Briefs
Staff -- Multichannel News, 11/4/2001 7:00:00 PM
New York— Cable's primetime race was extremely tight during October, as five networks stood within 0.2 of a ratings point from the top spot shared by Lifetime Television and Cable News Network.
Those channels both averaged a 1.8 during primetime from Oct. 1 to Oct. 28, according to a Turner Entertainment Research analysis of Nielsen Media Research data.
There was a three-way tie for third place in primetime, with Turner Network Television (up 21 percent), ESPN (down 6 percent) and Cartoon Network (off 11 percent), knotted at a 1.7 rating. TBS Superstation, a 16-percent decrease, and Fox News Channel, up 78 percent, were next, each at 1.6.
Los Angeles—ABC Family could be home to the second window for ABC mid-season replacement skein, The Court.
ABC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television last week announced a six-episode commitment to the series, starring Sally Field, which will take a look at the inner workings of the Supreme Court.
The production deal also gives ABC the option of rebroadcasting each episode on a secondary cable platform within eight days of its initial airing on ABC. A Warner Bros. spokesman said the deal permits The Court to be repurposed on "any cable network fully owned and controlled by ABC."
The show will likely make its debut in the spring.
ABC officials did not return calls by press time.
New York— Another Cable News Network on-air veteran is departing: Bobbie Battista, who's been with the network since its launch and has been host of Talkback Live for the past three years, will join Atamira Productions.
The consulting company to politicians, executives and newscasters is owned by Battista's husband, John Brimelow.
Meanwhile, CNN will officially bow anchor Aaron Brown's signature primetime show on Nov. 5 at 10 p.m. NewsNight with Aaron Brown will feature a composite of "hard-hitting reporting and probing interviews," according to CNN executives.
Bethesda, Md.—Discovery Channel's latest computer-animated special about prehistoric creatures will be walking with sponsors when it debuts next month.
Eastman Kodak Co., Intel Corp., Volvo and TiVo Inc. will be the major sponsors for Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, the three-hour computer-animated sequel to last year's coverage, saw its ratings rise 100 percent from October 2000, while Lifetime scored a 13 percent increase over its 1.6 average from Oct. 2 to Oct. 29, 2000.
There was a three-way tie for Walking with Dinosaurs.
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