CableFAX's CableWORLD

Cable networks ? both the tried-and-true channels and start-up niche programmers ? will tout their upcoming fare at NCTA this week. This year is no different. So for 2002, Cable World spoke with programmers to compile a brief overview of their new shows, movies and initiatives being announced this week, or scheduled to air in the coming months. Some networks will have more news later this year: ABC Family, for one, will evolve under new president Angela Shapiro, while TViFusion chairman and CEO, veteran programmer Jeffrey Reiss, says Mosaic TV, his upcoming digital network that will focus on Jewish religion and culture, will be in pre-launch mode at the show. Here's a taste of what other networks have in store for NCTA attendees.

ABC CABLE

DISNEY CHANNEL
A new original animated series aimed at tweens starts in June: Disney's Kim Possible follows the comedic adventures of a high school girl who battles evil villains after class.
TOON DISNEY
New series this fall include Teamo Supremo, House of Mouse and a starring vehicle for the Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!
SOAPNET
Its second original series, SoapTalk, starts on June 10. The hour-long soap- and lifestyle-themed talkshow will feature daytime television stars with behind-the-scene guests such as costume designers.

A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS

A&E NETWORK
This summer watch for Married in America, a three-hour documentary following nine marriages over the course of a decade. The network is also developing a miniseries on Napoleon to air in 2003.In the more immediate future, Behind Closed Doors, airing next week, will give viewers an inside look at the U.S. Postal Service inspectors who tackle mail fraud, mail bombs, child pornography and bioterror.
THE HISTORY CHANNEL
Charles Lindbergh's grandson, Erik, has retraced his grandfather's epic non-stop flight from New York to Paris and The History Channel will bring viewers along for the ride. In a two-hour special to air May 20, the network follows Erik's flight more than 75 years later, interlacing the footage with historic shots of his grandfather's historic flight.

BBC AMERICA

The news and entertainment channel announced last week that it will offer free video on demand content to cable operators. BBC America On Demand will offer 30 hours of shows including hit comedy series Absolutely Fabulous.

COURT TV

The legal/entertainment network plans four new series this year, all focusing on investigation. I, Detective, for example, gives the audience the opportunity to find evidence, follow clues and learn how to solve intriguing investigations.

THE DREAM NETWORK

The channel targeting African Americans and urban community's on June 7 will launch Urban Lifestyle Magazine, an 30-minute series focusing on different lifestyle segments such as food and technology.

DISCOVERY NETWORKS

ANIMAL PLANET
Are your pets telling something? Popular animal communicator Sonya Fitzpatrick will let you know with new episodes of The Pet Psychic starting in June. Later this month, Animal Planet explores the threat to America's mustangs on the Spirit of the Wild Mustang.
DISCOVERY CHANNEL
Thrills, Chills and Spills will debut May 27, the network's sixth annual Memorial Day event, giving viewers a peak into the wildest and most extreme amusement park rides nationwide. Also coming in June: D-Day: Beneath the Waves, featuring an underwater archaeologist as he looks at the tanks that never made it onto the beaches of Normandy.
DISCOVERY HEALTH
UH OH! Baby Bloopers, a new one-hour series showcasing parent's funniest home videos, airs June 10 as part of the network's Baby Week special. Also part of this special week will be Ultimate Guide: Pregnancy, which takes viewers from the moment of conception to the moment of birth.
TRAVEL CHANNEL
Former Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson, serves as the perfect host for the network's special Great Family Vacations Week, running all this week. Stripped across the prime-time schedule at 8 p.m., the week's specials include Inside Disneyland Paris and America's Best Waterparks.

E! NETWORKS

E! ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION
With a new image campaign unveiled on Oscars night, the network's rebranding features the new tagline, Enjoy the Show. Shows to enjoy this year include Royalty A-Z, a series that explores the fascinating history of England's royal family. Popular on-air host Brooke Burke is doing double duty: stepping up as permanent host of pop culture countdown series Rank, she continues hosting travel series Wild On until November, with her replacement to be announced in August. E! will show footage at NCTA from its talent search.
STYLE
Building on hits such as Nigella Bites, the fashion and lifestyle arm of E! Networks unwraps new programming such as Area, with funky and affordable redecorating tips; The Look for Less, hosted by Survivor 2 alum Elisabeth Filarski; and Katie Brown, featuring the eponymous lifestyle guru. The network continues its roles as official television network of New York Fashion Week, with coverage of the spring and fall collections.

