, Chairman & CEO, Viacom Inc. is considering splitting Viacom into two distinct and separate publicly traded operating entities
• Time Warner Inc., will pay a $300 million in civil penalties levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as part of Time Warner’s settlement deal
• A glitch in the process at American Idol on Tuesday night forced the network into a do-over (voting numbers displayed incorrectly)
• The long time expected divorce and separation agreement between Disney Studios and the Miramax’s co-chairs, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, completed
• Cablevision is pretty ticked off that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in NYC accepted the $720 million bid from the New York Jets for property on New York’s west side where it intends to build a new 75,000 seat stadium
• 22 Congressmen sent a letter to the FTC asking they look into questions surrounding Nielsen’s LPM systems and the suggestion the system under counts minority groups. The FTC basically said “not my table” and declined to step between the sparring partners
• Recording Industry Association of America filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 405 students at 18 different US colleges
• Cynopsis launches new edition: Cynopsis: Weekender, published every Thursday
• Glover Park Group website discloses its participation in creating, organizing and directing the activities of the Don’t Count Us Out organization at the behest of News Corp
• After a brief “hiatus”, Pat O’Brien says he’ll return to work at Access Hollywood in time for the May sweep
• Peter Jennings issues this email to co-workers:

Dear All – Forgive me the group mailing but it seems the easiest way to tell a lot of people I care for about a change in my life. I have been diagnosed with lung cancer. Yes, it was quite a surprise. As you all know, this is a challenge. I begin chemotherapy next week. I will continue to do the broadcast. There will be good days and bad, which means that some days I may be cranky and some days really cranky! Almost 10 million Americans are living with cancer. I am sure I will learn from them how to cope with the facts of life that none of us anticipated. In all the years I have worked here, I have had the most outstanding support from this news division. Hundreds of you have been like family. It feels good to have such a family right now. — Peter

• Alleging that Disney shareholders were intentionally led astray, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold, former members of Disney’s Board of Directors, filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court yesterday against the Disney company and select Board members, stating that the company, “used Company resources to promote Iger’s candidacy and did not in good faith seriously consider any other candidate.”
• Nielsen Media Research and UPN are working together to figure out how to balance out the differences between Nielsen’s African-American women viewing samples for the network’s Monday primetime comedy block
• The planned BBC strike occurred yesterday with the UK unions involved reporting an estimated walkout of 13,000 employees (nearly 40% of BBC workers)
• In second qtr 2006, Nielsen Media Research will begin measuring VOD viewership
• Local People Meters kick off in Washington DC and in Philadelphia in June
• TV Azteca will be de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange following corporate changes spearheaded by the network’s chairman Ricardo Salinas Pliego
• Leslie Moonves vowed that once the Viacom split was complete, the CBS side would go after retransmission fees from cable MSOs for both CBS and UPN
• Nielsen’s LPMs in San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and LA find more adult male viewers, but not everyone agrees – most notably Fox
• Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) introduced his Fairness and Accuracy in Ratings bill … Nielsen is disappointed … Don’t Count Us Out is delighted
• Tribune Broadcasting supports S. 1372, the FAIR Ratings Bill of 2005
