Networks in ‘Family’ Way With New Judge Program

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First, there was “Divorce Court,” the iconic 1959 black-and-white TV show featuring actors as litigants. Then, in the 1980s, came “The People’s Court,” which turned the camera on retired judge Joseph Wapner.

Today, there are a slew of courtroom-based “reality” shows featuring all types of judges who mainly occupy a dedicated weekday afternoon time block from 2-5 p.m. These shows are usually supported by major broadcast networks or studios and are syndicated by a handful of major companies.

Now, a small Los Angeles company called 44 Blue

Productions is making a run at the lucrative genre with a show this fall called “Family Court With Judge Penny,” featuring a judge from Atlanta who takes on the strife of modern-day

family life.

44 Blue teamed up with Venice-based Program Production Partners Inc. and took their show concept on the road. The duo riding the networks’ insatiable demand for the genre sold 160 half-hour episodes to broadcast network executives without even so much as making a pilot.

“We’re like the little engine that could,” said Rasha Drachkovitch, 44 Blue’s chief executive and co-founder. “We just got through filming our first two weeks worth of shows and it’s looking very good.”

Fox, CBS and other networks will begin broadcasting the show in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, among more than 50 other cities nationwide beginning in September.

Drachkovitch credits Judge Penny Brown Reynolds with being the driving force behind the show. “She’s just made for TV,” he said.

Brown, who has made guest appearances on “Dr. Phil” and “Good Morning Atlanta,” is a trial court judge in the State Court of Fulton County, Ga., and serves on the executive board of the NAACP.


Cookie Crumbs

Michael Hirsh, chief executive of Cookie Jar Entertainment, almost made off with all the cookies in his recently announced acquisition of Burbank-based DIC Entertainment.

Shortly after making the announcement in June, American Greetings slapped a multi-million-dollar lawsuit on Cookie Jar. The greeting card company claimed it had the rights to “Strawberry Shortcake” and “Care Bears” characters licensed to DIC, but said they were not transferable in the acquisition.

Now it looks as though Hirsh and his equity partners are going to have to pony up about $195 million in milk money to pay American Greetings for its creations, which have generated an estimated $5 billion in retail revenues.

“We believe that it is a fair deal,” Hirsh said.

Hirsh added that he’s confident that he’ll be able to raise the $195 million by Sept. 30 from RBC Capital Markets and Bank of America, which have previously invested in the company. He also didn’t rule out looking for additional funding elsewhere.


Mobile Moves

As CD sales continue to spin downward, music companies such as Warner Music Group have been searching out incremental revenue streams anywhere that they can find them.

The Burbank-based music company recently partnered with SendMeMobile to broaden the reach of their popular artists and brand up-and-comers to the mobile arena.

Warner Music Group dove in feet first, making thousands of new ringtones, videos and wallpaper images from Madonna to Fleetwood Mac available to SendMe users.

SendMe’s distribution platforms include SendMeMobile.com, which offers ringtones, wallpaper, video ringers and mobile games; SoLow.com, a mobile sweepstakes site; and Mbuzzy, a mobile social-networking site.

Mbuzzy, which was recently acquired by SendMe, has been operated as an ad-supported site, but SendMe decided to turn the ads off for now, electing instead to grow the user base first. The company will begin showing the ads again in a few months.

“The broader goal is to take a more integrated approach to build incremental high-margin revenue for partners like Warner while helping artists become merchandisable brands,” said Russell Klein, co-founder and chief executive of SendMe.


Mickey Money

Jim Cramer, the zany host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” stock market show, was pumping Walt Disney Co. stock last week, saying that the Burbank-based entertainment and theme park company’s stock is a bargain at $30 a share. Citing high gas prices, a weak dollar and hit musical performances from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Crammer told his audience to “pull the trigger on Disney stock.” Some “Mad Money” fans must have followed his advice because the company’s stock price jumped about $1.40 to $31.40 per share the next day. But the boost was short-lived. By market close last Thursday, Disney shares quickly fell back to $30.


Odds and Ends

As Hollywood’s major studios rachet up production of more than 30 3-D films expected to roll out over the next three to five years, Beverly Hills-based RealD is cutting deals with movie theater chains at breakneck speed.

Fresh off the heels of two 1,500-screen deals with the nation’s top movie theater chains, RealD recently inked a deal with Mexico’s second largest movie theater chain, Cin & #233;polis, Inc., which will retrofit 500 of its 1,800 screens with RealD’s 3-D technology. Within days of that deal, RealD signed an agreement with Canada’s largest motion picture exhibitor Cineplex Entertainment to convert 175 of its 1,337 screens to RealD’s technology The Hallmark Channel will launch “Hallmark Channel on Location,” the network’s first-ever hosted online series. The half-hour program premieres online on Aug. 15, with segments also appearing on Hallmark Movie Channel. Hallmark is owned by Studio City-based Crown Media Holdings Inc El Segundo-based Music Video Games LLC, an online music video game company, recently signed an agreement with Los Angeles-based Rhino Entertainment. The video game company will license original recordings from Rhino parent company Warner Music Group’s library and Rhino will advise MvG on the selection of music and artists for use in MvG games.


Staff reporter Brett Sporich can be reached at

[email protected]

or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 226.

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