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Charlie Sheen Calms Down For Anger Management

Matt — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:55:37 +0000

While the headline may read like a piece of celebrity ‘rehab’ news, Anger Management it is in fact an upcoming TV series which will ironically star controversial former Two and a Half Men actor Charlie Sheen, confirming previous rumours that this would be his first move back onto the small screen.

Loosely based on the movie from 2003, Anger Management will be a sitcom broadcast on FX (premiering in the summer this year), and has cast Sheen in the role of the anger management therapist, played by Jack Nicholson in the film.

Sheen, who was sacked from his previous job due to a dispute with show creator Chuck Lorre, wants to use his new role as a means of more serious acting, and that he does not want to be remembered for what he did on Two and a Half Men, although it is unclear whether he meant the acting, or the outbursts that got him fired (some of which made it into a viral musical remix on YouTube that was considered one of the site’s best clips of the year).

He said recently of the show’s format, and his hopes for the first series: “It’s completely different - we’re basically just using the title. I wanted to do something that ended better…will end better. I just wanted to do a show and play a character that dealt with more mature themes, that dealt with stuff that actually exists in the real world. A lot of times on the other show [Two and a Half Men] I felt like we were servicing the comedy and not allowing it to come out of character.”

On a personal level, Charlie Sheen went on to state that he is no longer ‘crazy’, and intends to be more ‘mellow’ behind the scenes at Anger Management: “I’m not crazy anymore,” he declared. “That was an episode… I think I’m a different person than I was yesterday. Everything is a lot more mellow and focused and much more rooted in reality. I’ve been spending a lot of time with the kids, a lot of time with the family and I’m getting back into work mode. I’m a single guy hanging out with my children.”

With that statement seemingly claiming that there will be no more ‘tiger blood’ or ‘winning’, could Charlie Sheen now be focusing on TV work for good, or is he set to cause more madness that even his new character would struggle to solve?

Two And A Half Men Rebirth Draws Huge Audience

Matt — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:24:56 +0000

The much-anticipated return of hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men arrived after a controversial summer, with the 9th season premiere benefitting from all the publicity surrounding former star Charlie Sheen (and his replacement Ashton Kutcher), as clearly shown with their ratings.

two and a half men returns to massive audience

A huge figure of 27.8m people in America tuned in to see episode live, the largest audience in the series’ 178-episode history, and took a 25% demographic score with the 18-49 target age group. The figures are said to be double the average pulled in during season eight, which was prematurely ended after the problems involving Charlie Sheen, and his subsequent departure from the cast.

The episode, entitled ‘Nice To Meet You, Walden Schmidt’, focused on explaining the absence of Charlie Harper (Sheen’s character) at his funeral, then seeing a number of celebrity guest stars attempt to buy his costly house, before Kutcher’s character Walden Schmidt, a suicidal Internet billionaire, meets the other main characters, and agrees to buy their house and live with them. The series will now continue with Ashton Kutcher leading the titular cast alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones.

One of the near-28m watching the episode live, though, was Charlie Sheen himself, who declared recently that he has no hard feelings (possibly something to do with the reported $125m legal settlement he could soon be getting from producers Warner Bros.), and that he wishes success for the show in its new guise, despite previous claims that the show would not last long without him.

He said of the first new episode on Twitter: “Surrounded by friends and watching the premier of Two and a Half Men. Odd… But cool..! So far a lot of laughs!!”

Meanwhile, the anticipation leading to the new episode Two and a Half Men‘s huge audience offered a strong platform for new CBS comedy 2 Broke Girls, which drew a total of 19.2m. Two and a Half Men‘s new season may have started positively in the ratings, but will they be able to sustain them when the ‘headline factor’ wears thin?

Amazon Forge Streaming Deal With CBS

delboy — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:45:05 +0000

Amazon has officially beefed up its rivalry with Netflix and Hulu by securing more content for their on-demand streaming service.

The Seattle based online retailer said on Wednesday that it has reached its first deal for content licensing with major TV network CBS. that strenthens their online streaming video services.

“We’re following what our customers are doing in the marketplace,” Cameron Janes head of Amazon’s digital video. “We’re watching customers want to consume more and more of our products digitally.”

The move substantially bolsters Amazon’s streaming inventory, bringing the number of tv shows and movies available on its subscription service Prime to 8,000. They also recently beefed up the service by adding over 1,000 titles in June.

The shows include “The Tudors,” “Numb3rs,” “Medium,” “Cheers,” and the entire “Star Trek” franchise, roughly the same offerings that CBS makes available through a pact it signed with Netflix last February. The collection will be available to Their Prime members at no extra cost.

Now that Netflix has stopped offering streaming at no additional cost to DVD plan subscribers, Amazon is stepping up in hope to fill the gap.

Amazon didn’t seem to have much effect when it began to offer 5,000 videos as cost free bonuses to Prime members in February. The options were up to 6,000 last week, but the CBS deal pushes the options up to an impressive 8,000 titles.

