Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 25 March 2015.


South Africa's set-top box tender for DTT delayed ... AGAIN.
Digital terrestrial television (DTT) further stalled with new drama and a legal battle looming over the tender process for the multi-billion rand set-top box (STB) manufacturing tender.
Meanwhile the switch from analogue to digital TV will cost South African viewers, consumers and the TV industry billions of rand which is not budgeted for.


BBC decision on Jeremy Clarkson 24 hours away.
The star of Top Gear on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) will know his fate in a day, says a BBC executive, after an inquiry about on-set "fracas". Jeremy Clarkson will be fired Wednesday (today) by the BBC, reports The Telegraph.


National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) bans CNN reporter from Killing Jesus media premiere.
Sarcastic National Geographic Channel spokesperson Chris Alberts "thanks" journalist Tom Kludt for the "extra attention". National Geographic Channel banned the journalist due to "negative coverage" of Bill O'Reilly - who is on FOX News Channel, which is part of the group Nat Geo belongs to.
Nat Geo banned Tom Kludt from the entire Killing Jesus event and denied his media accreditation "out of respect for Bill O'Reilly and because there allegedly isn't space alongside the red carpet.
And ... How National Geographic blatantly intimidated Society Matters until it just closed down last year.

The Empire strikes back.
FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) sues to keep the name Empire for its TV show - after a real-life record label with the word Empire says the show is causing "trademark dilution by tarnishment" because it is about "a label run by a homophobic drug dealer prone to murdering his friends." ... Yet the record label wants its own stars to appear in Empire.


Mad Men's Jon Hamm went to rehab for alcohol addiction.
Jon Hamm completed a 30-day stay to dry out and "completed treatment for his struggle with alcohol addiction".


The real reason why FOX is reviving The X-Files.
With The X-Files coming back after 13 years to TV its actually more about making the past 9 seasons which also belong to FOX more relevant and appetising to streaming services like Netflix - FOX will monetise The X-Files when new episodes stir interest in people wanting to watch the old episodes.
Also, the revived The X-Files will actually benefit from an older Mulder and Scully. And 7 things that need to happen in the new The X-Files.