VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
Traditionally a sure-fire hit, this year's Olympics aren't exactly achieving ratings gold. NBC Universal, which is covering the Torino events on its broadcast and cable networks, is struggling with some of the lowest ratings in the history of the Games. The Olympics' ratings are down from the past two Winter Olympics, with the first week of primetime Olympic coverage averaging 20.8 million viewers, down 35 percent compared with the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, and down 20 percent compared with the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
Los Angeles Times

BUSINESS
Univision's recent announcement that it would likely put itself up for sale has drawn potential interest from companies including Viacom and News Corp. Analysts predict it could be a $13 billion deal, a far cry from the $2.7 billion General Electric paid in 2001 for the No. 2 Spanish-language network, Telemundo. In an interview, Don Browne, president of Telemundo, spoke about his lack of surprise at Univision's announcement, the implications of the CW on minority audiences, and the undeniable growth of the U.S. Hispanic market.
The New York Times

TECHNOLOGY
QuickPlay Media, a Canada-based mobile video player, has managed to establish itself as one of the top players in the industry. The company is a partnership between media exec Raja Khanna and telecommunications veteran Wayne Purboo. QuickPlay Media currently runs mobile video-on-demand services for all the major Canadian carriers.
The Globe and Mail

Czech telecom major Eesky Telecom is well on its way to creating an Internet protocol television (IPTV) service for the Czech Republic. The service is expected to launch at the end of June, and eight TV and five radio stations have already signed up. The service will run across Eesky's fixed-line structure, which can deliver broadband access to 90 percent of its subscriber base.
EIN News

In a network TV first, NBC has made the series pilot of Conviction available as a free download on Apple's iTunes site over a week in advance of its TV debut. The show, which revolves around young New York lawyers, is geared toward the iPod-toting younger demo.
Chicago Tribune

CONTROVERSY
New Zealand's Catholics are not amused by tonight's episode of often-controversial cartoon South Park. Many Catholics demanded that the episode, which features a bleeding statue of the Virgin Mary, be pulled from TV station C4's schedule; some advertisers also pulled their ads from the show. But in an ironic twist, the high levels of publicity brought on by the controversy caused the TV station to push the episode's airing (originally scheduled for May) forward a few months.
ABC Online

The gloves are officially off in a battle of the billionaires. Martha Stewart recently blamed the failure of her version of The Apprentice on Donald Trump's version having gobbled up too much airtime. In response, Trump fired off a biting letter and said in an interview that his would-be successor's show "was a mistake for everybody -- especially NBC."
E! Online

ADVERTISING
Mainstream advertisers like PepsiCo. see "big event," live television programs as a sure-fire way to reach consumer eyeballs. Among the biggest shows are mainstays The Oscars and The Super Bowl. But this year, marketers are adding another program into their ad budget: Premio Lo Nuestro a la M=FAsica Latina, an annual all-star music awards show, which airs on the Univision network, and is typically the most-watched program among Hispanic audiences. The fact that the list of so-called big event TV programs now includes a show in Spanish is another sign of the growing importance of the Hispanic market to mainstream advertisers.
The New York Times

RESEARCH
Nielsen seems to have listened to the complaints of various TV networks that have long complained that out-of-home viewing isn't given any recognition. Nielsen has announced that it would include college students living away from home in its television ratings beginning in early 2007. The move could bolster ratings for networks like Fox and MTV, which cater to younger viewers.
The New York Times

AWARDS SHOWS
Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain took home the biggest prizes at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on Sunday night, including the award for best picture. Philip Seymour Hoffman of Capote won best actor, and Reese Witherspoon won the best actress award for Walk the Line. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was the BAFTA choice for the Alexander Korda award for outstanding British film of the year, and Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright won the Carl Foreman award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer.
Miami Herald

In an effort to give all actors a fair chance at taking home a primetime Emmy, despite their show's ratings numbers, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is making some changes to its voting process. Instead of the traditional popular vote among academy members, the five nominations for best lead performers in comedy and drama series -- as well as the shows themselves -- will be selected by blue-ribbon panels from a larger pool of nominees voted on by members at large.
Los Angeles Times

FILM
The BBC is proving its commitment to the British film industry by showing them the money. The U.K. public broadcaster plans to invest at least £3100 -- to be split between homegrown movie projects and acquisitions of British films for TV -- in the British film industry over the next ten years. The deal is a result of a new partnership between the BBC and the UK Film Council.
BBC News

It looks as though Hollywood is coming to the Big Apple. In 2005, New York attracted more than 250 independent and studio films, up from 202 in 2004 and 180 in 2003. And now, with New York City suddenly awash in film and television productions, Silvercup Studios has unveiled a plan for a $1 billion complex with soundstages, commercial space and housing on the Queens waterfront south of the Queensboro Bridge.
The New York Times

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