Viacom To Start A Scifi Channel?

[kimrb]

A quote from 'Broadcasting & Cable TV Fax', by Viacom COO Mel Karmazin.
"Asked about Vivendi Universal, Karmazin said that he's keenly interested in Sci-Fi Channel, but not the company's music or movie divisions or even USA Network, which he considers too broad based."
Just thought you all might find this interesting.;)

[tedbragg]

Oh Man...If there ever was a time for somebody to BUY OUT Sci-Fi channel it would be now. I've daydreamed about it since FS was canceled. I wonder how much Viacom would have to slosh around to get it?

Now *THAT* would be nice. Get rid of these stupid paranormal shows...I want SPACESHIPS! ALIENS! Chicks with GUNS!

(SOBBING)

I WANT AERYN BACK! I WANT MY MOYA!

If Viacom DID snatch up Sciffy, think they'd renew Farscape?

C'mon, Kirmb...you've heard how UPN or somebody would LOVE to get their hands on it...right? Best guess-- what would happen?

[RescueFarscape]

"too broad based."

Hmmmm...


Interesting...*hear Mr. Burns*

[Truemyth]

Bonnie Hammer is saying Sci-Fi is trying to broaden its viewership, and yet Viacom is showing intrest in Sci-Fi because it's not so broad? Very interesting, kimrb. Thanks. :D

But I thought that Diller had tied up USA and Sci-Fi so that Vivendi couldn't sell them. Anyone, who's been following this closer than I care to shed some light?

[iflywormholes]

Thanks kimrb!

For those interested the full article and some discussion can be read in this thread:

http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5403&pagenumber=2

Thanks to Tokeya for posting it.

Hope, that's what keeps me going.

[atlantagirl]

Truemyth, it sounds like Karmazin would be interested in buying SciFi IF someone else buys Vivendi and wants to sell that piece off.

[Shipscat]

Somebody send that man Farscape tapes!

[DorothyGail]

And a link to this board! :D

If I were he, I'd be researching these "nutjobs" if I were considering that kind of investment. There are a huge number of lurkers here (myself included) who may seldom or never post, but who agree, are watching, and who are going out and putting their money where their heart is. Passion makes "nutjobs" of people.

Send in the tapes and links! (forget the clowns!)

Gimme space, aliens, chicks with guns, and guys with heart!:eek:

[Nato]

More information from Cinescape.com:

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270355&obj_id=37202

Basically, it says that this Karmazin fellow wants to either buy SciFi outright, or create an alternative... and that he's doing so with an eye toward creating a home for Paramount's Star Trek properties.

Which may or may not bode well for Farscape. (=

Also, is it me, or is UPN looking like a less and less likely new home for Farscape? They're announcing an awful lot of potential new programming, and nary a whisper of Farscape-y goodness in the lot of it. I don't mean to be a downer-- I'm just curious about our prospects vis-a-vis UPN.

-- Nato

[Javora]

Originally posted by Nato
More information from Cinescape.com:

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270355&obj_id=37202

Basically, it says that this Karmazin fellow wants to either buy SciFi outright, or create an alternative... and that he's doing so with an eye toward creating a home for Paramount's Star Trek properties.

Which may or may not bode well for Farscape. (=

-- Nato

I think over all that this is a good thing. A network cannot run on Star Trek alone. There will have to be other shows mixed in for a new Sci-Fi network to succeed.

As far as UPN is concerned, we won't hear from UPN until after season four is finished, if at all. I'm sure that UPN is looking at Farscape but UPN is going to keep their options open as well. If in fact UPN does close the door on us a new door may open with a new Sci-Fi network. The only thing we can do for now is keep our heads up and work as hard as ever to save Farscape.

[Dominar of Action]

Not to be a downer either, but if Henson isn't making any effort to court UPN, I don't see them coming to beg at Henson's door. (Of course, that may all change come April. :) )

Anyway, I would imagine that UPN has got to keep a lot of eggs in its basket, of which FS is only one. They must keep as many options open as they can. Of all those reported deals, who knows how many of them will actually get as far as filming a pilot, and of those that film a pilot, how many will be good enough to be picked up? With FS, UPN would have a product of known quality and a built-in core fan base that has demonstrated that it will follow the show wherever it goes. I would think that would be less risky, and therefore attractive, for them. But even if UPN were salivating at the prospect of picking up FS, they couldn't risk not having a number of other options ready to go if negotiations with Henson fell through.

