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Silver Spring-based Discovery network has joined the march of nonfiction cable networks to the land of scripted programming. But Discovery has not strayed far from home: That first project is a miniseries about prospecting for gold.

Some television executives have blamed use of digital video recorders as a reason for sharp declines in "live" viewing of most major broadcast networks this fall. But data capturing a full week of delayed viewing through DVRs reveals nearly identical audience declines. The data are likely to underscore concerns about traditional television viewing, suggesting that people are either watching broadcast television shows through on-demand services, or are turning to alternatives such as online video.

Reporters who cover politics and media had their undies in a bunch Wednesday over a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs announcing, “late night TV talk show comedians have told more jokes about Mitt Romney than about all Democrats combined since the party nominating conventions.”

Viacom is grappling with declining audiences at MTV and Comedy Central. Comedy Central's prime-time audience fell 19% in the four weeks through Oct. 21, while MTV's viewership declined 32%.

Cable giant Comcast Corp., the nation's largest provider of TV and high-speed Internet services, more than doubled its net income in the third quarter, helped by fewer cancelations of video service than expected and by breaking even on the expensive-to-produce London Olympics.

Cheers was once a staple on TV Land. Now the cable network, which has shifted its focus from classic sitcom reruns to original comedy series, is reuniting two of the stars of iconic the NBC series. Rhea Perlman is set to co-star opposite Kirstie Alley in the TV Land pilot Giant Baby.

Terms of the settlement call for DISH Network to pay $700 million in cash. As part of the agreement, DISH will receive 500 MHz of wireless multichannel video distribution and data service ("MVDDS") spectrum licenses that cover a population of 150 million in 45 DMAs including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia. As part of a separate, multi-year agreement, DISH will resume broadcast of the AMC channel Sunday, October 21. The AMC channel will be carried on DISH channel 131.

Zingers flew and egos crackled Saturday night as Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart debated in front of a boisterous audience at the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium.

Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart are to tangle in a sold-out mock presidential debate that's as much about laughs as about politics.

In a continuation of the massive growth of sports programming options, the Southern California area will see the launch of not one, but two new regional sports networks through Time Warner Cable beginning today.