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Tom Hanks To Host Bill O’Reilly And Scott Free’s Nat Geo Docu-Drama ‘Killing Lincoln’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday September 13, 2012 @ 6:00am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Bill O'Reilly, Killing Lincoln, National Geographic Channel, Tom Hanks
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Tom Hanks is set as the on-camera host, historical commentator and narrator of Killing Lincoln, National Geographic Channel‘s two-hour historical thriller from Ridley and the late Tony Scott’s Scott Free Prods. It’s based on Bill O’Reilly best-selling book with co-author Martin Dugard that chronicles the conspiracy behind Lincoln’s assassination.

Hanks joins director Adrian Moat (Gettysburg), Emmy-winning writer/executive producer Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) and producer Mark Herzog’s Herzog & Co. (Gettysburg) on the film, which combines drama with CGI — in the signature style of the Scott brothers — with rare historical archives. “The murder of Lincoln is not a passage of our history — it was a signpost of our American character, then, now and forever,” said Hanks, who has been involved in a number of historic TV projects including the HBO miniseries Band Of Brothers and The Pacific, which he exec produced, and the PBS docu-series Freedom: A History Of Us.

In Killing Lincoln, Billy Campbell plays Lincoln, Jesse Johnson plays John Wilkes Booth and Geraldine Hughes is Mary Todd Lincoln. Graham Beckel appears as Edwin Stanton (who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln administration) and Shawn Pyfrom portrays Private John W. Nichols. READ MORE »

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NatGeo Adds Five New Series; Specials Include James Cameron’s ‘Deepsea Challenge’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday March 26, 2012 @ 7:31am PDTTags: National Geographic Channel

(WASHINGTON, D.C. — MARCH 26, 2012) With a new executive team in place making bolder bets for the 2012/2013 upfront season, National Geographic Channel (NGC) today announced its new slate of series, specials and events driven by fascinating characters and dynamic storytelling. CEO David Lyle, President Howard T. Owens and Executive Vice President of Programming Michael Cascio together detailed plans to offer five new series, seven returning series, and a number of tentpole event specials.

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Costa Concordia Disaster Doc Set For National Geographic Channel

By BRIAN BROOKS | Monday February 6, 2012 @ 12:55pm PSTTags: National Geographic Channel

Weaving together home video, passenger and staff stories, National Geographic Channel will air a one-hour documentary February 13th recounting the recent Costa Concordia ship disaster off the coast of Italy. Titled Italian Cruise Ship Disaster: The Untold Stories, … Read More »

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National Geo Channel Buys Sundance Docu ‘Chasing Ice’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday January 26, 2012 @ 2:10pm PSTTags: National Geographic Channel, Sundance
Mike Fleming

(Sundance Film Festival — January 26, 2012) Submarine Entertainment announced today that National Geographic Channel (NGC) has purchased television rights for the feature documentary Chasing Ice by Jeff Orlowski from Exposure, LLC following its Sundance Film Festival screening in the US Documentary Competition category. It was announced tonight by NGC Executive Vice President of Programming Michael Cascio and Josh Braun & David Koh of Submarine Entertainment.

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Global Showbiz Briefs: UK, Bangladesh

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Friday December 9, 2011 @ 10:01pm PSTTags: BBC, Big Brother, Channel 4, HBO, National Geographic Channel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, Sky, Stephen Fry, Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson Strikes Again, Fry’s A Gentleman
The BBC has put an episode of Stephen Fry’s game show QI on the shelf following remarks made by Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson last week. The episode of the intellectual comedy quiz show, which Clarkson taped this past summer, was due to air tonight in the UK. But appearing on the BBC’s The One Show last week, Clarkson prompted outrage when he commented on the recent public workers strike in Britain, “I would have them taken outside and executed them in front of their families.” Clarkson apologized in due course, but he’s no stranger to this kind of controversy. Earlier this year Top Gear was criticized over comments about Mexicans which were perceived as racist. The Guardian has a compilation of Clarkson’s most famous flubs titled “Jeremy Clarkson: big mouth strikes again.” Meanwhile, I checked Stephen Fry’s Twitter feed to see if he’d made any comment about the network’s decision to shelve the show, but he’s been busy promoting the Sherlock Holmes sequel in which he plays Holmes’ brother Mycroft and which premiered last night in London. He did, however, point to a new poll in which Winston Churchill was voted the greatest British gentleman of the 20th century, followed by filmmaker Richard Attenborough and … Stephen Fry.

