Usa Network

Both scenes are set in a steamy locker room. In one version, a woman drops her dress and exposes her naked body as she and her equally naked lover writhe on a bench. In the other version, the camera angle changes after she reaches for her dress; all that can be seen of the lovers is a grainy close-up of their faces. Same show, different TV channels.

With the Emmys behind us and the film award season heating up, it can be easy to forget that television is still on the hot seat, thanks to the Golden Globes' inclusionary approach to handing out prizes. Yet the Golden Globes are not the Emmys in any number of ways, which means campaign approaches have to shift with the season. Not every popular or well-received American TV series has a real shot, and some with a low profile get singled out each year. The pool of several dozen Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.

USA Networks Inc., owner of the top-rated cable-television channel, posted a smaller-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter as revenue jumped at its cable networks and at Ticketmaster, the dominant U.S. ticket agency. The media and electronic-commerce company headed by Barry Diller reported a loss of $17.7 million, or 5 cents a share, wider than a pro forma loss from operations of $14.6 million, or 5 cents, in the year-earlier period.

'Necessary Roughness' 10 p.m. June 29, USA Network Episode: "Pilot" The premise Dr. Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is a Long Island psychotherapist who specializes in behavioral management, hypnotherapy, smoking cessation and weight loss programs. When she discovers that her husband is cheating on her, she kicks him out and starts looking for ways to augment her income to support her two children and pay for her divorce proceedings. After she meets Matthew Donnally (Marc Blucas)

Kay Koplovitz, president and chief executive officer of USA Network, will receive the Jerusalem Award of the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center Jerusalem, Western Region, at a dinner Jan. 9 at the Beverly Hilton. Koplovitz has been active in National Junior Achievement, the New York City Partnership and the Partnership for a Drug Free America, and is a supporter of Shaare Zedek's efforts to bring health care to the people of Israel.

Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone testified that the company has helped rather than hurt its USA Network partnership with MCA Inc. In a trial over the partnership, Redstone said Viacom helped USA Network land hard-to-get satellite transmission time connected to European ventures and prodded the network to improve its advertising sales, which it did.

A Delaware judge Thursday set a September deadline for Viacom Inc. and Seagram Co. to stop the courtroom game of chicken they've been playing over their contentious partnership in cable TV's USA Network. If the two sides can't reach a settlement on their own, the judge said he would impose a solution that neither side may like. But people on both sides of the 15-month legal wrangle said the companies remain so far apart that they doubt any negotiated settlement could be reached by September.

USA Networks Inc. Chief Executive Barry Diller said his media and electronic-commerce company plans to complete its $1.5-billion purchase of online travel service Expedia Inc. even though its bookings have declined. New York-based USA Networks, owner of the Home Shopping Network and USA cable network, agreed in July to buy a 75% stake in Expedia from Microsoft Corp. for stock and warrants.

In a blow to Universal Studios Inc., a key witness was disqualified as an expert witness in a Delaware Chancery Court trial after the judge said he dodged questions about errors in his resume. Andrew Rosenfield, president of Lexecon Inc., was to testify as an antitrust expert for Seagram Co.'s Universal Studios, which sued Viacom Inc. in a partnership dispute over USA Network. The case ended Friday after a month of testimony, and the judge could take several months to make a ruling.

Barry Diller's USA Networks Inc. reported a narrower loss Wednesday, citing growth at its flagship USA Network cable station, television studio production and Ticketmaster and Home Shopping Network units. The company reported a loss of $7.5 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with a loss of $26.9 million or 7 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

USA Network has come a long way, slowly, from the days when its main contribution to the culture was "Night Flight," an omnibus of music videos, reruns and camp ephemera that kept insomniac kids company back in the 1990s. Now it is the network that "Monk" made, with a small but strong-for-its-size roster of comicdramas that play nice turns on the old big genres — cops and spies and lawyers and doctors: "In Plain Sight," "Burn Notice," "White Collar," "Psych," "Fairly Legal," "Royal Pains.

It's rare, but not unprecedented, for television shows to win Emmy Awards as a going-away present for their final season. "Everybody Loves Raymond" did it in 2005, carting off the outstanding comedy series statuette. Ditto "The Sopranos" in 2007 for drama series. With several high-profile shows, including ABC's "Lost" and Fox's "24," taking their final bows in 2010, it could happen again, though history tells us that it's far easier to bring home the gold when your show is just starting out than when it's wrapping things up. Here's an assessment of the recognition chances of some of the Emmy-caliber prime-time programs that have, or soon will, bid prime time adieu this year.

Media giants Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal will make the case for their merger before Congress on Thursday with hearings scheduled by both the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet and the Senate antitrust subcommittee. Also testifying will be opponents of the $30-billion deal, including consumer activists and media watchdogs. Brian Roberts and Jeff Zucker, chief executives of Comcast and NBC Universal, respectively, will probably face questions over whether the proposed marriage of the nation's biggest cable and broadband provider with an entertainment goliath puts too much control over content and distribution in the hands of one corporation.

The first thing Emiliano Calemzuk did when he was tapped to become president of News Corp.'s Fox Television Studios was to move it out of its posh locale on the Fox lot in Century City -- and into offices neighboring an old gas station on Santa Monica Boulevard. "I wanted to get out of the 'lot mentality,' " explained Calemzuk, referring to the assistant-and-fresh-cut-flowers style of business that is pervasive among major Hollywood studios. "We're here to do things differently."

Just when you thought bromance was dead, here comes "White Collar," a crime drama premiering on USA tonight that lifts the genre to a new and dazzling level. Sparkling, snappy, bursting with energy and good clean heist fun, the first episode of "White Collar" may, in fact, be the most perfect pilot to air in a long, long time. Sure, there are shameless echoes of "It Takes a Thief," the show that launched Robert Wagner's television career, but who cares? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and "White Collar's" creator, Jeff Easton, promises only improvement, and with a pitch-perfect cast that comes together to create that cinematic Holy Grail: chemistry.

Jeff Wachtel, who has overseen original programming for the USA Network since 2001, got a title boost Wednesday when he was named the network's president of original programming. The announcement was made by Bonnie Hammer, the top USA executive, promoted to president of NBC Universal's cable entertainment and cable studio last year. Wachtel, whose previous title was executive vice president of original programming, has overseen the launch of shows such as "Monk," "Psych" and "Burn Notice."

USA Networks Inc. said Stephen Chao will resign as president of the media company's cable-television unit, which will be folded into the new TV and film-production division. Chao, head of USA Cable since March 2000, oversaw the company's biggest cable-TV channels--USA Network and Sci Fi Channel--and its developing networks. A USA Networks spokeswoman said she didn't know Chao's plans or when he will leave. USA Entertainment, a new unit formed in July, will assume USA Cable's operations.

USA Networks Inc., the media and electronic commerce company run by Barry Diller, said it bought two cable television networks for about $100 million to increase the variety of its cable programming. USA acquired the Trio Network, an arts and entertainment channel, and News World International, a news channel, with the purchase of North American Television Inc., a joint venture of Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and closely held Power Broadcasting Inc.

Jeffrey Donovan has been living in the cozy Wrigleyville district of Chicago, doing the sex farce "Don't Dress for Dinner." Soon he's headed to prep for filming on Season 3 of USA's "Burn Notice" -- which returns to air more of Season 2 on Thursday. He also recently appeared in "Changeling." -- Your theatrical show is closing -- well, you're moving on. It's a hit! They extended through March. And I was always intending on leaving -- I need a little break.