September 5, 2007

360AM: Sept. 5 Programming, Online News & More

By Shirley Brady

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• PROGRAMMING

ABC Family returns with 13 Nights of Halloween, its annual programming event, from Oct. 19-31. Highlights this year include original movie Nature of the Beast (Oct. 21) and the basic cable premieres of An American Haunting (Oct. 26) and Boogeyman (Oct. 23).

BET promoted Robyn Lattaker-Johnson to SVP, development, reality programming and hired Brett King as SVP, scripted programming, among other programming-related personnel moves this week.

Cartoon Network will allow viewers to help program the network by signing up for its Master Control multiplatform initiative on its website starting Sept. 24. The social network involves signing up for teams and voting for episodes that will air in the Master Control block from 4pm-6pm Monday through Thursday.

C-SPAN was denied permission to air oral arguments in CBS's challenge of the FCC's indecency ruling after the infamous Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake incident at the 2004 Super Bowl.

Discovery Networks bolstered its executive ranks yesterday with the hiring of MTV Networks International EVP Sahar Elhabashi as COO, Discovery Networks International; and by luring back Discovery vet John Ford to run soon-to-rebrand Discovery Times and the Military Channel.

E! launches in Canada on Friday.

Fine Living TV will run encore episodes of Martha Stewart's daytime show this fall, airing episodes of The Martha Stewart Show twice-nightly on a one-day delayed basis from the syndicated broadcast starting Monday. The deal expands Scripps Networks' relationship with the domestic doyenne, whose Martha Stewart Crafts premieres on DIY Network next month.

FX's new season of Nip/Tuck, which relocates its action from Miami to Los Angeles, premieres Oct. 30.

GSN's Grand Slam finale Saturday features a showdown between two game show legends: Jeopardy phenom Ken Jennings and Who Wants to be a Millionaire champ Ogi Ogas.

HBO's The Sopranos' star Michael Imperioli was in his New York-based theater company with his wife yesterday when an explosive device detonated in a van parked outside; police are investigating. [Newsday via AMNewYork]

The History Channel HD launched a day early (yesterday) on Dish Network.

MSNBC's fall "Doc Block," featuring 25 documentary premieres through year-end, kicks off Friday with Lockup: San Quentin - Extended Stay. More details here. The network yesterday launched its Super Tuesday coverage of Decision 2008, including a website where viewers can upload video questions and send email messages to candidates.

MTV has caught the musical bug. The New York Post says it will air the Broadway production of Legally Blonde in its entirety in October, and will tape the production (a stone's throw from its Times Square HQ) in October.

Music Choice is offering a "Back to School" video package including Chris Brown and Corbin Bleu for free VOD.

NBC Universal's entertainment nets — USA, Bravo and SCI FI — touted their summer dominance, accounting for 10 of the top 25 basic cable entertainment series.

RCN is sponsoring two Indian film festivals in Washington, DC, that start tomorrow. The sponsorship will promote its VOD lineup of movies from TV Asia, Zee TV and MHz1.

TBS ordered a second season of The Bill Engvall Show and announced the comedian will host Blue Collar Comedy: The Next Generation, a comedy special that will air Nov. 17.

Time Warner Cable is planning a statewide legislative channel that would produce live telecasts of House and State sessions in Maine.

Time Warner Cable's local New York 1 channel turns 15 on Saturday, notes the NY Daily News.

TV Land is promoting familial dining on Sept. 24, the nationwide Family Day, in partnership with CASA: the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Ultra HD, Voom's high-def fashion network, tapped Carmen Electra to host its coverage from New York Fashion Week, which kicks off Friday.

VH1 struck a wide-ranging deal with Web gossiper Perez Hilton, with his first World of Wonder-produced special, What Perez Says, premiering Tuesday with Hilton hitting the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (at which troubled Brit singer Amy Winehouse just declined to perform.)

VH1 Soul will premiere its first VIBE Awards special on Nov. 14; fans can vote online.

Got a tip? Contact Shirley Brady at sbrady@accessintel.com