Broadcasting & Cable articles from February 2009

Broadcasting & Cable archives from February 2009

Digging for Dollars.(Conference news)
February 2, 2009... By Michael Malone Stations get creative to make up for lack of automotive bucks and a generally downbeat economy Staring down the barrel of an unpleasant business outlook for 2009, Rita Littles Scott, VP/general manager of WCSC...

Station Cooperation.(television broadcasting industry to donate for cancer events)
February 2, 2009... By Michael Malone Birmingham rivals join forces to fight cancer The notion of Southern hospitality has long been celebrated, but stations in Birmingham, Ala., take goodwill seriously. While they're heated rivals throughout the...

Covering the Obama Girls? Use Kid Gloves.
February 2, 2009... By David Tanklefsky No sooner had Barack Obama been elected president last November than the news media began flogging a now familiar truism about the Obama presidency: It's the first time in a long while that young children will be in the...

Thomson To Sell Grass Valley Unit.(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Glen Dickson Trying to shore up its balance sheet, French conglomerate Thomson says it will divest its Grass Valley unit, which makes broadcast production gear including cameras, editors, switchers and servers. Thomson, which will...

Gannett Broadcasting Flat for Q4, Total Year.(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Michael Malone Gannett Broadcasting operating income for the fourth quarter was $92.1 million, up. 0.3%. Broadcast revenues were $212.8 million, about even with the $212 million the company booked in the fourth quarter of 2007. Political...

Hispanic Group Seeks Probe of 'Hate Speech'.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... John Eggerton In a petition to the FCC, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) last week claimed that hate speech is "prevalent" on cable news networks. The group wants the FCC to open a formal inquiry. NHMC cited a 2007 Media...

Special Katie Can't Top Fox's Idol.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Alex Weprin A special primetime edition of the CBS Evening News With Katie Couric on Jan. 28 finished second in its time slot in total viewers to Fox juggernaut American Idol . Unfortunately for CBS, the primetime newscast finished fifth...

Christina Norman Joins OWN As CEO.(appointed at Winfrey and Discovery Communications)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Claire Atkinson Former MTV Networks programming whiz Christina Norman is joining Oprah Winfrey's cable channel as CEO, beginning Feb. 17. She was most recently president of MTV and worked for Viacom's flagship network for 17 years, before...

NBC Picks Up 12 More Howie Do It.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... David Tanklefsky More Friday night pranks are on the way from Howie Mandel. NBC ordered a dozen additional episodes of his unscripted comedy show Howie Do It in which he dupes would-be TV stars who think they are auditioning to do silly...

Disney-ABC Will Slash 400 Jobs.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Marisa Guthrie Disney-ABC is slashing 400 jobs, about 5% of its workforce, it announced last week, but about 200 of the job cuts will come from the elimination of unfilled positions. The cuts are company-wide. ABC News will lose 35...

Analyst Says CBS, Other Networks in "Free Fall".(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Mike Farrell Pali Research media analyst Richard Greenfield was blunt in his assessment of CBS last week, reducing his fourth-quarter estimates for CBS for the second time in a week. Greenfield wrote: "We believe TV station businesses are...

B&C Will Introduce Design Change Next Week.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Staff Starting with the Feb. 9 issue, the Broadcasting & Cable print publication will be printed at a trim size of 83/8 inches by 107/8 inches, a more compact size familiar to many longtime readers. It's part of a continuing effort to...

Headlines from Multichannel News.(Charter Communications to close to bankruptcy)(Consumer Electronics Show)(Multimedios)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Staff Broadband Blitz Charter Communications may be close to bankruptcy, but its still got the chops to claim America's land-speed record for broadband. Widget World If last month's Consumer Electronics Show is any predictor,...

NATPE 2009: Stations Buckle Down.(Conference news)
February 2, 2009... By Paige Albiniak Look to news, operation sharing to keep lid on costs in tough times In the toughest economic environment broadcasters say they have ever seen, station executives are changing up business models, experimenting with...

