Multichannel News back issues from February 2007:
Few Watched TV on PC.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld Time Warner Cable Ends 'Unscalable' San Diego Trial Let's say you could watch 75 channels of cable television on your personal computer. Would you? No. At least 99% of the time. Time Warner Cable said ...
What Was Turner Thinking?
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Steve Donohue It's Not Talking. But It Gets Millions in Free Publicity from Beantown Brouhaha Executives at Turner Broadcasting System said they were only trying to get the attention of Cartoon Network's target audience: Young men. Its version of a ...
Comcast and Time Warner Stocks Dip.(Financial report)(Statistical data)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Mike Farrell Quarterly Results Can't Overcome Investor Concerns Comcast turned in another solid fourth quarter last week but, despite having what chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said was perhaps its best year ever, stock in the nation's largest cable operator dipped ...
Cable Spinoff Delayed Again.(Brief article)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Mike Farrell New York-- Time Warner Inc.'s CEO said its expected cable-unit spinoff will have to wait until at least Feb. 6, while an initial public offering of the unit is being readied just in case. Time Warner had hoped to take the cable unit public through its ...
Nets Survive "24," "Idol".
Feb 05, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Basic Channels Hold Serve Against Broadcast's Best Even Jack Bauer couldn't lift the broadcast networks out of the primetime ratings dungeon. Despite the strong debuts for new seasons of Fox's 24 and American Idol , television's ...
Martin Beefs About Cable.(Kevin Martin testifies before Senate Commerce Committee)(Brief article)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Washington-- Taking another swipe at the country's top pay TV provider, Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin complained about cable industry rates and packages in testimony Thursday before the Senate Commerce Committee. The FCC leader ...
NCTC Seeks Arbitration.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld Cooperative Wants To End Impass With Sports Nets Henderson, Nev.-- After nearly two years of trying to negotiate a master carriage deal for regional sports channels, the National Cable Television Cooperative last week filed for mandatory ...
FCC Sits Out Sinclair Flap.(negotiations between Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Mediacom Communications fail)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn and Linda Moss It looks like some Mediacom Communications customers had to make special arrangements to see Super Bowl XLI, as the cable company's efforts to force restoration of Sinclair Broadcast Group stations to its lineup failed last week. In fact, ...
Lime Pulls Channel Plug.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead & Kent Gibbons Shifts Its Focus to Web, and Wireless With Verizon Deal Lime Media will shut down one distribution platform but will dial into another. The health and lifestyles outlet will shut down its 24-hour linear cable channel at ...
Cisco to End 'SA' Brand.(Cisco Systems Inc.)(Scientific Atlanta)(Brief article)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Cisco Systems plans to rebrand all the products under its Scientific Atlanta subsidiary with the Cisco name within the next year. Initially, Cisco is putting the parent company's name on Internet Protocol TV set-tops but eventually will rebrand all of ...
Health Service Grows.(HealthiNation signs deal with Cox Communications and Bresnan Communications to provide on-demand content)(Brief article)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Kent Gibbons New York-- HealthiNation, a health-related video provider, has had its ad-supported on-demand content added to Cox Communications and Bresnan Communications digital-cable systems. And after a press conference in Boston last week, Comcast said it would include two ...
Tennis, ESPN Doubling Up.(The Tennis Channel Inc.)(Entertainment and Sports Programming Network)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds Introducing the new Grand Slam doubles team: The Tennis Channel and ESPN have partnered on a multimedia programming and marketing alliance for Roland Garros (The French Open) and the Australian Open through 2011. The pact enables ESPN to keep the ...
Nick Posts Kid-Targeted 3D Web Site.(www.nicktropolis.com)(MTV Networks Inc. Nickelodeon)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Nickelodeon is giving kids a digital playground to call their own. The kids-targeted network will look to draw tweens and teens to its "Nicktropolis" virtual community, where they can play games, watch videos, interact with other kids and create ...
Verizon Bulks Up Bundles.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Verizon Communications, aiming to slow the flow of voice customers to cable, last week introduced six new multiservice bundles -- including a quadruple play with phone, broadband Internet, video and Verizon Wireless mobile-phone services. Rather than ...
