Multichannel News articles from March 2010

Multichannel News archives from March 2010

Coda.(Showtime Entertainment Inc.)(ESPN Inc. president Chester Simmons)(Lucas Oil)(In memoriam)
March 29, 2010... by Staff 'Jackie,' 'Tara' Renewed Staff New York -- The same week as their second-season debuts, Showtime renewed dramedy hits Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara for a third go-round. Nurse Jackie , starring former The Sopranos...

CMT Gets Adventurous.(Country Music Television Inc.)
March 29, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Friday-Night Block of Action Shows Set to Debut Next Month CMT will add a little adventure to its programming lineup in April with the debut of a Friday-night block of action-driven original series. The MTV Networks...

Multicultural Viewers Are Multiplatform, Too.
March 29, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead New York-- Cable programmers and operators will have to work together to provide the best video product as conveniently as possible over numerous technologies if they hope to remain relevant among a growing, more...

Cable Outlook: Slow in '12.
March 29, 2010... by Mike Farrell Moody's Report Says MSO Growth Looks Good for Two More Years The cable industry still has two good years of growth in it, according to credit-rating agency Moody's Investors Service, but after 2011, the growth trajectory...

Suddenlink Takes Sub Hit, Counters With Video Discounts.(Suddenlink Communications )(Financial report)
March 29, 2010... by Mike Farrell Suddenlink Communications took a hit in its basic subscriber rolls in the fourth quarter, with losses nearly three times those of the prior year. But the midsized MSO has devised a plan of attack that will include tweaking...

40 Under Forty.(Fox Entertainment Group Inc. Fox Cable Networks Group vice president Jamia Bigalow)(Univision Communications Inc. vice president Gretchen Barnes)(Widevine Technologies chief executive officer Brian Baker)
March 29, 2010... Staff Visionaries Innovators Power Brokers The editors of Multichannel News have chosen 40 movers and shakers under the age of 40 who are helping their companies grow and succeed, while playing an important part in mapping the future of...

Three Men and a Plan.(Federal Communications Commission)(Viewpoint essay)
March 29, 2010... Blair Levin, FCC Adviser The following is an excerpt from a March 23 speech at the National Press Club by Blair Levin, executive director, Omnibus Broadband Initiative, Federal Communications Commission: I owe this speech to an unlikely...

Talkback.
March 29, 2010... Staff Only Regulation Can Help (RE: "Stations Score Retrans Fees," Multichannel.com, March 22): With DBS still in the womb in '92, possibly the cable guys got a little arrogant and got caught with their pants down. So much for foresight....

Setting Sub Fees In an Era of Free.
March 29, 2010... by Josh Sapan, Rainbow Media Those of us in the basic cable industry, and the millions of viewers we serve, are enjoying what many have called a new "Golden Age" of television, with shows such as Damages , Rescue Me , Mad Men , Breaking Bad...

People.(Comcast Corp. vice president Colleen Rooney )(E! Networks senior vice president Bruce Perlmutter )(Scripps Networks Inc. vice president Milissa Tarquini )
March 29, 2010... by Staff Comcast Comcast has promoted Colleen Rooney to vice president, internal communications, and Sena Fitzmaurice to vice president, government communications. Also, Glenn Lytle was named vice president of business services for...

Target: Mobile Workers.(Cox Communications Inc.)
March 29, 2010... by Todd Spangler Cox Sizes Up $4 Billion Opportunity for Small Business Wireless Cox Communications has built a billion-dollar business by winning commercial customers away from telco competitors. Now it's looking to take a bite out of...

Quick Hits.(Clearwire Holdings Inc.)(Widevine Technologies)(Verimatrix )(Brief article)
March 29, 2010... Staff Clearwire Tags Seven More Cities for WiMax Service Staff Kirkland, Wash. -- Clearwire , whose backers include Comcast and Time Warner Cable, said it plans to launch WiMax broadband wireless service in Los Angeles, Miami, St....

The Difference Between 'Gateways' and 'Set-Tops'.(Federal Communications Commission)
March 29, 2010... by Leslie Ellis By now, you've probably heard about the FCC's new "Broadband Plan," and the onus it places on video providers. Refresher: This time the outcome -- whatever it ends up being -- will apply to all multichannel video providers,...

Title II Move Could Spark 'War'
March 29, 2010... by John Eggerton Reclassifying Internet Would Be a Disaster, Warns Ex-FCC Chairman Powell Former Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell, now a senior adviser with Providence Equity Partners, is stumping for digital...

War of Words.(EchoStar Communications Corp.)(DirecTV)
March 29, 2010... by Todd Spangler DirecTV-Dish Ad Dispute Shows Heightened Battle for Subscribers Look, up in the sky! It's the two direct-broadcast satellite operators going for each other's jugulars. The slugfest between DirecTV and Dish Network over...

Ice Cubed: Cablevision Drops Puck on 3D Sports.(Cablevision Systems Corp. and MSG Network)
March 29, 2010... by Todd Spangler Cablevision Systems and Madison Square Garden scored first in the hype-game of 3D television, though it will still be years before 3DTVs become mainstream items. The New York-area operator and MSG Network touted the...

'Ultimate Fighter' to Spar Online.(MTV Networks Inc. Spike TV)
March 29, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Spike TV to Launch Web Site Dedicated to Highly-Rated Mixed-Martial-Arts Series Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter will look to score a viewership knockout online with the launch of a Web site dedicated to the mixed...

