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Consumers Warm Slightly To Cable But Still Prefer Satellite And Telco Video: Study
2 hours ago
Despite the growing talk about pay TV cord cutting, providers can feel Ok — not great — about consumer attitudes toward them, according to the latest annual measure from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Subscribers gave cable, satellite, and telco video providers the highest overall satisfaction score Acsi has seen in the 13 years it has measured the public’s feelings about subscription TV. The score of 68 is up 3% vs last year, which Acsi calls “a glimmer of good news.” Even so, researchers say that pay TV remains “among the lowest-scoring industries” they study. Annual price hikes of 6% or so and “sporadic reliability” keep the group just slightly ahead of airlines (67) and Internet service providers (65) but well behind TV and video players/recorders (86), soft drinks (84) and autos and light vehicles (83). (Internet news and information services also come out ahead at 73.) Consumer attitudes vary widely by provider. Time Warner Cable took it on the »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
NBC To Air Live Special On Tornado In Tuesday’s ‘Voice’ Recap Slot
3 hours ago
The network and its sister outlets MSNBC and the Weather Channel will focus Tuesday on coverage of today’s massive twister that cut a huge swath of destruction near Oklahoma City. Along with live coverage from devastated Moore, Okla., on NBC’s Today and MSNBC’s morning programs, the broadcast network will air a one-hour special hosted by Brian Williams live from the scene at 8 Pm Et (delayed in other time zones). That will pre-empt a recap show of The Voice featuring the top 10 performances; a new live episode of the singing competition will air as scheduled in the 9 Pm hour. Meanwhile, the Williams-anchored NBC Nightly News is slated to run in its regular half-hour starting at 6:30 Pm and is not expected to be expanded. Today’s Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales and Willie Geist also will report from Moore, as will Lester Holt, Ann Curry, »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Hot TV Clip: FearNet’s ‘Holliston’ Season 2
5 hours ago
Exclusive: Here’s a clip from Season 2 of FEARnet‘s original comedy series Holliston, which premieres at 10 Pm Tuesday, June 4. Starring Adam Green and Joe Lynch, Holliston is set in Green’s real-life hometown of Holliston, Mass., and follows the daily exploits of Adam and Joe — two aspiring horror filmmakers, dealing with the struggles of post-college life and relationships while trying to make their big break in the business. Check it out: Click here to view the embedded video. »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Wme Signs Actor Christopher Abbott
5 hours ago
Christopher Abbott has signed with Wme. Abbott made headlines recently with his decision to abruptly leave HBO‘s comedy series Girls, on which he played Allison Williams’ boyfriend Charlie for the first two seasons. Abbott, who continues to be repped by Parseghian Planco, co-stars in Burma, which debuted at this year’s SXSW where it received jury recognition for Best Ensemble. He will next be seen in Mona Fastvold’s The Sleepwalker. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
‘The Big C’ Finale Airs On Showtime Tonight
6 hours ago
Ray Richmond contributes to Deadline’s TV coverage. Showtime and the producers of The Big C end Cathy Jamison’s personal cancer saga in hospice care tonight with its fourth and Hereafter season finale. Executive producer and showrunner Jenny Bicks naturally declined to divulge whether Cathy (Laura Linney) dies tonight, though she and fellow exec producer Darlene Hunt co-wrote. The mini-series’ four last episodes span a year in the life of the lead character, each separated by roughly three months. The finale follows Angelina Jolie’s shocking May 14 announcement that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy, which spurred a slew of press calls to Showtime and the Big C team. Bicks, herself an early-stage breast cancer survivor, told Deadline. “It has really drawn attention to us in a way we couldn’t have anticipated,” she said. “I hope we’ve done something to help more people recognize that cancer »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Obama Scandals Bring MSNBC 7-Year Low While Fox News Rises
6 hours ago
The scandals of the Obama administration seem to be hurting not just the White House but MSNBC as well while Fox News Channel scored its second-best week of the year. After double-digit gains during last year’s presidential election, May 13-17 saw the progressive-aligned “Lean Forward” news network hit new lows as the IRS scandal erupted and revelations that the Justice Department secretly obtained AP records became public. With 350,000 viewers on average and 94,000 among the adults 25-54 demo, MSNBC had its least-watched and lowest-rated total-day results of the year last week. That was also the lowest total-day demo result the network has had since the week of June 26-July 2, 2006, when MSNBC pulled in just 83,000 viewers among adults 25-54, according to Nielsen data. Related: Fox News Tops 2012 Cable News Network Ratings; MSNBC Up Last week’s total day results were down 17% in viewers and 22% among the demo from the comparable May »
- DOMINIC PATTEN
Season Finale Of CBS’ ‘Mike & Molly’ Pulled Over Tornado Storyline
6 hours ago
CBS has pulled tonight’s Mike & Molly third season finale out of sensitivity to the victims of the devastating tornado in Oklahoma. Titled Windy City, the season finale features Mike and Molly confessing important news to each other as a tornado descends on Chicago. The episode will be replaced by a rerun tonight and broadcast at a later time. Mike & Molly is not on the fall schedule but has been picked up for a 22-episode fourth season. Related: ‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To Exit, Al Higgins Upped »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
