Hulu Fees Likely in 2010

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.

Some producers agree to pay cuts; no word yet from actors

(NEWSER) - Don't say sayonara to the Simpsons just yet: Sources say several top-level producers will take pay cuts in order to keep the show on the air. Not all of the producers are on board, and cast members have not yet agreed to any terms. Variety notes that any money saved from a producer pay cut likely does not come close to the amount that would be saved if the actors agreed to the 45% reduction demand. But, as Entertainment Weekly points out, all sides believe something will be worked out, because no one wants to see the 23-season-long series end without a real finale. A final decision is expected tomorrow. More»

Mr. LeAnn Rimes is out of a job ... and the oh-so-sexy Brian Williams swoops in

(NEWSER) - Who do you find sexier: Playboy bunnies or Brian Williams? If you went with the former you're out of luck, because NBC's 10pm EDT Monday time slot is about to be filled by the latter. The Playboy Club has officially become the first cancellation of the fall season. A slim three episodes aired, the last of which drew a paltry 3.5 million viewers. Rock Center will air in its place, and no, that's not a show about rock-hard bodies. The Williams-helmed newsmagazine will debut on Halloween night, and will feature Harry Smith and Kate Snow as correspondents, along with Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer, and Ann Curry. Prime Suspect reruns will air in the meantime, notes the AP . More»

Alec Baldwin pulls videotaped skit after joke is axed

(NEWSER) - Alec Baldwin squashed his videotaped appearance on last night's Emmy Awards after Fox axed his joke about the phone hacking scandal at newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Fox's parent company. Baldwin demanded his entire videotaped bit, which was to air at the beginning of the show, be removed once the joke was censored. (The segment was re-filmed with Leonard Nimoy ... and without the joke .) A Fox spokesman said the bit was cut because the network takes the phone hacking scandal "seriously," and didn't want to appear to be joking about it, reports the Guardian . More»

Soon only Dish, Hulu Plus subscribers will have immediate access to shows

(NEWSER) - If you "cut the cord" and canceled cable when Hulu came along, you may have to wait more than a week after new Fox TV shows air to watch them. Starting Aug. 15, Fox will only allow Dish Network or Hulu Plus subscribers to watch its shows online immediately after they're broadcast, the Los Angeles Times reports. Everyone else will have to wait eight days. In New York , Margaret Lyons calls the plan "ridiculous," considering that "in regular, not-Internet life, those with and without the Dish Network can watch Fox programs on DVRs whenever they please, with equal impunity." More»