Multichannel News back issues from February 1998:
The 'wizards' of Woodbury? Dolans buying broke electronics chain. (Woodbury, NY-based Cablevision Systems Corp. Chmn. Charles Dolan and CEO James Dolan to buy Nobody Beats the Wiz Inc.)
Feb 02, 1998; ... How's this for convergence: Cablevision Systems Corp. may soon own a chain of stores where it can sell cable modems, high-definition television sets - and satellite dishes.Cablevision last week agreed to buy the assets of Nobody Beats the Wiz Inc., a bankrupt consumer-electronics ...
New Fox Sports Net eyes $2 rate card.
Feb 02, 1998; ... NEW YORK - When Cablevision Systems Corp. chairman Charles Dolan flipped the switch last week to officially launch Fox Sports Net, he also opened the floodgates to a new national/local sports hybrid that executives say could hit both ESPN and cable operators in the pocketbook. ...
NCTA vows rate fight; FCC eyes new rules. (National Cable Television Association)
Feb 02, 1998; ... WASHINGTON - National Cable Television Association president Decker Anstrom last week said the industry is ready to fight attempts that are under way to keep operators price-regulated and new efforts to compel greater a la carte packaging.Anstrom's timing was impeccable: Just as he ...
AT&T still eyeing cable deals.
Feb 02, 1998; ... Last Monday's AT&T Corp. analyst meeting came and went with no big cable deals announced, but senior MSO executives insisted that talks are ongoing about possible Internet and telephony projects involving operators and AT&T.AT&T chairman Michael Armstrong has already pulled the ...
Commerce gives charter leg up. (Dept. of Commerce)
Feb 02, 1998; ... The Clinton administration will oppose U S West Inc.'s bid to maintain control of the Minneapolis cable properties it acquired from Continental Cablevision.The Department of Commerce last week asked federal regulators to deny the regional Bell operating company's request for an ...
DBS starts early push for '98. (direct-broadcast satellite)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Direct-broadcast satellite companies are riding the wave of last year's hefty subscriber growth right into the new year. Fresh from the success of their fourth-quarter marketing promotions, DBS firms plan to spend heavily on national TV and print ads again in 1998.In addition to ...
Weather Channel exits four Euro markets.
Feb 02, 1998; ... LONDON - This is one weather development that can't be blamed on El Nino.In a move that marks the largest retreat ever from Europe by a U.S. cable programmer, Landmark Communications Inc.-backed The Weather Channel is closing four European versions of its service, which ...
Heyer will keep eye on costs in new TBS COO post. (new Turner Broadcasting System Inc. Pres. and COO Steven Heyer)
Feb 02, 1998; ... A rising star at Turner Broadcasting System Inc., Steven Heyer, shot even higher last week with a promotion that will have him looking at programming purchases by the company's networks in terms of their economic return.The move comes at a time when the Federal Communications ...
MediaOne takes to phones in Atlanta.
Feb 02, 1998; ... Cable telephony has come to Atlanta. MediaOne officially launched its much-anticipated local facilities-based phone service in the Atlanta metropolitan area last week in about 1,000 homes - a number that the cable operator hopes will expand to 150,000 by the end of the year. ...
In the mainstream. (programming for African-Americans)
Feb 02, 1998; ... More Nets are Producing Shows Aimed at Reaching African-AmericansFor years, the formula for creating programming aimed at African Americans was predictable: simple comedies, blax-ploitation films and gritty, but often violent, urban dramas.But in the 1990's, cable - and ...
TNT, NBC consider new football league. (Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and National Broadcasting Company Inc.)
Feb 02, 1998; ... In a surprising development, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and NBC - shut out of the latest National Football League television package - are discussing plans to create and own a rival professional-football league, which could begin play in 1999.The league would be owned and ...
High court will hear Telecom Act appeal.
Feb 02, 1998; ... The Supreme Court last week agreed to review a lower court decision barring federal regulators from setting interconnection rates for new entrants into the local-exchange market.At stake is an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year vacating pricing rules authored by the ...
Cable Hall will induct six; museum gets gift. (Cable Television Hall of Fame)
Feb 02, 1998; ... The Cable Television Hall of Fame will induct six members May 3: cable pioneers Bill Daniels, Bob Magness, Irving Kahn, Martin Malarkey, George Barco and Milton Shapp.In addition, Yolanda Barco and the estate of her late father, George Barco, pledged $2 million to the National ...
