Multichannel News back issues from July 2008:
Cable Upfront Tallies $8B.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Linda Moss But Will Advertisers Make Good Amid Economic Woes? Boosted by a wealth of original programming and a shift of advertising dollars from broadcast, cable wrapped up a robust upfront market with sales that reportedly approached $8 billion. Now ...
Battle Against Bundles Gains New Life.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Federal Judge Refuses to Dismiss Antitrust Litigation A federal judge in Los Angeles refused to throw out a year-old antitrust lawsuit against programmers and multichannel-TV distributors challenging the program bundling arrangements that prevent ...
Sowing Seeds of WiMax.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Todd Spangler Comcast Invests In a Mobile Wireless Broadband Startup Comcast, as part of its broader wireless strategy, has made a seed-round investment in a Boston-area startup developing WiMax equipment to provide mobile broadband data, video and voice services. ...
SCTE Seeks CEO To Replace Clark.(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers replace John Clark)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Todd Spangler John Clark's 10-year run at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers came to an end last week, immediately after the professional association's largest-ever conference. The SCTE wants to find a replacement for the outgoing president and CEO ...
ESPN Spins Axis Toward Primetime.(Axis Communications Inc. acquired with ESPN Inc.)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Mike Reynolds Technology Offers Virtual Replays From Multiple Angles Bristol, Conn.-- On the Continent, the lasting impression of Euro 2008 is of Spain ending a 44-year drought in major soccer tournaments and emerging as one of the favorites for World Cup 2010. ...
Comcast, NFL to Seek Mediation.(National Football League)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn Washington-- Comcast and the National Football League have agreed to try to settle their legal dispute over carriage terms of NFL Network out of court by turning to a mediator, both sides confirmed last week. The agreement to rely on mediation came at the ...
Bids In on Comcast Subs.(Brief article)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell 400,000 Subscribers in 46 Nonstrategic Markets For Sale -- Single Buyer Sought Bids for Comcast systems with about 400,000 subscribers in nearly four dozen nonstrategic markets were beginning to trickle in last week, with some cable operators and ...
Weather Deal Could Break Soon.(The Weather Channel Inc.)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Sale negotiations for The Weather Channel appear to be winding down, with some people familiar with the process saying before the July 4 holiday that a deal could be done in the next few days. Weather Channel parent Landmark Communications said on June ...
Coda.
Jul 07, 2008 ... by Staff Showtime for 'Inside the NFL' R. Thomas Umstead New York -- Showtime has tapped several National Football League veteran on-air announcers to host its inaugural season of Inside the NFL . James Brown, CBS Sports announcer and The NFL ...
Cable Rocks 2nd Quarter.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by R. Thomas Umstead and Mike Reynolds Ad-Backed Nets Rack Up 57 Share as Broadcasters Keep Slipping Hit original scripted series, hoops playoff coverage and a rockin' original tween-targeted movie premiere helped cable dominate the broadcast networks during the ...
Reviews.(Brief article)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by George Vernadakis GENERATION KILL HBO, Sunday, July 13, 9 p.m. Fresh off bringing their acclaimed series The Wire to a close, the HBO dream team of David Simon and Ed Burns shift their focus from Baltimore to Baghdad with Generation Kill . ...
Inside Downingtown: Comcast's Decoder Ring.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Leslie Ellis Downingtown, Pa.-- About an hour from the gleaming 58-story Comcast Center in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, there's a far-less-spectacular warehouse building owned by the same company in this suburban borough. The nondescript building stretches ...
Hung Up on Call Centers.(Survey)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Surveyed Consumers Rank Cable, Satellite Worst for Service Consumers ranked the service they get from call centers for cable and satellite TV companies worse than those of any other business, including U.S. government agencies, according to a survey ...
TV Screen Still Rules: CTAM.(Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Video consumers now view an estimated 24% of their content on computers, according to a behavioral study released June 30 by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, but the television set is still the king of viewing destinations. ...
June Bug Bites Cable Stocks.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Month's Overall Declines Halt Rally In the Sector -- And July Signs Are Negative Cable stocks tripped in the month of June, erasing what was shaping up to be one of the biggest rallies in years for the sector. And while much of that June decline was ...
Good Start For Scripps Nets' Shares.(Brief article)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Scripps Networks Interactive began trading as a separate publicly traded company on July 1, opening on the New York Stock Exchange at $38.35, rising as high as $41.23 before closing at $39.79, up nearly 4% ($1.44 each). SNI had been trading on the ...
Keep It Simple.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Mark Robichaux, Editor in Chief I'm ready to turn my laptop into a Frisbee from the 14th floor. The Web site is misfiring, my Blackberry isn't synching, and the help desk has me on hold. Sound familiar? To a certain extent, technology ...
