'Lost' Actress Chooses Jail Over Service (AP)
April 25, 2006
AP - "Lost" actress Michelle Rodriguez pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a single count of driving under the influence, choosing to pay a $500 fine and spend five days in jail rather than do 240 hours of community service.
Disney-ABC exec says online offerings fight piracy (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - The ABC television network's decision to sell its content online, while angering affiliates, was aimed at preventing piracy from eroding the broadcasting business, a senior network executive said on Tuesday.
"Alias" Ratings Rebirth (E! Online)
April 25, 2006
E! Online - Katie Holmes and Brooke Shields were much watched new mothers last
week. But where the prime-time TV ratings were concerned, Sydney Bristow
was the most watched new mother.
NBC Schedules 'Dateline NBC' on Pedophiles (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - NBC has scheduled four hours of "Dateline NBC" episodes about its sting operations to catch pedophiles — three of them during the May ratings sweeps period.
Too Late to Prosecute in ABC Beating Case (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - ABC's failure to contact authorities about a father beating his teenage daughter before airing it on "Primetime" last week prevented any criminal prosecution in the case, the prosecutor who could have pursued those charges said on Tuesday.
New TiVo boxes let users record two shows at once (Reuters)
April 25, 2006
Reuters - TiVo Inc. said on Tuesday it will
start to sell digital video recorders with dual tuners that
allow users to record two television programs simultaneously.
Fox a Frontrunner Going Into Sweeps (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - Fox had the three most popular programs on television last week as broadcasters took a breath before the start of May ratings sweeps and the season's conclusion.
"Alias" Ratings Rebirth
April 25, 2006
Katie Holmes and Brooke Shields were much watched new mothers last week. But where the prime-time TV ratings were concerned, Sydney Bristow was the most watched new mother.
Back-to-back episodes of "Alias," featuring Jennifer Garner's alter ego going into labor and giving birth, posted the spy show's best numbers since its season premiere, ABC said.
The two-hour labor-inducing event averaged 7.5 million viewers, placing 48th in the latest Nielsen Media Research rankings.
NFL Network to Televise Senior Bowl (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - The NFL Network has acquired the rights to the Senior Bowl.
Martin: Indecency TV Campaign Falls Short (AP)
April 25, 2006
AP - A $300 million educational campaign planned by TV broadcasters to ward off increased federal regulation of indecent program content doesn't go far enough, Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said Tuesday.
'Idol's Ryan and Paula Disagree on Feud (AP)
April 25, 2006
AP - "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest says he and judge Paula Abdul aren't speaking to one another, but Abdul calls reports of a feud "ridiculous."
"Prison Break" Heads to Cells (E! Online)
April 25, 2006
E! Online - Calling all cars, calling all cars--Prison Break is
making a run for your cell phones.
MTV 'Popetown' Ad Draws Complaint (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - A German conservative leader said Tuesday he has filed a complaint with prosecutors accusing music channel MTV of disparaging Christianity in an ad for its Vatican parody cartoon "Popetown," which depicts the pope as a pogo-stick riding brat.
It's Take As Take Can in 'Sopranos' World (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - Nobody's safe in the world of "The Sopranos" — not even Lauren Bacall. The elderly screen star ended up beaten and lying on a sidewalk after Christopher and his pal Murmur forcibly helped themselves to a basket of celebrity swag she was carrying. (Spoiler alert: Stop reading now if you've saved the episode for later viewing.)
Shooting for More on 'Numb3rs' (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - A bullet hole joins the X's and Y's and + and - symbols scrawled on the chalkboard.
John Lennon asks for peace, says pay TV seance (Reuters)
April 25, 2006
Reuters - "Peace ... The Message is Peace."
NBC's "Meet the Press" logs fifth year at No. 1 (Reuters)
April 25, 2006
Reuters - NBC's "Meet the Press,"
the longest-running public affairs program on TV, marked five
years on top of the ratings with Sunday's show.
ABC, unions reach deal on cell phone TV shows (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - Walt Disney Co. has reached a deal with the Hollywood unions that will put the long-delayed "mobisode" spinoff of hit ABC series "Lost" back on track, the company said Monday.
BET gets real with Vince Young, DMX (Reuters)
April 25, 2006
Reuters - BET is developing a reality
series involving football player Vince Young and rapper DMX.
Familiar, new faces for CW network's kids block (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - Superman, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry are among the familiar characters that will be featured in new series on the 2006-07 schedule of "Kids' WB!" a five-hour animation block that will move to the CW when it launches in the fall.
"Prison" Heads to Cells
April 25, 2006
Calling all cars, calling all cars--"Prison Break" is making a run for your cell phones.
Fox announced Monday that it will produce a series of two-minute mobisodes--teeny TV episodes for mobile phones--that complement the plot of the hit save-my-brother-or-bust drama "Prison Break."
The 26-installment serial, "Prison Break: Proof of Innocence," introduces the character Amber McCall, who works feverishly to clear her friend L.J.--son of the wrongly convicted Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Pursell)--after L.J. is framed for murder.
Sex Offender Profiled by Winfrey Sentenced (AP)
April 25, 2006AP - A man arrested last fall on sex abuse charges after he was profiled on "The Ophrah Winfrey Show" was sentenced Monday to 52 years in prison.
TV seance: Lennon asks for...peace (Reuters)
April 25, 2006
Reuters - "Peace ... The Message is Peace."
Hollywood unions in deal on cell phone TV shows (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - Three Hollywood craft unions on Monday said they reached a landmark deal with Touchstone Television setting pay and working conditions for the making of mini-episodes of the hit ABC series "Lost" to be shown on mobile telephones.
TV stations seek share of networks' new revenue (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - U.S. television networks and their local affiliates should share revenue from programming offered on new gadgets such as iPods, laptop computers or mobile phones, the head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) said on Monday.
"Night" falls at CMT for Foxworthy (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - Country-flavored cable channel CMT has collared "Blue Collar TV" star Jeff Foxworthy for his own series .
Rather: Couric Will Need to Be a Leader (AP)
April 25, 2006
AP - Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather wished his successor luck Monday, but said Katie Couric will need to be a leader and demonstrate a passion for news to succeed in the anchor chair.
ABC Gives Fans a "Lost Experience" (E! Online)
April 25, 2006
E! Online - ABC has devised a way to keep fans of its hit show confused, guessing
and on the edge of their seats during the lazy days of summer reruns.
The network announced Monday the creation of an interactive
multiplatform treasure hunt game called Lost Experience that will
introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost's signature mix
of supernatural and psychological mystery.
NBC, Maury Povich hit with sexual harassment suit (Reuters)
April 25, 2006Reuters - TV talk show host Maury Povich was hit with a $100 million lawsuit on Monday by a producer who alleges she was forced to expose herself in the studio for crude videos that were shown to guests of the show.
Summer's "Lost Experience"
April 25, 2006
You can be a winner at the game of "Lost."
ABC has devised a way to keep fans of its hit show confused, guessing and on the edge of their seats during the lazy days of summer reruns. The network announced Monday the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure hunt game called "Lost Experience" that will introduce a new story line but stay true to "Lost's" signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.
The "Lost Experience" will require players to trade e-mail messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and websites to gather all the necessary clues.