Will new rivals zap Nick? (television programming for children)
Feb 02, 1998; ... The kids' business is getting more cutthroat: Can Nick withstand the challenge?Last month, several-hundred Madison Avenue executives and the press packed a hotel ballroom to watch Fox Family Channel finally unveil its long-awaited kids' program schedule. Following coffee and ...
Digital cable not immediate threat, says DBS. (direct-broadcast satellite)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Direct-broadcast satellite players continues to monitor cable's move to digital technologies. But many don't view digital cable as an immediate threat."I don't see that impacting us significantly for the rest of the decade," said Charles H. Noski, president of Hughes Electronics ...
CNN's Dobbs fends off CNBC upstart. (Cable News Network's 'Moneyline with Lou Dobbs'; 'Business Center')
Feb 02, 1998; ... Bulls versus Bears? That's nothing compared to the battle that's been brewing on Wall Street since October between the king of the business wrap-up shows on cable and its upstart rival.So far, the champ, Cable News Network's Moneyline with Lou Dobbs, has shown no signs of wavering ....
Making digital add up. (original programming for digital networks)
Feb 02, 1998; ... In the low-penetrated world of digital tiers, original shows will take a backseat to library programming.Cable-network executives are grappling with the issue of just how much original programming, if any, they can afford to create for digital networks. And several different ...
Spice Girls may prompt more concerts.
Feb 02, 1998; ... The success of Showtime Event Television's Jan. 17 Spice Girls pay-per-view concert has industry executives wondering whether it's time to reach out to pre-Generation X viewers.With a surprising 130,000 to 140,000 buys for the trendy Spice Girls - mostly from teen-age girls - and ...
Viewer's Choice launches two Web sites. (World Wide Web)
Feb 02, 1998; ... NEW YORK - In an effort to serve both affiliates and consumers, Viewer's Choice has launched two pay-per-view World Wide Web sites offering PPV programming and marketing information.The network's former site, VC Interactive, was split to provide more timely information to ...
On both coasts, sales boomed in '97. (Adlink and New York Interconnect)
Feb 02, 1998; ... For both Adlink and the New York Interconnect, to borrow from a classic Frank Sinatra tune, "It was a very good year" in 1997.Adlink, the Los Angeles interconnect, saw its ad revenues soar 54 percent to $61.4 million last year, with president and CEO Charlie Thurston crediting that ...
Rx for health networks? (health-oriented network on cable)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Fresh capital is pumping new blood into a long-ignored genre.For years, the quest for a successful health-oriented network on cable has been as elusive as the cure for the common cold. But after a string of failures, networks armed with freshly minted investment capital - coming ...
Researchers eye their place in the sun.
Feb 02, 1998; ... Rollouts of digital channels and cable modems, as well as opportunities presented by the Internet, are expected to be the hot topics at CTAM's 1998 Research Conference, which opens today (Feb. 2) at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio and runs through Wednesday.In fact, the ...
Not just funny business anymore. (original hour-long dramas on cable television)(includes related article on the cost of producing the prison drama 'Oz')
Feb 02, 1998; ... Original hour-long dramas are becoming a staple on some cable networks.Cable is increasingly taking on the broad cast networks on their own turf: the hour-long drama. Home Box Office Inc.'s first foray into an original hour-long dramatic series, Oz, debuted to critical raves last ...
Cable objects to SMATV telco plan. (satellite master antenna television)
Feb 02, 1998; ... WASHINGTON - Hoping to inject competition into cable markets, the Federal Communications Commission is taking a close look at a video service that could alter the economics of serving apartment buildings.The plan seeking FCC endorsement calls for permitting a company to place a ...
Bresnan: 'Let's go to the video tape.' (Bresnan Communications Co.)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Bresnan Communications Co. won't have to toot its own horn when the time comes to introduce itself to 29 communities currently served by Tele-Communications Inc.Instead, the New York-based MSO will rely on regulators from one-dozen cities where it offers cable to testify about its ...
Two DTH platforms to bow in Brazil. (direct-to-home)
Feb 02, 1998; ... SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - Two new Ku-band direct-to-home satellite services are scheduled to enter Brazil, which, if all goes according to plan, will bring to a grand total of four the number of DTH players within that market by year's end.One of the new DTH platforms, which plans to ...