• A group of 12 TV writers filed a class action suit yesterday in the Superior Court of California against eight TV networks and production companies of reality shows, alleging violations of state labor laws governing overtime, wages and meal periods
• A New York civil court judge ruled in favor of Time Warner Cable, saying that cable network AMC had violated its deal with Time Warner when it revamped its program lineup from classic films to a broader and more current lineup of films – AMC plans to appeal
• Another bill was introduced to the Senate, this one by Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Congressman Vito Fossella (R-New York), called the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2005 … Nielsen not happy; Don’t Count Us Out delirious
• Another new bill introduced to Congress, this one from Rep Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and co-presented by Rep Diane Watson (D-CA), called the Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005
• The Task Force on Television Measurement, headed up by Chairman Cardiss Collins, sent letters to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, asking both to decline any legislation requiring oversight of TV ratings and mandatory accreditation by the MRC
• NAB comes out in support of the F.A.I.R. Ratings Bill … alternatively, opposing the F.A.I.R. Ratings Bill s. 1372 is Charles W. Thurston, President of Comcast Spotlight
• Michael Ovitz was given a severance deal of $140 million, and that’s after having having been President of Disney for just about a year
• Jean Golden and Todd Walker filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday, naming ABC, Simon Cowell and FremantleMedia North America as defendants. Golden and Walker allege the defendants ripped off their show Million Dollar Idea, currently airing in syndication in more than 125 markets nationwide
• Pat Robertson’s comments on The 700 Club in which he called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez prompts ABC Family to publicly object to the comments and says it has no editorial control over Robertson’s 700 Club program
• The Writers Guild of America, west assisted ten reality show writers and editors in filing a class action lawsuit against Fox Broadcasting Company and Rocket Science Laboratories (producers of many reality shows) alleging various violations of California labor laws
• Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast … telethons/fundraising concerts/events for the victims of Hurricane Katrina
• The multi-network Hurricane Katrina telethon Shelter from the Storm last Friday night was watched by 22 million people across 29 television outlets, and took in approx $30 million in relief funds
• Cynopsis publishes special Hurricane Katrina Relief Funds issue which is reprinted on a slew of websites across the country and around the world
• Universal and Paramount are breaking up their 24 yr joint film distribution venture United International Pictures (UIP)
• Viacom rescinded its petition to the FCC to review the DTV kids rules and instead appealed to the federal courts to toss out the rules or dismiss them as too vague, unconstitutional, and challenging the FCC’s authority to make such rules
• Fremantle International Distribution and Sony BMG launch joint venture combining their respective capabilities to target the global sales for television programming and DVD distribution
• Reports indicate former CPB Chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson violated the ethics of the office he held in hiring Patricia Harrison, former co-chairperson of the Republican National Committee, as the new CPB President and CEO
• Regis Philbin hosts New Year’s Eve not for ABC, but for FOX!
• Univision and Telemundo will join Nielsen Media Research’s national TV ratings service, the Nielsen Television Index (NTI), adding these networks to a lineup which includes CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB, and UPN
• Nielsen Media Research launches new DVR ratings: Live, Live + Same Day, and Live+7 Day

