PROGRAMMING
Oh Britney Spears, you confuse us so. First you say you want out of the
limelight and criticize the tabloids for exaggerating stories about your life
(shocker!), and now you sign a deal with UPN for a reality show that follows your
courtship and marriage to Kevin Federline. I may be wrong, but that doesn’t
place you too far out of the limelight, now does it? [E! Online]
E! Online

Ah… the good ole days! According to a BBC poll, the 1970s were the golden age
of television. Viewers voted the ‘70s the greatest television decade, after
the best and worst of television’s six decades were debated on BBC Four’s “TV
On Trial” series. Columnist Alan Coren argued that the decade’s shows — “
Fawlty Towers,” “Dad’s Army,” “The Two Ronnies,” and “Morecambe & Wise” were
the peak achievements of British TV. [The London Times]
The London Times

The BBC’s new version of classic sci-fi series “Dr. Who” (which first aired
on the Beeb in 1963) is taking a trip down under. The series, which made a
triumphant return to British screens last week, attracting a television audience
of more than 10.5 million fans, was sold to Australia’s ABC network.
[News.Com.Au]
News.Com.Au

As the nets get ready to announce their new series at the upfronts in May,
they also must announce which veteran series are staying, and which are on their
way out. CBS has announced that it will pull the plug on “Jag” after this
season; Fox has given “Malcolm in the Middle” the green light for season seven;
ABC gave the go-ahead for more seasons of “Lost,” “Boston Legal,” “Alias”
and “Desperate Housewives.” [E! Online]
E! Online

BUSINESS
Hopefully his TV ambitions will prove more successful than his presidential
aspirations. Al Gore’s news network, formerly called INdTV, will be launched as
Current.tv, on August 1. The network will be aimed at 18-34-year-olds, with a
goal to have much of its content created by viewers. “Google Current," which
will use samplings from the popular search engine's data, will automatically
update the network's news every half hour with segments spanning from 30
seconds to three minutes in length. [MTV News]
MTV

ADVERTISING
The basic goal of advertising is to get people into stores in order to by a
particular product, but once you’ve stepped through the front doors of a
supermarket, can the soliciting finally stop? Not necessarily, according to
executives at New Zealand supermarket giant Progressive. Newmarket Foodtown (which is
owned by conglom Progressive) just finished a successful six-month trial
in-store advertising experiment. If the idea catches on, New Zealand could see TV
networks (like the U.S.’s Wal-Mart TV or the U.K.’s Tesco TV) popping up all
over the place. [The New Zealand Herald]
The New Zealand Herald

TECHNOLOGY
It’s official…Canadians are becoming couch potatoes. For the first time this
year, sales of video on demand are expected to pass the $100-million mark,
hitting $170 million, as the technology takes off. All of the country’s cable
giants — Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Cogeco and Vidéotron —
offer VoD services. [The Globe and Mail]
The Globe and Mail

More and more impatient Australians are turning to BitTorrent to download
their favorite U.S. TV shows before they make their way down under. This new
behavior is probably driven by the fact local stations are slow to air current
episodes of popular overseas shows. Research has shown that Australians wait an
average of eight months to see first-run episodes. [CNET News]
CNET News

CONTROVERSY
Across the world, small screens are being inundated with coverage on the
death of Pope John Paul II, but nowhere is it causing as much controversy as in
the Middle East. Arab TV stations have launched a media blitz and Islamic
fundamentalist groups who criticized the parade of Muslim leaders on TV for praising
the head of a faith that they consider an enemy of Islam. [The State]
The State

PERSONALITIES
Four Australian guys are wiggling all the way to the bank. Children’s
entertainers and stars of numerous videos, “The Wiggles,” have topped the list of
Australia’s richest entertainers, beating out Nicole Kidman, with a $45 million
a year salary. Another Aussie children's act, Hi-5, earns a cool $15 million.
[ABC News]
ABC

FILM
Hey, you can’t say they’re not loyal… Die-hard fans of the “Star Wars”
movies have already begun lining up for tickets in eager anticipation for “Star
Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” the latest installment in the film’s
franchise, which is set to debut in the U.S. on May 19. The only problem: The
theater they are gathered around may not even show the movie. [E! Online]
E! Online

Don’t count Bollywood out just yet. Though the Hindi film industry
experienced a less-than-promising first quarter, a good week's run by action-packed
"Tango Charlie," and some strong box-office collections by small-budget films,
have provided some much-needed relief. [KN Times]
KN Times

In an effort to make American audiences aware of Bollywood legend Amitabh
Bachchan, New York’s Lincoln Center will host a 12-day film festival and
retrospective of the actor voted “star of the millennium” by a BBC News Online poll,
from April 8-19. [Sify News]
SIFY News

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
Alliance Atlantis’s Stephanie Röckmann-Portier has taken on additional
responsibilities and will lead sales of the company’s factual library, effective
immediately.
Alliance Atlantis

