Video Age International

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Int'l Fiction Fest brings Italy's drama to Rome.
For its third annual edition, organizers behind the budding Roma Fiction Fest--set to take place July 6-11 at the Conciliazione Auditorium and Adriano Multiplex Cinema--looked high and low for ways . . .

TV takes a walk out of the house.
With the rise of new technologies, the "TV Everywhere" model has gained prominence, but one element of that concept has often been overlooked: TV in the out-of-home market, i.e., venues such as heal . . .

American series to cure Greek advertising blues.
Television networks in Greece are not immune to the changing economic landscape. Across the board, income decreased by 8.4 percent in 2008--to about 10 million euro--due to a significant reduction i . . .

Spain cuts RTVE's ads.(World)(Radio Television Espanola)(Brief article)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has agreed to dramatically reduce advertising on two of pubcaster Radio Television Espanola's (RTVE) channels, TVE1 and TVE2, over the next year. . . .

The Century Plaza to be torn down.(World)(Brief article)
In December 2008, a group led by investor Michael Rosenfeld announced a two billion dollar plan to replace the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles with two skyscrapers filled with condos and stores. . . .

France now hangs pirates.(World)
Last month, VideoAge reported that the French Parliament had rejected a bill to suspend Internet connections for pirate usage. Now, just over a month after that initial decision, the same National A . . .

CBS buoyant for the future.(World)
Despite posting net losses of $55.3 million for the first quarter of 2009, CBS Corp. honcho Les Moonves is optimistic that the TV company is on the brink of an economic recovery, taking cues from th . . .

Disney tries a new mouse trap.(World)(Brief article)
Six months in advance of the theatrical release of its 3D remake of the classic Dickens story A Christmas Carol, Disney is rolling out an unusual U.S. grassroots marketing campaign consisting of a t . . .

Air travelers get shorted.(World)
Following a year in which skyrocketing fuel prices were often passed off to air travelers in the form of fuel surcharges and new add-on fees for previously free services such as checked bags, execut . . .

Famous quotes.(World)
JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in bailout money from the U.S. government, is buying two luxury Gulfstream G-650 jets for about $60 million each and planned an $18 million "lavish renovat . . .

When nuclear blasts are aimed at disrupting communications.
One Second After (2009, Forge, 350 pages, U.S.$24.95), a new hardcover by William Forstchen, may seem, at first, an unlikely choice for review in VideoAge. Written as fiction (but based on fact), it . . .

Hard times drive Latin TV mart.(Forum Brasil)(Conference news)
A new convention venue, the Transamerica Expo Center, and a new official hotel, the Blue Tree Towers, welcomed 600 participants from 22 countries for the 10th annual Forum Brasil International TV Ma . . .

Getting ahead of the game delays Indies' business.(L.A. Screenings Review)
Perhaps in response to FOX's late-May Upfronts this year, NBC introduced the "Infronts," an early-May primetime commercial bidding process in New York City. In fact, NBC started selling commercial t . . .

Third annual Roma Fiction Fest.(Program At a Glance)(Calendar)
The RFF is held July 6-11, 2009 at the following locations: Auditorium Conciliazione Via della Conciliazione, 4 Tel. 800-904-560 (local dialing for general info only) Multisala Adriano P . . .

Central and Eastern Europe by the numbers.(DISCOP--Bound)
Here's a question worth asking: Just how significant a medium is television in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)? One way to ascertain the answer is to look at television's share of advertising reven . . .

Conferences & events news.(Calendar)
AIR TRAVEL CHARGED BY THE POUND Airlines are now back in the "transportation" (as opposed to "service") business. Specifically, they are offering transport from point A to point B--not a seat on a . . .

My two cents.
The late American economist Ezra Solomon once said, "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable." So, instead of thinking forward, let's go back to the year 2000 . . .

Tango to the tune of the L.A. screenings.
The L.A. Screenings are not only a vital part of the U.S. studio schedule, but also an important, albeit informal market for Latin American TV companies --one that is on par with NATPE in terms of s . . .

Forum Brasil to tackle Latin America mis-cooperation.
This year, the 10th annual Forum Brasil, which is considered to be one of the major TV trade events for the Latin American TV industry, will take place at the Transamerica Expo Center in Sao Paulo, . . .

Nets return to trusting pilots, hoping for more ad credit.
As L.A. Screenings 2009 rolls around, industry insiders are speculating as to which of the roughly 80 pilots that have been commissioned thus far will get picked up. But this time, around, the quest . . .

Argentine TV faces South Cone challenges.
The problem with Latin America's South Cone is not just the second consecutive paternity claim against Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo, but also a long list of challenges, least of which is the s . . .

MSO puts subs on Internet diet.(World)
Time Warner Cable Inc., one of the U.S.'s largest cable MSOs, has proposed a new "consumption-based billing" system that it will test this summer to address the soaring usage of high-speed Internet. . . .

SAG, studios in agreement.(World)(Screen Actors Guild)(Brief article)
Following nearly a year of battle, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has finally reached a tentative agreement with U.S. studios for a new labor contract, putting an end to a war that has shaken up the . . .

French download law rejected.(World)
French politicians have rejected a bill that proposed that people caught illegally downloading music three times would be cut off from the Internet. The legislation, which had been backed by French . . .

VideoAge stories syndicated int'lly.(World)(Brief article)
When a news story appears in either our Video Age Issue, VideoAge Daily or VideoAge Online, it is possible that it will be syndicated in more than 16 other publications in the U.S., Canada, Central . . .

Fox won't pay for 3D.(World)(three dimension)(Brief article)
With the growing popularity of 3D films, Hollywood studios and movie theaters are now squabbling over who should foot the bill for 3D glasses. Thus far, it's been the studios forking over the money . . .

