SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

7th Annual TV Land Awards Date Confirmed; Hallmark Acquires Movies; TMZ Renewed Through 2011

We were the first ones to announce the date for the 7th Annual TV Land Awards, but now TV Land has made it official and also announced a new venue for the awards. TV Land announced today that the seventh annual TV Land Awards will be taped at a new venue, The Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios on Sunday, April 19. Last year's TV Land Awards was taped at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA. The telecast premieres in TV Land PRIME on Sunday, April 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Throughout the ninety-minute telecast, TV Land will honor legendary artists from both television and movies, feature exhilarating music as well as never-before-seen reunions of some of the most iconic celebrity casts from TV and movies, and of course, the fan favorite -- the perennial TV Land Awards parody that always highlights the year's pop culture moments.
We will have MUCH more on the TV Land Awards in the coming weeks, such as the honorees, the reunions, the parody, and of course the host!

Hallmark Channel saddles up for more "Rough 'n' Ready" weeks and more mystery movie marathons with the acquisition of the Emmy Award-nominated CBS mini-series Comanche Moon and two additional CBS Stone Cold movies starring Tom Selleck, all from Sony Pictures Television, for air on The Hallmark Channel.
In addition, the acquisition deal brings a roster of 18 classic musicals to Hallmark Movie Channel, the spinoff network. Titles in the deal for Hallmark Movie Channel the 24-hour sibling network to Hallmark Channel which airs "the very best" of family friendly theatrical feature films include Bye, Bye Birdie, starring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret and Maureen Stapleton; Funny Lady, starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen; Oliver!, starring Oliver Reed and Jack Wild; Pal Joey, starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak; and, Pennies From Heaven, starring Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong. The musicals will become part of a franchised block on Hallmark Movie Channel.
As for The Hallmark Channel, it is known for its success in programming a uniquely appealing mix of original movies like the four original holiday premieres which each delivered over a 3.0 HH rating the very best of family-friendly theatrical feature films; and, a line-up of classic and beloved off-network series including 7th Heaven, Little House on the Prairie, M*A*S*H, and The Golden Girls which begins March 1.

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) has renewed its entertainment news half-hour, TMZ through 2011 in nearly 100% of the country, reports B&C.
In November, Warner Bros. announced that the Fox station group had picked up TMZ for two more years. The Fox stations served as the show's launch pad in Sept. 2007. Over the past four months, the following station groups also have reupped: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting, Barrington Broadcasting, ComCorp, ACME Television, Grant Communications, Gray Television, Raycom, Hoak Media, LIN TV, Lambert Broadcasting, Newport Television, Max Media, Media General, Meredith, New Age Media, New Vision Television, Newport Television, Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Northwest Broadcasting, Pappas Telecasting and Smith Media, among others.