DISCO QUEEN DONNA SUMMER DEAD AT 63

Donna Summer, whose disco tunes largely helped to produce the soundtrack of the 70s, has died at age 63, it was confirmed by the singer’s family today (Thursday). Active to the end, Summer appeared as a judge on the singer-songwriter competition Platinum Hit on Bravo last year, and she was reportedly recording a new album […]

NBCUNIVERSAL LOOKING HEALTHIER UNDER COMCAST

It goes without saying that owning the television network that broadcasts the Super Bowl can be beneficial to a company’s financial health during the first quarter of any year. But Comcast’s purchase of NBCUniversal in January 2011 has reaped benefits for the company in other ways as well, pushing its first-quarter profits to $1.224 billion, […]

DID REAL HOUSEWIVES CONTRIBUTE TO DEATH?

The impact of reality TV shows on the ordinary people appearing on them is again under scrutiny following the apparent suicide of Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of Taylor Armstrong of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Armstrong’s lawyer, Ronald Richards, told People magazine: “When his wife and him first started the show, I warned […]

CABLE CHANNELS TOUT RECORD RATINGS

While broadcast television in general was recording some of its lowest ratings of the year, cable TV networks were trumpeting some of their highest. “Discovery Channel experienced its best August ever,” the channel that averaged 3.3 million viewers for its annual “Shark Week” bragged in a news release. Likewise Oxygen channel boasted that it “earned […]

BRAVO SHOUTS “BRAVO!” OVER NEW RATINGS

They may not have resembled the lofty performing-arts programs and dramas that once distinguished the Bravo cable-TV channel, but shows like The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Watch What Happens: Live, and Top Chef Masters gave Bravo its highest May ratings in history last week, the NBC-Universal-owned channel said Wednesday. In addition, the channel’s website […]