NBC – News Stories About NBC - Page 22

Oct 24, 2008 9:38 AM CDT

NBC Stalls Runway, Readies Copycat

Lifetime switch stalled as Bravo launches Fashion House

(Newser) - NBC is using its legal muscle to keep Project Runway from airing on Lifetime while it launches a copycat show on its Bravo channel, reports the New York Post's Page Six. Details about Fashion House in Cragslist casting calls make it sound like a replica of the fashion original. The...

Drenched in Watercooler Moments, SNL Is Hot Again

Oct 18, 2008 5:00 PM CDT

Drenched in Watercooler Moments, SNL Is Hot Again

Late-night is the standout hit of the fall season

(Newser) - The fall TV ratings are in, and while Heroes needs saving and House is collapsing, Saturday Night Live has emerged as the biggest hit of the season, Maureen Ryan writes in the Chicago Tribune. Unlike other shows, SNL’s live ratings have jumped nearly 50% in its 34th season. “...

Madden Takes First Weekend Off in 28 Years

Oct 14, 2008 2:16 PM CDT

Madden Takes First Weekend Off in 28 Years

NFL commentator ends 476-game streak to see the grandkids

(Newser) - For the first time in 28 years, sportscaster John Madden will not call a regular-season NFL game this weekend, ending an impressive run of 476 without absence, the Washington Post reports. The hiatus is expected to be short for Madden—now 72 and working NBC’s Sunday-night broadcast—who crisscrosses...

NBC Pages
Seek Bigtime
on $10/Hour

Oct 13, 2008 6:57 PM CDT

NBC Pages Seek Bigtime on $10/Hour

Ted Koppel, Regis Philbin alums of yearlong program

(Newser) - Screaming girls, predawn starts, and 6-day weeks are a lot to handle on $10 an hour—but NBC pages see success at the end of the tunnel, the New York Times reports. They know that hours of smiling schlep work—think photocopies and coffee—have led luminaries like Regis Philbin...

Fey's Everywhere; 30 Rock MIA

Oct 13, 2008 3:09 PM CDT

Fey's Everywhere; 30 Rock MIA

NBC's moves to promote show's popularity miss the mark

(Newser) - Tina Fey’s popularity is at an all-time high, but NBC hasn’t tried to capitalize by moving up the season debut of her critically acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock. NBC has struggled to boost the show’s ratings, the New York Times reports, and hopes three Saturday Night Live specials...

In Tough Times,
TV Goes Blue-Collar

Oct 12, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

In Tough Times, TV Goes Blue-Collar

(Newser) - As the financial crisis deepens, expect TV to trade upper-crust environs for jokes about crustiness, reports the New York Post. Entertainment execs are pushing the development of blue-collar comedies that allow for a little old-fashioned escapism. "I don't think audiences want to see a show about the fall of...

Kath & Kim Is Floppy Seconds

TV REVIEW

Oct 9, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Kath & Kim Is Floppy Seconds

Aussie remake misses satirical mark

(Newser) - As if Knight Rider wasn't bad enough, NBC continues to look like a college kid "furnishing an apartment out of mom's hand-me-downs" in debuting the "witlessly Americanized" sitcom Kath & Kim, writes Robert Bianco in USA Today. The Australian remake wastes Molly Shannon's talents while "exposing the...

'YouTube of
Variety Shows'
Will Star Rosie

Oct 2, 2008 11:57 AM CDT

'YouTube of Variety Shows' Will Star Rosie

(Newser) - Rosie O'Donnell will launch an attempt to revive both her TV career and the variety genre the night before Thanksgiving, hosting Rosie's Variety Show live on NBC, Variety reports. The 1-hour show will feature celeb guests and musical and comedy acts. It's is believed to be the precursor to a...

Buffett Grabs
$3B Chunk of GE

Oct 2, 2008 3:59 AM CDT

Buffett Grabs $3B Chunk of GE

Shrewd market player aiming for windfall after chaos clears

(Newser) - Mega-pockets investor Warren Buffett is sinking $3 billion into General Electric, whose share prices have slumped a third amid the financial chaos on Wall Street, Reuters reports. Buffet, 78, negotiated a 10% dividend, which could generate $300 million income a year. The move comes a week after he invested $5...

In His Encore, Brokaw
Again a Heavy-Hitter for NBC

Sep 30, 2008 10:47 AM CDT

In His Encore, Brokaw Again a Heavy-Hitter for NBC

Russert's fill-in has played diplomat between NBC, McCain

(Newser) - NBC is preparing for a post-Brokaw Meet the Press, but replacing the elder statesman won’t be easy, the New York Times reports. Brokaw has exceeded expectations as a fill-in for Tim Russert, keeping NBC’s Sunday show atop the ratings. Less publicly, he’s been a crucial diplomat between...

