Broadcasting & Cable articles from October 2007

Broadcasting & Cable archives from October 2007

Measuring 'Engagement'.
October 1, 2007... By Paige Albiniak Beyond Ratings, Advertisers Are After TV's Hot New Metric Forget how many viewers watched a show, how it did among adults 18-49 or even live plus same-, three- or seven-day ratings. What advertisers really want to...

Maine Attraction.(WCSH-TV (Portland, Maine))(Company rankings)
October 1, 2007... By Michael Malone WCSH rules news in first-to-rise Portland As some broadcast executives in Portland-Auburn see it, many Mainers don't readily embrace change-and that bodes well for WCSH. Gannett's NBC affiliate had a landmark July...

BC Beat.(briefs)
October 1, 2007... Edited by Joel Topcik HBO's 'Big Love' Parallels Polygamist's Plight Joel Topcik You can bet Mark V. Olsen and Will Sheffer were paying attention last week when polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was convicted as an accomplice to rape...

Where to be and what to watch….(briefs)
October 1, 2007... By Michael Malone MONDAY, OCT. 1 Some 225 years after our skirmish with the redcoats, U.S.-British relations have gotten a bit better. BBC World News America launches on BBC America and BBC World. Rome Hartman , last seen...

Week 1: Get Over It.
October 1, 2007... By Ben Grossman Home teams endure another season opener The opening day of baseball season every spring has long been a metaphor of joy, hope and aspiration. Each ballpark is dressed up in its Sunday best, the smell of peanuts and...

EchoStar Now Slings.(EchoStar Communications Corp.)(Sling Media)
October 1, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway EchoStar Communications' bold purchase of Sling Media may help the satellite-TV company compete with-and possibly supply-other cable and satellite operators. The nation's third-largest pay-TV provider through its...

Florida News Networks Turn 10.(Company rankings)
October 1, 2007... By Michael Malone With round-the-clock local news, two 24/7 cable channels hustle way into viewers' hearts Competing with the entrenched TV stations in their markets, Sunshine State news channels Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13...

FCC Profanity Crackdown In Limbo.(Federal Communications Commission)
October 1, 2007... By John Eggerton The FCC's crackdown on fleeting profanities will likely remain in limbo until sometime next year, or even into 2009. The Solicitor General, the Justice Department attorney who heads up appeals to the high court, last...

New Front In Cable-Telco War: B2B.(business to business market)(cable television)(telecommunication)
October 1, 2007... By Jon Hemingway Cable operators are opening a new front in the war with telephone companies by selling services to businesses, and telephone is a big part of the strategy. Thus far, cable and telephone industries have engaged in a...

Correction.(Correction notice)
October 1, 2007... By Staff The Oprah Winfrey Show is in its 22nd year. A story in the Sept. 17 edition ('Ready, Set, Syndicate') misstated the show's tenure.

Al Jazeera Unit Renews U.S. TV Push.(Al Jazeera English)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... By Marisa Guthrie Ex-TBS exec Lawrie to broker U.S. carriage More than a year after launching Al Jazeera English, the Middle East news network is renewing its push for carriage in the U.S. Al Jazeera has brought in Phil Lawrie, a...

Fall Premiere Week: Some Hits, Misses But No DOAs.
October 1, 2007... By Ben Grossman NBC's Bionic Woman was the rookie leader while veterans House, Heroes, CSI and Grey's Anatomy made big returns during the first full week of the fall season. Outside of Fox's already-shelved Nashville , nothing else...

Tom Green Gets TV Deal for Web Show.
October 1, 2007... By Ben Grossman Debmar-Mercury takes talk show to stations Tom Green is taking his late-night talk show from the Internet to television, partnering with Debmar-Mercury to make the show available to stations in January 2008. ...

Telemundo's Content King.(Telemundo Communications Group Inc.)(Don Browne)(Interview)
October 1, 2007... By Marisa Guthrie Telemundo may be the second-largest Spanish-language network (behind market leader Univision), but Don Browne, president of Telemundo, believes the network's 'original content is king' philosophy will propel it to...

FCC's VNR Fine: More to Come?(video news releases)(Federal Communications Commission)(Comcast Corp.)
October 1, 2007... By John Eggerton Levy against Comcast for unidentified video news release could be start of get-tough policy The FCC's proposed $4,000 fine last week against Comcast for airing an unidentified video news release on one of its local...

War and Warning.
October 1, 2007... By Staff PBS has netted impressive ratings for Ken Burns' seven-part series, The War , which began on Sept. 23. That turned out to be one day before crazed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to students at Columbia University and,...

