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LOS ANGELES - The producers of the Academy Awards telecast announced on Friday that they were going back to a prominent television star, Ellen DeGeneres, to host the movie industry's biggest event, the annual Oscar ceremony.
Those producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, drew questions last year when they gave the hosting job to Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the Fox show “Family Guy.†Mr. MacFarlane then set off a loud backlash with some of the material in the show, especially a song about women's breasts.
But ratings went up, especially among the younger viewers the Oscar telecast had been losing. The show was up 20 percent among young adults.
Ms. DeGeneres has even less to do with the movie business than Mr. MacFarlane had. (His film “Ted†preceded his appearance.) But she is well liked in Hollywood, and her turn hosting the Oscars in 2007 was widely praised.
Still, the selection of a television comic with a daily syndicated talk show touched off some surprise here at the annual tour of the Television Critics Association - one of several small-screen developments to cause a stir here - because ABC, the network that broadcasts the Oscar show, has its own star with that exact résumé, Jimmy Kimmel. Ms. DeGeneres does have a history with ABC. Her situation comedy, “Ellen,†which made national news when both she and her character came out as gay in 1997, was broadcast on ABC.
In typical fashion, Ms. DeGeneres released a jokey statement: “I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say - the third time's the charm.â€
FOX STICKS UP FOR ‘DADS' One new series always sets off the most negative response among critics gathered here, and this year's “winner†- hands down - is a coming Fox comedy called “Dads.â€
The show is about two friends, played by Giovanni Ribisi and Seth Green, who experience generation shock when their fathers, played by Martin Mull and Peter Riegert, come to live with them.
Going into the new season, “Dads†seems likely to be the target of mass condemnation for crude humor based on sexism, in addition to some racist remarks.
The cast appeared here for a news conference, accompanied by several producers (a group that coincidentally includes Mr. MacFarlane, though he was not present). Their defense ranged from suggesting that there would be “things we'd like to tweak†in future episodes (from the producer Alec Sulkin), to citing examples from the writers' lives in which older relatives blurted out profanities.
Mike Scully, an executive producer best known for “The Simpsons,†joked that a certain expletive “was part of our regular dinner conversation - and that was during grace.â€
The top Fox entertainment executive, Kevin Reilly, tried to defuse the furor by noting that comedies often experiment before they find the right tone. He then read out a litany of corrosive comments that the same group of critics had made about an earlier sitcom, complete with suggestions that the show might have been the worst comedy of all time.
Then he revealed the show: “The Big Bang Theory,†now the biggest hit comedy on television.
All of which was meant to underscore the idea that critics are often wrong about shows.
But not always, the Fox executives would surely argue. Among critics gathered here, the favorite new comedy of next season is one called “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.†That, too, will be on Fox.
FX FINDS INSPIRATION IN ‘FARGO' Fox's sister cable channel, FX, will continue adding to its ambitious lineup with a series inspired by the Oscar-winning movie “Fargo.†The network announced here on Friday that the show would star Billy Bob Thornton.
The show will have none of the characters from the movie. Mr. Thornton will play a con artist who tries to manipulate a small-town insurance salesman.
Joel and Ethan Coen, the filmmakers behind “Fargo,†were involved in this project and will be listed as executive producers. John Landgraf, the FX chief executive, said here that the brothers read the pilot script and asked to do a rewrite. That consisted of half a dozen new pages, Mr. Landgraf said, because the material fit the Coens' original vision for “Fargo.â€
This show is part of the new genre of “limited series,†akin to FX's “American Horror Storyâ€: The series, also called “Fargo,†will wrap up in 10 hours, though it may continue in future seasons with new stories and characters in the same setting,
“Fargo†has long been the object of television ardor. There have been several tries at adaptations, with one, in 2003, getting as far as a pilot. That one used the film's central character, Marge Gunderson, played (still pregnant), by Edie Falco.
CBS DEFENDS STRATEGY CBS offered a research presentation here that reinforced the network's belief that too much attention is paid to viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, and argued that more advertisers were moving away from slavish devotion to that demographic.
Leslie Moonves, the network's president, has fought that fight for years because CBS has been dominant both in total viewers and in the 25-to-54 group.
But this past season, CBS even topped its rivals in that 18-to-49 audience. “I didn't think it would take this long†to win in that category, Mr. Moonves said. “It helped when ‘American Idol' crashed.†Despite the win, he said CBS still believed in appealing to a mass audience, not just those under 50. “But it's good to be able to say we won there, too,†Mr. Moonves said, “and to finally shut everybody up.â€
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Surprise at TV Critics' Gathering: DeGeneres Is to Host the Oscars.