Comcast: Denial of Box Waiver Flawed.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Comcast last week blasted the Federal Communications Commission's denial of its requested waiver to the agency's integrated set-top box ban as "fatally flawed" and asked for a full commission review to reverse the decision. The U.S.'s biggest cable ...
Nickelodeon Study: Tech Is Central to Family Life.(Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Christian Lewis What would life be like without television and the Internet? How well would you cope without a cell phone? Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group has taken a stab at answering such questions via a research initiative titled "The Digital Family." The ...
Nielsen Rival Pulling in $25M Cash.(ErinMedia to be funded by a venture capital firm)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Linda Moss ErinMedia, the upstart that's trying to challenge Nielsen Media Research in the TV-ratings business, is in final negotiations to secure a $25 million infusion from a venture capital firm. Florida real-estate developer Frank Maggio, who owns ErinMedia, ...
Youth Nets Expect Surge as People Meters Hit Campus.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Linda Moss Some cable networks expect to see a boost in their ratings now that Nielsen Media Research is including the viewing of college students who live away from home in its National People Meter data. The introduction of "Extended Home" viewing Jan. 29 marked ...
Dearth of Drama Despite Demand.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Unlike Sitcoms and Reality Shows, Original Dramatic Series Still Rare A dedicated cop looking to make a better life for his family moves from a cramped apartment to a house in the neighborhood where he grew up. The catch? The neighborhood isn't ...
Xerona Clayton: Honoring Unsung Heroes.(15th annual Trumpet Awards)(Interview)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead TV One in March will telecast the 15th annual Trumpet Awards, which highlight African-American accomplishments and contributions in such diverse fields as law, religion, public affairs, politics, sports and entertainment. Civil Rights activist and longtime ...
Black History Programming.
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff The Following is a List of Original Cable Programs debuting in February: Feb. 4 AmericanLife TV: Moments That Changed Us: Diahann Carroll (special) VH1 Soul: One Planet. One Soul (music series) TV ...
At a Glance: African-American Viewership.(Statistical table)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff <Pre> Top-Rated Shows The highest rated cable programs among African-Americansfor 2006 (from 12/26/05-12/17/06). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ProgramNetwork Rating ...
A Privately Proud Pair.(Cox Communications Inc. and Insight Communications Company Inc.)(Financial report)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Mike Farrell Insight and Cox Release Data for Different Reasons Two privately held cable operators released bare-bones fourth-quarter financial data last week, one in conjunction with an attempt to amend its bank credit facilities and the other to tout its new ...
DirecTV Deal Is at the FCC.(Brief article)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Mike Farrell About a month after announcing that it would exchange its controlling interest in DirecTV Group to Liberty Media in an $11 billion deal, News Corp. filed documents with the Federal Communications Commission last week, adding in the filing that the new owners ...
Cable, Film Should Drive News In 2007.(Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Cohen's report)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Cohen restated her "buy" rating on News Corp., citing strong growth at its movie studios that will offset fiscal second-quarter weakness in its broadcast television business. In her report, Reif Cohen lowered her ...
Bravo Goes for Bling.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds Unusual Efforts For 'Housewives' And 'Top Design' Bravo has deployed a pair of unusual marketing gambits to trumpet two of its current original series. The network is supporting The Real Housewives of Orange County with a text-messaging ...
Here Push Doesn"t Apologize.(Here Networks)(Brief article)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff New York-- Here is on the rails with a national multimedia marketing campaign. The first stop: a Manhattan subway station serving one of the nation's most densely populated gay and lesbian communities. The gay and lesbian subscription service debuted Feb. 1 ...
Quick Hits.(Cox Communications promotes Joe Rooney)(Convergys to open new call canters)(Courtroom Television Network Inc. starts blog)
Feb 05, 2007 ... Staff Cox Promotes Rooney to CMO Staff Atlanta -- Cox Communications has elevated its top marketer. Joe Rooney, who was previously the cable operator's senior vice president of marketing, has been named chief marketing officer. ...