ESPN

In September, the sports channel will offer its own version of reality television with Beg, Borrow and Deal, which follows four teams across the country as they complete 40 challenges on the road. Later this year, new series The Season tracks the human story behind the headlines of a team or athlete's success.

EWTN GLOBAL CATHOLIC NETWORK

The religious channel, which is on the verge of going completely digital, will follow the Pope's visit to Canada this summer for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day. The Toronto summit jibes neatly with its launch on Rogers Cable ? when EWTN will become the first full-time religious TV network in Canada.

FOX CABLE NETWORKS GROUP

FOX MOVIE CHANNEL
On Mother's Day weekend the channel runs a day-long slate of Mom-pleasing movies under the banner, Mamapalooza. The following week, the network will air a Sci-Fi marathon featuring such films as Back to the Planet of the Apes.
FOX SPORTS WORLD ESPANOL
New series Boleto a Asia, or Ticket to Asia, features news and statistics from Korea and Japan pegged to the nations' co-hosting of World Cup 2002. The Spanish-language sports network also covers Copa Panamericana's soccer tournament this summer and Copa Libertadores, the South American soccer tournament in February 2003.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL

Next month, the network airs the stirring World Diary: Columbia's Forgotten Children, the fourth in a series featuring journalists at the frontlines of the world's most dangerous and strife-ridden regions. Also in June, NatGeo airs Kabul Zoo Rescue, revealing how the city's zoo survived (barely) the war in Afghanistan. In September, the network launches a new series Phobia, exploring the origins and treatments of extreme fears.

SPEED CHANNEL

Two Guys Garage, a series set to air May 23, gives viewers an inside look into automobiles. Later this month, Hi Rev Tuners, peeks inside the world of sports, compact cars and the people who love both.

Available to operators since last month, G4 is dedicated to the world of electronic games with 13 original entertainment and informational series in its lineup, including Arena, a digital sports highlights show with play-by-play commentary, and Cheat, a show that helps viewers solve tough puzzles.

GAME SHOW NETWORK

Russian Roulette and Friend of Foe, game shows launching June 3, are two of the six new original programs schedule set to debut this year. In addition to airing game show classics, GSN is also developing virtual channels in partnership with Two Way TV.

GOODLIFE TV NETWORK

The network targeting baby boomers has announced an expanded programming lineup that it expects to broadcast this week. The new lineup will feature Westerns, family comedies and dramas, including a private-eye series from the 1950s to the 1990s.

GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY

Chris Conn, the country music channel's host for its new release show Fast Forward, will go on tour starting later this month to host 12 shows at the Graham Brothers Clubs throughout the nation.

THE HALLMARK CHANNEL

Actress Bridget Fonda and television journalist Asha Blake are expected on the floor at the NCTA show this week to promote their respective shows. Fonda stars in Snow Queen, a four-hour mini series scheduled to air in December. Blake hosts Life Moments, a one-hour show that celebrates the dramatic and defining life moments such as birth and marriage; the program is scheduled to air five days a week starting this fall.

HOME BOX OFFICE

While the premium programmer has canceled the prison drama OZ after this season and the longevity of Sex in the City is uncertain, the channel renewed its acclaimed series Six Feet Under and this summer features a new series, The Wire, featuring criminal investigators using wiretaps and other surveillance techniques. HBO also plans to launch a series on the lives of wives of famous baseball players and is developing a documentary on the controversy of how the U.S. Olympic baseball team lost by one point to the Soviet Union in 1972. HBO Sports will debut Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys on July 31, revealing what it takes to make it in the NFL.

