Multichannel News back issues from September 2007:
Dramatic Summer Gains.(cable television)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Linda Moss Scripted Shows Help Cable Nets Best Broadcast for Season It was a dramatic summer for cable this year, as a deluge of scripted dramas helped to drive its primetime viewership, obliterating old records. The season proved to be a veritable ...
Big Ten Has Holes in Line.(Insight Communications joins The Big Ten Network)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds & Mike Farrell Still In Talks With Most Big Players - Except Comcast The Big Ten Network added Insight Communications to its roster ahead of last Thursday's network launch - but still came out of the chute with major holes in its distribution lineup. ...
Martin: Channel Is an 'RSN'.(Kevin Martin declares The America Channel a regional sports network)
Sep 03, 2007 ... By Ted Hearn Washington- Under a ruling endorsed by Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, The America Channel (TAC) would be designated a regional sports network qualified to obtain carriage from Comcast through arbitration, two agency officials said last ...
Changes Ahead for ESPN.(plans for documentaries)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds Sports-TV Factory Eyes Docus, Sees Gains for Its '360' Bristol, Conn.- More potential affiliates for its revamped broadband offering, an emphasis on documentaries over scripted fare development and eventually a West Coast version of SportsCenter . ...
Pitching L.A. 'Beisbol' Fans.(Time Warner Cable launches Spanish version of "Dodgers on Demand")
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted Time Warner Cable's Southern California division has added a Spanish language version of its popular Dodgers on Demand free video-on-demand content. The cable operator offers player profiles, interviews with coaches and archival footage at the ...
Program-Access Rules On Deck at FCC.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Washington- If HBO gets into a contract dispute with EchoStar, the satellite company would have compulsory access to HBO's other distribution contracts under proposed rules supported by Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, according to ...
Comcast, TiVo Move Ahead.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Service Coming 'Soon' To New England Subs; SA to Join the Dance Comcast, extending its partnership with TiVo, will fund additional development work to make TiVo's digital video recorder software run on Scientific Atlanta set-top boxes and potentially ...
BigBand Is Refocusing.(BigBand Networks hires in China)(Brief article)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler BigBand Networks has 'slightly reduced' the size of the cable-modem termination system development team based in the United States while hiring about the same number of employees in China to support ongoing maintenance of existing CMTS products, a company ...
This Just In.(SeaChange International laysoff employees)(News Corp. and NBC Universal name their joint-venture as Hulu)(TNT discontinues "Heartland")
Sep 03, 2007 ... By Staff SeaChange Lays Off 30 In a Move to Cut Costs Staff Acton, Mass. - SeaChange International laid off 30 employees, or 4% of its work force, in its quarter ended July 31 to reduce costs, the company disclosed during its earnings announcement ...
Investors Slam Hearst-Argyle's Offer.(Hearst Corp.'s bid for Hearst-Argyle Television Inc.)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Mike Farrell Attempt to Absorb Broadcaster Seen As Undervalued Less than a week after Hearst Corp. launched a $600 million cash tender offer for the remaining 27% of Hearst-Argyle Television it doesn't already own, some investors are urging Hearst-Argyle to reject ...
NICC 'Put' Could Add Sparkle To Crown.(Crown Media Holdings Inc.'s stock ratings)(National Interfaith Cable Coalition)(Brief article)
Sep 03, 2007 ... By Staff Oppenheimer & Co. media analyst Tom Eagan maintained his 'buy' rating and $9.25 per share price target on Crown Media Holdings, parent of the Hallmark Channel, adding that a potential 'put' right from one of the company's largest shareholders could eventually lead to ...
Camaro 'Rides' High With TLC Viewers.(Chevrolet Camaro's product placement on The Learning Channel)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Linda Moss Nielsen Gauges Viewer Response to Product Placements Chevrolet Camaro's product placement on TLC's Rides had the top product-placement score on monitored cable networks in June, Nielsen Co. reported last week using a new metric based on brand ...