Talkback.(Brief article)
Jul 07, 2008 ... by Staff A La Carte's Time Has Come It is about time [for a la carte sales of cable channels]. I will enjoy watching worthless channels that few people watch disappear. No longer will the masses fund worthless and destructive channels like MTV, VH1 and Logo. In the ...
People.(briefs)(appointments)
Jul 07, 2008 ... by Staff Bravo Barbara Bekkedahl has been named vice president, Bravo Sales. She comes from Gospel Music Channel, where she was senior VP, advertising. CCTA Carolyn McIntyre has been tapped as president of the California Cable & ...
Comcast Orders Up DTAs.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Todd Spangler Source: MSO Plans to Buy 6M Digital-to-Analog Devices in 2008 Philadelphia-- Comcast has selected three vendors to supply digital-to-analog converters -- Motorola, Pace Micro Technology and Thomson -- and will order up to 6 million of the devices in ...
Dishing on Big Bandwidth.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Todd Spangler Philadelphia-- Even as cable operators prepare to roll out higher-speed DOCSIS 3.0 "wideband" broadband service, they're also fine-tuning ways of curbing the small percentage of subscribers who consume far more than their fair share. Tony Werner, ...
Comcast's Burke Stresses Video Reliability.(Brief article)
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Todd Spangler Philadelphia-- Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke said the nation's biggest cable company is increasingly focused on eliminating errors in video transmission, to cut down the number of customer complaints. Burke, speaking on the opening CEO ...
See You Back In Court.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn Appeals Look Likely After FCC's Win on Local Franchising Rules Washington-- Local governments are highly likely to appeal the Federal Communications Commission's recent court victory in support of agency rules designed to speed phone company entry into ...
Report: Video Streamers Shouldn't Get Local License.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn Washington-- In a report to Congress last Monday, the U.S. Copyright Office said companies that intend to stream local TV signals over the Internet should be denied a key copyright license that cable operators use to distribute those broadcasts. "Several ...
Through the Wire.
Jul 07, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn, Todd Spangler, Linda Haugsted and Kent Gibbons Hunt, Kennard Suffer From McCain Amnesia Democrats Reed Hundt and William Kennard -- successive chiefs of the Federal Communications Commission under President Clinton -- were early supporters of Sen. Barack ...
Driving Tune-In Across Platforms.
Jul 07, 2008; ... By Amanda Welsh, IMMI Increasingly, major advertisers are adopting a multiplatform planning approach to their campaigns and media companies are packaging their inventory to encourage this strategy and deliver on its promise. Given the impetus in the marketplace, both buyers and ...
Critics Sample Cable's Newest Fare.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Linda Moss & Linda Haugsted Networks offer a Pageant of Mad Men, Marines and Reality Shows Beverly Hills, Calif.- In the battle for buzz, it was the Marines versus the Mad Men last week. And it looks like the grey-flannel suits of 1960's Madison Avenue may have ...
American Express Joins 'Project Runway' Sponsor Roster.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Kent Gibbons Project Runway 's fifth and last season on Bravo will feature familiar faces and a significant newcomer among the biggest sponsors of the design competition. The top-rated show on the NBC Universal cable outlet - scheduled to shift to Lifetime for ...
Martin Throws P2P Penalty Flag at Comcast.(Kevin Martin)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn & Todd Spangler Washington- Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin last Friday said he wants the agency to rule that Comcast violated agency policy by 'blocking' consumers from freely using applications that help speed delivery of video services and ...
IFC Targets Males With 'Automat' Programming Block.(Independent Film Channel)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by R. Thomas Umstead In its first programming change since parent Rainbow Media Holdings acquired other independent outlet Sundance Channel, IFC is targeting young, male viewers with a new Tuesday night primetime block. The IFC 'Automat' block of genre-targeted ...
NBCU Blankets the Beijing Olympic Games.(NBC Universal Inc.)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Mike Reynolds When it comes to the XXIX Olympiad next month, USA Network will go red, white and blue, CNBC will present boxing action and Oxygen will center on gymnastics. With opening ceremonies a month away, NBC Universal's seven networks plan record-setting ...
Would Scripps Sell Nets?
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Speculation Mounts With NBCU As Potential Suitor With a little more than one week of trading as a separate company under its belt, Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI) is once again the topic of merger speculation, with some analysts and observers ...
Time Warner Cable Sells 80k Subs.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Time Warner Cable said last Thursday that it has reached an agreement to sell systems in several non-strategic markets, with about 80,000 subscribers, to Windjammer Communications for an undisclosed sum. The systems have been on the auction block since ...