THE INSPIRATION NETWORKS

The network that targets Americans ? who embrace inspirational values ? just announced a distribution and marketing agreement with La Familia Network, a Hispanic family network in Spanish and English. The network also plans to debut I Gospel, a new original urban gospel series starting this summer.

INSPIRATIONAL LIFE TELEVISION
This digital arm of Inspiration plans new series such as The Joy of Music, featuring classical and sacred works from world-class artists. It also promotes Integrity Leadership Series, a teaching show focusing on successful business and financial principles.
THE INTERNATIONAL CHANNEL
The network plans to debut Crosstalk, a live, call-in talk show discussing political and cultural topics of interest to the Chinese community in the United States. The latest segment of the network's In America series will focus on the Vietnamese community.

The Vietnamese Story, jointly produced with Saigon Broadcasting Network, will air in September.

LIFETIME NETWORKS

Lea Thompson, star of Lifetime's new one-hour drama For the People, will be appearing at Lifetime's NCTA booth this week, as will Nancy McKeon, star of The Division. Other highights include Scared Silent, a movie airing this month starring Penelope Ann Miller.

MAJOR BROADCASTING CABLE NETWORK

The African-American owned and operated cable network unveiled two shows last week. Conversation Piece, an original talk show that presents the best, unaired outtakes from past interviews in an entertainment format, aired May 3. And ROC, a prime-time sitcom about an urban, blue-collar working family, was also added to MBC's programming mix last week. Other shows in development include Style & Substance and a news program.

NBC CABLE NETWORKS

CNBC
Financial broadcaster Louis Rukeyser last month began hosting Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street, a new weekly program focusing on the top business and economic news of the day.
MSNBC
Phil Donahue starts his new one-hour talk show for the network next month. The Phil Donahue Program, airing at 8 PM ET, will feature nightly interviews with newsmakers, journalists and analysts.
TELEMUNDO
A new Spanish-language miniseries, Hilda Huracan, is scheduled to debut this week. The telenovela features a woman who breaks with convention and gives free reign to her fantasies, desires and instincts. Daniela, another telenovela, is also scheduled to debut today. It will feature a beautiful young girl caught between the love of two men who will fight until the end to win her over.

OLYMPUSAT

B MANIA TELEVISION NETWORK
The movie network has recently acquired B-rated movies such as Gypsy Angels, staring Vanna White, and Compelling Evidence, starring Brigitte Nielsen.
CHRONICLE DTV
A new digital network planning to launch this summer offering a blend of documentary and reality programming.
FAMILYNET TELEVISION
The family channel plans to air this fall a twist on reality television called TruthQuest: California. The show follows 12 Christian teenagers on a journey through Southern California as they apply their faith in the real-life situations.

OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK

In June, OLN will unveil its new original series, Adventure Center, a half-hour newsmagazine addressing the latest adventure news and an interactive segment. Also, throughout this month, the network salutes the Armed Forces and features an intense competition, called U.S. Army Rangers: Best of the Best, held annually in Fort Benning, Ga.

OXYGEN

The women's network plans to announce this week that it will bring back two successful shows this year: Women & The Badge, a program tracing the lives of female officers, and Build Your Own Business, a show that awards $10,000 grants to women aiming to start their own small business or grow an existing one.

OVATION

The arts network will carry 13 new episodes of The Hand of Man starting this fall. The show will travel to some of the finest arts and antique fairs in the world to interview the best-known art and antique dealers and experts.

PAX TV

The broadcast and cable network plans to develop one of the most ambitious ?movie of the week? slates of any cable network to date, a spokesperson says. Starting in September, the network will air original movies it has made or purchased on a weekly basis. It also plans to air three undisclosed original dramas this fall.

PRIDEVISION TV

The first 24-hour gay, lesbian and transgender cable television network will be a first-time exhibitor at the NCTA convention this week. The Canadian network features news and current affairs programming focusing on the gay community. Some of the channel's content includes an original comedy Locker Room, which gives a half-hour look at sports from a new perspective, and Undercovers, a live and interactive weekly program answering questions about relationships and sex.

