TV Groups Oppose EchoStar

On Friday, the heads of six organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters, the American Cable Association and the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, sent a letter opposing the merger of EchoStar Communications and DirecTV to members of Congress. The letter states that the merger would ?inevitably result in higher prices and declining customer service, flies in the face of basic antitrust principles? and would have a ?detrimental effect upon programming diversity.? The letter also casts doubt on EchoStar's promise to carry all local TV stations. A long list of other organizations that oppose the merger and their reasons for doing so is attached to the letter.

Hoffman Stars in E! Spot

E! Networks was scheduled to air spots of Dustin Hoffman brushing his teeth while reciting lines from The Graduate during the Oscars last night as part of a move to rebrand itself, an attempt to solidify E! Entertainment Television as the inside source for entertainment news, according to the company. The spots, which also include Ving Rhames doing lines from Taxi Driver, seek to give viewers a sneak peek into actors' alleged real-life moments. The ads are part of a campaign that includes a new on-air and online look and a revamped set and segment lineup for E! News Live.

ESPN to Test ?Ticker? on Ads

In what it calls a test, ESPN in April will begin scrolling its sports ?ticker? on-screen during commercial breaks in one of its top-rated prime-time programs, Baseball Tonight, according to Media Buyer's Daily. Ads running during the breaks will be shrunk slightly to accommodate the ticker, but ESPN executives are betting the scrolling stats will keep sports fans glued to their seats during breaks. If the test proves successful, ESPN plans to expand on the concept by adding elements into the commercial break ticker that relate directly to commercials appearing on the screen at that time, such as 800 phone numbers and Web addresses that will provide a call to action or other direct-response elements to the TV spots. ?Ultimately, the ideal situation would be to link the ticker with the advertising messages,? said ESPN-ABC Sports research chief Artie Bulgrin.

Discovery Renews BBC Deal

The BBC, BBC Worldwide Ltd. and Discovery Communications signed a ten-year extension to the global partnership they began five years ago. The pact, which runs through 2012, calls for co-production of reality programming, development of jointly owned channels around the world and the development and distribution of BBC America. The joint venture has been responsible for such programming as Walking With Dinosaurs, cable's most-watched documentary. Launched in 1998, BBC America reaches 26 million homes.

TNN Reups Zone With Nealon

The National Network on Friday announced it had renewed its original series TNN's Conspiracy Zone With Kevin Nealon for a second season of 11 episodes; the series features the former Saturday Night Live cast member leading a topical debate about various conspiracy theories, among them the murder of Tupac Shakur and the suicide of Vince Foster. Panelists who will appear in the new episodes, which premiere in August, are Bill Maher, Howie Mandel and Clint Black.

Mundy Joins Cable World in D.C.

Alicia Mundy, former Washington bureau chief for Mediaweek and author of Dispensing With the Truth, an investigative narrative about the Fen-Phen scandal, has joined the staff of Cable World as senior editor/Washington bureau chief. A graduate of Georgetown University, Mundy has worked for U.S. News & World Report and Washingtonian and has written for magazines including GQ, Texas Monthly and Philadelphia.

Starz Encore Makes Monster Deal With Disney

Starz Encore Group cut an exclusive deal with Walt Disney Pictures to televise selected animated films from the studio starting with theatrical releases from January 2003. Starz Encore has also licensed the exclusive pay-TV rights for Monsters, Inc. The new pact for Disney animation is in addition to an existing agreement that gives Starz Encore live-action films from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films. The new agreement also includes rights for Starz On Demand, the company's subscription video-on-demand service.

Back to this issue