VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
In today's fickle TV environment, the future of any midseason show is somewhat uncertain, but shows premiering on the soon-to-be-defunct UPN and WB networks are facing even more imminent danger. The shortage of programming slots available on the upcoming CW network, mixed with the networks' unwillingness to invest big bucks in promotional campaigns just a few months before they go out of business could spell disaster for these freshman series.
Los Angeles Times

And then there were two. Two Scottish women will battle it out for the top prize on the U.K. version of The Apprentice, hosted by Amstrad multi-millionaire Sir Alan Sugar. The two -- a business lecturer and a lawyer -- are vying for a 100,000 pound position at Sugar's company.
The Scotsman

Only two more days until the Olympic Games... and this year's winter competitions are headed for multiple interactive platforms. Viewers will be able to catch NBC's Olympic coverage via video-on-demand and interactive platforms offered by Time Warner Cable, EchoStar's Communications' Dish Network and DirecTV. In total, NBC Universal will air 418 hours of coverage on its broadcast network, cable networks USA, MNBC and CNBC, and via a broadband offering at the NBC Olympics website. Content will air online only after it has been broadcast on traditional TV outlets.
Advertising Age

BUSINESS
Like Telemundo before it, Spanish-language media company Univision Communications is considering putting itself up for sale. An auction for Univision -- worth nearly $10 billion -- could send the country's media giants vying for a slice of the lucrative and growing Spanish-language market. Univision owns the No. 1 Spanish-language television network, radio broadcaster, music company and online operations. The buyer would immediately gain a gateway into the rapidly growing Latino market, with some $480 billion in annual buying power.
The New York Times

TECHNOLOGY
Despite the Chamber of Deputies' failure to approve the conditions for digital television in the Czech Republic, this year's Olympic games may prove to be a boon for digital TV in the region. The eve of the games will see the launch of CT 4, a digital sports channel that promises to raise people's demand for the service.
The Prague Post

I.B.M. researchers plan to report this week that they have developed a high-speed wireless technology that could do away with the bulky cables that now connect electronic devices in the living room. The design is capable of transmitting more than 10 times the data of today's Wi-Fi using lower-cost silicon germanium material. The researchers said the new technology would be ideal for moving HDTV video signals around the home wirelessly in the unlicensed 60-gigahertz portion of the radio frequency spectrum.
The New York Times

ADVERTISING
Companies with dreams of seeing their names up on the marquee may finally get a chance to do just that. Canada's Cineplex Entertainment is hunting for companies willing to buy naming rights on four major movie complexes in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. The Paramount-branded cinemas are located in core downtown locations and have huge lobbies with food outlets and other entertainment offerings.
The Globe and Mail

Pay-TV channel Showtime has become the latest TV net to invade Apple's iTunes Music Store. Showtime original productions, including Sleeper Cell and Weeds, will be available for download on iPods.
Los Angeles Times

AWARDS SHOWS
The 2006 Prix Jutra awards nominations recognized two titles above all the others -- C.R.A.Z.Y., the hit French-language film about a young man's confused sexual identity in 1970s Quebec, and Maurice Richard, a biopic about the legendary Canadian hockey star. The Prix Jutra awards are francophone Quebec's equivalent to the Oscars.
The Globe and Mail

FILM
These days, it's not easy being Grey. Brad Grey, chairman and chief executive of Paramount Pictures is feeling the pressure after his company's recent split with Viacom-sister CBS makes it a larger fish in smaller water. And with more pink slips to be handed out this week as a result of Paramount's acquisition of DreamWorks, it may be difficult for Grey to quell the attacks on the company, and accusations of low-quality productivity that have persisted for nearly a year.
The New York Times

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