NBC Universal

Stories 41 - 59 | << Prev 

NBC: Lots of Law , No Order
 NBC: Lots of Law,
 No Order 

NBC: Lots of Law, No Order

Crime drama's creator furious with NBC over handling of show

(Newser) - NBC's relationship with Law and Order producer/creator Dick Wolf has always been uneasy, but now it’s turned into all-out war, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wolf is furious with the network, which he says sells the show to its cable stations on the cheap, then reruns it too often...

Weather Channel Sells for $3.5B

NBC, Blackstone, and Bain score cable stalwart for far under expected $5B

(Newser) - NBC is heading an investor group that will buy the Weather Channel for nearly $3.5 billion—well below the $5 billion Landmark Communications was expecting when it put the iconic cable channel up for sale in January. The group, which includes private equity firms Bain Capital and the Blackstone...

More Advertisers Text to (Willing) Customers

Media companies jumping on board as ads have higher success rate than Web versions

(Newser) - Text-message advertisements are catching on with marketers, largely because consumers actually ask to receive them—or at least to receive content that ads are attached to, the Wall Street Journal reports. Coors Light, for example, added marketing blurbs to text alerts requested by fans during last month's NFL draft, of...

Networks Wrangle Over Project Runway
 Networks Wrangle 
 Over Project Runway 
OPINION

Networks Wrangle Over Project Runway

Show's switch is Buffy all over again

(Newser) - The upcoming switch of the smash hit Project Runway from Bravo to Lifetime could be Buffy the Vampire Slayer all over again, Andrew Wallenstein writes in the Hollywood Reporter. Buffy's switch from the WB to UPN "spelled the death knell for a once-mighty brand." Meanwhile, Bravo parent NBC...

NBC Splits Off Studio for Cable
 NBC Splits Off Studio for Cable 

NBC Splits Off Studio for Cable

Shake-up hands key role to Sci-Fi channel boss

(Newser) - NBC is splitting its TV production unit into two companies. The units will share the same resources, but will be divided into separate cable and broadcast operations, according to the Hollywood Reporter. NBC's cable channels have been reaping the profits of hits like Battlestar Galactica and Monk, while its broadcast...

Long-Awaited Free TV Site Counts Down to Launch

NBC-Fox collaboration emerges from beta tomorrow

(Newser) - After lots of hype, a long wait, and a dollop of skepticism, NBC Universal and Fox’s Hulu is going live tomorrow with more than 200 free TV shows, feature films, and sports highlights and games, the New York Times reports. “We won’t stop until we have everything...

Web Preempts Boob Tube
Web Preempts Boob Tube

Web Preempts Boob Tube

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...

MySpace Makes Music Overtures
MySpace Makes Music Overtures

MySpace Makes Music Overtures

Social networking site turns to recording labels in effort to broaden appeal

(Newser) - MySpace has spent the past few weeks approaching major record labels, trying to hammer out a deal for a new online music service, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal—tentatively MySpace Music—would likely let users stream unlimited music for free, and buy downloads that could be played on...

GE Q4 Profit Climbs 15%; Stock Rebounds

Globalization, weak dollar drive growth; stock price jumps

(Newser) - GE profits rose 15% in the fourth quarter as overseas demand for jet engines and power turbines more than offset the weakness in the US economy, the company reported today. “They've really been a beneficiary of the whole global growth story,” an analyst told Bloomberg. GE stock was...

Discovery Will Go Public
Discovery Will
Go Public

Discovery Will Go Public

Educational channel's IPO will bring freer financial hand—and Wall Street scrutiny

(Newser) - Discovery Communications will go public, upping the media company’s ability to make deals while opening it to shareholder and Wall Street opinion. The “MythBusters” and “LA Ink” broadcaster will be able to spend more on new programming and acquire other businesses more readily. Analysts expect shares to...

'Heroes' Can't Save NBC From Ad Refunds

Dismal fall ratings, writers' strike prompt unusual move

(Newser) - With a lack of fall blockbusters keeping its ratings down and the writers' strike jeopardizing current and future offerings, NBC is giving money back to advertisers for prime time underperformers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Typically, networks give advertisers additional spots—“make goods"—when shows fail to draw....

TiVo Changes Tune, Plays Nice with Media

Banner ads, ratings welcome additions for network partners

(Newser) - TiVo isn’t a media pariah anymore, the New York Times reports, thanks to a series of moves to buddy up with networks it once scared. TiVo recently signed a deal to provide NBC with second-by-second ratings of programs, showing exactly which ads people are watching. It has also developed...

NBC Looks to TiVo to Help Sell Clients

Network is hoping to corral ad zappers by tapping DVR data

(Newser) - NBC Universal will begin using viewership data gleaned from TiVo digital video recorders beginning in January, making it the first of the major networks to have access to second-by-second ratings of programming and commercials from TiVo, reports the Wall Street Journal. The network hopes TiVo will help it develop effective...

NBC's Zucker Snaps at Apple
NBC's Zucker Snaps at Apple

NBC's Zucker Snaps at Apple

Accuses iTunes of destroying music revenue

(Newser) - NBC chief Jeff Zucker has launched an extraordinary attack on Apple, accusing the digital download service iTunes of destroying revenue in the music industry, reports Apple Insider.com.  "Apple has destroyed the music business—in terms of pricing—and if we don’t take control, they’ll do...

Media, Tech Firms Team Up on Copyright

Disney, Microsoft lead pact on rules for posting material; Google a no-show

(Newser) - In an unusual truce, eight media and Internet companies are banding together to combat the explosion of copyrighted material posted on the web, the Wall Street Journal reports. The group, led by Disney and Microsoft, has framed a set of guidelines; copyright holders in the group agree not to pursue...

Peacock Flies Burbank Coop
Peacock Flies Burbank Coop

Peacock Flies Burbank Coop

NBC is moving operations to new studios near Universal

(Newser) - NBC Universal is pulling up stakes at its legendary Burbank studio home of 50 years and moving to new facilities across from Universal Studios in Hollywood. The company will switch operations to a massive new complex in 2011. The center will have a street-side studio modeled after the "Today"...

NBC Buying Oxygen for $925M
NBC Buying Oxygen for $925M

NBC Buying Oxygen for $925M

Women's channel fills out NBC's cable roster

(Newser) - NBC Universal is snapping up Oxygen Media, saying it will pay $925 million for the cable channel aimed at women—up to $500 million less than some analysts expected. The channel launched in 2000 with much fanfare to challenge Lifetime, but never had a hit show, despite backing from Oprah...

NBC Dumps iTunes to Ink Amazon TV Deal

Programs will now be available on Unbox

(Newser) - NBC announced yesterday that its shows will be available for downloading on Amazon after a disagreement over pricing led to the collapse of a deal with iTunes. Apple accused NBC of wanting to double its prices, but the network insisted it simply sought more flexibility. Shows will be available on...

Kevin Reilly Quits NBC
Kevin Reilly Quits NBC

Kevin Reilly Quits NBC

Entertainment prez leaves struggling network; Zucker recruits Reveille head

(Newser) - Kevin Reilly is bolting from his gig as NBC's entertainment president, reports Variety, after network capo Jeff Zucker recruited Reveille head Ben Silverman for a position over him. Reilly—who produced several hits including Heroes and Deal or No Deal—will take his multi-million dollar severance package and most likely...

Stories 41 - 59 | << Prev 
Most Read on Newser