Entertainment

STAMFORD, Conn., June 19, 2008- Thirty wounded soldiers and veterans will be special VIP guests of World Wrestling Entertainment® at the June 30 “Monday Night RAW®” when the show is broadcast live from the Ford Center in Oklahoma City on USA Network.    » read more »

Donut Run, Crazy Beams And The Toothbrush Sweeper Are Among The Obstacles On This Week's "Wipeout" On ABC

Monday, June 23, 2008 -- "Episode 103" -- Donut Run, Crazy Beams, Pole Vault, the Toothbrush Sweeper, Big Balls, Launch Pads and Sucker Punch are among the over-the-top obstacles included in this week's episode of "Wipeout," the wildest series on television featuring the world's largest obstacle course. Hosted by John Anderson (ESPN's "SportsCenter"), John Henson ("Talk Soup") and co-hosted by Jill Wagner, "Wipeout" airs TUESDAY, JULY 8 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.    » read more »

The Head-To-Head Trivia Competition Continues On ABC's "Duel"

Monday, June 23, 2008 -- "Episode 208" -- The head-to-head trivia competition continues with new twists and stakes. Contestants battle it out to see who can win the ultimate prize of $500,000, on "Duel," FRIDAY, JULY 11 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Mike Greenberg hosts.    » read more »

A Cemetery Attendant, A Farmer And A Chemistry Professor Are Among The Competitors, On ABC's "Dance Machine"

Monday, June 23, 2008 -- "Episode 103" - Competitors include a cemetery attendant, a farmer and a chemistry professor, on "Dance Machine," the show where ordinary people who are extraordinary dancers mambo and jive their way to cash and a coveted title, FRIDAY, JULY 11 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Jason Kennedy of E! News is host.    » read more »

Ben Affleck's Personal Essay On His Travels Through The Congo To Understand The Humanitarian Crisis There, On ABC News' "Nightline"

Monday, June 23, 2008 -- Actor, writer, producer, director Ben Affleck has traveled to Africa's Congo region three times over the last eight months to understand one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. "Nightline" producer Max Culhane and photographer Doug Vogt joined Affleck on his most recent trip to document his journey as he made his way through refugee camps, hospitals, clinics, meetings with warlords, relief workers, child soldiers and members of parliament in an effort to better understand the place where more than four million people have died in the deadliest conflict since World War II.    » read more »

Disney's "Camp Rock" Hits Another Bull's-Eye in Target Demos

Sunday, June 22, 2008 -- As part of Disney's Summer of Rock, the Jonas Brothers will continue the 54-year legacy of "The Wonderful World of Disney" franchise, as they host the network premiere of Disney's "Camp Rock", airing SATURDAY, JUNE 21 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on The ABC Television Network. "Camp Rock" a Disney Channel Original Movie, will debut as part of a four-day premiere event on two cable and two broadcast networks of the Disney-ABC Television Group (Disney Channel, ABC, ABC Family and Radio Disney) and via digital broadband at Disney.com.

Quick Take for Saturday, June 21, 2008
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA, June 19, 2008 –– The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved the rules for the 81st Academy Awards® at their Tuesday evening (6/17) meeting. The only significant changes were in the Music – Original Song category. Other modifications of the rules include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.

Three items of note were altered in the Original Song rules. First, while there continues to be no limit on the number of songs from a given film that can be submitted for consideration, no more than two songs from any one film may be nominated for an Academy Award.    » read more »

'Tha Carter III' is the Biggest Release of 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, Wednesday, June 18, 2008 — Cash Money/Universal Motown Records multi-platinum recording artist Lil Wayne expands his dynasty with Tha Carter III. The new CD is the biggest release by far for 2008, selling over 1 Million copies in it’s first week, reigning #1 on Nielsen SoundScan, besting Mariah Carey’s record-breaking release earlier this year. Not since 50 Cent’s The Massacre in 2005 has an artist sold over 1 Million albums their first week.    » read more »