EXECUTIVE MOVES:

• In-house review of 60 Minutes Wednesday broadcast in which President Bush’s service record in the Texas National Guard was put into question, results in four CBS News executives removed from the ranks
• Doug Herzog heads up Spike TV
• Joan & Melissa joined TV Guide Channel for Golden Globes and delivered 800,000+ viewers
• Albie Hecht resigned his post as President of Spike TV
• BET founder and CEO Robert Johnson stepped down – soon thereafter Debra L. Lee stepped up as CEO
• Meredith Broadcasting named Paul Karpowicz President
• Ray Rodriguez to President/COO of Univision
• Daniel Taylor as President of MGM
• David Abraham named EVP/GM of TLC
• Jon Litner will head up the NY Mets new regional sports network (not yet named) as its President
• Pat Mitchell, Pres/CEO of PBS will step down June 2006
• Dennis Patrick upped to Chairman/National Geographic Ventures
• Patrick Younge named EVP/GM for Travel Channel
• Marv Albert will join the YES Network
• Sir Howard Stringer to take over for Sony’s current Chairman/CEO, Nobuyuki Ide who offered his resignation after five years
• DirecTV’s CEO/President Mitch Stern left the building
• Frank Sesno returns to CNN as special correspondent
• BBC’s first layoff round included over 1700 personnel with the final layoff total projected to be 5000 jobs
• Walt Disney Co. named Robert Iger to succeed Michael Eisner as CEO
• MTV Network’s LOGO tapped Lisa Sherman as SVP/GM
• Brian Philips upped to EVP/GM of Viacom owned CMT
• A&E Television Networks President/CEO Nickolas Davatzes retires
• Herb Scannell to Vice Chairman/MTV Networks and President/Nickelodeon Networks
• David Hill to head up DirecTV Entertainment Group
• Gail Berman left her post as President of Fox Entertainment to make a creative name for herself at Paramount
• Tom Gutteridge left his CEO post at FremantleMedia North America
• Peter Liguori named President, Entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company
• Beauty & Fashion Channel named Jim Morrison as General Manager
• Ken Solomon named Chairman/CEO of The Tennis Channel
• Betty Cohen named President/CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services
• Larry Kramer named President, CBS Digital Media
• Telemundo’s top exec rung seen a switch with President and CEO Jim McNamara stepping down and Don Browne stepping up
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s President, Kathleen Cox, resigned
• Omnicom Group’s BBDO Worldwide names William Eccleshare as Chairman/CEO of Advertising and Direct Marketing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
• Judy Woodruff will leave her post at CNN
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Worldwide upped Mike Dunn to President
• ABC News’ Good Morning America upped Robin Roberts to full time co-anchor along side Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson
• John Landgraf named the new President/GM of FX Networks
• Christina Norman appointed President/MTV: Music Television and Tom Calderone named General Manager/VH1
• Robert DeBitetto upped to EVP/GM of A&E Network
• Urban Television Network Corporation named Jacob R. Miles III to CEO
• Shari Redstone, Sumner’s daughter, to be named Vice Chairman of Viacom
• Don Perry named EVP/COO for Clear Channel Television
• Foote, Cone & Belding’s NY based President, Lynne Seid resigned
• Hunter Nickell named EVP/GM of SPEED Channel
• Rick Haskins, EVP/GM of Lifetime resigns
• Marsey Carsey expected to announce her retirement from Carsey-Werner
• Bob Horowitz sets up his own reality production house called Juma Entertainment
• Patricia S. Harrison named President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• Tivo named its Vice Chairman Tom Rogers as its new President/CEO
• Diane Robina named President, Comcast-Sony Networks
• America Online, Inc., named Janet Rolle VP/GM of the AOL Black Voices service
• Media First International named Ed Weiner as President/CEO
• Robert G. Friedman will step down from his post as COO/Vice Chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group
• BET named Reginald Hudlin as President of Entertainment, and Chief Programming Executive
• Rob Moore named President/Worldwide Marketing, Distribution and Operations for Paramount Pictures
• Fred Reynolds left the Viacom building
• FremantleMedia appointed Cecile Frot-Coutaz as its CEO/FremantleMedia North America …
• Lachlan Murdoch announced his resignation from News Corp
• Cox Communications Inc. Pres/CEO James O. Robbins retired at the end of the year
• Heidi Diamond, President/Television for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stepped down – Sheraton Kalouria stepped up
• Brian Roberts re-signed with Comcast for an additional four year term as Chairman/CEO
• Charter Communications named Neil Smit as its new President/CEO
• Banyan Prods. upped Jeanne McHale Waite to CEO
• Neil S. Braun named President/Feature Films and Television for IDT Entertainment
• Roger Ailes, Chairman of Fox News Channel, will take over where Lachlan Murdoch left off, as Chairman of News Corp.’s Station Group
• Fredric G. Reynolds will return as EVP/CFO of the new CBS Corporation after the split of Viacom into two independent companies