TV Set's Still the Big Screen On Campus.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted The Hookup: Media Use in the College Environment Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing Aug. 27 http://www.ctamnetforum.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?site=ctamPublic&WebCode=GL0701-07_2007_Co-op . College kids may not ...
New Sports Nets: No Sure Thing.(Editorial)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Kent Gibbons, Executive Editor Walking home, diverting a few blocks out of the way to hit the fee-free ATM, an insight occurred. We can print out most anything else we want at home - concert tickets, baseball tickets, bank statements. It would sure be great if we ...
Volume Control.(Starz L.L.C.)(Brief article)
Sep 03, 2007 ... By Staff Voices From Everywhere On Starz Home of 'The Rock' 'Time was, if you didn't want to leave the house to go to the movies, all you needed to do was be patient - within a year, just about all theatrical releases showed up on either HBO or Showtime ....
People.(appointments)
Sep 03, 2007 ... By Staff Africa Channel Eric Brown was named executive vice president, affiliate sales at The Africa Channel. He comes from Time Warner Cable, where he was president of the Minnesota division. BBC America BBC America named the U.S. production ...
Old Court Defeat Could Help Cable Now.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn '82 Wiring Decision May Bolster Case Against Must-Carry Regulations Washington- Several decades ago, New York state law forced apartment landlords to allow the cable company to attach lines and other service-related equipment. The compensation, however, ...
Digital Deal for 'South Park'.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Linda Moss Comedy, Creators Team To Launch a New-Media Studio, Split Ad Cash South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have extended their deal with Comedy Central for three more seasons and are grabbing a piece of the digital-revenue pie, as part of a new ...
What's On.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds and George Vernadakis Tell Me You Love Me HBO * Sunday, Sept. 9 (9 p.m.) In HBO's new drama series Tell Me You Love Me , characters often profess love for each other, but their utterances aren't nearly enough to ensure happiness. That's ...
Starz Bulks Up.(Starz L.L.C.)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Movie-Focused Net Hopes Original Series Will Help It Match Premium Rivals' Heft Movie-centric pay TV channel Starz feels the time is right to ratchet up its presence in the premium space by adding brand-defining original scripted series. ...
Sony Aims CableCard PCs at Tech Buffs.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Computers Boast Sleek Displays, DVR Features Are you ready for some ESPN Monday Night Football on your Windows machine? Cable operators may soon be getting a few more jingles from subscribers for CableCards, as major PC manufacturers gear ...
'Two-Way' Talks Get Snarkier.(talks between cable and consumer electronics industry)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Leslie Ellis In case you're out of late summer reading, or were wondering whatever happened with those 'two-way negotiations' between cable and the consumer-electronics industry, there's always those 500-plus pages of collective snark sent to the Federal Communications ...
Through the Wire.(ESPN Inc.)
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn, Kent Gibbons and Todd Spangler Saban Opinion Morphs on Must-Carry Yet another case of what they own determines what they say: Almost eight years ago, then-Fox Family Channel president Rich Cronin, along with nearly two dozen other cable programming ...
Branding Globally, Thinking Locally.
Sep 03, 2007; ... By Spyro Kourtis, The Hacker Group Cable marketers have always been an independent lot. It's an industry built from scratch by entrepreneurs in a relatively short period of time. The industry faces an enormous challenge to get everyone in a large company made up of ...
NCTA Backs 3-Year Limit.(National Cable and Telecommunications Association)(FCC's must-carry rules for cable television)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Pushed as Alternative to Martin's Dual Must-Carry Scheme Washington-With olive branch in hand, cable is offering to distribute so-called must-carry local TV stations in both analog and digital formats for three years following the legally mandated cutoff ...
Cable Puts Digital 'Education' on TV.(National Cable and Telecommunications Association starts ad campaign for digital transmission rules)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler $200M Campaign Gets Wide Backing But NAB Objects The National Cable & Telecommunications Association kicked off a TV-advertising campaign - which the lobbying group said will be worth $200 million over the next 18 months - to promote the fact that ...
