wow. i mean, really. wowwwww.

i was crusing through my big brother 11 group on facebook and stumbled upon this picture. i really had to do a double take. a  quadruple take even. what didn’t she have done? eeegads. julie. is it true? is this what you really used to look like? i’m all for a little sprucing up, but you darn near wiped out your asian ethnicity with every nip and tuck.

i can’t remember the old version. i’ve only been watching her since the start of big brother a few years ago. i loved ”chen-bot”.  she always looked pretty and eloquent to me, but now, the looks don’t mean as much. it’s one thing to fix up your look with some eyeliner, lipstick or a new hair cut, but to slice and dice your face  so that you look like a distant cousin, at best, of your former chinese self?

why the need to eradicate the asian features, to take out your beautiful china girl looks? ask anyone that knows me well, and they will say for certain that i think asian women are the most beautiful ladies on earth. their skin, their hair, their eyes–everything is just so exotically gorgeous. true, julie did have quite the connie chung look going on, and that may have been difficult for her to work with, but remember, connie is quite the successful journalist as well.  so was the pressure to change coming from the news execs or inside herself?

julie is preggers now. and though the baby will be half asian and half caucasian (julie’s husband is president and ceo of cbs, leslie moonves), will it be good enough for her? remember, the baby isn’t going to have the genes of the new julie, she’ll have them of the old one. the connie chung for tots edition. hmmm…what then jules?

“The Early Show” co-host and “Big Brother” host Julie Chen has revealed to “Late Late Show” host Craig Ferguson that she and her husband, CBS Corporation President and CEO Les Moonves, are expecting a boy!

“We decided that after the Fourth of July we’d release it, so you’re the first person I’m telling, well, of the public,” Julie told Craig.

Of what she and Les plan to name their son, she said, “We’ll probably stick to a traditional boy name.”

SOURCE

Foto : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/CBS_Corporation.png

   Sumner Murray Redstone

   Sumner Murray Rothstein ( 1923 – ) , evreu , actionar principal si Chairman of the Board al National Amusements . Impreuna cu familia sa actionari principali CBS Corporation, Viacom, Midway Games, MTV Networks, BET , Paramount Pictures DreamWorks si  MovieTickets.com.

   Viacom, Inc. , predecesorul CBS Corporation .

   A cumparat Blockbuster Entertainment ( inclusiv compania de productie Aaron Spelling ) , cea mai mare retea de inchiriei DVD si jocuri video din lume .

   CBS Broadcasting Inc. ( CBS – Columbia Broadcasting System ) unul din cele mai mari retele de radio si televiziune din lume .

   In octombrie 1938 a creat un test terifiant cu opinia publica americana in momentul in care Orson Welles a transmis prin radio o adaptare dupa romanul “ Razboiul lumilor “ al lui H. G. Wells . Totul a parut atat de real incat populatia credea ca asculta in direct o invazie a martienilor .

   In 1940 , Edmund A. Chester de la CBS a coordonat dezvoltarea Network of the Americas impreuna Department of State, the Office for Inter-American Affairs ( prezidat de Nelson Rockefeller ) si Voice of America .

   Laurence Tisch

   Laurence Alan Tisch ( 1923 – 2003 ) , evreu , afacerist american , investitor pe Wall Street , CEO al gigantului de televiziune CBS . Impreuna cu fratele sau Bob Tisch propietar partial Loews Corporation care detine si compania Lorillard Tobacco.

   Membru COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS ( CFR )

   Simon & Schuster

   Simon & Schuster, Inc. este o divizie a CBS Corporation . Fondata in 1924 de Richard L. Simon ( evreu ) , este una din cele mai mari patru edituri in limba engleza din lume .

   Mel Karmazin

   Melvin Alan “Mel” Karmazin ( 1943 – ) , evreu , co fondator si fost presedinte Infinity Broadcasting . Presedinte si chief executive officer al CBS. CEO al Sirius XM Radio .

   Leslie Moonves

   Leslie Moonves ( 1948 – ) , evreu , presedinte si Chief Executive Officer al CBS Corporation .

   Fost fost co presedinte si co-chief operating officer of Viacom, Inc.

   Fost vice presedinte 20th Century Fox Television .

   Head of creative affairs la Lorimar Television in 1988 si presedinte 1989 – 1993 .

   Presedinte Warner Bros. Television in 1993, cand aceasta si-a combinat operatiunile cu Lorimar Television .

   Este stranepotul lui David Ben-Gurion , primul prim-ministru al Israelului .

