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No snitching at the box office! Will Netflix go for an Emmy?Feb 22, 2013 (Los Angeles Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- After the coffee. Before making my Oscar picks. The Skinny: I'm through three episodes of the Netflix drama "House of Cards" and I have to say, so far it's not changing my life. I'll keep going only because I'm trying to avoid having to watch "Downton Abbey." Today's headlines include a preview of the weekend box office and a review of "Snitch." Daily Dose: Given its poor ratings, you'd expect NBC to yank "Smash" from its schedule pronto. But the musical drama is a passion project of NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt and he's not ready to throw in the towel. However, NBC will probably yank it from the schedule for the May sweeps and have to burn off the rest of the show's 17 episodes during the summer. NBC will also have to run new episodes of "Do No Harm" during the summer as well or else international deals could be voided. NBC pulled "Do No Harm" from its lineup after just two episodes. Stop snitching. While Hollywood gets ready for the Oscars and a celebration of the movie industry, the rest of America will probably be staying away from the big screen. The two big releases this weekend -- the action movie "Snitch" starring Dwayne Johnson and the horror flick "Dark Skies" -- are not expected to do a ton of business. "Snitch" is projected to take in $12 million while "Dark Skies" might hit the $10-million mark. That means the comedy "Identity Thief" could find itself back in the top spot almost a month after its release. Box-office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety. Sports toll. New York-based pay-TV distribution company Cablevision Systems is the latest to add a so-called sports surcharge. Cablevision subscribers are going to have to shell out an extra $3 per month that the cable operator will put toward its sports programming costs. Satellite broadcaster DirecTV is taking a similar approach. More on Cablevision's surcharge from Bloomberg. And the Emmy for best streamed drama goes to ... Come next Emmy season will Netflix be promoting "House of Cards" for a trophy It could, and that may make broadcast and cable channels mad, says TV Guide. My suggestion is just create new categories. Instead of one category for best drama or comedy, do best cable drama and best broadcast drama, etc. When there are enough streaming shows, add that as a category too. Problem solved. Everyone wins! We'll do it live! With more people using digital video recorders (which allows for ad-skipping), more broadcast and cable channels are investing in sports and other live-event programming. Cable networks are trying to add more live coverage as well, which usually means award shows. Maybe newspapers can create a way to watch me work live. The Hollywood Reporter on the push for more live content. Buying the news. Business cable channel CNBC has struck a deal to become the owner of "Nightly Business Report," the long-running finance show that is carried by PBS. The show, which was owned by Atalaya Capital Management, will remain on PBS but will get a makeover from CNBC. In other words, CNBC will fill the show with its own talent. Coverage from the New York Times. Inside the Los Angeles Times: Betsy Sharkey on "Snitch." Scott Collins on NBC's woes. Mary McNamara tries to figure out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Follow me on Twitter so I can pad my stats. @JBFlint. ___ (c)2013 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |