Time Slot

Will "Ugly Betty's" move from the Friday-night dead zone to Wednesdays be enough to save what was ABC announced Wednesday that the sassy comedy starring America Ferrera will air Wednesdays at 10, replacing the ill-fated "Eastwick," beginning Jan. 6. The network knocked the show from its coveted Thursday-night perch and switched it to Friday nights last season after steady viewership declines. Since the shift to Fridays, its ratings have plummeted -- falling by an additional 46%, according to a new study by Horizon Media.

  Flip through the radio dial any given afternoon and you might hear an angry-sounding white man railing against the government, Congress and dastardly politicians. No, not Rush Limbaugh. This one criticizes Congress for not giving more help to the poor, the government for cutting off unemployment benefits, and politicians for pledging to dissolve unions. Ed Schultz has, over the last two years, made a niche in radio and on TV by talking about the poor and middle class, solidly gaining in ratings while more and more Americans lost jobs, benefits and middle class status.

I would like to comment on the article " 'Single' Looks for a Little Help Against 'Friends' " (Feb. 1) in which the cast and producer of the Fox sitcom "Living Single" state that their show isn't getting the promotional push that its rival show "Friends" is receiving. Although I respect the show and the work of these fine actresses, I'm getting fed up with African American artists griping about how unfair they are being treated by the entertainment industry. When was the last time you saw an all-Hispanic sitcom on the air with such positive characters as an attorney and magazine owner like those on "Living Single"?

TBS asked comedian George Lopez to move his noisy and hip late-night program again — this time off the network. Last year "Lopez Tonight" became an unwitting player in a late-night domino game when TBS pushed back the talk show an hour later than originally planned to make room for Conan O'Brien — who had been shoved off his late night perch at NBC. On Wednesday, the cable network announced Thursday's show would be the last one. ...

The irony fairly drips: One of the upcoming episodes of this season's "Murder, She Wrote" is called "Murder Among Friends." After airing Sundays following "60 Minutes" for 11 seasons, the CBS mystery series starring Angela Lansbury started its new season last week on Thursday nights, opposite NBC's powerhouse sitcom called "Friends." Not exactly the red-carpet treatment for a show (or its popular star) that easily shot down all comers since 1984.

If a camel is what results when a committee is convened to design a horse, the stunt-loving, trash-talking, contestant-quizzing game show "Dog Eat Dog" is what happens when a panel is asked to fill an hour of TV programming. That's no joke. "Dog," which launches a new season at 8 tonight on NBC with back-to-back hourlong episodes, comes to us from the producers of "Fear Factor" and "The Weakest Link" and the pedigree shows.

"Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," which has been losing in the ratings this season to NBC's "3rd Rock From the Sun," will move to a new time slot on ABC next month. Beginning Jan. 5, "Lois & Clark" will air Sundays at 7 p.m., an hour earlier than at present, switching positions with "America's Funniest Home Videos." Ratings for "Lois & Clark" are down 32% this season from the same period a year ago.

Ventura County Cablevision has moved the controversial "Hemp, Hemp, Hurray!" public access show from its afternoon time slot to 10:30 p.m., when it will compete with another program that has created its own fair share of controversy, MTV's "Beavis and Butt-head." Alan McDaniel, the cable system's community programming coordinator, said the scheduling shift was made in response to concerns from viewers over broadcasting the pro-marijuana message in the afternoon when children could be watching.

Kevin Sullivan, executive producer of the new ABC-TV series "Knightwatch," was thrilled last summer when the network told him that his youth-appeal show about a group of hip, young urban crime fighters had been picked up for fall. That thrill faded somewhat, Sullivan says, when he discovered that ABC had scheduled "Knightwatch" in prime-time's deadliest time slot--opposite NBC's top-rated "Cosby Show" at 8 p.m. Thursdays. "We made our debut (Nov.

Leonado DiCaprio's star power was not enough to get audiences to tune in to "Planet Earth 2000," the ABC special that included DiCaprio's interview with President Clinton on environmental issues and has drawn much ire from within ABC's news ranks in recent weeks. Though segments featuring the popular actor, who is also chairman of Earth Day 2000, were laced throughout the hourlong show, which aired Saturday at 8 p.m., it ranked fourth among the networks during the time slot.

