Blade: The Series Canceled September 29, 2006 2:13 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, Television.8 comments

On her MySpace account, actress Jill Wagner had this to say about the cancellation of the SpikeTV Original Series:
Just wanted to say thanks again to all of you who supported me and Blade the Series. I was just informed today that there will be NO 2nd season of Blade the Series. I really enjoyed playing Krista and i hope that i did her justice at least for one season! However, that is not the end of Jill Wagner’s acting career. I will keep you guys posted on what’s next for me. Again i say thanks for the support. Hey, there is always the DVD right????
Jill Wagner
The series started off strongly, premiering in June of this year to the tune of roughly 2.5M viewers, the highest ever for a SpikeTV Original Series.
However, the show quickly lost that audience and by the fourth episode, 1.07M viewers (less than half of those who tuned in for the two-hour pilot) were still watching.
Charlie Sheen Set To Become Highest Paid Sitcom Actor September 28, 2006 11:52 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.1 comment so far
According to reports, Charlie Sheen, of CBS’s Two and a Half Men, is set to become the highest paid sitcom star.
Sheen began renegotiating his contract about 2 months ago, right about the time Warner Bros., the show’s studio, began entering into deals for the show’s syndication packages (to Tribune Broadcasting stations for the Broadcast rights and to FX for the Cable rights).
The new contract will reportedly pay Sheen $350,000 per episode, the most for any current sitcom star.
The record for highest paid sitcom star of all time was Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond. He was paid almost $2M per episode for that show’s final season back in 2004/2005.
Mobile ESPN Phone Service Goes Under September 28, 2006 11:52 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ESPN, News.add a comment

Mobile ESPN, the cell phone service catering to the needs of sports fanatics, will close down service. Sales of Mobile ESPN phones and service will end immediately, while current customers will continue to receive their service until the end of this year.
Mobile ESPN has had a hard time growing its subscriber base, only serving 30,000 in its first year.
ESPN has decided to go in a different route, focusing on licensing out their content to other service providers, instead of running their own network.
Please continue reading for the full press-release:
‘Showbiz Show’ Renewed for Third Season September 28, 2006 11:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Renewals, Television.add a comment

The Showbiz Show with David Spade has been renewed by Comedy Central for an additional 13 episodes.
The new season will debut in February of next year.
Fall 2006 TV Review, Part Five (“Heroes” and “Runaway”) September 25, 2006 2:46 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, Television.add a comment
Before we get going on the next part of my Fall 2006 Review feature (here is part one, part two, part three and part four), let’s recap the series premiere ratings from Sunday evening, of which there was only one.
Brothers & Sisters
Averaged a 10.7/17 HH Rating with a 6.2 A18-49 rating (16.10M viewers). So far, this is the best new series premiere of the season. It is of course down from the same time period last season which was held by Grey’s Anatomy (18.98M viewers). However, it is on par, in terms of viewers, with the series launch of Grey’s Anatomy two years ago (16.25M viewers. This is a very good sampling of viewers, and the high A18-49 rating (3rd for the evening) should make ABC happy.
Alright, now let’s move on to my mini-review feature. Two new shows premiere this evening; Heroes and Runaway, and both at the same time; 9PM.
Internet TV Downloads Help, Not Hurt, TV DVD Sales September 24, 2006 3:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Television, TV DVD.add a comment
When studios began selling TV shows online on sites such as iTunes, most retailers figured the practice would have a detrimental effect on DVD sales. Well, according to studio reports for a few newly released TV sets, retailers need not worry.
Sales of DVD sets like Lost: Season Two, Desperate Housewives: Season Two and The Office: Season Two sold just as strong, if not stronger than their respective season one sets. The Office in particular did very well, selling nine times more units in the first week, than its first season.
Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger told investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference this week that Lost was the top-selling download, but its season-two DVD sales have topped the first season.
“The results have been stunning, much stronger than last year,” he said. “That’s very interesting. It suggests that you didn’t have a cannibalization effect. If anything, maybe it kept Lost more top of mind.”
ABC’s ratings also weren’t hurt by the downloads, and Iger predicted that consumers will watch 10% more hours of TV over the next five to 10 years.
Source: Video Business
G4 TV orders ‘Spaceballs’ Animated TV Series September 24, 2006 3:18 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in New Show Orders, Television.add a comment
Set to debut in the fall of 2007, G4 has teamed up with Mel Brooks to create an animated series based on the 1987 cult-favorite Spaceballs. Simply titled Spaceballs: The Animated Series, 14 episodes were ordered. The one-hour pilot has been written by Brooks and Thomas Meehan (who co-wrote the original movie). Meehan will also supervise the 13 half-hour episodes, while Brooks will provide two voices; President Skroob and Yogurt.
The series will be produced by Brooks Films Limited and Berliner Film Company and will be distributed internationally by MGM Studios.
Starz Orders Three New Series September 24, 2006 3:17 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in New Show Orders, Television.add a comment

The Starz Movie Network has ordered three new tv series, though only one is a stand-alone (the other two will be used to fill in the time before and after their movie presentations).
The stand-alone series is a half-hour stand-up comedy program executive produced by Martin Lawrence. “Martin Lawrence’s 1st Amendment Stand-Up” will premiere in early 2007 and will showcase young comedians. Starz ordered 12 episodes.
The other two series are; “The Bronx Bunny” a UK import show about celebrities being interviewed by rude puppets (Ten 15-minute episodes have been ordered) and “Head Case”, a scripted original about a celebrity therapist (20 five-minute episodes have been ordered.
Source: TV Week