New Appointments At Sky, National Geographic
Phil Edgar Jones has been named head of entertainment for Sky. He will have oversight on the bouquet of channels that includes Sky 1, Sky Arts and Sky Living. He will also commission shows for Sky Movies and the recently launched Sky Atlantic which is airing a host of HBO shows. Edgar Jones was previously creative director of independent producer Running Bare and creative director of Remarkable Pictures where he exec produced Big Brother on Channel 4. In related news, Hamish Mykura has been named executive vice president and head of international content for National Geographic Channels International. The former head of documentaries for Channel 4 will also become the London head of global development for National Geographic Channel. Mykura will oversee editorial development and production for the company and will supervise NGCI’s networks NGC, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Adventure. Read More »

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Fox And DirecTV Reach New Carriage Agreement For Cable Networks As Well As Fox Broadcasting & Fox News Channel

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 31, 2011 @ 3:17pm PDTTags: Carriage Deal, DirecTV, Fox, Fox Broadcasting, Fox Deportes, Fox News Channel, Fox Soccer, Fuel TV, FX, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic Channel, Speed
Nellie Andreeva

Following marathon negotiations, and with only a few hours to spare before the midnight deadline tonight, Fox and DirecTV have reached a new carriage agreement. The deal covers not only all Fox Networks that were in danger of going … Read More »

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Fox Takes DirecTV Carriage War To L.A. Times Sports Page

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday October 23, 2011 @ 4:15pm PDTTags: Carriage Dispute, DirecTV, Fox Deportes, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Networks, Fox Soccer, Fuel TV, FX, National Geographic Channel, Prime Ticket, Speed

With a November 1 deadline looming, News Corp. today purchased a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times sports section warning DirecTV customers that the satcaster was poised to drop nine networks if Fox’s … Read More »

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Fox Cable Networks May Go Dark On DirecTV On Nov. 1 Over Carriage Dispute

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday October 20, 2011 @ 7:46pm PDTTags: Carriage Dispute, DirecTV, Fox Deportes, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Networks, Fox Soccer, Fuel TV, FX, National Geographic Channel, Speed
Nellie Andreeva

Another major carriage dispute threatens to pull Fox’s cable networks from DirecTV systems on November 1. The affected networks include FX (including its hit Sons Of Anarchy and hot newcomer American Horror Story), National Geographic Channel, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Soccer, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Deportes, and the 19 Fox regional sports networks. Fox Networks’ previous carriage agreement with DirecTV expired on September 30. After extending the talks, no progress was made, leading to a standoff between the two sides that may lead to the blackout. Exactly a year ago, the same networks went dark on DirecTV’s rival satcaster Dish Network before the two sides finally reached a new agreement. Like in previous carriage fights, both sides released dueling statements and launched competing websites — KeepMyNets.com (Fox) and OurPromiseToYou.com (DirecTV). In its statement, DirecTV claims that Fox is seeking a 40% license-fee increase. Here are the two statements: Read More »

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News & Documentary Emmys: ’60 Minutes’, Nat Geo And PBS’ ‘POV’ Among Big Winners

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday September 26, 2011 @ 11:24pm PDTTags: 60 Minutes, CBS, Emmy Awards, Emmy News and Documentary, National Geographic Channel, PBS, POV

CBS topped the news and documentary Emmys, handed out in a ceremony tonight at the Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York. The network took home 10 awards, 7 of which were for 60 Minutes. National Geographic Channel followed with 7 total, and PBS won 6, with 2 of its Emmys going to the documentary Food Inc.

A list of winners follows:

OUTSTANDING COVERAGE OF A BREAKING NEWS STORY IN A REGULARLY
SCHEDULED NEWSCAST:
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN), Haiti in Ruins

OUTSTANDING CONTINUING COVERAGE OF A NEWS STORY IN A REGULARLY SCHEDULED NEWSCAST:
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric (CBS), Afghan Bomb Squad

OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY IN A REGULARLY SCHEDULED NEWSCAST
BBC World News America (BBC America), Inside the North Korean Bubble

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Fox Orders 13-Episode Sequel To Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’ Docu-Series With Seth MacFarlane Producing For 2013 Launch

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday August 4, 2011 @ 8:57pm PDTTags: Cosmos, Fox, National Geographic Channel, Seth MacFarlane
Nellie Andreeva

After recently signing on to reboot one classic TV show, Hanna-Barbera’s The Flintstones, Seth MacFarlane is taking on another iconic TV series, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. Fox has greenlighted Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, a 13-part docu-series from Family Guy creator MacFarlane and late Sagan’s original collaborators – his widow, writer/producer Ann Druyan and astrophysicist Steven Soter. Envisioned as a successor to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original 13-part program, which was hosted by Sagan, the new Cosmos series will be hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Underscoring MacFarlane’s commercial appeal, Cosmos will air on Fox in primetime, something pretty unprecedented these days for a science documentary series on commercial American television. (The original series aired on PBS.) Fox will air Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in 2013, which is also when the network will launch MacFarlane’s Flintstones reboot. National Geographic Channel, which will co-produce Cosmos, will air a same-night encore of the episodes following their broadcast on Fox. The project is being done outside of MacFarlane’s overall deal with 20th Century fox TV. “Never more than at this moment in the modern era have we needed a profound reminder of the colossally important and exciting role that science, space exploration and the human quest for knowledge must continue to play in our development as a species,” MacFarlane said. “We should be vigorously exploring the solar system by now, and who better to inspire us to get there than Ann Druyan, Steven Soter, Neil deGrasse Tyson and, of course, Carl Sagan.”

