World Screen

NEW YORK: Chris Castallo has been named senior VP of alternative programming for CBS Entertainment, replacing Jennifer Bresnan, who announced her departure earlier yesterday. Castallo joins from NBC, where he was the senior VP of development. There, he had overseen the development and production of prime-time dramas such as Heroes, Studio 60 and …

NEW YORK: Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS owned-and-operated stations from its cable operations in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, after the two failed to reach a negotiation about retransmission fees. The talks broke down on July 30, resulting in TWC dropping the CBS stations for less than half an hour. …

BEVERLY HILLS: The Television Critics Association (TCA) recognized Breaking Bad as this season’s program of the year at its annual awards, also honoring the FX freshman drama The Americans for outstanding new program. HBO’s Game of Thrones was awarded for outstanding achievement in drama. The series won the program of the …

SANTA MONICA: Lionsgate has optioned the TV rights for the bestselling Crossfire series of romantic novels by Sylvia Day. The young adult franchise has sold more than 12 million copies since it debuted last year. It has been a bestseller in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. "The Crossfire …

UNIVERSAL CITY: Ryan Seacrest has signed on to host NBC’s upcoming interactive game show The Million Second Quiz, which he will also executive produce. The series debuts September 9 and will continue through September 14. It will then resume on September 16 and will air each night at 8 p.m. …

CHARLOTTESVILLE: SNL Kagan has acquired Multimedia Research Group, expanding its research, forecasts and analytics capabilities for a host of OTT video- and pay TV-related information around the world. SNL Kagan provides financial intelligence in the media and communications sector. MRG offers analytics and industry intelligence on the video and media …

This interview originally appeared in the MIPTV 2013 issue of World Screen.   USA Network was one of the very first cable channels to venture into original productions. The strategy of using cost-effective production models, developing shows that offer an optimistic take on life and marketing them under the now …

NEW YORK: CBS Corporation has dismissed a proposal by Time Warner Cable’s CEO, Glenn Britt, to sell its channel on an a la carte basis, calling it a "sham" and an "empty gesture." Britt penned a letter to CBS’s CEO, Les Moonves, that said he would resume broadcasting programming if …

NEW YORK: Nielsen has released findings that for the first time ever provide statistical evidence for a "two-way causal influence" between broadcast TV tune-in for a show and the Twitter conversation around that program. The study analyzed minute-to-minute trends in Nielsen’s Live TV Ratings and Tweets for 221 broadcast prime-time program episodes …

LOS ANGELES: Laura Bell Bundy, a Tony-nominated actress and country music singer and songwriter, is joining the cast of the FX comedy Anger Management as a series regular. Bundy will star alongside Charlie Sheen as his new sex study research partner, Dr. Jordan Denby. Dr. Jordan is a brilliant psychologist …