LMFAO’s head-pounding "Party Rock Anthem" pulsated through North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre as a multiracial group of young performers stormed the stage, promising in song to provide a lively evening of laughs.

They then launched into a rapid-fire parade of sketches filled with gleeful raunch and pokes at racial stereotypes.

The performance had the usual trappings of a night out at any comedy club around town. But little about this invitation-only night was typical. The actors, writers and directors were all amateur, and they were mostly people of color – young blacks, Latinos, Asians, Indians – performing original material they had helped to develop. In the crowd were managers, agents and creative executives from major networks and studios.

The event marked the culmination of this year’s CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase, a talent forum that also functions as a three-month boot camp designed to boost the chances of minorities hoping to land roles on TV comedies and dramas.

The participants are schooled to collaborate with others as well as receive lessons in character development and voices, auditions and "cold readings." But the main focus is the showcase, said CBS diversity honchos.

"What we’re putting on is much more than a showcase: This is a full-fledged show that we feel could be staged at any theater in Los Angeles," said Tiffany N. Smith-Anoa’i, vice president of diversity and communications for CBS. She pointed out that this year’s event was a hot ticket: The 360-seat El Portal was filled to overflowing for four shows over two days last week. Many attendees stood against the walls or sat in the aisles.

The showcase, now in its seventh year, is always scheduled in January, as networks and studios begin lining up their pilots for the fall season. NBC and ABC also sponsor minority showcases as part of their stated commitment to increase diversity in prime time.

read the entire article at "The Kansas City Star"

CBS has inked a new 10-year deal with the Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Prods. to keep the annual Academy of Country Music Awards on the network through 2021.

CBS does well with the awards show which it’s been broadcasting since 1998 and has become a ten pole for the broadcaster.

Viewing last year was up from the year before and won its time period in total audience and key demos. "The Academy of Country Music represents a highly valued partnership for our company and the awards show is one of the marquee broadcasts on our network," said CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves. "It is an entertainment event that continues to grow in scope and popularity." "The Academy has been home at CBS for 14 years, and we’re thrilled to continue that winning partnership over the next decade," added Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music.

In addition to the annual awards telecast, the new pact includes the continued broadcast of two-hour ACM specials. CBS Corp. will support the show and specials with promotions and programming across its range of media and entertainment assets, including radio, online, broadcast and local television. Nominations for the 47th annual awards will be announced Thursday. Show will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 1, hosted by Reba and Blake Shelton.

read the entire article at "The Chicago Tribune – A&E"

News Corp. is expressing its desire to challenge Univision and Telemundo. The day the announcement was made,Portada caught up with Emiliano Saccone (photo), the Argentina-born President, Entertainment of Fox International Channels Latin America, who shed a bit more light on the plans for the Fall launch of MundoFox, a 24/7 channel targeting U.S. Hispanics. Saccone spoke on the phone from a hotel room in Miami, where he and other Fox executives are attending NATPE. An edited excerpt follows:

Portada: In reporting about the new venture, The Wall Street Journal picked the provocative headline of “Hispanic TV Gets Crowded… Do you think Hispanic TV is already crowded?

Emiliano Saccone: [Pauses] Well… I wouldn’t say it is crowded –yet. I think it eventually will be. But not yet.

P: How long have you guys been planning this launch?

E.S: I can tell you we [at least here at Fox] have been toying with the idea of a Spanish-language broadcast for a while. It has been a couple of years since we decided to keep a close eye on this market. But things really started to heat up leading to the 2010 Census. I think there is a strong media offer out there, but … is it fulfilling what advertisers expect? We really think there is room for growth in the space… (cont)

read the entire article at "Portado"

Law enforcement sources confirm … cops are investigating the scene.

Sources on the lot tell TMZ … the letter was NOT addressed to anyone on "Dancing with the Stars" … but so far, it’s unclear who the intended recipient was. 

It’s not the first time CBS has had an anthrax scare — just last year, the studio went on lockdown when production staff found white powder in a letter addressed to Bristol Palin.

Officials also intercepted a threatening letter addressed to "Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson just last month. The letter also contained white powder — which was later determined to be cornmeal.

read the entire article  at "TMZ"

60 Minutes won seven awards, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric won two and Sunday Morning won one.

Other winners included the National Geographic Channel with seven wins, PBS with six, Discovery Channel with three, CNN, NBC and with the New York Times won two each. BBC America, HBO, HDNet, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, NPR and the Smithsonian channel won one each.

60 Minutes won in 2 Emmys – Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine, and Best Report in a News Magazine – for its coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.

"Football Island," a 60 Minutes story about a small community that produces more players for the NFL than anyplace else in America, won for Outstanding Feature in a News Magazine.

"21st Century Snake Oil," which exposed medical con men, won for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine for 60 Minutes

Outstanding Interview went to 60 Minutes for its "Medal of Honor" interview with Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta.

"The Lost Children of Haiti," also by 60 Minutes also won for Best Report in a News Magazine.

60 Minutes editors Richard Buddenhagen, Daniel J. Glucksman, Tom Honeysett, Warren Lustig, Stephanie Palewski and Matthew Richman won Outstanding Individual Achievment in a Craft: Editing-Quick Turnaround for "Haiti."

The CBS Evening News picked up Emmys for its coverage of an Afghan Bomb Squad, and the Hidden Dangers of Photocopies in the Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Reguarly Scheduled Newscast, and Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast categories.

read the entire article at "CBS News"

Andy Rooney will step back from his weekly appearances on “60 Minutes” this fall.