   Jeff Fager

   Jeff Fager ( 1954 – ) , evreu , executive producer al cunoscutei emisiuni 60 Minutes .

BROADCAST/CABLE

Buoyed by the Presidential election and its aftermath, the Sunday morning news shows all posted increases during the November Sweep and according to Nielsen, NBC’s Meet the Press led overall and had its best November performance in four years with veteran Tom Brokaw at the helm. (Cynopsis 12/2)

Steve Buscemi may headline Boardwalk Empire, the Martin Scorsese directed drama pilot for HBO chronicling Atlantic City in the 1920s, reports THR. Buscemi’s character Nucky Johnson, is a smart businessman and a bootlegger on the side. Scottish actress, Kelly Macdonald is also discussing taking on a co-starring role in the project playing Margaret, an Irish immigrant who married the wrong man to escape her family home. Executive producers on the project include Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Terrence Winter who also wrote the script based on a book by Nelson Johnson. (Cynopsis 12/2)

Showtime’s penchant for off-beat, sometimes aberrant, main characters in shows such as “Dexter,” “Weeds” and “Californication” is adding up to big business for the pay-cable channel. According to this article, the network, a unit of CBS Corp., will report that its operating income has risen 20% this year, to $400 million. “It’s clearly the original programming,” said Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS. Los Angeles Times (12/2)

Sci Fi Channel has approved the production of “Caprica,” the prequel to the network’s highly successful “Battlestar Galactica.” “Caprica,” set for an early 2010 launch sequence, is set 50 years before the alien attack that doomed the world, but gave birth to a great TV show. Variety (12/1)

Time Warner is asking its shareholders to approve a reverse-stock split that could double or triple the share price. The company believes the move will improve liquidity following the spinoff next year of Time Warner Cable, which could cause Time Warner’s shares to fall. (Iwantmedia 12/2, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081201/time_warner_split.html 12/1)

Cablevision this week will begin offering NBC Universal-owned Bravo, CNBC, Sci Fi Channel and USA in high definition. The cable provider also will launch two other NBCU channels — Chiller and Sleuth — in standard definition. Multichannel News (12/1)

WIRELESS

24 hours have passed since the launch of the Android Market, the Google equivalent to Apple’s App Store. Medialets has conducted a thorough analysis of the two store launches. The verdict: the size of Android Market pales in comparison to Apple’s store at launch, and won’t allow for paid applications until next year. But the stores are more alike than they are different, with very similar applications launching of both platforms, and an overwhelming focus on games. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/23/android-market-takes-on-apples-app-store-games-still-rule-but-should-they 10/23)

So-called “white spaces” in the broadcast spectrum that will lie fallow after the DTV transition next February should not be used for a new generation of wireless devices because they will likely cause significant interference, according to the top executives from NBC Universal, Walt Disney, CBS and News Corp. said in a letter to the FCC. Respectively, Jeffrey Zucker, Robert Iger, Leslie Moonves and Peter Chernin told the commission that the matter needs additional study and peer review and should not be brought up for a vote Nov. 4, as planned. The Wall Street Journal (10/24) , Broadcasting & Cable (10/23) , Broadcasting & Cable (10/23)

CBS Corporation to Acquire CNET Networks
CBS Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire CNET Networks. It was announced today by Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, CBS Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, CBS will make a cash tender offer for all issued and outstanding shares of CNET Networks for $11.50 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $1.8 billion.

The company says the acquisition will make it one of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the United States, with a combined 54 million unique users per month, and about 200 million users worldwide.

Based in San Francisco, CNET Networks owns many of the Internet’s leading entertainment, news, and information sites including CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, CNET news.com, UrbanBaby, CHOW, Search.com, BNET, MySimon, and TechRepublic. In 2007, the company recorded revenues of $406 million.

Upon closing, CNET Networks’ sites will be combined with CBS’s interactive businesses. These include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, CBS Radio, and CBS Television Stations digital media platforms.

