A really, really, really boring day for Broadcast News…

Retailers, NTIA prepare for sales launch of DTV converter boxes
The NTIA has given the go-ahead for the mid-February sales launch of DTV converter boxes at eight retail giants, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart and Wal-Mart, and more than 100 electronics specialty shops. Beginning Jan. 1, consumers who rely on an antenna to receive their TV signals can receive two DTV coupons worth $40 each toward the purchase of converter boxes, according to acting NTIA administrator Meredith Attwell Baker. Los Angeles Times/Associated Press (free registration) (12/12),  TVNEWSDAY (free registration) (12/11)

Lavish upfront parties could be strike casualty
The ongoing writers’ strike has prompted the major TV networks to consider ending their annual tradition of hosting extravagant, star-studded live productions to herald each new season of programming. While NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker has publicly mulled scrapping the network’s upfront show, he maintains that the selling portion of the upfront remains “the best mechanism” for matching advertisers with network schedules. The New York Times (12/12)

Longtime “Jeopardy!” host hospitalized for minor heart attack
Alex Trebek, veteran host of the top-rated quiz show “Jeopardy!”, reportedly was hospitalized late Monday night in Los Angeles after suffering a minor heart attack. Trebek is next scheduled to tape “Jeopardy!” episodes in January, according to this article. Broadcasting & Cable (12/11)

Hecklers disrupt Last Call with Carson Daly

This was inevitable.

Tuesday night, Daly was taping an interview with football star Jerry Rice when an audience member stood up and yelled at Daly, saying he was doing a lousy interview and needed a writer to write the questions for him. Guards escorted the heckler out and they restarted the interview, only to be interrupted once again by another audience member who said “I feel so bad for the striking writers. Can I please leave?” This guy and two others were hauled out too.

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