Live — Err, Taped — from Vegas

Home Box Office's long-hyped Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas
concert on Nov. 17 turned out to be mostly a tape of the teen queen lip-synching her songs. At least that's the Wire's take. Britney may be able to dance, but she's not a very good faker: she continued to mouth the words well after her taped voice stopped. Of course, navel-gazing viewers might not have noticed.

In most arenas, performances are televised on a big screen so fans in the nosebleed seats can see what's going on. But the giant monitors at the MGM Grand, where Spears's show was staged, offered up her music videos — perhaps to hide the obvious. Another part of the show also seemed to be out of sync: Britney's beau —'N Sync's Justin Timberlake — wasn't on hand to perform a duet. Rather, actor Jon Voight came on stage to read a story to a little girl who was supposed to be Spears as a 9-year-old. Britney fans in the audience seemed confused as to who the old gray-haired guy was.

We Love a Parade

And apparently so do some cable folks. Last Thursday's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York — televised live on NBC — was scheduled to feature a new Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
balloon from Nickelodeon. Jimmy — who'll star in an animated movie starting Dec. 21 and on a Nick series next year — joins the network's other parade balloons that depict the puppy Blue from Blue's Clues
and the Rugrats.

Other cable guys on the parade route: an Animal Planet float, featuring The Jeff CorwinExperience's Jeff Corwin and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officers from Animal Precinct; and a World Wrestling Federation float with Vince McMahon and various grapplers featured on TNN: The National Network.

Grand New Flag

Before Western Show attendees hit the show floor this week, they'll have a moment to contemplate some heartfelt Americana. The Anaheim Convention Center's lobby will be decorated with AT&T Broadband's "Freedom Flag," a 42-foot-by-22-foot banner of 10-inch squares decorated by children and inspired by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

AT&T Corp. made cash donations, but local workers wanted to do something too, said MSO spokeswoman Tracy Baumgartner. The cable systems contacted Cable in the Classroom's participating elementary schools and provided them with red and white cloth squares on which to render their visions of freedom.

The tennis-court-sized flag contains pictures of firefighters, baseball games, George W. Bush looking like George C. Patton in front of an American flag and even a simple picture of a pizza. It bowed at the Texas State Fair and is making stops around the U.S. before heading to Salt Lake City during the Winter Olympics.

"I Like $280,000"

EchoStar Communications Corp. CEO Charlie Ergen is a man notorious for his frugality, known for tossing around nickels as if they were manhole covers.

So, when EchoStar and DirecTV Inc. get around to filing their $25.8 billion merger for approval by the Justice Department, Ergen might be in for a shock when he finds out what the federal government charges to review the merger.

Under a change in the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act signed by former President Clinton last December, the filing fee for deals worth more than $500 million is $280,000, thank you very much. The $280,000 roughly corresponds to the combined amount that 31,000 Dish Network subscribers paid in the first month of EchoStar's "I Like Nine" promotion.

Talking Turkey

You never know when a simple thing might snowball into possible legislation. This past year, in Louisiana, it was a dead turkey.

It seems a viewer in New Orleans was angered last year when he and his kids saw one of the wild birds killed during a show on The Outdoor Channel. The man became incensed enough to contact his state legislator, who then scheduled a hearing on whether it could — or should — outlaw "gruesome and explicit" images on television.

The issue "got a courteous hearing." but was never a serious threat, said Louisiana Cable Telecommunications Association executive director Cheryl McCormick.

Nonetheless, it took up legislators' time and the manpower of lobbyists — and you never know whether such a discussion will prompt rule-makers to contemplate other content restrictions.

The greatest irony, McCormick noted, is that the vehement viewer described himself as a hunter. The Wire presumes he waits in the bayou for his prey to die of natural causes.

Changing Sides

Joe Uva — who was named president and CEO of Omnicom Group Inc.'s OMD Worldwide media-buying operation about two weeks ago — said his most memorable experience in nearly 18 years at Turner Broadcasting Sales Inc. was "having the opportunity to work for Ted Turner, a legend, [and experiencing] his inspirational leadership."

Looking ahead to next year's upfront, Mark Lazarus — Uva's successor as president of Turner entertainment group sales and marketing — professed not to be worried about facing Uva on the other side of the bargaining table.

Sure, Uva may have all of Turner's negotiating tactics down cold. But "we've got the luxury of him knowing our product," Lazarus noted.