A Barclays Capital report on Wednesday said Amazon would have to invest significant capital and incur losses to gain in the industry, though “clearly competition is ramping and we believe Netflix may be more vulnerable now given its recent pricing changes.”

It puts Amazon in a good content position for when they launch their range of tablet PC’s later this year.

PlayLater Adds DVR To PlayOn TV Service

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:03:15 +0000

PlayOn the online TV and media player has announced an online DVR service to compliment it. Called PlayLater, the company are calling it “the world’s first DVR for online video.”

PlayLater a DVR for internet TV

The PlayLater service records and plays back online video from TV shows to movies from a range of over 25 streaming services. The recording can be played back on a PC or other device that has PlayOn installed.

The PlayOn internet TV service runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, PS3 and Xbox 360. The service runs on a Windows PC and lets viewers access content from providers such as Hulu, Netflix, Comedy Central, CBS and YouTube, as well as personal media.

The company behind PlayLater, Mediamall have answered questions about the copying of protected material and insist that the service is perfectly legal and does not infringe any copyright laws.

They say that the service encrypts the recording so it can only be played back on the users equipment who recordd it. They said that “because PlayLater looks just like another Internet Explorer window, and we encrypt the video to a very high-level, so the video recorded can only be watched on the PC it’s recorded on.”

PlayLater is in beta mode right now for the first 5,000 signups. After the free beta service which lasts a month, the service will be charged at $4.99 monthly or an annual cost of $49.99.

Incoming TV searches:

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Charlie Gets Driven Off Cliff To End CBS Saga

Matt — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:08:33 +0000

The Charlie Sheen saga at CBS looks to be coming to a halt, perhaps symbolically represented by the character he played on Two and a Half Men being killed off to begin the show’s ninth season.

The suggested plotline by producers for the season’s opening episode is reported to be that the other titular characters, of Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) and his teenage son Jake (Angus T Jones), learn of the off-screen death of Charlie Harper. Sheen’s replacement actor Ashton Kutcher (currently unnamed character) is then said to be written in as the buyer of the Harper home, and allowing Alan and Jake to remain in the house with him, in a move by producers that would suggest the format of the show would not change much from when Sheen was still the lead actor.

After Sheen’s much-publicised sacking in March following a string of arguments with Chuck Lorre (show creator), it seems as though his character is being prepared for a solution that will ensure he cannot return to the show in future episodes officially terminating the relationship between the actor and the producers.

A number of scenarios were said to be set out for writing off the character of Charlie Harper, with producers reportedly having a number of potential scenarios for his death, with the most prominent apparently being that he drives his car off of a cliff. Some reports have made suggestions that the character will not actually be killed, instead using the final scene that Sheen portrayed before his breakdown (ironically being that Charlie Harper leaves for an airport) as a foundation for the explanation of his on-screen absence.

A decision will have to be made soon, though, as filming for the new season begins on August 5. Will this moment finally be the last that the Two and a Half Men team have to associate with Charlie Sheen?

Incoming TV searches:

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Ashton Kutcher Takes Two And A Half Lead

Matt — Fri, 13 May 2011 11:01:02 +0000

Producers of hit CBS sitcom Two And A Half Men did not seem to sit around moping following Hugh Grant’s rejection of a chance to replace troubled actor Charlie Sheen, as after just one day following the blow, insiders revealed that Ashton Kutcher will be taking the lead role of the series.

Kutcher is planning to join the show beginning at the ninth season, at a time where the series, which also stars Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones as part of the titular family was forced to cut production on a planned eight further episodes left of season eight following Sheen’s dismissal.

Reports claim that Kutcher, who’s most notable work on TV includes his role on That 70s Show, was involved in final negotiations last night. He is also known for his role in hosting and executive producing hit MTV reality series Punk’d, which saw Kutcher and his show team pull elaborate pranks on celebrities. That show is currently in the pipeline to be brought back to screens soon with Canadian singer Justin Bieber in the hosting role (and Kutcher remaining as an executive producer).

Producers of Two And A Half Men have been on an in-depth hunt to find the best way to bring back the money-spinning sitcom, with plans including to carry on without Sheen, or to bring in new characters in an effort to reinvent the series.

They seem to have gone for the latter option, with show creator Chuck Lorre, at the centre of the Charlie Sheen controversy, stating that the show would only carry on if a new star lead was ‘someone he could work with’. He has now suggested that he has a plan to write Ashton Kutcher’s new character into the series (and probably write Charlie Sheen’s character out) in a ‘really funny’ way.