Coda.(briefs)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Staff Redstone: My Shari No More Mike Farrell New York - The rift between Sumner Redstone and daughter Shari over control of Viacom may be widening, but the familial ill will appears to have had a positive effect on the media giant's stock. ...
DirecTV: Web's an Ally.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by R. Thomas Umstead Net-Based Video-on-Demand Results Are On Target, Exec Says El Segundo, Calif.- DirecTV is betting that the Web will serve as a major technological ally as it tries to match cable in delivering on-demand video content. The top U.S ....
Reviews.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by George Vernadakis and Kent Gibbons THE CLEANER A&E Network * Tuesday, July 15 (10 p.m.) With its new original series The Cleaner , A&E is back in the scripted drama business for the first time in years. Judging from the pilot, the show looks like a ...
Comcast Combats Complaints With Software.
Jul 14, 2008; ... By Linda Haugsted Can New Tools, Vigilance Improve Cable Giant's Rep? Comcast in recent years has built an ambitious reputation on Wall Street, acquiring other companies to become the nation's largest video provider, and rolling out digital phone service to become the ...
'Who' Breakthrough.(MTV Networks Inc. VH1's "Rock Honors: The Who")
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Mike Reynolds VH1's 'Rock Honors' Telecast Takes Podbusting to New Level You've heard of picture in picture. VH1's upcoming salute to British rock stalwarts The Who will be introducing a commercial-in-arena concept. As part of integrated advertising ...
Video Use Up, All Over.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Consumers are spending more time watching video on every available platform, including computers and cellphones - and TV sets - according to a report on television consumption released July 8 by Nielsen. Despite other options for content consumption, ...
Content Stocks Share the Pain.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Economic Malaise Afflicts Programmers, Too, Especially If They Own Newspapers Cable programmer stocks have been feeling the pain during the first six months of the year, declining a collective 21% between Jan. 2 and July 7, despite strong ratings ...
Malone Adds Some 'Capital'.(John Malone)(Liberty Capital Group)(Brief article)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Mike Farrell Cable legend John Malone has been buying up shares of Liberty Capital Group, one of four tracking stocks associated with his Liberty Media. He spent about $95 million for 3.8 million shares. Malone - who already controls Liberty Capital - turned some ...
Consumers Want Some Satisfaction.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Kent Gibbons, Executive Editor Some things never change, apparently. Bashing your cable company is one of them. Cable has had serious competition for video customers for years - from the national satellite providers, both of which have had tremendous fun from time ...
Talkback.(Column)
Jul 14, 2008 ... by Staff Comcast Doesn't Own the Internet When Comcast bought up large systems to become the largest cable MSO, it did not buy the Internet. Comcast has no right to change how the Internet works - not one byte of it. How the worldwide Internet works is defined by all ...
People.(briefs)(Avenue Broadband Communications Inc.)(ABI Research)
Jul 14, 2008 ... by Staff ABI Research New York-based ABI Research has tapped Nick Holland as principal analyst, mobile content. He comes from Aite Group, where he was senior analyst reporting on the intersection of technology, payments and security. Avenue Broadband ...
Comcast Calls on Vonage.(Vonage Holdings Corp.)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Todd Spangler Cabler Aims to Show Net Neutrality Laws Aren't Needed Comcast, continuing its campaign to show that the private sector can address Internet-management issues without government intervention, last week announced a 'collaborative agreement' with Vonage ...
'DTA' Means 100-plus more linear HD Channels.(Digital Terminal Adapter)(High definition )
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Leslie Ellis Here's a new one from the Department of Three-Letter Acronyms: 'DTA.' DTA (as you've read in Todd Spangler's reporting in these pages) stands for Digital Terminal Adapter (or 'digital-to-analog'). A digital terminal adapter is a cable-specific thing ....
Free ABC for Small Ops.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn But ACA Says Disney's Offer Doesn't Give Enough Retrans Relief Washington- Some small cable operators within television markets where The Walt Disney Co. owns the ABC affiliate will be able to carry the signal for free for the next three years, Disney ...
OMB Kicks Out FCC's Leased-Access Rules.(United States. Federal Communications Commission)(Office of Management and Budget)
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn Washington- The Federal Communications Commission has run into more trouble with its new cable leased-access rules. Last Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget ruled that the FCC's policies were inconsistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act, a ...
Through the Wire.
Jul 14, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn, Todd Spangler and George Vernadakis Cablers Help Obama In Fundraising Drive Cable industry Democrats made a good showing at last Tuesday's Washington, D.C., fundraiser held for presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama, the Illinois ...
No Amnesia on McCain for Past FCC Chairmen Hundt, Kennard.(Federal Communications Commission)(John McCain )(Editorial)
Jul 14, 2008 ... by Staff Editor's note: Last week, the lead item in the Through The Wire column, penned by Washington News Editor Ted Hearn, took former Federal Communications Commission chairmen Reed Hundt and William Kennard to task for suffering selective amnesia when it came to certain ...
