Warner Bros.

As the head of the movie studio departs, Warner Bros. has placed the two units under the control of its chief executive, Kevin Tsujihara.

Although best known for her work in setting global technology standards, Warner Bros.’s Wendy Aylsworth is also a leader in communicating technology’s issues to Hollywood’s creative side. She’s this year’s recipient of TVNewsCheck‘s annual Women in Technology Leadership Award, which will be presented on April 9 at the NAB Show in Las Vegas.

Kevin Tsujihara will succeed Barry Meyer as chief executive of Warner Brothers, Hollywood’s biggest movie and television studio, starting March 1, ending a high-profile and lingering competition for the job. The question now becomes whether the other two candidates — Bruce Rosenblum, Warner’s television chief, and Jeff Robinov, who heads the movie division — will remain at the company.

A three-way race for the top job at Warner Bros. was intended to inspire greatness in the candidates. Instead, it has led to distrust and disorder. The three competing candidates — Television Group President Bruce Rosenblum, Motion Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov and Home Entertainment Group President Kevin Tsujihara — do not work as a unit. They rarely meet as a trio or get involved in one another’s businesses, according to several people associated with the studio who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Britain will be the first overseas market to see the updated Dallas, in September. The move comes after a strong showing for its first episode on TNT.

Warner Bros. TV chief Bruce Rosenblum told Barclay’s Global Technology, Media and Communication Conference in NYC that the TV group is responsible for over half of the overall operating income at Warner Bros. He said: “From a profitability standpoint the most lucrative part of our business is success with broadcast network series.”

The companion strip to TMZ will run for several weeks on Fox’s Los Angeles O&O beginning March 12.

Reality TV star, entrepreneur and author Bethenny Frankel to host a daily talk show on Fox-owned stations that will get a six-week preview this summer.

Warner claims the new show, Aim High, will be the first “social series” from a Hollywood studio. It will integrate elements of Facebook user pages into the background.

Charlie Sheen and Warner Bros. are putting the finishing touches on a deal to end their legal battle. Sheen, who had been in a fight with Warner Bros. over the studio’s firing him from his starring role on the CBS hit sitcom Two and a Half Men last March, will get about $25 million to settle out of his contract, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The figure represents Sheen’s participation in profits from the show.

Warner Bros. is moving its media planning and buying assignment — valued at $800 million, per Kantar Media — to the Omnicom Media Group from MediaCom, a unit of WPP’s GroupM, without a formal review.

Darcy Antonellis, head of tech ops at Warner Bros., has earned her stripes through stints at CBS in both news and sports (including winning two technical Emmys) before joining Warner where she oversaw the move from analog to digital distribution. Now, she’s the first recipient of TVNewsCheck’s Women in Technology Leadership Award.

The fired star of Two and a Half Men alleges that Warner Bros. bowed to executive producer Chuck Lorre’s desire to punish Sheen, and that the producer and Warners conspired to blame the actor for causing production to stop.

Warner Bros is making some of its films available on Facebook, opening up a new revenue source for the Internet social network and signaling new competition for online entertainment companies.

The studio said the decision was made after “careful consideration” and that no decision has been made yet on the future of the series.

Warner Bros. Television agreed Monday to pay the crew of Two and a Half Men for half of the eight episodes of TV’s top-rated comedy that were canceled by producers upset about the off-screen antics of star Charlie Sheen.

By halting production on the eighth season of Two and a Half Men, CBS Corp. and   Warner Bros. are turning away from a proven hit with both viewers and advertisers.

In a statement Wednesday, the Two and a Half Men star thanked his bosses, CBS chief Les Moonves and Warner Bros.’ TV division President Bruce Rosenblum, for “their concern and support.” It was issued hours after the Los Angeles Fire Department released a 5-minute recording of a 911 call.

As Charlie Sheen came perilously close on Tuesday to missing his call time on Two and a Half Men, CBS, Warner Bros. Television and executive producer Chuck Lorre were struggling with how to address the problem of their No. 1 star and his private behavior.

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution sells the new syndicated talk show in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston for a fall 2011 launch.

Tribune and Sinclair stations re-up with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for the second cycle of the No. 1 syndicated comedy.