Other schedule shifts: ABC is pulling the struggling ''Once and Again'' for seven weeks, then shifting it from Fridays to Mondays (in its place: blooper shows). The move seems to validate the skepticism of critics who wondered why the Sela Ward drama had moved to Fridays this season in the first place, bumping ''20/20'' to Wednesdays and incurring the wrath of a much more established and valuable ABC asset, Barbara Walters....
Expect many moments of Zen as ''Daily Show'' anchor Jon Stewart returns for the second straight year as host of the Grammys, on Feb. 27....
Pondering his future, Larry King had been keeping the cable news world in suspense for weeks, until CNN this week agreed to keep him in suspenders for four more years. The cable network wouldn't disclose the terms of the deal, but it's been reported at $7 million per year in salary, plus up to $7 million more per year in stock options and other perks, like a production deal to develop other CNN shows and the use of the AOL Time Warner corporate jet for his frequent jaunts between New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. (Like CNN, EW.com is an AOL Time Warner company.) The 68-year-old talk show host has been a CNN staple since 1985, though recently his show's been bested by Fox News Channel's ''The O'Reilly Factor,'' hosted by Bill O'Reilly. Given the current battle over news stars between the two channels, it was thought that King might defect to FNC as Greta Van Susteren had -- especially after he was spotted dining with FNC chief Roger Ailes. But his new Katie Couric-sized salary will keep him in place for a while.
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