BROADCAST/CABLE

Yesterday, many of the claims filed by Dan Rather in a $70 million lawsuit last September against the CBS Corporation were dismissed by Judge Ira Gammerman of the New York Supreme Court. The judge rejected Rather’s claim of fraud against CEO, Leslie Moonves, Viacom-CBS Chairman, Sumner Redstone and former CBS News president, Andrew Heyward in addition to his assertion that the network made him the scapegoat involving the bru-ha-ha surrounding the 60 Minutes II use of controversial papers in the story about President Bush’s National Guard service in the 1970s. The lawsuit further accused CBS of not giving him worthy assignments on CBS News programs following his resignation as anchor in March 2005. (Cynopsis 4/11, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/10/national/main4006080.shtml 4/10)

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather and CBS President Leslie Moonves. (CBS/AP)

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt is resisting calls to sell off NBC Universal. Investors’ cries could grow louder if GE disappoints when it reports first-quarter earnings. Still, in the current financial environment, a sale of GE’s media holdings is seen as unlikely. (http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/10/news/companies/simons_nbcu.fortune/index.htm 4/10)

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt has so far resisted calls to sell NBC Universal.

A handful of media companies are gearing up to submit second round bids for the Weather Channel. Fewer than five companies are putting together the second-round bids. A source briefed on the matter says Time Warner is in talks to buy the channel from Landmark Communications. (http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1040547020080410 4/10)

After airing only one episode Tuesday night, CBS cancelled the reality competition series Secret Talents of the Stars. The premiere/finale episode posted a 1.5/4 among A18-49. Starting next Tuesday, CBS will air 48 Hours Mystery in the 10p slot for two weeks then Shark returns with new episodes post-strike as of April 29. (Cynopsis 4/11)

Apparently, CBS’ secret talent is cancelling shows.

PROJECTS ANNOUNCED

• Screen Gems is planning a hip-hop musical reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic novel “Emma” for the bigscreen. Chris Bender and J.C. Spink will produce via their Benderspink banner. Contemporary-set tale, which takes place at an inner-city high school, revolves around a stepbrother and stepsister. Film will include at least 15 song and dance numbers. Tyger Williams penned the screenplay. Screen Gems topper Clint Culpepper said he came up with the idea for “Emma,” which will likely be redubbed “Emme,” after watching the musicvideo “Lipgloss” by Lil Mama.

• Lakeshore Entertainment and France’s TF1 Intl. will co-produce a film based on Jean-Christophe Rufin’s bestselling eco-spy novel “Le Parfum d’Adam” (The Scent of Adam). Story centers on a young activist who frees lab animals from a research facility in Poland and unwittingly finds herself at the heart of the eco-terrorist movement and a conspiracy of global proportions. Producers are out to writers to adapt.

PROJECT UPDATES

• Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell are set to star in the Kirk Jones-directed “Everybody’s Fine.” Miramax Films acquired worldwide rights on the film that will begin shooting in Connecticut later this month. The remake of the Giuseppe Tornatore film “Stanno tutti bene” was written by Jones. He came aboard when the redo was first set up by Hollywood Gang Prods. and Cecchi Gori USA (Daily Variety, March 16, 2006).

• United Artists and MGM have pushed back the release of Bryan Singer’s Tom Cruise starrer “Valkyrie” from Oct. 3 to Feb. 13. Move marks the second date change for the WWII actioner and another delay for the revamped label headed by Cruise and Paula Wagner. The new UA’s debut pic, the war-themed drama “Lions for Lambs,” proved to be a box office disappointment last year, generating $15 million domestically and $42 million overseas.

• Scribe Tracy Letts nabbed the 2008 Pulitzer for drama for his play “August: Osage County,” currently logging strong sales on Broadway in a glowingly reviewed production. Christopher Shinn’s “Dying City,” which played Lincoln Center Theater last spring, and David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face,” at the Public last fall, were named finalists for the kudos, announced Monday. Pulitzer potential for “August” had been buzzed about since the show preemed at the Steppenwolf in Chicago last summer. A sprawling drama with 13 characters, three acts and a running time of close to 3½ hours, “August” is the kind of ambitious fare that, with its focus on the American family, seems a no-brainer for the award.

• Rob Bowman (“The X-Files”) has signed to direct the ABC pilot “Castle,” while two other pilots have added cast members. “Castle,” from ABC Studios and Armyan Bernstein’s Beacon Television, centers on a horror novelist who consults for the NYPD. Andrew Marlowe wrote the pilot and will exec produce with Bernstein and Laurie Zaks.

• “Family Guy’s” Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein are bringing their hit stage show to Los Angeles. MacFarlane — the show’s creator, and voice of Peter Griffin — and Borstein — the voice of Peter’s long-suffering wife, Lois — will appear at the Ahmanson Theater on Saturday, May 10, reprising an ecelectic revue that played to soldout auds at Carnegie Hall. “Freakin’ Sweet! An Evening of Music and Comedy” features MacFarlane and Borstein as they perform 26 unusual tunes described as a “musical tour through the alphabet.” They’ll be joined by Walter Murphy, Rich Ruttenberg and the “Family Guy” Orchestra. Comedian Janeane Garofalo is set to open the show. Event benefits the Center Theater Group’s New Play Production Program.

