VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
With previously proven network hits like Lost, Desperate Housewives and Without a Trace all down about five million viewers this year, it's a big surprise that network viewership is actually up. So what's everybody watching? Why, Dancing With the Stars. The ABC dancing juggernaut has never before been aired in the fall, but Tuesday's competition episode ranked second for the week, with 21.3 million viewers tuning in to watch talk show host Jerry Springer mambo his way through the hour-and-a-half show.
E! Online

The Arab States' Broadcasting Union has secured the Middle East television and Internet rights to the 2012 Olympics in London. The $21 million deal will allow viewers in the region to see the world's premier sports event for free via state broadcasters, as they have done since 1976.
AME Info

Two brothers from Missouri, one of whom helped the other escape from a juvenile facility in the 1960s, are accusing Fox and the producers of Prison Break, claiming the series is a blatant rip-off of a manuscript they wrote and sent to Fox in 2001. Robert Hughes was incarcerated after his mentally unstable mother told police he'd threatened her with an ice pick, but she later recanted her statement. Older brother Donald broke him out. The two were on the run for four years. A spokesman for Fox said they do not comment on pending litigation.
E! Online

BUSINESS
Discovery Channel has taken the top slot among international channels in India according to viewership data for the last 13 weeks. The channel has earned itself 1.5 times higher channel share than HBO, and almost twice that of NDTV 24x7. Discovery claimed a 12 percent share, putting it ahead of other channels in the region, including MTV, National Geographic and CNBC TV18.
The Hindu

Cell phone company MTN claims to have launched Africa's first service to broadcast television shows to cell phones -- despite the fact that it's not yet licensed to do so. The company claimed that the move is not premature as subscribers could watch 11 television channels for free by joining a trial MTN was running before it could levy a commercial fee. The powers that be are unclear how much they'll be able to charge once they're allowed to do so, but noted that the service would likely only be popular if inexpensive.
All Africa

CONTROVERSY
Just when it finally seemed like the drama was coming to an end at Motion Picture Distribution, Alliance Atlantis Communications wants to sell its 51 percent stake in the company. Fresh on the heels of a fight with former executives that only narrowly avoided going to court, Alliance's announcement prompted 49 percent-owner Movie Distribution Income Fund to form a special committee to discuss potential implications.
Toronto Star

Video-sharing website YouTube deleted nearly 30,000 files after a Japanese entertainment group complained of copyright infringement. The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers said that the organization had found 29,549 clips of TV shows, music videos and movies posted on YouTube without permission. YouTube quickly complied with the request to remove the copyright materials, made on behalf of 23 Japanese TV stations and entertainment companies.
The New York Times

FILM
German, U.S. and Bulgarian investors have joined forces to build a new film studio in the village of Gorna Malina, near the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. The investors are individuals, not companies, but project contractors won't release their names until the completion of building. The new studio will be built on 30,000 square-meters and will produce films, television shows and animated works. Building should be completed by fall 2007.
Sofia Echo

Moviegoers who want to see a dead Dubya will have to go north of the border to see it. Death of a President, an R-rated "faux investigative documentary" that includes a fictional scene in while President George W. Bush is shot, is supposed to open in theaters across North America on Friday. But it appears that the movie, directed by British filmmaker Gabriel Range, will only be accessible in Canada. With U.S. midterm elections just three weeks, chains such as Regal Entertainment and Cinemark USA, are shying away from the movie. AMC, the nation's third-largest chain is refusing to show it at all.
The Globe & Mail

After a weak U.S. debut for Clint Eastwood's World War II Movie Flags of Our Fathers, Paramount, its distributor, is facing a costly fight to save its showcase Oscars entry. The film took in just $10.2 million during its first week, but cost $90 million to make. The company still plans to roll the movie out in hundreds more theaters, but is unsure whether the expensive move will do anything to save the film from the box office doghouse.
The New York Times

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