Kutcher, who is renowned for being one of the first celebrities to use social networking site Twitter, seems confident that he has landed the big-money role, recently hinting fans by way of a question to his 6.8 million Twitter followers: “What’s the square root of 6.25?”. The answer, of course, is 2.5, or ’two and a half’…

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Hugh Grant Declines Two And A Half Men

Matt — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:22:27 +0000

The Charlie Sheen saga has fallen a bit flat in recent weeks, but it seems as though producers at CBS were in the process of arranging a big-name, big-money replacement for the troubled former star of Two And A Half Men, only for the target to turn down the offer at the last minute.

English actor Hugh Grant was reported to have been approached by CBS as a replacement for Charlie Sheen in a ‘revamped’ version of the highly-rated comedy. However, Grant, who is best known for roles in romance and comedy movies such as Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, About A Boy, and Notting Hill, did not finalise the deal due to ’creative differences’.

Sheen’s sacking from the show in March due to a series of controversial outbursts and actions thrust him into the spotlight, and the actor responded with a series of even more controversial and strange outbursts and actions. The incident may have raised the profile of Charlie Sheen, but for the network that had been employing him, there was uncertainty as to whether the show could continue, as CBS and Warner Bros. (producers) could not confirm the planned 9th season of the show for later this year. The situation is now reaching greater levels of doubt, as CBS needs to announce its official programming line-up to advertisers within the next week.

Reports suggested that Hugh Grant, who has not acted on TV for over a decade (and not had a film role since 2009), was offered around $1M per episode to be a part of Two and A Half Men, but a reasoning behind his refusal may have been how previous lead Sheen was revealed to be on up to $1.8M per episode before his sacking.

Insiders, however, revealed the real reason that Grant did not accept. “It was not the money. He didn’t want to do TV because those 24 episodes are a grind and a lot of work. At the end he couldn’t get his head around doing a series. The show could have gotten another 3 to 4 more seasons [If he had accepted].”

With an average of 15 million regular viewers and a strong advertising income, being turned down by a potential lead actor could just be yet another key blow to hopes of reviving the series. Will Two And A Half Men ever be back on CBS’ screens?

Incoming TV searches:

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Charlie Sheen Back To Improvise

Matt — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:12:25 +0000

Troubled star Charlie Sheen’s first return to a TV show is looking unlikely to be back on his well-paid role at CBS sitcom Two And a Half Men, or on Fox Sports’ MLB baseball coverage, or even a conversion of his weird and wonderful web series, instead being shown in a more low-key series which has already been filmed.

GSN have announced that their upcoming primetime comedy series Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza, scheduled to air for 11 April, is planned to be a show based on the format of improvisational comedy with the likes of Jonathan Magnum and Kathy Kinney participating alongside the host to suggestions from the studio audience, but it is the second episode on the next day that could pull in the ratings.

Sheen’s guest performance (which was filmed in January (at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas) just a week after the weekend binge that kick-started his troubles (in the same city)) has been described by GSN as ’an impromptu appearance’.

Despite the controversy that would obviously come to any network who airs the first new material with Sheen after his much-publicised antics, GSN seem willing to take the risk of getting themselves some love/hate publicity (depending on a person’s opinion of Charlie Sheen) while the man in the spotlight could see this as an opportunity to get back into TV work after his first original appearance for months on something which does not fall under the genre of news or chat shows.

Improv-A-Ganza is aiming to hit the heights of similar Drew Carey-hosted series such as the international format Whose Line Is It Anyway, and Drew Carey’s Green Screen Show. Charlie Sheen, meanwhile, will be spending next month on his offical stage tour, The Violent Torpedo of Truth. While most people would not pay to see over an hour of one person on stage talking without it being stand-up comedy, a night of Sheen ranting is almost comedy gold in itself. Will his personal projects and merchandise end up proving more lucrative than his former multi-million dollar job at CBS?

Incoming TV searches:

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March Madness Ups Ratings With New User Control

Matt — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:01:07 +0000

This time of year in American sports is usually notable for the ‘March Madness’ tournament, which determines the NCAA national college basketball champion.

And while it is a feast of basketball for fans, the four host broadcasters, including CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV (formerly CourtTV) (the latter three all Turner Cable networks) will have reason to celebrate, after confirming that recent coverage of the second round of the 68-team tournament delivered the highest TV ratings to the NCAA Tournament rating (for its stage) in 20 years.

The overnight combined total for last Thursday’s games took a 5.7/13 ‘overnight household rating’ across the country, a rise of 24% from coverage of the 2010 edition lead by CBS Sports.

The success could also be attributed to the new methods of viewing simultaneous games which was tested, with a new multi-platform viewer’s choice approach replacing the historic method in which the network would make the switches between games on their choice.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said of this innovation to the March Madness coverage: ”That’s going to take some getting used to, but it’s a better programming option for the viewer at home and the basketball fan. More work on his or her part to find the game, but they get to decide what game they want to watch. In the past, I think we did a very good job of moving around, but it was our decision.”

The new viewer’s choice option is part of a new $10.8B, 14-year deal for the NCAA tournament broadcasting rights with CBS and Turner. The current tournament is seen currently in the regional semi-final stage, in a single-elimination path to the famed Final Four stage, which this year is being held in Texas at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.