NBCU Exploring Partnerships for Fresh 'Lipstick'.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... By Ben Grossman Oxygen not enough; NBC to look outside company NBC is looking at potential partnerships with other companies to bring back the ladies of Lipstick Jungle . Sources at NBC Universal, whose Universal Media Studios...

TNT Pilots 'First and Last'.
February 2, 2009... By Melissa Grego and Alex Weprin Drama-centric network building non-fiction strategy TNT, which in recent years has built its brand on scripted drama, has ordered the non-fiction pilot First and Last as part of the network's move...

As If We Needed Proof.(CBS Corp., The News Corporation Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. Walt Disney Studios)
February 2, 2009... By Claire Atkinson New round of media results due this week For anyone tracking the poor health of the media industry, this week may provide more tough diagnoses. Disney, Time Warner and News Corp. host earnings calls, and the ad...

TVB May Re-Revise '09 Forecast.(Television Bureau of Advertising's forecast on advertising prices)
February 2, 2009... By Michael Malone Outlook appears worse as auto continuesto sputter and stall In November, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) took the unique step of revising its initial 2009 forecast to reflect the gloomy state of the...

CBS, Letterman in New Deal Talks.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Ben Grossman As the 11:30 p.m. time slot is about to undergo a sea change, CBS and David Letterman have begun discussing a new deal to keep the Late Show host on the network beyond 2010, according to sources with knowledge of the early...

Will Obama Up BET's Game?
February 2, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie Network adds comedy, eyes boost from leader BET, the oldest and still the biggest provider of African-American-targeted programming, has shifted its focus from music videos to original programming and...

June 12: DTV's New Date Still Uncertain.
February 2, 2009... By John Eggerton But odds on move from Feb. 17 looking better Don't reset those DTV countdown clocks yet, but June 12 looked a lot more likely at week's end than it did at the beginning. The digital transition date remained Feb. 17...

Where to be & what to watch--.(Calendar)
February 2, 2009... Michael Malone Monday, Feb. 2 OnMedia 2009 is on at the Ritz Carlton in Manhattan. Pairing up Silicon Valley titans with the advertising community, OnMedia's opening keynote comes from Draper Fisher Jurvetson Managing Director Tim...

Frugal: The New Cool.(Anne Sweeney chief at Disney-ABC Television Group is a trendsetter)
February 2, 2009... By Ben Grossman Disney-ABC Television Group chief Anne Sweeney popped in and out of Las Vegas last week, and like most things she does, she did it in style. She flew into town and was feted at the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards Monday...

TV's New Age of Opportunity.(National Association of Television Program Executives)(Conference news)
February 2, 2009... Staff Following are excerpts from the NATPE opening address delivered last week by Jon Feltheimer, CEO and co-chairman of Lionsgate Entertainment. You can read the entire speech at www.broadcastingcable.com . Everywhere you turn these...

Save Face.(National Association of Television Program Executives)
February 2, 2009... Staff If it's January, it must be NATPE time. And if it's NATPE time, it must be "this surely will be the last NATPE" rumor time. Acknowledging the annual topic, NATPE chief Rick Feldman in his opening remarks held aloft a trade...

Fates & Fortunes.(briefs)(appointment at BET Networks)(appointments at Studio Ten Creative Group)
February 2, 2009... Staff PROGRAMMING Staff BARBARA ZANERI , president, Choice Entertainment, has been named executive VP of programming, strategy, scheduling and acquisitions, BET Networks. EILEEN MATTHEWS , co-owner and executive producer,...

John King Is No Prisoner of the Beltway.(Cable News Network)
February 2, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie CNN's chief national correspondent finds great political stories all across America John King has spent the last 20 years working in the Petri dish of Washington, a culture that can breed the well-known...

Marie' Makes It.
February 2, 2009... By Paige Albiniak New Osmond talker to air from Vegas Ending months of speculation about its fate, Program Partners has cleared its first-run talk show, Marie , on NBC Universal's WNBC New York and Tribune's KTLA Los Angeles, Program...

