Sources close to the situation confirmed that discussions with News Corp were "progressing well," although a deal was "not yet inevitable." Shine is thought to be worth between £600m and £800m. Elisabeth Murdoch owns 60% of Shine, while Sony has 20% and BSkyB 13%. The rest is owned by the production company's management. Shine, which owns the lucrative MasterChef franchise, has received a number of approaches in recent months and News Corp, which is also currently trying to acquire the 61% it does not already own of BSkyB, was not the only group with which it had held talks. …

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, running last this season in the viewers marketers target, is unable to renew its most-popular drama "Desperate Housewives" because of pay demands by three stars. Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria are seeking a raise, said three people with knowledge of the demands. Teri Hatcher has signed a new contract, sources say. In August, TVGuide.com put their pay at $400,000 each per episode. "Housewives," an hour-long weekly drama featuring women living on the deceptively idyllic Wisteria Lane, is ABC's most-watched scripted show. The Sunday night program averages 13.1 million viewers a night and 5.75 …

Paris Hilton says she's fearless, and her new Oxygen docuseries, "The World According to Paris," will showcase that characteristic when the reality star goes skydiving -- for the third time. On "World," which premieres this spring on Oxygen, cameras will follow Hilton starting at 7 a.m. -- "I kind of scream at them sometimes when they come in so early" -- until she goes to bed every day, and viewers will get a chance to see the real Paris. "I'm fearless, and I live life to the fullest and feel like you only live once so you should make …

A handful of midseason placeholders are rolling in on the heels of what may be the weakest development period in recent memory. In a year dominated by sophomore comedies like "Modern Family," the lone new show that generated any life force was AMC's "The Walking Dead." Since the year began, marketers looking to reach younger viewers are enjoying unprecedented reach. On Jan. 11, Comedy Central's raucous "Tosh.0" scared up a net record of 3.57 million viewers, nearly 80% of whom were in the 18-49 demo. On the same night, BET attracted a staggering 7.7 million viewers with its premiere …

An IBM computer won the practice round on popular quiz show Jeopardy! against two top contestants, showing artificial intelligence has come a long way in simulating how humans think. "We have created a computer system which has the ability to understand natural human language, which is a very difficult thing for a computer to do," said John Kelly, the director of IBM Research. Watson, the name of the computer, triumphed in the first practice round, earning $4,400, while Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in a row during the show's 2004-2005 season, trailed with $3,400. Brad Rutter, who has …

According to Read It Later, mobile devices are helping people avoid the constant barrage of information and relegate reading to their most comfortable time slots. "Printed media used to allow us to read in the places we found most comfortable," the company writes on its blog. "Unfortunately, as news and media moves online, it moves us away from these places and into our desk chairs. Even worse, consuming content is no longer on our own schedule. The flood of content disrupts us all day as if we have a maniacal paperboy throwing new editions on our doorstep every 15 seconds." …

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said Wednesday that finding more spectrum to auction for broadband use will be "priority." He added it will "likely include voluntary incentive auctions," which will require Congress to authorize paying broadcasters and others to give up their spectrum. Upton positions the auctions as a jobs and economic stimulus move, two more priorities for legislators, Democratic and Republican. "Our efforts on spectrum will not only promote broadband, but jumpstart the economy, create jobs, and generate significant revenue for American taxpayers," he said. The congressman's comment came after reports that …

Michael Days, editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, since 2005, was named managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday. Former Philadelphia magazine editor Larry Platt will take over Days' post at the Daily News, also effective Jan. 31. The announcements were made by Gregory J. Osberg, chief executive and publisher of Philadelphia Media Network Inc., and Inquirer editor Stan Wischnowski. Philadelphia Media Network publishes the two dailies and runs the website Philly.com. Days joined the Philadelphia Daily News 25 years ago as a reporter. He was a deputy managing editor and managing editor before becoming editor. Under his …

Viacom, CBS Corp. and Disney shares have in recent days hit 52-week highs and reached price levels not seen in a few years as analysts say investors have gained new comfort in the economic and advertising outlook. "There has been increasing confidence in the economy and ad market as well as a sense that over-the-top video will not be that disabling to business models," Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan said. Class B shares of Viacom reached a 52-week high of $41.74 on Wednesday before closing up 0.6% on the day to $41.22. This year, Viacom shares are up 4.1%. …

Demand Media Inc, which relies on search engine data and thousands of freelancers to churn out low-cost articles and video, set terms on Wednesday for a $112.5 million initial public offering. The company employs 13,000 freelancers who contribute to Web sites including its own eHow.com and Gannett Co's site for USA Today. In August, Demand Media filed for an IPO of up to $125 million. On Wednesday, the company and stockholders filed to sell 7.5 million shares for $14 to $16 per share. Demand Media plans to sell 4.5 million shares while stockholders will sell an additional 3 million …