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Charlie Sheen Near To A Strike-Out

Matt — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:48:58 +0000

The Charlie Sheen saga (or should that be meltdown?) continues, and current reports are suggesting that if he does indeed return to TV-land, it will be in a completely different field altogether…

After the very public stories of his public and personal life and web-casts of ‘winning’, stealing back trailers, and drinking something i must try in tiger blood (because he is of a different constitution), Charlie Sheen might be planning to make his new job one that involves one of his passions in life – baseball.

After a turbulent few weeks for the actor, Fox have confirmed reports that they have been meeting with Sheen (who played ‘Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn’ in the hit 1989 baseball comedy Major League (and its 1994 sequel)), and are offering him a route back into television, with Fox Sports president David Hill the key man in a three-man interview panel of Fox executives.

While there is not much substance to the meeting, it had been reported that the interview was for Sheen to take an unspecified role up with the sports network, with suggestions suggesting that he would be most interested in a role (probably presenting) of their MLB (Major League Baseball) coverage. Sheen is already fairly well known in the Fox Sports family, following numerous appearances on the Dan Patrick Show, which is broadcast on Fox Sports Radio.

Despite his alleged plans to move on, there is still the feeling amongst some people that the row following his high-profile sacking on CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men might be coming full circle, with tabloid reports suggesting that he may asked to go back by producers for talks to resolve the matter and be reinstated to the show as the star. Could this whole fiasco have just been a publicity ruse by the network?

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CBS Down To One And A Half Men

Matt — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:09:28 +0000

Is he having a life changing moment or a complete meltdown? Nobody knows, but Charlie Sheen has seen his megabucks contract with hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men officially terminated after his recent outspoken comments against producers of the show. This comes after the series was forced into an indefinate postponement.

The battle with Warner Bros. TV is not yet over, though, with lawyers on both sides aiming for a court appearance by the end of the month.

The studio had released information via a statement, reading: “After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen’s services on Two and a Half Men effective immediately.”

A letter from Warner Bros. to Sheen’s representitives have detailed their reasoning behind the sacking, starting with: “Your client has been engaged in a dangerously self-destructive conduct and appears to be very ill.”

The letter also features references to: ”his inability to perform the essential duties of his position, (including) his physical appearance, inability to deliver lines, inability to collaborate creatively with staff and crew, inability to work with the executive producers,” and “inflammatory comments poisoning key working relationships, and frustration of the show’s creative environment by the public spectacle of his self-inflicted disintegration.”

The producers, though, have also been quick to claim that it is not neccesarily the end of the sitcom, with plans to bring in a new actor to either play the character of ‘Charlie’, or a new replacement, although it would probably not be seen as a popular move by long-term fans of the show, who have seen Sheen star in 177 episodes.

The ongoing legal battle between Sheen and Warner Bros. has been an interesting one, with both sides claiming the other is in the wrong, and Sheen’s team wanting renumeration for backroom staff, fellow cast members, and Sheen himsel In preparation, the studio last week hired top attorneys Ron Olson and John Spiegel. Sheen’s litigation lawyer, Marty Singer, last Monday fired a letter to the studio demanding that Sheen is paid in full for the eight unproduced episodes of the show’s current eighth season, but the actor had refrained from launching a full-blown lawsuit against Warner Bros. That is about to change after the letter sent to Singer today by Olson and Spiegel’s law firm, Munger, Tolles & Olson.

Sheen was reported as feeling ’unaffected’ by the termination of his deal, and reacted with another set of outspoken interviews, reporting to TMZ: “This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at them [producers] again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension.”

When speaking to Access Hollywood, he was even more controversial, stating: “These guys are such yellow cockroaches that they didn’t even have the decency to call me. I put 5 bil in their cheap suit pockets and another half a bil in what’s-his-cheese’s pockets and this is the f**king respect I get? It’s just deplorable, and they should be ashamed of themselves!”

There are now plans from each legal team to sue the other, for unfair dismissal and loss of wages (Sheen), and recovering lost revenue (producers), respectively.

Charlie Sheen is also looking to cash in from his recent spell in the spotlight after releasing a line of official Charlie Sheen merchandise, including a t-shirt with a cartoon of his face and the slogan ’winning’, in reference to his CBS legal battle. He seems to also be planning some personal projects away from Warner Bros., including the recent launch of an Internet tv series, Sheen’s Korner, and current negotiations with Mark Cuban’s HDNet over unscripted series and talk show projects. Not a bad way to go straight back to work…

CBS Buy Clicker To Expand Digital TV Division

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:40:30 +0000

Clicker the online TV guide has been brought out by CBS Interactive in a move to help shape their digital tv future. CBS Interactive include CBS, CBS News and CBS Sports as well as TV.com.

