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PROGRAMMING
It
seems that the mysteries of ABC's Lost extend beyond what goes on inside the
small screen -- viewers are mysteriously vanishing whenever a new episode of
the series airs. The last episode of the Emmy-winning drama, which aired on
Wednesday, February 14, drew just 12.8 million viewers -- the smallest audience
for a new episode in the show's history. The show was beaten by CBS' CSI: New
York, which took in 14.8 million watchers.
E! Online
NBC's Studio 60 on the
Sunset Strip may be on its way out. Aaron Sorkin's struggling freshman drama
has been yanked from its Monday time slot a week early to make room for crime
drama The Black Donnellys. Studio 60 will be benched a week earlier than
planned, starting on February 26. The show had originally been slated to
run through February sweeps. No return date has yet been set.
E! Online
BUSINESS
Virgin Media and Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner, Inc., have signed a drama
and comedy content deal that will see popular U.S. shows like Friends, West
Wing and ER play on Virgin's television-on-demand platform. The deal will
see more than 500 episodes of shows including Nip/Tuck and The O.C. made
available for Virgin's cable users. Virgin Media was created earlier this
month from the merger of cable operators NTL and Telewest and Virgin's mobile
phone division.
Scotsman.com
Iraqi satellite network
Alsumaria TV has started terrestrial broadcasts in Iraq, allowing residents
to view the channel without needing a satellite dish or receiver. Further
phased rollouts of terrestrial sites in the country will deliver the channel
to Al-Anbar, Karbala, Basra, Mosul and Irbil.
AME Info
While 93.9 percent of Saudi
Arabia's households have satellite TV, some 48.4 percent of homes still tune
in to terrestrial TV, according to a new survey by Arab Advisors Group. Still,
this percentage is low when compared to the 93.9 percent of people who own
a satellite dish. Moreover, 73.7 percent of people in Saudi Arabia also listen
to radio programs, with over half of them tuning in to radio on a daily basis.
AME Info
CONTROVERSY
Canada's CBC has locked horns with the main advocacy group for public broadcasting
in Canada, accusing the organization of taking personal potshots against
the corporation's president and other execs. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
has been lobbying for more Canadian programming and increased federal funding
for the CBC since 1985. Over the past few years, it has issued critical performance
appraisals of CBC president Robert Rabinovitch, slamming him for a number
of decisions, including the lockout of 5,500 employees in 2005.
The
Globe & Mail
CASTING
The Canadian military has hired a film company to recruit "Afghan-looking" Canadians
and simulate southern Afghanistan. Calgary-based DB Entertainment issued the
casting call last week. Last summer, military personnel at Canadian Forces
Base Wainwright in Alberta built seven mock Afghan villages out of old metallic
shipping containers. In September, the military started role-playing exercises
with a group of Afghan-Canadians, and needs more recruits this spring.
Edmonton Journal
FILM
Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd has entered into a partnership to set up a theater
chain in Malaysia with 150 multiplexes and single-screen theaters along with
Kuala Lumpur-based Asian Integrated Industries. This joint venture will be
called "Pyramid Saimira Entertainment Malaysia Sdn Bhd." Both companies
will hold a 50 percent stake in the venture. The venture will distribute
Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies, as well as Chinese and
Hollywood films.
The Hindu
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