A self-professed geek, MacFarlane hit it off with Druyan after the two met at a function some time ago. When she shared with him the idea for a new Cosmos series, MacFarlane immediately sparked to it and set up a meeting with Peter Rice, entertainment chairman of Fox where MacFarlane has 3 series on the air, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad. That happened about a year ago, and after lengthy negotiations, Fox just closed all deals for the project to go forward. In September 2010, MacFarlane and Druyan appeared together on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher where they shared their concern about the growing anti-science sentiment in American society, something Druyan attributed to “the failure of public education,” which has “compartmentalized science to 20-40 boring minutes a week, maybe taught by a gym teacher.” That is a far cry from the way her late husband approached science. “Carl believed that science belongs to all of us,” Druyan said now in reference to the Fox series. “He wanted to convey the thrill of its cosmic perspective to the widest possible audience. I wish I could tell Carl what Seth’s leadership on this new Cosmos has made possible. Besides, I know how much they would have liked each other.” Read More »

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David Lyle Named CEO For National Geographic Channels

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday August 4, 2011 @ 12:55pm PDTTags: David Lyle, Fox Networks Group, National Geographic Channel
Nellie Andreeva

Veteran Fox executive David Lyle, former president of the now defunct Fox Reality cable channel and international reality format licensing division Fox LOOK, has been named CEO for National Geographic Channels. The  co-venture of Fox Networks Group and the National Geographic Society includes National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, which … Read More »

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TCA: Nat Geo Outlines Massive Coverage Of 9/11 Anniversary, Capped By Exclusive George W. Bush Interview

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday July 28, 2011 @ 2:30pm PDTTags: Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic Channel, TCA Press Tour, Television Critics Association, TV Schedule

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.

UPDATE, 2:30 PM: With the landmark 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks coming up, National Geographic Channel plans a full week of programming commemorating the event from Aug. 28-Sept. 3. At the network’s TCA session this afternoon, Nat Geo detailed its special week that will include turning over primetime to 9/11-themed programs nightly from 8-11 PM. Headlining the programming is an exclusive hourlong interview with former President George W. Bush that finds Bush offering a rare glimpse into his thoughts about the events of that fateful day. The interview, conducted over a two-day period, will premiere on the channel Aug. 28 at 10 PM, encoring on Aug. 29 and Sept. 3. Speaking to critics today about the interview — cobbled into a narration-free hour special in which Bush’s is the only face seen on camera — executive producer and director Peter Schnall said that Bush required no ground rules in terms of discussing what would be asked in advance. “The president and his staff asked that no questions be provided beforehand,” he said.
PREVIOUS, 11:53 AM: At the National Geographic Channel/Nat Geo Wild session this afternoon at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, the adventure-themed channels made several announcements to critics while trotting out panels to discuss new shows including Rocket City Rednecks and Mad Scientists. The news included announcements of several National Geographic Channel premieres:

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Latest Retrans Fight: Fox Cable vs Dish TV

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday October 1, 2010 @ 10:10am PDTTags: Cable TV, Carriage Deal, Dish Network, Fox Dish Carriage Deal, Fox Dish Carriage Dispute, Fox Dish Negotiations, Fox Networks, FX, National Geographic Channel, TV

UPDATE: Fox Networks and Dish Network are yet to start talks about restoring FX, National Geographic Channel and 19 regional sports networks on Dish systems. The cable networks were pulled at midnight after the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on a new carriage deal, with talks breaking off shortly before the midnight deadline. In the meanwhile, accusations are flying from both sides. “Fox is demanding a new contract with an unprecedented rate increase of more than 50 percent,” Dish said in a statement. “Fox has flatly refused DISH Network’s request to allow customers to continue to watch these Fox channels during the negotiations.” Fox is vigorously disputing both claims, calling the 50% figure “absurd” and stating that it was Dish that refused to keep the networks on while negotiations continue and it never asked for an extension of the two sides’ existing deal. “The proposal we’ve offered DISH is fair and in line with the tremendous value we provide,” Fox Networks said in a statement. With the carriage dispute on the cable side escalating, Fox and Dish have not even started discussing a new retransmission consent agreement for the Fox stations as the current one expires at the end of the month. Those talks will certainly include a demand for retransmission consent fees by Fox, something that put the company at odds with Time Warner Cable in December and threatened the network’s coverage of the college football championship games. Similarly, the end of Fox stations’ agreement with Dish will coincide with the network’s coverage of the World Series. Read More »

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