Online TV guide Clicker

Along with the buyout which was for an undisclosed fee, comes Clicker Media CEO, Jim Lanzone who becomes new president of CBS Interactive.

The website clicker.com which proclaims itself the TV guide for the internet, is nearly 2 years old and contains a comprehensive search and link setup allowing viewers to find pretty much anything available online, both free and pay to view. It has a visitor number of around 3 million monthly.

The site was launched with $8 million worth of funding, and raised an additional $11 million in February 2010. Lanzone says that the Clicker website will not be swallowed up in the corporate website, he said:- “This is a great opportunity for growth, I’m going to work with both teams to figure out where the overlap is, and how to share.”

It would however be likely that the site would share the resources of similar site TV.com. He continued:- “This is a dream job for me in a number of ways, and it’s an ideal fit for Clicker,” Lanzone, 40, said in an interview. “We are winding up in a place where we can really flap our wings and build our business.”

The deal is the latest in a number of moves by the big TV and cable companies to get into the world of digital tv and online content aggregation, and CBS obviously want to be in the mix.

Two And A Half Men Ends On Seven And A Half Series

Matt — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:38:13 +0000

CBS’ hit sitcom Two and a Half Men has been indefinitely cancelled, after producers of the show took offence to recent comments made by problematic star Charlie Sheen.

45-year-old Charlie (real name Carlos Irwin Estevez), who earns a reported $1.8M (£1.2M) per episode of Two and a Half Men, made degrading comments about series creator Chuck Lorre during interviews on celebrity gossip site TMZ. The comments were made whilst Sheen was on holiday following his recent rehabilitation from alcohol and drug abuse.

An official statement from show production company Warner Bros said: “Based on the totality of Charlie Sheen’s statements, conducts and condition, CBS and Warner Bros have decided to discontinue production of Two and a Half Men for the remainder of the season.”

The problems had occurred when Chuck Lorre had been joking about his lead actor’s recent troubles, claiming that he commits himself to a healthy lifestyle, and would be very disappointed if Sheen were to outlive him.

Charlie explained on The Alex Jones Show (radio) that he did not find this joke funny, and labelled Chuck as ‘a clown’.

He said: “I embarrassed him in front of his children and the world by healing at a pace that his un-evolved mind cannot process. I’ve spent, I think, close to the last decade, I don’t know, effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans in to gold. And the gratitude I get is this charlatan chose not to do his job, which is to write.”

He added to this opinion in an interview for TMZ, calling Chuck: “a stupid, stupid little man and a p***y punk that I never want to be like.”

Filming for the show was temporarily stopped in January when Charlie (who plays jingle-writer Charlie Harper in the show) was rushed to hospital after a three-day bender in Las Vegas. The production of the show was delayed further to allow time for their star to receive rehab treatment at his home in Los Angeles.

Upon hearing that the show was cancelled as a result of his comments, Sheen then published an open letter on TMZ, stating: “I fire back once and this contaminated little maggot can’t handle the truth. I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels especially if they wind up in my octagon. Clearly I have defeated this little earthworm with my words – imagine what I would have done with my fire-breathing fists.”

A following radio interview allowed him a chance to explain why he could make such outspoken comments, and the star’s reasoning was egotistical to say the least: “I’ve got magic. I’ve got poetry at my fingertips. Why give an interview when you can give a warning. I’m not fair game. I’m not a soft target. It’s over. There’s a new sheriff in town. And he has an army of assassins.”

It is unknown if Two and a Half Men, which has spanned 7 (complete) series since premiering in 2003, will be able to continue in any form after the disagreements caused by Sheen’s comments, as it will be very hard to carry on with out one of the titular ‘Men‘. At its current state, the sitcom was in the middle of its eighth series, and had reached 177 aired episodes. The most recent episode (‘That Darn Priest’) had pulled in 14.51M viewers on Valentine’s Day.

With his astronomical wage, Charlie Sheen must have plenty of confidence in his own ability to effectively walk away from such a money spinner, or is his career now finished?

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Netflix Get Streaming Rights For CBS Content

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:14:00 +0000

In a $200 Million deal, Netflix have grabbed the streaming rights to CBS shows which include hits such as Cheers, Frasier, Star Trek and the Twilight Zone. The deal runs for two years although no further details were made.

Netflix content deals keep coming

The new content will start coming online in April on the Netflix instant streaming service which contains over 20,000 shows and movies. It also makes Netflix the online streaming service offering all the big networks shows online.

Said Scott Koondel, president of distribution for CBS TV:- “This deal recognizes the increasing value of our content in today’s marketplace. More and more, people want to be able to access our programing on a wide variety of platforms.”

For Netflix, Ted Sarandos, chief content officer saod:- “Netflix is now the only online premium subscription service with shows featured on all four broadcast networks and dozens of cable TV’s biggest brands.”