WGA Sets Rally For Striking ‘Fashion Police’ Writers
7 hours ago
Less than a week after E! President Suzanne Kolb told striking writers on Fashion Police that their guild is the real enemy, the WGA has organized a rally in support of the picketers. In an email to its members today, the guild said the action is set for 11:30 Am-12:30 Pm Thursday, May 23, at E!’s headquarters on La’s Miracle Mile. Writers on the series hosted by fellow WGA member Joan Rivers went on strike in April claiming E! owes them more than $1M in back wages. Related: E! Tells Striking ‘Fashion Police’ Writers WGA Is Costing Them Money Related: Striking Writers on E!’s ‘Fashion Police’ Clarify Their Stance »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Ang Lee Departs FX Pilot ‘Tyrant’
7 hours ago
Update 4:15 Pm: Here is Ang Lee’s statement about his departure from Tyrant. It is with disappointment that I must confirm I have withdrawn from my commitment to direct the upcoming FX pilot Tyrant. It is one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I’ve seen and one about which I was very excited. However, after spending over four years making and promoting Life Of Pi, I have recently realized that I need some rest . Because I cannot give 100% to this exciting project at this time, I cannot allow myself to do anything that may affect the potential for this exciting new series. I wish Fox 21 and FX the best with this remarkable project. Exclusive 2:50 Pm: Oscar-winning director Ang Lee has pulled out of directing high-profile FX drama pilot Tyrant, from Homeland executive producers Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff and Six Feet Under alum Craig Wright. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Mia Maestro Set As Female Lead In FX Pilot ‘The Strain’
7 hours ago
Breaking Dawn‘s Mia Maestro is set to star opposite Corey Stoll in FX‘s high-profile drama project The Strain, from filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and veteran showrunner Carlton Cuse. The Strain, an adaptation of del Toro’s vampire novel trilogy, formally has a pilot order, but is being eyed for a 13-episode series pickup. The Strain is a high-concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Stoll), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. Actress-singer Maestro, repped by ICM Partners and 3 Arts, plays Dr. Nora Martinez, who works so closely with Ephraim, they finish each other’s sentences and stumble into an affair. A brilliant biochemist, Martinez cares more about people than the diseases that threaten them, »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Lawmakers Say Apple Exploits Loopholes To Avoid Paying $10B A Year In U.S. Taxes
8 hours ago
Apple CEO Tim Cook can expect a tough grilling about his company’s tax practices tomorrow when he appears before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on “Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code.” An 18-month bipartisan investigation — whose findings were summarized in a memo released today – charges that Apple’s offshore subsidiary, Apple Operations International, reported net income of $30B from 2009 to 2012 but “declined to declare any tax residence, filed no corporate income tax return, and paid no corporate income taxes to any national government for five years.” In addition, Ireland-based Apple Sales International generated $74B in sales income over four years but allegedly “paid taxes on only a tiny fraction of that income” after the company negotiated a deal with the government that enabled Apple to pay a tax rate of less than 2% vs the statutory rate of 12%. All told, the investigation found »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
‘666 Park Avenue’s Unaired Episodes Slated For Summer, Will Be Paired With ‘Zero Hour’
8 hours ago
Cancelled ABC drama 666 Park Avenue will return on Saturday, June 22, with the unaired episodes slated to run in the Saturday 9 Pm slot for four weeks. 666 Park Ave will be paired with another short-lived ABC freshman drama, Zero Hour, whose unaired episodes will launch on June 15 from 8-10 Pm and will air in the Saturday 8 Pm hour starting June 22, leading into 666 Park Ave. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Warner Bros TV & ‘Smallville’ Co-Creators End Legal Battle
9 hours ago
Warner Bros Television and the creators of Smallville are not taking their multimillion-dollar legal battle to a jury after all. Lawyers for Wbtv and co-creators/writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough announced in a hearing today that they have reached a settlement in their breach of contract and conflict of interest dispute. No details of the settlement were made public. La Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson told the parties today that they now have until August 30 to file a formal request for dismissal. Millar and Gough along with Tollin/Robbins Productions claimed in their initial $100 million vertical integration suit, first filed in March 2010, that Wbtv signed low-balling licensing deals with the WB and later the CW that were nowhere near the requisite arms-length nor conducted with the good faith that they should have been. Tollin/Robbins came to a settlement with Wbtv back in early January. Smallville debuted on the »
- DOMINIC PATTEN
Deadline Hollywood Lights Up Times Square
9 hours ago
Ads for Deadline Hollywood were visible every 10 minutes on the Fox Screen by Sony Monday through Friday during last week’s TV upfronts. The brainstorm of Dh business manager and advertising czar Nic Paul, our message flashed on state-of-the-art Led display technology measuring almost 35′ high and 40′ wide on some of the most valuable real estate in NYC’s Times Square. Cool, huh? »
- NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief
TiVo Beats Q1 Financial Forecasts As Pay TV Subscriptions Rise
10 hours ago
