BRIEFS

CABLEWORLD STAFF

The FCC's Thursday midnight deadline for comments on media ownership limits saw a deluge of responses from the creative community and consumer groups. Among the respondents, the Coalition for Program Diversity ? whose members include Sony Pictures Television, producers Carsey-Werner-Mandabach and the MediaCom advertising agency ? urged the FCC in its filing to foster more on-air diversity. The group wants the FCC to require CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox to devote at least 25% of their prime-time lineup to independently produced programming, citing research showing independent content in prime time has dropped to 24%, from 68% a decade ago. The FCC is reviewing rules that prevent a broadcaster from owning TV stations that reach more than 35% of U.S. households and from owning two TV stations in smaller markets. It's also reviewing limits on dual ownership in the same market. A joint request was also filed by NBC, Fox and Viacom (which owns CBS and UPN) to eliminate all current media-ownership rules.

CNBC is expected to announce today that Gloria Borger is leaving CBS News's Face the Nation to co-host Capital Report with Alan Murray. Capital Report will be expanding to four days a week, with its new Friday edition replacing Wall Street Journal Editorial Board With Stuart Varney. The WSJ show was canceled when the paper and the network couldn't agree on its direction.

Disney Cable Network Group president Anne Sweeney will oversee the Walt Disney Television Animation unit as part of a reorganization announced Friday. Barry Blumberg, named president of the television animation unit, will be responsible for producing shows that will appear on Disney's global kids TV platforms. The move is designed to create more shows like Kim Possible, and the company is expected to ramp up spending on TV animation.

Cable pioneer Bill Bresnan will buy 21% of certain Liberty Media operations overseas. Bresnan will take stakes in Liberty's Telewest, Chorus and UnitedGlobalCom. Liberty's stake in Telewest will decline to 20% from 25%, its Chorus stake will drop to 39.5% from 50% and its UGC stake will fall to 75% from 76%.