DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish man who falsely accused television star and pop impresario Louis Walsh of groping him in a Dublin night club was jailed for six months on Wednesday. Walsh, who manages boy band Westlife and stars on the popular UK television talent show "X Factor," was accused in June last year of the assault …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Almost 38 million Americans watched President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech live on television - about 5 million fewer than in 2011, according to TV ratings figures on Wednesday. The Nielsen company said Obama's speech on Tuesday night, in which he defended his record while demanding higher …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - Though the data is extremely approximate due to coverage of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, preliminary numbers indicate that an "American Idol" repeat pushed Fox to a ratings win Tuesday night. A repeat of Sunday night's "Idol" at 8 p.m. posted the night's highest numbers in …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale will host the Writers Guild of America's awards show from Los Angeles, while Rachel Dratch will do the same in New York, the WGA, West and WGA, East announced on Wednesday. The two guilds will stage simultaneous awards shows in the two cities on February 19. The …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Expanding beyond its stable of successful dramas, the USA Network announced Wednesday that it has picked up the nine-episode reality series "The Moment," in which Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner will give people a second chance to return to abandoned careers. Warner knows about second chances: He famously …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - Controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is getting into the television game. Assange, who has made headlines with his disclosure of government secrets along with allegations of sexual misconduct, will host a TV series comprising "in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF) will immediately begin admitting people to the long-term care unit on its Wasserman campus in Woodland Hills, the organization said on Wednesday. The announcement represents a victory for the grassroots group, Saving the Lives of Our Own, which has …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ben Stiller has signed on for the HBO pilot "All Talk," and "M*A*S*H" star Alan Alda is in talks to co-star with him, an individual familiar with the project confirms to TheWrap. The pilot, written by "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" author Jonathan Safran Foer, will focus on a Jewish family …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - NBC moved to bolster its comedy lineup Monday, picking up three humor-oriented projects including the new project from Roseanne Barr, an individual familiar with the pickups confirms to TheWrap. "Downwardly Mobile," which sees Barr coming back to the small screen after the cancellation of her …

By Brent Lang & Pamela Chelin LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) squared off in Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday morning to determine who controls the television rights to the Golden Globe Awards. In a brief opening statement, Daniel Petrocelli, …

DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish man who falsely accused television star and pop impresario Louis Walsh of groping him in a Dublin night club was jailed for six months on Wednesday. Walsh, who manages boy band Westlife and stars on the popular UK television talent show "X Factor," was accused in June last year of the assault …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A little altitude isn't enough to keep "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan in a Park City, Utah hospital. Morgan tweeted Monday that he had been released and planned to be back at the "30 Rock" set in New York on Tuesday. "Thank U 2 the hospital staff. Back at work 2morrow shooting 30 Rock. Holla at …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - (Spoiler alert: Don't read this if you don't even want to think about a central "Walking Dead" character leaving.) Is Shane doomed on "The Walking Dead"? Actor Jon Bernthal is in talks to star in the pilot for TNT's cop drama "L.A. Noir," according to Variety. The pilot, to be directed by former …

(Reuters) - Media conglomerate Time Warner Inc is leading a $12 million round of funding into a start-up company that analyzes tweets and Facebook posts as people watch their favorite TV programs. Social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs is also backed in its second round of funding by another new investor, SoftBank Capital, …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's vibrant Iranian-American community is getting its own reality TV show -- its stars spending, squabbling and showing off in what looks like a cross between the gossipy "Real Housewives" series and splashy "Keeping up with the Kardashians". "Shahs of Sunset", premiering on cable TV channel …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - ABC has announced Emily Maynard, the single mom who accepted Brad Womack's final rose in the season 15 finale of "The Bachelor," is single -- again -- and ready to mingle -- again -- on the eighth season of "The Bachelorette." Maynard, the first single mom to star on "The Bachelorette," will …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Don and Betty Draper, together again? That's a hint "Mad Men" series creator Matt Weiner is dropping about the show's upcoming fifth season, which premieres on AMC on March 25. "It's called 'A Little Kiss,'" Weiner tells TV Guide of the two-hour season premiere. "I like the title to have some …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jim Carrey's 24-year-old waitress daughter, Jane Carrey, had a leg up -- well, at least one -- on her fellow "American Idol" auditioners on Sunday night's show. There's the fact that her father is a Hollywood superstar, and the fact that she already knew "AI" judge Jennifer Lopez. "I remember …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Here's the big question, of course: Would "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler have gotten through to the next round? Judging by the audience reaction that could be heard during his performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" before Sunday's AFC Championship game -- were those really boos for the …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The family of Brandon Tartikoff -- the youngest programming chief in NBC history -- has donated the late television and film executive's collection of correspondence and effects to the University of Southern California, the school said Monday. George Lucas, a USC alumnus and benefactor, had urged …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - News Corp. and Columbian broadcaster RCN Television Group have partnered to launch MundoFox, a new Spanish-language broadcast network "catering to the U.S. Hispanic market." A direct challenge to the two biggest networks in the field, Univision and Telemundo, MundoFox will launch in the fall with …

(Reuters) - Weather Channel said on Tuesday it has appointed David Kenny, a Yahoo Inc director, as its new chairman and chief executive, taking over from Mike Kelly. The cable channel, which is jointly owned by Comcast Corp's NBC Universal and private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital, will be looking to …

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian automaker Fiat rolled out an introspective 90-second video for its new Panda compact car on the internet Monday aimed at tapping into the austerity zeitgeist. Fiat's latest commercial is modeled on a 2011 ad for its Chrysler subsidiary starring rapper Eminem, which captured hearts and viewers when …