OSCARS GIVE ABC A RARE WINNING WEEK

Thanks to the Oscars, ABC finished in first place in total viewers and viewers in the 18-49 age group last week, but its highest-rated program otherwise — the drama Castle — came in at No. 18 and its next highest — the comedy Modern Family — came in at No. 19. Once again, CBS dominated […]

DESPITE OSCARS, THERE’S A LOT OF LIFE IN WALKING DEAD

Not even the Oscars could put a serious dent in the ratings for AMC’s The Walking Dead. While the Academy Awards telecast produced its best ratings in three years — with 40.4 million viewers tuning in — the zombie series managed to attract more than 11 million viewers — about even with the previous week. […]

CABLEVISION SEEKS TO HALT “BUNDLING” — SUES VIACOM

Cablevision has filed suit against Viacom Inc. over “bundling,” its practice of forcing cable operators to carry networks that they don’t want as a condition of carrying ones that they do. The cable operator immediately found support from rivals Time Warner Cable and DirecTV. The backlash against bundling comes as cable-TV and satellite providers are […]

DAILY VARIETY GOES FROM RED INK TO NO INK

After 80 years of publication, Daily Variety will cease to exist as a print edition. Weekly Variety, which first appeared in 1905 to cover vaudeville, will remain in print but will be published on Tuesdays rather than weekends. It will be given a new look on March 26. Variety.com will also be redesigned and the […]

MAJOR RETAILERS SPORT “EXCLUSIVE” EDITIONS OF BREAKING DAWN

The major video retailers are touting their own special editions of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2, which will be released on Saturday. (Home video releases usually debut on Tuesday.) Home Media magazine on Tuesday described some of the variations at the major outlets. Best Buy’s Blu-ray Disc edition, it noted, will come […]

VISUAL EFFECTS ARTISTS CHASTISE ANG LEE FOR SNUB

Ang Lee is being sharply criticized by members of the visual effects industry for not mentioning those who contributed to the production of Life of Pi when he accepted the Oscar for best director Sunday night. Bruce Branit, whose credits include Star Trek: Voyager and Lost, posted this comment on his Facebook page: “Neither Ang […]

FALL OF THE GUARDIANS RESULTS IN DWA WRITE-DOWN

DreamWorks Animation SKG is taking an $87-million write-down on the failure of its holiday release Rise of the Guardians. While the film has earned $302 million worldwide, more than half that amount goes to the theaters that screened it and millions more go to promotion, marketing and distribution expenses. The film reportedly cost $145 million […]

HOT PICTURES RAISE OSCAR RATINGS

It didn’t quite equal the 41.7 million viewers who watched the 2010 Oscars ceremony when Avatar won for best film and was a long way from the 55 million who watched in 1998 when Titanic won, but the 40.3 million who tuned in Sunday night represented a 3-percent rise from the 39.3 million who watched […]

DILLER’S AEREO SERVICE EXPANDS, UNVEILS AD CAMPAIGN

Continuing to defy the broadcast networks, Barry Diller’s Aereo service, which, for $8 a month, lets users watch live broadcasts via the Internet on home computers and on Apple’s iPhone and iPad, is expanding from New York City to 29 nearby counties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Aereo also announced on Monday that it […]

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: REPRIEVED, ARRESTED AGAIN, REPRIEVED AGAIN

When Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced in 2011 that he intended to resurrect the Fox comedy series Arrested Development, he drew massive publicity. It now turns out, however, that the series will likely be resurrected for just 14 episodes, available via Netflix this spring, then put to death again. In a conference call with investors […]

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