Well, ABC has announced which of their shows won’t be coming back next year. Five programs got the ax this year. Topping the list is Happy Endings, which has had difficulties find an audience despite solid reviews from critics. In addition, the network has chosen not to renew thriller Red Widow, How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life, crime drama Body of Proof with Dana Delaney, and sitcom Malibu Country staring Reba McIntire.

On the bright side, ABC’s most popular shows will be coming back next year. Fans of shows like Castle, Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, Once Upon A Time, Suburgatory, Revenge, and more can rest easy knowing their favorite shows will be around for at least one more year.

This week, yet another wrinkle in the tale of the Today Show anchor drama has been revealed.

New York Magazine this week published an expose on Lauer and the Today Show that details the anchor’s flirtation with jumping ship from NBC to ABC. According to the report, Lauer was speaking with ABC to develop a daytime TV show hosted by Katie Couric and himself, just like the old days. This was around the time rumors of Lauer being replaced by Ryan Seacrest were making the rounds. Lauer was to be a host on the daytime show and an on-air news personality for ABC, which the network hoped would help Good Morning America beat the Today Show.

The talks evidently broke down because Lauer ended them. He had been offered a substantial contract to stay on at the Today Show, where Curry would soon be out.

According to the New York Times, the new app is currently in development. It would allow users to live stream ABC programming – daytime, primetime, and more – to their mobile devices and tablets. All users would have to do is log in through their cable provider.

The app could launch as early as later this year.

Considering that Disney already has other streaming apps called Watch ESPN and Watch Disney, is wouldn’t be a shock if this new app launches as Watch ABC or something similar.

With this move, ABC would be on the cutting edge of content distribution. Of course, one of the main reasons for any network to develop streaming apps is to attempt to create a space where they can broadcast more ads.

ABC isn’t the only major network that’s looking to expand their reach to more mobile users. Last week, CBS launched a new app that features full-episode streaming of much of their daytime, primetime, and late night content. But that app only streams shows on a delay – a far cry from what ABC is reportedly trying to do with a truly live app experience.

Speaking of Disney-owned properties, Hulu just tapped a new acting CEO. SVP of Content Any Forssell will fill the vacant seat, left by Jason Kilar when he steps down later this month.

If daytime TV viewers didn’t want All My Children and One Life To Live, you could have fooled me, because when the news broke, the angry comments flooded the web.

Angry fans can find joy once again, because both shows are making a return, courtesy of Hulu. We have yet to see an official announcement, but TechCrunch is reporting that both will be back in shorter 30-minute episodes each weekday, starting in the spring on Hulu, as well as on iTunes and Prospect Park’s (the production company that licensed the soap operas from ABC) The Online Network, but Hulu will manage the ad sales and package them.

Prospect Park actually announced the shows’ return earlier this month, but didn’t mention Hulu or iTunes (via zap2it):

“We are pleased to confirm that Prospect Park is reviving the beloved soap operas, All My Children and One Life To Live as the anchor programs on The Online Network (TOLN). Today we are also pleased to confirm that Prospect Park has: 1) signed guild agreements with both SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America); 2) entered into a consulting agreement with Agnes Nixon the creator of All My Children and One Life to Live guaranteeing her active involvement; 3) hired Foz McDermott (coordinating producer Heroes) as TOLN’s head of production, Jennifer Pepperman (Director, One Life to Live) as Executive Producer on One Life to Live, and Ginger Smith (Producer, All My Children) as Executive Producer on All My Children; and 4) arranged the necessary financing to begin production in February on both All My Children and One Life To Live.

Online video has become quite the savior for fans of canceled TV shows, showing that if there is big enough demand, your old favorites might have a chance at returning. Netflix has managed to pull off what many of us thought would never happen, in bringing back the cult favorite Arrested Development, which returns in May. Now, long-running soap operas are finding their way back to fans in what should be a happy moment for a lot of people.

As before, the app is available for iOS as well.

The app was developed by the Academy and Disney/ABC’s digital media team, and includes the following features, as listed by ABC:

• Magazine-style format featuring photos, videos and the latest social media buzz.
• Viewers can watch the live Backstage Pass experience in two different modes, Watch or Direct. In Watch mode, viewers will be guided through the live behind-the-scenes show. In the Direct mode, viewers can select the cameras they want to experience.
• Live video grid allows viewers the ability to watch all available cameras simultaneously or zero in on one.
• Once in a camera view, a ticker will display over the video updating viewers to what is happening on other cameras. Fans will be aware when their favorite actor enters another view, allowing them the opportunity to navigate between cameras.

