In a deal that will extend the run of the most successful series in the history of cable television for another year, HBO announced yesterday that "The Sopranos" will not end with its next season starting in March, but will continue with an additional eight episodes starting in January 2007.

In addressing the latest installment of ethical tripwires faced by publishers - among others, the thick haze of product placement in the increasingly scrutinized media advertising climate - the American Society of Business Publication Editors plans to rewrite its ethics guidelines to address such ethical concerns for trade publishers.

CBS, the television network expected to split off from corporate parent Viacom Inc. early next year, on Thursday said it plans to debut a new print magazine focusing on the entertainment industry. The magazine, WATCH!, will be advertising supported and be available for free at Paramount theme parks, CBS show tapings and over 200 CBS affiliates beginning in January 2006.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn and several hedge funds are expected to file with U.S. regulators their plans to improve the performance of Time Warner Inc., The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. In the filing, Icahn is expected to call for Time Warner, the world's largest media company, to expand a stock buyback plan by $10 billion to $20 billion and to radically reduce its costs, according to the newspaper.

While investor Carl Icahn's apparent threat to shake up the status quo at Time Warner seems like a quixotic joust at an $86 billion windmill, his assault will force all big media players to more aggressively respond to laggard stock prices and changing industry dynamics. It is a long overdue wake-up call for major media conglomerates, whose stocks continue to woefully underperform while they wrestle with unprecedented business and economic turmoil. So far, big media's response to heightened investor pressure to sell operating assets, increase leverage and return more value to shareholders has been record stock buybacks and dividends.

In a move that would have a huge impact on the television industry, ABC Sports/ESPN big Mark Shapiro may leave the networks to work for Daniel Snyder, according to network executives. Snyder, who is best known for owning the Washington Redskins, has reportedly been a dissatisfied minority shareholder of amusement park operator Six Flags Inc. Snyder's plan apparently is to gain control of Six Flags and start a production company, with Shapiro overseeing the transition into a "mini-Disney" venture.

In the wake of the new code of conduct for direct-to-consumer advertising issued by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Pfizer this morning formally announced its own internal changes to DTC advertising that include more risk information in ads and a reinforcement of the doctor-patient relationship.

The billboards promoting the latest installment in the Columbia Pictures "man-whore" franchise, "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," are about as subtle as the nine-story-tall leaning tower of Pisa rendered to look as if it were poking out of Rob Schneider's pants. Like the first "Deuce Bigalow" comedy, the sequel, which opens Friday, is rated R, for "pervasive strong crude and sexual humor, language, nudity and drug content." But the billboards, which Columbia said were in place about a week before the movie received its rating, on July 7, say the film "is not yet rated."

The creators of a television show, first broadcast in Minneapolis, that pits would-be inventors against each other for prizes, filed suit yesterday against ABC television, as well as a producer of "American Idol" and Simon Cowell, the outspoken "Idol" judge, for preparing a similar show with the same title: "Million Dollar Idea."

The changing of the guard among the anchors of the three evening network newscasts could accelerate the shifts in audience that have already led Madison Avenue to reconsider how advertising dollars are spent.