Broadcasting & Cable articles from December 2006

Broadcasting & Cable archives from December 2006

CNBC's New Online Splash.(Consumer News and Business Channel Partnership comes up with a revamped website offering audio and video feeds)
December 4, 2006... By Anne Becker Business-news network sends its revamped Website into a crowded field After years in a marriage of convenience with Microsoft, CNBC is breaking free. The business-news network is launching a multimillion-dollar revamp...

Dancing With McPherson.(Steve McPherson, American Broadcasting Companies Inc.)(Interview)
December 4, 2006... By Jim Benson ABC's entertainment chief on fancy footwork in programming Hollywood is traditionally quick to pull up stakes at the first sign of trouble for a network entertainment president. When Steve McPherson took over the...

Deals.(broadcasting industry)(List)
December 4, 2006... By BIA Financial Networks TVs KAEF(TV) Arcata, K12JJ Benbow, K04EZ Big Bend, K36BT Blue Lake, K05DQ Burney, K05BR Dunsmuir, K33DI East Weed, K04EQ Fort Jones, K45DS Freshwater, K05EQ Green Point, K25CI Klamath, K27BH Lake Shastina,...

Open Mike.(tributes to Newsweek Inc.'s business reporter John M. Higgins)
December 4, 2006... Staff Given the overwhelming number of letters and e-mails we received after the death of our colleague, business reporter John M. Higgins, we wanted to give Open Mike over again to print more of the tributes and stories by members of the...

Glenn Beck Recalls Radio Days.(hosts show on Headline News)
December 4, 2006... By Joel Topcik The conservative AM talker brings his opinions--and humor--to Headline News When executives at CNN's Headline News met with Glenn Beck about hosting a show, the conservative radio talker was blunt: "First thing I said...

Fates & Fortunes.(appointments in the Cable television broadcasting industry)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... By Staff Broadcast TV Staff At Sunbeam Television Corp., Miami: Randi Goldklank , director of sales, WHDH Boston, named VP/general manager, replacing Michael Carson , who will retire July 1 but will remain a consultant to WHDH;...

Flash!("Heroes", "The Bad Girls Club")(World Hunting Association issues casting call for television competition)
December 4, 2006... Edited By Joel Topcik Families Flock to NBC's Harsh 'Heroes' Joel Topcik So, how did Tim Kring, creator of NBC 's Heroes , end up on a panel at last week's Family Friendly Programming Forum in Beverly Hills? "Save the...

It Was a Very Good Year.
December 4, 2006... By Garth Johnston Political and retail ads buoy stations during auto downturn Like broadcasters throughout the battleground state of Ohio, stations in Toledo enjoyed a windfall in political-ad money from this year's midterm election....

Content Is King And So Is Ownership.
December 4, 2006... By Craig Kuhl The drive to prevent programs from being illegally copied is crucial in a digital age By 2009, more than 108 million digital TV subscribers worldwide will be accessing thousands of video-on-demand (VOD) programs and...

NDS Aims At A Moving Target.(NDK America Inc.)(Interview)
December 4, 2006... By Craig Kuhl Security company's Dov Rubin sees big rights-management challenges Viewers probably never think about it. But when they watch cable, peek at online samples of network hits or buy in to video- on-demand offerings, they...

CBS' South Florida Shakeup.
December 4, 2006... By Paige Albiniak Changes at the top aim to help stations connect with robust region Growth has been slow for the 39 owned-and-operated outlets that make up the CBS station group, especially in the South Florida markets. But CBS execs...

Star-Power Outage.(talk shows)
December 4, 2006... By Ben Grossman Entire talk genre slips from last year Syndicators are increasingly hesitant about commiting to personality-driven talk shows for the coming year, and the ratings for this past sweeps indicate that backing off may be...

Satellite Operators: Sky's the Limit.
December 4, 2006... By Glen Dickson Hi-def and IPTV emerge as key drivers Fixed-satellite operators were in a good mood last week in New York, despite a rough past few years. Fiber-optic networks have stolen a large share of satellite's television...

Tech Talk.(AT&T's "U-verse" IPTV service, YES Productions, Gray Television )
December 4, 2006... By Staff AT&T Expands TV Service Staff AT&T's "U-verse" IPTV service, operating in San Antonio, is offering an expanded program lineup, including HDTV channels and new interactive features. AT&T is supplying 25 hi-def...

