"Project Runway" may switch from Bravo to the Lifetime cable network this fall, but NBC Universal ensured Monday that the show's producers won't go with it.

NBC Universal, whose properties include Bravo, USA and Oxygen, announced a deal that ties it to producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, giving the company first look at their projects. In effect, it forced the duo to choose between staying with "Project Runway" or the promise of more work at NBC.

Lifetime last month announced it had agreed on a $150 million deal with the Weinstein Co., owners of "Project Runway," to televise five seasons of the cable hit starting in February. NBC Universal has tried to block that move in court.

Cutforth and Lipsitz, who call their production company Magical Elves, acknowledged their tough call.

"This was kind of a crossroads," Cutforth said. "It was a difficult decision to leave a show that to a large degree made our name and has been a big part of our company for a long time. But it really did seem like this was the right time to part ways."

Lipsitz used to work at VH1 with Jeff Gaspin, who's now president and chief operating officer of the Universal Television Group. The team also has worked on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and Bravo's "Top Chef."

The deal gives their company security instead of going on a work-for-hire basis, Lipsitz said. She said a similar arrangement was broached even before the battle over "Project Runway."

Lifetime and the Weinstein Co. had no immediate comment on the deal.

NBC Universal is seeking a preliminary injunction against the Weinstein Co. to prevent promotion of "Project Runway" on Lifetime. A fifth season of the series is airing this summer on Bravo before the Lifetime deal kicks in. (David Bauder, Associated Press)

Microsoft Corp. said late Monday it will now sell TV shows, including popular NBC series, on the Zune Marketplace, a move that brings its selection of content for the digital media player a step closer to what Apple Inc.'s iTunes offers for Apple's much more popular iPod.

Microsoft said it also planned to send out software updates overnight Monday that add new features to the Zune devices and the PC software used to buy and manage digital content.

Microsoft ventured into downloadable video sales for Zunes last October when it released its second-generation players and software, but the content was limited to music videos.

Microsoft now sells episodes of TV shows, including Comedy Central's "South Park" and Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" for $1.99 each.

In a small victory over Apple, Microsoft said the Zune Marketplace also will carry NBC shows, including "The Office" and "Heroes." NBC Universal has said it pulled its shows from iTunes over Apple's unwillingness to set different prices for TV shows.

Microsoft spokesman Jason Reindorp said flexible pricing is within the scope of its agreement with NBC, but that there are no concrete plans.

The software maker still has a lot of work to do to catch Apple. Since the first Zune went on sale in November 2006, the software maker has sold "just north of 2 million" of the devices, Reindorp said. Apple sold 10.6 million iPods in the first three months of 2008 alone.

But the Zune offers some capabilities the iPod doesn't. One Microsoft is betting on is its Zune Pass subscription service, which gives users access to every song in the catalog for $14.99 per month.

Reindorp said TV shows aren't available as part of the subscription service yet, but that Microsoft is looking this year at making Zune Pass less expensive or including more content in the monthly fee.

Zunes can also synchronize wirelessly with PCs, something iPods and Macs can't do. Users can plug a Zune into its charger anywhere in range of their home Wi-Fi network and the device will update itself automatically. (Jessica Mintz, Associated Press)

Seth MacFarlane has signed an overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, which would reportedly make him the highest-paid writer-producer working on television.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new deal could be worth more than $100 million and it keeps MacFarlane at 20th Century Fox TV through 2012.

Among the properties covered by the pact are MacFarlane's current Fox shows "Family Guy" and "American Dad!," plus the "Family Guy" spin-off "The Cleveland Show," which is expected to be picked up to series for next season.

It covers his roles as writer-producer on the three shows and also encompasses his capacity as lead vocal talent.

In addition to the three animated series, MacFarlane is also developing a live-action, multi-camera sitcom with "Family Guy" scribe Gary Janetti.

MacFarlane's previous deal with 20th Century Fox TV actually expired over a year ago, and although negotiations have been active and ongoing, things haven't always been smooth between the wunderkind and his studio.

During the writers' strike, MacFarlane expressed very public disapproval with the studio's decision to complete several episodes without his involvement. In addition, MacFarlane is part of a recent suit filed by 16 "Family Guy" writers against the studio stemming from the 2005 DVD "Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story."

In order for MacFarlane's deal to reach the $100-plus million figure speculated in the trades, "Family Guy" would likely have to run for the duration of the pact and the other shows would likely have to move into a successful level of syndication.

J.J. Abrams' $60 million/5-year deal with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. TV, inked in 2006, was considered to be the previous industry peak. (Zap2it.com)

A former district attorney is parlaying her experience as a legal commentator on television into becoming a judge on a TV show.

The CW network announced Monday that Jeanine Pirro will be the presiding jurist on "Judge Jeanine Pirro," weekday afternoons beginning Sept. 22. Pirro, 56, was once a rising star in New York's Republican Party. She was a popular Westchester County judge, a big winner in three consecutive runs for district attorney and once was chosen for People magazine's "most beautiful" issue.

Analysts said she would have been a natural for higher office, except that her wealthy husband, Albert Pirro, seemed to have a knack for holding her back with his own problems, including a paternity suit and a federal tax-fraud conviction. (Last November, the Pirros announced they were separating.)

In 2005 Pirro decided to challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton for the U.S. Senate. But her campaign opened disastrously when a page of her announcement was misplaced and she was speechless for 32 seconds. Pirro eventually switched to the race for state attorney general, but was easily defeated by Democrat Andrew Cuomo.

"Everyone has had ups and down in their lives," Pirro said in a telephone interview. "The people who come to court want justice but they need a judge who understands those ups and downs."

Court shows like "Judge Jeanine Pirro" -- in which Pirro will adjudicate real-life disputes -- have proliferated in recent years.

"Court shows have been reasonably successful, that's why there are so many," said Bill Carroll, an expert in the television syndication market for Katz Television. "Usually the ones that are most successful are the ones that have a distinctive personality. Certainly, by any judgment, Jeannine Pirro is a distinctive personality."

Pirro's show may have an advantage, in that it will be on at the same time across many markets. Syndicated shows' scheduling is generally at the mercy of individual stations. But "Judge Jeanine Pirro" is not a syndication deal; Warner Bros. Television is providing two hours of programming for the CW to use each day. (Jim Fitzgerald, AP)

Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, who is dying of pancreatic cancer, will appear today on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today (4 p.m., WTAE) as the host remembers her guests from the past season. Pausch is expected to appear via satellite from his home in Virginia. (Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor)