Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information - Page 1054

TV Notes
Prince books four-night Leno gig
Planning slew of album-related events in L.A
By David J. Prince, Billboard - March 11, 2009

Prince will perform on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" three nights in a row, March 25-27, as he builds anticipation for the March 29 release of two new albums, "LOtUSFLOW3R" and "MPLSoUND." Prince will perform a fourth night on the "Tonight Show," May 28th, in celebration of the end of Leno's run as host of the show.

Both CDs, along with a third by new artist Bria Valente, will be available as a three disc set exclusively through Target for a price of $11.98.

The "Tonight Show" performances are part of a larger roll-out for the CD package in Los Angeles. In an email message sent to fans who signed up for updates on lotusflow3r.com, Prince wrote, 'From the 24th on, there will b a slew of NPG-related events happening around electric LAlaland.. we don't want 2 give away all the details yet, but b prepared 2 get yo groove on, numerous ways 4 numerous days. We know $ is tite but the adventures will b worth ur while! Stay 2ned 2 this outtaspacestation."

As previously reported, Prince is just the latest music legend to release new music exclusively through a major retailer. AC/DC and the Eagles were among the acts who sold millions of CDs through their partnership with Wal-Mart.

He's also the latest artist to promote new music with a multi-night run on a late night talk show. Last week, U2 performed five nights in a row on the "Late Show with David Letterman" as the band mounted a full court press for its newly released "No Line On The Horizon" disc and upcoming world tour. The White Stripes and the Strokes both did multiple nights of performances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...2f72d965fc453b

Any clues as to who might be gone?

Shuttle Launch postponed till tomorrow:

The STS-119 launch was scrubbed at 2:37 p.m. EDT due to a hydrogen leak in a Liquid Hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank. The launch team is currently beginning the process of draining the external fuel tank.

We'll turn around for launch attempt tomorrow at 8:54 p.m. EDT.


ps- stevrob - i have no idea.

Critic's Review
'The Chopping Block' (NBC)
Preparing a Fresh Batch of Chefs
By Alessandra Stanley, The New York Times - March 11, 2009

The restaurant kitchen is the last refuge of bad temper.

Plant managers who berate workers risk harassment charges, professors who grade too harshly face retribution from anonymous student reviews, and haughty magazine editors who bully their assistants are hit with tell-all tales like The Devil Wears Prada. Even movie stars are no longer allowed to be divas, as Christian Bale recently learned.

But when a celebrity chef screams obscenities or throws dishes at an errant sous-chef, his victim meekly replies, Yes, chef. And that atavistic ritual of apprenticeship is one of the great lures of cooking contests like Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef.

Pressure, spats and last-minute team effort are integral to all reality competitions. Haute cuisine also offers the kind of despotic rule and cringing servility that is no longer tolerated even in Marine Corps basic training on Parris Island. Yes, chef is the new Sir, yes sir.

The Chopping Block, a new cooking reality show on NBC, would seem to offer an even more gratifying tableau of kitchen tyranny: the star is Marco Pierre White, the fierce, foulmouthed and most terrible of the enfant-terrible chefs who transformed British restaurant cuisine in the 1990s.

Mr. White, who has his own books, TV shows and restaurants, is as well known in Britain as his former protégé, Gordon Ramsay, host of Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares on Fox. Over here, however, Mr. White is the Chuck Berry of swashbuckling cuisine a pioneer too often eclipsed by the Mick Jaggers of the cooking world like Mr. Ramsay, Mario Batali and even Jamie Oliver.

And to add piquancy, Mr. White and Mr. Ramsay, once allies, are no longer friends.

NBC gives Mr. White a flattering showcase: one of the awe-struck contestants says, It's like he invented food, almost. But The Chopping Block doesn't really invite viewers to compare the cooking techniques and management styles of the two rival chefs.

Mostly, it is a contrast of two networks' differing sensibilities. Hell's Kitchen has all the hallmarks of a Fox reality show back-stabbing contestants, fast-action camera shots and an entertainingly histrionic star.