• Jackie Chan and Ziyi Zhang have been enlisted to sing the theme song for “The One,” a film about China’s first Olympian, sprinter Liu Changchun, who represented China at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, despite the efforts of Japanese occupation forces in Manchuria to stop him. Four top Chinese-speaking celebs — Chan, Zhang, Lee-Hom Wang and Stefanie Sun — will sing “Stand Up” on the pic’s soundtrack, producer Wang Zhebin told the Beijing Times. Movie is being made as a tribute to the 2008 Beijing Games, and each singer will represent a different Chinese group: Chan, Hong Kong; Wang, Taiwan; Zhang, the mainland; and Singaporean Sun repping overseas Chinese.

BUSINESS NEWS

• NBC and Bravo aren’t letting “Project Runway” hop the catwalk to Lifetime without a fierce fight. Peacock has filed suit in New York Supreme Court against “Project Runway” producer the Weinstein Co., asserting the shingle violated NBC and Bravo’s right of first refusal. Lifetime announced Monday that TWC has signed a five-year deal with the femme-centric cabler to take over the show — cable’s top-rated reality skein — effective November. As a result, Heidi Klum and company will say “auf wiedersehen” to NBC’s Bravo cabler after one final season this summer.

• The Mouse House is building new wings all over the world and discovering fresh ways to dice up its cheese. Disney execs unveiled Monday a raft of deals at Mip TV that spanned the globe and underlined the company’s increasingly international focus. The pacts include the following: * A deal with Colombian broadcaster RCN to produce Spanish-language versions of ABC hits “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Brothers & Sisters.” * A multiyear licensing deal with Russian broadcaster CTC Media. * A renewal of its free-to-air output agreement with Germany’s powerhouse ProSiebenSat1 Group. * A deal to license reality skein “The Fashionista Diaries” to U.K. broadcaster Five’s digital channel the Fiver. * Acquisition of Aardman Animations’ stop-motion kidvid series “Timmy” for Disney Channel outlets in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. What’s more, Disney’s top brass said the flurry of activity unveiled Monday only scratches the surface of the company’s long-term plans for expansion into international markets. The emerging territories most on Disney’s radar: Russia, Turkey, Africa and the Middle East. But Disney wasn’t the only U.S. major making headlines on the opening day of Mip. Warner Bros. Intl. Television and HBO unveiled a first-of-its-kind deal to license pics to France Telecom’s newly announced premium pay TV platform Orange Cinema Service.

• CBS News and CNN execs have recently been in talks to explore the possibility of sharing resources in a way that would help the bottom lines of both newsgathering outfits. But insiders at the two companies downplayed a report posted on the New York Times’ website Monday afternoon suggesting that CBS was considering a deal to “outsource” most of its newsgathering operations to CNN. Insiders acknowledged that top execs from CBS News and CNN have recently had discussions about the feasibility of sharing behind-the-scenes resources in far-flung news hotspots like Baghdad. But several people close to the situation cautioned that those talks were narrow in scope and ended with no concrete agreement. CBS and CNN have long flirted with the idea of a merger or alliance that would help both better manage the significant costs of newsgathering, particularly in foreign locales. CBS Corp. chief Leslie Moonves has made no secret of his interest in acquiring CNN from parent Time Warner, were it for sale at the right price, but talks have bogged down in the past over issues of control, rights and how much exposure CBS’ marquee news stars would receive on the all-news cabler.

• Warner Bros. Intl. TV and HBO have inked exclusive multiyear deals to be first-off U.S. suppliers to France Telecom Orange’s Orange Cinema Service, a premium pay TV service unveiled Monday at Mip TV. OCS is expected to launch in the fourth quarter. Deal is just one of many for Orange, a highly ambitious cable, IPTV and mobile TV operator in France, as it seeks to tap exclusive content to lure subscribers to what is looking like a more modestly priced rival to Canal Plus’ Le Bouquet, a package of six premium channels.

• Pay TV platform Premiere looks set to flex its newfound muscle with an expansion into free TV and is eying Sat.1 for a possible takeover. Premiere topper Michael Boernicke told German financial daily Hanelsblatt Monday the addition of a free TV web would help bring the paybox forward, adding that the group is looking to double or even triple overall revenue from its current 1 billion euros ($1.57 billion). Such a move would create a third major free TV player in Germany besides ProSiebenSat1 and RTL, provide Premiere with the necessary growth and help pull the paybox out of the red.