Stations Weigh Impact of DTV Delay.
February 2, 2009... By Glen Dickson Groups would grapple with extra costs, myriad hassles With the Feb. 17 deadline to turn off analog TV signals still in danger of being postponed at presstime, broadcasters were grimly assessing the financial and...

Signiant helps Manage Discovery Content.(Discovery Communications Inc. uses content distribution management software)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Staff Content distribution specialist Signiant says that Discovery Communications is now using Signiant software to direct the flow of content between Discovery's worldwide locations. Burlington, Mass.-based Signiant makes software...

Looking for Brand Equity.
February 9, 2009... By Claire Atkinson With the economy going bust, advertisers are hoping product integration will bring them some new boom for their bucks Jay Leno smirked and shifted gears in his blue and white No. 10 sports car during a Super Bowl ad...

Rapid Development.
February 9, 2009... By Michael Malone Tri-city market reinvents itself Michigan's unemployment rate climbed to 10.6% in December, tops in the country. But while the automotive facilities on the east side of the state continue to sputter, general managers...

BC Beat.(Consumer News and Business Channel Partnership)(Editorial)
February 9, 2009... Edited by Joel Topcik Ratigan Rages at Wall Street Excess Joel Topcik Dylan Ratigan is mad as hell and--well, you know the rest. No, the CNBC anchor hasn't gone all Howard Beale on the air--yet. But with Americans on the verge...

Video Thrills the Radio Stars.
February 9, 2009... By Michael Malone Tribune vies to make TV hit out of longtime radio show Bob and Tom Following in the footsteps of several radio veterans who have shifted to television, popular radio program The Bob and Tom Show is also reinventing...

Cable Stays Up Amid Big Media Losses.(Financial report)
February 9, 2009... By Claire Atkinson Lone victories reported among poor quarterly reports The downgrades, writedowns and red ink may be sinking big media companies' balance sheets, but cable operations are looking increasingly bouyant. At News...

USA, Universal in 9-Figure Film Deal.(USA Networks Inc.)
February 9, 2009... By Alex Weprin Network rights include Land of the Lost, Borat sequel USA Network inked a nine-figure deal for the basic cable and broadcast premiere rights to two dozen of Universal Pictures' films, including Will Ferrell-led Land of...

Gray TV Clicks With Backchannel.(Brief article)
February 9, 2009... By Michael Malone Ad technology will test at 36 stations Interactive TV firm Backchannelmedia (BCM) has signed up Gray Television to test BCM's remote-click ad technology at Gray's 36 stations. Gray joins a handful of other station...

Headlines From.
February 9, 2009... Staff The Top 100 Cable Systems Consolidation redraws cable's map as operators retrench in tough times. Special Report: Black History Month BET's new programming president discusses future plans for the network, plus a...

New Roadblocks for Foreign Coverage.
February 9, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie Raddatz says news orgs must overcome viewer apathy, Afghan people's skepticism While ABC News recently announced that it would expand its partnership with the BBC to cover breaking news in Iraq, the network is still...

DTV Switch Date Rankles.
February 9, 2009... By John Eggerton Stations may go early as Congress clashes Congress agreed to move the DTV transition date to June 12 last week, but that may be the only certainty in an issue where the seams are most definitely showing. According...

Where to be and what to watch...(Brief article)
February 9, 2009... Michael Malone Monday, Feb. 9 USA tweaks its "Characters Welcome" tag to "Characters Unleashed," as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show airs at 8 p.m. ET. Lester Holt handles hosting duties. Tuesday, Feb. 10 Season two of Al...

Gift That Keeps on Giving.(Column)
February 9, 2009... By Ben Grossman If you watch and love 30 Rock , you are going to marvel at the creativity of my wife's Hanukkah gift to me, which showed up the other day. And given that I'm sick and tired of talking about the morbid news hammering our...