The NBC competition has a more grandiloquent look and moralizing tone, with the kind of mawkish flashbacks and weepy soliloquies found on The Biggest Loser. And surprisingly, Mr. White does not cook on the show or even shout profanities or call his assistants bozo. Once in a while he enters the kitchen and offers some instruction. (Why not just buy great produce and serve it simply?) Mostly he sits in a leather armchair, wagging a finger as he adjudicates with magisterial poise and stern detachment a more donnish version of Donald Trump on The Apprentice.

Mr. White takes a more stately stance than Mr. Ramsay, but his disapproval, often expressed with a mere tsk, tsk, tsk, is just as crushing. If there was ever a moment that your soul could be pierced by someone's eyes, one contestant says after Mr. White frowns at his scallop dish, that was it.

In some ways the sober, earnest tone of The Chopping Block is better suited to these recessionary times. The two teams of 16 contestants are made up of pairs married couples, siblings, mothers and daughters and they all have hard-luck stories and financial hurdles that lend a virtuous streak to their quests to open restaurants in New York. The contestants on the fifth season of Hell's Kitchen are not nearly as poignant; they smoke and swear incessantly, and the prize is a job as executive chef in the Borgata casino and hotel in Atlantic City.

No cooking competition relies entirely on cooking to keep audiences entertained. Each team on The Chopping Block is assigned to restore an abandoned restaurant. (Location scouting wasn't a challenge given the number of restaurant closings in New York.) On opening night Corby Kummer, food critic for The Atlantic, comes in anonymously. After one of the contestants serving tables suggests a red wine, Mr. Kummer goes Anton Ego on him, noting the waiter's mispronunciation and hissing to his companions, It's claret, not claré. Reality competitions, at least the good ones, like Project Runway and even America's Next Top Model, have a hypnotizing effect there is something compelling about strangers thrown together in a difficult joint purpose: it's jury duty without all the talking.

But cooking shows have a tougher trick to pull off: audiences live through all the tension and tumult of vegetable chopping and sautéing, but never get to sample the results. Unlike viewers who can see the clothes on Project Runway, the audience for The Chopping Block has to take a judge's word on the soufflé.

Not everyone dreams of opening a fusion bistro or perfecting a vol-au-vent, but many feel that they had a tougher time learning their trade than younger, mollycoddled and overly entitled upstarts. And for those, The Chopping Block cuts just right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/ar...ref=television

Nielsen Overnights
Tuesday ratings: 'Idol' and 'Loser' make gains
From James Hibberd's Hollywood Reporter 'Live Feed' Blog - March 11, 2009

Moving into the Top 12... Top 13, Fox's Tuesday edition of "American Idol" climbed a couple notches in the ratings this week. The two-hour "Idol" (25.3 million viewers, 9.2 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and 24 share) squared off against a two-hour episode of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" (9.3 million, 3.8/10), which also went up slightly.

Fox won the night, followed by NBC, which also aired an hour-winning "Law & Order: SVU" (11 million, 3.6/10) at 10 p.m. CBS was third with repeats. ABC placed fourth with "Homeland Security: USA" (5.1 million, 1.4/4), repeats and "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (5.1 million, 1.9/5).

Over on the CW, "Reaper" (2.2 million, 0.8/2) dropped 11% its second week.

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/03/tuesd...ke-gains-.html

I watched on D* and I agree that this season was awesome. Really really loved the season finale (hopefully not series finale).

Please, please let this extend to the horrid pre-game show. That thing needed to be taken out and shot a couple of seasons ago. James Brown was the smartest guy in the building - he knew when to leave.

TV Notes
CBS Orders 4 More Scripts for ‘Mother,’
Boosting Likelihood of Renewal
By Josef Adalian, TV Week - March 11, 2009

CBS is giving “How I Met Your Mother” a big vote of confidence, ordering four additional scripts of the Monday night hit.

