Will courts find Owens to be owin'?
Philadelphia Eagles injured wide receiver Terrell Owens is said to have caused some injury himself, and the damaged party wants to take him to court about it. Nutritional supplement manufacturer Formulated Sciences Inc. says the star athlete has brought it to the brink of bankruptcy by failing to honor terms of an endorsement deal.
Owens has two signature FS products, and the company said he engaged in "exhaustive campaigning and advertising" for them from 2000-2001. However, since then he has turned his back on them, up to the point of "promoting competitors..." Owens is also accused of "enjoying outings and dinners at FS's expense, and an absence of affiliation with the company..."
FS says Owens has cost it millions in lost sales, and is looking for 35M in damages in a breach of contract suite to be filed in Los Angeles. "T.O. has always claimed of wanting to go to Hollywood, so here he will have one of his most important roles to date, defending himself in court," said FS President Paul Edalat.
CE Carlos Hurd passes
Long time engineer Carlos Hurd past away this week he engineered one of the first FM stations in Dallas KFWD and the historical rocker KATT. He was also the engineer for Satellite Music Network and ABC.
Station donations accepted now for Radio Wayne Silent Auction
Donations are currently being accepted for the annual Radio Wayne Silent Auction in honor of legendary Radio veteran Wayne Cornils. The former EVP/Meetings for the RAB, Radio Wayne passed away in July 2000, after nearly 50 years of service to the Radio industry.
Proceeds from the auction go to Wayne's two designated charities: The Broadcasters Foundation, which assists broadcasters and their families who face acute financial needs; and the Roaring Fork Conservancy in Basalt, Colorado, a local environmental organization that protects the rivers where Wayne loved to fly-fish.
The Radio Wayne Silent Auction takes place during RAB2005, the Radio Advertising Bureau's (RAB) annual Sales, Management & Leadership Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, February 10 to 13.
For donation information: Ron Ruth at rruth@rab.com or 972-753-6751
Dick Clark stays in hospital until after Christmas
TV personality-producer Dick Clark spent Christmas, and perhaps New Year's Eve, in a hospital where he's recovering from a mild stroke, the AP reports. Clark, who suffered the stroke 12/6, is out of the intensive care unit and "doing some rehab," said publicist Paul Shefrin. He remained hospitalized through Christmas, and will be watching his annual New Year's Eve television special either from his hospital bed or at home in Malibu, Shefrin said. "The doctors have told him how thrilled they are with his progress," said Shefrin, who wouldn't give any details about the impact of the stroke or discuss whether there was paralysis. "His brain is 100 % there," Shefrin said. He said doctors hadn't given Clark, 75, a release date yet. "It's been overwhelming in terms of support and well wishes," Shefrin said of the avalanche of cards, letters and e-mails that Clark has received from friends and fans. "There are hundreds, probably thousands, with the magic of e-mail. He's going to have an awful lot of thank-you cards to write," he said. Regis Philbin will host ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005" 12/31 from New York's Times Square. Singer Ashlee Simpson will host the West Coast part of the show.
Stories we'd like to see in 2005 #1: See what sticks
The latest reality show may well be the ultimate reality show. "See What Sticks" features a group of randomly-selected network programming executives doing what they do naturally - - devising a prime time schedule. But this time, instead of being behind closed doors, the cameras will be rolling.
In a typical episode, each exec comes into the network "war room" armed with a plot synopsis and a pack of gum. After vigorous chewing, the gum is attached to the synopsis and hurled with as much force as the exec can muster up against the schedule wall.
Thus, the execs "See What Sticks."
In the first episode, a chastened loser went into the special confessional room to confide with home viewers. "I used Wrigley Doublemint - - a huge mistake, because it's simply too adult for this network - - maybe it would stick better over at CBS."
The winner of the first episode rode a full pouch of Big League Chew to victory. Not only did it skew younger, it pulled in the elusive young male group.
"I knew I had it in the bag when I saw Myrtle come in with those little vending machine gumballs," said the elated winner in the confessional. "Skewing young is one thing, but she went too far. There's no way the Teletubbies will play after 8PM."
Are you reading this from a forwarded email?
