VIDEOAGE"PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
The new fall season is finally under way. And thus far, it seems that most shows are picking up where they left off. CBS's CSI: Miami was down just eight percent this week, watched by 17.6 million viewers, and Two and a Half Men equaled its 2005-2006 season average. Over on NBC, Aaron Sorkin's new Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip delivered 13.4 million viewers -- 2 million more than its timeslot predecessor, Medium.
E! Online

TECHNOLOGY
The long-awaited launch of digital TV in Prague is being postponed again following the Prague Municipal Court's cancellation of the allocation of the first six licenses in April by the Radio and Television Broadcasting Council. (RRTV). The court ruled that the RRTV had unlawfully changed license criteria and that its explanation of the selection process was not sufficient. Both Nova TV and Prima TV, two commercial stations, failed to receive digital licenses for any of their projects.
Prague Post

CONTROVERSY
Another day, another dead body. Just one week after police found a mummified corpse in a Los Angeles building where CSI: New York was filming, another body washed ashore near Miami's Biscayne Bay, where a crew for CSI: Miami was shooting aerial shots early Friday morning last week. Coincidence? Or the most sinister marketing ploy ever?
E! Online

A Kamloops tire company that used wetlands near Canada's Duffy Lake to film a TV commercial is facing charges after allegedly causing environmental damage. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the shoot for the ad resulted in an "enormous mud hole" in the wetlands. The damage occurred after the film crew's four-wheel drive vehicles repeatedly drove through the area.
CanWest News Service

Guy Fournier, who has been under fire in recent weeks due to some shocking comments he made, has resigned as chairman of the board of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Fournier offended the Lebanese community in a recent column, mocking sexual behavior in Lebanon. CBS president Robert Rabinovitch will be acting board chairman until Prime Minister Stephen Harper appoints a new chairman.
The Globe & Mail

BUSINESS
Zygmunt Solrz, owner of Poland's TV Polsat, is in negotiations with Bertelsmann Media about the purchase of 25 percent of Polsat shares. Though some of the details must still be ironed out, sources say the German company will have representatives in the Polsat supervisory board, and are looking for positions in the board of directors.
Warsaw Business Journal

Canada's Corus Entertainment, the company formed in part from the former assets of Edmonton's Allard TV empire and Western International Communications, is moving the Movie Central specialty TV channel to Toronto from Edmonton, eliminating 68 local jobs. The move is part of a larger corporate reorganization by Corus, which is consolidating its TV broadcast and content assets into two divisions, Corus Entertainment Kids and a new lifestyle, drama and movie department.
Edmonton Journal

FILM
DVD movie shipments in Japan rose 11.6 percent this year to reach a record of 150.8 yen during the January-June period, according to the Japan Video Software Association. While shipments of DVDs, which accounted for 98 percent of overall video software shipments, increased, sales of videocassettes plunged 69.6 percent, to 3.84 billion yen.
ANTARA

The Gospel According to Janis, the long-delayed biopic about the late, great Janis Joplin, may finally be making its way to the silver screen. Zooey Deschanel has been cast as the rocker, replacing singer Pink, who had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict. Filming is scheduled to begin in November.
E! Online

Twentieth Century Fox unveiled a new division, FoxFaith, on Tuesday that will release up to a dozen religious-oriented films a year. Many of the flicks, which will have budgets ranging from $3 million to $20 million, will be released straight to DVD, but according to the studio, at least six a year will be released nationally in theaters by an independent distributor working with Fox, beginning with October's Love's Abiding Joy, a western based on a book by Christian writer Janette Oke about a couple facing life on the American frontier.
The New York Times

For the Asia TV Forum, VideoAge is preparing an essential editorial vehicle for all companies participating in this important market in Singapore.
Some of VideoAge's focuses will be:

· The challenges in Asia for Latin companies
· Company profile of the Singapore-based 6-6-8

In addition, the issue will:
-Preview the upcoming NATPE trade show and
-Explore the opportunities that Digital Multimedia Broadcasting will be offering to broadcasters the world over.

Deadline for advertising is November 10, 2006
Notice: Only six ad pages remain and the book will not be increased in size, since heavy issues discourage program buyers to carry them

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