Blog Archives
NBC Wants Jay Leno To Stay
NBC Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt doesn’t know the definition of insanity. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Greenblatt told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour that he hopes Jay Leno stays with NBC, after his run at The Tonight Show is over and Jimmy Fallon takes over as host. Clearly, the Peacock Network is conveniently ignoring the lessons it should have learned from situations with Conan O’Brien and, his Late Night predecessor, David Letterman. The golden rule at NBC should be: “Until Jay Leno no longer works here, don’t give The Tonight Show to the host of Late Night.”
More Tribune Stations Go Dark on Cablevison
WGN America and Fox affiliate WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut, two channels previously unaffected by Tribune’s dispute with Cablevision, have gone dark. With the addition of WGN America and WTIC, Cablevision has now lost a total of 6 Tribune stations.
According to Cablevision, 50,000 Cablevision customers’ sole source of Fox programming was WTIC. However, the majority of Connecticut customers still receive New York City’s Fox affliate, WNYW.
Since August 17, Cablevision customers in various parts of the country have been unable to watch WPIX in New York, WPHL in Philadelphia, KWGN in Denver, and WCCT in Connecticut. The former two stations are My Network affiliates, while the latter two are affiliates of the CW. In addition to the main channels, Cablevision customers in the New York City and Philadelphia areas lost Antenna TV.
Tribune Stations Go Dark on Cablevision
Last night at midnight, four Tribune Broadcasting stations, two My Network affiliates and two CW affiliates, went dark for Cablevision customers because of a disagreement on retransmission consent fees. The affected stations are WPIX in New York, WPHL in Philadelphia, KWGN in Denver, and WCCT in Connecticut.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cablevision says, “The bankrupt Tribune Co. and the hedge funds and banks that own it, including Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo Gordon & Co. and others, are trying to solve Tribune’s financial problems on the backs of Cablevision customers. Tribune and their hedge fund owners are demanding tens of millions in new fees for WPIX and other stations they own. They should stop their anti-consumer demands and work productively to reach an agreement.”
Dish Subscribers Will Have Access to Breaking Bad Premiere
At the end of last month, Dish Network dropped AMC from its service. However, all is not lost for fans of AMC’s Breaking Bad. The network is making the season 5 premiere of Breaking Bad available via a live stream at www.amctv.com/breakingbad4dish. Dish customers will be able to register for access to the live stream beginning today at 3pm. The live stream will begin this Sunday at 10pm, which is the same time Breaking Bad will begin its fifth season on AMC.
Weekly TV Update: July 9
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Ernest Borgnine dies at 95. Before his death, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Borgnine about his 32 day marriage and his recurring role on Spongebob.
CBS and the cast of Happy Days reach an out of court settlement. The cast, minus Ron Howard and Henry Winkler, were suing because CBS was using their images in merchandising without paying royalties.
Adam Lambert may become the newest judge on American Idol.
Demi Lovato will host the 2012 Teen Choice Awards.
Clark Gable Is the New Host of Cheaters
Clark Gable, grandson of the actor Clark Gable, will replace Joey Greco as host of Cheaters. Executive producer Bobby Goldstein, who created the confrontational show where people confront their cheating significant other, told The Hollywood Reporter, “We just felt it was time to freshen up the show with a new host.”
Before landing the gig with Cheaters, Gable modeled and had a minor role in the low-budget Italian film Looking for Clara. When it comes to acting, Gable says, “It’s in my blood, and I really want to do it. Just like my grandfather. But I don’t want to be compared to him in any way because I am different. I just happen to be born into these great circumstances, so I feel it gives me a great opportunity for what I want to do.”
Seasame Street May Take a Trip to the Movies
The Hollywood Reporter reports that 2oth Century Fox has bought the movie rights to Seasame Street.
The show has had two other theatrical releases: Follow That Bird in 1985 and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland in 1999. The movies were distributed by Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, respectively.
Wait! What's A Dial? 