The scripts are for the 2009-10 season, and the early order is designed to give producers a head start on planning the show’s fifth year. While technically not the same as an early renewal, the script order makes it a virtual certainty that “HIMYM” will be back next fall.

CBS has previously kept “HIMYM” fans and producers on pins and needles regarding renewals, often waiting until May before giving the show the greenlight for another season. But given the penny-pinching ethos at all the networks these days, it’s hard to imagine CBS executives spending money on four scripts of a show it doesn’t plan to bring back.

Helping the case for “HIMYM”: The show is having a stellar season in the ratings, adding 33% more viewers compared with last season, according to Nielsen. It’s now the third most-watched comedy in TV among adults 18-49, behind only “Two and a Half Men” and “The Office.”

“HIMYM’s” success is part of an overall Monday night comedy surge for CBS.

News of the “HIMYM” script orders comes as CBS and Warner Bros. continue discussions over multiseason pickups for “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.” The studio also is hoping to get another season for “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” which is just a couple dozen episodes away from being syndication-worthy.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/c...cripts_for.php

MLS Cup to ESPN

The MLS Cup (soccer) is just the latest in a litany of championship sporting events making the move from broadcast to cable.

The 2009 MLS Cup will air on ESPN, marking the first time ever the event has aired on cable. Previously, the game aired on ABC. The MLS Cup will take place on Sunday, November 22 at 8:30 PM ET, opposite Sunday Night Football on NBC.

The MLS Cup is in good company. Starting in 2010, the third and final rounds of the British Open will air on cable, and the BCS National Championship Game will move to cable starting in 2011. Additionally, Game 3 and a potential series-clinching Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals will air on Versus starting this season.

The move figures to only drive the ratings for the event even lower. Last year's MLS Cup drew a mere 0.6/1 final rating on ABC, tied as the lowest rating ever for the event.

http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com...-on-cable.html

TV Notes
Fallon is starting to make it through the 'Night'
By Robert Bianco, USA Today - March 11, 2009


Improvement noted: Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore yuk it up on NBC's Late Night.

One week in, Jimmy Fallon is already having a better Late Night.

Not a great one, mind you. The writing on his NBC talk show Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (12:30 a.m. ET/PT) remains undistinguished and his hosting style unsettled, which means despite a Monday show that was easily his best so far, the road ahead is likely to be a bumpy one.

Still, if it's not yet a good Night, it at least seems to be moving in that direction — and quickly enough to make you think it might actually get there.

Granted, it isn't always easy to watch what is, in effect, Fallon's on-the-job training. But what he currently lacks in skill and ease, he makes up for in affability and enthusiasm. Fallon's appeal is built on a boyish, earnest eagerness that separates him from edgier comedians and should wear better in the long run.

You may not care if he succeeds, but you don't leave the show hoping he'll fail — and that's a threshold many hosts never reach.

Being inoffensive, however, is not enough. At the moment, his show has no point of view and precious little personality. Indeed, for a show that touts its connection to the brave new social-network world, Late Night looks an awful lot like The Tonight Show — and the Johnny Carson one at that.

Would that the monologues reminded us of Carson, as well. Perhaps because he knows they're terrible, Fallon delivers them like the most desperate of amateur stand-ups, panicking when a line doesn't work and babbling on when one does.

Too many of the jokes aren't funny, and too many don't suit his personality — so much so that he even paused to apologize after a mean, tasteless joke that linked Rihanna to Oprah's weight problems. You can sell a line you think may fall flat; you shouldn't even try to sell one you think is unfair.

Nor are the bits and sketches much of an improvement. True, Monday's debate between faux "history nerds" planted in the audience was fairly amusing, especially compared with such lows as having people lick inanimate objects for $10.

But it played like something out of an SNL opening monologue — and if there's one thing Late Night doesn't need, it's another allusion to another show.

