VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
Bob Barker, longtime host of The Price is Right will retire in June at the ripe old age of 83. After 35 years as host of the fan-favorite gameshow, and 50 years in the TV biz, Barker just feels it's time to hang up his microphone. Barker began his television career in 1956 as the host of Truth or Consequences. He first appeared on Price on September 4, 1972, and has been the face of the show eve since.
The Globe & Mail

BUSINESS
Sahara India TV Network is fixing a maximum retail price of Rs 5 for its pay channels Sahara One and Filmy. The channel joins Star, Sony, Zee and another 11 channels, in complying with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notification to broadcasters to fix a maximum retail price, excluding taxes, offered in Conditional Access System areas.
The Hindu

Although Toronto-based technology giant Nortel Networks Corp. took a huge hit in the 2005 fiscal year while settling two related U.S. shareholders suits, losing $2.6 billion, the company is hoping that the growth of Internet video will provide opportunities for the ailing firm. Nortel, which delivers communications capabilities and serves both service providers and enterprise customers, is optimistic that with the rise of the new technology, more consumers will require more equipment and turn to Nortel.
The Globe & Mail

Arun Kumar Kapoor has been appointed CEO of DishTV. The direct-to-home (DTH) entertainment service claims a distribution network of 12,000 dealers, caters to 1.5 million subscribers and is headquartered in Noida. Most recently, Kapoor served as CEO for the Punjab Circle for Hutchison Essar South Ltd., and has in the past worked with UB Group, Gillette, Pepsi, Spice Cell, Airtel and IBM Daksh.
The Hindu

TECHNOLOGY
China's broadcasting industry regulator will soon require all mobile phone service providers in China to use a China-developed technology standard for broadcasting television signals to cell phones. The State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) announced the new standard, STiMi (Satellite Terrestrial Interactive Multi-service Infrastructure), in late October in advance of an international forum on standards for mobile phone television. STiMi was developed by the SARFT-affiliated Academy of Broadcast Science and will be applied across the country in November.
Xinhua

CONTROVERSY
Thousands of clips from Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report reappeared on YouTube on Tuesday after being yanked over the weekend due to a copyright complaint from Viacom, Comedy Central's parent company. Full episodes of the shows, however, will no longer be available through the site. Speculation for Viacom's reasoning to pull its programming focused on Google's recent acquisition of YouTube for $1.65 billion earlier this month.
E! Online

FILM
It seems Saw III still packs a wallop. Staff at a U.K. movie theater had to call emergency services three times in one night when moviegoers fainted while watching the latest incarnation of the horror franchise. One woman was taken to a local hospital. Two others were treated by medics on the scene, and another man collapsed at a cinema in Peterborough, Cambs.
BBC News

Canada-based independent film distributor ThinkFilm, best known for irreverent fare like John Cameron Mitchell's recent naked romp Shortbus, has been sold to film financier and producer David Bergstein. The investor, who is based in Hollywood, has already acquired Capitol Films, a European firm specializing in international film production. He plans to merge the two companies to create a "formidable new force in the independent marketplace."
The Windsor Star

Bryan Singer, the director who helmed the recent Superman Returns movie has been tapped to direct and produce a sequel to the superhero flick. Over the summer, Warner Bros. made it known that any sequels to the film would be dependent on the initial movie making at least $200 million at the box office. As of last weekend, it had reached that mark. Singer is currently the only person on board the project.
E! Online

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