• Ryan O’Hara named President of TV Guide Channel .
• Si TV named Michael Schwimmer as CEO
• The Africa Channel named Bob Reid as EVP/Network GM
• Susanne Daniels named President/Entertainment, Lifetime Entertainment Services
• President of NBC News, Neal Shapiro resigned
• Warner Bros. Entertainment pulled in one of its own to become President of the new Warner Bros. Television Group: Bruce Rosenblum
• Patricia Wyatt to President/HIT North America
• America Online, Inc. named Nicholas Charles to Editor-In-Chief/AOL Black Voices
• Tom Kane named President/CEO of Viacom Television Stations Group
• Sandra Stern named EVP/COO of Lions Gate Television
• Turnover at Lifetime – exiting the network are two top level executives: Kelly Good, SVP/Original Series, and Bill Brand, SVP/Alternative Programming
• Eileen O’Neill upped to EVP/GM of Discovery Health Channel
• Vivian Schiller promoted to EVP/GM of Discovery Times Channel
• Stuart Snyder named General Manager of GameTap
• John D. Maatta, named COO/The WB Television Network
• Patrick Scott, President of The Weather Channel Networks, announced his retirement
• Kevin Kay appointed to GM/EVP/Sales Spike TV
• HBO named Jim Moloshok as its President/Media Ventures
• Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. promoted Scott Crystal to President/TV Guide Publishing Group
• Dennis Swanson named President/Station Operations at Fox Television Group
• Hispanic Communications Network (HCN) named Carlos Alcazar as President
• Patrick Mullen announced his resignation and will be leaving Tribune Broadcasting
• Lester Crystal named President/MacNeil Lehrer Productions after serving as executive producer of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer for the past 22 years
• Paramount Domestic Television signed Judge Judy to another four years
• Lifetime Movie Network upped Louise Henry Bryson to EVP/GM of the network
• Jewell Engstrom promoted to CFO and EVP/Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group
• James L. Hedges promoted to CFO and EVP/ABC Television Network and Touchstone Television Studios
• Mitch Semel, SVP/Nick-at-Nite and TV Land, resigned
• Judy Girard named President of HGTV
• Sean McManus named President of CBS News and Sports
• Renetta McCann named CEO of Starcom MediaVest
• Michael J. Wolf named President/COO, MTV Networks
• James G. Held named President and Chairman/Shop At Home
• Petry Media Corporation announced that Richard H. Soule, Jr. hired as President/Petry International
• Genius Products named Christine Martinez/GM and EVP
• Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. promoted Michael Clayton to GM and EVP/TV Guide Publishing Group
• TV Azteca named Adrian Steckel as President/CEO of Azteca America
• Bud Paxson resigned as Chairman/CEO
• Tribune Company named John Reardon as President/CEO of its broadcast group
• Scripps Networks named Kathleen Finch as SVP/GM of DIY Network
• Atlantic Video, Inc., upped Ed Milligan to President
• Horowitz Associates Inc. named Fred Petrosino as General Manager, Broadcast
• Kathleen Abernathy a Republican Commissioner of the FCC, resigned
• Gary Zenkel upped to President/NBC Olympics
• ESPN named Gerardo Casanova as its first GM in Mexico
• Thomas F. Burchill named CEO of Venaca, Inc.
• E! Networks named Salaam Coleman Smith as SVP/Style Network
• Walt Disney Studios upped Alan Bergman to President
• NBC ups Jeff Zucker from President/NBCU TV Group to CEO, and Randy Falco named President/COO of the newly-integrated NBC Universal Television Group. Additionally, Beth Comstock appointed to the newly created position of President/NBCU Digital Media and Market Development
• DreamWorks Animation SKG board member and former Vice Chairman/CFO, Bank of America Lewis Coleman named Pres/DreamWorks Animation SKG
• Lynn Picard named to the newly created position of EVP/Interactive Entertainment at Lifetime Entertainment Services, and promoted to President/Ad Sales, Lifetime
• Also Lifetime Entertainment Services upped Louise Henry Bryson to President/Distribution and Affiliate Business Development
• Ryan Seacrest to host E! News
• Dan Harrison named SVP/Emerging Networks, overseeing Sleuth
• Jeff Bewkes named President/COO of Time Warner Inc.
• ImaginAsian Entertainment names J. Edward Lee as EVP/COO

IN MEMORIUM:

Jerry Orbach … Marilyn Oliveri … Lamont Bentley … Steven Cohen … Ossie Davis … George Herman … Tim Nesvig … Najai Turpin … Sandra Dee … Stuart “Red” Martin … John Paul “Jack” Turner … Walter A. Ward III … Frank Gorshin … Howard Morris  … Eddie Albert … Anne Bancroft … Dana Elcar … Carol Scott Caramadre … Steve Bell … James Doohan … Peter Jennings … John H. Johnson … Barbara Bel Geddes … Steve Ramsey … Bob “Gilligan” Denver … Chris Schenkel … Don Adams … Nipsey Russell … Carol Lynn Jordan … Louis Nye … Michael Piller … Albert P. Krivin … Nancy Palmero … Eduardo Gory Guerrero … Steven M. Friedman … Berl Rotfeld … Noriyuki Morita aka Pat Morita … Wendie Jo Sperber … Richard Pryor … John Spencer … Walter A. Schwartz.
Later  — Cyn11.12.07

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