A talk show, of course, leans on talk, and he's beginning to show needed improvement. Last week, he generally either froze up or got so carried away that he shut us out of the conversation instead of drawing us in.

But he was completely charming Monday with Amanda Peet, letting her talk rather than talking over her and using a well-done green-screen gimmick to showcase her good-sport appeal.

Yet in some ways, his best moment was his gadget-geek binge with Engadget.com's Joshua Topolsky, who let Fallon play with a yet-to-be-released cellphone.

He needs to learn a little critical distance, if only to stop such segments from looking like paid product placements. Even so, it worked so well, he might want to consider making Topolsky, or someone like him, his own gadget version of Jack Hanna.

Fallon is obviously struggling to find his way, and for some time to come, his show is likely to reflect that struggle. Yet while he's no match for Conan O'Brien at the end of his run and may never be, he's further along than O'Brien was at the beginning, and that's a decent start.

You shouldn't purposely stay up late to see Late Night, but if you are up, you shouldn't avoid it. That's better than anyone watching the first Night had any reason to expect.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/televis...te-night_N.htm

The Business of Television
Upfronts 2009: Cablers Bullish As Upfront Talk Heats Up
But questions abound regarding economy's impact on selling season
By Marisa Guthrie, Broadcasting & Cable - March 11, 2009

With the upfront selling season quickly approaching and the economy showing no signs of a turnaround, tension is beginning to mount. While it's too early for even the most bombastic prognosticators to start throwing out their best upfront guesses, the chatter has begun about how negotiations will shake out in an economic maelstrom.

How big the total marketplace is remains a significant uncertainty heading into the upfront, says John Rash, senior VP and director of media analysis for Campbell Mithun. And the blustering is already beginning from all sides, especially the cable networks.

As broadcast networks continue to lose audience share, cable execs say they have an improved negotiating position because cable offers better value than broadcast.

For many years, advertisers have been paying more for broadcast networks that have lower ratings, more for less, says David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting Sales and Turner Sports. Can that continue in these challenging economic times?

Last year's upfront market posted CPM (cost per thousand) increases between 5% and 10%. This year, some observers are predicting that overall price decreases may be on the table.

It is not going to be pleasant for suppliers; everybody is starting to posture, says Peter Knobloch, president of media services outfit R.J. Palmer. The cards aren't stacked in their favor. I'm not looking to piss anybody off; we're going to be looking at negatives.

Ad-supported cable has continued to stake out increasing market share with original series, especially dramas. So AMC executives hope the effusive critical praise, and Emmys, for Mad Men and Breaking Bad may actually pay real dividends.

We go into these meetings, and [buyers] know our product and like it, says Bill Rosolie, the network's ad sales chief. We have good product on the air.

The cratering automotive and financial services industries have meant that some networks, including male-targeted channels such as ESPN, have been hit harder than others. But none have been immune from above-average option taking in the first-quarter scatter market.

However, some of those declines were offset by a flurry of business for March, which indicates that marketers, after hunkering down in the first two months of the quarter, had cash to spend in the third.

For instance, National Geographic Channel has virtually sold out its inventory for March. And WE, seeing packaged goods and beauty products holding steady, had its busiest week of the quarter last week and continues to book business in the final weeks of the first quarter.

For us to be booking March in March, it shows you what is happening, says WE ad sales executive Scott Collins. But the positive thing is advertisers are continuing to spend. I would not say [packaged goods] is recession-proof, but it has been the least affected.

Spending down to the wire

But the late spending is also strategic. Network executives are hoping that deep second-quarter options don't necessarily reflect cuts to marketing budgets, but rather opportunistic deployment of dollars.

They're not cutting money; they're sitting on money, posits one cable executive. They want to have the flexibility to spend in the market. Second-quarter scatter is also a setup for the upfront, and if the agencies can make it feel softer, they'll feel like they're in a position to push for the upfront.

Still, how much money flows into the upfront is the major uncertainty everyone is talking about. The packaged-goods sector may be strong, notes Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiating officer for Horizon Media, but virtually everything else is in a wait-and-see what next week's business is going to be.

