budget-related stories
Posted Sep 18th 2009 3:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
It's a tough day for Daytime Emmy-winning divas. It's the
last episode of Guiding Light, which means
Kim Zimmer and her four Emmys are available for a new gig. And now the news comes out that
Sarah Brown is leaving General Hospital. Sarah Tweeted her exit yesterday, saying, "It's been nice being back at
GH, but it's time for the character to come to an end, at least for me."
Actually, Sarah -- a three-time Emmy winner -- had a tough go-round this time on
General Hospital. She returned to a familiar setting, but instead of resuming the role she originated, Carly Corinthos, she was playing Mafia princess Claudia Zacchara. (Laura Wright is the current Carly.)
Continue reading Sarah Brown's out: will Claudia be killed off General Hospital?
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 10:47AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free
Like AIG,
The Sarah Silverman Program needs a bailout.
Comedy Central is cutting the budget for the comedy show by more than 20%, and the three executive producers - including Silverman herself - have
threatened to quit the show. The series has not been picked up for a third season yet.
It's actually MTV Networks that is telling Comedy Central that they have to cut the budget. Right now each episode costs around $1.1 million to produce. MTV Network wants that cut down to $850,000 an episode. That's probably more than can be saved by simply replacing the fancy food on the craft services table with stuff from the supermarket.
I predict that they'll settle this, though I have to admit this is a show I don't really watch, even if I do think Silverman is funny. I wouldn't mind having a second new episode of
Important Things with Demetri Martin every week if this show is a goner.
Continue reading Sarah Silverman threatens to quit her show
Posted Aug 3rd 2007 2:46PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: PVR Wire, Hardware, Software
In this day and age you can pick up a desktop computer at the mall for a couple hundred dollars. Slap a TV tuner in it and you've got a home theater PC, or HTPC. But what if you want something that looks good in the living room, has a quiet fan, and can handle HDTV?
The folks at Missing Remote have put together an excellent guide for
building an HTPC that you'd be proud to put next to your TV, all for under a grand.
Continue reading Building a home theater PC for under $1000
Posted Oct 20th 2006 10:26AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, NBC, Programming, Game Show
There are more details about NBC Universal's extreme
cost-cutting measures, and this time they effect you, the viewer. Yesterday, Jeff Zucker announced that the network will no longer air comedies or dramas in the 8 o'clock hour because they're too expensive. Zucker says that advertisers just won't pay enough money during the 8 pm time slot to cover the costs of comedies and dramas. Instead, the network will air game shows and reality shows during that hour. What does that mean for
The Office and
My Name is Earl? Hopefully all it means is a later time slot. Or I will be forced to replace the first letter in Jeff Zucker's last name with an 'F' everytime I mention him in a story.
Posted Sep 29th 2006 10:11AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, The CW
It turns out, coming back for an eleventh season isn't such a great thing for the cast and crew of
7th Heaven. According to
this article (credited to a Wall Street Journal writer), The CW has the veteran show on a shoestring budget. When The CW brought it back from the dead last spring, CBS Paramount Television, the company that produces the show, cut salaries across the board for actors, producers and writers. CBS also ordered editing to be done in six days rather than seven and it cut all nighttime shoots, which can get expensive. Thanks to all the cost cutting, The CW pays between $1.4 and $1.8 million per episode, compared to the $3 million that WB paid to air each episode. That price is 70% below what most networks pay for an hour-long show.
Continue reading Renewal pretty much sucks for 7th Heaven
Posted Feb 2nd 2006 11:02AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Industry, HDTV
They've been kicking it around for years, but the House of Representatives has
finally (and barely) approved a budget legislation that requires all broadcasters to get rid of their analog signals
and switch to a digital format by February 17, 2009. The new legislation also results in "modest cuts to Medicaid,
Medicare and student-loan subsidies and adds $10 billion in new revenue from auctioning television airwaves to the
highest bidder."
The transfer to DTV will allow broadcasters to have one of two channels in HDTV or several channels in standard
definition. Broadcasters are being told to ditch their frequencies this year, or when digital TV reaches eighty-five
percent. In addition, congress will be setting up a program in which a family may be eligible for up to $80 to convert
their sets to digital.
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