You are viewing the archive: “TV Guide Network”

TVGN Acquires Basic Cable Rights To CBS/Sony TV’s ‘The Young And The Restless’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday April 3, 2013 @ 12:03pm PDTTags: The Young and the Restless, TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

In TV Guide Network‘s first programming announcement since CBS Corp acquired 50% of the cable network to partner with Lionsgate, TVGN has acquired exclusive basic cable rights to CBS soap The Young And The Restless. The deal, brokered by Sony TV, which produces the popular daytime drama, will start in the summer when Y&R will move from SoapNet, where it has done well in the ratings, to TVGN, keeping its 7 PM time slot. Y&R will continue to air day-and-date with its broadcast on CBS. Y&R is the first daytime drama to lock in a new cable home as SoapNet continues its transformation into Disney Jr. One of the most popular franchises in daytime television history, Y&R recently celebrated 40 years on the air on CBS. It has been the top-rated daytime drama for more than 24 years and continues to be the No. 1 network TV soap among total viewers and key demos, including women 18-49 and 25-54. Y&R has also been SoapNet’s No. 1 series for five consecutive years, delivering a significant audience share among women 18-49 and 25-54 — two key demos for TVGN. Y&R, which is produced by Bell Dramatic Serial Co. in association with Sony TV, has received 119 Daytime Emmy Awards, more than any other daytime drama, and 412 Emmy nominations.

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CBS Poised To Buy Half Of TV Guide, Partner With Lionsgate

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday March 22, 2013 @ 12:09pm PDTTags: CBS Corp, Lionsgate, TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: CBS Corp, which already owns/co-owns broadcast networks CBS and the CW, pay cable network Showtime, and international TV channels, is adding a domestic basic cable network to its portfolio. I’ve learned that it is nearing a … Read More »

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TV Guide’s Mike Mahan Steps Down As Prez, Joins Board, Network To Be Renamed TVGN

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 12:53pm PSTTags: TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

Mike MahanEXCLUSIVE: Mike Mahan will be leaving his post as President of TV Guide, the company that encompasses the TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com. Mahan will make the transition in the coming month, with Dennis Miller, strategic adviser of TV Guide co-owner Lionsgate Entertainment, stepping in as interim president as the network and the website continue to mull a potential sale. Mahan just made the announcement in an internal email, which you can read below the post.

In one of Mahan’s last major initiatives at the company, he is shepherding a name change of the TV Guide Network to TVGN, which, along with a new logo, will be introduced at the end of March. The new name eliminates the Guide reference in the network’s moniker, underlying its transition from a TV listings utility to a full-screen programming cable network. Other cable networks that have switched to abbreviations as their programming direction had evolved from what their original names stood for include AMC, GSN and TLC.

I hear that several months ago Mahan informed the TV Guide parent companies of his decision to step down from his full-time management position in order to pursue other opportunities. He was offered to stick around in another capacity and will now join the company board. In addition to that, I hear Mahan is eyeing another high-level TV executive position. No one would comment, but a top post at Dick Clark Productions seems logical as it would reunite Mahan with longtime business partner Allen Shapiro, who became chairman of Dick Clark Prods following the company’s recent acquisition by Guggenheim Partners, Mandalay Entertainment and Shapiro’s Mosaic Media Investment Partners. Read More »

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Ex-NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Exec Michael DuPont Joins TV Guide Network

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday July 16, 2012 @ 10:52am PDTTags: TV Guide Network

LOS ANGELES – July 16, 2012 – TV Guide Network announced today that it has hired Michael DuPont as its new Executive Vice President, Advertising Sales. Following a successful 10-year run at NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, DuPont joins TV Guide during a new era of growth for the Network, as it continues to significantly invest in Hollywood-centric originals and aggressively expand HD and full-screen programming across its 80 million households. DuPont begins his new role immediately and will head TV Guide Network’s national advertising team from New York.

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TV Guide Ventures Into Comedy With Standup Series, Talk Show

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday March 28, 2012 @ 8:24am PDTTags: TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

TV Guide Network is adding comedy to its programming mix with StandUp in Stilettos, an original stand-up series hosted by The Office‘s Kate Flannery, and Rove LA, a talk show hosted by Australian comedian Rove McManus which originates from Los … Read More »

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Spike TV’s ‘Ink Master’ & TV Guide’s ‘Nail Files’ Renewed For Second Season

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday February 13, 2012 @ 10:44am PSTTags: Spike TV, TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: Four weeks into its freshman run, Spike TV’s unscripted series Ink Master has been renewed for a second season with a 13-episode order. Hosted by rock veteran and tattoo aficionado Dave Navarro and judged by tattoo artists Chris Nunez … Read More »

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TV Guide Network Picks Up Wilson Phillips & Alison Sweeney-Ali Landry Reality Series

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday December 19, 2011 @ 10:52am PSTTags: TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

