television news stories on Newser

Inventor of First TV Remote Dead

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:20:05 CDT

Couch potatoes everywhere can pause and thank Eugene Polley for hours of feet-up channel surfing. His invention, the first wireless TV remote, began as a luxury, but with the introduction of hundreds of channels and viewing technologies it has become a necessity. Polley died of natural causes at a suburban...

Troubled NBC Looks for Ratings Amid Laughs

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:55:27 CDT

NBC is looking to comedy to help it climb the ratings ladder: Nearly 25% of the network's fare next season will consist of sitcoms, up from just 14% last fall. Execs are aiming to recapture the highly-educated young adults that helped propel Seinfeld and Friends , the Los Angeles Times reports....

Whitney Houston's Family Gets Reality Show

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:46:18 CDT

A new reality show premiering on Lifetime will center on the late Whitney Houston's family and friends, reports the Los Angeles Times . The Houston Family Chronicles will star “those closest to the pop music icon as they try to pick up the pieces after her untimely death,” according to a...

Dish Network Scraps AMC Channels

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:26:13 CDT

Dish Network is removing all four of AMC's cable channels because it says too few people are watching. Part of the problem, it says, is that the "very limited popular programming" on AMC is "available to our customers through multiple other outlets such as Amazon.com, iTunes, and Netflix," reports...

SpongeBob Ratings Sinking Fast

Matt Cantor — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:35:05 CDT

SpongeBob Squarepants is 13 years old—and it may finally have dried out. The show's ratings plummeted 29% in the first quarter among kids ages 2 to 11, compared to the year before. That's bad news for Nickelodeon as a whole: The show made up 31% of Nick's schedule last...

Why Bad Actors Do Well on TV

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:35:05 CDT

Mad Men is one of TV's best shows, even though January Jones isn't a very good actress. Stana Katic is roughly as bad as the romantic lead on Castle , yet that show's fine, too. "Television is very kind to bad actors," observes Willa Paskin of Salon . "My point here is...

You Need to Stop Live-Tweeting TV

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:52:26 CDT

If you've ever had a television show spoiled by live-tweeters, you'll probably appreciate Daniel Carlson's directive: "Step away from the keyboard," he begs viewers, because "live-tweeting ruins everything." Yes, he's annoyed at plot spoilers—but more importantly, he points out on Pajiba , tweeting while watching the show "negatively affects the...

What Gadgets Not to Buy ... Yet

Matt Cantor — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:23:05 CDT

Good things come to those who wait, and technology is no exception. At the Wirecutter , Brian Lam lists a few hot items not to buy yet, or you'll be kicking yourself later. TVs and home theater equipment. The reviews for the latest TVs will be available around mid-year, and Samsung's...

How HBO Became Uncool

Kevin Spak — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:18:05 CDT

Sunday should have been a banner night for HBO, with Game of Thrones and the premiere of its latest "zeitgeist-courting" show Girls . But Michael Wolff didn't tune in—though not for lack of trying. Wolff and his companion "don't have HBO. And, it turns out, after some hurried calling around,...