HBO

A ton of hype preceded Vice’s nightly news premiere on Monday, but not everyone is buying in. New York Times TV reviewer Mike Hale unfavorably compared the debut to even the most “hackneyed, shallow and formulaic” network newscasts, and blasted the new HBO offering as “mostly a canned, feature-heavy affair presenting news that was a day old or more.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The furry stars of “Fraggle Rock” are coming back home. The Jim Henson Co. said it has arranged to remaster the 1980s children’s series for a […]

Monday’s debut of  of the younger-targeted Vice News Tonight featured a correspondent in a nose ring who tied Hurricane Matthew to climate change. Vice, an upstart media company known for its in-your-face international reporting, is looking to shake up television’s daily news diet. Its newscast is airing weeknights on HBO at 7:30 p.m. ET. That’s after the more traditional newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC, which attract primarily an older audience.

In the works for months, the premiere of Vice News Tonight was pushed back for three weeks to make sure all of its technology worked properly. The pay cable service is airing it at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday starting tonight.

Vice Media’s Josh Tyrangiel details the philosophy and strategy behind its new Vice News Tonight that will air weeknights on HBO at 7:30 p.m. beginning next Monday, Oct. 10. “Coming up with a touch-enabled news show that recognizes that a viewer may be watching on their phone, on their app, on their iPad or tablet is a way to signal that we know you’re there [and] we know you want a slightly different experience. We are not in any way suggesting that we’re trying to change decades of user behavior.  We want to be there for them wherever they are.”

HBO and Vice Media are delaying the launch of their evening newscast until Oct. 10 to make sure its creative elements work.

The first promo from HBO’s Vice News Tonight says the newscast will shake things up with “No Anchors. No Sponsors. No Censors.” Amid a cavalcade of street protests, explosions and cautionary words from Edward Snowden, the 50-second spot pledges news with a whole new perspective. It debuts on Sept. 26.

John Oliver brought his brand of acerbic advocacy to newspaper journalism in Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight. In his monologue, he decries the profession’s endangerment and assails some of the more absurd turns its digital transition has taken, among them Tronc. 

Vice Media plans to join TV’s nightly news game, and is gearing up to launch a new competitor to Lester Holt, David Muir and Scott Pelley with a program on HBO set to debut on Sept. 26.  Vice News Tonight will be a half-hour nightly newscast, and will air weeknights on HBO. It will also be available on the Time Warner premium-cable service’s HBO Go and HBO Now streaming services as well as on demand.

Stewart, 53, who became an icon in entertainment and political commentary during his 16-year run as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, will be launching his new program on HBO “sometime in September or October,” according to the network’s programming president, Casey Bloys.

John Oliver, Sesame Street and now Bill Simmons have opened new chapters on the pay cable network, which has diversified to become arguably cable’s most well-rounded channel.

NEW YORK (AP) — Fans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will have the chance to immerse themselves in their favorite show next summer. The show’s fan site Watchers on the […]

  NEW YORK (AP) — No need to curb your enthusiasm at this news: Larry David is bringing back his HBO comedy series for a ninth season. No further details […]

Oliver, on his Last Week Tonight program Sunday on HBO, took the action to illustrate a story about the practices of companies that purchase the records of debtors and attempt to collect on them. The show set up its own company to acquire $15 million worth of debt owed to hospitals in Texas, paying $60,000.

Michael Lombardo, whose abrupt exit was announced Friday, will segue into a producer deal with the premium network.

Michael Lombardo is exiting his post as president of programming at HBO. The executive had been at his post since 2007 and had been with the premium cable network for 33 years.

Since its push into original shows kicked off in earnest with the 2013 debut of House of Cards, Netflix has hit the fast-forward button. Last year, it put out 450 hours of original programming, compared to 401 from Time Warner’s HBO. This year, both companies say they expect to release roughly 600 hours of original material.

Time Warner began offering HBO’s streaming video service last year, letting consumers watch Game of Thrones or comedian John Oliver over the Internet without a cable subscription. Now the entertainment programmer wants to make sure online video competition isn’t squelched if its former cable unit is purchased by Charter Communications.

The gains in the standalone online service in the eight months since its launch last year didn’t seem to wow investors. Stifel analyst Benjamin Mogil said the 3.2% gain in HBO subscriber revenue came below the 4.7% Wall Street expected.

A former HBO talent relations executive has admitted bilking the cable network out of nearly $1 million through fraudulent bills for services that were never rendered.

Executives of  Time Warner and its HBO programming division met with officials of the FCC’s Media and Wireline Competition Bureaus last week, warning them that Charter’s purchases of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks could threaten the deployment of over-the-top services.

NEW YORK (AP) — With the extension of “Sesame Street” into a high-price neighborhood – HBO, where it premieres Saturday morning – it has signaled significant urban renewal. “Sesame Street” […]