There may be one silver lining in the gray economic outlook: Desperate times have historically incited innovations in the business. Cablevision announced last week that it is expanding its addressable advertising capabilities to 500,000 homes in the New York area. The technology allows advertisers to deliver commercials targeted to consumers' demographic data. The deployment follows an 18-month trial in 100,000 homes. Addressable advertising has long been the Holy Grail for the industry, but implementation has come in baby steps.

One of the transforming things in our industry right now is the impact of research, says Henry Schleiff, president and CEO of Crown Media Holdings, which owns Hallmark Channel. If someone's marketing budget is cut in half and they've got to move product, they have to know the best way to do that.

Claire Atkinson contributed to this report.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...k_Heats_Up.php

TV Notes
'ER' vets visit County General -- will Clooney stop by too?
From Maureen Ryan's Chicago Tribune 'The Watcher' Blog - March 11, 2009

In the clips below, former "ER" cast members Eriq La Salle, Noah Wyle and Julianna Margulies can be seen revisiting their old stomping grounds at County General Hospital. Various veterans of the show, including Anthony Edwards earlier this season, have been stopping by "ER" as the show approaches its series finale April 2.

The Sun-Sentinel's Tom Jicha wonders (http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/tv/200...-thursday.html) -- is Thursday's episode the one in which the show's most famous alum, George Clooney, will appear as well? His return to the show has been an open secret for weeks. And Margulies did say it was fun working with him again, so they apparently shared at least one scene.

However, NBC's press site says that "many ER alums" will be in the finale. The summary for the final episode says that "old friends from County General" will come to show their support when Dr. Carter (Wyle) opens a medical facility for the underprivileged in that last episode. (By the way, Alexis Bledel from "Gilmore Girls" and Ernest Borgnine guest star in the finale as well.)

But media speculation has centered on Thursday's episode as being the one featuring Clooney's return. In fact, Korbi Ghosh from Zap2it.com reports that we will indeed see Clooney on Thursday (http://blog.zap2it.com/korbitv/2009/...-tomorrow.html).

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....r-clooney.html

Or maybe the ratings will stay exactly the same as people who actually want to see it will seek it out on a network that can afford to air a lower rated event.

^^^ And another pile of dirt is tossed on the grave of the once-proud ABC Sports brand.

Except, I think this potentially saves it, if it does at least as well.

Where do you think it would go if it didn't end up on ESPN?

We all know what that means:

Garsh, Fred, I didn't even know you WERE "out of the loop" (MY BAD). I HAD noticed that the TORRENT of posts had slowed to only a FLOOD, lol.

Hope you're OK!
Jeff

Great, Fred!

I figured you might be at your Tarpon Springs place, which WOULD DEFINITELY put you WAY "out of the loop" as far as Hollywood goes, lol.

I lived in Dunedin and Clearwater for most of '84, so I know the area pretty well. On the way there when we first moved there, my traveling partner and I stopped for lunch in Tarpon Springs... BEAUTIFUL little city -- especially so this time of year -- HOWEVER unless you're a big-game fisherman or over 80 and drive a big car with a steering wheel that's taller than YOU ARE, you probably don't fit in very well in Tarpon Springs, lol.

Take care,
Jeff

The Business of Television
Redstone, Murdoch Fall in Forbes Rankings
Media titans tumble in net worth in latest Forbes billionaires list
By Claire Atkinson, Broadcasting & Cable 3/11/2009 9:22:37 PM MT

Forbes released its billionaire's list tonight, and not surprisingly, a number of top media executives have seen their rankings tumble.

Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone's net worth has dropped from $5.1 billion to only $1 billion while News Corp's Rupert Murdoch has fallen from $6.8 billion to $4 billion.

Liberty Media's John Malone saw his own net worth go from $2.3 billion to $1.5 billion. Oprah Winfrey, meanwhile, remains on par with last year, at $2.7 billion.

