E! Shifting To Original Programs

The E! Entertainment Television channel will add an extensive slate of regular series and specials starting this summer in its move to become a cable network composed almost entirely of original programming.

Among the series E! will launch are a weekly one-hour celebrity biography and a program examining real-life mysteries surrounding movie and television stars. Daily series being planned include a game show and a talk show.

E! executives attributed the move to more original programming to increased resources resulting from the recent teaming of Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp. to purchase the majority stake in the 7-year-old network.

“By the fall, we’ll be 91 percent original programming,” said Lee Masters, E! president. “We’re putting a lot of resources into this.”

Masters said the keystone of the new programming would be the expansion of E!’s daily newscast from a half-hour to an hour starting June 30. The news production staff also will be doubled to provide more and longer stories.