RAINBOW MEDIA HOLDINGS

AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS
The movie network is scheduled to release its programming slate this week. Among the mix is Dish, a special set for Tuesday, explores the history of gossip in Hollywood and its reliance on and symbiosis with the bad behavior of stars, and Shirtless: Hollywood's Sexiest Men, which airs June 4, exposes Hollywood's most beautiful men.
BRAVO
New original series scheduled for the arts and entertainment network include Second City Presents, which interviews comedians about their careers and lives and premieres October 14. Gay Weddings, scheduled to debut in September, follows four gay and lesbian couples as they plan to tie the knot.
MAG RACK
The video on demand content provider plans to announce today two new video magazines: Yoga Retreat offers a monthly selection of diverse yoga workouts and Fame and Faith features in-depth interviews with celebrities and newsmakers who explain how their religions have contributed to their careers.
WE: WOMEN'S ENTERTAINMENT
Rock star Pat Benatar is available for photo ops on the NCTA floor to help promote the network's Rock N' Moms special, set to air Mother's Day.

SCRIPPS NETWORKS

The network group is still developing a Hispanic channel but the launch date is still undisclosed.

HOME & GARDEN TELEVISION
Two of the network's popular interior design shows will move outdoors for the summer with Backyard Challenge Week, May 20 through 24, at 8 PM nightly. Designing for the Sexes has a host meet a couple, and pair them with a designer to help them work out their design dilemma. And Landscaper's Challenge features three designers fighting to help a consumer reach his or her goal for their particular landscape challenge.
FINE LIVING
The recently launched network this summer takes viewers into the heart of Wine Country to brunch with five local food and wine artisans this summer. Also, Fine Living will follow Jeff and Darcy Lee's vacation in Yosemite National Park this summer.
THE FOOD NETWORK
Oliver's Twist, a half-hour series premiering next week that stars British culinary wiz Jamie Oliver, blends the culture and style of London street life with delectable food. Also debuting next week, All American Festivals will bring viewers along to taste the regional specialties found across the country in festivals like the Bridge City Gumbo Festival.
DIY ? DO IT YOURSELF
Starting this week, the how-to network dishes up The Ultimate Workshop, a five-part miniseries that shows how to build and equip the consummate workspace.

SUNDANCE CHANNEL

The independent film channel will air an award-wining comedy Ghost World in August and a series of Latino films in its Arté Latino FilmFest this September.

TECHTV

The start-up network is going through some changes. After laying off 50 employees, it switched gears last month to add more entertainment-based programming such as The Tech Of ?, which goes behind the scenes of modern life to show the technology that makes things tick, and Coma, Michael Crichton's classic conspiracy thriller. The network also offers next week a special show of its daily variety show, The Screen Savers, to help promote high-speed cable modems.

TELEVISION GAMES NETWORK

The horse-racing channel launched last month four new shows, including Trackside from Hollywood Park, a two-hour show in conjunction with Fox Sports Net that features the best racing in the country airing Wednesdays through Sundays. TVG also added new wagering information scrolling across the screen, which helps inform those who bet on the horses.

TURNER BROADCASTING NETWORKS

CABLE NEWS NETWORK
The news network will present a one-hour documentary on Antarctica June 22 at 8 p.m. CNN correspondent Kyra Phillips takes viewers on a journey through the coldest, windiest and driest continent on Earth in Harsh Continent: Life in Antarctica.
CARTOON NETWORK
On June 3, the kids channel plans to introduce a new series Hamtaro, a hit series from Japan series that features a hamster and his gang. Brand new episodes of The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory, among others, will air Friday evenings from June. The network also plans to make June its movie month, in preparation for the theatrical debut of the Powerpuff Girls Movie, scheduled July 3.
TBS SUPERSTATION
First Shot, an original adventure movie about a secret agent, and Christmas Rush, an action thriller set in a shopping mall, will debut in the second half of this year. Also, the network plans to create four new movie franchises, scheduled to premiere in the second half of the year as well.
TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES
Martin Scorsese's documentary, Il Mio Viaggio in Italia or My Voyage to Italy, will make its television premiere on TCM June 7 at 8 p.m. TCM also plans to bring seven surf movies from Bruce Brown, in the near future.
TLC
Taking a hint from Scripps Networks, TLC will premiere a show that has friends redesign a room while the occupant is away. The show, While You Were Out, debuts in July. Teen Species, a new youth miniseries about body, mind and spirit, will air August 25.
TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION
The network heats up its sports coverage with the second half of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup season starting in July. It also will feature 67 hours of live coverage of the Wimbledon 2002 Championships, starting June 22. Also, last month, the network partnered with Johnson & Johnson to develop original movies. Some original movies ready to go include Door to Door, a true-life story about a door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy, set to air in July.