Just my uneducated opinion. Maybe kimrb can shed some more light on all this speculation? ::hint::hint::

[kimrb]

Let me address UPN and FS. Have you heard anything, anything at all? Not one whisper. That has to be looked at as very good news. Believe me, UPN/Viacom is still in the game. But this is a very high stakes game of financial poker and no one is going to tip his hand. The only news we will get in the near time-frame would be if someone pulls out of the game. This site and many other FS sites are being monitored by the Players. We have made an impressive statement about who we are and how hard we are willing to work to save the the show. We have openly stated we would follow FS to any network willing to feed us our fix. So as long as there is no news, we should be encouraged. This is a very complicated process. All we can do is stay the course and picture a 5th season in our minds eye...and wait.

Viacom/SciFi? It is my opinion this would be very good for the future of FS. Viacom, among others, are opening there eyes to the science-fiction fan base. The huge success of LOTR, Harry Potter, Star Wars and such have the execs drooling to transfer that crowd to the small screen. Viacom has had success with programing to this fanbase. Slowly but surely the 'geek' stereotype is being replaced with a vision of dollar signs. Viacom looking to cherry pick SciFi from the Vivendi mix is an example of a big Player looking for a way to lock in this fan base. So we have to look at this with a positive spin. News like this isn't made public for our benefit, it is a move in the poker game. I think this is great news for fans of aliens and such. But, once again, we can only watch and wait.

[Dominar of Action]

Thanks for the refresher, kimrb. :D It's good for all of us to hear this from time to time, particularly from someone in the business. There have been quite a lot of new faces around here in the past few weeks and for them, this may be the first time they've heard your take on things. It helps keep our motivation engine chugging along.

(Now, everyone who reads this ... let's go help out with the Guerilla Radio Project, 'kay? :flee: )

[dalantmm]

Originally posted by kimrb
Viacom, among others, are opening there eyes to the science-fiction fan base. The huge success of LOTR, Harry Potter, Star Wars and such have the execs drooling to transfer that crowd to the small screen. Viacom has had success with programing to this fanbase. Slowly but surely the 'geek' stereotype is being replaced with a vision of dollar signs. Viacom looking to cherry pick SciFi from the Vivendi mix is an example of a big Player looking for a way to lock in this fan base.

I was just thinking that maybe this isn't so much a scifi/fantasy issue as a computer literacy issue. The image of 'geek' is being updated as a result of the rise of the computer. The 'geek' is the expert on the latest coolest stuff; and the 'geek' is likely to be found in a lucrative high-demand job, with a respectable amount of disposable income. And the 'geek' is notorious for being fanatic about the entertainment that he or she loves.

If this is accurate, our movement should be looking very attractive, as this campaign seems to be testing the waters on changing the way advertisers and consumers communicate.

[MediaSavant]

Originally posted by kimrb
Let me address UPN and FS. Have you heard anything, anything at all? Not one whisper. That has to be looked at as very good news. Believe me, UPN/Viacom is still in the game. But this is a very high stakes game of financial poker and no one is going to tip his hand. The only news we will get in the near time-frame would be if someone pulls out of the game.

Allow me to be skeptical about this.

I've been an industry watcher for many years and networks and producers rarely make a big noise about projects that don't get picked up. Things are getting rejected all the time and you just don't se press releases going out about it.

If they haven't announced that they ever were in discussions in the first place(example Julet Blake's statements), they certainly won't tell us if they stopped them.

[kimrb]

There will be no public announcement that UPN/Viacom is looking at FS. Execs will not be forthcoming on the issue and will almost seem disinterested in any public forum. From the outside it would be very easy to assume UPN/Viacom has little or no interest. But I can tell you UPN/Viacom is still in the game. In discussions with fellow UPN'ers just today I can say with certainty, UPN is still in the game. Viacom's interest in cherry picking SciFi from Vivendi is involved in this whole mess. So don't worry cause some exec appears luke warm when questioned in a public forum. UPN is going thru a major rework of upper management as CBS is folded into the mix. We can only wait and watch.

