TOP ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

• Music labels bet Vevo.com is next MTV

  Reuters – 1 hr 20 mins ago

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a grainy black and white Web video, similar to footage from an in-store security camera, you can make out the muscular frame of rapper 50 Cent, smashing dozens of TV sets with a baseball bat. Full Story »

• CBS says sold 90 percent of Super Bowl ad spots

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 2:40 pm ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS has sold about 90 percent of the available commercial time for the upcoming Super Bowl, with prices for a 30-second spot running close to $3 million, CBS Corp Chief Executive Les Moonves said on Tuesday. Full Story »

• IMAX bets on China growth

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 12:44 pm ET

  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Giant-screen movie operator IMAX Corp said on Tuesday that it was in talks with at least five film companies in China as the company moves to cement its presence in Asia. Full Story »

• Liberty Media says will look at MGM assets

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 11:59 am ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Liberty Media Corp Chief Executive Officer Greg Maffei said on Tuesday that his company will look at the Hollywood studio and library assets of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is considering selling itself to the highest bidder. Full Story »

• New York Times sees print ad sales down 25 percent

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 11:58 am ET
  Reuters

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Times Co forecast print advertising revenue would drop 25 percent in the fourth quarter, but pulled one of its struggling newspapers, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, off the auction block. Full Story »

• News Corp, Time, others detail e-standard venture

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 11:51 am ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp, Time Warner Inc's Time Inc and three other publishers detailed their long-expected plans to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and technology to help prepare their print titles for devices ranging from e-books to tablet computers. Full Story »

• Suburban spooks top British box office

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 6:59 am ET

  LONDON (Reuters) - Horror thriller "Paranormal Activity" reached the top of the British box office on its second weekend of release, according to Screen International on Tuesday. Full Story »

• Oscar insiders take their movie chat online

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 3:08 am ET
  Reuters

  LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Adam Shankman has a Twitter habit, and it's making Academy officials nervous. Full Story »

• Disney Channel, ABC join portable TV service

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 2:30 am ET

  LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Disney Channel and ABC have embraced FLO TV, the nation's primary provider of hand-held, portable television. Full Story »

• NBC's "Today" show going to Afghanistan

  Reuters – Mon Dec 7, 10:09 pm ET

  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC's "Today" show will broadcast from Afghanistan this week, in the wake of President Barack Obama's decision to send 30,000 more troops to that country, the network said on Monday. Full Story »

• Prime-Time Ratings: Weekend Highlights

  Mediaweek.com – Mon Dec 7, 5:32 pm ET

  -Friday's Losers (excluding repeats): Dreams Come True: A Celebration of Disney Animation (ABC), Dollhouse (Fox), Ugly Betty (ABC), The Jay Leno Show (NBC) Full Story »

• George Washington, Poe auction records set in NYC

  AP – Fri Dec 4, 11:51 pm ET
  AP

  NEW YORK - A letter by George Washington has sold for $3,218,500 at auction in New York City, setting a world record for a letter by America's first president, according to Christie's. Full Story »

• Ratings Box: What's Hot/What's Not

  Mediaweek.com – Mon Dec 7, 5:32 pm ET

  Based on the final national ratings in November, CBS' The Late Show With David Letterman scored its first November sweeps victory in households, total viewers and adults 25-54, and best competitive position among adults 18-49 (tied with Conan O'Brien) in 15 years. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, in contrast (and without Jay Leno), dipped by 50 percent in households, 52 percent in total viewers and as much as 38 percent among adults 25-54. Here are the results (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago period in parentheses): Full Story »

• Jackson film not part of Sony's new 3-D vision

  AP – Thu Dec 3, 4:46 am ET
  AP

  TOKYO - Michael Jackson videos or the next Spider-Man movie won't be among the titles that Sony Corp. releases in 3-D as it gears up to boost TV sales with that technology, Chief Executive Howard Stringer said Thursday. Full Story »

• TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest

  Mediaweek.com – Mon Dec 7, 5:32 pm ET

  Nielsen Media Research has announced it will begin measuring television viewing in Puerto Rico beginning in first quarter 2010. The initial clients who have signed up are WKAQ-TV, the owned and operated Telemundo station; WLII-TV, the Univision affiliate; and independent WAPA-TV. The TV ratings will be determined from a sample of 500 homes equipped with electronic push-button meters called People Meters installed on each television set in their homes. Full Story »

• Rare Charles Darwin book found on toilet bookshelf

  AP – Sun Nov 22, 7:42 am ET

  LONDON - An auction house says it is selling a rare first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" found in a family's guest lavatory in southern England. Full Story »

• Prime-Time Metered Market Thursday Ratings: CBS Wins; ABC the Network to Beat Among Adults 18-49

  Mediaweek.com – Fri Dec 4, 7:31 pm ET

  -Yesterday's Winners: Survivor: Samoa (CBS), Bones (Fox), CSI R (CBS), The Mentalist R (CBS) Full Story »

• 2 sites selling Beatles songs to remain shut down

  AP – Thu Nov 19, 12:51 am ET

  LOS ANGELES - Two Web sites that sold songs by The Beatles for 25 cents apiece should remain shut down indefinitely, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.