USA Network is set to unveil its development slate that includes four new drama projects for the 2008-09 season. Among them: "Royal Pains," featuring a washed-up surgeon who becomes a small-town physician in East Hampton, NY and "Shirleyville," a satire about a war hero who returns to his Alaska home after two tours of duty in Afghanistan and becomes its mayor. "At first blush, it might look like a lower concept, but it's a surprising show," says Jeff Wachtel, USA's executive VP for original programming. "We're keeping some of the details on this one under wraps, because it's such a …

Hal Riney, the legendary adman, passed away at the age of 75 in San Francisco this week. Riney, known for creating--and often narrating--campaigns for Bartles & Jaymes, Gallo, Perrier and Saturn, built his company's reputation with a sense of humor and reserve. David Ogilvy once called him "far better than I ever was at my best, and he may be better than any other person I have known in this business." Riney never left the West Coast for Madison Avenue, as his location served as inspiration: "People who grew up around Manhattan tend to look at the world through …

Thanks to the bitter Democratic primary battle between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, cable news nets CNN and MSNBC are set to post record first quarters. High ratings have led to big ad-sales growth for the pair--and progressive viewers are increasingly driving the numbers. A recent MediaVest study of over 1,000 voters finds that the more liberal end of the audience is far more into cable news this election season. "On the liberal side of the consumer base, there's a growing polarization" between Obama and Clinton's supporters, says John Spiropoulos, VP-group research director at MediaVest. "So there are …

As Major League baseball gets underway in earnest, Fox Sports Net is offering up hundreds of telecasts in high-definition for the 2008 season. The cable net's 16 owned-and-operated regional sports networks will collectively run HD telecasts of more than a thousand MLB games--almost two-thirds of its entire baseball schedule and double last year's HD slate. In total, FSN's 16 owned stations are set to produce more than 1,600 live events in HD, including baseball, NBA and NHL contests, which will make their parent the top producers of HD sports programming this year. "We're pleased to be able to offer …

Marketers committed to spending millions on the Beijing Olympics would be in a real fix should they decide that the Chinese government's actions in Tibet could hurt their corporate image. Advertisers and agencies say they are closely watching the situation but at this point, the gains from being a part of the Games outweigh the disadvantages from being associated with the crackdown. "Pretty much every corporation is saying: 'We're aware of it, but it's not our place to dictate policy,' " says one agency executive. "It has not yet precluded any advertisers from being there." And media buyers …

CBS, in partnership with ProElite, will air the first live prime-time mixed martial arts event on May 31 at 9 p.m. with its "CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights" broadcast live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. "We're excited to introduce broadcast television viewers to America's fastest-growing sport with this prime-time event," says Kelly Kahl, senior executive vice president of CBS Primetime. "EliteXC is putting together a lineup card that showcases the unique personalities, world-class athleticism and raw power and emotion that characterizes mixed martial arts." Middleweight champion Robbie Lawler is putting his title on the line …

Headline News is readying "Not Just Another Cable News Show" for its weekend lineup. Set for an April 5 premiere, it will feature big political blunders, celebutards, stupid criminals and other pop culture fare. "Not Just Another Cable News Show" will air Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m., with re-airs at 9 p.m. and midnight. The half-hour program will highlight comedians, pundits and others opining on video clips. It will be followed by "News to Me," a user-generated program that first hit HNN last May and features popular Web videos and news seen through the eyes of viewers.