Byline: edited by Valerie Block
USA Network crushes rivals
Famed wrestler Triple H (left) stomped all over the growing sport of mixed martial arts at a recent party for the USA network. USA climbed back into first place among cable channels last year partly on the strength of World Wrestling Entertainment matches.
The hulking heavyweight dismissed the new sport phenomenon--seen on Spike TV, Fox Sports and MyNetwork--as nothing more than a fight. 'There's not a lot of personality. We can always give you more than you bargained for,'' he said amid a flotilla of media buyers checking out USA's fall programming lineup while nibbling hors d'oeuvres at Danny Meyer's Modern restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art.
Gareb Shamus, chief executive of the International Fight League, retorted that WWE may be entertaining, but his fighters 'are real-life superheroes; they're not actors.''
Room reserved for lush lounge
where patrons once dined on chef Alain Ducasse's pricey French delicacies, Jumeirah Essex House is opening an upscale lounge for premium customers. The Essex Club, which will debut in the fall, will provide special amenities for top clientele, including a check-in area, business center and bar.
Dubai-based hotel company Jumeirah is also plowing $10 million into creating a new dining destination for discriminating palates--expected to open in September. The company has yet to settle on a chef, but he or she will be well known, says Scott Dawson, general manager of the Central Park South property.
Though the eatery is unlikely to boast another Michelin-starred toque like Mr. Ducasse, the GM is seeking sophistication.
'We don't want it to have an identity as a hotel restaurant,'' Mr. Dawson says. He notes that the establishment will have its own entrance on Central Park South and may offer outdoor seating.
A new breakfast spot is also on the menu. The revamps are part of a $50 million hotel renovation that is half completed.
Child's ads up for grabs
when meredith corp. shut down Child magazine last week, parenting category rivals began eyeing the more than 900 ad pages they might be able to grab.
Magazines like Conde Nast's Cookie and Disney's Wondertime hope to come out ahead.
'A lot of advertisers in Child will certainly look to reallocate those dollars in titles [like Wondertime] that reach the mom with a younger child,'' says Disney publishing executive Mary Beth Wright.
Not so fast.
Magazines like Child and the host of others that have failed in the past year owe much of their demise to the Internet. Advertisers may still look to magazines for some of their marketing needs. But Kelly Foster, print director for media buying agency Mindshare, warns that ad dollars won't necessarily go straight to print. 'The ad dollars could also go online,'' she says.
Off-off theater on the move
after a long search, off-off-Broadway theater company Nicu's Spoon has found a new 2,200-square-foot home. The spot, at 38 W. 38th St., has one feature many don't: room on stage for wheelchairs.
The nonprofit--which lost its former space a year ago--continues its mission to cast actors with disabilities. The lead in its current show, Tales of the Lost Formicans, is played by actor Nico Phillips, who has cerebral palsy.
'There are so many talented people who can't even get an audition because they're too heavy, or the wrong color, or over 60, or deaf, or blind. So what?'' says Artistic Director Stephanie Barton-Farcas, who founded the $90,000 company in 2001 to stage a play about war refugees. 'My view is that if they're talented, they should be working.''
The new space, which opens in July with Richard III, will also allow the company to offer acting classes to people with disabilities.
Contributors: Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm, Miriam Kreinin Souccar
Local Flavor
This month, business and first-class travelers for the first time will find New York state wines on American Airlines' transcontinental flights out of New York airports. Vineyards include the North Fork's Bedell Cellars and Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars of the Finger Lakes region.
CAPTION(S):
Star Turn: Valerie Smaldone, the voice of middays on Lite-FM, will step up to a new microphone. The sultry DJ will make her Broadway debut on April 26 as a guest speller in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