BEIJING - A Chinese journalist who had pressed for the release of a prominent human rights activist was detained Friday, one day after the United States completed annual discussions with China on human rights.
The journalist, Chen Min, 51, widely known by his pen name, Xiao Shu, was called to a meeting with security officials in Beijing at around noon Friday. As he was questioned, he kept a friend informed by text message.
In his last message at 1:50 p.m., Mr. Chen said the officers wanted him to leave Beijing and were threatening him, the friend, Wang Gongquan, said. After that, frantic calls and messages to Mr. Chen went unanswered, Mr. Wang said.
Mr. Chen had helped organize a petition calling for the release of Xu Zhiyong, a legal scholar who inspired a grass-roots anticorruption campaign calling for public officials to declare their assets. Mr. Xu, already under house arrest for more than three months, was detained on July 16 for seeking to “gather people and disrupt social order in a public space.â€
The detention of Mr. Chen came as an Obama administration official spoke at the American Embassy here Friday about the results of three days of meetings at the annual U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue, which is now in its 18th round.
Uzra Zeya, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said at a news conference that she had “specifically called into question the pattern of arrests and extralegal detentions of public interest lawyers, Internet activists, journalists, religious leaders and others who challenge official policies and actions in China.â€
The case of Mr. Xu, 40, was among those Ms. Zeya named as having been raised with the Chinese.
Mr. Xu has worked as a law lecturer, and was previously a member of a local legislative body, the People's Congress, in Beijing's Haidian district. In recent years, the college where he is employed, the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, has barred him from teaching.
Mr. Xu's recent call for party officials to declare their assets seemed to be in line with the campaign by the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, to eliminate corruption.
His main offense appears not to have been the cause he pursued, but rather his effort to mobilize a “New Citizens Movement,†which by some estimates had attracted several thousand people. Human Rights Watch estimates 16 people associated with the movement have been detained.
Two other activists who are serving prison terms whose cases were raised with the Chinese were Gao Zhisheng, who defended practitioners of Falun Gong, a religious group banned in China, and Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ms. Zeya said.
The Americans raised the cases of more detained human rights activists, she indicated, than the eight identified by name at the news conference.
The United States government was deeply concerned, Ms. Zeya said, that the Chinese authorities had tried to silence activists by targeting their family members and associates. In that category, she mentioned the families of Liu Xiaobo and Chen Guangcheng, a legal activist who is now in the United States.
The detention of Mr. Chen, the journalist, came after he sent an e-mail Friday saying that he was prepared to endure arrest for the sake of Mr. Xu, the detained rights advocate.
“I have no other choice,†Mr. Chen wrote in the e-mail, which he forwarded to a reporter. “First, in the name of brotherhood, I must act for Xu Zhiyong, my friend of many years. Second, my bottom line is the advancement of civil society. If the authorities violate this bottom line and I go along, that would amount to the bankruptcy of the ethical framework that I have stood by for many years.â€
Mr. Chen had worked as an editor and commentator at Southern Weekend, a weekly newspaper with a reputation for combative journalism that offended some officials. He was forced aside in 2011.
He has attracted a wide following among educated Chinese readers with impassioned and sometimes acidic criticisms of censorship and other political restrictions.
Mr. Xi has indicated that proposed economic reforms would not be accompanied by any significant political relaxation. He has instead repeatedly stressed his loyalty to party traditions and political orthodoxy.
On Thursday, Chinese state-run news media featured a commentary from the official Xinhua news agency that warned that if China embraced democratic ideas promoted by liberal intellectuals, it would succumb to turmoil worse than that in the Soviet Union after the collapse of Communism.
These unnamed liberal intellectuals were “creating apocalyptic visions of China's imminent collapse and vilifying the present socialist system,†the commentary said, accusing the liberals of “blatantly inciting the public to serve as cannon fodder for triggering social turmoil in China.â€
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Chinese Journalist Detained in Beijing, One Day After Human Rights Talk With U.S..
Nickelodeon's resurgence and a new online streaming deal with Amazon contributed to a 20 percent increase in profits at Viacom in its latest financial quarter of the year, the company said on Friday.
“Nickelodeon is clearly on the way back, with new live-action and animated hits that fueled robust ratings,†the Viacom chief executive, Philippe Dauman, said.