[Dominar of Action]

In discussions with fellow UPN'ers just today I can say with certainty, UPN is still in the game.Can I get a

HELL YEAH!!

:joy:

[atlantagirl]

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: HELL YEAH!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Tokeya]

HELL YEAH!!! :joy:

[JA_Shipper]

HELL YEAH, Baby!! :joy: :bounce: :joy: :bounce:

Suse

[unohoo]

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270355&obj_id=37202

Should we be writing to Viacom? Did I miss this as a letter campaign?

[waltersgirl]

Viacom is UPN's parent company. the address should be on the website.;)

[BlackThorn]

I'm in agreement with kimrb. Plus, this might be a different case, if they ended up choosing not to grab Farscape. With all these people pestering them about Farscape, unlike when they are usually considering picking up a show, you'd think they'd send out a press release just to shut us up if they didn't want the show. So, no news would definitely be good news right now.

On a side note, might it be good to possibly get other sci-fi fanbases in on this for the sake of the genre? Letting Viacom know how much we'd all like a real Sci-Fi Channel again or a new one? Or should we not bother?

[DorothyGail]

On a side note, might it be good to possibly get other sci-fi fanbases in on this for the sake of the genre? Letting Viacom know how much we'd all like a real Sci-Fi Channel again or a new one? Or should we not bother? [/B][/QUOTE]

I like the idea of letting them know we'd all like a real Sci-Fi Channel again, or a new one.

I've not been observing the subject before FS was canceled, but, are Sci-Fi fans the only ones who organize this type of campaign of letters, buying ads in variety, etc., to save their canceled shows? Do people who like drama or action or sitcoms organize and spend their own money like this when one of those shows gets canceled?

[buggabboo]

The fans of Once and Again did a write in campaign, and there was the whole Cagney and Lacy thing, so no it's not only Sci-Fi fans...it's just MOSTLY Sci-Fi fans

[MediaSavant]

As I said in other threads, probably the most famous "save our show" campaign of all time was the one that eventually became the organization Viewers for Quality Television.

That was started for the series "Cagney and Lacey" but supported other series also.

Here's a listing on a book written about it from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0815606494/qid%3D1039707675/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-6020150-9022525

More recently, the ABC series "Once and Again" had an active fan campaign.

[Vampgrrl]

Well I havent thought that Skiffy promoted Farscape in the right way at all, of course normally I dont protest cancelled shows either.
My opinion is that Farscape has the level of potential that Star Trek did in the 60s and 70s. It could IMHO be the future Americana (sorry to non US pplz) definition of SciFi. I can see if successful after Farscape is done an expansion of the universe, the boundaries are limitless if they wanted to be. Plus the show demographic audience is so impressive in terms of age, income and percentage of gender watching the show. I can tell you, I Am not a 13 year old buy, my buying power is better than that, and MY toys are EXPENSIVE.

[atlantagirl]

I agree with you Vampgrrl. I don't see any reason why Farscape couldn't rival Star Trek if promoted properly. Of course one of the advantages Star Trek has over Farscape is simply time. There was a big gap between the original series and the start of TNG. There was time for that groundswell of the fan base which came from reruns in syndication; the proliferation of Star Trek novels, etc.; and all those fan-run conventions (which I understand are largely a thing of the past now that Creation Entertainment has taken over that niche). And, of course, there was much less competition, particularly in this genre, when Star Trek was first building its fan base. Still, Farscape has SO MUCH and appeals to so many different people. If SciFi couldn't get exceptional ratings with Farscape, the fault is theirs (IMO).

[BlackThorn]

No, SOS campaigns are definitely not a Sci-Fi fan only thing. Though we are the majority. Probably because there are fewer Sci-Fi shows compared to most other genres. So, we tend to be more fervent about the few we have.

