PROGRAMMING
Could celebrity voyeurism be a thing of the past? Two star-studded weekend
shows received not-so-hot ratings: NBC’s tsunami telethon, which featured cameos
from a wide range of celebs, and its Golden Globe Awards telecast both lacked
eyeballs. The Golden Globes’ viewership was down nearly 40 percent from last
year’s record-setting broadcast. [E! Online]
E! Online

Surprise, surprise: outrageous contesants = high ratings in the reality TV
world. In the U.K., “Celebrity Big Brother” has lost 700,000 viewers as a
result of the eviction of racing pundit John McCririck. On Tuesday, one day after
the eviction of McCririck, The Channel 4 show lost out to BBC Two’s Auschwitz
Documentary, “The Nazis and ‘The Final Solution’.” [BBC News]

BBC News

At CBS, “The times they are a changin’.” Network chairman Les Moonves said
to expect big changes following Dan Rather’s departure from “The CBS Evening
News.” Among those alterations will be a shift toward more anchors.
[International Herald Tribune]
International Herald Tribune

The’70s are back. Much to the surprise of most media watchers, “That ‘70s
Show” will return to Fox for its eighth season sans stars Ashton Kutcher and
Topher Grace. [E! Online]
E! Online

BUSINESS
Let the games begin …. The U.K’s NTL and Telewest, two cable television
companies, have upped the ante in their battle against BskyB. The two companies
launched a television-on-demand service which uses greater capacity than their
satellite rival. Over the next year, cable customers will be able to choose
from an archive of films, music videos, children’s programs and BBC material for
immediate viewing. [The London Times]

The London Times

In an effort to further simplify his holdings, cable magnate John C. Malone’s
Liberty Media International has made an offer to buy out the public
shareholders of UnitedGlobalCom, a Denver-based cable company with interests in Europe
and Japan. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

CONTROVERSY
It was a conflict of “telenovelan” proportions — of father against son. But
the showdown at Cablevision has ended in favor of the younger generation.
Charles Dolan the company's founder, wanted to keep the satellite unit, Voom but
directors have agreed with his son, James, to try to sell it. [The New York
Times]
The New York Times

FILM
The film industry in “Jolly Ole England” is not so jolly at the moment, with
film production falling by 40 percent in 2004. The number of brit-bred films
that started shooting in 2004 was 27, as opposed to 45 the previous year. The
biggest single factor is said to be the government's crackdown on tax
loopholes that allowed producers to collect tax relief twice on the same film. [The
Guardian]
The Guardian

There seems to be no vacation in sight for “Lord of the Rings” director
Peter Jackson. The New Zealand-born helmer and his screenwriting/producing partner
Fran Walsh have optioned the rights to bestselling debut novel, “The Lovely
Bones.” Jackson will begin working on the project after he finished his remake
of “King Kong.” [E! Online]
E! Online

And the battle for Bond continues, with an Aussie taking a slight lead.
Australian actor Hugh Jackman is favored to become the next 007, a position left
vacant by Pierce Brosnan. Scotsman Ewan McGregor, Irishman Colin Farrell and
Englishman Clive Owen are all in the running. [BBC News]
BBC News

AWARDS SHOWS
Still on a high from its Golden Globe win, Martin Scorcese’s biopic “The
Aviator” has received an impressive 14 nominations for February’s British
Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards. [The Guardian]
The Guardian

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
AETN International has named Ledafilms exclusive distributor of A&E and The
History Channel programs to standard television in Latin America.
AETN

CABLEready has sold six of its titles to pan-Arab network MBC, including
cinema-themed reality series “Filmfakers,” and documentary “Trust Me,” in which
a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim children live together at summer camp.
CABLEready has also sold “Filmfakers” to the U.K.’s Flextech, and the show
will air on Bravo, Trouble and UKTV People. Flextech has also acquired an
option for formatting rights.
CABLEready

CHUM Limited’s post-tsunami disaster relief efforts (including its CHUM
Disaster Relief Day), have managed to raise $4.5 million for the Canadian Red
Cross. In other CHUM news, the company, along with NonStop Television of Sweden,
will launch a Star! programming block on Orbit Communications’ satellite
entertainment channel, The Hollywood Channel. The block will reach territories in
the Middle East and North Africa.
CHUM Limited

Cookie Jar Entertainment has made two staff changes: Kelly Elwood has been
promoted to senior vice president of marketing; John Gildea has been named svp,
consumer products and will oversee the company’s licensing activities.
Cookie Jar

Coral International will bring five new shows to NATPE. Among them are
telenovelas “Spoiled Beauty” and “Micel.” The novelas can be seen at a private
screening on January 25, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Coral

Grand Prix Entertainment, an entity formed by DIC Entertainment, and
Wasserman Media Group are joining forces to launch a full-scale Formula 1motorsport
brand in the U.S.
DIC

The Disney-ABC Television Group has announced a reorganization of its TV
business in European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) territories. Effective
immediately, John Hardie will be promoted to evp, managing director, branded
entertainment, EMEA; Tom Toumazis will be promoted to evp, managing director,
distribution, EMEA.
Disney-ABC

E! Networks and U.K. satellite broadcaster BskyB will partner to present
daily half-hour courtroom reenactments of the Michael Jackson trial. On E!, the
series will include legal expert commentary.
E!

FremantleMedia North America’s recently established The Instant Comedy
Project will produce a docu-spoof for the SCI FI Channel called “Still in Search
of…” The show will be a comedic parody of a classic science-fiction series.
FremantleMedia.com

GRB Entertainment will produce the new “Untitled Foster Project” for Fox
later this year. The unscripted series will follow the crazy lives of music guru
David Foster’s family, whose outrageous behavior is exceeded only by their
wealth.
GRB

Little Airplane Production’s “Go Baby” interstitials premiered on Monday,
January 3, during Disney Channel’s learning-based block, Playhouse Disney. The
interstitials were created in photo collage animation by Josh Selig.
Disney Channel

Nelvana has announced a series of pre-NATPE licensing agreements. Brazil’s TV
Globo has acquired Beyblade “VFORCE” episodes 52-102, while Cartoon Network
Asia picked up 52 episodes of Beyblade “GRevolution” for Australia and New
Zealand. The company has also finalized two separate agreements for “Jacob
Two-Two,” with Spanish broadcasters, Television Nacional de Chile and Telemundo.
Nelvana

Peter Orton, founder and chairman of HIT Entertainment will be presented with
a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s MIP-TV featuring MILIA
audiovisual and digital content market, April 11-15 in Cannes.
MIP-TV

Sesame Workshop will team up with Indian Kids’ entertainment leader, Turner
to produce the newest version of its kiddie classic, “Sesame India.” In other
Sesame news, the company has named Tracy Garrett as director of public policy.
She will be based out of Washington, D.C.
Sesame Workshop

WGBH International and HOLA Entertainment have formed an alliance. Under the
deal, HOLA will represent WGBH International’s catalog and productions in
Latin America.
WGBH

***Please Note: Because the VideoAge staff will be publishing the dailes at
NATPE next week, "Paper Clips" will not be published next Wednesday (January
26), but will return again the following week (February 2).