Spike TV good to go, but not logo

By Bill Keveney and Robert Bianco
USA Today

LOS ANGELES — Spike TV can finally speak its name, but it may take a few weeks for the new logo to appear on the network.

A few hours after network owner Viacom and director Spike Lee announced the settlement of Lee's lawsuit, Spike TV president Albie Hecht expressed relief that the last element of TNN's relaunch was resolved.

"Spike TV lives," Hecht told TV reporters gathered for the semiannual network press tour. "I believe Spike TV is an important name. That's why we fought for this."

He expects the name and logo to appear on air within a month. The network, which already launched an adult cartoon block, is reinventing itself as a "network for men."

Hecht was mum on details, declining to say whether there was a financial settlement. Lee filed suit shortly before the scheduled June 16 change, claiming the network was trading on his persona.

In a joint statement last week, Lee said he no longer believes that Viacom "deliberately intended to trade on my name." Lee also said he looked forward to working on new projects with Viacom, a comment that elicited laughter from the TV writers when Hecht read it aloud.

Hecht would not say how much the delay cost, although Viacom said earlier the matter had cost more than $16 million, according to news reports. "I can tell you I'd much rather spend time talking with you guys about building the brand ... and less time talking to lawyers."

Among Spike TV offerings:

• "Ride With Funkmaster Flex" (premiering Aug. 16), described as "the first-ever car show from a hip-hop point of view."
• "Go Inside: Animal House" (premiering Aug. 24), premiering in conjunction with the hit movie's 25th-anniversary DVD release.
• "The Joe Schmo Show" (premiering Sept. 7), in which a reality show is staged with real actors around an unwitting contestant.

Mixing it up

Courteney Cox and David Arquette know something about mixing styles.

Though she insists she's not nearly as anal retentive as Monica, her "Friends" character, Cox admits to preferring order and design over chaos. Husband Arquette is either a free spirit or a compulsive slob, depending on how you choose to look at it.

Blending their tastes wasn't easy, but it did inspire them to create a show for cable's WE channel. In each episode of the 13-week "Mix It Up," which premieres in October, an interior designer will help a couple who are at stylistic odds reach a compromise.

In their own home, of course, the couple can't turn to a TV-provided mediator. So who wins those battles? "I do win, ultimately," says Cox. "But David brings home a lot of things. I mean a lot of things."