VIDEOAGE"PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
NBC's Saturday Night Live-inspired Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the net's most-hyped new show of the fall season, is losing viewers in droves. The show's Monday night airing fell to a series-low 8.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. It's not the only new program that's struggling, though. The only new series to crack the top 10 was ABC dramedy Ugly Betty.
E! Online

Just three weeks into its "social experiment," CBS's Survivor: Cook Islands merged its four segregated tribes into two larger mixed-race groups. The merging came about on day seven of the competition, and aired within the first five minutes of the episode, leaving perplexed viewers to question just what they were expected to learn from two weeks of division along ethnic lines.
E! Online

The CBC has hired former CTV Newsnet and CFTO news director Derwyn Smith to help formulate a local news plan. This new hire is part of a strategic three-year plan, announced in July, to revamp CBC's local news coverage and programs.
The Globe & Mail

BUSINESS
Warsaw-based One-2-One, a supplier of mobile solutions for operators of mobile networks, has inked an agreement with TV station TV4 to become co-producer of a program called Teleszau. Viewers of the upcoming series will be able to participate in televised auctions by sending messages from their cell phones. One-2-One didn't reveal the anticipated revenues from this collaboration, but insiders indicate that this is expected to be a lucrative partnership for all involved.
Warsaw Business Journal

A launching ceremony for India's newly licensed Powervision, a Christian television station, was held last week in Bahrain. The star attraction of the evening was gospel singer Jolly Abraham. Beamed on Satellite Insat 4, the channel's programming can be watched by thousands of people in Bahrain and other Gulf countries.
Gulf Daily News

CONTROVERSY
As it nears its third season finale, another Project Runway contestant is under fire. Jeffrey Sebelia has been accused of cheating by fellow contestant Laura Bennett, who claims that he obtained outside help to stitch his garments together -- a big Project Runway no-no. Sebelia denies the accusation.
E! Online

VIDEO GAMES
France-based video gaming studio Ubisoft celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, but Yannis Mallat, CEO of the Canadian branch of the company, has other reasons to celebrate. Under his tutelage, the company came home with five prizes at the inaugural Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts, a ceremony hosted by William Shatner in September. Mallat has only been in charge of the company for five months.
Montreal Gazette

FILM
Are we being Punk'd? Ashton Kutcher pulled a double whammy this past weekend, landing the number one and number two spots at the U.S. weekend box office. Cartoon Open Season, which features the voice of Kutcher as a manic deer, took in $23.6 million, while his live-action The Guardian, about Coast Guard rescuers, came in second with $18 million.
E! Online

FILM FESTIVALS
The 44th New York Film Festival, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, opened last week at Lincoln Center and continues through October 15. Among the movies being screened are: Stephen Frears's The Queen, about Elizabeth II, Manoel de Oliviera's Belle Toujours, a small-scale sequel to classic Belle du Jour, and Abderrahmane Sissako's Bamako, which gives viewers a glimpse at daily life in Africa.
The New York Times

*Paper Clips will be on hiatus next week, in view of the upcoming MIPCOM conference, but will return on Wednesday, October 18.

Video promos from a test sample of VideoAge's advertisers can now be seen simply by logging on to VideoAge's website: www.videoage.org, or from any of VideoAge's other sites, including www.videoage.it and www.videoagelatino.com.

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