PROGRAMMING
Rudolph's still got it. Classic yuletide movie "Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer," beat all other holiday TV specials in ratings last week, proving that like
many fine wines, the 40-year-old hit only gets better with age. [E! Online
News]
E! Online

Affirming that the reality TV honeymoon may indeed be over, Britain's
celebrity reality survival series "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here," saw a
significant ratings drop from last season. The finale, which crowned comedian Joe
Pasquale as the winner, attracted 4 million fewer viewers than last season's
culmination. [BBC News]
BBC News

It's official: Scottish comic/actor Craig Ferguson will be the next host of
CBS's "Late Late Show," after the position was vacated by Craig Kilborn. [E!
Online News]
E! Online

ADVERTISING
Senior executives from two of the world's largest advertising agencies are
presenting a favorable forecast for 2005. Robert J. Coen of Universal McCann and
Steve King of the ZenithOptimedia Group predict that battles for consumer
favor in crowded categories, like entertainment, will generate sufficient growth.
[The New York Times]
The New York Times

BUSINESS
On Tuesday, jolly ole England became significantly less jovial. Britain's
public broadcaster, the BBC, announced that it will conduct nearly 3,000 layoffs
in the next three years in order to save hundreds of millions of dollars in
annual costs. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

TECHNOLOGY
According to U.S retailers, Plasma screen TVs will be under many Christmas
trees this season. As prices drop for high-end televisions, sales are leaping.
Retailers expect to sell twice as many plasma-screen televisions and three
times as many LCD televisions this year. [Yahoo! News]
Yahoo! News

In an effort to ease the transition from standard DVDs to High Definition
DVDs, a company called Memory-Tech will start mass production of read-only discs
that can contain data stored in both DVD and HD-DVDs. The discs are expected
to be on the market by late next year. [Google News]
Google News

CONTROVERSY
Actor Sidney Poitier brought a little entertainment to the Disney/Ovitz
trial. The 78-year-old film legend took center stage and demanded attention as a
witness in the infamous and seemingly never-ending trial. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

A TV reporter from NBC-affiliate station WJAR-TV in Rhode Island faces up to
six months in prison for refusing to disclose the identity of the person who
gave him an F.B.I. videotape related to an investigation of corruption in the
State government. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

FILM
As Bollywood films line up for release, Indian audiences brace for the next
big stars and the most convincing love interests. [The Times of India]
The Times of India

Korean horror classic "A Tale of Two Sisters" was released globally to rave
reviews. The films drew comparisons to Hitchcock films and "The Shining." [The
Korea Herald]
The Korea Herald

Hit documentary "Control Room" was screened for the first time in the Middle
East at the Dubai International Film Festival. The doc, which explores Al
Jazeera and critiques the U.S-led war in Iraq, stirred anger in viewers, many of
whom hail from one of the six Arab countries where the network has been banned.
[Al Jazeera]
Al Jazeera

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
The Banff Television Festival, which will be held June 12-15, 2005, will
focus on the future of television and international collaboration and
co-production.
Banff2005

BVITV Asia Pacific has sold basic cable and pay-TV rights to dramas
"Desperate Housewives" and "life as we know it" to Korean basic cable broadcaster OCN.
The company has also licensed "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" to Korean basic
cable platform CJ Media.
BVITV

CABLEready will get a new director of finance and planning in media and
finance industry veteran, John Casey.
CABLEready

CBC International Sales has signed a plethora of deals in Korea, China, Japan
and Indonesian including the sale of "Dick Cheney: The Unauthorized
Biography" to KBS Korea.
CBC

CHUM Limited has completed the purchase of all shares of Craig Media, which
includes television stations across Canada.
CHUM

Dargaud Distribution has sold "The Adventures of Little Brown Bear" to
Playhouse Disney channels in Asia.
Dargaud

Decode Entertainment is developing an original gaming engine for the newly
launched Nintendo DS dual-screen hand-held system. The company is also producing
interactive content across the Web and on TV.
Decode

E! Networks will launch in South Africa this month on MultiChoice's DStv
basic digital package. The net is expected to launch in Greece and Cyprus later on
this month as well.
E!

Cable doc series "National Geographic Explorer" was awarded with the coveted
Dupont-Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.
National Geographic

New appointments abound at NBC Universal TV Distribution, where Sandra McKee
has been named vice president, Sales Planning and Product Management and Sandy
Perkins has been named vice president, Sales Administration.
NBC Universal

Playboy TV International has promoted Jeremy Yates to Managing Director,
Playboy TV United Kingdom and executive vice president, Playboy Entertainment
Group.
Playboy

In response to news that DirecTV's vice chairman, Eddy W. Hartenstein would
retire at the end of the year, the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications
Association released a statement calling him a "pioneer" and "saluting (him) for
his work in the satellite industry's behalf." They thanked him for his
"constant support and guidance."
SBCA

Cultural institutions in Italy have bonded together to form a country-wide
opposition to television. December 11-12, TVs will be turned off and people will
"look outside," as part of the National TV Viewers' Strike, or "Sciopero Dei
Telespettatori."
Esterni

Tepuy telenovela "Hidden Passion" continues its #1 ranking internationally.
The show will soon debut in Greece and the Phillipines. "Liberty," another
Tepuy novela is enjoying wide reception in Spain, Venezuela, Colombia, Romania and
Bulgaria.
Tepuy

The 2005 edition of the "Guinness Book of World Records" includes TV Globo
under the heading, "Largest Telenovela Producer in the World."
TV Globo

TV-Loonland and East Entertainment have concluded licensing agreements in
German-speaking territories for series "Connie the Cow" and "Something Else," and
animated feature film "Heidi."
TV-Loonland

NATPE Message from VideoAge:

New Hotel: New Challenges
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NEW NATPE

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