Television Networks

In some parts of the country, home prices are back near 2001 levels, and now so is the volume of advertising the TV networks have sold. Buckling under the pressure of a weak advertising market, the broadcast networks have cut prices for commercial time, a rare setback for companies used to commanding ever-higher prices.

NBC Universal rolled out a cannon to shoot down a rebel Boston television station that says it will not carry Jay Leno at 10 p.m. when the comedian's show shifts to prime time in the fall. The media giant said Friday that it would yank all of its NBC programming from Boston's WHDH-TV if the station carried out its threat to ditch Leno -- who grew up outside Boston -- and instead run a local news broadcast at 10.

When ABC's highly anticipated new drama "FlashForward" premieres in September, HBO will probably be scrutinizing the show's ratings just as much as the alphabet network will. That's because the pay cable channel was pitched "FlashForward" and passed, but not before negotiating a nice stake in return for letting the producers shop it elsewhere.

The Olympics are supposed to promote peace and goodwill among people and countries. But only one day after the U.S. Olympic Committee announced plans to launch a new cable channel dedicated to coverage of Olympic sports, an international controversy has erupted, threatening to scuttle the channel and Chicago's bid to be the host city for the 2016 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee, the governing body that organizes the Games, on Thursday scolded the U.S.

The bugle call marking the start of the TV advertising sales season began a little early this year. On Sunday, CBS Corp. unleashed a marketing blitz to tell advertisers, viewers and Wall Street that CBS stands out because it draws more viewers than any other network. This morning, rival NBC plans to unveil its fall prime-time schedule -- two weeks before the traditional kickoff of the television "upfront" season and two weeks before the other networks announce their fall lineups.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is the latest major sports organization to dive into the television channel business, announcing Wednesday that it was partnering with cable giant Comcast Corp. to launch the U.S. Olympic Network. "Olympics programming really goes dark for the two years between the Games, and there are many events and compelling stories that are never broadcast," said U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Operating Officer Norman Bellingham.

With the strike over, the salvage operation begins. Hollywood lurched back into gear this week, reviving projects sidelined by the three-month labor dispute with its writers. For broadcast television, which felt the brunt of the work stoppage, the most pressing issues center on the prospects for next season. Studios are now rushing to piece together a truncated pilot season. Even with a limited pool of new shows to choose from, the networks plan to roll out some kind of fall season.

Seen one network, seen 'em all? A big problem is brewing for TV programmers, especially on cable: Too many of them are running shows that resemble the same stuff everyone else is doing. You may say, "Yes, and next you'll break the story of the invention of the cathode-ray tube." Isn't chasing somebody else's hits just the normal behavioral pattern of television executives? Maybe, but look at Sunday nights this spring. E!

FOR A moment or two, I thought we had lost the summer and would have to spend the pre-Emmy months in wistful nostagia and reruns. Undone by the writers strike, Emmy hopefuls like HBO's "Big Love" and FX's "Damages," which made last year one of the best TV summers ever, won't be back for many months. This season was so weird and truncated, reruns weren't appealing and no one seemed to be launching summer shows. Would my son and his gaming friends gain control of the flat-screen? No!

TV EXECUTIVES like to say that you can't judge anything by a couple of weeks' worth of ratings. Or at least that's what they like to say when those ratings don't look so hot. But we're going to throw such caution to the wind here. Based on the first wave of ratings -- and mind you, we're barely two weeks into the regular season, with the financial meltdown and a heated presidential campaign causing viewing disruptions right and left, so to speak -- three networks have a clear advantage.