Breaking…

Washington—Washingtonpost.com was reporting late Friday that House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) had turned down an offer to head the Motion Picture Association of America and instead was mulling an offer to head the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. He earlier denied he was taking the MPAA job; the drug post, if the report is true, comes ouf the blue. Tauzin has generally been a friendly to broadcasters and backs their bid for digital must-carry.

Montpelier, Vt.—Bob Keeshan, who played the bushy-mustached "Captain Kangaroo," died Friday at age 76. Captain Kangaroo became the longest-running children's series in network history, running from October 1955 to 1985. See an appreciation on page 42.

Washington—Cablevision and EchoStar Communications continued to wield muscle in bidding on spectrum for a new pay-TV/broadband service. Through 17 rounds, South.com, backed by Charlie Ergen's EchoStar Communications, was the high bidder for licenses in 29 markets. DTV Norwich, backed by Chuck Dolan's Cablevision and former U.K. cable executive George Blumenthal, was high bidder for 46 markets.

New York—For the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, cable net College Sports Television will produce six highlight shows for Spike TV, Viacom cousin to CBS, which has rights to the tournament games. CSTV will also produce highlight shows for its own network.