Open Mike.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... Staff Defending Dan Editor: It is with great reluctance and not a little discomfort that I find myself in disagreement with any B&C pronouncement. I refer to your editorial ('Rather Sad,' Sept. 24), which in part resembles an ad...

Fates & Fortunes.(briefs)
October 1, 2007... By Staff Broadcast Staff Phyllis Achwartz , GM of KNSD San Diego, has been promoted to executive VP of news, promotion and original content, NBC Universal Television Stations. Also at NBCU, Steve Schwaid , senior VP of news and...

The Art of the Dealmaker.
October 1, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway Donnelly's talent for mergers and acquisitions helped transform Comcast into a world player Joe Donnelly, chief financial officer of Comcast Corp.'s programming division, sits in his office, which has a sprawling...

'Nip/Tuck' Seeks New Bucks.(FX Networks L.L.C.)(Warner Bros.)
October 1, 2007... By Anne Becker Old episodes languish in search for a buyer While FX prepares to debut its fifth season of plastic surgery series Nip/Tuck Oct. 30, the old episodes are lying untouched on the bargaining table. After about nine to 12...

WRAL-TV bows high-powered Baron radar.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... By Glen Dickson Capitol Broadcasting station WRAL Raleigh, N.C., has installed a high-powered Guardian weather radar from Baron Services, becoming the fifth station in the country to adopt Baron's next-generation dual-polarization...

Sony racks up monitor sales.(Discovery Communications Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... By Glen Dickson Sony has closed several large deals for its new BVM-L230 professional LCD master monitor, which the company says is equivalent in quality to the traditional cathode-ray-tube (CRT) monitors that post-production professionals...

Format War Hits New Ground.(Matsushita Electric Corporation of America)(Sony Corp.)
October 1, 2007... By Glen Dickson New Sony camera gives Panasonic solid (state) competition The battle between Sony's XDCAM HD and Panasonic's P2 HD camera formats is heating up this fall. Sony now has a version of XDCAM that records video on...

Generating New Revenue With Hispanic TV Programming.
October 1, 2007... By Staff The fifth installment of the Hispanic Television Summit will feature executives from broadcast, cable, satellite, broadband (IPTV), telephony, brand marketing, research and advertising reviewing the newest opportunities in the...

A Changing Landscape.(briefs)
October 1, 2007... By George Winslow A Growing Hispanic Population and New Services Alter the Playing Field For Operators, Programmers After years of adding Spanish-language channels to their packages, some of cable operators' biggest announcements this...

The Power of Cristina.(Cristina Saralegui)(Biography)
October 1, 2007... By Kevin Downey Lifetime Achievement Honoree Has a World Full of Fans Cristina Saralegui is simply 'that blond lady on Univision' to many television viewers. For a legion of others, however, she's a maternal figure and indispensable...

Guide to Hispanic TV Networks.
October 1, 2007... By Staff A Comprehensive List of Networks Targeting Hispanics Antena 3 Owner : Antena 3 Television U.S. launch date : September 1996 Headquarters : Madrid, Spain URL : www.antena3tv.es U.S. subscribers : 1.5...

Comparing Operators' Strategies.
October 1, 2007... By Staff A Comprehensive Look at Hispanic Offerings from Cable and Satellite Operators Comcast Basic Subscribers : 24.1 million Digital Subscribers : 14.1 million High-Speed DATA Subscribers : 12.4 million Voice...

Morning Sickness.
October 8, 2007... By Marisa Guthrie Audience erosion causes upheavals at a.m. shows The morning news arena has always been a bruising business, but lately all of the broadcast news divisions are scrambling to stop a steady erosion of viewers. The...

TiVo: Viewers Still Open to Commit.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By Glen Dickson As the industry waits for Nielsen ratings numbers that are slower to come than in previous seasons due to new measurement of digital video recorder (DVR) viewing, DVR pioneer TiVo has offered a quick glimpse at which new...

Early Ratings: No Fall Breakouts.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By Ben Grossman With two weeks of the new season in the books, the rookie class won't likely produce a breakout hit, at least not now. Though final C3 numbers (commercial ratings for live plus three days of DVR viewing, the metric for...

Cable vs. Broadcast: All Year Long.
October 8, 2007... By Anne Becker Cable executives, coming off a summer in which their originals trumped broadcast 2:1 in the 18-49 demo, are already laying plans to tilt broadcast's dominance next fall and throughout the year. NBC Universal's USA and...

CORRECTION.
October 8, 2007... By Staff Panasonic's 32-gigabyte P2 memory card costs $1,650. An article in the Oct. 1 edition (page 18) misstated the cost.

