HBO DOMINATES TV GLOBES AWARDS

At the Golden Globes awards Sunday night, HBO's seven-part miniseries about the life of the second U.S. president dominated the presentations as John Adams picked up awards for best mini-series, best actress in a miniseries or TV movie (Laura Linney), best actor in a miniseries or TV movie (Paul Giamatti) and best supporting actor (Tom Wilkinson). AMC'S Mad Men was named best TV dramatic series. Anna Paquin received the Golden Globe for best actress in a TV drama for the HBO film True Blood while Gabriel Byrne nabbed the award for best actor in HBO's Treatment Laura Dern won for best supporting actress in HBO's Recount.NBC, whose entertainment programs were the lowest rated of any broadcast network last year, received the only Golden Globes presented to any broadcaster -- all of them for 60 Rock: best comedy or musical, best actor (Alec Baldwin); and best actress (Tina Fey). Coincidentally, the Globes ceremonies were televised by NBC, which received compliments from some reviewers for its execution. The Hollywood Reportercommented that NBC "put on a seamless telecast that was noteworthy for its lack of bells and whistles -- a welcome thing at a time when having camera shots emerge from the rafters seems to be a virtue." But former Los Angeles Timesand New York TimesHollywood correspondent Sharon Waxman commented on her blog, "It was a night in which the dresses were far more interesting to look at than anything up on stage."

GLOBES RATINGS UP FROM LAST YEAR, DOWN FROM 2007

The Golden Globes Awards, which were watched by only 5.8 million viewers last year, when, because of the writers' strike, they became little more than a glorified news conference, averaged 14.61 million viewers Sunday night -- a significant improvement over last year, but down 27 percent from the 20.04 million who tuned in two years ago. The audience figures also paled in comparison with the 29.67 million viewers who watched the San Diego-Pittsburgh playoff game during an overrun at 7:00 p.m. In direct competition, the Globes show also came in second at 8:00 p.m. to CBS's 60 Minutes(15.69 million viewers). And it just managed to edge out the two-hour season premiere of 24on Fox (12.52 million).

SAG MODERATES MAY OUST ALLEN

Hoping to bring an end to the stalemate with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and repair relations with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, moderates in the Screen Actors Guild are planning to oust the guild's negotiators, including Executive Director Doug Allen, the Los Angeles Timesreported Sunday, citing sources close to the situation. According to the newspaper, the moderates are expected to introduce a resolution at a board meeting today that, if passed, would remove Allen. The development comes days after entertainment attorney Jonathan Handel asserted that in the contest for SAG Awards, supporters of Allen and SAG President Alan Rosenberg have been sending out emails urging members not to vote for actors who oppose strike authorization. They include Alec Baldwin, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, Sally Field, Michael C. Hall, Susan Sarandon, Tony Shalhoub, and Kevin Spacey. Later, SAG issued a statement calling the email "unfortunate" and insisting that the SAG Awards "have always been and will always remain non-political."

FCC CHAIRMAN OPPOSES DELAY IN SWITCHOVER

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has opposed the proposal to postpone the Feb. 17 date when broadcasters have been ordered to switch from analog broadcasting to digital. Such a delay has received support from President-elect Obama and key Congressional figures following reports that funding for the $40 coupons for converter boxes had been exhausted, potentially leaving millions of people unable to afford the converters -- and with blank screens -- on the cut-off date. But Martin said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that "there are a variety of things that Congress can do to make coupons flow to consumers." Martin said that the government, the broadcast industry and the home electronics industry have all "spent a lot of energy" getting the word out about the switchover. "The big concern is that whatever date we pick again people won't believe," Martin said.

THE BEAST SHOT WITHOUT INSURANCE BECAUSE OF SWAYZE'S CONDITION

The A&E channel decided to go ahead with production plans to film the series The Beast despite the fact that it was unable to obtain the usual cast insurance due to star Patrick Swayze's treatment for pancreatic cancer, network president Bob DeBitetto disclosed Friday. "We knew the risks we were taking. We decided to go forward and are pleased we did," he told the winter tour of the Television Critics Association. DeBitetto also disclosed that Swayze himself was unable to attend the meeting with the TV press because he was being treated for pneumonia, which he indicated was a common complication in cases in which a cancer victim is receiving chemotherapy.