• U.K.-based sales company Lumina Films has renamed itself the Salt Co. to reflect its sharpened focus on packaging and financing international films. Salt, a part of the Intl. Film Collective, will continue to be run by Samantha Horley as managing director, with Robert Bevan and Cyril Megret continuing as directors. Originally founded in Spain as the sales arm of Latin American shingle Buena Onda, also part of the Intl. Film Collective, Lumina Films relocated to London in 2005. Since then the company, while still specializing in Latin American features such as Sergio Machado’s steamy 2005 love triangle pic “Lower City,” diversified its slate to take on projects from around the world, including the U.K.

• The Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group has teamed with Entertainment Enterprises Group to acquire five multi-screen theaters in Ireland from Storm Cinema. Under the deal, EEG will own the cinemas, which Odeon UCI will manage and operate. The theaters will remain under the Storm name until Jan. 1, 2009, when they will adopt the UCI brand. In 2003, Odeon UCI sold its Irish subsid to EEG. This deal means Odeon UCI now operates and manages 61 screens across eight theaters in Ireland. Odeon UCI is the market leader in the U.K., Italy and Spain, and the third largest exhib chain in Germany.

STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUES

• In a move designed to pressure the Screen Actors Guild into making a deal, the majors have told the performers union to forget about asking for sweeter terms than those secured by the WGA and DGA. In an open letter issued Monday by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, the congloms sent a clear signal to SAG leaders not to expect special treatment at the bargaining table. Though it used a moderate tone, the AMPTP underlined that it won’t break the pattern set in the recent deals with writers and directors. SAG’s talks start April 15, and AFTRA — which split off from the Screen Actors Guild late last month — begins April 28. “We hope that our negotiations with SAG and AFTRA will bolster this new economic framework, enabling all of us to share equitably in the success of new media and to respond with creativity and swiftness to market changes,” the AMPTP said. “If our industry relies on this new framework, we can all avoid more harmful and unnecessary strikes.” The missive is designed to warn SAG that its leaders’ plans to seek improvements in new media and DVD residuals are non-starters. It arrives as the town remains unnerved by the assertive tone of SAG’s approach and its strong alliance with the WGA during the 100-day writers strike, sparking worries a second work stoppage may be in the offing after SAG’s feature-primetime contract expires June 30.

INDUSTRY MOVES

• Fireworks Intl., the TV distribution arm of ContentFilm, has made three sales appointments as it beefs up its factual programming. Kathryn Kozanczyn and Smiljka Baljozovic have joined Fireworks’ Toronto office as sales directors responsible for worldwide sales of the factual entertainment catalog. Both join from Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Intl., where they oversaw worldwide sales. In addition, Patrick O’Connor-Read has joined Fireworks’ London-based digital division as digital sales manager. He will be responsible for the development of digital distribution for ContentFilm and Fireworks Intl. across IP, VOD and mobile platforms, with a particular focus on Asia Pacific (a region he knows well due to a previous stint at Martial Arts TV).

• One day after Endeavor staged a coup by luring away UTA agents Nick Stevens, Sharon Sheinwold and Lisa Hallerman, the agency got punk’d. Ashton Kutcher, creator of the MTV prank show “Punk’d” and the force behind a number of other reality and scripted skeins, left the agency after 10 years. He’s expected to land at CAA.

TECHNOLOGY/ MULTI-PLATFORM CONTENT NEWS

• Film and TV library owners are getting a new way to sell their buried treasures. Ascent Media Group, a subsid of John Malone’s Discovery Holding Co., is launching an online marketplace to help rights owners sell and deliver their library titles to distribs worldwide. Site, dubbed Ascent Global Media Exchange (GMX for short), is skedded to come online at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Ascent has 74 facilities around the globe providing post-production and other technical services. Malone has a controlling interest in Discovery and is its chairman and CEO. Company hopes to give rights holders a cost-effective way to market downlist movies, TV shows or other video content to cable or broadcast outlets and web publishers. “Not ‘long-tail’ content,” Ascent CEO Jose Royo told Variety, “but content that has been valuable at some time in the past but hasn’t been generating revenue because of the cost of distribution and fulfillment.” GMX will allow content owners to put samples from their libraries online, list terms if they choose and conduct blind auctions. Buyers acquire the rights online and choose their delivery format. That would trigger Ascent (or another post house) to transfer the show and prep it for delivery. While other online marketplace sites have been attempted, Ascent claims GMX will be the first site offering both acquisition and fulfillment worldwide. Company is banking on its extensive relationships and reputation to encourage use of the site.