BC Beat.
October 8, 2007... Edited by Joel Topcik WGBH Winces at 'Frontline' Voice's Pitch Joel Topcik Frontline narrator Will Lyman often lends his smooth baritone to other programs besides the PBS documentary series he's narrated since 1982. But...

Stations Tackle Football.
October 8, 2007... By Michael Malone Local TV gains yardage with high school gridiron games It's a late-September Friday afternoon in Hartford, Conn. WFSB anchors Joe Zone and John Holt are planning the day's newscasts. The Yankees and Red...

Deals.
October 8, 2007... By BIA Financial Networks TV KION-TV & KMUV-LP/Monterey, K44DN/Paso Robles, KKFX-CA/San Luis Obispo, KCOY-TV/Santa Maria, Calif. PRICE: $41 million BUYER: Cowles Publishing Co. (Betsy Cowles, chair of the board) SELLER:...

Beyond Beer.
October 8, 2007... By Michael Malone Big things brewing in formerly 'sleepy' town A re-awakening appears to be afoot in Milwaukee. Long seen as a sleepy Midwestern town with a love of suds and sports, the city is transforming. Health-care and...

Seattle Site's Blog Party.
October 8, 2007... By Michael Malone KING becomes 'Rain' maker with new community platform The occasional dance between stations and community bloggers has often been awkward. Stations looking for street cred can be wary of associating with a...

Fox Considers Buck for Late Night.
October 8, 2007... By Ben Grossman Network developing half-hour show for its top sports personality Could Joe Buck be the next name to enter the late-night world? Fox is considering a weekly, half-hour late-night show hosted by its lead sports...

Britt Sees Enhanced Viewership.
October 8, 2007... By Jon Hemingway Time Warner Cable (TWC), the nation's second largest MSO, believes its new Enhanced TV service will keep customers hooked up-and become a potent advertising tool. The company is offering subscribers, for free, a suite...

GAO Finds FCC Agenda Leaks To Lobbyists.(United States. Government Accountability Office)(United States. Federal Communications Commission)(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By John Eggerton The FCC could be in for another reprimand from the Government Accountability Office. The GAO released a report last week that concluded FCC staffers were leaking nonpublic information about what items the FCC planned...

FCC Eases Way for Station Sales.
October 8, 2007... By John Eggerton Lawyers repel bid to make buyers liable for prior owners' transgressions The FCC has backed off an effort to make new buyers responsible for the sins of previous station owners. Communications lawyers balked when...

Where to be and what to watch-.(Diary entry)
October 8, 2007... By Michael Malone Monday, Oct. 8 Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton gets his moment in the sun when JTN Productions gives him the 2007 Vision Award for his 'extraordinary achievements and his dedication to his community and...

Too Much, Too Soon.
October 8, 2007... By Ben Grossman Nonstop election coverage = burnt-out viewers Viewers may burn out on all this election coverage long before next November, but at least I may get a sweet new car out of it. Anytime political programming is on in Casa...

The Buddy System.
October 8, 2007... Staff By Staff A disturbing Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last week said that some lobbyists were tipped by FCC staffers about what items would be voted on at upcoming meetings. Information is power, and...

What Diversity Really Means.
October 8, 2007... By Steve Villano During cable's recent Diversity Week, if there was one statement that crystallized how much more work needs to be done in the area, it was MTV President Christina Norman's bold assertion that even MTV-long considered a...

Fates & Fortunes.
October 8, 2007... Staff Journalism Staff Rob Stafford , correspondent, Dateline NBC , has joined WMAQ Chicago as anchor/reporter. Also at WMAQ, Zoraida Sambolin , weekend morning anchor, has been named weekday morning anchor. Carla Castano ,...

Obituary.(Ray Timothy)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By Staff Ray Timothy, veteran NBC executive, died Sept. 27 in Seattle. He was 75. Timothy held 30 different jobs and titles at the company over a 34-year career that concluded with his retirement in 1988. He began as a tour guide and...

Working TV Magic for Magid.
October 8, 2007... By Michael Malone Research firm's television prez Ridge schools stations on new media While the closest most kids will come to world leaders is reading about them in textbooks, Steve Ridge was fortunate enough to forge a friendship...

Fox Gets Down to Hi-def Business.(Fox News Network L.L.C. Fox Business Network)
October 8, 2007... By Glen Dickson Long-awaited financial network launches simultaneously in SD, HD Fox will be offering a wider and potentially fresher take on the financial world come Oct. 15. That's when Fox Business Network (FBN) launches to some...

