It's taken a while, but the "telenovela"--a format that has proved popular in a number of worldwide markets in recent years -- will soon reach American audiences. A soap opera-ish format, albeit with a predetermined and limited run, the telenovela has been particularly strong ratings-getter in Latin America. No wonder that it's going to get a big tryout here. Just last Tuesday, Twentieth Television announced that it would launch a syndicated block of telenovelas next autumn under the Desire umbrella. Additionally, both CBS and ABC have said they are developing prime-time telenovelas for the summer of 2006. Twentieth has been …

Jon Friedman, the media columnist for MarketWatch, is more than a little disappointed by the choices made by Time and Newsweek for their highly anticipated year-end showcase covers. Time went with Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono for Persons of the Year; Newsweek, in its "What's Next" ish, put up a preview of "The Da Vinci Code" movie. Says Friedman: "Time and Newsweek both insist that they don't choose their cover subjects as a way to goose newsstand sales.... Do I believe it? Nah." For Time, Friedman would have selected someone associated with the Katrina disaster, which he calls the …

Interested in seeing behind-the-scenes footage from Bon Jovi's current tour? There'll be a way. Beginning next Tuesday, cable giant Comcast will offer clips on both its video-on-demand and online services. The deal was brokered by Front Row Marketing Services. Front Row specializes in creating revenue streams for sporting facilities and sports franchises. One of the teams it represents is the Philadelphia Soul, of Arena football. As it happens, Bon Jovi is an owner of the Soul. Comcast will offer footage from various Bon Jovi performances dating back to the tour's launch last month. It will also show clips from the …

Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, which holds that a la carte cable programming will reduce consumer's monthly bills while at the same time permitting them to pay only for what they care to watch, Kagan Research reports that quite the opposite is true. "Those who want to rush to a la carte pricing are thinking too simplistic [sic] and are not thinking through the implications," Kagan senior analyst Derek Baine told TelevisionWeek. According to the research company, the misperceptions about the economics of cable programming have led consumers, legislators, and even some in the industry to believe that the current …

Los Angeles Times columnist Joel Stein has put his comic touch to the topic of advertising, which he posits is no longer a viable enterprise. How *can* it be? When HBO, which books no ads, is the most profitable network, something has gone kerplooey. When DVRs make it possible to skip TV commercials altogether, what's the point of advertising on the medium? The networks, Stein notes, are busy making deals to deliver ad-free programming to various portable video devices. Little suprise, then, that the "advertising model is dying," according to writer Stein. "At this rate, we'll soon have to directly …

Magazine sales executives, described in this piece as a supremely jaded group, have been wowed by the kinds of ad pieces made possible by Americhip, a California company that produces the underlying technology in all those multimedia ads so popular these days. Americhip is the largest of the companies producing the latest generation of bells-and-whistle ads. Among the more memorable pieces, according to this Mediaweek story: An Aquafina advertisement in which bubble wrap was used to simulate the sound of carbonation. That one ran in in People magazine. Another winner: An ad for The WB's drama "Supernatural" that featured a …

Apparently you can write just about anything concerning faded pop star Britney Spears, except that she and husband Kevin Federline made an explicit sexual video together, which they fear might get out to the public. Spears and Federline have sued Us Weekly for $10 million in damages, saying the story of their sex tape, which ran in an October issue, is utterly false. The magazine, maintaining that it has a credible source, stands by its story. As told in the Wenner Media-owned weekly, not only did the new parents make the video, but a member of their entourage managed to …

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved a budget that calls for all American TV to be broadcast via digital signal by Feb. 17, 2009. Translation: Consumers who don't subscribe to cable or satellite television or who don't own TV sets capable of receiving digital signals will be out of luck. Since only 15 percent of U.S. households do not currently subscribe to cable or satellite TV, the 2009 date should not pose much of a challenge. The new budget provides up to $80 per household in the way of coupons for those who must purchase converter boxes for their …

The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold takes the occasion of year-end to reflect on the huge changes occurring at network news operations: Brian Williams has just completed his first year at NBC, ABC only days ago named its new anchor team to replace the late Peter Jennings, and CBS is still figuring out who would best succeed Dan Rather, with rumors swirling about daily that the network is trying to woo NBC's Katie Couric to the job. Meanwhile, the very role of "anchor" is under assault--or, at least, under scrutiny. In an age of 24-hour, round-the-globe live news, can two …

This is not good news for ABC, CBS, or NBC: Fox's "American Idol," which historically has been a ratings juggernaut, plans to air two of next season's shows on Thursday nights. "Idol" begins Jan. 17. Most of its prime-time episodes, aired live, will be seen Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the network recently announced. This mimics the schedule "Idol" has followed since its U.S. launch. But now Fox says it will air a one-hour results show on Thursday, Feb. 23--during sweeps. Additionally, the top 12 finalists will also be revealed during a Thursday-night telecast. Although a surprise, the announcements are in …