• Continuing its acquisition spree and making its first purchase in Asia, Disney Interactive Studios has acquired Chinese videogame developer GameStar. Six-year-old company, which has 90 employees in Shanghai and Wuhan, has done outsourcing work for several vidgame companies, including Disney Interactive. The Mouse House’s videogame unit initially plans to use GameStar to support projects at its five other developers, as it has done in the past on a contractual basis. As it grows, however, GameStar may start to develop its own titles, most likely ones aimed at the fast-growing Chinese market.

• U.S. sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke has paid £22.7 million ($44.9 million) to Brit terrestrial web, ITV, for a 50% stake in the English soccer web operation, Arsenal Broadband. The holding will be owned by Kroenke’s vehicle, KSE, and follows his purchase of a 10% stake in the top flight Premier League soccer club from ITV a year ago, for which he forked out around $80 million. For the British web, the sale reps its final off-loading of its interests in English soccer clubs. ITV’s commercial and acquisitions director Tom Betts said: “This completes the sale of our football assets which has seen us successfully raise £101 million ($200 million) in just over a year.”

• Yahoo is partnering with the TBS network to webcast a talkshow about primetime TBS drama “Rookies” as the drama airs. Yahoo will webcast the talkshow live starting April 19 with the first “Rookies” episode — a two-hour special. The show will begin 30 minutes before the 7 p.m. bow and continue until it ends two hours later. Guests will include “Rookies” actors and staff who will provide behind-the-scenes commentary as the drama unfolds. “Rookies” is based on a popular comic about a high school baseball team that has sold 12 million copies in paperback editions since its debut in 1998.

WEBSITES TO WATCH

http://www.ifl.tv/Video.html

NeuLion struck a deal with the International Fight League to deliver live ad-supported Mixed Martial Arts fighting matches from the IFL network on ifl.tv. NeuLion will also provide the IFL with billing services to support PPV, registration and future subscriptions.

http://www.mylifetime.com/sweeps/ewfc/submit.php

Lifetime Movie Network and partners are once again asking women filmmakers to submit original works to the Every Woman’s Film Competition. This year the contest, comprised of 3-5 minute video shorts, is open to all women who will compete for cash prizes and exposure of their work on LMN.tv and Lifetime Movie Network.

http://www.imeem.com/

Music-themed social network Imeem acquired DRM technology provider Snocap for an undisclosed amount. Imeem is interested in the content identification platform/digital registry system Snocap built for unsigned artists to manage online distribution of their music on MySpace and other sites.

http://lab.wgbh.org/open-call/election2008

The WGBH Lab and American Documentary Inc.’s P.O.V. are asking filmmakers to submit short videos related to the upcoming Presidential election. Selected films submitted by April 7 will receive $2,000 in funding and will be featured on Lab.wghb.org as well as on PBS.

http://www.modernfeed.com/welcome.htm

When Modern Feed founder J.D. Heilprin started making the rounds looking for Angel investors to fund his online video aggregation site a year ago, many wondered if there was enough professionally produced online video out there to build a robust site around. Now, of course, the problem is that there is way too much to keep up with. Modern Feed has built an intuitive, easy to use interface to help users navigate the legitimate sources of video available in the U.S., including broadcast & cable network sites, web production sites and magazine portals. The site doesn’t actually serve the video. It’s more of a Tivo device for the web, recommending programs, scheduling season passes and identifying shows optimized for WiFi-enabled iPods and iPhones. More important, a team of TV fanatic “Feeders” make editorial recommendations to push the good stuff forward; in the sea of internet video, users need a port in the storm.

SOURCES:

www.variety.com
www.cynopsis.com

DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD: MOONVES AND THE FUTURE OF CBS

Today at Digital Hollywood in NYC, Steve Adler (Business Week Editor-in-Chief) interviewed Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS. Summing up Moonves, the man definitely speaks his mind. At times, this prompted laughter and at other times general anxiety.

Favorite quote from the keynote: (In regards to American Idol) “I wish someone would kill that show. I would greatly appreciate it.” Well, OK. But only if I can take Paula Abdul out first.

