WB has a hit in Kutcher's 'Beauty and the Geek'
   It’s hard to believe, considering the WB caters to reality lovin’ 12-34-year-olds, but the network has never had a hit reality show, mostly poorly produced bombs like “High School Reunion” and “Boarding House: North Shore.”
   But with the sharply focused, surprisingly sweet “Beauty and the Geek,” from producer Ashton Kutcher, the WB may finally have found a successful reality franchise.
   Wednesday night’s third episode of “Geek” earned series highs in adults 18-49 and total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights, posting a 2.0 among 18-49s and averaging 4.26 million total viewers.
   The premiere episode of the series two weeks ago averaged a 1.6 among 18-49s and 3.17 million viewers, while last week’s episode averaged a 1.8 18-49 rating and 3.75 million viewers.
   ABC’s summer reality hit “Dancing with the Stars” was Wednesday night’s highest-rated show among viewers 18-49, averaging a 4.7 during its 9 p.m. timeslot. That helped ABC finish first for the night with a 3.1 average rating and a 10 share. NBC finished second at 2.3/7, CBS third at 2.1/6, Fox fourth at 1.7/6, the WB fifth at 1.6/5 and UPN sixth at 0.8/3.
   ABC led at 8 p.m. with a 2.2 average for a repeat of last week’s episode of “Stars,” followed by the WB’s 2.0 for “Geek.” Fox was third during the hour with a 1.9 average for repeats of “That ‘70s Show” (2.0) and “Stacked” (1.8).
   At 9 p.m. ABC led with its 4.7 average for “Stars,” down 0.1 from last week’s average. It averaged 15.3 million total viewers, up slightly over the previous week. NBC was second in 18-49s with a 2.2 average for a repeat of “Law & Order” and CBS third with a 2.1 for repeats of “King of Queens” (2.2) and “Yes, Dear” (2.0).
   NBC took the lead during the 10 p.m. hour with a 2.9 average rating for another hour of “Law & Order.” CBS was second with a 2.7 for a “CSI: NY” rerun and ABC third with a 2.4 for a repeat of “Lost.”
   ABC took the night among households with a 6.9 average rating and a 12 share. NBC was second at 5.5/10, CBS third at 5.0/9, Fox fourth at 2.7/5, the WB fifth at 2.2/4 and UPN sixth at 1.3/2.

Lawsuit challenges Nielsen on antitrust grounds
For years media people, both buyers and sellers, have been complaining about Nielsen's monopoly on TV ratings, and now a competitor has filed a lawsuit with the aim of breaking that monopoly. Frank Maggio, CEO of ErinMedia and ReacTV, has filed an antitrust suit that seeks to invalidate the rating service's long-term contracts with the TV networks. The suit claims Nielsen's ratings system is inaccurate and that its contracts prevent competition. ErinMedia plans to market its technology to measure viewers through set-top boxes, such as the digital cable boxes that it says are already available in 25 percent of American homes. "We have a popular vote methodology where we poll everybody that can vote," Maggio tells Media Life. The company contends that as much as 30 percent of ad dollars are wasted each year because Nielsen's methods do not capture viewers accurately. A Nielsen spokesperson, Karen Gyimesi, says the lawsuit is without merit, noting that there is nothing in Nielsen's contracts that prevents clients from using a competing rating service.

Appeals court refuses to lift NY camera ban
New York remains the only state with an absolute ban on TV cameras in courtrooms during cases where witnesses could be forced to testify. Yesterday the state’s Court of Appeals voted 7-0 to uphold a ban on cameras in courtrooms, saying the ban does not violate the Constitution. The state imposed the ban back in 1953, but Court TV challenged it in 2001, claiming the law denies the media the freedom to cover courtroom proceedings. The ban doesn’t apply to cases heard in the state’s appellate courts or the Court of Appeals. Both Gov. George Pataki, a republican, and state attorney general Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, believe cameras should be allowed in courtrooms. The court ruled that only state’s legislature is empowered to lift the ban. 

Naked city: Ugly George rolls his camera again
Ugly George is making a comeback. The infamous New York pornographer, who had a late-night cable access show from the ‘70s all the way into the early ‘90s, wants to get back on the air, according to report in today's New York Post. Ugly George, whose real name is George Urban, was known for searching the streets of New York for women willing to get naked for his late-night show. Over time the show gained such cult status that he was able to snag interviews with celebrities like John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as well as a number of politicians. No surprise, a favorite topic was the First Amendment. Ugly George says he's now gathered fresh interview footage and that the new incarnation of his show will be available on satellite for cable operators sometime during the next couple weeks. His web site, UglyGeorge.com, warns visitors that it’s “Not for minors or commie pinkos.”

CBS announces 'Category 7: End of the World'
CBS will reinvent the wheel this fall, at least where new movies and miniseries are concerned. Shortly after NBC announced a sequel to the disaster miniseries “10.5,” CBS has announced a sequel to its own disaster miniseries “Category 6: Day of Destruction.” Called “Category 7: The End of the World,” the sequel will run four hours and pick up right where “Category 6” left off. The network also announced a prequel to its movie “Stone Cold” starring Tom Selleck and a sequel to “The Christmas Shoes” starring Rob Lowe. Other movies on CBS this fall will be “Pope John Paul II,” “The Hunt for the BTK Killer,” “Just Like the Ones,” “Time Bomb,” “Vampire Bats,” “Mayday,” “Surrender Dorothy,” and the previously announced “Martha: Behind Bars.” Some of the movies still have working titles. More currently on CBS, the network has decided to move the Tommy Hilfiger reality show “The Cut” from Thursday nights at 8 p.m. to Wednesdays at 8 starting July 6. The move will make room for the July 7 launch of “Big Brother 7,” which will take the Thursday 8 p.m. timeslot.

Sinking Sun: Vegas paper becomes an insert
Starting later this year, the Las Vegas Sun will also rise in the morning. The Sun, an afternoon paper, will join with the city’s other daily, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to publish a six- to 10-page a.m. publication distributed along with the Review-Journal. The new agreement, reached this week, calls for the Sun to fold into the Review-Journal by Sept. 30. For 15 years the two papers had a joint operating agreement that included some Sun sections in the Review-Journal’s weekend and holiday editions. The Sun’s circulation has dipped by more than 25 percent in the past two years, hitting 28,000. The Review-Journal’s daily circulation is 165,000.