A Net With Island Flavor.(CaribeVision)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds Spanish Hybrid Will Take Aim at Caribbean Viewers Looking to appeal to 'the forgotten region of the Caribbean along the East Coast of the U.S.,' CaribeVision is scheduled to bow with a hybrid distribution format on Tuesday. CaribeVision, ...
Univision Ad-Sales Shuffle.(Joseph Uva appoints David Lawenda at Univision Communications Inc.)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens In the latest shuffle of high-ranking executives since he took the network's reins earlier this year, Univision CEO Joseph Uva last week announced the hiring of David Lawenda as the Spanish-language media giant's new president of ad sales. Lawenda ...
Growth Spurt for Two-Year-Old Sprout.(PBS Kids Sprout)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Kent Gibbons Adds Shows, Signs Distribution Deal With Time Warner The PBS Kids Sprout cable channel turns two years old on Sept. 26, sporting a new, live morning program and a freshly signed distribution agreement with Time Warner Cable. 'We're all ...
Big Ten Lands on Dish.(Big Ten Network signs up EchoStar Communications Corp.)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds Upset of Michigan Earns Attention for Sports Startup Big Ten Network completed its second big carriage deal within a week, adding EchoStar Communications Corp. to its distribution roster last Thursday. The pact, terms of which were not ...
NBCU Nets Move Up N.Y. Dial.(NBC Universal Inc.)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Mike Reynolds As part of new channel lineup next month, Fox Business Network will be positioned alongside its progenitor Fox News Channel in Manhattan and three other New York City boroughs, while five NBC Universal services have secured adjacencies. Fox Business ...
In Q2, Big Funds Held Steady on Cable.(mutual funds)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Mike Farrell Large-Cap Cablers High on 'Buy' Lists As Trend Continued Cable, satellite and telephone-company holdings for the four largest cable-centric mutual funds were relatively stable for the second quarter, continuing a rotation trend into large-cap holdings ...
Ford Drives Back to Discovery Nets.(John Ford coming back to join Discovery Communications)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Former Discovery Communications new-media executive John Ford is coming back to run Discovery outlets Military Channel and Discovery Times Channel. He'll oversee the creative and business strategy, including programming, operations and new-media ...
U-Verse TV Spans 100K Subs.(subscribers)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler AT&T claimed it doubled the number of U-verse TV subscribers in about two months, announcing last week that the service touted as 'cooler than cable' now has more than 100,000 customers. The nation's largest phone company also said it will add at ...
Comcast Chief Takes on CES.(Consumer Electronics Show)(Brief article)
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff Las Vegas- Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will be among the keynote speakers here at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in January. Roberts' keynote - the first by a Comcast executive at the annual Consumer Electronics Association event - is ...
This Just In.
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff Showtime's 'Californication' Wins Renewal For Season 2 Staff New York - Showtime has renewed its freshman series Californication for a second season. The 12-episode comedy series, which stars former The X-Files star David Duchovny as ...
Finding a Lock For Video Content.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Craig Kuhl Key Security Technologies Evolve To Meet Cross-Platform Demand The burgeoning number of devices carrying a wealth of content across the three-screen landscape of TVs, PCs and mobile handsets is projected to generate serious revenue streams for content ...
Mixed Signals on Radio Deal.(merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Mike Farrell Analyst Says FCC Cooling on Merger Of Sirius and XM The proposed merger of satellite-radio giants XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio continues to wind through the regulatory approval process, but one analyst who follows both stocks said the ...
BSkyB Prepping Broadband 'Picnic'?(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)(Brief article)
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff Reports that United Kingdom satellite TV giant British Sky Broadcasting is getting ready to launch a standalone broadband service internally dubbed 'Picnic Broadband,' sound like a good idea to UBS Securities analyst Daniel Kerven, although he wasn't quite so sure ...
