Univision Communications on Thursday reported a narrowed first-quarter loss of $3.4 million, compared with $55.2 million in the year-ago period. A 10.6% revenue gain to $453.7 million more than offset higher operating expenses. The year-ago period figure was also dragged down by a legal settlement with Mexican broadcaster Televisa and an impairment loss. Univision's TV and interactive units boosted their quarterly revenue, while radio was down slightly."We have continued to see a recovery in the advertising market in the first quarter and are expecting to benefit from the upswing due to a heightened interest in reaching our target demographic," …

The National Association of Broadcasters filed a new study with the FCC that it says shows retransmission consent is working just as Congress intended. "The data simply do not support the claim that increases in MVPD [multichannel video programming distributor] rates are caused by rising programming costs in general, or rising retransmission fees in particular," the study says. "To the contrary, programming costs are rising slower than MVPD revenues." The report also counters cable's claim that service interruptions related to retransmission consent are routine. In fact, it counters, "the average household is far more likely to be without …

Comedy Central says it has a cartoon series about Jesus Christ in the works. "JC" is one of 23 potential series the network said it has in development. It depicts Christ as a "regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow." His father is presented as an apathetic man who would rather play video games than listen to his son talk about his new life. Reveille, the production company behind "The Office," "Ugly Betty" and "The Biggest Loser," is making "JC." It wouldn't be the first time Jesus Christ has been on a Comedy …

Hollywood's once-bickering actors' unions appear to be warming up to the idea of a marriage. That's the takeaway from an upbeat message published in the Screen Actors Guild magazine from a guild task force exploring the idea of merging SAG with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. "The defining reason to form a single union is clear: Our bargaining power is increased if we cannot be divided." The statement follows a similar "open letter" from AFTRA's leaders in which they endorsed the concept of creating a "new, strong national union" that would combine the resources of both …

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is wheeling and dealing his way through the media world. Sources say Slim is sinking more money into The New York Times Co., doubling his current 7% stake, while also visiting the offices of Newsweek, the Washington Post-owned newsweekly that was put up for sale, says the New York Post. The expanded investment in the Times makes Slim its largest independent shareholder, after the previous biggest shareholder, Phil Falcone's hedge fund Harbinger Capital, sold 4.75 million shares last month. At the same time that he's getting in deeper with the Times, sources said Slim also met …

Variety has settled on a strategy to change its declining fortunes, and all indications have been that in the age of online the trade is betting on print. New evidence of this from Variety.com editor Chris Krewson's blog in which he touts two different versions of stories: one for the paid Web site, one for print. In a staff memeo from Krewson and editor Leo Wolinsky, the noted how the two mediums can complement each other, citing recent examples: "On today's front page, every story was significantly different from the one readers saw yesterday on Variety.com. Our Web …

NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker set off another round of the favorite game of the entertainment chattering classes -- "When will Zucker be fired" -- when he confirmed to The Washington Post that he will consider running for office in the future. That statement piggybacked previous Zucker comments on Joe Scarborough's radio show in February about the benefits of having business leaders in government. Zucker says he's interested in a possible U.S. Senate run -- but hasn't decided from which state -- New York, where he lives, or Florida, where he grew up. Many insiders think he's more suited …

Online florists Teleflora and 1-800-Flowers.com are launching ambitious social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter this Mother's Day to make the gifting process easier for consumers. "The idea is that your flowers can say exactly what you want them to say," said chief marketing officer Laurie McCartney, adding that site visitors can choose from cards like "sassy" and "sweet." Rival 1-800-Flowers is turning to display, social and mobile media advertising to drive Mother's Day sales. Kevin Ranford, director of Web marketing at the company, said 1-800-Flowers has implemented a new feature where consumers can make floral purchases directly via …

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Thursday his agency has found a compromise in how it regulates high-speed Internet access: It will apply only narrow regulations to broadband companies. He said this delicate dance will ensure the agency has adequate authority to govern broadband providers without being too "heavy-handed." Genachowski's idea is to redefine it as a telecommunications service subject to "common carrier" obligations to treat all traffic equally. Similar rules apply to other common carrier networks that serve the public, including roads and highways, electrical grids and telephone lines. But Genachowski said he will refrain from imposing more burdensome …

Toddlers who watch a lot of television were more likely to experience a range of problems by the fourth grade, including lower grades, poorer health and more problems with school bullies, a new study reports. The study of more than 1,300 Canadian schoolchildren tracked the amount of television children were watching at the ages of about 2 and 5. The researchers then followed up on the children in fourth grade to assess academic performance, social issues and general health, reports The New York Times.  The findings suggest that the differences were strongly linked with television exposure, not parental care, …