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Court Puts Stop To Ivi Streaming TV Episodes

delboy — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:50:59 +0000

Predictably after being taken to court, Ivi has been given orders to stop streaming Web broadcasts of tv episodes that are owned by TV networks, a US judge has ruled.

The District Judge in New York granted a motion by broadcasters that include CBS ABC and NBC. for a initial injunction against ivi ret-transmitting of their content.

ivi TV is a streaming service costing $4.99 per month, offering users top US TV content by means of a downloadable app that works wherever there is an Internet connection. Viewers have access to content weeks before the same shows going on air in their own Country on free to air tv networks.

Ivi are to appeal against the ruling, they say on their Website.

“We believe the court made an error in the ruling, We will be appealing the decision in the second circuit but in the interim we must shut down most of our broadcast channel offerings.”

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Blue Bloods Is New Blood For CBS

Matt — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:20:44 +0000

CBS have announced their biggest scheduling change of this mid-season, with hit new family cop drama Blue Bloods getting a trial run for four weeks in the Wednesday 10pm slot starting in mid- January, with the current occupant of the slot, lawyer-based dramedy The Defenders, moving to an open berth at Friday 8pm in early February (due to the ending of paranormal drama Medium).

With the chain reaction of schedule change, CBS will be hoping that they can still retain their core viewership, and perhaps even gain some higher figures for their prime-time entertainment series. They seem to be pinning a lot of their hopes on Blue Bloods, which has been a strong performer for the network since its launch in September.

Other key mid-season shows for CBS will include Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, which itself will take over from the test-based Blue Bloods with the Wednesday 10pm slot, returning Blue Bloods to its usual position on Friday at 10pm.

Series such as CIA dramedy Chaos, and new midseason comedy Mad Lovewill also be premiering next February as a part of a ‘Monday comedy block’ for CBS as the rescheduling of their weekly entertainment with the aid of a new generation of shows, in a shake-up that looks to continue well into the new year. The network’s senior EVP of primetime shows, Kelly Kahl said of the ongoing merry-go-round: “We’re in the fortunate position of having a schedule with many successful shows and very few holes. This allows us to be very targeted with our mid-season series. These are moves that maintain the core stability of a successful schedule, while giving us multiple looks for the future at a few time periods.”

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FilmOn Turned Off By Courts

Matt — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:30:05 +0000

FilmOn bosses face tense negotiations with their television network affiliates in an effort to restore live TV streaming to its website, after federal court ruled on a temporary restraining order against the popular streaming website.

This ruling means that the website is, at least temporarily, shut down, while it defends its interpretation of the hotly debated copyright law that allows them to retransmit signals from their network partners. A failure to convince the courts of their innocence will result in permanent closure for the company.

The judge at the US District Court in New York issued a temporary restraining order against FilmOn on Monday, this follows a lawsuit filed by the four major US TV networks (Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC) after FilmOn streamed signals of the respective television stations across the Internet without prior consent. The controversy surrounding FilmOn is based on broadcasters hurring to get a grip on their distribution control, with new and lucrative of their content as a plethora of new distributors such as Google TV, Apple TV, and streaming sites try to bring shows and film to Internet users.

“We respect the Court’s decision in this matter and have temporarily ceased retransmission of free network television on FilmOn,” said a spokesman for the free site, which attracted over 30 million users in the first month of the September 2010 US launch.

A press release added: “FilmOn will be drafting papers in opposition to the Networks’ motion for a preliminary injunction in the coming weeks, with which it expects to submit to the court the opinion of an expert on FilmOn’s technology in order to demonstrate that FilmOn is indeed a cable system. If FilmOn successfully opposes the Networks’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court’s Temporary Restraining Order – which by law can only remain in effect for a short duration – will be dissolved.”

The takedown comes shortly after FilmOn launched a free iPad streaming service. It is unclear at this time if the streaming will be shut down on the Apple device.

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Google Say Their TV Platform Is Not Replacing Cable But Complimenting It

Matt — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:51:45 +0000

Google TV not a threat to cable?

network have not experienced the smoothest product launch with their Google TV Internet platform. Criticised in some quarters, blocking of tv streams by the big TV networks and Hulu streams being cut off. However, Google have come out fighting, insisting that they are not a threat to the television business.

Speaking at the Streaming Media West Conference, Rishi Chandra, Google TV lead product manager said:- “We are not looking to replace cable. Our goal is not to replace it but to add to it”. Chandra also said that the Hulu service qould be coming to Google TV, but did not say when.

Shortly after launch, the big three in ABC, NBC and CBS blocked Google TV viewers from accessing their internet tv players, leading many to believe the reason was fear of piracy. This was dismissed by Chandra and he pointed to the paywall setup of 3 Google TV partners in Netflix, Amazon and HBO saying:- “What’s important is that content owners are in control, they decide what content is distributed and monetized.”

Chandra said that the networks were only delaying the inevitable. “The Web is coming, with or without Google,” he concluded. “It’s inevitable.” The future will give the consumer thousands of channels instead of hundreds, of which the tv networks will only be a part of.