The docs keep coming at CABLEready, with three new specials set to hit the
international TV community. “The Empire’s New Clothes: Russia in the
Twenty-First Century” tracks the history of the country, from its rich, traditional past
to its modernized and dynamic future. “Ghosts of the Nile” takes a journey
through the heart of ancient Egypt. “Armored and Dangerous” examines the cars
designed for the world’s elite to travel in style and safety.
CABLEready

Discovery is showing off its commitment to the U.S. Hispanic community by
establishing a U.S. Hispanic Network Group in Miami and launching two new
Spanish-language networks — Discovery Kids en Español and Discovery Travel & Living
(Viajar y Vivir).
Discovery

Distraction’s format “StripSearch… the real full monty” has been launched
in the U.S. on VH1. The show, which transforms a group of ordinary men into an
extraordinary professional male revue, has already been made into a series in
the U.K., Canada, New Zealand and Australia. In other Distraction news, the
company has announced the sale of its 6th format this year to Russia in the form
of “Ciao Darwin.” The company has also announced 13 pre-MIP sales for both
old and new formats, including newbie “Talk of the Town,” and established “TV
Diaries,” “Old and Crazy,” “Rent a Host” and “Kenny V Spenny,” are among
the sold products.
Distraction

GRB Entertainment will spin off its existing international distribution
division and transform it into an entirely new venture, known as GRB Worldwide. The
company will launch at MIP-TV and will be lead by Gavin Reardon, who
currently holds the position of senior vice president, International Distribution for
GRB Entertainment.
GRB

In honor of the United Nations’ 60th anniversary, Harmony Gold has created
animated public service announcements celebrating the UN’s message of peace. The
PSAs will feature characters from classic Harmony Gold anime series
“Robotech,” and will be available at MIP.
Harmony Gold

Licensing 2005 International, the premier event where promotion, retail, and
licensing executives can forge partnerships with brand and entertainment
marketers, will take place June 21-23, 2005 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention
Center in New York. Pre-registration has begun; those who pre-register by May 17th
for FREE exhibits admission receive a $100 savings.
Licensing Show 2005

In conjunction with 4Kids Entertainment and Peak Entertainment, entrepreneur
Laura Wellington will introduce “The Wumblers” to MIP-TV. The educational,
pre-school animated half-hours teach kids the value of mutual respect, fairness
and acceptance through the lives of a five-year-old Wumbler named Bertrum and
his best pal, Raimundo, a Latino snail.
Peak Entertainment

Kids entertainment giants Comcast, PBS, Sesame Workshop and HIT Entertainment
have announced the launch of PBS KIDS Sprout. This month marks the initial
launch of PBS KIDS Sprout On Demand, a new VoD service debuting on Comcast. This
fall will mark the launch of a 24-hour digital cable channel.
Sesame Workshop

Melodrama is about to hit the Muppets on “Plaza Sesamo.” This season,
Abelardo, Pancho and Lola will appear in telenovela parodies in order to positively
demonstrate emotions to kids. Sesame workshop has also announced three new
series, which will be available at MIP: “The Upside Down Show,” co-produced with
Noggin; “The Little Carousel,” featuring Julie Andrews; and “Bert and
Ernie,” a Claymation pilot.
Sesame Workshop

Two prominent companies specializing in Japanese content — ShoPro
Entertainment and VIZ, have merged to form VIZ Media, an entertainment company
specializing in the production and licensing of animated content.
VIZ Media

TV-Loonland has announced that they are producing a second TV season of
animated series “Pettson and Findus,” as well as a third feature film based on the
series, which is based on popular picture books by Swedish author Sven
Nordqvist.
TV-Loonland

As the result of a deal made between NBC Universal and World Wrestling
Entertainment, Monday Night RAW will return to the USA Network in October 2005.
Though it was introduced on USA in 1993, since 2000 the battle of brawn has aired
on Spike TV.
WWE

**Please note that since the VideoAge staff will be covering MIP-TV next
week, we will not publish Paper Clips for the week of April 13. The newsletter
will resume the following week, on April 20.

It's true, all publishers sound alike...

We're the best… we're the most important… and so on.

So what is a distributor to do in order to ensure that a few advertising
dollars can stretch further?

Here's what. For the L.A. Screenings ‘05, find:
1. The publication that serves your buyers by publishing a truly helpful list
of pilot pick-ups.
2. The publication that is sent to all buyers’ hotel rooms (how do you know
which publication is delivered? Simple. Just look if they have a complete list
of buyers in the magazine).
3. The publication that offers the most up-to-date information on all
distributors' suite numbers.
4. The publication that gives you the most visibility in terms of program
listings, editorial coverage and photo reports.

If your preferred publication can satisfy ALL of these four points, it is
your No.1 media buy, and you shouldn't settle for less (even if the cost is
almost nothing).

This message is brought to you by VideoAge.
The L.A. Screenings’ official publication (
http://www.videoageinternational.com/screenings.html)

For more info on deadlines, special ad packages and floor coverage, please
email: dsvideoag@aol.com.

This newsletter is also available at www.videoage.org

This free service is directed to international television executives.

To subscribe, please e-mail us at vaieditor@aol.com.

To unsubscribe, please send a reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the
subject line.