PROGRAMMING
The newly implemented year-round series launch schedule is proving successful
for some of the nets, and not so much so for others. Last week, Fox’s “The
Inside” failed to capture an audience during its launch, ABC’s reality series
“The Scholar” proved to be a snooze-fest for most viewers and CBS’s Tommy
Hilfiger reality series failed to make “The Cut.” On the brighter side, ABC’s
“Dancing with the Stars” remains a force-to-be-reckoned-with and CBS’s “Fire
Me . . . Please” was popular with younger audiences. [Reuters]
Reuters

The Brits will soon be getting a (much-needed?) dose of American history.
Stephen Spielberg’s most recent miniseries “Into the West,” which spans eight
decades of U.S. history, will find a home on BBC Two next year. [BBC News]
BBC News

Canadian television is in the money! At the Banff World Television Festival,
Heritage minister Liza Frulla announced plans to present Canada's television
industry with $100-million in new money to create homegrown programming. [The
Globe and Mail]
The Globe and Mail

There’s good news for soccer fans in Asia. ASTRO All Asia Networks has bought
a 51 percent stake in two 24-hour GoalTV soccer channels, which get
programming from the official broadcast channels of Manchester United and other
football teams in the English Premier League. The Malaysian broadcaster will offer
the channels to its satellite television customers in Malaysia, Brunei and
Indonesia later this year. [The Malaysia Star]
The Malaysia Star

BUSINESS
BBC Worldwide is laughing all the way to the bank after sales of its TV
comedy series “Little Britain” topped the charts to become the best-selling DVD of
2004. More than 1.3 million copies of the first series of the show helped BBC
Worldwide reach record-breaking profits of 55 million pounds (U.S.$100
million) from 2004-2005. [BBC News]
BBC News

In an expected move, the directors of Viacom have voted to split the
larger-than-life company in two. Viacom Inc. will be headed by Tom Freston and will
contain Viacom's popular cable networks (including MTV and Nickelodeon),
Paramount Pictures and Simon & Schuster. CBS Corp. will include CBS and its
television stations, King World, Infinity, Outdoor, Showtime and Paramount Television;
and Les Moonves will be CEO. Sumner Redstone, CEO and chairman of Viacom will
remain chairman of both companies but will relinquish his CEO title. [The New
York Times]
The New York Times

ADVERTISING
Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb is showing a little restraint when it comes
to their advertising campaigns. The company will hold off on its mass media
advertising — television, radio and print branded ads — for one year after a
product has hit the market. The move is an effort by the company to ensure that
doctors are well informed about a drug before they begin prescribing it. [The
New York Times]
The New York Times

TECHNOLOGY
TiVo’s reach is getting larger, but its programs are getting much smaller. A
new extension to the digital video recorder will allow users to watch
pre-recorded programs on Windows hand-held computer devices. Previously, TiVo users
could only transfer their programs to Windows-based computers. [Associated Press]
Associated Press

Crisper, clearer television pictures are becoming a reality, and thanks to a
new ruling by the U.S.’s Federal Communications Commission, we are even closer
to complete clarity. Federal regulators unanimously voted that all
medium-sized televisions (25 to 36 inches in diameter) produced after March 1 must be
capable of receiving both digital and analog signals. This date was moved up
four months earlier than the FCC had decreed three years ago. [Yahoo News]
Yahoo News

TV FESTIVALS
It was a British invasion at Banff. U.K. programming dominated the awards at
The 26th annual Banff Rockie Awards on Monday, part of the Banff World
Television Festival. The BBC's miniseries “Blackpool” won top honors, taking the
$50,000 Global Television Grand Prize. [CBC Canada]
CBC Canada

FILM FESTIVALS
Melbourne is going to get a bit spookier next month. The Melbourne
International Film Festival (beginning July 20) will see the long-awaited Australian
premiere of the low-budget horror film “Wolf Creek” during its 2 1/2-week
program. The film, which has already screened at the Cannes and Sundance festivals,
will be one of 400 titles shown during the festival, with the world premiere
of another highly anticipated Australian film, “Little Fish.” [The Australian]
The Australian

FILM
The Bat is back, and comic book fans couldn’t be happier. “Batman Begins”
has been described as darker than the previous movies, avoiding the campy,
slapstick style of the previous movies in favor of an exploration into the damaged
psyche of Bruce Wayne, whose alter-ego is none other than the Caped Crusader.
[CNN]
CNN

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
BBC Worldwide will bring two new properties to the Licensing International
Show (June 21-23): Doctor Who is an intergalactic adventurer who travels through
time and space; Charlie and Lola is about a silly four-year-old girl and her
imaginative older brother.
BBC Worldwide

CABLEready has begun offering topic-specific segments of its “Medstar Medical
Alerts” health news service to non-broadcast healthcare channels worldwide.
The company has sold 73 dentistry-themed minutes to Ecuador’s Enjoy Channel, a
closed-circuit network serving healthcare facilities across the country.
CABLEready

Classic Media has entered into an exclusive co-venture with Tribune Media
Services, the content syndication arm of the Tribune Company. Under the terms of
the deal, Classic Media will manage worldwide licensing, marketing, home-video
and production rights for Dick Tracy, Brenda Starr and Broom-Hilda, among
others.
Classic Media

Educational Adventures, a company committed to empowering children and
families to make safe decisions, will present The Danger Rangers to the Licensing
International Show in New York. The team of Sully the Safety Seal, Kitty the Cat
and Burble the Bear teach kids how to stay out of danger and how to avoid
common accidents.
Danger Rangers

Discovery Networks International announced the promotion of Tom Keaveny to
the position of executive vice president and managing director of Discovery
Networks Asia. In his new position, Keaveny will be in charge of Asia Pacific
business.
Discovery

Jeroen Van Waardenberg will be the international spokesperson for the
Netherlands-based Endemol Group for the time being. Van Waardenberg has been
appointed interim manager, Corporate Communications at Endemol Holding.
Endemol

PROMAX&BDA and the Library of Congress have unveiled The PROMAX&BDA
Collection — the world’s largest collection of television promos, which will be
available to the public as part of the Library’s permanent collection. In other
PROMAX news, just in time for the launch of Viacom’s Logo Network, PROMAX&BDA 2005
(June 21-23) will feature a session dedicated to the challenges of marketing
to America’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
PROMAX

As NBC Universal’s theatrical pic “Cinderella Man” continues to grab
audiences worldwide, Rigel Entertainment’s documentary “Cinderella Man: The Real Jim
Braddock Story” is garnering a lot of attention. The doc has received a rave
review in “The New York Times,” and was featured on NBC’s “The Today Show.”
Rigel Entertainment

RDF Media’s documentary series “The Queen’s Castle,” about Windsor and its
residents, is quite a hit Down Under. The documentary, which goes
behind-the-scenes at the royal residence, has helped Australia’s Nine Network beat out the
competition in regards to ratings.
RDF Media

TV Azteca will highlight two new series at DISCOP 2005 (June 23-25); both
will be available as finished products or as formats. “Women’s Stories”
dramatizes the struggles women face every day; “La Vida es Una Canción” is a series
in which each episode is inspired by a popular song.
TV Azteca

The pre-MIPCOM issue of VideoAge is coming out in September, with a focus on:

* Children's TV at MIPCOM Jr.
* Reality TV
* Cinema in Italy (Venice Film Festival)
* Cinema in Canada (Montreal and Toronto Film Festivals)
* TV in Greece

For more information on deadlines and special advertising packages, contact
Dom Serafini at dsvideoag@aol.com

This newsletter is also available at
www.videoage.org

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