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TV Networks Closing The Pitches

Matt — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 09:48:31 +0000

Networks wrapping up for the year

As the development cycle for TV shows comes to an end for the year, it will be bad news to potential new show projects that the major networks, which have the power to make their creative ideas a reality, are now in the processes of shutting down their buying of new projects until the start of the next development season.

Those that have already ‘shut down’ for the winter include NBC, ABC and CW, wile Fox and CBS are still listening to a few more offers, preferably comedy. NBC have also claimed that they are done listening to new offers, with the exception of any project that has ’A-list’ credentials.

The recent buying season has been notable for a number of big dramas being approved by the recipient networks, including series projects such as J.J. Abrams’ Alcatraz (Fox), Jerry Bruckheimer’s Lost Girls (ABC), and David E. Kelley’s remake of Wonder Woman.

The other major theme for TV shows is comedy, and although the number of new pilot orders has decreased, there is still a good amount of humorous programming to look forward to, with Peter Tolan’s The Council of Dads (Fox), Darren Star’s Good Christian Bitches (ABC)and NBC show My Life as an Experiment all amongst the potential hits to look out for in the coming year. I

n the meantime, failed efforts and new brainstorms from production executives will have to go back to the drawing board, and probably wait a few months to fine-tune their ideas, and then have another shot at the lucrative world of silver-screen entertainment.

A Same Name Game Pilots For CBS

Matt — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:55:44 +0000

CBS has given the green light to a pilot of The Same Name, a reality TV show based on a similar theme to both Wife Swap, and Undercover Boss.

The series, a brainchild of one of the key figures of ’celebreality’ shows (particularly comedy-related), Cris Abrego (with co-executive producer Eugene Young), is defined as a ’fish-out-of water’ comedic series, which is based on the theme of celebrities swapping lives with regular people who, as the title suggests, happen to have the same name as the star.

Each hour-long episode of the new series, which will be produced by Endemol subdivision 51 Minds, will focus on a celebrity as they swap their life and career with a namesake (with the famous person perhaps needing to go undercover), with cameras following their every move.

It is unknown as to the quality of celebrity that will be invited onto the show, but if it takes off, the chance to see undercover A-listers behind a fast-food counter, or toiling away in an office, could make for brilliant viewing.

The Same Name another potential hit series for Abrego, who was behind shows such as The Surreal Life, Flavor of Love, and Rock of Love. For host network CBS, The Same Name could be a potential addition to their growing collection of ’famous people posing as regular people’ shows, which already includes the likes of Undercover Boss, and I Get That a Lot.

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Google TV Cut Off By TV Networks Due To Piracy Fears?

Matt — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 16:06:15 +0000

Networks vs Google

So, that was the reason major tv networks stopped serving streams to Google TV – Piracy. It looks like this is the excuse being trotted out anyway according to ubergizmo. ABC (owned by Disney) and CBS have both confirmed what everyone already knew, that they have stopped Google TV from streaming their catch up tv websites.

Apparently the thorny issue of piracy and the fact that both companies beleived Google eas not doing enough to prevent it. Of course it could just be that the networks do not want traditional viewers watching the cheaper ads that come via streaming of course. But then that would be a cynical thing to say.

Viewers of course can already watch/copy the traditional tv show that comes in full HD on standard tv. So why would they want to copy an internet stream? If people want a copy they can browse the net and find it anyway?

Other rumors point to the major networks running scared. An internet tv service supplying more than traditional cable or satellite will fasten viewers who plan on cutting the cord. And with Google TV promising to finally merge the internet and broadcast television in a simple way.

If this scenario is true, then it’s a cynical and short sighted response that will only delay the inevitable. The news comes shortly after Hulu also blocked access for the Google os system.

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US Major TV Networks Put Block On Google TV

delboy — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:22:11 +0000

Soon after Hulu blocked streaming on Google TV comes the news that major US broadcasting networks including ABC, CBS and NBC, have decided to block some of their more popular TV programmes from being accessed through Google’s new TV platform.

It means that the hit TV shows such as The Office and CSI are not able to be viewed through Google TV, a new TV service from the search engine giant that makes it easier for folk to access VOD content, scheduled TV and the best of the internet through special set top boxes or enabled TV sets.

The reasons for the action has not officially been given, but it is thought that some of the broadcasters were concerned that Google TV will take away existing revenue streams, and this could tip the balance of power away from the broadcasters and networks in favour of Google TV.

“Everybody knows the lock that Google has on internet traffic in terms of advertising,” An analyst with Gartner, Van Baker told Reuters. “If you take that model and extend it to television, suddenly Google’s power becomes enormous in the advertising space and the broadcasters don’t like that idea.”

All three tv networks confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that they were blocking content from the platform. None gave a reason for the action. ABC and NBC are still allowing programme trailers to appear on Google TV.