Fast Track.(NBC Universal's deal collapsed, Ovation channel appointed Kris Slava, Writers Guild of America, West)
December 4, 2006... By Staff Howie Says No To Syndicated 'Deal' Jim Benson Talks on hosting half-hour version collapse By Jim Benson A deal by NBC Universal to bring Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel to a 30-minute syndicated version of the...

Mandel Takes VNU.(Jon Mandel)(Interview)
December 4, 2006... By Ben Grossman Jon Mandel, known in TV circles for his media-buying savvy and outspoken nature, is bringing his fastball to VNU, where he takes over as CEO of a new business unit called NielsenConnect. Mandel, 54, has worked in the...

Where to be and what to watch--.
December 4, 2006... By Michael Malone Monday, Dec. 4 Credit Suisse holds its annual media-palooza, with no shortage of industry titans on display at the Crowne Plaza in Manhattan. Today's speakers include Scripps CEO Ken Lowe, NBC Universal TV Group CEO...

Reilly Rolls the Dice.
December 4, 2006... By J. Max Robins When NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly laid out the network's midseason schedule last week, somewhere the late Brandon Tartikoff was smiling. The entertainment chief during NBC's golden years in the 1980s, he would...

No Longer A Sports Also-Ran.(National Football League)
December 11, 2006... By Ben Grossman Cable makes deeper strides in broadcast territory ESPN and Turner Sports, not to mention the National Football League, made bold moves this year, confirming beyond doubt that broadcast television is hardly the exclusive...

A Wealth of Options.(cable television outlook)
December 11, 2006... By Anne Becker For 2007, Networks aim to build on successes In 2006, cable continued to solidify its reputation as a place for "edgier fare" and a nurturing environment for originals, an antidote to broadcast TV, where expensive...

Cable's Hits & Disses.(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... By Staff A year-end glance back at leaders and losers, plus a sneak peek at the best of 2006 For TV's major cable networks, 2006 was another year of the line rising on the graph. Through early December, they collectively claimed a...

Deals.(broadcasting sector)
December 11, 2006... By BIA Financial Networks TVs W43CB Matecumbe, Fla. PRICE: $2.45 million BUYER: Ministerio Oscar Aguero Inc. (Oscar Aguero, president) SELLER: Key Communications of Texas (Jerry Benavides, proprietor) FACILITIES: Ch....

Boom After the Storm.(Cable television and callular telephone industry post-Hurricane Katrina period)
December 11, 2006... By Garth Johnston A Gulf Coast market enjoys a post-Katrina bounce After emerging damaged but relatively intact in the wake of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, the Mobile, Ala.-Pensacola, Fla., market has prospered. Thanks to stable...

Flash!(A&E Television Networks, FCC on obscenity, The King of Queens )
December 11, 2006... Edited by Joel Topcik A&E Treads Lightly on 'Sopranos' Violence Joel Topcik The folks at A&E have done a nice job of scrubbing the HBO-grade profanity and nudity from The Sopranos , which premieres in syndication next month...

WGAY's Coming-Out Party.(Television stations)
December 11, 2006... By Paige Albiniak Key West gay outlet has superstation ambitions If Key West's over-the-air station aimed at the gay market catches on, the station's owners hope to take their WGAY station concept nationwide. "This has never been...

How Williams Does It 'Nightly'.(Brian Williams completes two years in anchoring "NBC Nightly News" )
December 11, 2006... By Andrew Tyndall What has kept his NBC newscast on top for two years Brian Williams marked his second anniversary as anchor of NBC Nightly News last week with much to celebrate: His newscast has led the ratings race among the three...

Ireland's New Map.(Jay Ireland of NBC Universal)
December 11, 2006... By Jim Benson With the loss of three top executives in just a few weeks, the new face of NBC Universal is taking form. Those changes also mean Jay Ireland, head of the network's TV stations, is getting expanded duties. Last week,...

Fast Track.(advertising expenditures, CBS Entertainment's "Criminal Minds", Emmy awards)
December 11, 2006... By Staff Ad Dollars Climb But Still Off Target Ben Grossman The growth rate in total advertising expenditures over the past six months is trailing projections, even as total ad spending in the first nine months of 2006 ticked up...

FCC Hacks Away at V-Chip.
December 11, 2006... By John Eggerton Commmision argues it's obligated to protect kids from profanity The FCC thinks the V-chip isn't much help in preventing kids from seeing programs that may have dicey content. And in a filing to a federal court last...

Where to be and what to watch--.
December 11, 2006... By Michael Malone Monday, Dec. 11 How do you dress up pigs in a blanket? With frilly French names like saucisson en croute (that's "sausages in pastry," but you knew that). Yes, if hors d'oeuvres from the William Paley-ozoic era are...

Cable Cowboy in Orbit.
December 11, 2006... By J. Max Robins No doubt folks in the cable industry are having a tough time wrapping their heads around the proposed deal between John Malone's Liberty Media and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. By swapping his 19% stake in News Corp. for a...

The Cable Difference.
December 11, 2006... By Staff The biggest changes in society happen so naturally that they're hard to even notice, and so it is with television. For a decade, maybe more, cable has largely set the agenda for the medium. As John Rash, senior VP for Campbell...

Open Mike.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2006... By Staff Cable: Not the Electric Co. The recent rhetoric surrounding Sinclair Broadcasting's retransmission negotiations with Mediacom ("Happy Hostilities," Nov. 13) reminded me of the misleading nature of the cable industry's "big...

No Laughing Matter.(Patric M. Verrone)(Biography)
December 11, 2006... By Jim Benson As WGAW president, comedy writer Verrone takes a no-nonsense stance Patric M. Verrone wants to correct the record. While testifying at an FCC media-consolidation hearing in October, the Writers Guild of America, West...

Fates & Fortunes.(MTV Networks On Campus Inc promotes Stephen Friedman)(Fuse promotes Jason Miller)(Fox Cable Networks Group promotes Adam Holzer)
December 11, 2006... By Staff Broadcast TV Staff Melanie Simon , local sales manager, WBDT Dayton, Ohio, promoted to general sales manager. Cable TV Staff Joseph A. Gamble , regional VP of Central California, Comcast, promoted to senior...

Obituary.(Obituary)
December 11, 2006... By Staff John Jones , 38, VP/general counsel/assistant secretary for station-group owner Radio One and former general counsel for co-owned cable channel TV One, died of an apparent heart attack Dec. 3. Jones was associate general...

Survey Says Old Shows Rule.(SmithGeiger's survey on television programs)
December 11, 2006... By Jim Benson Web emerging in program promotion Reruns of Law & Order and CSI are legendary as cable saviors, but thanks to a new study, Warner Bros. is touting older product like Full House and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . The study,...

Cox Picks New Panasonic Cameras.(Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, Cox Television)
December 11, 2006... By Glen Dickson Station group goes with three-chip P2 HD system Panasonic has closed a deal with station group Cox Television to supply its P2 HD solid-state camera systems for newsgathering operations. Cox, which had previously...

Tech Battles To Stop "Stream-Ripping".(Online content)
December 11, 2006... By Craig Kuhl Content piracy is a growing plague on the Web The rush of online content flowing to and from TVs, computers and mobile phones is also rocking the foundation of the revenue sources that it's generating. New...

The 2006 B&C News Quiz.(Cable television broadcasting industry)
December 18, 2006... By B&C Staff How much can you recall? 1. What was the first new broadcast-network program to be cancelled for the fall 2006 season? A) Kidnapped B) Smith C) Runaway D) Shark 2. Political spending on local TV is...

Best in Show.("The Wire")
December 18, 2006... By Michael Malone What the critics loved (and hated) in '06 It came down to The Wire . HBO's dark drama took top honors in the B&C Critics Poll, as 15% of the critics gave it their vote for Best Overall Program. "The Wire lives in a...

First-Rate Year for Second City.(WLS-TV (Chicago, Illinois))
December 18, 2006... By Garth Johnston Innovative O&Os compete in strong market Bolstered by a steady economy and a lucrative political season, network-owned stations in Chicago have been experimenting with new technology, original programming and...

TV Goes Online–in a Flash.(Broadband video)
December 18, 2006... By Garth Johnston When the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards are presented at next month's CES confab in Las Vegas, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will honor a largely uncelebrated driver of the past year's...

Deals.(Broadcasting equipment)
December 18, 2006... By BIA Financial Networks TVs K57JO, K63HJ Laughlin, Nev. PRICE: $150,000 BUYER: Kansas 9th Island Broadcasting Inc. (Rubin Rodriguez, president) SELLER: Mojave Broadcasting Co. (Suzanne Rogers, president) ...

Splash of the Titans.
December 18, 2006... By Staff Which media maven produces the finest wine? For many entertainment bigwigs, their wine operation is every bit as crucial as the Bentley and beach house. With the holidays upon us, we put several media players' wines to the...