Disney sees strong net rise in quarter. (The Walt Disney Co.; 1st quarter FY 1998)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Driven by surprisingly strong results from its theme parks, The Walt Disney Co., parent company of ESPN and Disney Channel, said its net income rose 18 percent in its fiscal first quarter.Disney - which also cited ad-revenue gains at ESPN and subscriber growth at Disney Channel - ...
TCI rebuts CEMA; is HDTV by any other name still HDTV? (Tele-Communications Inc.; Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association; high-definition television)(Broadband Week)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Tele-Communications Inc. last week clarified its position on HDTV formats with a strong rebuttal to criticism from consumer-electronics companies, amid continuing confusion over which approaches to digital television will prevail in the marketplace."The technology in TCI's advanced ...
Tight fit: ops cram more into headends. (cable operators)
Feb 02, 1998; ... High-speed data, digital video and network-monitoring techniques are presenting a formidable challenge for cable operators, which are frying to find ways to squeeze more hardware into already-tight headend space.Today's average-sized headend is between 4,000 and 6,000 square feet, ...
Rockwell touts new chip set for modems. (Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Inc.)(Broadband Week)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Inc. will hit the market with a $55, three-chip set for standards-compliant cable modems in May, executives with the chip giant said last week.A handful of companies are already in line for the chips, including Harmonic Lightwaves Inc., 3Com Corp., ...
Fast is good, but playing both sides is better. (alliance among computer software and telecommunications firms to create an asynchronous digital subscriber line standard for 1.5-megabit-per-second Internet access)(Broadband Week)(Column)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Whether or not "G.Lite" hits the spot, this latest digital subscriber line initiative is a reminder that high-speed competition is just getting started. Not surprisingly, Microsoft and its sometimes-collaborator, Intel, are in the midst of this effort. Microsoft's role, in particular, ...
Sci-fi finds a home. (science fiction on cable television)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Cable nets are drawing audiences while minimizing their risks with science fiction.What television programmer wouldn't love to create another Star Trek franchise?That's why cable, looking at the huge success that science fiction has enjoyed in the movies as well as on ...
Shaping cable's attitude. ('signature shows' on cable television)
Feb 02, 1998; ... These "signature"shows carve out much-needed identities for their networks and basic cable.When the Fox Network debuted in 1987, viewers met many of their shows with indifference or scorn. Anyone remember Duet? But two shows, Married ... with Children and The Simpsons helped change ...
Bienvenidos al cable. (Spanish-language digital tiers)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Operators are betting that new Spanish-language digital tiers will bring in new customers.For Liberty Media Group vice president David Jensen, a Spanish-language digital multiplex is an opportunity born from an obstacle. The opportunity is the chance to crack an underpenetrated ...
Bresnan adds video search to data service. (Bresnan Communications)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Bresnan Communications last week struck a deal with privately held Worldwide Broadcasting Network Inc. (WBN) to add a video search engine to its high-speed data service, called "BresnanLink."Not unlike the search engines for text-based topics that exist on the Web today, Bresnan's ...
Knicks, kicks, now electronics. (Cablevision Systems' acquisition of Nobody Beats the Wiz stores)(Column)
Feb 02, 1998; ... When Cablevision Systems said last week that it was buying the failing Nobody Beats the Wiz stores, the first thing that came to mind was the Seinfeld episode where Elaine is dating the guy who played "the Wiz" on the TV commercials. When she found out that he played a tacky pitchman, Elaine ...
Anstrom warns against reregulating cable. (National Cable Television Association Pres. Decker Anstrom)(Transcript)
Feb 02, 1998 ... The following is an excerpt of National Cable Television Association president Decker Anstrom's "State of the Industry" address to the Washington Metropolitan Cable Club on Jan. 28.Just two years ago, the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996 became law. After years of debate and ...
The rise and fall of a supermodel. (biographical film on 1970s supermodel Gia Carangi)
Feb 02, 1998; ... The fallacy of "heroin chic" is exposed in Gia, a biopic running this month on Home Box Office on the short, fractious life of '70s supermodel Gia Carangi.Angelina Jolie, daughter of actor Jon Voight, gives an award-worthy portrayal of the Pennsylvania-born spitfire who was ...
The pros and cons of digital, from the MSO side.(Transcript)
Feb 02, 1998; ... Once again, operators are poised to make dramatic investments in digital hardware. In the past few weeks, most of the top 10 MSOs have announced plans to invest, directly or indirectly, as much as $4.5 billion in digital development.Again, operators and programmers are in ...
