CBS' plan for five new sitcoms for the upcoming season just moved to six. The network issued a late series pick-up for single-camera comedy "Bad Teacher," based on the Cameron Diaz film. It stars Ari Graynor as an inappropriate former trophy wife who masquerades as a teacher in order to find a new man after her wealthy husband leaves her broke.

Cable networks are changing their names in an effort to grab more viewers and advertising dollars. Will this mean an increase in subscriber fees expected from pay-TV companies, who have no control over content and may need to pay for fledgling shows that don’t necessarily bring home the bacon? "You bargain for a specific service that you were pitched to meet the needs of consumers," said Dan York, head of programming for DirecTV. "If that doesn't work, it doesn't mean the content provider has a unilateral right to turn it into something else or even call it something else."

ESPN is axing a single-digit percentage of its global workforce, a move that could pink-slip 300-plus employees around the world. With revenue streams from advertisers and subscribers, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports" rarely lays off staffers. But ESPN spokeswoman Katina Arnold confirmed staff cuts in a statement Tuesday.

CBS has reached a new broadcast agreement with the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing to keep the Tony Awards on the network through 2018, reports Broadcasting & Cable. CBS has aired the show, which honors achievement on Broadway, for the past 35 years. This year the show moves back to Radio City Music Hall after two years at the restored Beacon Theater, an art deco treasure on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The day has come when TV networks not only have to compete with fellow networks with scripted and reality shows but now they must compete with nontraditional rivals with original programming, like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Netflix is launching new episodes of “Arrested Development” soon, while Amazon Prime released 14 pilots for viewers to vote on. “Ultimately, the appeal of Netflix and Amazon Prime is the absence of advertising, said Christopher Vollmer, partner-leader of Booz & Co.'s global media and entertainment practice, which makes it unlikely they will move toward an advertising model.”

Yahoo, the giant Web company that agreed on Sunday to buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion, is moving its New York headquarters to the former home of "The New York Times," on 43rd Street, east of Eighth Avenue, where it plans to expand. Yahoo is talking to city officials about erecting a large illuminated sign with its name on the cupola at the top of the building, where "The Times" once had its own sign.

Video subscriber gains in the first quarter of 2013 by top U.S. service providers were not enough to avoid the first net subscriber loss in the category over a four-quarter period, per Leichtman Research Group. LRG’s analysis of the top 13 multichannel video providers in the U.S., representing 94% of the market, showed  they added about 195,000 net additional video subs in the period, down versus a net gain of about 445,000 in the year-ago quarter, and a net gain of about 470,000 in the corresponding quarter in 2011.

In a commencement address to business students at Columbia University, New York Times CEO Mark Thompson hailed the company's digital subscription strategy and dismissed skeptics who say media outlets can't reinvent themselves. "[T]he launch of the pay model is the most important and most successful business decision made by The New York Times in many years. We have around 700,000 paid digital subscribers across the company's products so far and a new nine-figure revenue stream that is still growing."

Amazon awarded IPG’s Initiative its global media account, following a review. WPP’s Mindshare previously handled the work. WPP’s MEC handles digital work, which was not involved in the review process. According to Ad Age, “The move to shift agency accounts also comes as the company gets more aggressive in the digital media and consumer electronics business. Amazon recently announced plans to launch a set-top box for Internet streaming over TV, as well as plans for its own smartphone.”

Tthe Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau reports increases in consumption of cable content and brands across multiple screens.