'Bachelorette' Favorite Ali Fedotowsky to Star in New Talk Show
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Ali Fedotowsky first came into the public eye when she appeared on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" a couple of seasons ago. She first appeared on television in order to find love, but now that Fedotowsky has landed a new man, she is returning to the small screen for a different reason.
It was recently announced that Fedotowsky will appear on a new weekly talk show on the Style Network. The show is similar to ABC's "The View" in that it showcases several personalities commenting on different things happening in the media and interviewing guests. This new show's format is much the same and will feature in-studio guests, makeover segments, and product demos. The show will be filmed in front of a studio audience and will feature Adrianne Curry, Vivica A. Fox and Nick Verreos as host alongside Fedotowsky.
This is not the first post-reality television gig for Ali. She previously appeared as an on-air correspondent for Fox 5 San Diego. This show was also similar to the format of "The View" and showed Ali's burgeoning talent as television personality, likely propelling her to land her new gig on the Style Network.
There is no word yet on when the show will premiere. However, there is speculation in the media that Ali's upcoming wedding to fiancé Roberto Martinez will be an integral topic of conversation on the show, and may even be broadcasted on the show.
DISH Network Wins Bid for Blockbuster
On Monday, this blog mentioned that DISH Network was among the top companies bidding for the chance to buy the bankrupt Blockbuster franchise. Well, as it turns out, they won. Their $228 million dollar bid was recently approved by a bankruptcy judge.
This approval means that DISH will soon have control over the entire company including their video rental stores, their kiosks and their video downloading service. They will have the choice of either trying to revitalize the company and make it profitable again or simply shutting down the company and using their assets and brand to DISH's advantage. There is no word yet on exactly what DISH's plans to do with Blockbuster and their assets.
Considering that Blockbuster was once one of the most powerful companies in the United States, worth billions of dollars, DISH got a steal of a deal at just $228 million.
Before filing bankruptcy last year, Blockbuster had been suffering financial hardship for years. They lost a considerable amount of their revenue as loyal customers turned to sources such as Netflix and Redbox for their video rentals.
DISH anticipates that the deal will be finalized sometime during the second quarter.
Katie Couric To Leave CBS Evening News For a Daytime Slot
Katie Couric will be leaving the CBS Evening News after just 5 years on the job. She was the first woman to be at the forefront of an evening newscast. After her debut, her ratings were decent but have stayed in the 3rd slot for quite awhile.
Although she has not officially announced her plans, she is reportedly looking to start a talk show in 2012 and talking to several companies about it.
Sources close to Katie Couric say that she has no hard feelings toward CBS and is even talking with CBS about possibly doing her talk show with them. She is looking for a role that isn't as confining as her evening news role has been. She is in talks with CBS, NBC, CNN and ABC currently about a syndicated talk show. Her plans are to start the syndicated show in September of 2012.
When Katie Couric moved to the CBS Evening News in 2006 from the Today Show on NBC it was a big deal. She infused her interviewing skills into the evening news format and increased the ratings at first. As the hype calmed down, so did the show's ratings and they settled back to third compared to NBCs Nightly News and ABCs World News.
There have been rumors for quite a while that Katie Couric is not happy as a news anchor for CBS. The ratings for CBS Evening News have dropped in the last few years while morning shows continue to remain profitable, and watched. So it makes sense that she would consider such a move. Couric's current news contract is set to expire in early June.
Couric appeared on David Letterman's show in late March, and was reluctant to talk about her future plans when asked. Letterman told her that once you take over the anchor position that is what you do. That is the exact kind of restrictive mentality she is working against. Just because Letterman is stuck where he is, doesn't mean she has to be.
DISH Network Among Bidders Looking to Purchase Blockbuster
Charlie Ergen, founder of DISH Network, is among several companies looking to purchase the bankrupt moive rental chain Blockbuster. DISH Network will be able to purchase Blockbuster on April 7th in an auction-style process that is currently being approved in the courts.
The auction, expected to last about 2 days, will give companies the opportunity to bid on Blockbuster for what they think the company is worth. At its prime, Blockbuster was worth about $5 billion. However, the company has suffered significant financial hardship in the last couple of years and was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.
Since then, Blockbuster has been forced to close the majority of their 9,000 stores worldwide. Only about 3,000 of their stores are currently still in operation. It is estimated that the company is currently worth only about $290 million.
If DISH Network wins the auction on April 7th, they would gain control of Blockbuster's stores, movie-downloading service and all of their kiosks. Or, they would have the option of just closing the company entirely.
There is no word yet on exactly how DISH would use Blockbuster's products to enhance their own existing products if they end up purchasing it. However, DISH would likely use their movie-downloading service to enhance their current on-demand movie and television content and DVR services.
Watch 'The Kennedys' in HD on April 3
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DISH Network just announced that 'The Kennedys', a controversial miniseries based on America's most famous family, will debut in HD on REELZCHANNEL. REELZCHANNEL is available to every DISH Network customer who subscribes to America's Top 120 package or above on channel 299.
'The Kennedys' is a controversial series that has struggled to find a network home for many months now. Back in January, the History Channel halted production on the series after they deemed that the show would not be good for the network's image. The series details private aspects of the family's life that are controversial and have not been deemed as completely factual by historians. The series also covers public events that happened during JFK's presidency including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missle Crisis and the Civil Rights Movement.
The movie features Katie Homes as Jackie Kennedy and Greg Kinnear as President John F. Kennedy. The series also stars Tom Wilkinson and Barry Pepper. The movie will be aired in eight different parts airing from April 3 through April 10. The first part will premiere on Sunday, April 3 in HD on REELZCHANNEL on DISH Network satellite television.