Ratings have been stabilizing at Nickelodeon, Viacom's all-important children's network, nearly two years after a sudden plunge that hurt the company's ad sales and stoked concerns about future growth. Mr. Dauman said the month of July was Nickelodeon's “sixth straight month of year-over-year ratings growth.â€
Revenue at the company's media networks division, which includes Nickelodeon and other cable channels like MTV and Comedy Central, increased 13 percent to $2.57 billion in the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations. But the results weren't quite as bright at Paramount Pictures, the company's filmed entertainment division. Revenue there was up 15 percent to $1.16 billion, but profits tumbled by more than half, largely, Viacom said, because of the timing of two film releases, “Star Trek Into Darkness†and “World War Z.â€
“Next quarter will show significant profitability for Paramount, including from these two films,†Mr. Dauman told analysts in an earnings conference call. “But it will likely be moderately less than we anticipated due to the crowded tentpole schedule this summer and the delay of certain film licensing deals into next fiscal year.†Over all, Viacom reported net income of $643 million, or $1.31 a share, up from $534 million, or $1.01 a share, in the same quarter a year ago.
How pleased was the Viacom chairman, Sumner M. Redstone? For the second quarter in a row he called Mr. Dauman “the wisest man I have ever known†on the earnings call.
Analysts were impressed by Viacom's 6 percent year-over-year increase in domestic advertising sales and its prediction of further increases in the summertime. The significance of digital distribution was underlined by a 28 percent increase in what Viacom calls domestic affiliated revenue, which includes new services like Amazon and Hulu. Mr. Dauman, like his rival chief executives at other major media companies, reiterated his view that the market for digital distribution was strong and growing.
Viacom also said on Friday that it would return yet more capital to shareholders by increasing its stock repurchase program to $20 billion, from $10 billion.
Reacting to that announcement, a Morgan Stanley analyst, Benjamin Swinburne, wrote in a note to investors on Friday morning that “four years after the recession, the media industry continues to be more aggressive optimizing portfolios (through spinoffs and M.& A.) and their balance sheets through higher return-of-capital levels.†Viacom, he said, “has now just raised the bar for the group.â€
Viacom stock, which has gained 50 percent so far this year, closed at $79.17 on Friday, up more than 6 percent from its previous close.
But, citing concerns about debt, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Viacom's long-term ratings to Baa2, from Baa1.
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: Nickelodeon On the Mend, Profit Soars At Viacom.
The war between CBS and Time Warner Cable intensified on Friday when the cable company withdrew the CBS stations of its three million customers in markets including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas will not be able to watch CBS until a deal is reached.
CBS stations went black just after 5 p.m. Eastern time. Both sides then issued statements blaming the other for being unreasonable in the negotiations, which were extended from Monday.
The dispute centers on what are known as retransmission fees, which cable companies have increasingly been compelled to pay to broadcasters, despite vigorous protest. CBS's president, Leslie Moonves, has been a leader in seeking retransmission fees for broadcasters.
The decision to black out the stations means that Time Warner Cable subscribers will not be able to watch CBS programming until a deal is reached. In the past, subscribers have reacted with anger at such suspensions, but generally because they have missed specific programs. In this case, the summer programming roster does not contain many highly popular shows that might drive a settlement. CBS's biggest appeal this summer is from the show “Under the Dome,†which will not have a new episode until Monday.
But the network does have the P.G.A. golf championship coming in a week. CBS emphasized on Friday that this week's P.G.A. event was being led by Tiger Woods, who always draws viewers. And CBS, which broadcasts two soap operas, is also likely to gain support from those viewers.
Further down the road is the N.F.L. season, which might be a driving factor in why Time Warner Cable acted now.
Richard Greenfield, a media analyst who follows the company for BTIG Research, said the cable company was in “a once-in-a-lifetime position†to fight this battle because at the moment it does not face the overwhelming leverage of N.F.L. games and the most popular prime-time shows.
In addition, two top series on the Showtime network, owned by CBS, “Dexter†(which is in its final season) and “Ray Donovan,†are now also off the air, even though customers pay a separate fee for them. Time Warner Cable said it would offer a rebate to Showtime subscribers, as well as access to other subscription channels like Starz.
Time Warner Cable has insisted that the fee increases that CBS is asking for are unreasonable; CBS has argued it provides far more value than many cable networks that require much higher fees. Some reports have said CBS is asking for an increase of about 100 percent, to $2 a subscriber, from $1.
A spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission said that the agency was disappointed that the companies had not reached an agreement. “We urge all parties involved to resolve this situation as soon as possible.â€
Despite recriminations on Friday from both sides, the negotiations are expected to resume as soon as Monday. That does not mean a quick settlement is likely, however. Mr. Greenfield said he could foresee CBS's being dark “six weeks, if not more.†An executive close to the CBS side of the talks predicted 10 to 14 days.
