Entertainment Industry News

-Yesterday's Winners: Criminal Minds (CBS), CSI: NY (CBS), Barbara Walters Special: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009 (ABC) Full Story »

Here are the top 20 rated programs in syndication for the week of November 23 based on households. Due to Thanksgiving week, Thursday and/or Friday may be excluded from the weekly average and are noted as follows: * = three day average, ** = four day average. Full Story »

After weeks of speculation, weekend anchor George Stephanopoulos has been named the official replacement for Diane Sawyer on ABC's Good Morning America. Sawyer, of course, is taking over the anchor chair on ABC's World News Tonight and Stephanopoulos will begin on GMA opposite Robin Roberts on Monday, December 14. Stephanopoulos will also continue moderating the Sunday morning news hour This Week With George Stephanopoulos. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Publisher and information provider the Nielsen Co said on Thursday it is selling Billboard music magazine and seven sister titles and discontinuing two others, including the journalism review Editor & Publisher. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Film box offices were poised on Wednesday to eclipse 2007's record $9.68 billion in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales with Hollywood eyeing more than $10 billion this year as audiences flocked to theaters during the recession. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of AOL Inc fell about 2 percent on their return to trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, following the Internet company's spin-off from Time Warner Inc, while shares of AOL's former parent rose. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Protests, ads pulled, reported threats -- and the second episode hasn't even aired yet. Full Story »

NEW YORK - If you haven't gone to a movie, jazz concert or an art exhibit in recent years, you are in steadily growing company. Full Story »

-Yesterday's Winners: The Biggest Loser (NBC), NCIS R (CBS), NCIS: Los Angeles R (CBS) Full Story »

It sounds repetitive, I know. But CBS and Fox shared leadership for the week of Nov. 30, with CBS first in households and total viewers, and Fox No. 1 in the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. CBS, which has now ranked first in total viewers for 9 of the last 10 weeks, dipped by double-digits year-to-year, while Fox was on par with year-ago levels (with its seventh fourth quarter weekly demo victory). Full Story »

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 »

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 »

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 »

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Even the prospect of a golf landscape temporarily minus Tiger Woods is not one PGA Tour officials, advertisers and sponsors care to ponder as speculation swirls around the popular athlete's private life, which has kept him secluded in his Florida home. Full Story »

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. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger said on Wednesday he felt "really good" about the improving advertising front, saying sales for last-minute TV spots were up in the mid-20s percent range versus longer-term deals signed by marketing customers. Full Story »

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

NEW YORK - Eight decades after pioneering the concept of broadcasting, NBC is on the verge of a startling move that illustrates broadcast television's decline. Full Story »