SVOD: Following Dollars, Sense.(subscription video-on-demand)
Feb 05, 2007; ... Kent Gibbons, Executive Editor In what direction is video on demand headed? It's following the money. Look at Cablevision Systems. Last month it implemented a video bandwidth-management technique called switched digital video, the biggest such deployment on a single ...
Volume Control.(Turner Broadcasting systems' advertising campaign)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff Voices From Everywhere On Cartoon Stunts Hub of Fury "Will Bostonians force heads to roll at Turner? Right now, people are furious." Brian Maloney , The Radio Equalizer , radioequalizer.blogspot.com Attack of the Billboards ...
People.(appointments in cable television industry)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff A&E Networks Paul Jelinek was named senior vice president of digital media, A&E Television Networks. He was VP, digital media products at MTV Networks and Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group. CBS Stephen Snyder was promoted to chief ...
Low Cost Set-Tops: Down for the Count.
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld Breaking Out Security Will Be Costly for Small Operators Henderson, Nevada-- The days of low-cost set-top boxes, at least for independent cable operators, appear to be numbered. And counting from today, that number appears to be ...
'Tag' Hopes VOD is It.(Tag Networks fielding trials on video-on-demand platform)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Christian Lewis Renamed 'TVHead' Sets New Trial of On-Demand Games Switching its moniker to "Tag Networks," four-year-old gaming proponent TVHead is fielding another round of trials with operators in hopes of availing cable subscribers of games through the ...
Quick Hits.(Ted Danson to work with FX Networks on drama pilot)(Cablevision Systems promotes Mac Budill)(films based on Nora Roberts' best sellers attract viewers to Lifetime Television)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff Close, Danson Headline FX Pilot Staff New York -- Actor Ted Danson is joining ranks with Glenn Close and director Allen Coulter (The Sopranos , Sex and the City , Six Feet Under ) on an upcoming drama pilot for FX . The untitled pilot ...
Getting With the Program.(Virtual Digital Cable)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Tiny Startup Pushes FCC to Force Television Networks Onto Online 'Cable' Washington-- Like cable operators who dig trenches and pull in signals from satellite transponders, Virtual Digital Cable is providing cable-TV programming to subscribers ....
Winding Up 'VOD in a Box'.(Comcast Media Center and C-COR to offer video on demand service to small operators)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Turnkey Service To Give Small Ops On-Demand Play Want to offer video on demand but can't afford to hire another guy to run it? You may be in luck: Comcast Media Center and C-COR are teaming up to provide small operators what they're ...
SES, Cisco Take IPTV Rural.(SES Americom and Cisco Systems)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Satellite-services provider SES Americom and Cisco Systems want to bring Internet Protocol television to America's hinterlands. The two companies are pairing up to offer rural telephone companies what they claim is a soup-to-nuts package of IPTV ...
This Just In.(John Kerry opposes out of market deal between Major League Baseball and DirecTV)(Public Citizen registers case against analog Television cutoff)(Fox News Network No. 1 since five years)
Feb 05, 2007 ... By Staff Baseball"s DirecTV Deal Draws Some Catcalls Staff New York -- Major League Baseball has yet to officially announce its $700 million "MLB Extra Innings" out-of-market deal with DirecTV, but sportswriters, bloggers -- and at least one politically ...
Through the Wire.(Turner Classic Movies uses Jack Nicholson and Elizabeth Taylor lookalikes for advertising its "31 Days of Oscar" festival)(Anthony Noto's reports on Time Warner Inc.'s stock prices)(Country Music Television's signage not found at Miss America Pageant)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds, Tom Steinert-Threlkeld and Mike Farrell Another Turner Promo Has Lighter Touch Mike Reynolds, Tom Steinert-Threlkeld, Mike Farrell While sister service Adult Swim's promotion for Aqua Teen Hunger Force short-circuited Beantown on Jan. 31, ...