In the meantime, CBS is sending messages on the radio and through other outlets urging viewers to complain to Time Warner Cable. The cable company, for its part, was telling customers to buy an antenna or sign up for Aereo, the new service that offers broadcast signals, and was also urging its customers to watch the missing CBS shows through streaming Web sites.
But for customers with Time Warner Cable broadband on Friday, CBS.com was blocking the streaming of shows, instead posting messages.
In almost every previous showdown over retransmission fees, the cable company's stand has crumbled in short order. Mr. Greenfield said this time could be different because Time Warner Cable could take steps like appealing to Congress and selling CBS's channel position to another bidder.
CBS stressed that it had never been taken off the air in a retransmission dispute and that it had not stopped offering extensions to keep the talks going.
Maureen Huff, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable, said, “We've accepted numerous extensions at this point, but it's become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they're not willing to come to reasonable terms.â€
Brian Stelter contributed reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: August 2, 2013
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated at one point which company suspended the service. It was Time Warner Cable, not CBS.
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: After a Fee Dispute With Time Warner Cable, CBS Goes Dark for Three Million Viewers.
Updated, 4:53 p.m. | In July, the Justice Department won its antitrust lawsuit that accused Apple of conspiring with publishers to raise the prices of e-books. Now, the government wants to use its victory to discipline Apple in other markets where it does business, like movies, music and television shows.
The Justice Department on Friday proposed guidelines to the United States District Court in Lower Manhattan on how to enforce the July ruling. The guidelines suggest that Apple should be forced to terminate its existing agreements with five major publishers and also avoid entering similar agreements in the future with providers of music, movies and TV shows and games.
The guidelines would put rules in place to prevent Apple from facilitating price-fixing among publishers, or from retaliating against publishers that refuse to bend to its terms. The Justice Department also suggested that Apple allow Amazon and Barnes & Noble to insert links inside their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, so that consumers can easily compare prices of e-books.
“The court found that Apple's illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices,†William J. Baer, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's antitrust division, said in a statement. “Under the department's proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future.â€
In a statement filed by Apple's legal counsel, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Apple said the government's proposal was a “draconian and punitive intrusion†into its business.
The “overreaching proposal would establish a vague new compliance regime - applicable only to Apple - with intrusive oversight lasting for 10 years, going far beyond the legal issues in this case, injuring competition and consumers, and violating basic principles of fairness and due process,†Apple's lawyer, Orin Snyder, said in its statement. “The resulting cost of this relief - not only in dollars but also lost opportunities for American businesses and consumers - would be vast.â€
The Justice Department declined to comment.
In the case, brought last year, the Justice Department accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices. It cast Apple as the ringmaster of the conspiracy, colluding with the publishers to collectively help them defeat Amazon's uniform pricing of $9.99 for new e-books.
As part of its pitch, Apple asked the publishers to switch to a different model of selling books, called agency pricing, in which the publishers set the price of the books instead of the retailers. The publishers' contracts with Apple included a so-called most-favored-nation clause, requiring that no other retailer sell e-books for a lower price; if they did, the publisher would have to match the price of the e-book in Apple's store. That, the Justice Department said, defeated price competition and resulted in higher prices across the industry.
The Justice Department's proposed remedy would presumably prohibit Apple from using contracts with a most-favored-nation clause to help providers of music, TV shows and movies raise their prices. But it is unlikely that it would have implications for every contract that includes a most-favored-nation clause. The judge, Denise L. Cote, said in her ruling against Apple that the most-favored-nation clause itself was not the issue, but more specifically the manner in which the clause was used as a mechanism to execute a price-fixing conspiracy.
Outside the book business, it is still unclear whether most-favored-nation clauses raise prices for other industries, like music, said Charles E. Elder, an antitrust lawyer at Irell & Manella. “One question is, to what extent would Apple's getting rid of most-favored-nation clauses in those industries help for competition?†Mr. Elder said. “I don't know the answer to that question, but it's one the court should think about before rubber-stamping a requested remedy by the Department of Justice.â€
Judge Cote will hold a hearing next week to discuss the Justice Department's proposed remedy.
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LOS ANGELES â€" The producers of the Academy Awards telecast announced on Friday that they were going back to a prominent television star, Ellen DeGeneres, to host the movie industry’s biggest event, the annual Oscar ceremony.
Those producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, drew questions last year when they gave the hosting job to Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the Fox show “Family Guy.†Mr. MacFarlane then set off a loud backlash with some of the material in the show, especially a song about women’s breasts.
But ratings went up, especially among the younger viewers the Oscar telecast had been losing. The show was up 20 percent among young adults.
