Programming

Anime Net acquired all 78 half-hour eps of Japanese anime series "Slayers." It will debut on the net early ’05. — Reality TV signed with Australia’s Beyond Distribution and the UK’s RDF Intl and Minotaur for rights to more than 250 hrs of programming. Reality TV launched in the US in Dec and is available on Dish. — AMC’s "Monsterfest ’04" (Sun-Oct 31) includes 3 debuts: the series "Filmfakers" (which puts 3 young actors into a fake film, Wed, 10pm); "Ent Weeklys’ 20 Scariest Movies" (Sun, 10pm); and "Backstory: The Omen" (Oct 29, 10pm). — FX confirmed Glenn Close will make her prime time TV series debut in next season’s "The Shield," playing a police capt who empowers Vic Makey (Michael Chiklis). she’ll be in all 13 episodes. — Sandra Bernhard will guest on season 2 of Showtime’s "The L Word," which bows Feb 20, 10pm. — CNBC denied reports that "McEnroe" is about to be cancelled to make room for 2nd-run eps of "Late Night with Conan O’Brien." The former tennis champ’s nightly 10pm show is faltering in the ratings; at its worst, the Sept 9 ep attracted a paltry 29K viewers. — Cox launched Univision net TeleFutura on its cable system in Tucson, AZ, the nation’s 23rd largest Hispanic market. — The Golf Channel joined with PGA Golf Exhibitions on a deal that will bring cameras into the PGA Merchandise Show (Jan 27-29) for the 1st time in the event’s 52-year history. — ESPN Radio and Baseball agreed to extend rights for 5 years through the ’10 season. — Despite ALCS Game 7, Nat Geo notched a .25 rating (25-54) Wed night, up 47% over normal. — Fuse and AG Interactive agreed to develop music over wireless and all other platforms.