Quick Hits.(CBS Corp. increases dividends and approves share buyback program)(Michael Ramsay resigns from TiVo)(Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association holding regional seminar in New York)
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff CBS Debuts Buyback Program Staff New York - CBS Corp. said last Tuesday that it would increase its quarterly dividend by 14% to 25 cents per share from 22 cents and approved a $1.6 billion share repurchase program in an effort to boost its stock ....
Making Green From Emmy's Red Carpet.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted E!, TV Guide Net Help Cablers Reach Women Audiences Local ad-sales programs linked to red-carpet coverage of the Emmy Awards on Sept. 16 will reach 57 million E! viewers and 30 million homes served by the TV Guide Network. Both call their ...
Time-Shifting Bridges TV's Generation Gap.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted The State of the Media Democracy Deloitte Services http://www.deloitte.com/ Digital video recorder ownership is popular across generational groups, although 'millennials' and members of 'Generation X' use the technology the ...
Doing the Time Warp To Carve Music Niche.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Tim Kridel Some Networks Turn Back the Clock, Others Look for the Next Big Thing It may be an overstatement to say that 'everything old is new again,' but music programmers carving a niche in particular music genres are finding that many younger viewers are ...
Letting Customers Do It Their Way.(video on demand)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Tim Kridel Programmers Meet the Needs of Active and Passive Listeners From online radio to video on demand, consumers have more control over the music they receive and how it is delivered than ever before. Yet, programmers are finding that there is still a strong ...
Live Sports Score on the Web.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead, Programming Editor It's September, which means football widows and widowers around the country will get together and mourn the loss of their spouses over the next four months to a very alluring and seductive paramour: the 60-inch high-definition television ...
Volume Control.(Big Ten Network)
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff Voices From Everywhere On Big Ten Network Not My Alma Mater 'Instead of merely placing its hand even deeper into the pocket of faithful alumni and passionate fans, the Big Ten now wants people who don't give a hoot about the league, or sports, to ...
People.(Black Entertainment Television Inc. hires executives)(Comedy Central promotes Michele Ganeless)(Cox Communications promotes executives)
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff AvatarLabs AvatarLabs, a Tarzana, Calif.-based entertainment-industry motion graphics and design studio, has added Brendan Lundeen as director, production. He comes from Big Interactive, where he was senior producer, account manager, responsible for the FX ...
Must-Carry Question Still Open.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Ted Hearn Tough to Figure How Many Stations Rely on FCC Rules Washington- Even though cable and broadcasters have been warring over must-carry rules for decades, one question remains unanswered: How many TV stations actually rely on the cable carriage mandate in ...
Bill Stalls in Wisconsin.(cable television franchising bill)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted While most state legislatures have concluded action on cable-franchising bills, the one in Wisconsin is stuck, awaiting the outcome of a fight over the state budget. The bill, which will move franchising authority to the state Department of ...
Net Gets Its AARP Card.(Retirement Living TV signs deal with American Association of Retired Persons)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Advocacy Group to Produce Shows for Retirement Living On the eve of its first anniversary, Retirement Living TV reached a major production and distribution deal with the AARP that will include the development of original content for the network. ...
Versus Adds New WEC Events.(World Extreme Cagefighting)(Brief article)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Versus has pinned down rights to 15 additional live World Extreme Cagefighting events as part of a new deal between the network and the mixed martial arts organization. As part of the new pact, Versus will also televise 20 WEC WrekCage episodes - ...
What's On.(Discovery Communications' "In the Shadow of the Moon")
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Eric J. Smith In the Shadow of the Moon Discovery * In theaters Sept. 7 Discovery Communications is headed to the moon and the theaters with a new documentary, In the Shadow of the Moon . The documentary covers NASA's attempts to reach the moon through ...