Ms. DeGeneres has even less to do with the movie business than Mr. MacFarlane had. (His film “Ted†preceded his appearance.) But she is well liked in Hollywood, and her turn hosting the Oscars in 2007 was widely praised.
Still, the selection of a television comic with a daily syndicated talk show touched off some surprise here at the annual tour of the Television Critics Association â€" one of several small-screen developments to cause a stir here â€" because ABC, the network that broadcasts the Oscar show, has its own star with that exact résumé, Jimmy Kimmel. Ms. DeGeneres does have a history with ABC. Her situation comedy, “Ellen,†which made national news when both she and her character came out as gay in 1997, was broadcast on ABC.
In typical fashion, Ms. DeGeneres released a jokey statement: “I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say â€" the third time’s the charm.â€
FOX STICKS UP FOR ‘DADS’ One new series always sets off the most negative response among critics gathered here, and this year’s “winner†â€" hands down â€" is a coming Fox comedy called “Dads.â€
The show is about two friends, played by Giovanni Ribisi and Seth Green, who experience generation shock when their fathers, played by Martin Mull and Peter Riegert, come to live with them.
Going into the new season, “Dads†seems likely to be the target of mass condemnation for crude humor based on sexism, in addition to some racist remarks.
The cast appeared here for a news conference, accompanied by several producers (a group that coincidentally includes Mr. MacFarlane, though he was not present). Their defense ranged from suggesting that there would be “things we’d like to tweak†in future episodes (from the producer Alec Sulkin), to citing examples from the writers’ lives in which older relatives blurted out profanities.
Mike Scully, an executive producer best known for “The Simpsons,†joked that a certain expletive “was part of our regular dinner conversation â€" and that was during grace.â€
The top Fox entertainment executive, Kevin Reilly, tried to defuse the furor by noting that comedies often experiment before they find the right tone. He then read out a litany of corrosive comments that the same group of critics had made about an earlier sitcom, complete with suggestions that the show might have been the worst comedy of all time.
Then he revealed the show: “The Big Bang Theory,†now the biggest hit comedy on television.
All of which was meant to underscore the idea that critics are often wrong about shows.
But not always, the Fox executives would surely argue. Among critics gathered here, the favorite new comedy of next season is one called “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.†That, too, will be on Fox.
FX FINDS INSPIRATION IN ‘FARGO’ Fox’s sister cable channel, FX, will continue adding to its ambitious lineup with a series inspired by the Oscar-winning movie “Fargo.†The network announced here on Friday that the show would star Billy Bob Thornton.
The show will have none of the characters from the movie. Mr. Thornton will play a con artist who tries to manipulate a small-town insurance salesman.
Joel and Ethan Coen, the filmmakers behind “Fargo,†were involved in this project and will be listed as executive producers. John Landgraf, the FX chief executive, said here that the brothers read the pilot script and asked to do a rewrite. That consisted of half a dozen new pages, Mr. Landgraf said, because the material fit the Coens’ original vision for “Fargo.â€
This show is part of the new genre of “limited series,†akin to FX’s “American Horror Storyâ€: The series, also called “Fargo,†will wrap up in 10 hours, though it may continue in future seasons with new stories and characters in the same setting,
“Fargo†has long been the object of television ardor. There have been several tries at adaptations, with one, in 2003, getting as far as a pilot. That one used the film’s central character, Marge Gunderson, played (still pregnant), by Edie Falco.
CBS DEFENDS STRATEGY CBS offered a research presentation here that reinforced the network’s belief that too much attention is paid to viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, and argued that more advertisers were moving away from slavish devotion to that demographic.
Leslie Moonves, the network’s president, has fought that fight for years because CBS has been dominant both in total viewers and in the 25-to-54 group.
But this past season, CBS even topped its rivals in that 18-to-49 audience. “I didn’t think it would take this long†to win in that category, Mr. Moonves said. “It helped when ‘American Idol’ crashed.†Despite the win, he said CBS still believed in appealing to a mass audience, not just those under 50. “But it’s good to be able to say we won there, too,†Mr. Moonves said, “and to finally shut everybody up.â€
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Surprise at TV Critics’ Gathering: DeGeneres Is to Host the Oscars.
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BEIJING â€" A Chinese journalist who had pressed for the release of a prominent human rights activist was detained Friday, one day after the United States completed annual discussions with China on human rights.
The journalist, Chen Min, 51, widely known by his pen name, Xiao Shu, was called to a meeting with security officials in Beijing at around noon Friday. As he was questioned, he kept a friend informed by text message.
In his last message at 1:50 p.m., Mr. Chen said the officers wanted him to leave Beijing and were threatening him, the friend, Wang Gongquan, said. After that, frantic calls and messages to Mr. Chen went unanswered, Mr. Wang said.