Five Questions for Jeff Chester.(Center for Digital Democracy)(Interview)
Feb 05, 2007; ... By Kent Gibbons Jeff Chester, executive director of the not-for-profit Center for Digital Democracy in Washington, D.C., has been a critic of cable operators since before the 1984 Telecommunications Act when, as a freelance reporter in California, he observed the lobbying for ...
Teaching the Transition.(National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association plan to educate consumers about analog television end)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Three Trade Groups to Mount Digital-TV Education Effort Washington-- With almost exactly two years to go, three major trade organizations this week will detail a coordinated campaign to educate American consumers that their rabbit-ear-style television ...
Bottom Line: Fox In Business.(Fox Business Channel to be launched in the fourth quarter)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds After Two Years of Talking, Channel To Launch by Q4 Just as many of its prospective viewers seek to diversify their portfolios, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. wants to expand the audience for financial-news watchers when it launches its long-anticipated ...
Time Warner Battles 'Future' Ad.(Time Warner Cable Inc. and DIRECTV Inc. battle over high definition television advertising)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Fights DirecTV's High-Def Claims In Federal Court Jessica Simpson has been legally barred from saying DirecTV's high-definition channels look any better than those on cable. Now, Time Warner Cable wants to stop Back to the Future actor ...
EchoStar, DirecTV Settle Search Spat.(EchoStar Communications Corp., agreement on purchase of keywords from search engines)(Brief article)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Linda Moss The nation's two main satellite-TV providers have resolved their bicoastal court battle over search-engine keywords. EchoStar Communications and DirecTV reached an agreement that settles their litigation over each company's purchase of keywords from ...
Zaslav Puts Mark on Discovery.(David Zaslav, Discovery Communications Inc.)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Sweeping Reorg Intended to Foster A 'Lean Culture' Make no doubt about it: Discovery Communications Inc. now is David Zaslav's house. Three months after being named DCI's CEO -- and six weeks after walking in the door -- Zaslav ...
Boston Fiasco Prompts Cartoon GM to Quit.(Cartoon Network, Jim Samples)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted Cartoon Network general manager Jim Samples fell on his sword Feb. 9, taking responsibility for a controversial marketing campaign which resulted in an anti-terrorism response by officials in Boston late in January. His resignation came just five ...
Mobile ESPN Reboots Via Verizon Wireless.
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler ESPN's mobile video and content service -- aborted last year after failing to attract subscribers -- will have a second act through an exclusive, multiyear deal with Verizon Wireless. The new Mobile ESPN service will be available to subscribers of ...
'Closer' Drives TNT's Super Sunday.(Turner Network Television)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead It may be hard to believe, but not every TV was tuned to CBS's Super Bowl coverage. Turner Network Television, on the strength of its The Closer marathon, was the highest-rated cable network during the Indianapolis Colts' 29-17 win over the ...
Public Stations Set Spanish Multicast Net.
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens & Mike Reynolds Spanish-speaking viewers are going to get their own look at public television. Following a name change and several months of delays, Spanish-language multicast channel V-me TV ("See-me TV") is now scheduled to launch March 5. The ...
FSN Kick-Starts New Fighting League.(FOX Sports Net)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Fox Sports Net will look to challenge the Ultimate Fighting Championship's supremacy in the mixed martial arts genre when it launches coverage of the International Fight League on Feb. 23. FSN will air 22 hours of original programming -- mostly on ...
Murdoch Chirps While DirecTV Clicks.(News Corp. sells stake in DirecTV to Liberty Media)
Feb 12, 2007 ... By Mike Farrell Strong Q4 Doesn't Cause Doubts Over DBS Sale to Liberty New York-- News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch seems pretty pleased with his decision to sell a controlling interest in DirecTV Group to John Malone's Liberty Media, even if the leading U.S ....
Film, MTV Drive Viacom"s Rating.(Wachovia Securities reports)(Brief article)
Feb 12, 2007 ... By Staff Wachovia Securities media analyst Jeff Wlodarczak started coverage of Viacom last week with an "outperform" rating, citing strong cable brands and expected growth at the film studios. Wlodarczak's report noted Viacom has attractive cable brands like MTV and ...
