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SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009

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HBO Struggles for Post-Sopranos Hits

(Newser Summary) – HBO, at 36 years old no longer a bold young upstart of a network, is struggling to come up with hits to match The Sopranos and Sex & The City, the Wall Street Journal reports. Changes in the top ranks have meant shifts in direction: The Texas-set Lily Tomlin drama 12 Miles of Bad Road HBO was ditched after execs saw the first few episodes.

With no advertisers to worry about, HBO's chief concern is keeping its 29 million subscribers happy and fending off competition from rivals like Showtime for viewers—and the best shows. The Time Warner network's new management hopes to get back on track with this year's crop of new series, including True Blood, a vampire drama from the team behind Six Feet Under.
Source: Wall Street Journal

More about:  television • cable TV • HBO • Time Warner • Sex and the City • The Sopranos • Showtime • Jeff Bewkes • Chris Albrecht

HBO's former chairman and chief executive Chris Albrecht...
HBO's former chairman and chief executive Chris Albrecht was fired after an incident for which he pleaded no contest to battery against his girlfriend.   (AP Photo/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
This undated photo, provided by HBO, shows from left,...
This undated photo, provided by HBO, shows from left, actors Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Robert Iler and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who portray members of the Soprano family in the final season of the HBO hit...   (AP Photo/HBO, Craig Blankenhorn)
This undated photo released by HBO shows Paul Giamatti,...
This undated photo released by HBO shows Paul Giamatti, left, portraying John Adams and Laura Linney, as Abigail Adams in a scene from the HBO films miniseries "John Adams."   (AP Photo/HBO, Kent Eanes)
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 Thanks for 
 the Memories, 
 Bob, 'Cuz 2008 
 TV Stunk 

The golden age of TV may have died this year

Salon Salon Dec 28, 08 12:32 PM CST
(Newser Summary) - Today's golden age of TV lost a little shine this year, Heather Havrilesky writes on Salon. Twelve quick months gobbled up all of the momentum and promise from years past, leaving “a haze of crappy, unoriginal new programming, lackluster sophomore shows, flaccid sitcoms and pointless cable comedies.” Old standbys like Heroes and Weeds wilted, while rookies like My Own Worst Enemy and Easy Money collapsed. More »

More about:  television • NBC • CBS • Fox • ABC • cable TV • HBO • network television • USA • Showtime

HBO Axes CEO After Arrest

Albrecht fired after earlier attack on a girlfriend, hushed by HBO, was revealed

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times May 10, 07 5:09 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Chris Albrecht, who turned HBO into a titan with mega-hits "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos," was fired yesterday in the aftermath of an arrest for choking his girlfriend outside the MGM Grand in Vegas. A temporary leave was announced after Sunday's altercation, but Albrecht was forced out after the LA Times revealed an earlier violent incident HBO had kept quiet.   More »

More about:  television • CEO • cable TV • HBO • alcoholism • Chris Albrecht

Drama Builds
At HBO As
CEO Departs

Albrecht takes indefinite leave after drunken arrest Sunday

Variety Variety May 8, 07 8:52 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) - HBO's capo is making like Tony Soprano and taking an indefinite leave of absence from the cable network. Chris Albrecht, who has led the network since 2002, was arrested by Las Vegas police on Sunday, after officers said they witnessed Albrecht in a violent altercation with his girlfriend. More »

More about:  television • entertainment • alcohol • resignation • cable TV • HBO • Chris Albrecht

 Stern Sidekick 
 Hijacks New HBO Show 

Comedian attacks host, other celebrities

USA Today USA Today Jun 16, 09 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Comedian Artie Lange appeared on the premiere of HBO's Joe Buck Live last night, and it sounds as if the host wishes he hadn't. Buck told USA Today he couldn't wait for Lange to finish his obscene, homophobic routine. "I thought that spending time on a treadmill felt long," said the veteran baseball announcer, who appeared helpless as the show ran off the rails. "That was like 8 or 9 minutes that turned into an eternity." More »

More about:  television • entertainment • cable TV • Dallas Cowboys • HBO • comedian • Tony Romo • Jessica Simpson • Howard Stern • Artie Lange • Chris Farley

Time Warner, Viacom Reach Zero-Hour Deal

Cable provider keeps grip on Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV

Hollywood Reporter Hollywood Reporter Jan 1, 09 9:57 AM CST
(Newser Summary) - The countdown to the New Year was a frantic one for Viacom and Time Warner. The companies had set a midnight deadline in their tense negotiations to keep Viacom’s networks—which include MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon—on the massive cable provider. As the ball dropped, Viacom granted a 1-hour extension, and the sides reached a deal soon afterward, according to the Hollywood Reporter. More »

More about:  television • cable TV • Time Warner • MTV • Viacom • Comedy Central • Nickelodeon • Time Warner Cable • Dora the Explorer

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