Marc Graboff

Core Media Group, the parent of production company 19 Entertainment, whose TV shows include Fox's "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance," has struck a deal to acquire reality television firm Sharp Entertainment. “This announcement is another step in our efforts to expand the breadth of our content offerings and align Core with some of the industry's most talented and innovative producers,” said Core President Marc Graboff. Sharp Entertainment's credits include TLC's "Extreme Couponing," Animal Planet's "Call of the Wildman" and Travel Channel's "Man V. Food.

The Golden Globes awards show is over, but it isn't out of the headlines yet. The show's future might be settled in court next week as the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. , which created and owns the Golden Globes, fights a legal battle with Dick Clark Productions, which produces the show. Entertainment business reporter Joe Flint says the association is suing Dick Clark Productions because it believes the company violated their partnership by signing a new contract with NBC without the HFPA's approval.  Hollywood heavyweights who might take the stand include HFPA Chairman Philip Berk, Dick Clark, Dick Clark Productions Chief Executive Mark Shapiro and former NBC business affairs chief Marc Graboff, who negotiated the TV deal on the network's behalf.

Former NBC executive Marc Graboff is in advanced talks to take a senior position at CKX, the parent of production company 19 Entertainment, whose TV shows include Fox's massive hit "American Idol. " Graboff, who left his position as president of NBC's West Coast operations just one month ago, could end up with the chief executive spot at CKX, which is currently held by Mike Ferrel, people close to Graboff and the company said. At NBC, Graboff worked primarily behind the scenes overseeing business operations for the network.

Before the writers strike, the biggest mystery surrounding NBC's "Scrubs" was whether J.D. (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) would pull a Ross-Rachel and finally be together in the hospital comedy's final season. But now the bigger question seems to be whether fans of the 7-year-old comedy will watch the finale on NBC, ABC or DVD. Although NBC had ordered 18 episodes for this season, meant to be its last, and 12 were completed before the strike, the network has not committed to allowing producers to complete the final six episodes.

NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly on Thursday signed a new three-year contract with NBC Universal, giving him more time to pull the peacock network out of the ratings basement. Reilly assumed his job in May 2004 just as NBC's prime-time schedule, which had dominated ratings for more than a decade, was about to collapse. That fall, when the network opened the TV season without the blockbusters "Friends" and "Frasier," it plunged from first to fourth place in prime-time.

NBC Universal Television on Monday agreed to a three-year deal to finance the newly formed boutique production studio headed by veteran TV executives Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. The pair -- former top programmers for Fox Broadcasting and ABC -- had initially sought to create an independent production company that would own the programming it produced. The arrangement with NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.

NBC Universal said Tuesday that it was abandoning its spring ritual of unveiling the network's fall schedule in an expensive, star-studded presentation at Radio City Music Hall in favor of smaller meetings with advertisers in three cities, including Los Angeles. "We are taking what has been a one-way conversation and turning it into a two-way dialogue with advertisers," said Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment.

NBC Universal said Sunday that it had tapped fast-rising programming executive Katherine Pope to be president of its TV production studio. The move follows last week's management shake-up in which NBC Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly was booted to make room for producer Ben Silverman, who will oversee NBC's programming as well as NBC Universal Television Studio. Angela Bromstad, the previous studio president, will be reassigned, the company said.

Amid gloomy forecasts for continued deterioration of the advertising markets, NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker said Monday that the network was looking at scaling back the number of hours of television that it provided. "Can we continue to program 22 hours of prime-time? Three of our competitors don't. Can we afford to program seven nights a week?" Zucker said at a media conference in New York sponsored by investment banking firm UBS.

Peter Chernin is poised to turn his boutique television and movie production company into a global powerhouse. The former News Corp. president is in preliminary discussions to merge his independent entertainment company with two prominent reality television production firms, Endemol and Core Media Group, according to people familiar with the discussions. Endemol is one of the biggest producers of reality TV around the globe. Its credits include CBS' hit “Big Brother” and ABC's “Wipe Out.” It has recently segued into scripted programming, producing the drama “Hell on Wheels” for AMC. Core Media, formerly known as CKX, owns 19 Entertainment, which produces "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" for Fox. CKX also owns the licensing rights to the names and images of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali and operates Graceland, the last home of Elvis Presley and a tourist attraction drawing more than half a million visitors annually.