Topping the list, once again, is Bill Gates, who lost $18 billion over the past year, according to Forbes. His net worth is $40 billion. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg no longer makes the list.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the only member of the top 20 whose net worth has increased, thanks to a new valuation of his business news empire. The Mayor bought a 20% stake in Bloomberg back from Merrill Lynch for $4.5 billion in the summer of 2008. At the time the company was valued at $22.5 billion, and Bloomberg's own stake at $15 billion.

According to Forbes, California is home to the most U.S. billionaires: 77 live there while New York is home to 64 of the world's richest people.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...s_Rankings.php

WiFi would probably reach in there, too....just wash your hands, first...

Critic's Notes
ABC stays light on its reality feet
By Rick Kushman, Sacramento Bee - March 12, 2009

See, this is why you have to love reality TV, as long as you don't take the terms "reality" or "TV" too seriously. Think of it more as slapstick.

By now, you've probably heard about the double- switcheroo on ABC's "The Bachelor," in which the guy, Jason Mesnick, rejected Molly Malaney and proposed to Melissa Rycroft, then dumped Rycroft – after the game ended but still on TV – and rehooked up with Malaney.

Fans and other people with piles of free time have advanced a conspiracy theory that producers choreographed the change-of-heart, and, oh, poor Rycroft, she lost her man.

OK, now seriously. She went on "The Bachelor." After that, any theoretical connection to real life, or sympathy, is heaved. In short, you jump in the pool with piranhas, you gotta expect some fish with teeth. Or something like that.

But it gets even more fun. ABC put Rycroft on "Dancing with the Stars" this week, as one of the off-the-bench replacements for the injured Jewel and Nancy O'Dell. Turns out, Rycroft was pretty good.

Now, and this is so great, there are conspiracy theories flying around that ABC choreographed this one too – technically, I guess, it choreographed the choreography – and had her secretly training because the network knew she'd get dumped and wanted to use her notoriety.

With just a half-step back, you have to ask: Is there any possible way any of this matters? Of course it doesn't, just like it doesn't matter who wins that cheesy disco ball trophy at the end of "Dancing." But if you're caught up in the absurdity, it's entertaining and distracting, and, frankly, we can all use a little of that right now.

And if reality TV isn't your thing, that's cool. But you are missing some good dopiness.

Clooney or not?

For this next one, consider the source, which is, uh, me. The rumors continue to get flamed by NBC – which won't say anything on the record – that George Clooney will show up on tonight's "ER" (at 10 on Channel 3) to reignite one of TV's best couples ever with Julianna Margulies.

"ER" is doing its farewell tour as it heads for an April 2 series finale, and has already brought back Anthony Edwards for an episode and has a story running with Noah Wylie (Dr. Carter). Officially, the network lists Eriq La Salle (Dr. Benton) and Margulies as guest stars tonight, but it hints and winks that Clooney might appear. Plus Margulies has told reporters it was fun working with Clooney again.

No one knows why NBC doesn't just announce it straight up. The series would get way more PR from doing that, and now, if Clooney doesn't show tonight, lots of fans are going to feel cheated.

In case you've forgotten, the series "ER" premiered in the early 13th century, not long, I think, after King John of England signed the Magna Carta. Clooney's Dr. Ross was last on the show in 2000 in one final, satisfyingly romantic scene with true-love nurse Carol Hathaway (Margulies). "ER" continued on, however, until it got to where it is today, when nobody knows the names of any of the characters.

Eye on NBC's 'King'

On an entirely different front, NBC takes a grand shot at a big, sprawling new series Sunday with "Kings" (at 8 p.m. on Channel 3), and it certainly earns points for trying.

It's billed as a contemporary retelling of the David-and-Goliath tale, but it's more a mix of adventure, myth and soap, and the most stilted piece of it is the attempt to work in the whole David-Goliath thing.

It's set in a fictional, modern world and in a city that looks like a fancy kind of New York. Ian McShane is the king of this fictional country that is at war with another fictional country.

Then a soldier named David (Chris Egan) saves the King's son in battle by facing down a tank nicknamed Goliath. (See? That part is unnecessary.) David is proclaimed a hero and is rewarded with the metaphorical keys to the kingdom, not to mention the king's daughter, though the king isn't particularly thrilled about that. In any case, David gets himself entwined in the king's family and ambitions, and complications ensue.

Truthfully, I'm underselling the series. It is a large-scale fantasy and the world it creates is easy to buy into. McShane, as always, can be mesmerizing. But there's a stiffness to it, a sense it's taking itself too seriously, that also makes it more work to watch than it should be.

http://www.sacbee.com/kushman/story/1691567.html

the island of misfit sports....Versus....would go along with their brand new UFL football contract.

Versus To Air Weekly UFL Game

The United Football League is trying it's best to get the word out. They've got a handful of recognizable coaches (Jim Fassell, Jim Haslett), have teams in large markets (San Fran, NY, Las Vegas), and now have a TV deal. Versus will air a weekly game for the four-team league, and the first contest will air on October 8th.

The United Football League announced that VERSUS, a national sports network in more than 75 million homes, will air the League’s “Premiere” season beginning in October 2009. VERSUS will air live weekly games beginning on Thursday, October 8, and continuing through the Championship Game scheduled to air Thanksgiving weekend. Each live telecast will be approximately three hours and all games will be produced and available in HD. The complete schedule will be announced this summer.

In its “Premiere” year, the UFL will host teams in Las Vegas, New York, Orlando and San Francisco. There are also plans to play additional games in Hartford and Los Angeles. The season will conclude with a Championship Game tentatively scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, the UFL will announce its four coaches at a press conference in San Francisco. League officials are in final negotiations with various stadiums and these agreements will be announced as they are completed.

“We are excited to be the television home of the UFL in its “Premiere” season,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS. “The UFL has put together a great management team and sound plan and we are looking forward to the opportunity to expose these games to a national audience each week.”

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/...-ufl-game.html

FYI:
Space Shuttle Discovery STS-119 Launch which was rescheduled for tonite is now POSTPONED Until At Least Sunday !!

its so easy on star wars, star trek....i feel though like WE are only 1 step ahead of a caveman.

New target launch is Sunday 7:43 pm et. - HDNet.

The Business of Television
Cablevision To Stop Selling Analog Expanded Basic
Operator Will Still Provide Service To Existing Analog Customers
By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News - March 11, 2009

Cablevision Systems as of the end of 2009 will no longer sell an analog expanded basic tier, which would make it the first major MSO to offer cable TV service only in digital.

The New York-area operator's existing analog customers and digital customers will continue to receive available analog simulcasts on TVs connected directly to cable. Currently, the Cablevision analog lineup comprises about 60 channels, although that number has been shrinking as the company has migrated services to digital-only distribution.

The move is intended to pave the way toward an "all-digital" future by eventually allowing Cablevision to phase out all analog cable channels. Analog TV signals take up roughly 10 times as much bandwidth as their standard-definition digital versions.

Of Cablevision's 3.1 million cable TV customers, 91% today receive digital service -- the highest digital penetration rate of its major industry peers.

Approximately 5% of the operator's video subscribers today receive analog expanded basic service, and these customers will continue to receive this limited service on a "grandfathered" basis, without any required action.

"The transition to digital television is something that is happening across our nation, because digital is a far superior format for delivering television service, both in terms of quality and capacity," John Trierweiler, Cablevision senior vice president of product management, said in a statement.

"The vast majority of our customers have already embraced this standard," Treirweiler continued, "and Cablevision's move away from analog expanded basic for new customers is the next logical step in an evolution that will deliver clear benefits, including more programming, particularly HD, and additional choice."

http://www.multichannel.com/article/...nded_Basic.php

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