Top Stories

WASHINGTON: Brian Roberts, the CEO of Comcast Corporation, will pay a $500,000 civil penalty to settle anti-trust charges that he violated pre-merger stock-buying rules. The U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, filed a lawsuit against Roberts for failing to comply with pre-merger notification requirements, …

NEW YORK: Total advertising expenditures in the U.S. for the first nine months of 2011 increased 1.5 percent from the year-ago period, reaching $104.7 billion, according to Kantar Media. The latest figures from Kantar showed that spending growth slowed during the quarter, up 0.4 percent compared to last year. For …

NEW YORK: Time Warner Cable customers are gaining access to HBO’s authenticated online video destinations HBO Go and Max Go, delivering some 1,800 titles, including hits such as Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones. The companies will hold a brief Beta trial, with the service expected to launch in the …

NEW YORK: Syfy has placed a 12-episode pick-up order for season two of the docudrama series Paranormal Witness, which is set to premiere in August 2012. Paranormal Witness debuted in September and is produced by Raw TV (Locked Up Abroad, Gold Rush Alaska). Executive producers are Dimitri Doganis and Bart …

NEW YORK: Broadcasters in Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific and the U.S. have signed licensing agreements with A+E Networks for Lifetime movies. Shaw Media in Canada acquired Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, The Bling Ring, We Have Your Husband, Girl Fight and William & Kate. TF1 in France, …

NEW YORK: FOX’s American Idol remains the top prime-time program in the U.S., a spot its held since its fifth season in 2007, according to Nielsen’s Top 10 of 2011 list. American Idol‘s Wednesday run on FOX averaged 23.9 million viewers in 2011, 8.1 percent of U.S. TV viewers over the …

EL SEGUNDO: Sales for physical discs are expected to continue to decline, while electronic sell-through (EST) figures for movies and TV shows increase, though overall purchasing of video content is forecast to dip to $9.9 billion for the year, down 29 percent from its $14.1 billion peak in 2004, according to …

ENGLEWOOD: Liberty Global has named Bryan Hall the senior VP, general counsel and secretary, succeeding Elizabeth Markowski, who has retired. Hall will be based in Denver as a member of the company’s executive management committee and will report to Mike Fries, the president and CEO of Liberty Global. Hall previously …

NEW YORK: USA Network led ad-supported basic cable viewership in prime time in 2011, followed by ESPN, TNT, Fox News and HISTORY. This marks the sixth consecutive time that USA finished number one in total viewers and adults 18 to 49. HISTORY broke into the top 5 in 2011, as the …

LOS ANGELES/TORONTO: The Entertainment One (eOne)-produced series Hell on Wheels has been renewed for a second season on AMC. The series was developed by Endemol USA and produced by eOne and Nomadic Pictures. Endemol USA holds television distribution rights for the series across Europe and eOne handles rights in all …