ABC is just wild about 'Harry'
LOS ANGELES -- ABC hopes to make ratings magic with a night of television built around the network debut of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and a sneak peek at the third Warner Bros. film in the franchise.
The 2001 movie -- starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint and directed by Chris Columbus -- will air on May 9, in an extended, high-definition version that includes previously unseen footage, the network announced this week.
It will be followed by a 10-minute look at "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," directed by Alfonso Cuaron, which opens in theaters on June 4.
All told, ABC will devote four hours to the Harry Potter phenomenon as part of May "sweeps," a key ratings measurement period used to help set local advertising rates.
The broadcast will include interviews from the "Harry Potter" set with Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint. The films, which also include 2002's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," are based on the best-selling books by J.K. Rowling.
Network names lucky seven
Meanwhile, even as it faces what might be a change of management, ABC is firming up its schedule for next season.The network announced yesterday that it has picked up seven series -- four comedies and three unscripted shows -- for 2004-05. ABC previously announced that "NYPD Blue" would return for a 12th and final season.
The sitcoms picked up for next year are freshman show "Hope & Faith" (a linchpin of the network's Friday comedy block) and veterans "My Wife and Kids," "George Lopez," and "According to Jim." "Extreme Makeover" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" also got the nod, along with the long-running, plug-it-in-anywhere utility player "America's Funniest Home Videos."
Missing from the list so far are "Alias," which could be ABC's only other returning drama; "8 Simple Rules," its highest-rated comedy; and dependable franchise "The Bachelor." The network could make more announcements in advance of May's presentation to advertisers. ABC is also dealing with some internal turmoil. Its ratings are off by about 10 percent this season -- 15 percent in the key demographic of adults ages 18 to 49 -- and several reports from the past week say network chairman Lloyd Braun may step down by season's end.
KNIGHT RIDDER
Stations have Marathon covered
A number of Boston's television stations will be providing extensive coverage of the Boston Marathon on Monday. For their early-morning newscasts, WBZ-TV (Channel 4), WCVB-TV (Channel 5), WHDH-TV (Channel 7), NECN, and WFXT-TV (Channel 25) will provide prerace coverage. At 9 a.m., channels 4 and 5 will broadcast preview specials before airing the race, which begins at 11:25 a.m. for the wheelchair participants, 11:31 a.m. for elite women runners, and noon for everyone else.Monday night, WLVI-TV (Channel 56) plans to air a special "Sports Zone" edition at 10:30 recapping the results. NECN will also air a wrap-up on "Sports Latenight" at 11.
SUZANNE C. RYAN
WGBX plans a day of poetry
Speaking of long runs: WGBX-TV (Channel 44) plans to air its first-ever poetry marathon on Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. The poetry-themed programming will include readings of work by poets such as Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes as well as a profile of Frank Bidart and documentary and archival footage of Sylvia Plath.SUZANNE C. RYAN
Globe on NECN
Here's what's happening on "Around the Globe" today on NECN:
9:30 a.m.: "Talk of New England"
12:30 p.m.: "Globe at Home" -- City Weekly correspondent Peter DeMarco and Steve Kleinedler, senior editor of the American Heritage Dictionary, offer the lowdown on slang.
4 p.m.: "Around the Globe"
6:30 p.m.: "New England Business Day"
8 p.m.: "NewsNight" Schedule is subject to change.
On Boston.com
Noon: Globe Child Caring columnist Barbara Meltz talks about parenting.Talk of the dial
5 p.m. WBNW-AM (1120) -- "PM Magazine" with Lindsy Parker. Guests: Dave McGillvray, Boston Marathon race director; Dr. Frank Newport, Gallup Poll; Dorothy Terrell, the Commonwealth Institute.