TV Guide Network has picked up to series Hollywood Moms Night, starring Alison Sweeney and Ali Landry, and Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On, starring the vocal trio. Both reality series started off as specials/backdoor pilots, which aired on the network last month. Hollywood Moms Night, which has received a five-episode order, will air in March. Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On, which has been picked up for eight episodes, will air in April in conjunction with the release of the group’s new album, Dedicated. Here are detailed descriptions of the 2 series: Read More »

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Lionsgate’s Michael Burns Won’t Discuss Summit But Predicts 2012 Normalcy: UBS Confab

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday December 7, 2011 @ 8:05am PSTTags: Carl Icahn, Charlie Sheen, Epix, Lionsgate, Lionsgate Hostile Takeover, Lionsgate Tyler Perry, Michael Burns, Michael Burns Carl Icahn, Orange Is The New Black, The Expendables, The Hunger Games, TV Guide Network

Lionsgate SummitLionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns had to disappoint analysts who wanted him to open up about the big question of the day for his company: What’s going on with its reported merger talks with Summit Entertainment? “I’m not going to talk about any specific deal,” he said at the  UBS Annual Global Media and Communications Conference. He noted, though, that a consolidation of independent film and TV companies is “a natural thing to happen.” He assured the group that Lionsgate is only interested in deals that add to its value, and don’t require it to either issue stock or take on additional debt. “We’re looking to delever, not lever up,” he says.

With that out of the way, he spoke candidly about the company’s plans for next year where he says “you’ll see us steady state for the first time” cranking out about a dozen movies and about three new TV shows. He’s encouraged about a plan to develop a TV series for ABC based on The Lincoln Lawyer – and Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management. ”I’ve known Charlie a long, long time,” Burns said. “Our goal is to keep Charlie working, keep him healthy — and we have a great partner in FX.” Burns says that a series it’s developing for Read More »

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Lionsgate Blames Theatrical Film Woes For Fiscal 2Q Earnings Miss

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday November 9, 2011 @ 4:43am PSTTags: Abduction, Blue Mountain State, Boss, Conan the Barbarian, Epix, Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate, Lionsgate Finance, Lionsgate Stock, Mad Men, Netflix, The Wendy Williams Show, TV Guide Network, Warrior, Weeds

The film and TV company had a net loss of $24.6M, an improvement from its $29.7M loss in the quarter last year, on revenues of $358.1M, down 21.5%. That revenue figure was far below the $421.5M that analysts expected. And the net loss, at 18 cents a share, was below the 13 cent loss the Street had forecast. The bottom line could have looked even worse: Lionsgate included the $11.0M it collected from its sale of Maple Pictures. The company also was able to add $6.1M from its 31.2% stake in EPIX vs a $19.8M loss from last year’s quarter. Lionsgate says that it suffered from “underperformance of theatrical films in the quarter” — where releases included the Conan The Barbarian remake, Warrior, and Abduction – as well as “timing of DVD releases which offset gains in the Company’s television and digital businesses.” The movie operation generated $218.9M in revenues, down 36%. Read More »

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TV Guide Network Orders Pilot For Reality Series Starring Trio Wilson Phillips

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday September 6, 2011 @ 8:31am PDTTags: Chynna Phillips, TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Two decades after bursting onto the music scene with mega hit Hold On, Wilson Phillips is looking to return to the spotlight. The trio’s music comeback efforts will be chronicled on a reality series for TV Guide Network. The cable network has ordered a pilot for a show starring the band’s members — sisters Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson and best friend Chynna Phillips — as they juggle husbands and children in a quest to get back on top of the charts, a feat that challenges their friendship and sisterhood. “Between touring, recording a new CD and raising nine children, the show promises love, laughter and head bumping!” Carnie Wilson said. The pilot, produced RelativityREAL, is slated to premiere later this year. After reuniting for a Christmas album last fall, Wilson Phillips has been touring and recently made a cameo in the summer comedy hit Bridesmades. Two of the group’s members are already on reality series: Chynna will compete in the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars and Carnie is a judge on the ABC summer singing competition series Karaoke Battle USA. Read More »

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Tyler Perry TV? Lionsgate Says It’s A Good Idea, But Won’t Confirm Plans

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday August 10, 2011 @ 7:28am PDTTags: Epix, Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate, Lionsgate Tyler Perry, The Hunger Games, TV Guide Network, Tyler Perry

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer sure talks as though the company’s looking to create a TV channel around Tyler Perry — Tyler TV – even though he says he “can’t comment” on a report about it. He told analysts this morning that “we strongly support” the idea of bringing Perry to “exciting new platforms.” That could include a “not fully distributed (cable) channel that we could buy” or nesting Perry at “a channel we already have. … We have a lot of options if we choose to go down that path.” The New York Times says this morning that the company is considering rebranding its struggling TV Guide Network, buying a channel such as Gospel Broadcasting Network, or teaming with Comcast, which promised federal officials who approved its acquisition of NBCUniversal that it would beef up programming for minority audiences.