Mr. Chen had helped organize a petition calling for the release of Xu Zhiyong, a legal scholar who inspired a grass-roots anticorruption campaign calling for public officials to declare their assets. Mr. Xu, already under house arrest for more than three months, was detained on July 16 for seeking to “gather people and disrupt social order in a public space.â€
The detention of Mr. Chen came as an Obama administration official spoke at the American Embassy here Friday about the results of three days of meetings at the annual U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue, which is now in its 18th round.
Uzra Zeya, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said at a news conference that she had “specifically called into question the pattern of arrests and extralegal detentions of public interest lawyers, Internet activists, journalists, religious leaders and others who challenge official policies and actions in China.â€
The case of Mr. Xu, 40, was among those Ms. Zeya named as having been raised with the Chinese.
Mr. Xu has worked as a law lecturer, and was previously a member of a local legislative body, the People’s Congress, in Beijing’s Haidian district. In recent years, the college where he is employed, the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, has barred him from teaching.
Mr. Xu’s recent call for party officials to declare their assets seemed to be in line with the campaign by the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, to eliminate corruption.
His main offense appears not to have been the cause he pursued, but rather his effort to mobilize a “New Citizens Movement,†which by some estimates had attracted several thousand people. Human Rights Watch estimates 16 people associated with the movement have been detained.
Two other activists who are serving prison terms whose cases were raised with the Chinese were Gao Zhisheng, who defended practitioners of Falun Gong, a religious group banned in China, and Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ms. Zeya said.
The Americans raised the cases of more detained human rights activists, she indicated, than the eight identified by name at the news conference.
The United States government was deeply concerned, Ms. Zeya said, that the Chinese authorities had tried to silence activists by targeting their family members and associates. In that category, she mentioned the families of Liu Xiaobo and Chen Guangcheng, a legal activist who is now in the United States.
The detention of Mr. Chen, the journalist, came after he sent an e-mail Friday saying that he was prepared to endure arrest for the sake of Mr. Xu, the detained rights advocate.
“I have no other choice,†Mr. Chen wrote in the e-mail, which he forwarded to a reporter. “First, in the name of brotherhood, I must act for Xu Zhiyong, my friend of many years. Second, my bottom line is the advancement of civil society. If the authorities violate this bottom line and I go along, that would amount to the bankruptcy of the ethical framework that I have stood by for many years.â€
Mr. Chen had worked as an editor and commentator at Southern Weekend, a weekly newspaper with a reputation for combative journalism that offended some officials. He was forced aside in 2011.
He has attracted a wide following among educated Chinese readers with impassioned and sometimes acidic criticisms of censorship and other political restrictions.
Mr. Xi has indicated that proposed economic reforms would not be accompanied by any significant political relaxation. He has instead repeatedly stressed his loyalty to party traditions and political orthodoxy.
On Thursday, Chinese state-run news media featured a commentary from the official Xinhua news agency that warned that if China embraced democratic ideas promoted by liberal intellectuals, it would succumb to turmoil worse than that in the Soviet Union after the collapse of Communism.
These unnamed liberal intellectuals were “creating apocalyptic visions of China’s imminent collapse and vilifying the present socialist system,†the commentary said, accusing the liberals of “blatantly inciting the public to serve as cannon fodder for triggering social turmoil in China.â€
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Chinese Journalist Detained in Beijing, One Day After Human Rights Talk With U.S..
The war between CBS and Time Warner Cable intensified on Friday when the cable company withdrew the CBS stations of its three million customers in markets including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas will not be able to watch CBS until a deal is reached.
CBS stations went black just after 5 p.m. Eastern time. Both sides then issued statements blaming the other for being unreasonable in the negotiations, which were extended from Monday.
The dispute centers on what are known as retransmission fees, which cable companies have increasingly been compelled to pay to broadcasters, despite vigorous protest. CBS’s president, Leslie Moonves, has been a leader in seeking retransmission fees for broadcasters.
The decision to black out the stations means that Time Warner Cable subscribers will not be able to watch CBS programming until a deal is reached. In the past, subscribers have reacted with anger at such suspensions, but generally because they have missed specific programs. In this case, the summer programming roster does not contain many highly popular shows that might drive a settlement. CBS’s biggest appeal this summer is from the show “Under the Dome,†which will not have a new episode until Monday.
But the network does have the P.G.A. golf championship coming in a week. CBS emphasized on Friday that this week’s P.G.A. event was being led by Tiger Woods, who always draws viewers. And CBS, which broadcasts two soap operas, is also likely to gain support from those viewers.