[Vampgrrl]

Well I was off reading reviews of ST: Nemesis at Aint It Cool and other places. I think Scifi in general seems to be at a crossroads...much of it including ST is bland, poorly written and little in the way of character development. I think Farscape is everything that most other SciFi is not these days. John is like everyone has said, the everyman avg. American guy who happens to find himself in a really weird, bizarre and overwhelming situation. Character development is at an all time high with FS versus most other SciFi, it's funny, it draws on pop culture, it is irregardless of what you think of Buffy scifi Buffy in space. What I mean by that is the turns that the Buffy show took especially in it's heyday at the time you would have never seen in any other TV show. It was along with Farscape a new way of telling a story, getting from point A to point B. The only reason Buffy is marginalized the way it is is because mostly it in perceieved by many people as a show for teenagers. Farscape seems to follow much of the same philosophy but it's geared more toward everyone.
Notice how some non linear story arc shows have taken off in certain arenas, like Buffy did (tho her ratings are down, not as good now IHMO) Fox's 24 (which is fantastic). These as but a few examples of a new way of thinking in TV drama and Farscape is very avant guarde in that sense. I know I Am not telling you guys anything you dont already know, but the possibilities for a network showing this show if promoted properly is outstanding because what you have with that show is the rare clicking of writing, producing and acting that is hard to pull together just because you want it to happen again. Look at UPN's Enterprise, while I watch it, it's hardly compelling comedy or drama. Paramount surely wants it to be, Brannon and Braga want it to be, but wnating something and having the dynamic ability to pull something together in that magical moment. That's hard if not nearly impossible.
Farscape is like a huge piece of art that just happens out of emotion, not planned per se. Look at other pieces of art and literature put together by artists of the past. MAry Shelley's Frankinstein (did she write other stuff? I think so..but not many remember it..Anne Rice? Interview With the Vampire, written out of the emotion of losing a child, but alot of her other stuff while good isn't what Interview was, because she writes because she is a writer, you cannot just recreate that moment of brillance so easily again. Farscape is at it's moment of creative brillance..now.

Just my .02 anyhow

[skinnyman27]

VIACOM TO START A SCIFI CHANNEL?

Many thanks to Mike for passing this along.

December 10, 2002 FROM VARIETY: Viacom Inc. chief operating officer Mel Karmazin is busy exploring the launch of a sci-fi cable channel, hunting for bargain acquisitions, continuing to beef up CBS and pressuring Washington to loosen station ownership regulations.

You can find the rest of this article at

http://starburstcards.com/KarlswebNewscape/Scifi-Henson-1.htm

I found it posted over at karlsweb.

[RustySlinky]

Link: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=newswire&id=5103

Wednesday, December 18, 2002 - 1:00 AM

SCI FI SETTING ITS SIGHTS HIGH
thefutoncritic.com
By Melissa Grego and John Dempsey


==============================================
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Fresh from the success of its 20-hour miniseries "Taken," Sci Fi Channel will spend "A Thousand Days" on one of its next big projects.

The cabler, along with Universal Television Group sibling Reveille, has pacted with Marvel Studios to translate comicbook "Strikeforce: Morituri" into a live-action drama series. "A Thousand Days" is likely to debut as a series on Sci Fi in 2003. Project is one of two small-screen adaptations on which Marvel, Sci Fi and Reveille, a joint venture between UTG and Ben Silverman, are looking to collaborate.

Universal is hoping to launch new programs that will match the success seen this year by its cable networks with Sci Fi's "Steven Spielberg Presents Taken," as well as "Monk" and "The Dead Zone" on USA Network.

USA and Sci Fi Channel together will spend a record $300 million-$400 million on original programming through 2005, according to Michael Jackson, chairman-CEO of Universal TV, who spoke from Los Angeles on a conference call to reporters during the Sci Fi press conference to boast about the record ratings of "Taken."

Airing over 10 nights from Dec. 2-13, the 20-hour mini propelled Sci Fi to No. 1 in primetime among all basic-cable networks for two weeks in a row, averaging 4.97 million viewers. During the 10 days, Sci Fi even beat the WB and UPN in household ratings.

