BigG's blog

Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation has announced that the network has completed its acquisition of CNET Networks, Inc. and merged its operations into a newly expanded CBS Interactive division. The company also announced that current CBS Interactive head Quincy Smith was been named CEO of the new unit, while Neil Ashe, who led CNET, was tapped as president. "This marks day one for the new CBS Interactive," CBS president and CEO Les Moonves said in a statement. "Our unparalleled collection of sites will be an extremely powerful vehicle for advertisers to reach highly attractive demographics. At the same time, CBS Interactive will extend and leverage the power of our traditional businesses, as well as serving as a platform to launch the next generation of leading interactive properties that will play a central role in CBS' future."

NBC Universal has announced on Thursday the promotion of two mega August events. The first being the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the second will be the blockbuster Mummy adventure series. The piece features settings and Characters from "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" and athletes seamlessly blended in sequences in which the action from the film transforms into Olympic events. It will premiere on July 1 on all NBC networks and run throughout August.

Travel Channel is to broadcast Food Paradise marathon beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Friday, July 4. The Food Paradise is to take place in National Mall in Washington D.C.; Travel Channel is planning to bring a live coverage of the show with the elaborate fireworks show also. Peacock Productions of NBC joins with Travel Channel to produce the show in high-definition and the program will be available on Travel Channel HD.

Telemundo is planning to launch a new morning live show Levantate, which will focus on talk show, current events and news, entertainment and also viewer interactivity. Levantate will be produced live Telemundo’s WKAQ Studios in Puerto Rico. This will be a two hour morning program will have original programming and packages from New York, Miami, Mexico and Los Angeles. The series is to be produced by Tony Mojena.

The Arena Football League (AFL) begins Friday June 27 with the first of four Wild Card match-ups. ESPN plans to broadcast the matches on ESPN and ESPN2. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast 11 games of the years Football League playoffs. ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV will broadcast Divisional and Conference Championship games in high-definition. ABC and ABC HD will broadcast ArenaBowl XXII in New Orleans on Sunday, July 27, at 3 p.m. ET. The playoffs commentator on ESPN will include former NFL players and analysts Ray Bentley, Shaun King and Marcellus Wiley, along with play-by-play commentators Bob Wischusen, Dave Pasch and Ari Wolfe.

ESPN will provide exclusive live coverage of 2008 Asia Cup Cricket Tournament starting today in Pakistan. 2008 Asia Cup Cricket will be available live on ESPN360.com in the U.S. Six Teams will play for the Cup and ESPN through its website Cricinfo.com, will feature highlights of the tournament, matched with its news, scores and analysis.
“ESPN360.com is uniquely suited to serve the fans of ‘passion sports’ such as cricket, with growing and extremely devoted followers in the U.S.,” said Damon Phillips, vice president and general manager, ESPN360.com. “The Asia Cup is one of the world’s premiere cricket programming, and is a fantastic addition to a programming lineup that already includes international soccer like Euro2008, the NBA and Euro league basketball, golf and tennis majors, college football and basketball, international rugby and much more.”

Baseball’s Golden Age will be back on Fox Sports Net from July 6 at 8 PM on a 13-part series on Fox owned-and-operated regional sports networks and affiliates. Baseball’s Golden Age is produced by Flagstaff Films and Steven Stern. Baseball’s Golden Age will be about the game’s greats from the 1920s through the 1960s, including legends such as Ty Cobb, Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, through interviews and the lens of color film shot by fans, the players’ families and the players’ themselves. Steven Stern said "Baseball’s Golden Age is a more specific and detailed project than the baseball documentaries we’ve previously produced."

DIRECTV started broadcasting "Wine Seller TV" a consumer television show on DIRECT TV channel 225. Wine Seller TV hosted by vintners, growers and producers of fine, boutique wines, is formatted as a "virtual tasting" for the consumers broadcasted by Brix House Wine, LLC. The featured wines are discussed and tasted. Consumers are then able to purchase the wines featured on the show via telephone order or by visiting the company's website.

ESPN coverage of the 2008 U.S. Open playoff on Monday's dramatic 19-hole playoff has a 4.2 share and reached more than 4 million households, making it the most-watched golf telecast in cable television history. ESPN’s coverage of the 2008 Masters, which delivered a 3.1 household rating, held the record, averaging 3,014,000 households. The networks coverage of the first two rounds of this year’s U.S. Open was the most-viewed combined telecasts since 2000.

ESPN and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) have reached an agreement that will bring expansive coverage of the new CONCACAF Champions League to fans across all of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The agreement will allow ESPN to broadcast CONCACAF Champions League for the next four seasons starting in 2008-09 through television, online, broadband and radio.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with CONCACAF,” said Tim Bunnell, senior vice president, programming and marketing, ESPN International. “I am thrilled that ESPN can play a part in showcasing this exciting new property across its platforms. The scope of this agreement offers us with a tremendous opportunity to serve soccer fans in the region. “