Video Age International articles from May 2008

Video Age International archives from May 2008

Challenges as opportunities: writers strike benefited indies.
May 1, 2008... In the industry all are well aware of the Hollywood writers strike's effects on upcoming TV seasons worldwide and the changes to the U.S. television industry. It remains to be seen if these changes are going to be permanent, as predicted, or...

Latin America's top guns shoot for region's top show.
May 1, 2008... Forum Brasil is fast becoming Latin America's premier TV trade show. This year's ninth edition promises improvements, and, next year, there's an even more drastic plan to move the event from its traditional Sao Paulo location to Rio de Janeiro....

Foreign series take root in U.S. soil.
May 1, 2008... This year, the pilot process is somewhat different. It had to be, what with the time constraints imposed by the lengthy Writers Guild of America strike in the U.S. Last year, the U.S. TV networks commissioned their typical number of pilots...

China's foreign TV content viewed with contempt.
May 1, 2008... Henry Luce, the founder of Time Magazine, once famously remarked, "There is no such thing as a China expert, only varying degrees of ignorance." The same could be said about Western content owners selling their programming to local Chinese...

Movies pirated before premiere.(World)
May 1, 2008... Al Pacino thriller 88 Minutes opened in U.S. theaters on April 18. But according to Bloomberg.com, prior to its debut, SurfTheChannel.com had already played the film roughly 51,000 times. A new danger in the Web piracy arena, SurfTheChannel...

Afghan clerics anti Indian soaps.(World)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Indian soap operas have caused outrage in Afghanistan in recent months. In April, a Muslim movement opposing the scandalous programs gained steam when members of Parliament, backed by the national Ministry of Information and Culture, issued a...

U.S. video game sales hit the roof.(World)
May 1, 2008... The ailing U.S. economy has not affected video game sales, according to industry data released on April 17. March video game sales in the U.S. were up 57 percent from 2007, reaching $1.7 billion. Nintendo, which led the boom with its Wii...

U.K. to review BBC funding.(World)
May 1, 2008... Ofcom, Britain's media regulator, is considering requiring the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) to share its annual license fees with commercial broadcasters that offer public service programs. The proposal was one of many under consideration...

Downloads down under.(World)(Internet-based television services)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Aunique struggle has begun down under for the rights to the "last mile" of broadband cabling. The term refers to the last 10 meters of wiring between the front door of a house and the owner's television. Though it may seem trivial, control of...

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... Great piece on TV/Radio Age. I found it especially amusing about how you were considered kind of weird because you knew how to work the telex. I had the same experience with the fax machine and the Computer (not to mention using an electric...

Famous quotes.
May 1, 2008... Charlotte TV stations should run cartoons instead of local news. They are more entertaining and just as informative. The Charlotte Observer, April 27, 2008 North Carolina

Schulz's life in the unfunny pages.(Schulz and Peanuts)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Generations of comics readers and TV watchers view Peanuts as merely a kind-hearted cartoon, rife with gently humorous observations about human nature. Yet, in the 50 years of his life in print, Charlie Brown did a...

Few parties, many deals. eco-friendliness a plus.(MIP-TV Review)
May 1, 2008... Fewer parties (but an abundance of celebs), the rise of African television, and an attempt at honest-to-goodness eco-friendliness in the Palais des Festivals. This could summarize MIP-TV 2008, which took place in Cannes, France in April. ...

Indie programming guide.(L.A. SCREENINGS 2008)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] AMERICAN CINEMA INTERNATIONAL 1563 Victory Blvd. Van Nuys, CA 91406 T: (818) 907-8700 F: (818) 907-8719 www.aci-americancinema.com Jack Hunter: The Lost Treasure of Ugarit Action movie about a...

Who's screening.(L.A. SCREENINGS 2008)
May 1, 2008... 20th Century Fox TV Distribution Fox Studios 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Beverly Hills Tel: (310) 369-8870 Adness Entertainment Intercontinental Hotel, Ste 914 Alebrije Entertainment Century Plaza Hotel, Ste 1711 ...

2008-09 Season's new series.(L.A. SCREENINGS 2008)(List)
May 1, 2008... Please note that this list includes only ABC, CBS, NBC, the CW and cable network pilots. In the May 19 issue of VideoAge the list will be updated to reflect the announcements made at the Fox upfronts. CBS PARAMOUNT INTERNATIONAL TV ...

L.A. screenings 2008.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... 1. Kicking off the Latin L.A. Screenings was the first ever Hispanic TV Conference, held in Miami, Florida. Pictured are: conference organizer Amanda Ospina, Disney-ABC Latin America's Leonardo Aranguibel, Telemundo's Perla Farias, TV...

Studios' sales teams.(L.A. SCREENINGS 2008)(List)
May 1, 2008... CBS Paramount International Television May 17, May 19-May 22 Sue Akens, EVP, Business Affairs Joe Lucas, EVE Sales and Marketing Barry Chamberlain, SVP, Sales Paul Gilbert, SVP, International Formats Isis Moussa, SVP,...

Key acquisition executives.(L.A. SCREENINGS 2008)
May 1, 2008... ARGENTINA Artear: Walter Sequeira, Bernardette Del Mas Playboy: Ariel Taboada Telefe: Claudio Villaruel, Bernarda Llorente, Julian Rodriguez Montero AUSTRALIA Foxtel: Stephen Baldwin, Jamie Campbell, Deb Darby, Duane...

Dolares de los L.A. Screenings para L.A.
May 1, 2008... Mucha atencion ha sido dada al hecho de que Los Angeles perdia cerca de USD23 millones diarios durante la huelga de los guionistas. Durante esos penosos dias, ciertas consideraciones fueron realizadas sobre los L.A. Screenings. ?Los Estudios lo...

Hollywood apunta al EST.(electronic sell-through)
May 1, 2008... El guionista William Goldman remarco famosamente que en Hollywood "nadie sabe nada". Mientras que la mayoria interpreto que quiso decir "que la mayoria de los ejecutivos de los Estudios son (expletivo)," Goldman estaba en realidad describiendo...

Africa: la ultima frontera de la TV. DISCOP Africa esta lista.
May 1, 2008... Hay un pais que tiene mas del doble de la superficie de California con un PBI de USD300 billones, posee una de las mayores reservas de petroleo del mundo, con una poblacion de 135 millones de personas que poseen mas de 32 millones de telefonos...

Evaluando los danos post-huelga.
May 1, 2008... Si bien la amarga negociacion del Sindicato de guionistas ha pasado, las nuevas luchas en la industria de la TV estan solo por comenzar. La huelga del Sindicato de Guionistas de AmericaSGA (The Writers Guild of America-WGA) contra la asociacion...

Conferences & events news.(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... OPEN SKIES & CLOSED WALLETS With the new Open Skies policy between the U.S. and E.U., the airline industry is hoping that people will open up their wallets and start flying more. Open Skies allows European carriers to fly passengers to any...

My two cents.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I'm not a religious fundamentalist of any creed, but this U.S. controversy over "decency" on television is becoming indecent. Let me rephrase: The debate over TV "indecency" that went all the way up to the U.S....