Marketers Put Their Brand on Programs.
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens Product Placement, Branded Shows Take Center Stage, Raise Concerns Product placement and branded entertainment are increasingly becoming de rigueur in the Hispanic television market. "It is getting to the point where every call and ...
Telemundo, Azteca Spar in Court, Media.(TV Azteca S.A. de C.V. and Telemundo Communications Group Inc.)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens Networks' Dispute Heats Up Over Exclusivity Pact With Producer One of the most heated dramas in Hispanic television isn't happening in front of the cameras. It's the rivalry between Telemundo and Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca, both of which bill ...
Catching Up With Latinos on the Move.(Hispanic wireless market)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens Networks Look to Mobile Platforms For Brand Extension, Marketing Tiny, but red-hot -- the Hispanic wireless market is piquing the interest of consumers, mobile providers and networks alike. "Hispanics over-index in each of the respective ...
Insight Spots Get Personal.(Insight Communications Company Inc.)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted Local Workers Are Front and Center In Image Effort Insight Communications, which has been reinforcing the image of a caring, local company in a series of branding spots since January 2006, serves up an homage to the NBC hit The Office with its latest ...
Cartoon Hits Hallmark Shelves.(Cartoon Network Enterprises signs deal with Hallmark Cards)(Brief article)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted The faces of the denizens of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Ben 10 will begin staring up from the racks of Hallmark Gold Crown stores later this year. Cartoon Network Enterprises, the cable network's global merchandising and licensing ...
Quick Hits.(Metro-Goldwyn Mayer hires Faye Walker)(American Movie Classics Company L.L.C. renews deal with Maxwell House)(Brief article)
Feb 12, 2007 ... By Staff Cable Veteran Walker To Market for MGM Staff Los Angeles -- Metro-Goldwyn Mayer has hired cable veteran Faye Walker to serve as vice president, worldwide television marketing. Most recently the head of marketing for The Tennis Channel, ...
Ops Look to "Playlists" To Unlock Ad Potential.(cable television operators)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Dynamic Insertion in Early Stages Despite High Advertiser Demand To Paul Woidke, vice president of technology for the Comcast Spotlight advertising unit, the way ads are packaged with free on-demand content today is like stitching together two sheets ...
Marketing a 'Honey' of a Brand.(Maria Bartiromo, CNBC)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Tom Steinert Threlkeld, Editor In Chief Let's first applaud Maria Bartiromo. This is a woman operating in a traditionally male world -- corporate finance -- who has performed live at a very high level on CNBC, for an extended period of time, with coolness, detail, perspective ...
Volume Control.(cutting cable television)
Feb 12, 2007 ... By Staff Voices From Everywhere On Cutting Cable More Is More "I was thinking about dropping cable a while ago, but still haven't pulled the trigger. If anything, I'm watching more shows." David Seah , Better Living Through New Media ...
People.(Comcast Corp. appoints Kevin MacLellan)(Fuel Inc. appoints Sonnie Sallberg)(Hallmark Channel promotes Pam Slay)
Feb 12, 2007 ... By Staff Africa Channel Shirley Neal was promoted to executive vice president of programming and production at Africa Channel. She was VP, production and development. Comcast Kevin MacLellan was named president, Comcast Entertainment Group, ...
Judge Nixes Pole Hike.
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted Fla. Cable Systems Prevail Against Electric Company Cable operators in Florida's panhandle could avoid pole-attachment rate hikes of as much as $3.2 million a year, due to a recent decision by an administrative law judge for the Federal ...
Firms Fight Cyren Call.(proposal to use analog Television spectrum to create broadband public safety network)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn A coalition of technology companies that includes Intel, Microsoft and Cisco Systems is urging Congress to resist an initiative supported by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would use half of the analog-TV spectrum earmarked for auction to create a nationwide ...
Martin, GOP to Meet in Private.(Kevin Martin to testify before Democratic Party members of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee)
Feb 12, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Washington-- Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin is scheduled to meet privately with just Republican members of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee two days before he and other FCC members are to testify in public before ...