The DVR pioneer says that it added 277,000 subscriptions from cable and satellite companies, the biggest increase from pay TV providers in more than seven years. And although TiVo continues to spill red ink, it wasn’t as bad as the Street envisioned. The company says it had a net loss of $10.3M in the three months that ended in April, down from a $20.8M loss in the period a year ago, on revenues of $82.6M, +21.8%. The top line far exceeded the $61.9M that analysts expected. The net loss at 9 cents a share also beat predictions for a 14 cent loss. The loss includes $10.9M in litigation expenses as TiVo prepares for a potentially important copyright infringement trial against Motorola which is due to begin on June 10 in Texas. TiVo had 3.4M subscriptions at the end of April, +8.1% vs the end of January. The growth is all due to sales of TiVo »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
Trio Join VH1′s ‘Single Ladies’, Darin Brooks Added To ‘The Bold & The Beautiful’
10 hours ago
Letoya Luckett, Damien Wayans and Lesley-Ann Brandt have been added to VH1‘s series Single Ladies. They are set for major recurring/possible regular roles. Luckett will play Felicia Price, the icy and aloof founder and Senior Partner of Price Management, one of the most influential music management companies in the world. Wayans will play David Berenger, April’s (Charity Shea) main foil at Price Management — a masterful sycophant, and a slick manager on the Atlanta music scene. Brandt, repped by Innovative and New Wave Entertainment, plays Naomi Cox, a demure, sexy, scheming gold-digger who is a constant thorn in Keisha’s (LisaRaye McCoy) side. Luckett and Wayans are repped by Resolution. Days Of Our Lives alum Darin Brooks is returning to daytime with a role on CBS’ The Bold & The Beautiful. He will play Wyatt Fuller, a bold, sexy and mysterious young man who unexpectedly finds himself in the midst of the Forresters, »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Barnes & Noble Shares Rise On Speculation About Deals And Changes For The Nook
11 hours ago
The book retail chain’s shares are up 8.1% in mid-afternoon trading, making it one of the day’s biggest gainers in the media pack. Barron’s appears to be largely responsible for the move after it seized this weekend on reports that Microsoft might be willing to pay $1B for Barnes & Noble‘s Nook tablet and e-reader platform. “It’s possible Microsoft may bid for Nook or the whole company, and there could also be interest from Liberty [Media]” which already owns 17% of Barnes & Noble, Barron’s says. Deals could send shares up as much as 50% the magazine estimates. The Microsoft rumor took off two weeks ago after Techcrunch cited “internal documents” that confirmed an offer. That sent shares to a 52-week high of $23.71. But enthusiasm fizzled last week when website Insider Monkey reported that a “highly placed source inside Microsoft” said an acquisition “is not happening in the foreseeable future. »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
Upfronts 2013: TV Spinoffs’ Almost Perfect Year
12 hours ago
As movie sequels dominate the box office with more than 30 slated this year alone, including Iron Man 3, Star Trek 2 and Hangover 3, television too is increasingly relying on expanding TV franchises. In a symbolic move, as the last CSI spinoff, CSI: NY, bowed out this season, a record three new spinoff series are joining the broadcast schedule for next season: The Once Upon A Time spinoff Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, The Vampire Diaries offshoot The Originals on the CW, and Chicago Fire‘s Chicago Pd on NBC. They will join returning spinoffs NCIS: La and Law & Order: Svu. Of the four spinoff projects that were in consideration for next season, only one, CBS’ NCIS: Red, didn’t get a series pickup. “Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t,” CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler said last week about the decision. “Protecting (the NCIS franchise) was really important. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Mignon Clyburn Takes Charge At FCC
12 hours ago
The FCC Commissioner became Acting Chair — and the first women to run the regulatory agency — on Saturday taking the job just vacated by Julius Genachowski until the Senate (presumably) confirms President Obama’s choice to replace him, Tom Wheeler. “I see myself as a member of a relay team, running one of the middle legs,” Clyburn told FCC staffers today. “My job is to build on forward momentum, give the next teammate a running start, an improved position, and no matter what, my goal is not to drop the baton.” It could take months before she can pass that baton to Wheeler. The Senate likely will confirm him in tandem with a Republican to replace former Commissioner Robert McDowell who left the FCC on Friday. Presidents typically appoint someone recommended by the opposition leadership when there’s an FCC opening for the out party. But the Senate Gop has yet to make its pick. »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
NBC Acquires Sierra/Engine’s ‘Siberia’ Mystery Drama Series For Summer Run
12 hours ago
NBC has acquired 13-episode drama series Siberia, from Sierra/Engine Television and producer Michael Ohoven from Infinity Media. The mystery drama will premiere on July 1 and air in the Monday 10 Pm slot. Siberia is set in the remote Siberian territory of Tunguska, location of the largest impact event on Earth, the massive 1908 explosion, believed to have been caused by a meteoroid or comet, which knocked down some 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles. More than 100 years later, 16 reality-show contestants descend on Tunguska unknowing of the land’s mysterious past. When a contestant is badly injured and no help arrives the contestants realize that the strange occurrences are not part of the show. With their safety threatened, competing contestants must band together in an effort to survive. The series, said to be in the vein of The Blair Witch Project, is wrapping production. It was unveiled at the recent Miptv by Sierra/Engine, »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
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