Google said in a statement:- “The decision about what programming to license to the platform lay solely with content owners.Google TV enables access to all the web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owners’ choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform.”

The news is dissapointing for Google TV owners after Hulu found a way to block most current Google TV hacks which previously allowed access to Hulu catch-up tv content.

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CBS Could Head Over To Hulu, Making It Catch Up TV Daddy

delboy — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:33:39 +0000

Its one thing hearing rumors about Hulu that are unsubstantiated, however we sit up and take notice when the CEO confirms it. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs media conference, CBS head Les Moonves dropped the bombshell that the network might bring its content over to catch up website Hulu.

This is a huge deal that would push Hulu further toward becoming the online place to go for on demand TV programming, causing constenation for Apple and the cable providers, and potentially offset the problem that a Comcast acquisition of NBC Universal could present to the site.

Hulu began life as a joint venture in 2007 between NBC and News Corp, who owns Fox. And in 2009, Disney had a stake and made ABC programming available. That left CBS as the only network to hold out.

YouTube is the main power in online video, and yet it still does not make a profit and does not have access to full TV programming. Veoh has some older TV shows, but it’s a thin and shallow collection.

Apple wants to become the main player of all types of media sales, and yet Hulu is already way more popular, at least if measured by traffic. It is not clear, though as to whether direct traffic from iOS devices would register or not.

With the main four networks providing content, Hulu would be the one stop shop for tv and video entertainment that was unavailable elsewhere.

Adding CBS to the Hulu armoury would be the equivalent of an instant speed boost to an F1 racing car. However, it looks like CBS will take there time on any decision. As Moonves has said, “Guess what? If we call up next week or in a couple months, they’ll accept our content.” Looks like they are gonna make Hulu sweat.

It is both unclear whether this deal will ever happen, and if it does, will they only add content to the Hulu Plus service? The announcment almost creates more questions than answers.

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Online Stars Find TV Break

admin — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:29:29 +0000

There is no doubt that the Internet has become an important influence on many people’s lives, and websites such as YouTube have helped to produce worldwide hits and celebrities (e.g. Justin Bieber), but very rarely has one of these hits made a direct leap from the web to the silver screen.

This week, however, sees two of these popular online-based entertainment sources try to make it to the big time, with CBS on Thursday launching new comedy series $#*! My Dad Says based on a highly popular (over 1.7m followers) Twitter feed (of the same (but uncensored) name) from unemployed comedy writer Justin Halpern. The series will star William Shatner as Justin’s 74-year-old father, whose eccentric comments are the main feature of the feed, and the likely inspiration and theme for many of the episodes that will be produced.

For younger audiences, the name Fred might be of significance when browsing YouTube, with the high-pitched series (made by teenager Lucas Cruikshank) launching a TV movie, known simply as Fred: The Movie, and has recently premiered on 3 consecutive nights on Nickelodeon this weekend, starring Cruikshank and introducing new characters. The Fred channel has received over 593m video views and is listed as the number two all-time most subscribed YouTube channel with 1.9m subscribers.

While $#*! is being made through the traditional network development system, Fred was independently produced by Brian Robbins (Smallville, Blue Mountain State, Sonny with a Chance), who co-financed the film and took it to Nickelodeon with the intention to release it theatrically. However, the two sides eventually decided to take the High School Musical route, starting off with as a TV movie and potentially going theatrically with one or both of the 2 sequels already in the works (Robbins also owns international and video rights and is looking to release the first movie theatrically in the UK).

Basing a show or a film on an Internet hit certainly helps with the launch, mainly due to the basic factor of name recognition and the viral nature of the web. Could these two new series look to pave the way for a new trend?

Surfs Up For CBS Show Hawaii Five-0 Premiere

admin — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:25:27 +0000

CBS are set to lanch their upcoming remake of the 1970′s hit Hawaii Five-o (now named Hawaii Five-0 [zero]) in style, by hosting the series premiere, naturally, in Hawaii, on the famed Waikiki Beach next Monday night.

The premiere at Waikiki Beach is another installment of the area’s long-running Sunset on the Beach public screening series for show launches.

But when it comes to Hawaii Five-0′s Waikiki premiere, the strongest parallel has to be drawn to Lost, a staple at Sunset on the Beach, which hosted the ABC drama’s first, second, third and sixth (and final) season premieres. The two series already share a co-star, Daniel Dae Kim, a Hawaii filming location, and now also a world premiere spot. The producers of Hawaii Five-0 will be hoping for better success than another Hawaii-based show launched at Sunset on the Beach, as ABC show Hawaii only lasted for 7 episodes after a Waikiki launch, the 2004 series only lasting for 7 episodes.

CBS’ new series is set to be based on the original version of Hawaii Five-0, where an elite task force (aka the local police force) battle crime in the state of Hawaii, and miraculously coming out on top every episode.

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