television

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Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow
 Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow 
Apr 21, 2008 3:16 PM CDT

Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow

Cable's compression of HD signals water down the product, connoisseurs say

(Newser) - TV enthusiasts are miffed that high-definition channels aren't looking as good as they should on expensive home-theater systems, the AP reports. Without much spare bandwidth, compressing the signal is cheaper for the cable companies than increasing capacity. "They have to figure out a way to deliver more HD content...

Movie Studios to Create Premium Channel

MGM, Paramount, Lionsgate joint venture would target HBO

(Newser) - Paramount Pictures, MGM Studios, and Lionsgate are creating a premium TV channel to compete with HBO and Showtime, reports the Los Angeles Times, which currently showcase their programming. The joint venture comes as those same channels look to pay studios less for movies and pursue production of their own content.

'Idol' Ratings Hitting Sour Note

Viewership declines suggest beginning of end for juggernaut

(Newser) - Ratings monster “American Idol” is showing viewership cracks in its seventh season, and rival networks are circling, hoping to steal some of the more than 20 million viewers who tune into the Fox hit each week, reports the Los Angles Times. “Idol” viewership among women 18 to 34...

Brit Heading Back to Mother
 Brit Heading
 Back to Mother
Apr 20, 2008 9:15 AM CDT

Brit Heading Back to Mother

Everyone's 'thrilled'

(Newser) - Struggling pop princess Britney Spears will reprise her successful role as a receptionist in an upcoming episode of the TV series How I Met Your Mother, reports People. “The show is ecstatic and so is Britney,” said an insider. It's not clear if everyone will be quite so...

Pentagon Purse Strings Ensnare TV Military Analysts

Commentators linked to defense contractors

(Newser) - Several so-called "independent" military analysts who often support Defense Department positions on TV news programs have been linked closely to defense contractors and the Pentagon in an extensive New York Times investigation. "We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you,’...

Car Talk Bros Get Animated, Dis Gas-Guzzling Heaps

Click and Clack to star in PBS cartoon, pessimistic Nova episode

(Newser) - NPR’s chuckling Car Talk guys Tom and Ray Magliozzi are about to become even more animated—with a new cartoon series of themselves on PBS. But their view on the heaps they've helped drivers patch up for the past 30 years isn't so funny, Newsweek reports. Click and Clack's...

'Colbert Bump' Real, at Least for Dems

Candidates see boost in funds after Report appearances

(Newser) - Stephen Colbert and his fans often point to a “Colbert bump”—a boost for politicians who appear on his show—and research shows there’s truthiness to the claim, LiveScience reports. A scientist found that Democrats appearing on the Colbert Report raised 44% more funds afterward. Republicans, however,...

Few Flock to Be Paris' New Best Friend

NYC casting call for heiress' new reality show nets low turnout

(Newser) - Paris Hilton’s quest for a new best friend is off to a slow start. Casting calls for a show on which she’ll audition new pals aren’t much of a draw: Word is just 40 or 50 turned up at a New York event. And reporters were turned...

Martha Loses 'Loyal Companion'
 Martha Loses 'Loyal Companion'
Apr 17, 2008 9:20 AM CDT

Martha Loses 'Loyal Companion'

Gushed-over pet and guest star gone at 12

(Newser) - Martha Stewart's chow Paw Paw, a frequent gushed-over guest on her TV show, has died of renal failure, reports AP. The pooch got his name—Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow Chow—for his huge paws. "Paw Paw was a spectacular chow and an even more spectacular dog,"...

Reality-Show Exec Charged With Kidnapping

Contestants say he wouldn't let them leave Pauper to Princess set

(Newser) - The director of a reality TV pilot has been arrested on kidnapping charges after allegedly trying to stop contestants from leaving the house where it was being filmed, ABC News reports. Four women fled the Pauper to Princess house and told neighbors to call the police. The women say they...