In All Fairness.(broadcasting policy)
February 9, 2009... Staff The Fairness Doctrine continues to be hotly debated in Washington, despite efforts to downplay the controversy. It has been the subject of a lengthy speech by FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, a response from a former top policy...

Fates & Fortunes.(Susan Lucas has been appointed)(Patrick Mcclenahan has been named)(John Silvester has also been appointed)
February 9, 2009... Staff BROADCAST SUSAN LUCAS has been named general manager, KTUU Anchorage. PATRICK MCCLENAHAN, senior VP and station manager, KCBS/KCAL Los Angeles, has been promoted to president and general manager. JOHN SILVESTER ,...

Some Timely Expertise.(Elizabeth Herbst-Brady)
February 9, 2009... By Claire Atkinson Magna's president steers clients through challenging waters Magna president Elizabeth Herbst-Brady's job is to help clients figure out the marketplace so they can secure the best deals possible. And given the economy...

A New Wing and a Prayer.
February 9, 2009... Staff Religious broadcasters felt--and made--a tremendous impact on the two biggest stories of an epic 2008: a historic presidential election and a monumental economic crisis. As executives plan for business in the coming months, they say...

Obama Campaign's Leap of Faith.
February 9, 2009... By Stuart Miller On-air visibility helped swayreligious voters Christian Broadcasting Network is the only religious or faith-based TV network with a full-fledged news division, but even at competing broadcasters the 2008 presidential...

Economic Crisis Tests Nets' Faith and Business.
February 9, 2009... By Stuart Miller Programmers provide comfort, but don't forget to ask for donations The economic crisis is testing religious and faith-based networks, even as it pushes many people to re-evaluate their lives and look to their faith...

Raycom's Content Oasis.(BitCentral systems)(Raycom Media Inc.)
February 9, 2009... By Glen Dickson Station group strengthens regional coverage with BitCentral systems When an ice storm swept through the central U.S. late last month, Raycom Media stations in Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky provided viewers...

Internet Is Rx for Growth of 'The Doctors'.
February 9, 2009... By Paige Albiniak Rookie sees ratings success thanks to show ideas generated by Website CBS Television Distribution's daytime rookie The Doctors has grown 46% in households since its premiere, and done so by sticking with the health...

Student of the Game.(Jimmy Kimmel)(Interview)
February 16, 2009... Melissa Grego Jimmy Kimmel may be solidifying his place in a late-night world where laughs are king, but he is more serious about his trade than ever. Kimmel (for now) is staying at midnight on ABC after he--and almost everyone else in the...

Deals.(acquisitions)(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... By BIA Financial Networks TV WCWJ (TV)/Jacksonville, Fla. PRICE : $18 million BUYER : Nexstar Broadcasting Group (Perry Sook, president/CEO) SELLER : Media General (James Zimmerman, president/broadcast division) ...

Station Cooperation.
February 16, 2009... By Michael Malone Heated Birmingham rivals stay civil The notion of Southern hospitality has long been celebrated, but stations in Birmingham, Ala., take goodwill seriously. When the Big Three networks worked together on the Stand...

Cleveland Stations Plan Pool Party.(Raycom Inc. to share video with WKYC-TV)
February 16, 2009... By Michael Malone With broadcasters bracing for more hard times ahead, 2009 is already shaping up to be the year local stations redefined the term "pool party." A month after the Fox- and NBC-owned stations officially kicked off their...

Furloughs Force Gannett GMs to Sidelines.
February 16, 2009... By Michael Malone Cost-cutting strategy just one of many being adopted across station business The recording on a Gannett station general manager's voice mail earlier this month was jarring. "I'll be out on furlough the week of...

FX Snaps Up Transformers' Sequel.(FX Networks L.L.C's contract with Paramount Pictures Corp.)
February 16, 2009... By Alex Weprin Also acquires Benjamin Button, Tropic Thunder from Paramount FX and Paramount Pictures have an agreement that will bring Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , which is nominated...