Hot Start for Cable.
Jul 21, 2008; ... by R. Thomas Umstead 'Closer', 'Saving Grace' Lead Summer Gains for Networks Cable networks drew in millions more viewers than expected with premieres of new and returning series. The ratings onslaught was led by Turner Network Television's popular drama ...
Screen Actors Guild Rejects AMPTP Offer.(Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted The Screen Actors Guild rejected the June 30 contract offer by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, stating that the contract 'template' established by pacts with writers and directors does not protect actors, particularly on Internet ...
Dish Adds Bird to Fleet.(EchoStar Communications Corp.)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Kent Gibbons & Mike Farrell Dish Network successfully added a new satellite to its orbital fleet last week, bolstering its capacity at a time when it is focused on adding high-definition channels in its battle for subscribers against cable companies and larger satellite-TV ...
Olympic VOD for DirecTV.(video on demand)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Mike Reynolds DirecTV will offer on-demand video from the upcoming Summer Olympics. The satellite leader has reached an accord with NBC Universal under which the programmer will supply 10 VOD weekly titles tied to Beijing Games, which run from Aug. 8 through 24. ...
AMC's 'Mad' About Emmy Nods.(American Movie Classics Company L.L.C.)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Ad-Agency Drama Is Nominated 16 Times, Part of Cable Networks' Haul of 227 AMC Network's investment in original programming continues to pay dividends in terns of award recognition. The longtime basic-cable movie network took home four ...
FX Says Farewell to 'Shield,' Orders Last Season of 'Nip/Tuck'.
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Linda Moss Beverly Hills, Calif.- FX, which made its name with cutting-edge dramas, has ordered additional episodes of Nip/Tuck and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , and has greenlit a new comedy, Testees , network officials said last week. FX delivered a rash ...
Disney Puts Diversity on Display.(Walt Disney Co. Walt Disney Studios)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Beverly Hills, Calif.- The Disney Channel's focus on television diversity is reflected in The Cheetah Girls: One World , the third original movie focusing on the TV girl group, filmed this time in India. Gary Marsh, president Disney Channels ...
Stars Sign On for 'Proof'.(Lifetime Television Network)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Linda Haugsted Lifetime Original Telepic One of 40 in Networks' Plans Beverly Hills, Calif.- Lifetime Television will highlight its annual 'Stop Breast Cancer for Life' campaign with an original movie Living Proof , the true story of the UCLA physician and ...
Bochco Gives TNT Props for Series.(Steven Bochco)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Linda Moss & Linda Haugsted Beverly Hills, Calif.- Steven Bochco, creator and executive producer of TNT's new legal series, Raising the Bar , recently lauded the cable network for carving out a real identity and home for scripted dramas. 'They've really done a ...
Dems Fret Over Coupon Funding.
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn House Leaders Question Administration of Converter Program Washington- Two key House Democrats are concerned that the Bush administration has mismanaged administrative funds for the $1.5 billion program designed to subsidize consumer acquisition of ...
Verizon Suffers Court Setback.(United States. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Ted Hearn A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by Verizon Communications to keep marketing local phone service to customers who had already elected to switch to cable and other competing voice providers. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C ....
Coda.(briefs)
Jul 21, 2008 ... by Staff ESPN Homers Like Hamilton Mike Reynolds New York - Much like Josh Hamilton, who was belting them into the Bronx night, ESPN went very deep with its presentation of the2008 State Farm Home Run Derby Monday night, as the slugfest became the ...
Showtime Adds Films.(Showtime Networks Inc.)(The Weinstein Co.)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by R. Thomas Umstead Seven-Year Deal With Weinstein Co. Helps Premium Net Reload Showtime Networks' exclusive, seven-year film-distribution deal with The Weinstein Co. is the first of several movie deals the company expects to make in an effort to fill its theatrical ...
Review.(Bravo)(Brief article)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Ashley Barton Date My Ex: Jo & Slade (Bravo, Monday, July 21 10 p.m.) For fans of The Real Housewives of Orange County , Bravo serves up this predictable spinoff in which ex-housewife Jo De La Rosa pursues her singing career - and a second chance at ...
MTV Offers Fans a 'Soundtrack'.(www.soundtrack.mtv.com)(MTV Networks Inc.)
Jul 21, 2008; ... by Ashley Barton & R. Thomas Umstead Ever wonder who sang that tearjerker song during your favorite episode of The Hills ? Fans of MTV can now find the music they hear on MTV through its new Soundtrack Web site (www.soundtrack.mtv.com ), an online interactive ...