Only six of the Top 50 TV station groups posted revenue growth, according to the latest BIAfn/TVNewsday 2008 ranking by revenue: Post-Newsweek, McGraw-Hill, Dispatch, Capitol, Griffin and CCA. Overall, BIAfn says, revenue fell 6.5% to $20.1 billion in 2008 and will plunge another 17.3% to $16.6 billion this year. And don't look for significant growth until 2012, it says.
Spokane Kids Host David Cyrus Page Dies At 79
In Reality Slugfest, 'Dance' Tops 'Talent'
Fox's So You Think You Can Dance pulled ahead of NBC's America's Got Talent in their shared 9 p.m. timeslot last night, a week after the Wednesday night debut of Talent topped Dance. Dance averaged a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating, 0.2 ahead of Talent. Last week Talent had a 3.1 and Dance a 2.9 in the hour.
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Leno Wins Right To Web Name For His New Show
For Dramas, 30 Minutes Is The New Hour
For the first time in a generation, American TV is getting a new format: the half-hour drama. We're conditioned to expect a sitcom during a 30-minute time slot, but now networks have figured out they can pack all the drama of a traditional hour-long series into just 30 minutes.
LINKFranken The Senator Could Be 'SNL' Spoof Material
McMahon Remembered For Unflagging Humor, Spirit
Neil Patrick Harris In Talks To Host Emmys
Actor Neil Patrick Harris is in the midst of cutting a deal with CBS and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to host the 61st annual awards show on Sept. 20. Insiders cautioned that the deal is not yet completed, but all sides are working toward setting Harris as this year's Emmycast frontman as soon as possible.
LINKMidseason Hopes Remain For ABC, CBS Pilots
Christian Slater Talking To Star In ABC's 'Forgotten'
ABC Orders 'Fast & The Funniest'
ABC has ordered a new reality competition show from two Last Comic Standing producers in which comedians have to be funny on the fly. In The Fast & the Funniest, a group of stand-ups travel cross-country competing in challenges and performances. The first three to reach the final destination will perform for a cash prize.
LINKATAS Picks Students For SPE Fellowship Program
Actor Karl Malden Dead At 97
The family of Karl Malden says the actor who won an Oscar for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire and starred in ABC's The Streets of San Francisco in the 1970s has died.
FULL STORYHilary Duff To Get Guest Arc On 'Gossip Girl'
'Are You Being Served?' Star Mollie Sugden Dies
Strong Return For 'America's Got Talent'
America's Got Talent got even bigger when its running time got smaller. Last night's one-hour version of the NBC variety show became the most-watched show of the summer, surpassing last week's two-hour premiere. Talent averaged 12.9 million total viewers, up from 11.3 million for its premiere.
LINKBET, 'Jon & Kate' Make Cable Competitive
Perhaps more starkly than ever before, last week's Nielsen ratings show how the distinction between broadcast and cable TV is crumbling. The BET Awards and Jon & Kate Plus 8 each had larger audiences than all but two primetime programs on broadcast television last week.
FULL STORYTMZ.com Earns New Respect After Jackson Scoop
ABC Picks Up 13 Episodes Of 'Gravity'
The network has picked up Fox TV Studios' 13-episode adventure drama Defying Gravity starring Ron Livingston. The internationally produced series is also set to air on Canada's CTV, Germany's ProSieben and the BBC,
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