As a result of the deal, announced yesterday, that resulted in the chairman of Paxson Communications stepping down, NBC Universal has what appears to be an unusual opportunity to unlock the potential of Paxson's 60-station TV operation. Some regard the Pax stations, many in major markets, as the last such broad-based operation in broadcast TV. While NBC Universal cannot own Paxson outright--it is already at the FFC's station ownership limit--it now has 18 months to find a partner with which to operate the Paxson chain. NBC, which long has had a significant financial stake in West Palm Beach-based Paxson, has …

According to the Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes, NBC's live "West Wing" debate Sunday night did not push viewership numbers by a significant amount (although it was the most-viewed episode of the season), but it ended up in a "win" for the Alan Alda candidate, Sen. Arnold Vinick, the Republican from California. Citing a Zogby poll, the Post says Vinick's win was quite a surprise, as it was widely believed that the show's viewers, known to be politically liberal, would "vote" for the younger, hipper candidate, Rep. Matt Santos, played by actor Jimmy Smits. It didn't work out that way. …

The Los Angeles Times--itself in the middle of ongoing and unpleasant discussions with its owner, Tribune Media--says in this morning's edition that the troubles at newspaper giant Knight Ridder illustrate "a larger predicament for newspaper executives, who are under pressure to improve their product at the same time that they are being urged to cut expenses to increase profits." Pointing to several possible buyers of Knight--another media company, such as Gannett, or an equity player, such as Blackstone Communications Partners--the L.A. paper says any new owner would have to contend with the rise of the Internet's power. Sites that provide …

Weeks ago, on Emmy night, everybody who loved "Raymond" was led to believe that a series spinoff, starring hulking/doofus-y brother Brad Garrett, was pretty much in the bag. Wrong. Although CBS had reportedly come to terms on a deal with Garrett, creater/exec producer Phil Rosenthal did not sign with the network. A number of veteran "Raymond" writers, thought to be critical to the spinoff's success, also did not agree to CBS' terms. Rosenthal was thought to be instrumental to the success of the "Raymond" spinoff. For CBS, the collapse of the Garrett sitcom--at least for now--is a major disappointment. The …

If you've been aching to see Connie Chung, who has not had a TV presence since CNN axed her nighttime program in 2003, your prayers are about to be answered. Chung and her husband, Maury Povich, will co-anchor a new MSNBC weekend program, as yet untitled, described as a review of the week's headlines. Lizz Winstead, co-creator of Comedy Central's hit "The Daily Show," will executive produce. Set to debut January 7, the new program will give the well-known married couple a chance to work together. "The question is, 'Can our marriage survive?'" the show, Chung said to the Associated …

In its latest bid to reinvent and differentiate itself from the growing legions of digital set-top devices available from cable and satellite TV operators, TiVo Monday announced a deal with Yahoo! that will also make its digital video recorders an online portal for television. The deal will enable Yahoo! TV users to schedule and record shows online via TiVo's "Series 2" set-top boxes anywhere they can access Yahoo!'s services. "The deal will allow TiVo, which has been struggling to differentiate its service from generic video recorders offered by cable and satellite companies, to offer a range of content and services …

Top media agency executives are tittering over Nielsen Media Research's plan to begin reporting ratings for programs played back on digital video recorders late this year. Executives including Magna Global's Bill Cella, and Mediaedge:cia's Lyle Schwartz told Adweek they will only use Nielsen's so-called "live viewing" ratings in their ad negotiations with networks, while PHD's Harry Keeshan said his agency has "not made a final decision" on what it would use. The plan, first reported by MediaPost's MediaDailyNews, will disseminate three streams of data--live, live plus one day of DVR playback, and live plus seven days of DVR playback--beginning Dec. …

Since it's a so-called "off-year" election-wise, political ad spending was expected to be moderate in 2005, but hotly contested ballot referendums in California, and high profile mayoral and senatorial races in the New York metro area have poured sizeable political campaign ad dollars into the nation's two largest media markets. "It's not anywhere near the record spending levels of 2004's presidential election, but campaign advertising took an upswing with a flurry of TV spots on the California ballot referendums and the New York mayoral race," reports The Hollywood Reporter. New York City, the No. 1 market in overall media spending, …

VNU, the parent of Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen and trade magazines like Adweek, Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, may terminate its $7 billion merger deal with IMS Health following a shareholder revolt. The two companies met today, according to Reuters, which cited a Rabo Securities report as noting, "A cancellation of the deal with IMS now seems very likely." A merger with IMS would have reunited the three units Nielsen, ACNielsen and IMS, which ironically were all part of Dun & Bradstreet before that company spun itself off into three separate, publicly traded companies, two of which have since …

"Electronic paper," long the lore of science fiction novels, may soon find its way into scientific tomes. Companies ranging from Philips and Fujitsu to Cambridge, Mass.-based E Ink, are close to bringing paper-thin malleable screens to the media marketplace. "Consumers are first likely to see the technology in clocks and watches," reports Reuters. "The popular example of an electronic newspaper that automatically updates itself wirelessly is still years away."