The MoleReality TV: The race is on. Not the race to identify the fink in ABC's new reality series"The Mole,"but rather the network-wide scramble to create a new"Survivor"– that is, other than"Survivor 2."The Alphabet net thinks it has a winner with this action mystery series, mainly because"The Mole"is a big hit in Europe. But then […]

Orbital to build Horizons-2 communications satellite (Spaceflight Now)Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that Horizons-2 Satellite, LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between PanAmSat Corporation and JSAT Corporation, has ordered one geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite, which will be based on Orbital's industry-leading STAR small satellite platform.European satellite CryoSat to measure ice depth in Antarctic (Itar-Tass)MOSCOW, August 31 […]

Temptation IslandReality TV: A knock-off of"Survivor,"Fox's"Temptation Island"is merely a lightweight libido experiment. The network behind"Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire"continues to churn out copies, and this one is nothing but a trip into the shallow thought processes of unstable dudes and dudettes.'Prison'breaks out in Fox preemReality TV: Viewers make a'Break'for net's new series — The […]

The MoleReality TV: The race is on. Not the race to identify the fink in ABC's new reality series"The Mole,"but rather the network-wide scramble to create a new"Survivor"– that is, other than"Survivor 2."The Alphabet net thinks it has a winner with this action mystery series, mainly because"The Mole"is a big hit in Europe. But then […]

Satellite companies seeking scale (International Herald Tribune)Intelsat's plan to purchase PanAmSat Holding for $3.2 billion would amount to the largest takeover in recent years in the rapidly consolidating commercial satellite industry.

Survivor: The Australian Outback (Survivor II)Reality TV: Die-hard fans might miss Richard, Rudy and the queen of tapioca, but there are plenty of greedy and paranoid players on the prowl for $1 million in"Survivor: The Australian Outback."CBS shrewdly scheduled its money train right after the Super Bowl, and the show that earned the year's most […]

Satellite TV operators to merge (Boston Globe)Intelsat Ltd. agreed yesterday to buy PanAmSat Holding Corp. for $3.2 billion in cash to form the world's largest commercial satellite operator and gain television-broadcasting customers including CNN and MTV.Merger Will Create Satellite Powerhouse, Companies Say (TechWeb via Yahoo! News)Intelsat says PanAmSat Holding Corp. will allow it to expand […]

Fall TV Season Banks on Sci-Fi, Mystery (AP)AP - There's a network conspiracy afoot and viewers are the target. The cunning fall scheme: Keep 'em guessing. Enigmas and eerie threats pervade many of the 31 new TV series, with strange creatures above ground and underwater and secrets and unsolved deaths among friends.Sean Astin on"24"Duty (E! […]

Sirius to add more French-language satellite radio service (CBC News)Satellite radio company Sirius Canada Inc. says it will commit to upping the French-language programming on its Canadian service, in hopes of fending off a cabinet-ordered review of its licence approval.SPACEMART Sirius Satellite Radio Debuts Its Smallest Plug And Play Radios For Vehicles (SpaceDaily)Sirius Satellite Radio […]

Satellite deal clinched (The New Zealand Herald)SAN FRANCISCO - Intelsat will buy PanAmSat for US$3.2 billion ($4.6 billion) in cash to become the world's largest commercial-satellite operator. The company said yesterday that it would pay US$25 a share for PanAmSat, the world's largest distributor of satellite-based television channels.

Lawsuit Finds"Lost"(E! Online)E! Online - When Lost premiered last fall, more than one criticlikened it to Survivor, except with a polar bear, a bigger castand a big-budget plane crash.Sean Astin on"24"Duty (E! Online)E! Online - Sean Astin is making the move from the Shire to CTU.Tommy Lee Gets an"A"(E! Online)E! Online - Tommy Lee's quasi-reality […]

New'Life'for'50s realityReality TV: Alphabet brings back retro TV skein — ABC is reviving a 1950s reality chestnut, pacting with Fox TV Studios to produce a new version of"This Is Your Life."FTVS veepee Mindy Moore ("The Family") will exec produce, working with exec VP for alternative development Holly Jacobs.TV tryouts grow into band aidsReality TV: Format […]

TV tryouts grow into band aidsReality TV: Format works on small screen, but can winners bring success to vet groups? — Ever since the arrival of"Pop Idol"in the U.K. and"American Idol"Stateside, television has been cranking out pop stars by the dozen as young unknowns have put themselves through the demands of judges and producers.Bands on […]

New'Life'for'50s realityReality TV: Alphabet brings back retro TV skein — ABC is reviving a 1950s reality chestnut, pacting with Fox TV Studios to produce a new version of"This Is Your Life."FTVS veepee Mindy Moore ("The Family") will exec produce, working with exec VP for alternative development Holly Jacobs.The MoleReality TV: The race is on. Not […]

Satellite system based on Mars technology (The Age)An Australian company has acquired imaging technology used on NASA's deep space probes to Mars to develop a $275 million high-resolution, full-colour satellite imaging system capable of identifying a 10-metre fishing boat lurking in the north Australian mangroves from an altitude of 36,000 kilometres.Satellite TV on the Road […]

Survivor: The Australian Outback (Survivor II)Reality TV: Die-hard fans might miss Richard, Rudy and the queen of tapioca, but there are plenty of greedy and paranoid players on the prowl for $1 million in"Survivor: The Australian Outback."CBS shrewdly scheduled its money train right after the Super Bowl, and the show that earned the year's most […]

Satellite TV on the Road Has Blind Spots (Los Angeles Times)It's harder to get a video signal in a moving car than on a flying plane. The service from DirecTV is especially spotty in urban areas. With satellite radio now widely available for cars, can satellite TV be far behind? After all, if we can […]

Udall Park bear living high life GPS satellite tracks its moves in wilds northeast of Phoenix (The Arizona Daily Star via Yahoo! News)The 425-pound black bear moseys about his new home far from Udall Park, sniffing out delectable prickly pear morsels in a steep, rocky canyon.Russian satellite on track despite communication problem (AFP via Yahoo! […]

Satellite tracks sex offenders (NEWS.com.au)PAROLED serial sex offenders will soon be under satellite surveillance to ensure they do not enter schools, kindergartens and other high-risk areas, the Government says.Ottawa preparing to ask CRTC to rescind satellite radio licences: sources (Canadian Press via Yahoo! News)WINNIPEG (CP) - The federal government is ready to ask the CRTC […]

Reality, crime payReality TV: Nonfiction, Thursday dramas boost Eye — A nice combo of firstrun reality fare and repeats of its scripted hits enabled the Eye to lash its rivals in last week's primetime ratings race."Big Brother 6"and"Rock Star: INXS"were on the ratings upswing, and Thursday crime duo"CSI"and"Without a Trace"cleaned up for CBS.China getting'Wise'with capitalist […]