Roger King Dies at 63 Roger King, CEO of CBS Television Distribution and chairman of the King World television dynasty, passed away in early December. King, 63, suffered a stroke at his home in Boca Raton, Florida on Friday morning, December 7, and died on Saturday at Boca Raton Community Hospital. King was one of the most successful executives in the history of U.S. television, transforming his family business, King World, into a production and syndication empire. Under King’s tutelage, King World became the industry’s leading U.S. distributor of first-run syndicated programming, including such shows as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jeopardy!and Dr. Phil . In addition, King was instrumental in launching the long-running syndicated news magazine Inside Edition. He is survived by his wife, Raemali, and his three daughters, Kellie, Anna Rose and Lucinda. China Bans U.S. Films Recently, China’s government has been blocking U.S. movies from its cinemas. Even though Chinese government officials have not announced a policy change, U.S. studios have stopped receiving approvals to show films in China. Insiders speculate that the move is most likely China’s way of protecting its domestic film industry, but they also cautioned that it might be a retaliatory measure against Washington’s increasingly forceful actions to push Beijing to do more to stop the massive counterfeiting of movies, music and books in China. In 2007, the Bush administration filed two complaints with the World Trade Organization — moves that were denounced by Chinese officials. However, according to other accounts, the country routinely restricts foreign movies during holidays — times when Roger King with Dr. Phil Weather Channel Forecasts its Sale A$5 billion sale is in the forecast for Landmark Communications, after putting its popular U.S. cable channel, The Weather Channel, on the market early this month. Prospective buyers will get a chance to bid on the channel (valued at $1.5 billion) –– along with its website, weather.com ($3.5 billion) –– due to the break-up of Landmark, a Norfolk, Virginia-based media company. The company’s holdings are expected to be split into three parts: TV (which includes distribution company Dominion Enterprises and two TV stations), print and the Weather Channel. The Batten family, Landmark’s primary owner, declined to comment on the reason behind the break-up. Frank Batten Jr., is chairman and CEO of the group that his father, Frank Sr., founded in 1954 and which today generates $1 billion in annual revenues. The Weather Channel’s 10-figure price tag is dictated by its ability to attract advertisers, and reflects the increasing value of cable assets. Its moment-tomoment coverage is a big draw to advertisers, as viewers have no incentive to record its programs and replay them later while skipping commercials. Heavytraffic weather.com, which grabs more than 34 million unique visitors a month, sweetens the deal with advertising potential of its own. The Weather Channel, which was founded in 1982, has also gained recognition, lately, for its emphasis on controversial environmental and climate issues. Companies like NBC, News Corp and Comcast Corp have already expressed interest. JPMorgan Chase will advise Landmark on the sale. JA N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 (Continued on Page 4)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5