Further down the road is the N.F.L. season, which might be a driving factor in why Time Warner Cable acted now.
Richard Greenfield, a media analyst who follows the company for BTIG Research, said the cable company was in “a once-in-a-lifetime position†to fight this battle because at the moment it does not face the overwhelming leverage of N.F.L. games and the most popular prime-time shows.
In addition, two top series on the Showtime network, owned by CBS, “Dexter†(which is in its final season) and “Ray Donovan,†are now also off the air, even though customers pay a separate fee for them. Time Warner Cable said it would offer a rebate to Showtime subscribers, as well as access to other subscription channels like Starz.
Time Warner Cable has insisted that the fee increases that CBS is asking for are unreasonable; CBS has argued it provides far more value than many cable networks that require much higher fees. Some reports have said CBS is asking for an increase of about 100 percent, to $2 a subscriber, from $1.
A spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission said that the agency was disappointed that the companies had not reached an agreement. “We urge all parties involved to resolve this situation as soon as possible.â€
Despite recriminations on Friday from both sides, the negotiations are expected to resume as soon as Monday. That does not mean a quick settlement is likely, however. Mr. Greenfield said he could foresee CBS’s being dark “six weeks, if not more.†An executive close to the CBS side of the talks predicted 10 to 14 days.
In the meantime, CBS is sending messages on the radio and through other outlets urging viewers to complain to Time Warner Cable. The cable company, for its part, was telling customers to buy an antenna or sign up for Aereo, the new service that offers broadcast signals, and was also urging its customers to watch the missing CBS shows through streaming Web sites.
But for customers with Time Warner Cable broadband on Friday, CBS.com was blocking the streaming of shows, instead posting messages.
In almost every previous showdown over retransmission fees, the cable company’s stand has crumbled in short order. Mr. Greenfield said this time could be different because Time Warner Cable could take steps like appealing to Congress and selling CBS’s channel position to another bidder.
CBS stressed that it had never been taken off the air in a retransmission dispute and that it had not stopped offering extensions to keep the talks going.
Maureen Huff, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable, said, “We’ve accepted numerous extensions at this point, but it’s become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they’re not willing to come to reasonable terms.â€
Brian Stelter contributed reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: August 2, 2013
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated at one point which company suspended the service. It was Time Warner Cable, not CBS.
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: After a Fee Dispute With Time Warner Cable, CBS Goes Dark for Three Million Viewers.
Nickelodeon’s resurgence and a new online streaming deal with Amazon contributed to a 20 percent increase in profits at Viacom in its latest financial quarter of the year, the company said on Friday.
“Nickelodeon is clearly on the way back, with new live-action and animated hits that fueled robust ratings,†the Viacom chief executive, Philippe Dauman, said.
Ratings have been stabilizing at Nickelodeon, Viacom’s all-important children’s network, nearly two years after a sudden plunge that hurt the company’s ad sales and stoked concerns about future growth. Mr. Dauman said the month of July was Nickelodeon’s “sixth straight month of year-over-year ratings growth.â€
Revenue at the company’s media networks division, which includes Nickelodeon and other cable channels like MTV and Comedy Central, increased 13 percent to $2.57 billion in the quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations. But the results weren’t quite as bright at Paramount Pictures, the company’s filmed entertainment division. Revenue there was up 15 percent to $1.16 billion, but profits tumbled by more than half, largely, Viacom said, because of the timing of two film releases, “Star Trek Into Darkness†and “World War Z.â€
“Next quarter will show significant profitability for Paramount, including from these two films,†Mr. Dauman told analysts in an earnings conference call. “But it will likely be moderately less than we anticipated due to the crowded tentpole schedule this summer and the delay of certain film licensing deals into next fiscal year.†Over all, Viacom reported net income of $643 million, or $1.31 a share, up from $534 million, or $1.01 a share, in the same quarter a year ago.
How pleased was the Viacom chairman, Sumner M. Redstone? For the second quarter in a row he called Mr. Dauman “the wisest man I have ever known†on the earnings call.
Analysts were impressed by Viacom’s 6 percent year-over-year increase in domestic advertising sales and its prediction of further increases in the summertime. The significance of digital distribution was underlined by a 28 percent increase in what Viacom calls domestic affiliated revenue, which includes new services like Amazon and Hulu. Mr. Dauman, like his rival chief executives at other major media companies, reiterated his view that the market for digital distribution was strong and growing.
Viacom also said on Friday that it would return yet more capital to shareholders by increasing its stock repurchase program to $20 billion, from $10 billion.
