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DirecTV and Viacom Settle Dispute Over Fees, Restoring Service

DirecTV

After a nine-day blackout that denied subscribers access to Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and other channels, the two companies reach agreement on a new long-term deal.

 

'Game of Thrones' additions rouse Comic-Con fans

Diana Rigg was crowned a queen at Comic-Con - and she wasn't even there. The 73-year-old actress and several others were revealed Friday as joining the cast of HBO's "Game of Thrones" for the fantasy series' upcoming third season. The former star of "The Avengers" will play Olenna Tyrell, also known as the Queen of Thorns.

 

Viacom yanks free online programs

The Daily Show

As the dispute between Viacom and DirecTV continued Wednesday, the conglomerate yanked access to some of its more popular programming that was available free on company websites. Fans can no longer watch full episodes of shows like "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "iCarly" or "Jersey Shore" and "The Daily Show," which is sure to further anger the 20 million DirecTV subscribers who continue to find a dark screen when they change the channel to Viacom-owned nets like Nick, MTV, Comedy Central and VH1.

Senh: Damn you, Viacom! Not "The Daily Show." That's the only show I watch on TV nowadays.

 

Gladys Knight to be judge on new singing series

Gladys Knight

Move over Jennifer Lopez, a veteran singing diva is joining the ranks of judges on reality TV: Gladys Knight. BET's sister network Centric announced Wednesday that Knight will work as the "lead judge" on "Apollo Live." The new series is a singing competition at New York's famed Apollo Theater and puts a new spin on the venue's popular "Amateur Night" showcase. It will debut in the fall.

 

DirecTV subscribers may lose MTV, 25 other channels as blackout nears in Viacom dispute

DirecTV

Viacom Inc. said an impasse in contract talks with DirecTV is costing almost 20 million subscribers access to 26 channels, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. DirecTV dropped the channels late Tuesday when two sides couldn’t reach a new fee agreement, New York-based Viacom said in a blog post. There was no word on whether the companies would continue negotiating. “We are hopeful that DirecTV will work with us toward a resolution, and stop denying its subscribers access to the networks they watch most,” Viacom said.

 

Charlie Sheen’s ‘Anger Management’ Opens Strong On FX, Boosts ‘Wilfred’ & ‘Louie’

Charlie Sheen in "Anger Management"

Anger Management ranked as cable’s most-watched primetime scripted comedy series premiere in total viewers and 18-49, eclipsing Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne on TBS, which opened with a 5.2 million. Like House Of Payne, which grew to 5.8 million for the second episode of its two-episode premiere, Anger Management gained too, averaging 5.74 million total viewers and 2.89 million adults 18-49s for its 9:30 PM episode.

 

HBO gives George Bush's severed head a facelift on Game of Thrones

George W. Bush's Game of Thrones cameo is lost forever, except to the legion of viewers who own the first shipment of the show's first season on DVD and Blu-ray. As you may remember, a behind-the-scenes commentary from the show's creators revealed that one of the many heads spiked in King's Landing was the forty-third president.

 

Networks look to clean up with nighttime soaps

Hollywood Heights

On Monday, the Nickelodeon cable channel premieres its new nighttime soap, "Hollywood Heights," a remake of an overly dramatic Mexican telenovela about a songwriter who falls in love with a rock star. Soap veteran James Franco, star of the film "127 Hours," has a featured role.

 

Sundance Channel’s ‘Push Girls’ chronicles lives of four women in wheelchairs

Having cameras trailing their every move wasn’t a major adjustment for the stars of the new reality show “Push Girls.” They were already accustomed to what they refer to as “PS” — people staring.

 

'Dallas' premiere strikes it rich for TNT

The premiere of "Dallas" — TNT's reboot of the classic series — averaged 6.8 million viewers on Wednesday, making it the No. 1 scripted series premiere on all of cable so far this year.

 

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