TECHNOLOGY

At the Apple general meeting a plan by some of the shareholders to force the company to unveil the succession plan in case of Steve Jobs' exit from the company was nixed by the majority. Jobs has been on medical leave again and has not indicated any time frame for his return. He had a tumor removed in 2004 for panceatic cancer and a liver transplant in 2009 when he took six months off. Famous for not revealing much about his illness has a lot of people guessing but a recent survey said people would still by the company's product regardless. A newer version of the iPad is due to be launched soon.

Critics seem to have it in for The Last Airbender which was hastly converted to 3D by the studio before its release. it has been proved time and again that unless you spend time on the conversion process (or better still film it in 3D) then it isn't going to work. The film apparently cost $150m which means it has a long way to go before it makes a profit. Studios like the fact that they can convert a film for about $5m (badly) but make more from the premium ticket prices while people are still keen to watch 3D movies.

According to blogs hackers have successfully managed to unlock the iPhone from its North American service provider AT&T. They said it took ten minutes and was relatively easy. Service Providers of course lock cell or mobile phones to their network to avoid indescriminate use. Whilst freeing or unlocking a phone potentially means you can use it anywhere you do have to 'plug in' to another network and there you need the information for that network before being able to use. Don't expect this little trick to be around for long!

WHAT'S NEW AT THE BROADCAST NETWORKS?

Channel 4 has decided not to continue with bidding for the third season os Glee. The UK broadcaster decided that it did not want to compete with the price offered by competitors including BSKYB.

Networks are changing their key personnel. Did they leave or were they pushed? That we don't know but we can of course speculate. Christina Norman is out at OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) to be temporarily replaced by Discovery CEO Peter Ligouri. She was CEO at the launch of the channel and it attracted both advertisers and viewers. However the channel is now losing momentum and that always sparks a change in management.

The next change is one that came a little unexpectedly as Judy McGrath leaves MTV Networks. This is someone who has spent 3 decades with the company shaping MTV to where it is today. She steps down immediately turning the reins over to Viacoms Philippe Dauman. Some were surprised McGrath didn't leave when Tom Preston was ousted by Summer Redstone Viacom chairman in 2004. McGrath managed to form a working relationship with Dauman and carried on although they did clash from time to time. She leaves the company brining in two-thirds of Viacoms revenue. There will be a sea change in management style from the more bohemian McGrath to the more lawyerly Dauman.

BBC Worldwide has plans to launch more channels overseas. Doctor Who and Top Gear have made a lot of money for the sales arm of the pubcaster but what isn't often known is that most of the profits actually come from sales to other channels. The BBC have a wealth of programming to choose from and BBC channels overseas could easily duplicate some of the wonderful programming but doesn't. The reason is the BBC mainly has to form partnerships for carriage. That means that costs associated especially with drama are not viable so the BBC sells to other channels first. Doctor Who is a prime case in point as it is seen on Space and used to be on CBC instead of BBC Canada. What happens if this commercial arm is sold? Who benefits?

Do you remember Rick Springfield? This Australian singer, famous fpr jot "Jessie's Girl" who went on to become a soap opera star is now 60 and about to bare his rear end in Californication. In a four episode story arc Springfield says he plays a rather "warped" version of himself. The series stars David Duchovney.

Lots happening at NBC Universal. It will be interesting to see what happens if Comcast buy the Vivendi share. It could produce one of the largest rivals to ESPN there is in North America.

As China tops the medal table at the Beijing Olympics ahead of the USA, there comes news that the UK is now number 2 behind the USA in exporting television content. There has been a 90% increase in productions and co-productions since 2003 in the UK and it is selling more formats then ever before. NBC Universal has opened a London office and this may be partly from the influence of Ben Silverman who spent a long time in the UK, bringing over The Office to the US amongst other shows. NBCU are trying a reversal of formats with the introduction of Law & Order: London as their first co-production venture for the London office.

There will be a new line-up both in front and behind the camera on American Idol in its next season as a new female judge joins the team and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe steps down. Kara dioGuardia will join Paula, Randy and Simon on the judging panel. Lythgoe, the British executive producer of the original Pop Idol from which American Idol was based, will step down after seven seasons to spend more time on his other hit, So You Think You Can Dance as well as a new venture with Idol co-producer Simon Fuller.

As shows continue their seasons after the long break imposed by the Writers' strike, here are some shows that definitely won't be back next season. Many fans already know that Jericho didn't make the cut as there was insufficient audience numbers despite pleas from fans to get another season. Big Shots, Cane and Bionic Woman are both cancelled. If anybody saw Cavemen then sorry but that won't be back and Carpoolers is also on the no heap. Las Vegas also looks to be cancelled and both Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle are hovering on the brink. More news on our On The Box page

Warner Brothers has announed that it will actually fund web programming ahead of ad support. This is a departure for the studios and networks who only a year ago were reluctant to fund web content relying more on advertisers to sponsor content. Now with more companies seeing the strength of web content it is expected that more networks and studios will follow Warner's lead.