Sunbeam"s New Take on News.(Sunbeam Television Corp.)
December 18, 2006... By Paige Albiniak Station group hopes "snazzed-up" news scores in ultra-competitive Boston One of the country's hottest news markets is getting even hotter. Sunbeam has upped the stakes in Boston with a revamped newscast at 10 p.m....

PBS Pilots To Be Pre-Streamed.(Public Broadcasting Service)(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... By John Eggerton Users' votes will affect what gets on-air PBS is trying a little science experiment. The noncommercial programming service will announce Monday that it will, for the first time, stream a show online before it is...

Bill Geddie"s Point of "View".(The View)(Interview)
December 18, 2006... By Anne Becker Bill Geddie, with Barbara Walters, is the executive producer of ABC's The View . He also runs Walters' Barwall Productions, which produces her highly regarded specials. Last week, Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People won its...

Fast Track.(Keith Olbermann )(MyNetworkTV )(ABC's cancellation of shows)
December 18, 2006... By Staff Olbermann Seeks Big Raise J. Max Robins MSNBC up against NBCU budget cuts By J. Max Robins Keith Olbermann and MSNBC are knocking heads over a new contract. The controversial host of Countdown With Keith...

Washington Watch.(Video-franchise reform)(Federal Communications Commission on obscenity)(Kevin Martin)
December 18, 2006... By John Eggerton Lawmaking efforts fell short on several fronts. Here's a look at several key media issues Video-Franchise Law in Neutral John Eggerton Telephone companies spent millions of dollars pushing for national...

Where to be and what to watch...(Television program guides)
December 18, 2006... By Michael Malone Monday, Dec. 18 Zinger-slinging magic man Penn Jillette helms new NBC game show Identity , debuting at 8 p.m. ET and airing in that time slot all week. Contestants use impulse, reasoning, instincts and keen...

More NBCU Surprises?(Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal Inc.)
December 18, 2006... By J. Max Robins It's a fait accompli in most industry folks' minds that Jeff Zucker will soon ascend to the NBC Universal throne and replace longtime Chairman Bob Wright. But as we say goodbye to a year filled with out-of-left-field...

Must-See TV.(C-SPAN )
December 18, 2006... By Staff We don't expect millions of Americans to flock to C-SPAN Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. to watch a courtroom proceeding. But they should. The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City agreed to let C-SPAN televise the Dec. 20 hearing, in...

TV Stations Asleep at the Wheel.(National Association of Broadcasters)(Column)
December 18, 2006... By Meredith McGehee As much as John Laabs of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association complains about the University of Wisconsin NewsLab study (11/13, Airtime), the truth is that the broadcasting industry, led by the National Association of...

Mayor's TV Commish Made in N.Y.(Katherine Oliver)(Biography)
December 18, 2006... By Michael Malone Katherine Oliver transforms Gotham Into Hollywood on the Hudson Location is everything in Katherine Oliver's business. In her office overlooking the landmark Ed Sullivan Theater, just blocks from the neon blaze of...

Fates &Fortunes.(Matt Hupfeld promoted at Clear Channel Television Inc.)(Ed McDougall joined KBCI Boise)(Bill Gaines joined WGCL Atlanta )
December 18, 2006... By Staff Broadcast TV Staff Matt Hupfeld , VP, finance, Clear Channel TV, San Antonio, promoted to senior VP, finance. Ed McDougall , sports anchor, KASA Albuquerque, N.M., joins KBCI Boise, Idaho, as sports director. ...

Rachael Ray Cleans Up.
December 18, 2006... By Ben Grossman Among rookies, hostess has mostest Domestic hostess Rachael Ray smoked her rookie competition in their first November sweeps period. Rachael Ray easily outdistanced the other new shows in first-run syndication,...

Hi-Def Rush in Reno.(High definition news)
December 18, 2006... By Glen Dickson Pappas' KREN is first CW affiliate to offer HDTV news Reno will get a significant boost to its digital-television transition this week, as Pappas station and CW affiliate KREN launches a one-hour newscast in 1080-line...

Tech Talk.(Widevine Technologies )(Cox Communications and Uplit)(WNIN Evansville)(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... By Glen Dickson Widevine Gets New Patent Glen Dickson Content-protection firm Widevine Technologies has received a new U.S. patent for digital copy protection, the sixth patent awarded to the Seattle-based company. Patent U.S....