Is Brady's Injury a Financial Disaster?

Sep 13, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Is Brady's Injury a Financial Disaster?

CBS execs expect to lose millions, but hope Favre will draw viewers

(Newser) - Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury may have crippled the New England Patriots, but what will it cost in dollars and cents? As the NFL’s marquee player, Tom Brady is a money-making machine—yet executives at CBS, which pays $622 million for the AFC package, won't say how many...

Obama Set for Return Engagement on SNL

Sep 12, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Obama Set for Return Engagement on SNL

Democrat will appear in sketch during tomorrow night's season premiere

(Newser) - Barack Obama will make his second appearance on Saturday Night Live tomorrow night, the AP reports. The Democratic presidential nominee first appeared on the NBC show in November, playing himself in a skit set at a Halloween party thrown by his then-rival and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Michael Phelps will...

Apple Touts New iPods, but Stock Stumbles

Sep 9, 2008 3:16 PM CDT

Apple Touts New iPods, but Stock Stumbles

New gizmos thin—as is Jobs, who pokes fun at alleged health crisis

(Newser) - Steve Jobs unveiled an overhauled line of Apple gadgets today—thinner iPod Nano and Touch devices—and a shiny new deal with NBC, but not before spoofing reports of his poor health, Reuters notes. Borrowing a line from Mark Twain, the Apple chief and cancer survivor flashed a message on...

It's Not Too
Late, MSNBC: 'Stay Crazy'

OPINION

Sep 8, 2008 5:09 PM CDT

It's Not Too Late, MSNBC: 'Stay Crazy'

Blogger calls for Matthews, Olbermann to keep their jobs

(Newser) - David Gregory will be the face of MSNBC's election coverage, and the ouster of "loud shouty people" Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews isn't sitting well with at least one viewer. "It's a stupid, stupid idea, for many reasons," Alex Pareene writes on Gawker of NBC Universal's decision....

Adobe Tops Microsoft
for NFL Streaming

Sep 7, 2008 8:25 PM CDT

Adobe Tops Microsoft for NFL Streaming

(Newser) - Power up, football fans: NFL is streaming its NBC Sunday night games live for free, CNET reports. Using Adobe's Flash, it streamed one game this week and is continuing tonight with the Chicago Bears' matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The technology offers a few tricks, too: a “star cam”...

Swayze Joins Cancer Telethon

Sep 6, 2008 6:48 AM CDT

Swayze Joins Cancer Telethon

Celebrities touched by cancer join historic 3-network telethon

(Newser) - Dozens of Hollywood's finest got together for a historic hour-long, three-network telethon in support of cancer research last night, reports AP. They included cancer survivors Elizabeth Edwards, Christina Applegate and Lance Armstrong, among several others, who made passionate pleas for funding to fight the disease. Cancer kills 550,000 Americans...

What's
Eating
Alec
Baldwin?

GLOSSIES

Sep 6, 2008 5:09 AM CDT

What's Eating Alec Baldwin?

'I don’t think I really have a talent for movie acting,' laments Red October star

(Newser) - Alec Baldwin—star of a hit TV show, winner of Golden Globes and SAG Awards, co-star to Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman—isn't all that jazzed about acting anymore. “There’s just something else I want to do,” the 50-year-old actor tells Ian Parker in the...

'Dr. Greene' to Return to ER

Sep 5, 2008 11:20 AM CDT

'Dr. Greene' to Return to ER

Edwards will reprise role as dead character in flashbacks

(Newser) - Dr. Mark Greene is coming back to ER, but he's not coming back from the dead. Anthony Edwards will reprise the role of Greene, who died of a brain tumor at the end of the 2002 season, in flashback scenes in the Nov. 13 episode, NBC says. Other County General...

Letterman Perplexed by NBC's Move
to Ditch Leno

Sep 3, 2008 8:32 AM CDT

Letterman Perplexed by NBC's Move to Ditch Leno

But Dave would love to continue beyond 2010

(Newser) - David Letterman isn't planning to head off into the sunset when his Late Night contract expires in 2010, the New York Times reports, telling a Rolling Stone interviewer that he would love to keep going at CBS—and that he was confused by NBC's decision to put longtime rival Jay...

Cable News Was Biggest Convention Winner

OPINION

Sep 1, 2008 9:33 AM CDT

Cable News Was Biggest Convention Winner

Broadcasters cede historic role as political pundits

(Newser) - The Democratic Convention made it official, writes Scott Collilns in the Los Angeles Times: The broadcast networks have passed the political torch to the cable networks. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC not only delivered “wall to wall coverage” compared to the broadcast nets' paltry hour of nightly programming. Their...