ABC's Oscars Ad Battle.(American Broadcasting Companies Inc's decrease advertising revenue)
February 16, 2009... By Claire Atkinson Network fights bad economy, stigma of big buys ABC could see a 21% drop in total ad revenue from the Academy Awards compared to last year, according to a new report from TNS Media Intelligence. The network is being...

Golf Channel Plays 'Golf in America'.
February 16, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie Charles Barkley project also on track for March 2 debut The Golf Channel is teeing up a new documentary series that co-producer Tom Farrell hopes will be the golf version of HBO's Real Sports . Golf in America...

Staggering Toward DTV.(digital television transition)
February 16, 2009... By John Eggerton "Dislocation and confusion" as dates fly around Hard date? We don't need no stinking hard date. That appeared to be the message from the government last week as President Obama signed the bill to move the DTV...

Universal Sports Adds 19 Million Households.(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie Olympic net grows on digital spectrum With the Vancouver Olympics less than a year away, Universal Sports is adding nearly 19 million households in 20 markets, increasing the network's distribution to more than 45...

A-Rod Scandal Winner: MLB Network.(Major League Baseball)
February 16, 2009... By Ben Grossman Network chief Petitti says league gave him a long leash to cover the story Major League Baseball may have a new set of problems on its hands after Alex Rodriguez's steroid admission last week, but the story turned out...

GMs Warm to New MNT Model.(MyNetworkTV Inc.)(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... By Michael Malone Switch to "programming service" elicits guarded optimism General managers at the various MyNetworkTV affiliates around the country seem guardedly enthused about the News Corp.-owned network's decision to become a...

Headlines from Multichannel news.
February 16, 2009... By Staff Comcast's Hot Wheels The nation's first wideband customers are thrilled (mostly). Can DOCSIS 3.0 really neutralize the telco threat? Keeping It Original The economy may be on the wane, but cable networks continue to...

Fairness Doctrine Returns to Front Burner.(Federal Communications Commission)
February 16, 2009... By John Eggerton Talk of comeback raises concerns among broadcasters Democrats are still discussing the return of the Fairness Doctrine, either in its previous incarnation or in a new form. And all the talk is fanning the flames of...

Where to be and what to watch...(Brief article)(List)
February 16, 2009... Stephanie Robbins Monday, Feb. 16 It's Presidents Day! If you have the day off, try tackling some home improvement projects with the help of DIY Network's Smart Money Makeover Week starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17 If the...

MLB on TV Will Be A-OK.(Major League Baseball)
February 16, 2009... By Ben Grossman It might be the humble Midwestern upbringing, but I'd still like to believe that good things happen to good people. I also have faith in the opposite, meaning Bernie Madoff is going to end up in a tiny cell with Celine Dion...

Scrutiny Doesn't 'Ad' Up.
February 16, 2009... By Staff While no one needs a bailout right now more than newspaper or television station owners, from the news coming out of Washington it looks as though neither is at the top of the list if and when the government finally starts writing...

Preparing for Next-Gen HD.
February 16, 2009... By George Winslow New technologies could help cable compete better with satellite's offerings Ready or not, the future of high-definition television is on its way. With hi-def TVs in fewer than half of U.S. homes, HD is still...

MNT Shakeup Music to Syndicators' Ears.(MyNetworkTV Inc.)
February 16, 2009... By Paige Albiniak New primetime real estate on stations now up for grabs MyNetwork TV's shift last week from a TV network to a "programming service" has syndicators salivating. The change will leave at least six hours per week of...

Low-Cost HD Newsgathering.(JVC America Inc.)(Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co.)
February 16, 2009... By Glen Dickson Panasonic, JVC announce station deals With the local station business under economic pressure due to a steep decline in automotive advertising and the extra unplanned costs, in many cases, of keeping analog TV going...

