Coming Soon: Real Dunder Mifflin Paper

Millions of viewers stream shows on demand

(NEWSER) - If you watch “The Office” or “Ugly Betty” online, you’re among millions of consumers who have forsaken the boob tube. Nielsen recently found that 25% of Internet users had watched TV online in the last three months. “It has become a mainstream behavior in an extraordinarily quick time,” NBC’s research head told the New York Times. More»

Broadcaster pays $4.38B for rights to 4 Olympics

(NEWSER) - NBC Universal has outbid rivals to win the US rights to broadcast the four Olympics after London 2012. The Comcast company's $4.38 billion bid included $2 billion to broadcast the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 summer Games in Rio de Janiero. Rival bidder Fox offered only $3.4 billion, while ESPN offered $1.4 billion for 2012 and 2014, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . More»

NBC won't renew if he decides to run

(NEWSER) - If Donald Trump decides to run for president, NBC plans to tell him he’s fired. The network hasn’t renewed The Apprentice yet, or done any serious planning about the next season, because it’s holding its breath to see if Trump will formally jump into the 2012 fray, the New York Times reports. If he does, the network will likely put off a new season of the show because it’s afraid other candidates could request equal airtime. More»

Why NBC should pull the plug

(NEWSER) - Sure, sure, The Office is still funny, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that it’s running out of steam, and should just close up shop when Steve Carell departs. “You can sense a weariness and desperation setting in,” writes Matt Zoller Seitz on Salon . “Are we seeing yet another example of network TV's factory mentality (26 episodes a year, series run extended indefinitely) squeezing the vitality and focus from a once-great show?” More»

How about Ricky Gervais to replace Steve Carell?

(NEWSER) - The Office without Steve Carell as boss might be unthinkable, but think we must. Who could possibly replace him? The Week rounds up five possibilities:

• Ricky Gervais: He's the boss from the original British version, and he's "inherently meaner" as an actor, which could be fun, writes Christopher Rosen at the New York Observer .