If It Plays In Comporium.(Comporium Communications)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted Small, Family-Owned S.C. Provider Rides Innovation's Fast Track Rock Hill, S.C.- While national telecommunications companies are still working out the details for delivering wireless services as part of a quadruple-play bundling strategy, the ...
Motorola's Moloney: The Wireless Blend.(Dan Moloney)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Unit President Outlines Reasons For Recent Reorg Most North American cable operators haven't fully fleshed out their wireless strategies. But Motorola says it will be ready when they do. Earlier this year, Motorola merged the Connected ...
Quick Hits.(Verimatrix to resell products of GoBackTV)(DirecTV deploys Harmonic video encoding devices)(Brief article)
Sep 10, 2007 ... By Staff Verimatrix Pitches IPTV to Cable Staff San Diego - Verimatrix, a provider of content-security technologies, struck a partnership to resell equipment from GoBackTV, a startup that has developed a system to let Internet Protocol video traffic ...
Through the Wire.(post Emmy parties)(Cartoon Network's "Master Control")(Sony Pictures Entertainment promotes new comedy channel)
Sep 10, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted and Todd Spangler Gearing Up for Emmy Party Smackdown While you are cleaning up the popcorn bowls and heading for bed after the Emmy telecast on Sunday, Sept. 16, the show's participants will be deciding which parties to grace. HBO always ...
The Trouble With 'White Spaces'.
Sep 10, 2007; ... By David Donovan, MSTV When it comes to Washington, D.C., there is typically a divide between the traditional broadcast-TV stations and networks and cable networks and multiple-system operators. But recent proposals in the capital are galvanizing the likes of ESPN, DirecTV, and ...
Ad Spend Dips, But Cable Sees Upticks.
Sep 17, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted Sector Trails Web, Consumer Mags in 2nd-Quarter Gains Total advertising expenditures are down 0.3% for the first half of the year across all media, but the cable-TV industry is experiencing a 2.8% increase in ads compared with the same period last ...
A One-Stop Shop for Services.
Sep 17, 2007; ... By Linda Haugsted A Miami-based company has launched a new Web site designed to provide platform-agnostic information to consumers researching new technologies. Consumers can also buy services through the site. The site, Digital Landing, was launched on Sept. 5 by ...
New Opportunities, Platforms on NAMIC Agenda.
Sep 17, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead Diversity 2.0: The New Protocol' is the title of the 21st annual National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications Conference, whose theme revolves around the emerging digital-media space and the opportunities - both on the employment and ...
Diversity 2.0: The New Protocol.(Calendar)
Sep 17, 2007 ... By Staff 21st Annual NAMIC Conference Monday, September 17 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Registration 7:30 a.m-8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast 8 a.m.-6:00 p.m Television Writer's Workshop (by ...
In Their Own Words: How Kaitz Grants Help a Trio of Orgs.(Walter Kaitz Foundation )
Sep 17, 2007; ... By R. Thomas Umstead This year, The Walter Kaitz Foundation will offer significant financial grants to diversity-oriented organizations the Emma L. Bowen Foundation, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity In Communications and Women In Cable Telecommunications, in support ...
ESPN Walks the Walk, On Screen and Off.(ESPN Inc.)
Sep 17, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens ESPN's senior management holds that a diverse audience demands diverse programming, which, in turn, requires a diverse workforce, both in front of and behind the cameras. The network's commitment and efforts on this front have netted this year's Diversity ...
Bridging 'Digital Divide'.
Sep 17, 2007; ... By Luis Clemens Towns Works to Make Web Inclusive Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) connects quickly with strangers, whether outside a subway stop in his Brooklyn district, from the pulpit during a Sunday service or simply over the phone. Maybe it's his experience as a ...
DTV Order Will Cost Cable.(digital television)
Sep 17, 2007; ... By Todd Spangler Systems Must Spend No Matter Which Option They Choose To some extent, operators will have to boost capital spending regardless of which option they choose under the Federal Communications Commission's new digital-television transition rules. ...