Also on the call, Lionsgate executives talked up their plans for The Hunger Games. The first film in what’s likely to be a four-film series completes principal photography on Labor Day weekend ahead of a March 2012 release. But the studio says it won’t release the second film until Thanksgiving 2013 because it wants to take advantage of the big holiday season audiences — and to give itself time to work on the script and marketing plans. The productions won’t necessarily be filmed back-to-back, although there’s a chance that the second and third installments will be. Read More »

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Lionsgate Planning To Sell TVGuide.com; Will Deal For TV Guide Network Come Next?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN AND NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday August 2, 2011 @ 2:42pm PDTTags: Allen Shapiro, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Epix, Fearnet, Lionsgate, The Nail Files, TV Guide Network, Ugly Betty, Weeds

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate wants to unload TVGuide.com and, even more importantly, is at least considering an ownership change at TV Guide Network, which has been ordered to balance its books in anticipation of a potential sale. We hear that the studio has begun to interview investment bankers who can quietly sell the consumer website which, like the cable channel, is a 50-50 joint venture with JP Morgan Chase’s global private equity investment arm One Equity Partners. The website is thought to be worth anywhere from $50M to $100M. Lionsgate is intent on shedding what it considers to be non-core assets (just like Lionsgate recently sold its stake in Maple Pictures). TV Guide Network’s owners just secured long-term carriage agreements with the major cable operators, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Charter, further increasing its value. But putting a dollar figure on the TV Guide Network suggests that Lionsgate and One Equity Partners want to at least begin a discussion that could lead to one of the partners buying the other out.

Lionsgate would seem to be the more likely buyer if things go that far: It has said that it wants to build its presence in TV channels; it also owns major stakes in Epix, FearNet, and Asia’s Tiger Gate. ”They’ve made it clear that they have a TV channel strategy,” says Hudson Square Research’s Marla Backer. Lionsgate paid $241.6M for the TV Guide website and network in February 2009. Three months later, One Equity Partners teamed up with investor and producer Allen Shapiro and paid $122.4M for half of the combined operation. Shapiro is chairman of TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com and is now taking on leadership of the network’s programming. (He initially was buying TV Guide from Macrovision until Lionsgate swooped in at the last minute. Ultimately, Shapiro secured a sizeable chunk of it.) Read More »

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TV Guide Network Cancels Newsmagazine ‘Hollywood 411′, Allen Shapiro Takes Programming Reins After Diane Robina Exits

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday July 29, 2011 @ 2:16pm PDTTags: Allen Shapiro, Chris Harrison, TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE: I hear Diana Robina may return to the Lionsgate fold and is in conversations about a possible corporate position there.

EXCLUSIVE: TV Guide Channel has canceled its entertainment news show Hollywood 411. The last edition of the weekly celebrity newsmagazine anchored by The Bachelor host Chris Harrison will air this Sunday. As a result of the cancellation, 25 production staff positions associated with the show are being eliminated. The network is in discussions with Harrison, who also has hosted TV Guide red-carpet coverage, about possible future hosting and producing opportunities. The cancellation comes a couple of weeks after programming head Diana Robina quietly exited TV Guide Network after a year-and-a-half stint as EVP Programming and Marketing, though I hear the two are not related. TV Guide Network did try different formats with Hollywood 411, which started off as a weekly magazine, then switched to a daily and then to a weekly again while also alternating between a one- and two-host model. But the show never quite found an audience in the crowded entertainment/celebrity news space (though its ratings were consistent with TV Guide’s averages). Despite that, TV Guide still plans to keep its toe in the arena — a new entertainment news show is now in active development. It is unclear if it would utilize the new set build for Hollywood 411 a few months ago.

Robina had come from the Lionsgate side of the partnership that owns TV Guide Network (and TVGuide.com) along with One Equity Partners and former Dick Clark Prods CEO Allen Shapiro. I hear TV Guide Network chairman Shapiro — who had focused on shoring up the channel’s distribution for the past year or so, recently signing a new long-term carriage deal with Time Warner Cable — will now oversee programming hands-on, working with the team Robina put in place. Her position is not expected to be replaced, at least for now. Read More »

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More Latino TV? Showrunner Silvio Horta

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday April 17, 2011 @ 1:46am PDTTags: ABC, Reveille, Silvio Horta, TV Guide Network, Ugly Betty

This weekend, the 2011 National Association of Latino Independent Producers Conference is meeting in Newport Beach. Now in its 12th year, the confab is attended annually by Latino actors, executives, producers, and those interested in Latino film and television content. This … Read More »

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TV Guide Picks Up Docu Soap From Sally Ann Salsano

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday November 10, 2010 @ 7:19am PSTTags: Jersey Shore, The Nail Files, TV, TV Deals, TV Guide, TV Guide Network
Nellie Andreeva

TV Guide Network has greenlit its first original reality docu-soap, The Nail Files, created and executive produced by Jersey Shore co-creator/executive producer Sally Ann Salsano through her 495 Prods. The Nail Files stars Katie Cazorla, a 32-year-old budding … Read More »

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