Barker Tapes His Final 'Price Is Right'

Comedian lands Bob Barker's gig on 'The Price is Right'

(NEWSER) - It's official: Drew Carey will be the next host of "The Price Is Right." For weeks he was rumored to be a favored finalist to replace Bob Barker; while filming the David Letterman show yesterday he confirmed that the deal was finalized. It's reportedly a multi-year agreement for a high seven-figure salary. More»

Former 'View' co-chatter game to take Barker's 'Price is Right' spot

(NEWSER) - The Price is Right needs a new host and Rosie O'Donnell is interested. She's meeting with game show representatives this week and has given readers of her blog an insight into her stormy decision process, saying in one post she's be interested and in another that she might not be the right fit. More»

Comedian credits 'no bread,' 'lots of cardio'

(NEWSER) - Have you seen a picture of Drew Carey lately? You might not recognize him—the once-portly comedian has dropped a striking 80 pounds from his 5-foot-10 frame and now wears size 33-34 pants. How did he do it? Most important was motivation: "It sucks being fat, you know," Bob Barker's successor as host of The Price Is Right tells People . "I was sick of being fat on the camera. I was diabetic with Type 2 diabetes. Now I'm not diabetic anymore." More»

Plus, celeb feuds heat up and simmer down

(NEWSER) - Celebrities are returning to their roots today. Jennifer Hudson is taping a performance after tonight’s American Idol that will air on an upcoming episode, the AP reports, and Bob Barker is taping an appearance on The Price is Right to air April 16, according to Variety. Elsewhere:

• In more Idol news, Simon Cowell responded to President Obama’s jab on the Tonight Show, saying that by comparing DC to Cowell, Obama meant “Washington has become more truthful, more honest, more sincere, more intelligent,” the Huffington Post notes.

Both Battleground and Lilyhammer get mixed reviews, as streaming services branch out

(NEWSER) - Online streaming sites Hulu and Netflix both launched original series this week, as both services take baby steps toward competing with regular television, reports Gigaom . A look at each:

• Hulu's Battleground is the more conventional of the two, a 13-episode comedy about a Senate campaign in Wisconsin that started today, with a new 22-minute episode airing each Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has solid praise for Battleground, saying it is "a smart, well-written comedy series you might find on a premium cable network." The AP is less kind, however, calling it "a light, watered-down knockoff of The Office," while the New York Daily News comes down somewhere in-between.