TV5 ETATS-UNIS

The country's first 24-hour all French-language digital network will air this week the first part of the anticipated French series Le Chateau des Oliviers, centered around the family tragedies and deep secrets that surround Estelle Laborie and the Chateau des Oliviers.

TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK

In an effort to help cable operators convert their subscribers to digital, the Christian network has recently offered up its library titles for free video-on-demand use. It also signed a deal with Hispanic Television Network last week, allowing TBN to bring its sister Spanish-language channel, TBN Enlace, to U.S. viewers.

UNIVISION

GALAVISION
The Spanish-language network will use coverage of the Mexican soccer league, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup (starting May 31), as a springboard for its newly revamped programming this year. The programming change brings more sports to the cable network's prime-time lineup, as well as talk and news shows.
USA NETWORKS
USA NETWORK
The basic, ad-supported channel is developing new shows such as The Restaurant, a reality show highlighting the development and opening of a trendy restaurant in New York's downtown Tribeca district. The network also plans to air a four-part miniseries about Helen of Troy, the legendary beauty at the center of the Trojan War, in the first quarter of next year.
VIACOM INC.
BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION
The network targeting African Americans will air Lift, a film portraying a young woman who shoplifts from the ritzy department store she works for, after it debuts on sister network Showtime.
CMT
The country programmer plans to launch country music's first-ever video music awards, CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards show on June 12 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The channel's ongoing series CMT Crossroads also will feature Ryan Adams and Sir Elton John May 26.
MTV NETWORKS
The network has announced four new digital networks. It is also promoting Sorority Life, a new reality series revealing the issues faced as sisters rush for a sorority's pledge class in Spring 2002. The show, one of six new series approved by MTV, will air June 24, at 10:30 PM.
NICKELODEON
Max and Ruby, a new series slated for Nick Jr. in October, will follow the lives of brother and sister bunnies. The kids network will also launch a series in September stemming from the feature film The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Nickelodeon's popular franchise Rugrats will also present two specials on Halloween and Christmas.
SHOWTIME NETWORKS
The premium channel is promoting its production of Odyssey 5, a movie about the destruction of the Earth ? to be shot in high-definition television with Columbia TriStar domestic television ? among other news. Another original drama, Bobbie's Girl, which follows a young boy as he moves in with his lesbian aunt after the death of his parents, will air June 9.
VH1
The music network hopes to pump up its ratings with an original series Military Diaries, a weekly half-hour show that takes us inside the personal lives of service men and women and how music affects them. The new series will debut May 27. A movie called Play'd: A Hip-Hop Story which is airing on June 26 may help revive the network.

THE WEATHER CHANNEL

The network seeks to attract viewers who want more than a quick update on whether it will snow or rain. On May 12, the channel will air its 20th anniversary program called The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon with comments from celebrity fans such as Bill Cosby and Bill Elliot. Also in development, a new prime-time show called Storm Stories, which seeks to provide stirring stories about storms.

WISDOM TELEVISION

Widsom Media Group's start-up channel focusing on the mind, body, spirit and earth will offer Wisdom of Men in June, a series featuring in-depth interviews on spirituality with notable men. Contemporary Parenting airs in July and August, featuring provocative and practical topics for parents raising children of all ages. Wisdom recently announced that it is offering operators a wealth of titles from its library of programming for video-on-demand use, including FoodWise.

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