Charter sues MediaOne parent over Minn. sale. (Charter Communications Inc.; US West Media Group) (includes related article on CAI Wireless Systems Inc.'s financial problems)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Charter Communications Inc. sued U S West Media Group (UMG) last week, after UMG's video arm, MediaOne, allegedly refused to close on the $600 million sale of its Twin Cities cable properties.In a lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court for St. Louis County, Charter asked for an order ...
Troubled AT&T talks? (AT&T Corp. deals with Tele-Communication Inc.)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Complications Surround TCI, Industry DealsDENVER - Tele-Communications Inc.'s trip down the yellow brick road to Basking Ridge, N.J., where AT&T Corp. is headquartered, seems to have hit a few bumps.Since last year, the MSO and the long-distance giant have been in talks ...
TBS may take crack at Court TV. (Turner Broadcasting System Inc.; Courtroom Television Network)
Feb 23, 1998; ... NEW YORK - The trials and tribulations of Courtroom Television Network took another twist last week, with the beleaguered channel now off the selling block to possibly be run by Turner Broadcasting System Inc.But MSO officials and programming experts alike were questioning how ...
FCC to study cable-DBS ban. (direct-broadcast satellite)
Feb 23, 1998; ... WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission, divided along partisan lines, launched a rulemaking last week that could result in a ban on cable-operator ownership of direct-broadcast satellite interests.While the panel voted 5-0 to streamline DBS-service niles, Republican FCC ...
Encryption deal threatens taping.
Feb 23, 1998; ... Hollywood studios and digital-content developers saw a huge barrier lifted last week, as five vendor companies agreed on a way to keep programming secure from would-be digital pirates.It is unclear how the deal will affect taping of home-video and pay-per-view movies, but Hollywood ...
Cable rates aren't stirring voters.
Feb 23, 1998; ... WASHINGTON - Just wait until Congress returns from the Christmas-New Years recess: Then you'll see the cable-rate issue really take off.That was the line that proregulation forces on Capitol Hill and elsewhere fed the media a few months back, when two House bills surfaced demanding ...
Managers become more PR-savvy. (public relations)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Cable is determined not to lose the public-relations war this time.Executives of the National Cable Television Association have long asserted that the industry lacked media savvy when it fought deregulation in 1992."We've always encouraged media training. One of the ...
MSOs scramble in face of MDU clash. (multiple-systems operator; multiple dwelling units; consolidation in the cable television broadcasting industry)
Feb 23, 1998; ... The battle for the hearts, minds and cable subscribers in apartment buildings is heating up and forcing some wired and wireless cable operators to make changes to keep up.Analysts and operators said consolidation in the private-cable industry is creating some potent new players ...
MSOs again eye cashing out in Sprint. (multiple-systems operator; Sprint PCS)
Feb 23, 1998; ... The Sprint PCS partnership is in play again. The backers of Sprint PCS are once again talking about restructuring the business in hopes of achieving an arrangement that is more conducive to allowing the parties to cash in on all or part of their shares in the venture.Similar ...
Calif. Rep. shocks cable with hard-line measure. (Jack Scott's bill to regulate cable operators)
Feb 23, 1998; ... The introduction in California of a wide-ranging bill to regulate cable caught operators flat-footed.Assemblyman Jack Scott's measure attacked a multitude of hot-button issues, including late fees, ownership of inside wiring and the creation of a "discount tier" that is cheaper ...
PrimeStar signs contract for set-tops. (PrimeStar Partners LP's contract with General Instrument Corp. concerning the manufacture of integrated receiver-decoders)
Feb 23, 1998; ... PrimeStar Partners L.P. said General Instrument Corp. will manufacture $180 million worth of new integrated receiver-decoders.The announcement signals the direct-broadcast satellite company's intent to move ahead with its high-power business.PrimeStar spokeswoman Kimberly ...
Cable fails to stop BellSouth in Miami. (BellSouth Interactive Media Services' transition into the digital-wireless business)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Incumbent operators in Miami and Dude County, Fla., have tried, with varying degrees of success, to block a move by BellSouth Interactive Media Services into the digital-wireless business in the area.Recently, a state court judge ruled against the operators - including ...
DirecTv anti-cable campaign breaks this week. (DirecTv Inc.) (includes related article on supporting the Dish Network direct-broadcast satellite services)
Feb 23, 1998; ... DirecTv Inc. is turning up the heat against its cable competitors with a new television-ad campaign set to break tonight (Feb. 23).And according to Tom Bracken, DirecTv's vice president of advertising, the timing of the ad launch - coinciding with announcements of cable-rate ...
