Dan Rather's career keeps looking sillier. Mark Cuban's HDNet has a splashy new partner -- Ryan Seacrest, the host of "American Idol" and producers of such highbrow TV as "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." The network will rebrand itself as AXS (pronounced "access") and go heavy on concerts.
Cuban said "Dan Rather Reports" will remain as is. The new moniker may fit Rather, who certain has "axes" to grind against conservatives. Here's how Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post put it:
HDNet is out, AXS is in, and Ryan Seacrest finally gets his own TV network. Sort of.
Seacrest is teaming with HDnet founder Mark Cuban, live concert behemoth AEG, and powerful Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency to rebrand HDnet as an ESPN of pop culture, the parties revealed Wednesday afternoon in a well-choreographed simultaneous multi-publication announcement.
Cuban’s cable network, launched in 20001, will be re-branded as AXS (stands for, and pronounced “Access”) this summer. It will load up on music concerts – tapping into the music assets of AEG. The new network also will be heavy on “lifestyle” shows, including a flagship program called “AXS Live” which Cuban described as “’SportsCenter’ for pop culture.”
