PROGRAMMING
Hoping to cash-in on some of the success that “American Idol” has afforded
its competition (Fox), ABC aired a “Primetime Live” special entitled “Fallen
Idol” last night, which went behind-the-scenes and behind-the-drama of
everyone’s favorite talent show. [E! Online]
E! Online

It seems as though U.K. TV viewers may be sick of celebrities. The decision
by ITV to pack its Saturday night schedule with celebrities, has resulted in
viewers switching channels, in favor of the BBC. ITV has been striking out with
“Celebrity Wrestling,” which pits many ex-reality TV stars against one
another; “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” which attempts to revive dated pop stars;
“Celebrity Stitch Up,” which subjects stars to “Candid Camera”-style stunts; and
“Hell's Kitchen,” the reality TV show where celebrity chefs Gary Rhodes and
Jean Christophe Novelli battle one another. [The Independent]
The Independent

What a difference three years make. The long-awaited return of the
once-cancelled animated sitcom “The Family Guy” was a big hit for Fox on Sunday night.
The show scored a 10th place finish among the 18-49 demo and attracted 11.9
million viewers. [E! Online]
E! Online

BUSINESS
It was a good first quarter for Time Warner, with the media conglomerate
seeing its cable business jump 10 percent in revenues. And the news couldn’t have
come at a better time, as, just two weeks ago, the company announced having
reached a deal with Comcast to acquire Adelphia Communications’ 5.3 million
cable subscribers for about $17.6 billion in cash and stock. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

ADVERTISING
Advertisers who use pan-Arab satellite channels to reach consumers are about
to get a little bang for their buck. In June, Selevision will launch the
Dynamic Commercial Delivery System, which will allow advertisers to customize their
ads by location, age and income of the viewers. [Arab News]
Arab News

TECHNOLOGY
It’s all about looks when it comes to Europeans’ choice to switch from
analog to digital TV. According to a recent survey by Jupiter research, picture
quality is the most important factor in persuading European TV viewers to make
the switch. Nearly a quarter — 24 percent — ranked HDTV as the most important
factor in deciding whether to switch to digital television. [BBC News]
BBC News

CONTROVERSY
Though they represent about 5 percent of the U.S. population, Asian-Americans
are almost entirely missing from primetime broadcast television. A recent
study showed that only 2.7 percent of regular characters on primetime TV shows
are Asian. [CNN.com]
CNN

Forget Hawaii, the Bahamas or the Cayman Islands, if you are a bootlegger,
the hottest destination is . . . Canada. Because of a vacuum in digital
copyright law, Canada has become a haven for DVD pirates who want to make illegal
copies of American television shows and sell them online. [The Globe and Mail]
The Globe and Mail

OBITUARY
Mariana Levy, a Mexican telenovela actress who appeared on Televisa’s
“Nuestra Casa” show, died last week. She had a heart attack after a man armed with a
pistol approached her vehicle in Mexico City. [Yahoo! News]
Yahoo News

FILM
There’s no doubt about it . . . the Chinese film industry is flourishing.
China has become the third largest film producer in the world, following the
United States and India. China shot a record 212 films in 2004, and cinemas
nationwide reported a total box office income of 1.5 billion yuan. Chinese films
made 3.6 billion yuan (US$433 million) from overseas cinemas and the movie
channel of China Central Television. [People’s Daily]
People's Daily

If you are thinking about taking the little tykes to see the new “Star Wars”
movie, think again. “Revenge of the Sith” is the first movie in the series
to receive a PG-13 rating, and has been described by critics as “a bloodbath.”
[BBC News]
BBC News

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
Beginning in late spring, early fall 2005, many 4Kids programs will find a
home on YTV in Canada. 4Kids Entertainment has licensed “Pokémon,” “Pokémon
Chronicles,” “Yu-Gi-Oh,” “Winx Club,” “Mew Mew Power,” “Shaman King” and
“Sonic X” to the net.
4Kids Entertainment

Kids can now watch their favorite TV rock band on their mobile phones.
Endemol’s series “Bad Candy Was Here,” which stars a girl rock band, is the first
program to be offered via the operator-independent UMTS service, the network
for mobile broadband.
Endemol

Due to a significant increase in its portfolio, Globo TV International has
added two new sales people to its team. André Luz Duarte Meirelles will focus on
Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Pedro Dombrasas Fernandez will focus
on the Latin American market.
Globo TV

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

Just because the U.S. season of “American Idol” will have ceased, doesn’t
mean U.S. viewers should put down their mobile phones just yet. NBC will debut a
three-episode show this summer, entitled “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” which
will see veteran music hit-makers performing their greatest hit and a cover of
a new contemporary song, only to be judged by viewers. The show is an
American version of a British show, which aired on ITV.
NBC Universal

This year’s PROMX&BDA Conference in New York, will feature some of the cable
industry’s top executives, including TVLand/Nick at Nite president and general
manager Larry Jones; OLN’s CEO and president Gavin Harvey; Chris Moseley,
evp, worldwide marketing and brand strategy for Crown Media Holdings, Inc. and
Hallmark Channell; and Artie Scheff, chief marketing officer at The History
Channel.
PROMAX

Sony Pictures TV International has partnered with CJ Entertainment, a leading
producer of Korean movies, and will distribute two Korean
theatrically-released films: “The Greatest Expectation” and “How to Keep My Love.”
SPTI

At the L.A. Screenings, Telefe International will be focused on formats. The
company will offer fiction formats “The Roldans” and “The Pretenders,”
telenovela formats “Wild Angel” and “Black Pearl” and entertainment format “The
Legacy.” The company has also taken on exclusive representation for Latin
America of two companies: Granada (which has a catalog of over 40 formats) and
Zodiac.
Telefe International

Zone Vision Networks’ Reality TV channel has added another significant
distribution agreement to its list. The net will launch on J-Com, Japan’s largest
digital cable platform, beginning in June.
Zone Vision

**NOTE: Program acquisitions execs are invited to register with VideoAge in
order to be featured in the official VideoAge L.A. Screenings guide. To
register, simply go to www.videoage.org and
click on the link for the L.A. Screenings, and then on “Register Me.”

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.