The Highlights:

Shift of Advertising Dollars

• 70% of CBS’ business is advertising
• Conventional wisdom says that internet will draw ad $$ away from TV –> CBS has not seen internet advertising to be competitive but instead additive to TV ad revenue
• In 2007, CBS saw online revenue of $200 million
• Instead of TV, the first to see the hit in ad revenue will be radio & print

Acquisitions

• In 2007, private equity was driving up the price of companies making acquisitions difficult. This year, the rules have changed leading to an open market for CBS to make some acquisitions.

• Univision represents a missed opportunity for CBS. Moonves described the company as a fit with CBS but overpriced at the time they had looked at it.

• When asked about Facebook, Moonves responded that the company is overpriced and not at their core business to be considered as an acquisition.

• Moonves is considering The Weather Channel as an acquisition. Sees it as a fit for CBS.

Digital Distribution

• CBS offers its content across multiple platforms. They chose not to participate in Hulu because Moonves prefers to control the content and ad sales à Believe that CBS can distribute on its own to generate increased revenue in relation to a Hulu partnership
• Moonves was careful to also say that CBS would continue to weigh the value of a partnership with Hulu (i.e. the wait and see game)

• March Madness on Demand (MMOD) offers all of the NCAA games online available to watch anytime.
• MMOD began as a subscription model in year 1 generating $250K in revenue –> year 2: a free ad-supported model generating $4 million in revenue –> year 3: same model generating $10 million in revenue –> this year: same model with estimated revenue of $25 million. Pretty impressive. Good bye productive workforce.

WGA Strike

• Moonves, while seemingly somewhat sensitive to the writers’ situation during the strike, commented that some of those writers will never make back the money lost during the strike. Seems a bit snarky no?
• As a result of the strike, CBS will not be developing full pilots but instead will develop half pilots to reduce front end cost.

Content

• When asked about his three favorite shows, Moonves responded several more than three. Here are the first three out of his mouth. Interesting that the top two compete with Showtime.

1.

2.

3.

Dexter on Showtime

• Dexter watched by 1.4 million people on Showtime. When syndicated to CBS, Dexter now affords a viewer base of 6 -7 million.

Radio

• CBS has sold several stations and changed the leadership at several others.
• Moonves still sees radio as a strong industry. All CBS stations are now able to stream online.

Last.fm

• Online should not represent regurgitated TV content.
• Last.fm wasn’t simply about putting the music online but about building a community around that music.

For the first 10 minutes of the keynote click the image below. You will find 2 more videos capturing the next 20 minutes here.

Well, here’s an admission by CBS that the Writers Strike was a good thing.

Today CBS announced its 2007 4th Quarter and Full Year earnings.  Although profits dropped significantly, it wasn’t attributed to the strike.  In his statement, CEO Les Moonves said:

As we predicted CBS sustained itself very well during the strike.  In fact, in the short term, we were able to manage operating costs at the network very effectively.  This was primarily achieved by significantly reducing our programming expenses and the termination of costly writing and producing contracts.  Our financial picture was not affected negatively by the strike in any shape or form.  Perhaps most importantly, many of the economic benefits we were able to achieve during the strike have changed the way we do business and will allow us to operate more efficiently going forward.

How are they going to operate more efficiently going forward?  Moonves said, “We’re approaching the upcoming pilot season with an eye on building a faster, leaner development model with fewer expensive pilots and greater cost efficiencies across the board.”

Another interesting comment was about The Internet:

“The Internet business is (a) truly an extension of our existing network business and we’ve got the sales teams in place to get that job done, too….Online is our strategy to reach people wherever they are and bring our content to them.  That’s why we created the CBS Audience network which has more than 300 affiliated websites and is the number one provider of online television programming in the business.”

Here’s more info about the CBS Audience Network.

Well, it seems pretty clear that CBS had a plan regarding the Internet well over a year ago and was ready for (or even allowed) the strike to happen so that they could effect various cost-cutting measures and have reason to change the pilot development process.

So what can we expect after the strike regarding pilots?

• Fewer pilots
• Lower budget pilots
• Pilots year-round
• More Internet-only content
• Faster development process

What’s your take?

If you want to listen to the full earnings report conference call, go to this CBS Corp PR page.

By DAVID BAUDER, AP

NEW YORK – Don Imus’ racist remarks got him fired by CBS on Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation’s most prominent broadcasters.

Imus was initially suspended for two weeks after he called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” on the air last week. But outrage kept growing and advertisers kept bolting from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast, which was canceled Wednesday.

“There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society,” CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. “That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision.”