Take It to the Limit.
October 8, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway DirecTV 100-HD channel promise has cable scrambling DirecTV, the satellite giant, is pitching much of its future on its ballyhooed expansion of high-definition (HD) channels that it claims will make it a clear...

NBCU's New 'Deal'.(NBC Universal Inc.)
October 8, 2007... By Paige Albiniak Primetime hit adds daytime version for '08 NBC Universal's Deal or No Deal is officially a go for syndication in the fall of 2008, with the company clearing the show on nine out of 10 of its owned-and-operated...

BC Beat.
October 15, 2007... Edited By Joel Topcik TV Guide Net to Launch 'Hollywood' Newsmag Staff The TV Guide Network is jumping into the daily entertainment news magazine world. As part of its on-going effort to grow from a scrolling-listings channel...

Inside Ailes' Plan To Blow Away CNBC.(Consumer News and Business Channel Partnership)(Roger Ailes)
October 15, 2007... By Marisa Guthrie Fox's fiercest warrior faces a formidable foe The lightning round starts now. Roger Ailes, the proudly capitalistic mastermind behind Fox News Channel and one of television's fiercest warriors, throws the switch...

Deals.
October 15, 2007... By BIA Financial Networks TV WGTQ (TV)/Sault Ste Marie & WGTU (TV)/Traverse City, Mich. PRICE: $10 million BUYER: Tucker Broadcasting (Benjamin Tucker, president) SELLER: Max Media LLC (John Trinder, president) ...

Fates &Fortunes.(KAZA Los Angeles appointed Fernando Acosta)(Sheridan Broadcasting Corp. appointed Susan Austin)(KHOU-TV appointed Lisa Shumate)
October 15, 2007... By Staff BROADCAST Staff FERNANDO ACOSTA , general manager of KAZA Los Angeles, has been named senior VP, TuVision Stations Group. SUSAN AUSTIN , VP of strategic planning and treasurer, Sheridan Broadcasting Group, has been...

The Man With All the Right Moves.(Anne Becker)(Biography)
October 15, 2007... By Anne Becker A one-time dancer, Lythgoe leapt to TV stardom with the creation of American Idol It is fitting that Nigel Lythgoe, the creative force behind American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance , began his life in...

'Grace' Under Pressure.
October 15, 2007... By Michael Malone Narrow news race defines lively Memphis market Incumbent Willie Herenton won the bitterly contested mayoral race in Memphis earlier this month, and the players in the market's news race are just as determined. NBC...

How Ads Should Handle the Truth.
October 15, 2007... By Steve Blumenthal I recently gave a client an updated set of guidelines for running car commercials on its television stations. The guidelines recited the usual disclosures required by the Truth in Lending Act, the Consumer Leasing Act,...

Can We Talk?
October 15, 2007... By Staff Journalists go to jail for it, soldiers in Iraq die for it, and too many of us take it for granted. The freedom to speak our minds without fearing a knock on the door-or on the head-is what separates us from a lot of countries...

Shows Hit the Fan.
October 15, 2007... By Paige Albiniak Daytime hones its interactive edge Rachael Ray receives so many e-mails from viewers begging to be invited on to her show to cook with the daytime talk show host that producers finally decided to create a contest out...

Expanding the Hi-Def Skies.(High definition television)
October 15, 2007... By Glen Dickson Satellite operators, programmers embrace MPEG-4 compression Lower high-definition TV set prices, more affordable production gear and improved transmission technology were the big topics for satellite operators,...

TiVo Enters Music Biz.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By Staff TiVo will now bring music to subscribers' DVRs through a partnership with Rhapsody, the online music provider jointly run by MTV Networks and RealNetworks. The agreement will allow TiVo DVRs with a broadband connection to access...

BitTorrent Debuts Commercial Service.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By Staff BitTorrent, whose peer-to-peer network technology has been used by millions to download TV programming, has released a new commercial service, BitTorrent DNA (Delivery Network Accelerator). The new DNA is aimed at content...

Intelsat plays the NHL.(National Hockey League)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By Staff Intelsat, the satellite carrier, announced a contract with the National Hockey League to distribute its new high-definition channel to cable headends across the U.S. via Intelsat's Galaxy 15 satellite. Intelsat currently...

Splitting Headaches for Belo, Hearst.(A.H. Belo Corp.)
October 15, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway Two big media players plan different strategies for stations Is the sum of the parts greater than the whole? In answering that question, big media companies are drawing different conclusions about how they...

