· Analysis of this year's animated releases reveals that they tend to do better at the box office when another one doesn't open soon after. It's almost as if there was a single audience for these movies—say, parents and their young children. [Variety]
· MTV is looking to expand to the Middle East, signing a deal with Dubai's Arabian Television Network to launch MTV Arabiya. Meanwhile, Tabitha Soren and Kennedy go burqa shopping, hoping no one recognizes them at the open-call VJ auditions. [Variety]
· Bob Yari's Crash lawsuit gets tossed by a Superior Court judge. In other news, Variety's photo editor is clearly not a big fan of the producer. [Variety]
· CBS's CSI, NCIS, and any other series on that network featuring those initials, lead the network to a Christmas week victory, but Deal or No Deal's epic, obnoxiously Yuletide-themed Monday night episode wins NBC that night. [THR]
· Former Mediaweek senior editor and regular contributor Eric Schmuckler, described by colleagues as "the most lovable kvetch I've ever known," died at age 47 from cancer. Sigh. [THR]

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