Barry Diller, chairman-CEO of the channels' parent company Vivendi Universal Entertainment, joined the press conference by telephone. He said the heavy commitment to original programming by Sci Fi will make it hard for Viacom to succeed with a competing cable network dedicated to science fiction fare. Diller was referring to the publicly stated desire by Mel Karmazin, president and chief operating officer of Viacom, to set up such a network.

"If we hadn't invested so much in original programming like 'Taken,' " Diller said, "we'd be ripe for the taking, so to speak."

He also said he doesn't think Sci Fi should try to milk the achievement of "Taken" by producing a "Taken 2" sequel or a TV series based on the mini. Extending the program "would be nothing more than exploiting a story we've already told," Diller said. "For my nickel, let's call it a great day and go on to the next thing."

Sci Fi Channel prexy Bonnie Hammer said at simultaneous New York press confab that her goal is to schedule at least two big events a year. For 2003, Sci Fi has the six-hour "Dune" sequel, "Children of Dune," and a new four-hour version of the 1978-80 ABC series "Battlestar Galactica."

Hammer said that the basic cabler has formed a wish list of collaborators that includes helmers Robert Zemeckis, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee.

The "Strikeforce" comic, which debuted in the mid-1980s and is not currently being published, will be reintroduced for the series' launch on Sci Fi. The new comic will track the characters as they've been developed for the series.

Scribes Matt Holloway and Art Marcum are on board to write "A Thousand Days," which is set in the 21st century and follows a group of super-soldiers engineered to fight contemporary evil; they die 1,000 days after joining the force.

Holloway and Marcum also will exec produce the series, along with Reveille topper Silverman, Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad and Rick Ungar, prexy of Marvel Characters Group. Reveille will produce "Days" in association with Marvel Studios.

"(The concept) is born of a potential reality, but is still in the great superhero arena," Silverman told Daily Variety. "It's a sexy, fun franchise that could go on and on and on."

The soldiers in the comic "Strikeforce" were a special group of people assembled to fight an invasion from outer space. The characters in the series will battle Earthling bad guys.

Hammer said she aims to premiere "A Thousand Days" on Sci Fi in 2003, although she's willing to take the time to make sure the project comes off right.

"We've set our own bar with our original programming now," she said. "Everything we do has to be of a certain level."

Ungar concurred, calling Sci Fi one of the "real coming channels."
"They're already starting to achieve levels of serious success," he added.
==============================================


A revealing article about Universal, Sci Fi, etc. I think, from a variety of perspectives.

[AgentSun]

viacom also is the parent company of MTV so for the most part they are open to different kinds of entertainment. CBS had Touched by an Angel and MTV has...well everything. Viacom is also very stable. Their networks are doing well and

[BritAngie]

Barry Diller, chairman-CEO of the channels' parent company Vivendi Universal Entertainment, joined the press conference by telephone. He said the heavy commitment to original programming by Sci Fi will make it hard for Viacom to succeed with a competing cable network dedicated to science fiction fare. Diller was referring to the publicly stated desire by Mel Karmazin, president and chief operating officer of Viacom, to set up such a network.

LOL-Well since the Sci fi channel seem to be renouncing science fiction as we know it..I think a proper sci fi channel of Viacoms would do well... I wish the suits at sci fi would make up their minds as to which way they are going..."To be sci fi..or not to be sci fi..that is the question.. " ;)

[scaPer boi]

Originally posted by DorothyGail
On a side note, might it be good to possibly get other sci-fi fanbases in on this for the sake of the genre? Letting Viacom know how much we'd all like a real Sci-Fi Channel again or a new one? Or should we not bother?

I like the idea of letting them know we'd all like a real Sci-Fi Channel again, or a new one.

I've not been observing the subject before FS was canceled, but, are Sci-Fi fans the only ones who organize this type of campaign of letters, buying ads in variety, etc., to save their canceled shows? Do people who like drama or action or sitcoms organize and spend their own money like this when one of those shows gets canceled? [/B]

i heard fans of La Femme Nikita had a campaign to save it when it got cancelled

[grapeshot]

I have been watching "Brilliant But Cancelled" on Trio and apparently, sci-fi fans aren't the only ones that have organized to save their show.