Cable Pioneer Robbins Dies.(Jim Robbins)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By John Eggerton Visionary led Cox and industry since 70s Jim Robbins, former president and CEO of Cox Communications, died of cancer Oct. 10 at his home in Westport, Mass. Two services are planned, one on Oct. 20 in Boston (he...

Strike Threat Buys Time for Series.
October 15, 2007... By Ben Grossman Uncertainty prompts networks to keep bubble shows around The looming threat of a writers strike is casting a dark cloud over the television industry, though it is actually keeping a group of struggling shows on the air....

Lifetime, Starz Strike Deal.(Lifetime Networks and Starz Media L.L.C.)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway Lifetime Networks and Starz Media struck a production pact for three films that will air on the women's-targeted cable network. Under the partnership, Lifetime and Starz will co-produce three Lifetime Original...

MTV Losing Tempo?(MTV Networks Inc.)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By Anne Becker MTV is looking to unload its Caribbean music and culture network, Tempo, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company has been shopping it to local investors who could run the network under a license agreement...

C3 Arrives Tuesday.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... By Ben Grossman The TV industry finally gets its official report card for Premiere Week on Tuesday with the release of the ratings on which most ads are sold. That is when Nielsen will release the C3 ratings, which are commercial...

WADL Brings 'Good Times' to Motown.
October 15, 2007... By Michael Malone Relaunched Detroit station targets black community What do J.J. Walker, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and God have in common? All star in the revamped WADL Detroit. Formerly a home shopping station, Adell Broadcasting...

NBCU's Gaspin on Oxygen.(NBC Universal Inc.)(Oxygen Media L.L.C.)
October 15, 2007... By Anne Becker Last week, NBC Universal ended weeks of speculation by buying female-targeted Oxygen Media, parent of the independent Oxygen cable network, in 74 million homes. On the heels of the $925 million sale, NBCU TV Group President...

Electioneering Ads at Issue for FEC.(Federal Election Commission)
October 15, 2007... By John Eggerton Commission hearing will likely affect how many millions TV stations could make on issue ads A hearing at the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 17 will help determine just how free corporations and unions will be to...

Where to be and what to watch-.
October 15, 2007... By Michael Malone Monday, Oct. 15 Walk into the boss's office and speak your mind. Should repercussions ensue, remind your supervisor that it's National Freedom of Speech Week . Yes, the annual celebration of all things First...

Making 'Em Sweat.
October 15, 2007... By Ben Grossman October 16 is TV's National Squirm Day Tuesday is National Boss Day. In the TV industry, however, it is unofficially National Squirm Day. It may turn out to be one of those rare days when fans of the media will have too...

Frank Bennack Jr.
October 22, 2007... By Allison Romano In the captain's chair for more than two decades, he continues to help guide Hearst through uncharted waters of old and new media During a 23-year tenure as president and CEO of Hearst Corp., Frank Bennack Jr. helped...

Mark Burnett.
October 22, 2007... By Staff As much as anyone on his shows, he is not only a survivor, he's proved again and again, he's a thriver Boldly moving from innovator to 'survivor,' he is the most original programmer in reality TV. Twenty-five years after...

Bill Cella.
October 22, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway The Magna Global Worldwide leadercan be tough at the bargaining table-in a charming kind of way Bill Cella's accomplishments in the media business-culminating in his current position as chairman/CEO of media...

Rocco Commisso.(Biography)
October 22, 2007... By Jonathan Hemingway He came to this country determined to succeed. His plan: become a savvy cable operator in smaller towns Rocco Commisso's story is an American classic. At the age of 12, he immigrated to this country with his...

Brian France.(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc.)(Biography)
October 22, 2007... By Rob Edelstein In just four years, he has repositioned the way Nascar is viewed-both on the track and off It is one of the most thrilling sights in sports television: 43 stock cars bunched together, racing nearly 200 mph, climbing up...

Harry Friedman.
October 22, 2007... By Rob Edelstein The executive producer of 'Wheel' and 'Jeopardy' created iconic television As each weekday slopes into evening, and we return home from work and settle in with family, America's thoughts turn to Harry Friedman. ...

Charles Gibson.(Biography)
October 22, 2007... By Joel Topcik After 40 years in broadcasting, the ultimate team player becomes the face of ABC News Slow and steady wins the race' is an adage that wouldn't seem to hold much currency in the world of television news. For Charles...

Bonnie Hammer.(Biography)
October 22, 2007... By Anne Becker The USA/Sci Fi leader's best motivationis when someone tells her, 'You can't do that' One could learn a lesson from Bonnie Hammer-if you want to keep moving, keep pushing yourself. The USA/Sci Fi president has made it to...