Reacting to that announcement, a Morgan Stanley analyst, Benjamin Swinburne, wrote in a note to investors on Friday morning that “four years after the recession, the media industry continues to be more aggressive optimizing portfolios (through spinoffs and M.& A.) and their balance sheets through higher return-of-capital levels.†Viacom, he said, “has now just raised the bar for the group.â€
Viacom stock, which has gained 50 percent so far this year, closed at $79.17 on Friday, up more than 6 percent from its previous close.
But, citing concerns about debt, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Viacom’s long-term ratings to Baa2, from Baa1.
A version of this article appeared in print on August 3, 2013, on page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: Nickelodeon On the Mend, Profit Soars At Viacom .
Updated, 4:53 p.m. | In July, the Justice Department won its antitrust lawsuit that accused Apple of conspiring with publishers to raise the prices of e-books. Now, the government wants to use its victory to discipline Apple in other markets where it does business, like movies, music and television shows.
The Justice Department on Friday proposed guidelines to the United States District Court in Lower Manhattan on how to enforce the July ruling. The guidelines suggest that Apple should be forced to terminate its existing agreements with five major publishers and also avoid entering similar agreements in the future with providers of music, movies and TV shows and games.
The guidelines would put rules in place to prevent Apple from facilitating price-fixing among publishers, or from retaliating against publishers that refuse to bend to its terms. The Justice Department also suggested that Apple allow Amazon and Barnes & Noble to insert links inside their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, so that consumers can easily compare prices of e-books.
“The court found that Apple’s illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices,†William J. Baer, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, said in a statement. “Under the department’s proposed order, Apple’s illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future.â€
In a statement filed by Apple’s legal counsel, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Apple said the government’s proposal was a “draconian and punitive intrusion†into its business.
The “overreaching proposal would establish a vague new compliance regime â€" applicable only to Apple â€" with intrusive oversight lasting for 10 years, going far beyond the legal issues in this case, injuring competition and consumers, and violating basic principles of fairness and due process,†Apple’s lawyer, Orin Snyder, said in its statement. “The resulting cost of this relief â€" not only in dollars but also lost opportunities for American businesses and consumers â€" would be vast.â€
The Justice Department declined to comment.
In the case, brought last year, the Justice Department accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices. It cast Apple as the ringmaster of the conspiracy, colluding with the publishers to collectively help them defeat Amazon’s uniform pricing of $9.99 for new e-books.
As part of its pitch, Apple asked the publishers to switch to a different model of selling books, called agency pricing, in which the publishers set the price of the books instead of the retailers. The publishers’ contracts with Apple included a so-called most-favored-nation clause, requiring that no other retailer sell e-books for a lower price; if they did, the publisher would have to match the price of the e-book in Apple’s store. That, the Justice Department said, defeated price competition and resulted in higher prices across the industry.
The Justice Department’s proposed remedy would presumably prohibit Apple from using contracts with a most-favored-nation clause to help providers of music, TV shows and movies raise their prices. But it is unlikely that it would have implications for every contract that includes a most-favored-nation clause. The judge, Denise L. Cote, said in her ruling against Apple that the most-favored-nation clause itself was not the issue, but more specifically the manner in which the clause was used as a mechanism to execute a price-fixing conspiracy.
Outside the book business, it is still unclear whether most-favored-nation clauses raise prices for other industries, like music, said Charles E. Elder, an antitrust lawyer at Irell & Manella. “One question is, to what extent would Apple’s getting rid of most-favored-nation clauses in those industries help for competition?†Mr. Elder said. “I don’t know the answer to that question, but it’s one the court should think about before rubber-stamping a requested remedy by the Department of Justice.â€
Judge Cote will hold a hearing next week to discuss the Justice Department’s proposed remedy.
Reaching back to television for a comedy star, the producers of the Academy Awards telecast announced Friday that Ellen DeGeneres would return next hear to host the annual Oscar ceremony.
The producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, set off some backlash last year after giving the job to Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the “Family Guy†animated show on the Fox network, and Mr. MacFarlane received some harsh reviews for his crude humor. But ratings were up, especially among the younger viewers the Oscar telecast had been losing.
Ms. DeGeneres has even less to do with the theatrical movie business than Mr. MacFarlane did (his movie “Ted†preceded his appearance) but she is extremely well liked in Hollywood and her performance as the host of the show in 2007 was widely praised.
In typical fashion, she released a jokey response to the honor: “I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say â€" the third time’s the charm.â€
Ms. DeGeneres also has history with ABC, the network that broadcasts the special. He situation comedy, “Ellen,†which made national news when both she and her character came ut as gay in 1997, was broadcast on ABC.
Next year’s ceremony will take place on March 2.