"Cagney and Lacey" was saved by fans writing in letters. Production had actually ceased, the cast and crew had been dispersed, and 9 months later the network (CBS, I think) called the producer and said they wanted the show to resume. The show aired for FIVE more years after that. Unfortunately, this is the only example of this ever happening.

"Once and Again" and "Freaks and Geeks" both got a few extra episodes because of fans writing in. "My So-Called Life" would have been renewed but Claire Danes had already moved on to another project and was no longer available to film the show.

Wow, after seeing this show, I can only say that Farscape is TRULY lucky to have had even FOUR years on the air. There were some truly awesome shows that were cancelled awfully quickly.

[waltersgirl]

i heard fans of La Femme Nikita had a campaign to save it when it got cancelled

we did. unfortunately, the process took a little too long and the contracts were up on the production facilities, and there were some actor availability issues, so by the time they got stuff going again, we ended up with 8 more eps

[scaPer boi]

Originally posted by Nato
More information from Cinescape.com:

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270355&obj_id=37202

Basically, it says that this Karmazin fellow wants to either buy SciFi outright, or create an alternative... and that he's doing so with an eye toward creating a home for Paramount's Star Trek properties.

Which may or may not bode well for Farscape. (=

Also, is it me, or is UPN looking like a less and less likely new home for Farscape? They're announcing an awful lot of potential new programming, and nary a whisper of Farscape-y goodness in the lot of it. I don't mean to be a downer-- I'm just curious about our prospects vis-a-vis UPN.

-- Nato

You need to show a LOT of patience, nobody will even think about doing anything until they see how the new episodes rate and then there's negotiations and contracts to deal with, it could be months before we get any word on a new series

[AgentSun]

UPN is being innovative. because UPN is owned by Paramount, they have a place for Enterprise without having to pay too much out for it.

With a science fiction channel, Paramount (which owns viacom i think) can have it's own place to call Star Trek home. this has really no bearing on Farscape because it'll lead all the Trek fans to Farscape and it's safe to say that there are a whole lot more trek fans than there are farscape fans. there are trek fans who haven't even heard of farscape.

anyway, paramount needs something to hold all of it's trek series together. you've had 5 so far and enterprise isnt a right fit on UPN. it's about time they had their own network for real science fiction original programming.

[BritAngie]

own UPN ,Showtime and TNN....

Viacom seem to be calling the shots...let's hope that come the new year we hear something a little more concrete about this new sci fi channel materialising and that it's not just some Mexican standing off between Diller and the Karmazin.

[AgentSun]

i wish new line cinema (which is owned by AOL Time Warner) could have a channel. because it was after miramax dumped the Lord of the Rings project that New Line Cinema took a chance with it. that says something about them because Miramax dumped Peter Jackson after he explained that he had to make 2 movies and not just one. and then after New Line picked them up, they decided to make 3 which made much more sense.

[atlantagirl]

LOTR is fantastic, but New Line has a very long history of dren. LOTR was a brilliant stroke of serendipity. Who ever would have thought that slasher director plus slasher producer would have equalled epic cinema!

[LadyCrais]

I don't know, but it sure would be interesting to approach the head of NewLine that we see in the LotR documentary to see if he feels like another gamble. The company is absoluting rolling in money at the moment, and for good cause I might add. :D

[vhsiv]

Showtime is already showing Farscape --- in Europe! I was doing an idle Farscape search on Google and came across this: www.showtimeextreme.es/farscape/ (http://www.showtimeextreme.es/farscape/index.asp) a SciFi-like section for Farscape on Spain's SHOWTIME EXTREME cable channel - does anyone out there know if this is a SkyTV channel, or if the Spanish have a kludgy coaxial cable system, like we have here in the US?

(I hope this discovery doesn't put the nix on anything... Maybe we need to get more Spaniards writing to Viacom/Showtime...)

[Greenbug]

Here's what I could find on Showtime Extreme in Spain.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.cineytele.com/supernoticia.php%3Fnoticia%3D4573&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dshowtime%2Bextreme%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D% 26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8

It says they work with Viacom. I did the page so it would translate into english.