Imus, 66, had a long history of inflammatory remarks. But something struck a raw nerve when he targeted the Rutgers team — which includes a class valedictorian, a future lawyer and a musical prodigy — after they lost in the  NCAA championship game.

A spokeswoman for the team said it did not have an immediate comment on Imus’ firing. But Imus was scheduled to meet with the team Thursday evening at the governor’s mansion in Princeton, N.J., and the team was seen entering the mansion.

He was fired in the middle of a two-day radio fundraiser for children’s charities. CBS announced that Imus’ wife, Deirdre, and his longtime newsman, Charles McCord, will host Friday’s show.

The cantankerous Imus, once named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time magazine and a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, was one of radio’s original shock jocks. His career took flight in the 1970s and with a cocaine- and vodka-fueled outrageous humor. After sobering up, he settled into a mix of highbrow talk about politics and culture, with locker room humor sprinkled in.

He issued repeated apologies as protests intensified. But it wasn’t enough as everyone from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey joined the criticism.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves on Thursday to demand Imus’ removal.

Jackson called the firing “a victory for public decency. No one should use the public airwaves to transmit racial or sexual degradation.”

Said Sharpton: “He says he wants to be forgiven. I hope he continues in that process. But we cannot afford a precedent established that the airways can commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism.”

In a memo to staff members, Moonves said the firing “is about a lot more than Imus.”

“He has flourished in a culture that permits a certain level of objectionable expression that hurts and demeans a wide range of people,” Moonves said. “In taking him off the air, I believe we take an important and necessary step not just in solving a unique problem, but in changing that culture, which extends far beyond the walls of our company.”

It’s also likely to trigger a wider debate about expression and forgiveness. Some of Imus’ fans have pointed to inflammatory statements made by Sharpton and Jackson in the past, or in the lyrics of popular music.

Losing Imus will be a financial hit to CBS Radio, which also suffered when Howard Stern departed for satellite radio. The program earns about $15 million in annual revenue for CBS, which owns Imus’ home radio station WFAN-AM and manages Westwood One, the company that syndicates the show nationally. One potential replacement: the sports show “Mike & the Mad Dog,” which airs afternoons on WFAN.

The radiothon had raised more than $1.3 million Thursday before Imus learned that he had lost his job. The annual event has raised more than $40 million since 1990.

“This may be our last radiothon, so we need to raise about $100 million,” Imus cracked at the start of the event.

Volunteers were getting about 200 more pledges per hour than they did last year, with most callers expressing support for Imus, said phone bank supervisor Tony Gonzalez. The event benefited Tomorrows Children’s Fund, the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the Imus Ranch.

Imus, whose suspension was supposed to start next week, was in the awkward situation of broadcasting Thursday’s radio program from the MSNBC studios in New Jersey, even though NBC News said the night before that MSNBC would no longer simulcast his program on television.

He didn’t attack MSNBC (a unit of NBC Universal, owned by General Electric Co.) for its decision — “I understand the pressure they were under,” he said — but complained the network was doing some unethical things during the broadcast. He didn’t elaborate.

Sponsors that pulled out of Imus’ show included American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp. Imus made a point Thursday to thank one sponsor, Bigelow Tea, for sticking by him.

The list of his potential guests began to shrink, too.

Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham said the magazine’s staffers would no longer appear on Imus’ show. Meacham, Jonathan Alter, Evan Thomas, Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff from Newsweek have been frequent guests.

Imus has complained bitterly about a lack of support from one black politician, Harold Ford Jr., even though he strongly backed Ford’s campaign for Senate in Tennessee last year. Ford, now head of the Democratic Leadership Council, said Thursday he’ll leave it to others to decide Imus’ future.

“I don’t want to be viewed as piling on right now because Don Imus is a good friend and a decent man,” Ford said. “However, he did a reprehensible thing.”

Imus’ troubles have also affected his wife, whose book “Green This!” came out this week. Her promotional tour has been called off “because of the enormous pressure that Deirdre and her family are under,” said Simon & Schuster publicist Victoria Meyer.

People are buying it, though: An original printing of 45,000 was increased to 55,000.

Imus still has a lot of support among radio managers across the country, many of whom grew up listening to him, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio.

Rutgers’ team, meanwhile, appeared Thursday on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with their coach, C. Vivian Stringer.

At the end of their appearance, Winfrey said: “I want to borrow a line from Maya Angelou, who is a personal mentor of mine and I know you all also feel the same way about her. And she has said this many times, and I say this to you, on behalf of myself and every woman that I know, you make me proud to spell my name W-O-M-A-N.”