TVSquad

I hope Hannah Storm enjoyed sleeping late since she's been off the CBS Early Show because her new gig will be on the AM shift once again. And she'll be back talking sports. ESPN is going to announce tomorrow that Hannah Storm will anchor a new, revamped SportsCenter morning edition. SportsCenter is already on every morning, so you have to assume that by adding Storm to the mix, the folks at Disney (ESPN's parent company) are looking to pump up the old format and maybe bring in some new viewers -- like maybe those who used to watch Hannah on CBS.

Of course, there's already two other competing morning shows on the ESPN family of channels, Mike & Mike in the Morning which stars Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, and First Take (formerly known as Cold Pizza) with Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson.

There is an interesting little bit over at the NY Times about research the Disney-ABC Television Group is working on. That research involves inserting multiple commercials into ad breaks for the online versions of their prime time shows. Well, you had to see this one coming, right?

It's understandable that they would want to increase the revenue from the medium. Just as it's understandable that if it's a success we'll see the other networks follow suit. But, they do need to be careful that they don't chase those fans they do have away by annoying them. Although, admittedly, I would not be one to complain about more Rachel Specter commercials.

In the pictures, taken by Annie Leibovitz, 15 year old Miley appears to be topless, covered by a blanket. Now hackles are raised in all corners. Vanity Fair insists that Miley's parents were on set and approved of the photos. Other sources say her parents left before those shots were taken. Disney weighs in saying Miley was manipulated in order to sell magazines. And the voice of reason, oddly enough me in this case, would like to add, "Who the hell takes topless, or implied topless, pictures of a 15 year old girl in the first place?" Right? Shouldn't the whole thing have been avoided with basic common sense?

Are you still trying to figure out what to do when all of your favorite programs leave the air for the summer? I was thinking about maybe going outside. I'm told it's nice. ABC has other plans for our eyeballs though. They've signed up Nick Lachey to host a new reality show (I know... boo reality) based on the hit Disney franchise, High School Musical.

At the moment the show is called High School Musical: Summer Session, but apparently that isn't official. Casting calls kick off this weekend, with a premiere set for June 20th. The network is obviously hoping to cash in on some of the success their sibling Disney has seen with the movies. I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney sweetheart Miley Cyrus guesting on the show to bring in her throngs of fans.

Well, this is just poor timing. Today is Earth Day and now comes word that Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) plans to kill thousands of trees by writing a memoir.

Is this really necessary? Talk about a waste of paper. Typically, I expect someone to be a seasoned individual with years of experience behind them before they tackle writing a book like this. Isn't that what usually dictates the necessity of a memoir? Years and years of endless stories coupled with expert and unique wisdom? Miley Cyrus hasn't even turned 16 yet!

According to the AP, the memoir will focus on the solid relationship that Cyrus shares with her mother, Leticia. I'm sure it's really great. Between her TV gig, the concert tours, and now this book deal, I bet Miley has oodles of time to spend with her mother fostering a relationship that all young girls can look up to. No word on whether or not the book will address how Cyrus' father, Billy Ray, has expertly branded his daughter into a household name that fits right in with Coca-Cola, Kleenex, and Microsoft.

[via AOL TV]

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

I just realized that I don't watch any of the shows in this week's top ten cable ratings. I mean, yeah, I've seen episodes of Law and Order: SVU and SpongeBob SquarePants in the past but they aren't shows I watch regularly. As for Monday Night RAW, Hannah Montana, iCarly, and Ella Enchanted...well, they're not really made for me I guess.

I think the last time something was in the top ten here that I watch regularly was Burn Notice.

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. Monday Night RAW (USA)

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

OK, now this looks like the weekly cable ratings that we're used to seeing. Recent weeks have seen shows such as college basketball and election coverage get into the top 10, but this week we're back to the normal dominance of wrestlers and Nickelodeon stars.

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. Monday Night RAW (USA)

Are you kidding me? In a bold new way, ABC has come up with a way to keep viewers from fast-forwarding through the commercials! Okay, it's only in the video-on-demand universe (VOD), but it feels like what was once a convenient, fast way to catch up on episodes of your favorite shows is now going to be invaded with ads you cannot avoid unless you walk out of the room.