Local TV Is Ready to Go Mobile
Local TV Is Ready to Go Mobile
Apr 15, 2008 2:06 PM CDT

Local TV Is Ready to Go Mobile

Station owners push for open standard

(Newser) - Local TV stations that have been hemorrhaging ad dollars are banding together to pursue mobile television. A group of more than 800 local outlets is pushing for an open standard that would permit broadcasting to devices including cellphones and laptops, bypassing cellphone providers. The group projects that mobile advertising will...

Cancer-Stricken Bro to Watch Idol Hopeful in Person

Determined sibling will travel with medic, nurse

(Newser) - This may be American Idol contestant David Cook's biggest week—and not because he might get the boot. Cook's older brother, who is battling brain cancer, will make the dangerous flight from his Indiana sickbed to watch his kid brother perform tonight, People reports. A frail Adam will be aided...

Brit TV Star's Body Was in Rail Station 6 Days

Cops investigate why it took so long to discover the apparent suicide

(Newser) - A British TV celebrity's body was left hanging in London's Paddington station for six days, the London Times reports, in an apparent suicide. Mark Speight, 42, had been missing for a week and police are probing why it took so long for his body to be discovered. Speight was said...

Cosmetic Surgery Can't Go Unmentioned
 Cosmetic Surgery Can't 
 Go Unmentioned 
OPINION
Apr 14, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Cosmetic Surgery Can't Go Unmentioned

TV critic decries 'new—and wrinkle-free!—elephant in the living room'

(Newser) - Cosmetic surgery is out of control, TV critic Mary McNamara contends in the Los Angeles Times, and it's time to break the taboo of talking about it in mainstream criticism. TV reviews shouldn’t descend into blogospheric dissections of cosmetic work, but obvious surgery not connected to an actor’s...

YouTube Beating Bruises Dr. Phil

Interview canceled after talk-show staffer bails out accused Florida teen

(Newser) - TV shrink Phil McGraw is in the hot seat again after a staffer bailed out the suspected ringleader of a teen YouTube beating in exchange for an exclusive interview, the New York Daily News reports. America’s favorite unlicensed daytime doc, who dispatched a producing team to Florida last week...

North American TV Sales Drag Philips Down

Profits off 28% in first quarter as electronics giant feel pinch

(Newser) - An expanding health-care sector in China couldn’t help Royal Philips Electronics offset poor television and video sales in North America, as the world’s leading lighting company reported core profits fell 28% in the first quarter, Reuters reports today. The company said it expects the global economic slowdown will...

Spitzer-Like Sex Saga Tapped for TV
Spitzer-Like
Sex Saga
Tapped for TV
Apr 13, 2008 7:53 AM CDT

Spitzer-Like Sex Saga Tapped for TV

Familiar-sounding tale to feature in Law & Order episode

(Newser) - An Elliot Spitzer-like sex saga is headed to the small screen, reports the New York Daily News. TV's Law & Order has begun casting for an episode that will feature a politician nabbed in a prostitution ring. Meanwhile, life is getting harder for Silda Spitzer, wife of the disgraced former...

Aussie Booted in 'Idol' Shocker
 Aussie Booted in 'Idol' Shocker 
Apr 11, 2008 7:09 AM CDT

Aussie Booted in 'Idol' Shocker

Stunned fans boo as voters chuck frontrunner

(Newser) - Australian American Idol hopeful Michael Johns got the heave-ho from the show last night in the biggest shocker so far this season, the Daily News reports. A surprised crowd booed the stunned singer's abrupt departure. Johns had been considered a frontrunner but the 31 million voters were clearly unimpressed by...

Ferguson Overtakes Conan

For the first time, CBS late-night show carries higher overall ratings than NBC's

(Newser) - It appears the tides are changing for Conan O’Brien—well, sort of. Last week, and for the first time, the NBC late-night host was beaten in overall ratings by CBS rival Craig Ferguson, the New York Times reports.

CBS May Dump Couric Early
 CBS May Dump Couric Early 
Apr 9, 2008 7:25 PM CDT

CBS May Dump Couric Early

'Evening News' anchor has brought all-time low ratings

(Newser) - CBS may part ways with "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric as soon as the January 2009 inauguration, and long before her contract expires in 2011, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources from both camps. Network executives are tired of all-time low ratings that began with the switch...

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