Word: skies
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Matthew B. Kaiser, assistant professor of English, is known for his sky-high CUE ratings, impeccable style and profound lectures. This semester, Kaiser’s English 156: “Crime and Horror in Victorian Literature and Culture,” drew in an impressive 454 students, according to the Registrar’s current course enrollment numbers. Don’t worry, though, the Add/Drop deadline isn’t for a few weeks yet.1. Fifteen Minutes (FM): The courses you teach at Harvard (English 90ow. “Oscar Wilde: Arts, Martyr, Celebrity”; English...
...trouble started in 2003 after Murdoch established Sky Italia by combining two struggling television outfits. At the time, Italy's free-to-air mogul Berlusconi, who also happened to be the country's prime minister, gave Sky Italia the green light. But Berlusconi, 72, has increasingly used both his political and entrepreneurial muscle to undercut his cable competitor. Murdoch, 77, is now hitting back by going after Berlusconi's big name presenters. (See Berlusconi's worst gaffes...
...Mentana vigorously denies any deal has been done, but it's not hard to see why such rumors swirl. Just last month, Sky Italia recruited Rosario Fiorello, one of Italy's top television entertainers, to present a new variety show. Fiorello has worked for both Mediaset and state-owned television and radio network RAI. Before Fiorello's Sky Italia's deal was signed, Berlusconi invited the Sicilian singer-impersonator to his Rome palazzo to convince him not to work for "the enemy," according to Fiorello. The wooing session failed. (See pictures of the good life in Italy...
...Still, Berlusconi, has some weapons that Murdoch does not. Last fall, the prime minister pushed through a government decree that doubled to 20% the Value Added Tax (VAT) on pay television subscriptions. Sky Italia responded with a series of advertisements aimed at their subscribers (who also happen to be Italian voters) outlining how the Berlusconi government's decision was unfair to consumers. Mediaset and RAI also recently joined forces to launch a digital terrestrial service called Tivù, modeled on a British free-to-air platform that has cut into the market share of BSkyB, Murdoch's U.K. satellite television...
...Candela says Murdoch is doing well in Italy. Sky Italia registered earnings of $3.2 billion last year, closing in on RAI ($3.7 billion) and Mediaset ($4 billion). The Berlusconi-Murdoch showdown is the inevitable result of the "convergence" of free and pay television, Candela says, and may finally lead to the end of the 20-year-old duopoly between Mediaset and Rai. "As the TV system reaches maturity, we're now seeing open combat for ratings, profit and talent," says Candela. (Read TIME's TV blog, Tuned...