In the battle for radio ratings, pop station KIIS and talk outlet KFI refused to budge as kings of their respective columns — each claimed exactly the same share of the Los Angeles-Orange County audience in July as they held the previous month, according to figures released Monday. Meanwhile, after a slow start, morning-radio veteran Rick Dees increased his following at urban oldies station KHHT-FM (92.3), where he took over a.m. drive on May 4. With more than 4 million people tuning in for at least five minutes a week, KIIS-FM (102.7)

Aries (March 21-April 19): Thanksgiving is not the only day to take stock and be grateful. You'll do this today and find contentment. Taurus (April 20-May 20): A coincidence happens. Take it as a good omen. Opportunity is on the way. Gemini (May 21-June 21): You'll smile at new faces as though you were connecting with an old friend. There could be a future "old friend" in the making. Cancer (June 22-July 22): The way you present yourself will help others know how you want to be treated.

Reporting from New York — Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker want to clear up something from the outset: They have no intention of hosting a predictable political debate show. Their new, as-of-yet-untitled roundtable program, which premieres on CNN this fall in the key 8 p.m. ET slot, will tackle a broad range of topics in a forum more akin to a conversation than the now-defunct "Crossfire," Parker said Wednesday. "It's going to be what people talk about at their kitchen table every day," Spitzer added.

Not so long ago, the broadcast networks trumpeted their 10 p.m. shows as "appointment viewing," an hour so named for its slate of sophisticated and stylish dramas that commanded a rapt audience who watched in real time. Today, audiences are still watching at 10 p.m., but often not what the networks programmed for that time slot. Instead, people are increasingly playing back recorded shows from their digital video recorders. "Essentially the DVR has been like adding a whole new competitor to the time period," said David Poltrack, CBS' chief research officer.

Onetime smooth jazz station KTWV-FM (94.7) has been through myriad changes this year, and another is coming Tuesday when morning-show host Brian McKnight is scheduled to announce his departure. McKnight, a multi-platinum R&B star, has also hosted his own TV show, a syndicated radio show, toured the world and is writing a book — a schedule that forces him to prerecord some programs for KTWV. Station management now prefers a live and local host every day. McKnight said that his weekday 6- 9 a.m. show hampered his playing live concerts, except on the weekends.

There's no shortage of bleeps covering up the raunchy language of young black militant Huey Freeman and other foul-mouthed characters on "The Boondocks." The N-word is heard frequently when the animated series airs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim late-night slate, but most expletives are deleted. But now fans of "The Boondocks" can get their Huey raw and uncut. Uncensored episodes of "The Boondocks," which tallied its highest ratings ever when it returned for its third season Sunday after an absence of more than two years, will be available on iTunes 12 hours after the tamer versions air on Adult Swim.

Members of the Wednesday Night Ladies House League have lost their 6 p.m. bowling slot at the Fern Hill Golf and Country Club, mainly because they don't drink enough. Jimmy Walker, manager of the club's bowling alley, confirmed last week that the 12-team league was asked to switch to a different time in favor of a men's league. "Women's leagues water you to death," Walker said. "That's why most places don't cater to women on the first (evening) shift.

Despite a strong year for a handful of new network programs, last week's prime-time rankings illustrate how difficult it can be to entice viewers with the promise of something new. The John Stamos comedy "Jake in Progress," for instance, failed to take advantage of the best time slot ABC could offer. Back-to-back episodes were presented in the hour that "Desperate Housewives' usually occupies and managed barely more than half the audience that show typically draws.

The streets are dark, the sun has not yet risen and most residents are still sleeping. But the daily war on the local TV front is already blazing. It's a battle being waged from West Los Angeles to Burbank and fought with a steady stream of friendly bulletins about traffic, weather and a preview of the day's coming news. But don't mistake the pleasant tone of the pre-dawn newscasts at KCBS Channel 2, KNBC Channel 4, KTLA Channel 5, KABC Channel 7 and KTTV Fox 11, which belies what is fast becoming one of the most fiercely competitive time periods in regional news across the country.

Competition programming reigned last week in prime time, from basketball to singing and dancing, plus other assorted reality fare. The NCAA men's tournament rewarded CBS with bursts of March Madness in the form of robust Nielsen ratings. Those championship games, along with such shows as "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race," helped CBS win the week overall, the Nielsen Co. said Tuesday. Also giving CBS a boost was its new reality hit, "Undercover Boss," which ranked fourth for the week with 16.7 million viewers.