Last.fm to Feature Thousands of Videos Free-On-Demand from UMG Chart-topping Artists Including Jay-Z, Nirvana and Amy Winehouse, Among Many Others

June 20, 2008 -- Universal Music Group (UMG), the world\'s leading music company, and Last.fm, the fast-growing free global music Web site, today announced a new partnership that will make UMG's music video catalogue available for free-on-demand streaming to users of Last.fm. The deal, which marks Last.fm\'s first major video partnership, will bring thousands of high-quality music videos to the Last.fm community. As part of this agreement, Universal Music and its artists will receive revenue for every UMG video streamed.    » read more »

19 June 2008 -- In the UK their album 'Viva La Vida' is number one and is the fastest selling album of the year

Coldplay today became the first British group in 11 years to top the American singles chart. The group’s song ‘Viva La Vida’, title track of their current album stands at number 1 in the US, whilst their album is number 1 in the UK. The album is released in America this week.

This continues a staggering run of success for the album, which is the fastest selling album of the year in the UK and holds the record for the biggest number of pre-sales on iTunes.

Source: EMI Group Limited

Hit Shows From the Two Networks Including “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “SportsCenter Right Now” Are Now Available to Veoh’s More Than 28 Million Viewers

June 23, 2008 – ABC, ESPN and Veoh Networks announced today that full episodes from ABC and short-form online video content from ESPN.com are now accessible through Veoh. Delivered via ABC.com's Emmy and Webby Award-winning broadband player, full episodes of popular ABC programs including Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Ugly Betty are available for free to viewers at veoh.com.    » read more »

First of Any Studio This Year

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 23, 2008 -- Coming off reaching the billion-dollar mark in international box office sales last weekend, Paramount Pictures Corporation has now also crossed the billion-dollar milestone on its domestic gross sales, making it the first studio to accomplish this feat this calendar year and besting last year's billion-dollar record by nearly three weeks.

This marks back-to-back years of firsts for Paramount Pictures and five consecutive weeks of holding the Number One spot in domestic market share. The studio also set a new first as of this weekend -- having the Top Three grossing films of 2008 at mid-year.    » read more »

Rock 'N Roll Chaos, Hollywood Glam Collide

NEW YORK, June 23, 2008 -- Van Toffler, President, MTVN Music Group, today announced that the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards are headed to Hollywood to celebrate the rock 'n roll spirit of music in celebrity playground Los Angeles. What better way to do that than to take over a Hollywood movie lot and produce the most ambitious and creative music awards show while also paying tribute to the musical heritage that Los Angeles is known for? The star studded awards show will be staged over city streets, rooftops, and sound stages utilizing all that the legendary Paramount Pictures studios lot have to offer.    » read more »

iCarly is Topping the Charts!

NEW YORK, June 19, 2008 -- iCarly - Music from and Inspired by the Hit TV Show, the album of music and dialogue from the popular live-action TEENick series starring tween TV sensation Miranda Cosgrove, has just debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio album chart and #1 on the SoundScan Top Children's Current album sales chart.

The iCarly album has also entered the Billboard and SoundScan Top Soundtrack albums charts at #2 (second only to the "Sex & the City" soundtrack) while debuting on the Billboard 200 albums chart at #28 with a bullet designating an album with significant airplay and sales gains this week.    » read more »

Advertising and Promotional Partners Include Dodge, Procter & Gamble, Target, CIROC Vodka, Ford, Coors, Pepsi, Verizon Wireless and Akademiks

NEW YORK, June 23, 2008 -- In support of this year's BET AWARDS, BET has announced unique marketing partnerships with several high-profile sponsors, including Dodge, Procter & Gamble, Target, CIROC Vodka, Ford, Coors, Pepsi, Verizon Wireless and street wear clothing brand Akademiks. In addition to being integrated into various elements of the show and its ancillary events, each partner will be featured in advertising spots during BET AWARDS '08, which will air live from Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium on Tuesday, June 24 at 8:00 p.m.*    » read more »