Kate Snow jumps from ABC to NBC

Snow jumps to NBC

ABC News anchor Kate Snow is defecting to NBC News, where she will be a correspondent for “Dateline,” NBC announced Friday.

Since 2004, Snow has co-anchored the weekend edition of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” a position viewed as a steppingstone to an assignment on the weekday edition of the morning show. But when “GMA” configured its team late last year after the departure of Diane Sawyer, the job of news anchor went to Juju Chang.

“She’s the whole package,” “Dateline” executive producer David Corvo said of Snow in a statement. “She can cover breaking news, she can interview, she can write, and I’m happy she’ll be doing all that at ‘Dateline.’ ”

Snow joined ABC in 2003 from CNN and covered the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns for the network.

-- Matea Gold Bidding on Jackson sofa

The 22 pieces of custom-made furniture Michael Jackson commissioned for his London home are going on the auction block.

Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions says a gilded red velvet sofa that seats nine, a leopard-print chair trimmed with ostrich feathers and a pair of velvet armchairs embroidered with gold eagles are among the offerings.

Jackson intended to use the furnishings during his “This Is It” comeback concert run in London.

Fans can visit a re-creation of the home at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood casino from June 14 to June 25 before the items are sold at auction.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit two charities: MusiCares, which provides healthcare and other services for struggling musicians, and Joshua’s Heart, which aims to end world hunger.

-- associated press Netflix drops rating contest

Netflix has canceled a sequel to a $1-million contest to improve its movie recommendations.

The DVD-by-mail service wants to avoid a legal showdown over the privacy rights of its subscribers. The retreat announced Friday was triggered by a lawsuit alleging that Netflix violated a federal law prohibiting video rental firms from publicly sharing their customers’ movie preferences.

Netflix released millions of records on how its subscribers rated movies they watched in a 2006 contest aimed at improving its movie-recommendation system by at least 10%.

No names were provided, but critics contend there was still enough information to identify subscribers.

-- associated press Charles musical to hit Broadway

Producers announced Thursday that “Unchain My Heart, the Ray Charles Musical” will open Nov. 7 on Broadway.

The jukebox musical, which traces the main events of Charles’ life, was staged at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2007 under the title “Ray Charles Live! A New Musical.”

The Broadway production will be staged by Sheldon Epps, who directed the version at the Pasadena Playhouse and who currently serves as the artistic director of the company.

Suzan-Lori Parks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, has penned the book for the musical.

Stuart Benjamin, who served as a producer on the Oscar-winning 2004 film “Ray,” is producing the show.

The theater and 20-member cast for the Broadway production will be announced at a later date.

-- David Ng Use of photo no joke to model

A former model says she’s appalled that her nearly decade-old bikini photo became a randy prop in the film “Couples Retreat.”

Irina Krupnik filed a $10-million defamation lawsuit Thursday in a New York City court against NBC Universal. It distributed the 2009 Vince Vaughn comedy.

Krupnik acknowledges she gave rights to the 2001 picture to a stock agency, which apparently sold it to the filmmakers. The lawsuit says a character in the movie uses her photo as a sexual aid.

The 30-year-old makeup artist says it’s hurting her reputation.

NBC Universal says it had the rights to use the photo.

-- associated press