RAI has new bosses.(World)(Radio Televisione Italiana)(Brief article)
Italy's state-owned broadcast organization, RAI, has a new board, chairman, director general and deputy director general. The appointment of second-tier management, i.e., news directors and networ . . .

Skype up in the sky for e-Bay.(World)(Skype Technologies S.A.)(Brief article)
In 2005, e-Bay Inc. spent $2.6 billion to purchase Skype, a software application that allows consumers to make domestic and international phone calls and conduct teleconferences over the Internet. T . . .

TiVo's DVR to rewind Nielsen.(World)
TiVo, a firm that made it easy for viewers to fast-forward through commercials, has now revealed a plan to help stations sell them. The company will directly challenge Nielsen, whose ratings data pr . . .

Famous quotes.(World)
A study published in 2006 indicated that "56 percent of all MBA students cheated regularly--more than in any other discipline." --Academy of Management Learning Education . . .

Mart Sans Les frills, but with plenty of thrills.(MIP--TV Review)
It was a wet MIP--wetter than usual--with more rain than most could bear. Despite the precipitation, it proved to be a good market--trimmed of the frills, but with its fair share of thrills. With fe . . .

Altas y bajas registradas a traves de los anos.
Todo el mundo ha sido testigo de una America que en el 2001 comenzo la primera de las dos cadencias presidenciales de George W. Bush con la tragica y parcial destruccion de Wall Street v concluyo en . . .

El secreto mejor conocido de Europa: AGICOA.
Ultimamente su presencia es sentida en todas partes, en MIPTV, lo fue en MIPCOM y en d AFM del ano pasado, pero es dificil de ser encontrado o visto. Podemos ver sus avisos publicados, pero los mism . . .

Neutralidad en la Net.
En el American Film Market (AFM) del ultimo ano produjo mucho ruido la noticia de que el recientemente Presidente -electo- Barack Obama se haya pronunciado a favor de la neutralidad en la Net en los . . .

2009-10 network commissioned pilots.(Los Angeles Screening 2009)
ABC Comedy The Bridget Show A talk show host gives up her show for a guy, only to be dumped Canned About friends who are all fired from their jobs on the same day Cougar Town Centers o . . .

Who's screening.(L.A. SCREENINGS 2009)
20th Century Fox TV Distribution Fox Studios 10201 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles Tel. (310) 739-5079 * AETN International Mayra Bracer, Jeffrey McGraw, Sean Cohan, Christian Murphy Century P . . .

Indie programming guide.(Los Angeles Screening 2009)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AETN 235 East 45th Street New York, NY 10017 . . .

Conference & events news.(Calendar)
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL MAY 13-24 Cannes, France TEL: (33 1) 5359 6100 FAX: (33 1) 5359 6110 www.festival-cannes.fr L.A. SCREENINGS MAY 19-29 Los Angeles, U.S. TEL: (212) 288-3933 F . . .

Wi-Fi will now fly.(Conference & Events News)
Years ago, travelers were excited by the prospect of being able to make a phone call from 10,000 meters above ground. More recently, the more entrepreneurial among us were able to connect the seat p . . .

My two cents.
Funny business we're in. The more people are enabled to bypass copyright requirements, the more they tend to seek copyright protection, be it for material (compound formulas, sculptures), physical ( . . .

Pellicioli's overnight success was 25 years in the making.(Lorenzo Pellicioli)(Novara)
Pellicioli who? What about Spain's Antena 3, France's Marathon, Italy's Magnolia and the U.K.'S Zodiak TV? That's who! But let's make the proper introduction. The 58-year old Lorenzo (Renzo) Pellici . . .

The mystery of AGICOA. Europe's best open secret.
Lately its presence is felt everywhere--here at MIP, at last year's MIPCOM and at AFM 2008--but it is nowhere to be seen. We can view their print advertising, but the ads have no contact info. They' . . .

Laughter is back big to console audiences.
According to the old proverb, laughter is the best medicine for all kinds of malaise, including a remedy for television woes. And, in today's turbulent economic climate, this adage may prove to be t . . .

Even stranger than his films: the life of Roman Polanski.
If Roman Polanski's life were a film, it would certainly be a drama, but it's difficult to determine what kind of drama. Encompassing elements of Holocaust tragedy, macabre horror flick and engrossi . . .

The good with some bad made for a not-too-bad TV market.(National Association of Television Program Executives)(giganomics)
The very first television market of 2009 kicked off with an expectedly subdued NATPE in late January in Las Vegas, ushering in what many industry insiders are speculating will be a quieter than usua . . .

Assessing the future can be easier than explaining the past.(Future Tense)
"A genuine expert can always foretell a thing that is 500 years away easier than he can a thing that's only 500 seconds off." --Mark Twain As famed U.S. baseball legend and street-wise philosoph . . .

AFM-inspired EFM proves February a resilient month.(The Berlin Story)(American Film Market)(European Film Market)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Once again the European Film Market (EFM) proved itself to be the key winter market for the movie industry, with or without the worldwide economic downturn. As part of the . . .

E1 Entert.: a mini-major emerging from Canada.(E1 Entertainment)
With the demise of AllianceAtlantis, the splintering of PeaceArch (see related story in World, page 6), the disappearance of Chum TV and the "relocation" of Cookie Jar, the international TV industry . . .

Witnessing the birth of many TV nations.(DISCOP Africa)
The inaugural DISCOP Africa pulsed with a beat that was both African and optimistic. VideoAge attended all three days of the Dakar, Senegal market to discern why it seems like Africa's day has final . . .

Channel hopping in Europe: survey reveals the growth of TV networks on the old continent.(Fast-Forward)
After the U.S., the European market is the world's second largest TV market and one of the cornerstones of the international television business, generating billions of dollars in revenue, spending . . .