Mr. Rooney, 92, has delivered 1,096 commentaries to the newsmagazine since becoming a regular contributor in 1978, according to CBS. He will formally announce his reduced role in essay No. 1,097 on Sunday night.

His essay will be “preceded by a segment in which Rooney looks back on his career in an interview with Morley Safer,” the network said in a statement.

“It’s harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on ‘60 Minutes’ when the urge hits him,” said Jeff Fager, the chairman of CBS News and executive producer of the show.

But people close to Mr. Rooney said it was unlikely that he would make many appearances, if any, in the future. The people, who did not want to be identified, said the plan for him to step away from the program had been in the works for some time. Because of the honored place he has occupied on the show, Mr. Rooney’s move is not being characterized in terms of a formal retirement, they said.

“There’s nobody like Andy and there never will be,” Mr. Fager’s statement said. “He’ll hate hearing this, but he’s an American original.”

Through CBS, Mr. Rooney declined to comment.

Mr. Rooney was noticeably absent when the newsmagazine started a new season on Sunday night, and he was not quoted in the announcement by CBS.

read the entire article at "The NYT’s Media Decoder"

The deprivation of football that was the lockout-shortened offseason has made the fans who love football even more hungry for the sport, and television ratings are expected to rise from their record numbers last season.

In 2010, CBS and FOX averaged 20 million viewers, more than twice what networks receive for their prime-time programming, and they have revamped their announcing crews to get ready for the viewership rush.

CBS Sports president Sean McManus told Sports Illustrated:

"With all the movement and so much activity, I think people are really excited about the NFL season. I’ve given up trying to predict how high NFL ratings will go because often our most optimistic projections are exceeded. But I think there is certainly room for growth and if you get the kind of season and postseason we had last year, I think anything is possible."

Both CBS and FOX have kept the same pregame and halftime crews from last season, and the familiarity is something many football fans will lean on, as the NFL itself had an enormous turnover in personnel this offseason.

read the entire article at "Bleacher Report"

By Tim Baysinger

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced Thursday that the PGA has renewed their broadcast deals, keeping the sport on CBS and NBC through 2021.

The nine-year extension coincides with the remaining years of the PGA’s 15-year deal with Golf Channel that began in 2007. The current deal was set to expire in 2012.

"[CBS and NBC] have become exceptional partners in all areas," said Finchem.

CBS, which will continue to air 20 events per year, retains the popular West Coast Swing, the World Golf Championships’ Bridgestone Invitational, the Wyndham Championship and The Barclays, which open the FedEx Cup Playoffs. CBS will maintain more than 130 hours of live weekend coverage per year.

CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus commented that the length, as well as CBS’ longstanding partnership with the PGA, were two important factors in getting the deal done. He also lauded network television as an "important component" of sports coverage.

"The broadcast partners are also an important part of the equation," said McManus, "not just attracting sponsors, but keeping those sponsors on long-term deals."

NBC continues its slate of ten events per year, with more than 75 hours of live coverage annually.  The network retains its rights to the Accenture Match Play Championship, Cadillac Championship, Players Championship and the final three events playoff events (Deutsche Bank, BMW and Tour Championship). The biennial President’s Cup will also continue to reside on NBC.

read the entire article at "B&C"

By Jon Lafayette

Hulu is launching a subscription service in Japan that will have content from CBS for the first time in the streaming site’s history, in addition to programming from its owners.

CBS said it signed a multi-year, non-exclusive licensing agreement giving Hulu subscribers access to shows from the CBS library including previous seasons of the CSI franchise, and the CW’s 90210, plus older shows including Star Trek and Twin Peaks.

In the last fiscal quarter, CBS began registering millions of dollars in revenue and profits thanks to digital distribution deals with Netflix. It has also made a deal with Amazon.com, and indicated more deals were to come that would not disrupt CBS’ main broadcast business or traditional syndication interests.

The deal comes as Hulu’s owners, including CBS rivals News Corp., Walt Disney Co., and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, are considering a sale. Bids were due last week and companies including Google, Yahoo and Dish Network were reportedly among the possible buyers.

"We’re thrilled to have CBS’s world class content be part of Hulu’s first international market and their new venture in Japan," Armando Nuñez, president, CBS Studios International, said in a statement.  "This new subscription service marks yet another opportunity to deliver CBS programming to more global viewers in a way that complements our traditional licensing business and realizes even more incremental value from our library."

read the entire article at "Broadcasting and Cable"

That would be a big mistake. The annual “Hot Wheels” list of most-stolen cars released today shows models from the 1990s as the biggest target.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau compiled the list of cars stolen most often in 2010 from FBI data. The 1994 Honda Accord, the 1995 Honda Civic and the 1991 Toyota Camry are the top three. Pickups of slightly more recent vintage from Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge (like the 2004 Dodge Ram, at left) also made the list; the Detroit brands held six of the top 10 spots. (Keep reading to see the full list.)

Why do old cars top the list?  They are easier to steal, and chop-shop thieves can turn them into parts worth more than the car itself. In a slow economy, people are keeping their cars longer and demand for replacement parts is strong. And the Hondas and Toyota Camry atop the list are durable models that sold strongly year after year — creating a solid aftermarket for replacement parts.

The NICB, a nonprofit group supported by the auto industry, offers a quick lesson in chop-shop economics. A car like the 1994 Honda Accord (at right) is worth about $1,900 if bought from a private seller, according to Kelley Blue Book. But parts harvested from that car can be worth as much as $5,000, says Frank Scafidi, the NICB’s public affairs director. Cars from the 1990s also had fewer factory-installed anti-theft devices and thus are easier to steal, Scafidi adds.

read the entire article at "CBS MoneyWatch.com"