:P

[AgentSun]

i think there should be a new campaign to write and email and fax to Viacom because it seems to me that a lot of fans now are hoping that Viacom will get moving on this idea of a science fiction channel and if we give them the right feedback and tell them that we as a scifi community, want them to make this an investment then they'll be more motivated.

this is a listing of what Viacom owns :

MTV and MTV2
CBS and CBS News
Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.
Paramount (yes, Viacom owns Paramount not the other way around!)
sonicnet.com
TV Land
VH1
Showtime
Blockbuster (yeah! blockbuster!)
TNN
CMT
BET
UPN
Comedy Central
KingWorld (the one that makes the game shows)
National Amusements (the movie theater giants)
King Dominion, KingsIsland, etc. (the theme parks)
the Simonsays.com division of Simon and Schuster
Noggin
Sundance Channel

anyone find the address to viacom? i didn't find it on www.viacom.com

[vhsiv]

I mentioned before - I think in another thread - about Farscape being shown on Showtime Extreme in Spain (again, Showtime being a Viacom subsiduary). Anyway, today's campaign newsletter had a letter from a spanish fan in it - apparently they, too are writing letters: Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 16:35:48 +0100
From: Nuria López García <cielojade@wanadoo.es>
Subject: Some news from Spain

Hello:

On Spain, we are watching Farscape on TV.

One TV Channel (seen only on Catalonia) is re-running second season (¡¡For the third time!!). We have seen third season too, and we would see on next future fourth season too.

But, a satellite channel (seen on all Spain) has shown first season last year and now is announcing the second season with this words:

"we listen to our wiewers, and this action (the [trans]mission of Farscape's second season) obeys to lots of petitons we have received. Petitions asking us [to] continu[e] the [trans]mission of this TV Series."

Excuse my bad english, but I have to tell you this (I'm proud of Spainsh scapers, and I'm one of them). Here is the link, and the text in Spainsh:

http://www.showtimeextreme.es/novedades/novedades02.asp

Confirmada la segunda entrega de Farscape en Showtime Extreme Los seguidores de Farscape tiene algo que festejar: Showtime Extreme emitirá la segunda temporada a partir de junio de 2003. En SHO escuchamos a nuestros abonados, y esta acción obedece a las múltiples solicitudes que hemos recibido expresando los deseos de dar continuidad a esta serie de culto.

Bye,
Nuria L.(I left the e-mail addy in because the message was posted to a mailing list, and some people here may want to contact her.)

I find this interesting, esp. on the heels of kimbr's "leak" of continued Viacom interest - not only does Viacom respect the show, they are revolving their own syndication of it in Europe (Season Two shown TWICE, by fan request,even after they had broadcast Season 3 - Skiffy would never have done that... It just goes to show, despite BH's aspersions to the contrary, THERE IS BROADCAST MONEY TO BE MADE on FARSCAPE.

I suppose that's all for this morning - time for coffee...

[grapeshot]

IMDB's Friday Studio Briefs (http://us.imdb.com/StudioBrief/) has this little tidbit about TNN (owned by Viacom):


Analysts Grunt About Men's Channel

TNN's announcement on Thursday that it intends to become cable television's first entertainment channel devoted exclusively to men has received generally negative reaction from analysts and ad buyers. Today's (Friday) Hollywood Reporter pointed out that Turner Broadcasting's TBS embarked on a similar strategy two years ago with the slogan, "It's a guy thing," but failed when it began to alienate major "female-friendly" advertisers. Kagan World Media analyst Derek Baine told the Los Angeles Times that the TNN initiative "doesn't sound too exciting." The channel is also likely to be scrutinized strongly by feminists. A feminist scholar at Florida International University, Marilyn Hoder-Salmon, told the Times: "Hopefully, the channel ... [will offer] something besides babes, cop shows and contact sports." However, among its planned offerings are a continuation of its WWE wrestling shows and a new program called Striperella, starring Pamela Anderson.



oh...gag me with a spoon...this SURE is something to look forward to.