PROGRAMMING
Some see it as the honorable retirement of a news legend, some see it as an
embarrassing step down for a man shamed by scandal, but it is, undeniably, the
end of an era. Wednesday, March 9, marks Dan Rather’s final night as anchor of
the "CBS Evening News," a position he has held since replacing Walter
Cronkite, exactly 24 years ago today. [E! Online]
E! Online

In Australia, a new three-part TV show is giving reality a bit of a literary
makeover. “Wild Valley ” follows the lives of Craig and Tahnee Orchard, a
young couple who live and work in the Victorian high country and attempt to
rebuild their orchards from the damage caused by the bushfires of 2003. The show is
narrated with poetic phrases “not usually associated with real-life TV.”
[Google News]
Google News

The “Sex” with Sarah Jessica Parker was so good, HBO is coming back for
more. “Sex and the City” star SJP has signed a two-year agreement with the pay
cable network to develop and produce series and long-form programming. [E!
Online]
E! Online

Just before the American version of “The Office” debuts in the U.S., the
original British series is receiving accolades. In honor of the famous Red Nose
Day in Britain, Comic Relief asked 8,000 people to name their favorite comedy
show of all time. British sitcoms “The Office,” “Fawlty Towers” and “Only
Fools And Horses” took top honors, in that order. [The Sun]
The Sun

BUSINESS
In choosing its next chairman and CEO, Sony dropped the technocrat in favor
of the diplomat. The two execs vying for the job, which was vacated by Nobuyuki
Idei, were Sir Howard Stinger, a former television news producer and
executive, and overseer of Sony's music, movie and electronics divisions in the United
States for the last eight years; and Ken Kutaragi, an executive deputy
president considered the company's chief visionary, who built Sony's PlayStation
video game into a huge success. The winner was the suave and limber corporate
politician, Stringer. The Brit will be the first non-Japanese chief executive at
Sony in its 59 years. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

ADVERTISING
Imagine a TV advertisement telling viewers to step away from the boob tube;
strange but true. Under fire for contributing the obesity epidemic, McDonalds
has launched a new ad campaign promoting physical activity. One spot even goes
as far as saying, “Maybe you should spend less time with your TV.” [The New
York Times]
The New York Times

TECHNOLOGY
High-definition television has traveled up North. On March 5, Canada’s CBC
Television launched CBC HD, the network's high-def TV service on two new digital
transmitters in Toronto and Montreal. [Digital Television]
Digital Television

Move over America, Singapore has stolen your title. According to the “Global
Information Technology” report by the World Economic Forum in Geneva,
Singapore has overtaken the United States as the world's best user of information and
communications technology. The United States dropped to the fifth position
behind Iceland, Finland and Denmark. [The International Herald Tribune]
The International Herald Tribune

CONTROVERSY
The gloves are expected to come off at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh
International Television Festival MacTaggart lecture — an event which is known
for producing controversial and agenda-setting speeches. Former director
general of the BBC, Lord Birt, was said to be furious after he failed to influence
last week's green paper on the future of the BBC, and is likely to use the
speech in August as a final attempt to lay out his vision ahead of a white paper
in October. [The Guardian]
The Guardian

The U.K. was treated to its very own Janet Jackson boob scandal this weekend,
when the breast of songstress Javine Hylton popped out of her dress on the
BBC1’s live telecast of “Making Your Mind Up.” The evening wasn’t a total flop
for Ms. Hylton, who went on to win qualification for competition in Britain’s
Eurovision Song Contest. [Sky News]
Sky News


FILM
No stranger to gory blood and guts, Quentin Tarantino is in talks with New
Line Cinema to direct another installment of the “Friday the 13th” movies,
starring none other than the hockey-mask wearing killer Jason Voorhees. [E! Online]
E! Online

Reflecting its growing importance, this year’s Tribeca Film Festival will
span 13 days. The Robert De Niro-created event will open on April 19 with Nicole
Kidman-starrer, “The Interpreter,” in which she plays a United Nations
employee. [BBC News]
BBC News

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
U.K. broadcasters Nickelodeon and Sky One have all signed on for a fifth
season of 4Kids Entertainment’s “YU-GI-OH” series. GMTV, another U.K.
broadcaster, is on for season three.
4Kids

Hallmark Entertainment has promoted John Alexander to the position of svp,
International Sales and Worldwide Distribution.
Hallmark

Harmony Gold will be at MIP with two feature-length comedies: the cheeky and
sexy “Death to Supermodels” and dark comedy “Siblings.”
Harmony Gold

Porchlight’s animated preschool series “Jay Jay The Jet Plane” is flying to
the Middle East. Starting in June, IETV – Israel Educational Television will
air the program on terrestrial Channel 1 and cable Channel 23.
Porchlight

SPORTELAsia 2005, which will take place, March 14-16 in Hong Kong, will open
with a cocktail reception sponsored by DAGOC- the Doha Asian Games Organising
Committee. DAGOC will also sponsor a special press event at the market.
SPORTELASIA has seen a dramatic increase in registration. With less than a week
until the market opens, all available floor space has been sold and more than 250
companies from 41 countries have registered.
SPORTELasia

TV Azteca has sold four of its telenovelas to Montreal-based home
entertainment and DVD distributor Imavision, in order to introduce the soaps into the
Canadian market.
TV Azteca.

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