Iowa town is 12th to OK TCI overbuild. (Carroll, Iowa's authorization of a study concerning Tele-Communications Inc.)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Carroll, Iowa., has become the seventh community in the state since November to authorize at least a study of a municipal overbuild of Tele-Communications Inc.Residents in the western Iowa community of 10,000 voted 934 to 188 last Tuesday - by an 80 percent margin - to create a ...
FCC repeal of cross-ownership ban not likely. (ownership issues in the telecommunications industry)
Feb 23, 1998; ... WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission is expected to begin rethinking its regulations prohibiting one company from owning a newspaper and a television station in the same market.A push to force the FCC to revoke the cross-ownership ban has also begun in Congress. But ...
CAB stumps for '98 political dollars. (Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau's efforts to sell consultants and ad agencies for political candidates)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Cable will tout its flexibility and geo-demographic targetability via interconnects and regional-news networks at its political advertising workshop in Washington, D.C., Tuesday (Feb. 24).The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau will try to sell consultants and ad agencies for ...
Turner restructures affil-sales staff. (Turner Broadcasting System Inc.)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Turner Broadcasting System Inc. last week moved to expand its affiliate-sales-management team, creating a new executive vice president post, promoting two officials and changing the reporting structure at the organization.Andrew Heller, most recently assistant general counsel at ...
South African investment picture brightens. (investment outlook for international TV firms)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Johannesburg, South Africa - The investment outlook for international TV companies looking to break into South Africa is brightening, with the impending award of a new commercial TV channel and hints from the government last week that foreign-ownership restrictions in television may be ...
Prime rolls dice on Vegas news channel. (Prime Cable's launching of a 24-hour news channel in Las Vegas, Nevada)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Landmark Communications Inc. and Prime Cable, in conjunction with the Las Vegas Sun newspaper; are creating a 24-hour local-news channel in Las Vegas that's set to launch April 1, officials said last week.Las Vegas 1 will be programmed with the assistance and cooperation of ...
DBS providers flirt with selling ad time. (direct broadcast satellite)
Feb 23, 1998; ... After nearly four years as a nascent industry, direct-broadcast satellite is beginning to hit the subscriber levels that make it feasible to start selling commercial time to national advertisers.DirecTv Inc. is pushing well past the 3 million subscriber mark. Its partner in the ...
TCI's return helps to spark Texas Show. (Tele-Communications Inc.)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Potential new products and new exhibitors have lured record registration to this week's Texas Show in San Antonio, to be held Feb. 25 to 27.About 2,200 industry members have preregistered, up by almost 300 from last year, according to the Texas Cable & Telecommunications ...
Comcast spreads wings to brand company. (Comcast Corp.)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Marketing activities at Comcast Corp. have been in high gear lately, driven by a mandate to become "world-class on multiple fronts," according to Geof Rochester, the company's senior vice president of sales and marketing.For example, the Philadelphia-based MSO - the nation's ...
Smart TVs more efficient than set-tops.
Feb 23, 1998; ... NEW YORK - Telecruz Technology Inc. president and CEO Kris Narayan last week tried to drum up interest in an inexpensive new chip-set technology that would add convergence features to televisions.Telecruz will likely bypass the emerging digital cable set-top market and work ...
Study shows races watch cable differently.
Feb 23, 1998; ... Basic cable generates ratings about 33 percent higher in black households than in white homes, according to a study conducted by TN Media Inc.The study, "Television Viewing Among Blacks," analyzed the viewing habits of black audiences during the fourth quarter of last year. The ...
Cable nets eye new interactive services. (interactive television)
Feb 23, 1998; ... The interactive-television marketplace has quickly become a lot more interesting.In what was once an industry occupied only by Microsoft Corp.'s WebTV subsidiary, a handful of companies are now vying for the attention of cable companies, and especially programmers.In ...
PPV to get edited "Devil's Advocate." (Warner Bros.' editing of the pay-per-view version of the film)
Feb 23, 1998; ... Warner Bros. will edit several scenes from the pay-per-view version of its movie, The Devil's Advocate, as part of a lawsuit settlement brought against the studio. However, it will keep the controversial scenes in the home-video version of the film.At issue was a lawsuit filed by ...