Yahoo on TV? Sounds Like 'Diggnation'.
February 23, 2009... By Alex Weprin When Twentieth Television announced last month that it was developing a new syndicated series based on Yahoo Buzz, the search engine's social news site, the message boards at Web TV network Revision3 began to buzz. That's...

Can MTV Get Its Groove Back?(MTV Networks Inc.)
February 23, 2009... By Alex Weprin With ratings down in key demos, thenetwork hopes a bevy of new original shows will bring back young men--andits trendsetting image Being a beacon of everything cool to young people everywhere just ain't as easy as it...

DTV: So Far, So Good.
February 23, 2009... By Staff It's too early to say that the increasingly staggered digital transition has belied the doomsayers, but it's beginning to look like it. The early returns from the National Association of Broadcasters, the FCC and B&C 's own...

Fates & Fortunes.(Jerry Jones appointed as general manager in KSVI/KHMT)(Ron Suter has been promoted to executive)(Don Meek has been named president of Tribune Co)
February 23, 2009... By Staff BROADCAST JERRY JONES , VP/GM, KSVI/KHMT Billings, Mont., has been named VP/GM, KMID Midland/Odessa, Texas. SANDRA ZOLDOWSKI , general sales manager, KSVI/KHMT Billings, has been promoted to GM. RON SUTER , senior...

NBC's Convergence Queen.
February 23, 2009... By Alex Weprin As NBCU digital boss, Zigler makes programming work on the Web When Vivi Zigler started working with digital media at NBC, she approached the task the way she does most things: by learning all sides of an issue and...

Tri-ing Harder in N.C.
February 23, 2009... By Michael Malone DMA reinvents self as transport hub Known as the Triad, the No. 46 DMA covers three cities (Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, N.C.), and features three strong stations vying for supremacy. Hearst-Argyle's NBC...

Working for the Greater Good.(Golden Mike Award)
February 23, 2009... By Stuart Miller Greater Media CEO Smyth and the Bordes family honored with Golden Mike Award Peter Smyth won't be the only recipient of this year's Golden Mike Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and he wouldn't have...

New Solutions for Tough Times.
February 23, 2009... By David F. Carr Vendors position scheduling products as tools for multi-platform efficiency As TV executives scramble to cut costs and find new revenue, vendors of software for selling and scheduling advertisements are positioning...

Analog TV Keeps Tornado Victims Tuned In.
February 23, 2009... By Michael Malone KTEN provides a lifeline during, and after, tragic twister As the number of stations shutting off analog signals surpassed 400 last week, a sleepy stretch of Middle America offered a vivid reminder of the perils of...

Time Online Is 'Extra' Money.
February 23, 2009... By Paige Albiniak Entertainment news site wins friends with giveaways Last summer, Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, Extra 's senior executive producer, was fooling around on Facebook when she realized her TV show needed to follow a similar...

Livin' Large Still Equals Big Ratings.(television broadcasting industry)
February 23, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie Recession no match for moneyed divas as VH1 works up series about upscale ski bunnies in Aspen By Marisa Guthrie The cratering U.S. economy has claimed many victims, such as the moribund auto industry, bipartisanship...

Budget Crunch Squeezes NAB.(National Association of Broadcasters)
February 23, 2009... By Glen Dickson Like CES and NATPE, travel cutbacks affecting numbers With slashed budgets across the broadcast industry, many network and station engineers are expected to skip their annual pilgrimage to the National Association of...

Williams: 'Nightly News' Dominates With Tone.(Interview)
February 23, 2009... By Marisa Guthrie Attributes newscast resurgence to coverage of economy After a pitched battle last year with ABC's World News With Charles Gibson , NBC's Nightly News With Brian Williams has settled back into first place in the...

DTV Switch: Not Bad.(Degital Television)(Brief article)
February 23, 2009... By Glen Dickson and Michael Malone Rescanning boxes biggest problem Phones were buzzing at the call centers servicing the stations that yanked analog signals last week, though most broadcasters said the fallout was manageable. Most of...