HBO ALREADY A BIG EMMY WINNER

HBO appeared to be a cinch to trounce all rivals at next Sunday’s Primetime Emmy awards after its Boardwalk Empire series picked up seven trophies in the Creative Arts Awards ceremony. Altogether, the Time Warner-owned pay-TV channel collected 15 trophies. The creative arts awards are a catch-all for a slew of miscellaneous awards that include [...]

ANALYST: STARZ LIKELY TO REMAIN WITH NETFLIX

BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield has expressed doubt that Netflix’s deal with Starz Entertainment is as dead as each side has made it out to be. In a note to clients, Greenfield suggests that Starz executives misjudged Netflix’s need for their content. Reportedly Netflix had offered $300 million to retain the Starz package, which includes mostly [...]

APPLE’S PLANS FOR ITUNES REPLAY STYMIED BY STUDIOS

On the surface, Apple’s concept for what it calls iTunes Replay seems uncomplicated and reasonable enough: buy a digital copy of a movie from the iTunes Store and watch it anytime, anywhere, on any device capable of downloading or streaming it. The movie would be stored permanently in its upcoming iCloud service. But, as with [...]

GLORIA STEINEM KNOCKS NBC’S PLAYBOY CLUB DRAMA

At the television critics summer press tour, Gloria Steinem, the feminist writer who famously worked as a bunny at the Playboy Club in order to write an article about it, was asked what she thought about NBC’s plans to air a dramatic series based on the goings-on at the Chicago club in the 1960s. “Are [...]

EMMY SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Friday Night Lights, the critically praised but ratings-challenged drama, is going out with a bang. The show, which recently was able to stay alive by first being televised on DirecTV before being rerun on NBC, was nominated today (Thursday) as one of the five dramas in the best drama category in the 63rd Primetime Emmy [...]

WILL HBO FILM WHITEWASH PHIL SPECTOR?

Recent comments by writer-director David Mamet that he believes onetime record producer Phil Spector is not guilty of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson have infuriated Clarkson’s friends. Interviewed by the London Financial Times about his upcoming HBO film about Spector, which stars Al Pacino as Spector, Mamet said, “I don’t think he’s guilty. I [...]

REPORT RELATIVITY MEDIA MAY PRODUCE CONTENT FOR NETFLIX

Relativity Media, which already has a deal in place with Netflix that allows the online renter to stream movies that it controls ahead of the pay-TV window, may also produce content exclusively for Netflix, the New York Post reported today, citing unnamed sources. The report comes one week after Netflix signed a deal with Media [...]

NETFLIX TO AIR ORIGINAL TV SERIES

Online movie rental company Netflix, which has been increasingly aiming to become more “TV-like” by phasing out mail deliveries and emphasizing its ability to stream films and TV shows online, may acquire an original series, House of Cards, directed by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey. According to Dateline.com, the Netflix deal, involving 26 episodes [...]

TV ACADEMY TO HONOR PROGRAMS “WITH A CONSCIENCE”

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced on Monday that it plans to pay tribute to eight programs at its fourth annual Television Academy Honors on May 5. The programs, it said, represent television “with a conscience.” In a statement, it observed that they “explore such vital issues as sexual abuse and assault, racism, [...]

NETFLIX NOW SECOND-LARGEST MOVIE “CHANNEL”

More people may be watching movies on their TV sets and computers from Netflix’s streaming service than are watching movies via pay-TV services Starz and Showtime, the Wall Street Journal observed today (Thursday). The newspaper observed that Netflix added 3.1 million new subscribers over the December holidays, bringing its total number to more than 20 [...]

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