In a move they're touting as a win-win, ABC/Disney announced today an arrangement that "allows local affiliates to participate in the fast-forwarding disabled VOD offering." The network agrees to provide episodes of their top shows for use in local advertising supported VOD services as long as those operators agree to disable the "fast-forwarding" capability so viewers can't zap through the commercials. There'll be ads inserted, both local and national, but not as many as the on-air broadcasts of shows like Ugly Betty, Lost and Desperate Housewives.

NBC is going classic, with a twist. The network has ordered 13 episodes of a new drama series based on the Daniel Defoe classic Robinson Crusoe. This is far from the first time Defoe's 1719 novel has been filmed. The most recent incarnation was a 1997 Pierce Brosnan feature. In 1964, it was the basis for a French TV series.

This version is going to be a new take on the old story of a man who sets sail from England, his ship is wrecked in a storm and he's thrown overboard winding up alone on a deserted island where he has to fen for himself. In time, he is joined by an escaped slave whom he names Friday. Ben Silverman, NBC's head honcho, described the proposed series in this way: "It's part MacGyver, part contemporary morality tale about race and personal discovery, part comedy and part Castaway meets Survivor." As envisioned, this Robinson Crusoe will need to be clever indeed. It's going to keep the time period 1650's, but when Crusoe finds Friday, he'll presumably be treating him as if it were today with regard to race relations.

We all know that how people watch TV has been changing dramatically in the last few years, but now comes this news from TorrentFreak.com: 50% of all people using BitTorrent at any given point in time are downloading a TV series. More than anything else, it's TV content they want.

What this means is that TV fans aren't just watching TV shows live or using DVRs and TiVos alone. They're just as apt to download a show to view on a laptop, desktop or iPod. According to the article, "over a billion TV shows are downloaded every year and this number continues to rise."

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

A real mix of stuff this week: wrestling, the election cartoons, legal dramas, and a teen sitcom. CNN got three of the top ten spots for its election coverage on Super Tuesday (the different entries represent different times during the night). FOX News got one of the spots too. Not sure why MSNBC didn't get into the top ten, but I guess there's not enough room when the same coverage by CNN takes up three of the slots.

Oh, and Chicken Little got into the top ten too.

1. WWE Monday Night RAW - 9pm (USA)

Are you like me? Were you too old to audition for American Idol when it first started out. And then when they upped the age limit, were you by then one year older than the new age limit (razzum-frazzum-sunsubitchez!)? Well, fear not, because now you can audition all year round.

The folks behind American Idol have inked a deal to build an Idol-themed attraction at the Hollywood Studios portion of Disney World. Keith Hindle, Executive Vice-President of FremantleMedia (an Idol producer) said "Disney's new attraction perfectly captures what we at American Idol feel is the heart and soul of this brand: real people getting a shot to make their dream a reality." The producers also stressed that winning the theme park "Idol" does not lead to contestants appearing on the real show. It also doesn't net you any money, fame or a record deal of any kind. In fact, the only dream it makes a reality for you is your dream of giving more money to Idol producers and Disney.

Poor Robert Jordan. I was sure his The Wheel of Time series would be the first modern fantasy series to make the leap to ongoing television series. But not only did George R.R. Martin's much newer A Song of Ice and Fire get picked up by HBO last year to be made into a series (what's the status on that?), now it looks like Terry Goodkind beat him to the punch, too.

Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) is teaming with ABC/Disney on 22 hour-long episodes chronicling Goodkind's The Sword of Truth eleven volume series, though the working title of the show appears to be the title of the first novel only: Wizard's First Rule. Intended for syndication, Rule will be the first major fantasy syndicated series since the likes of Hercules and Xena ruled the airwaves in the late '90s.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, the FCC has levied a $1.4 million fine against Disney for an episode of NYPD Blue. The fine comes as a reaction to an extended shot of Charlotte Ross's bare butt in an episode of NYPD Blue back in 2003.

Now, I'm sure we all have different opinions about the fine. Some of you think it's wrong to fine creative works for their mode of expression, even a TV show. Some of you think the fine is appropriate because you don't want your children accidentally seeing any nudity and some of you, like me, think that Disney and ABC should be given an award for showing us what is very possibly the most beautiful butt ever seen on film.

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

This is the second week in a row that Monk gets the number one slot in the cable ratings, and Psych is in the top ten for another week too. That combined with yet another strong showing from Monday Night RAW (both hours) and USA must be a happy network. High School Musical makes it into the top ten yet again, which is pretty good considering it has already been shown, what, 20 or 30 times? No Hannah Montana this week though.

1. Monk (USA)