Broadway theaters, churches and other users of wireless microphones were given five months to vacate U.S. airwaves that regulators say are needed for high-speed Web services planned by companies including AT&T Inc. The FCC set a June 12 deadline for the switch. AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the two largest U.S. mobile-phone companies, won a 2008 auction for rights to the airwaves. Broadway productions of "Wicked" and "The Phantom of the Opera, as well as sporting events and concerts, are likely to be affected. The cost may reach $100,000 for a theater to replace microphones with those that use …

The parent company of AmericanLife TV Network and FamilyNet TV shired a veteran asset manager and investment banker, Ryland Reed, as executive vice president of business development, instructed to supervise a planned $50 million fund to produce original programming.FamilyNet has about 10 million cable subscribers (and 16 million homes in range of broadcast affiliates) while ALN has 12 million. Wyatt has talked about combining the two networks at some point. Reed has more than 15 years in private equity banking, retail banking, sales & marketing, and operational management. Before ComStar, he was VP and financial adviser for Bernstein …

Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, McCann Erickson and Bartle Bogle Hegarty have recently hired new business chiefs, with JWT and BBH filling vacancies that had existed for months. Ogilvy's position -- global new business director -- is new, but nonetheless took about a year to fill. Casting for the role is tough, given the demands of major reviews and the changing nature of shops. Reviews have been complicated by the expanding marketing needs of clients, search consultants and the participation of procurement executives. After Ogilvy, JWT had the next longest search at 11 months, followed by BBH at five months, …

Erica Hill today was named newsreader for CBS News' "The Early Show," and will continue as co-anchor of the Saturday edition of "The Early Show" alongside co-anchor Chris Wragge. She'll also contribute to other CBS News broadcasts and platforms. Hill has been with "Early" since 2008. Previously, was news anchor and correspondent for CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and a substitute anchor for Cooper and Campbell Brown. Most recently, she also anchored CNN Tonight. Prior to that, she was the anchor of Prime News with Erica Hill, a live two-hour interview and news program on CNN Headline News and a …

Walt Disney Co. is in talks with Liberty Media Corp.'s Starz that may limit the movie channel's ability to provide films online to Netflix Inc., say sources. Starz seeks access to Disney films for as many as five years on its cable channel, as well as continued digital rights. Disney wants viewers watching Starz movies online through companies such as Netflix to pay more for what the studio considers a premium channel. The digital rights are part of contract talks that may also determine how much Starz pays Disney and whether films from Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios will be included. …

Newspaper stocks have seen a rebound from their perilous state a year ago. Which mens the sector now ranks among the market's best performers, the chief analyst for Zacks Investment Research Inc. says in his latest report. Zacks Chief Equity Strategist Dirk Van Dijk says newspapers now rank seventh-best among 206 industries tracked by the Chicago-based firm. Two stocks -- Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) and The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) -- are now given No. 1 ratings in its stock evaluation system. Newspaper stocks across the board are trading at or near 52-week highs, and some …

Three judges on a federal appeals court seem ready to toss out a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, with three judges hearing arguments sometimes mocking the government's position. The judicial panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan kept a government lawyer on the defensive with dozens of questions suggesting that the current policy violates the First Amendment. Judge Rosemary Pooler said she understood broadcasters' argument that the threats of fines would have a chilling effect on live coverage. "You know what …

TV Guide Network named Diane Robina executive vice president of development, acquisitions and programming strategy. Robina also serves as president of FearNet, the multiplatform TV owned by Comcast, Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Television. She will continue in that post, since Lionsgate owns a controlling stake in TV Guide Network. Robina has also headed acquisitions strategies for MTV Networks, as an executive vice president and GM of TNN and worked as the head of Comcast Emerging Networks.

The New York Times Company began online courses two years ago, taught by professors at colleges around the country through Epsilen, its online course delivery and networking platform. Now the newspaper will soon be stamping its name not only on newspaper headers, but on online-education certificates. "Online education is a really robust area," said Felice Nudelman, director of education for the Times. "It is, for many institutions, a profit center." But cachet comes at a price. The Times and its college partners have always charged for access to their online courses, but in order to earn credit toward a …

Executives at Disney and ABC are mulling the option of yanking "The View" out of ABC's daytime network lineup and repackaging it for syndication as a replacement for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" after the daytime queen departs in 2011. Another option being discussed by the executives is leaving the panel talk show for women on the network, but moving it to 4 p.m., Oprah's slot on the ABC O&Os and many other stations, or 3 p.m. in place of "General Hospital," per NewsBlues Web site. ABC's popular soap opera would move to another spot on the daytime schedule.