“Our goal is to create a really full, immersive experience leading up to, during and after the Oscars,” said Karin Gilford, SVP of Digital Media for ABC Television Network. “Last year, we saw a huge increase in the number of people using the app. With its availability now on the Android platform we look forward to bringing even more people into the Oscar experience. We want this to be the next best thing to attending the show itself.”

“We’re always looking for ways to bring fans closer to the show and this app provides a unique and fun way to do that,” added Josh Spector, Managing Director of Digital Media and Marketing for the Academy. “More fans than ever will be able to enjoy the full Oscar experience now that our app is available to Droid users.”

The Oscars will air on Sunday, February 24 on ABC, with coverage beginning at 7PM Eastern. You can find the Android app on Google Play.

Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane will host the ceremony, which will air February 24th on ABC. They’re wasting no time with the promos, dropping five on the Oscar YouTube channel this afternoon (sure to run on ABC networks, too).

Here’s all five:

A two-hour special will air at 8 pm EST before the yearly countdown show begins. Titled New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Celebrates Dick Clark, the show will be hosted by Jenny McCarthy from Times Square, and by Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie in Los Angeles. It will feature American Bandstand clips and other famous Dick Clark moments from the past half-century. The performances will reach back as far as Johnny Cash in 1959, Sonny & Cher in 1965, and The Doors in 1967. Other featured artists include ABBA, Beach Boys, Blondie, James Brown, Neil Diamond, Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Stevie Wonder.

Though Dick Clark rang in the new year on network television for four decades, a stroke in 2004 left him unable to perform his hosting duties as he had in the past. Just days after Dick Clark’s passing in April, ABC announced that Ryan Seacrest will be taking over as the host of the new year’s countdown. The news didn’t go over well on Twitter, though that didn’t deter ABC or Seacrest.

Following the two-hour Dick Clark tribute, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013 will begin at 10 pm EST and run until around 2 am.

Users will not only ge able to watch the broadcast live from YouTube, but they will be able to embed the live broadcasts within their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

“As a result, it’s now much easier to share live events and breaking news coverage as it happens by putting the live link directly into your status update or tweet,” says Kieran Ricketts of ABC News Online, writing on the Google Australia blog.

“ABC News 24 can now push out updates from its Facebook and Twitter pages with live video attached – the live video content now accompanies the update that points to it,” says Ricketts. “Visitors to ABC News’ flagship YouTube channel have immediate access to live video alongside highlights from ABC News’ broad range of coverage and programs on demand. Aussies will be able to choose to watch the up-to-date live coverage of ABC News 24 or access video-on-demand highlights to review their favourite news moments from the past, all from the same page.”

I’m guessing that we’ll see more and more of this type of live broadcasting from television networks all over the world as time goes on.

Variety reporter Marc Graser broke the news:

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Marc Graser
@marcgraser

Disney just announced Joss Whedon will write and direct THE AVENGERS 2 and develop a Marvel TV show for ABC.

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He followed that up with some additional tweets about Disney’s comments, including:

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Marc Graser
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Disney doesn’t have a date for THE AVENGERS sequel yet but first film’s DVD, Blu-ray bows in late September.

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Disney says Joss Whedon’s deal is exclusive for film, TV through end of June 2015. Also will contribute creatively to next Marvel films.

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The Hollywood Reporter also shared the following statement from Marvel Studios:

“Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015. As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel’s The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.”

The Avengers 2 should be an instant hit, especially with Whedon on board. The first one grossed a reported $1.46 billion. Given Whedon’s success in television, it’s also hard to imagine that the TV series will be a dud.

Scanning the web, it’s clear that fans of the first film are excited about Whedon’s attachment, but not just for the Avenger sequel and the show, but for his creative input that may surface throughout other Marvel film projects through 2015.

First, Netflix was wise in using ABC’s “LOST” as the template for its screenshot, as it is the best show ever made. Incidentally, Netflix extended their content deal with ABC last November, making sure LOST can be watched indefinitely, which is good for everyone.

Other new features include:

- The size of the controls now scales, making it easier to use the player on large screens, for example if you connect your computer to your TV
- Similarly, the player will scale down to smaller windows, which is useful if you want to watch something while working in another window. Also, the video now stretches to the full window in the browser
- Full screen mode now has all the features of browser mode so you can view season/episode information and change to the next episode when watching a TV show
- Pausing the video now shows more information about the title

Here’s a shot of the old interface:

The new look is more streamlined, though Michael Spiegelman, director of product innovation for the Website and Tablet at Netflix, points at that “This (the new GUI) might take a little time to get used to, but we think it will be intuitive once you start using the controls.”