Penthouse 10

Board Guide

Newsstand sales have increased for TV Guide, which was relaunched in October, Gemstar Chief Executive Rich Battista said during a conference call with analysts.

NATPE Alerts

• B&C notes that "NATPE is looking for a few good college professors."
• And C21 foresees: "Natpe looks into future of TV"

Board Games

Lucy Hood on mobile entertainment:

"We believe Mobizzo will prove to be a truly unique proposition for consumers and mobile content providers alike; it's an innovative virtual place for fans to find their favorites and enjoy the benefits of competitive pricing and excellent customer service when shopping for mobile content," Hood said.

And some more, from Forbes:

"What's unique to mobile is all the different content types," said Fox Mobile Entertainment President Lucy Hood. "You can use it to personalize, communicate or entertain."

Board Roundup

Andrea Wong on the Oscars, in The Hollywood Reporter:

"Certain programs like the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl show you that when you have big events, you can drive big ratings on network television," says Andrea Wong, executive vp alternative programming, specials and late-night at ABC.

Blair Westlake on Web shows, in the Los Angeles Times:

"There are as many answers to that question as people you ask it to," said Blair Westlake, a former TV executive who is Microsoft Corp.'s liaison to the entertainment industry.

A word on Cecile Frot-Coutaz's little show...

Cingular Wireless, the Official Telecommunications Sponsor of "American Idol," is putting a stake in the ground by predicting its customers who are die-hard fans of the show will not only "text their votes" this season and participate in Cingular's "Idol"- themed, text-based programs, but they will do so in record numbers -- topping the 41.5 million text messages recorded in last year's season.

Notes from Montenegro

Our own Greg Pitts, in Montenegro on a Fulbright Fellowship, shares his observations in a special blog -- check it out!

NATPE News

New Co-Chairs:

Emerson Coleman, VP of programming for Hearst-Argyle Television and Stephen J. Davis, president, mobile and online media, Infospace, have been elected to serve as co-chairs by the board of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE).

-courtesy of B&C (NATPE Press release here)

From the Archive

As part of NATPE’s ongoing effort to provide valuable career advice to its membership, we asked Mike Speck, global practice leader for media and entertainment at Heidrick & Struggles, one of the world’s premier providers of senior-level executive search and leadership development services, for insight on executive assessment and recommendations for professional development:

Q: What can television executives do to increase their value to their current employers?

MS: “There’s a tendency in all industries to become consumed with the projects that you’re working on. Many executives forget to make sure that they stay very aware, not only of what the competition is doing, but what other segments of the entertainment industry are doing. Look at some of the marketing trends and directions in the record industry, in the film industry and in the video game industry. Look for lessons learned from things that worked and things that failed in other entertainment sectors and how that can be helpful to your area of entertainment.”

Read more

Members in the News

• DIC Entertainment Appointed Worldwide Licensing Agent for Zizzle's New Musical Icon, 'iZ(TM)' .
• URGE Unites Powerful Music DNA of MTV, VH1 and CMT With Microsoft's Industry-Leading Technology and Consumer Reach to Deliver an Immersive Entertainment Experience.
• CHUM Ltd. denies sale rumours.
• CHUM Ltd. is looking to expand its Canadian radio operations and wants federal regulators to allow its proposed subscription radio service to import channels from countries such as the United States.
• Microsoft widens scope of Xbox executives.

NATPE Member News:

CABLEready BECOMES EXCLUSIVE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR OF ENTIRE NEW YORK TIMES TELEVISION LIBRARY

Acquires More Than 100 Additional Hours of Historical and Current Affairs Programming Including Chef Tony Bourdain's A COOK'S TOUR and Thomas L. Friedman Specials

CABLEready has picked up the international rights to more than 100 hours of additional programming from New York Times Television, including 35 half-hour episodes of celebrity chef and Kitchen Confidential author Tony Bourdain's culinary travel series, A COOK'S TOUR, and 29 one-hour historical and current affairs programs. With the new acquisitions, CABLEready is now the exclusive international distributor of the entire New York Times Television library, with rights to nearly 300 hours of programming.

Each episode of A COOK'S TOUR, which originally aired on Food Network in the U.S., follows Bourdain around the world as he indulges his taste for bizarre cuisine and eccentric characters.

The hour-long programs acquired by CABLEready first aired on various Discovery networks and Showtime in the U.S., including two installments of THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN REPORTING, featuring the noted New York Times columnist and best-selling author. These Friedman programs include:

• STRADDLING THE FENCE, an exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with reporting from the West Bank.
• SEARCHING FOR THE ROOTS OF 9/11, an in-depth look at the source of Muslim rage towards the U.S. and the West.

CABLEready also acquired a number of current affairs specials reported by award-winning journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy:

• TERROR'S CHILDREN, an exploration of the post-war realities of the lives of Afghani refugee children living in Pakistan.
• REINVENTING THE TALIBAN?, which examines Islamic fundamentalism and its effects on the Pakistani government since last year's elections.
• WOMEN OF THE HOLY KINGDOM, which focuses on the internal debate about the role of women in an increasingly progressive Saudi Arabia.

Other documentaries in the package acquired by CABLEready span subjects ranging from racial hatred to the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein, including:

• THE REAL CIA: ENEMIES, SECRETS AND SPIES, an inside look at one of the world's most secretive intelligence units.
• THE REAL SADDAM, which documents how Hussein acquired, used and ultimately lost his powerful grip on Iraq.
• BROTHERHOOD OF HATE, which follows one family's legacy of racial hate, handed down from one generation to the next.

"New York Times Television is synonymous with depth and quality... to be asked to represent their entire library is a privilege and honor," said Gary Lico, president and CEO of CABLEready.

Member News

When best selling Wisconsin author, speaker and neuro-psychology researcher Lori Prokop first conceived How to Heal Abuse, she never imagined she would end up both as the host and executive producer of a six-part television series being filmed in Eau Claire on Aug. 9, in front of a studio audience.