Programming
Starz inked an exclusive deal for the rights to more than 500 movie titles from the Sony library, including "Spider-Man," and "Jerry Maguire." The deal covers linear, VOD and broadband download service Vongo. The VOD/linear deal runs from ’08-’14, but the Vongo portion begins in Oct. — The N‘s "Degrassi: The Next Generation" enters broadcast strip syndication next fall. Season 6 premieres on The N Fri, 8pm ET. — WE acquired all 3 seasons of canceled broadcast sitcom "Hope & Faith" (73 eps). An all-day marathon, starting at noon ET, is slated for Nov 24. — MavTV officially announced its deal for "Adrenaline Unleashed" wrestling (Cfax, 9/11). — Discovery will release its heavily promoted "Atlas" on Blu-Ray DVD and HD DVD—a 1st for a TV series. The 1st installment, "China Revealed," debuts Sun at 9pm on Discovery and Discovery HD. — DirecTV rolls out its 4th original series Oct 2, 6pm ET. "MyWorld" will follow 3 friends as they traverse the world of MySpace. — DVR Alert: Pakistan pres Pervez Musharraf will appear on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Tues, 11pm. — Boomerang launches new programming block "No Undies Mondays," Oct 9, paying tribute to all the classic toons that appear on camera without any pants. — As expected, HRTV will provide coverage from Hawthorne Race Course in IL after TVG ceased relations with the track (Cfax, 9/20). — Versus (OLN) will air 7 regular season Mountain West Conference basketball games beginning Nov 18. The net may also air the semifinals and final of the conference tournament. Save for the Versus games and a handful slated for CSTV, the majority of contests will air on The mtn., the jv between CSTV and Comcast that is struggling to gain carriage in certain MWC markets. The net has until Nov 10 to ensure basketball fans in Las Vegas, San Diego and Dallas-Fort Worth have linear access to the games. — FSN South and Turner South will combine to present 75 Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and 61 Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) games throughout the southeast during the forthcoming ’06-’07 season.