Hallmark, Martha Make House.(Crown Media Holdings Inc. Hallmark Channel)
March 29, 2010... by Mike Reynolds Network Hopes Stewart Fare Will Have Advertisers Moving In New York-- With Martha Stewart programming set to anchor daytime, and the movie network spinoff about to become Nielsen-rated, Hallmark Channels is looking to open...

DirecTV Deal Doubles Documentary's Reach.(Documentary Channel)(Brief article)
March 29, 2010... by Staff Nashville-- The Documentary Channel, in a move that will nearly double its subscription count, has inked a carriage deal with DirecTV. The pact, terms of which were not disclosed, will make the service available to subscribers of...

Can Crime Pay on TV?(Investigation Discovery)
March 29, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Investigation Discovery Unveils Its New Programming Lineup Everybody loves a good mystery. That's the underpinning of Henry Schleiff's latest endeavor to build a cable programming brand from the ground up. ...

Quick Hits.(Lifetime Television Network)(NASCAR and JR Motorsports)(GolTV)
March 29, 2010... Staff Lifetime Gearing Up for 'Army Wives' Return Mike Reynolds Los Angeles -- After wrapping up its new race car, Lifetime next weekend will take the wraps off a multi-pronged sponsorship supporting the fourth-season premiere of its...

Keep 'Everywhere' Simple.(Irdeto Access vice president Jan Steenkamp)(TVN Entertainment Corp. chief technology officer Mike Kazmier )
March 29, 2010... by Mike Farrell Panelists: Content and Price Will Win Subscribers Over New York-- A panel of top technology executives said that for "TV Everywhere" -- the cable industry's subscription online initiative -- to become a reality,...

Deal-Making a 'Go' for HBO.(Home Box Office Inc. co-president Eric Kessler)(Brief article)
March 29, 2010... by Mike Reynolds New York-- HBO is moving toward deals with other distributors after early "TV Everywhere" rollouts with Verizon Communications' FiOS TV and Comcast have gone well. Eric Kessler, co-president of HBO, told an audience...

Mobile Gaining Ground, but TV Still Rules.(Brief article)
March 29, 2010... by David Tanklefsky New York-- While video continues to be watched overwhelmingly on traditional TV screens, mobile and Internet viewership are making cross-platform interactivity part of mainstream media consumption, said a group of...

For 2010 'Wonder Women,' Thanks and Good Humor Overpower Tiara Jokes.(Cox Communications Inc. vice president Kristine Faulkner )(Discovery Communications Inc. senior vice president Jennifer Dangar )(Independent Film Channel executive vice president Jennifer Caserta )
March 29, 2010... by Multichannel News Staff New York--Amid the usual array of puns about gold tiaras and invisible jets, life lessons, warm thanks and good humor reigned when a dozen top female executives in cable operations, programming and technology were...

Coda.(Cablevision Systems Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.)(Charter Communications Inc.)(Time Warner Cable Inc.)
March 22, 2010... by Staff Verizon Sues Over Set-Tops Todd Spangler New York -- The FiOS TV guys have taken a legal turn in their battle with Cablevision Systems. Verizon Communications last week sued the New York City market's predominant cable...

Syfy Dials Docu Realities.(Sci-Fi Channel Inc.)
March 22, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Thursday-Night Block Continues Effort to Broaden Its Fare New YorkSyfy, which a year ago changed its name from Sci Fi Channel to provide more brand flexibility, will move more toward a general-entertainment play with...

Sprout 'Gets Grubby' With 'dirtgirlworld'.(Brief article)
March 22, 2010... by Staff Philadelphia-- Sprout will celebrate Earth Day by introducing dirtgirlworld, an Australian import that combines live action, animation, photomontage and illustration -- plus catchy songs -- in a series that introduces preschoolers to...

Reviews.(Showtime Entertainment Inc.)(United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie)
March 22, 2010... by Kent Gibbons NURSE JACKIE/UNITED STATES OF TARA (Showtime, Sunday, March 22, 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.) Showtime's dynamic female duo returns for a second season of comedy-drama on Monday nights, with their characters still trying to...

Fame Game.
March 22, 2010... By Mike Reynolds Why High School Sports Play on Cable For high-school football and basketball players not lucky enough to make All-American or go pro, cable TV is working to make their glory days live forever. Cable giants Comcast, Time...

Stations Score Retrans Fees.(Gray Television Inc releses its financial report)(Financial report)
March 22, 2010... by Mike Farrell But Payments Could Level Off Soon, According to Analysts Station groups continued to haul in big retransmission-consent dollars in 2009, with tiny Gray Television reporting a five-fold increase in fees paid by distributors...

Scripps Trimmed Execs' Pay.(Scripps Networks Interactive)(Brief article)
March 22, 2010... by Mike Farrell Scripps Networks Interactive executives took a pay cut in 2009, as the economy weighed heavily on stock-based compensation, despite the parent of HGTV and Food Network having a strong year financially. Scripps executive...

VOD Finally Raises Its Voice.
March 22, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead, Programming Editor What has up to now been a relatively quiet revolution in the video home-entertainment genre is going mainstream, hopefully to the benefit of cable operators and movie studios. The Cable &...

Talkback.(Brief article)
March 22, 2010... by Staff An Information Highway, Just Like the Interstate We need to think of broadband as infrastructure and not some silly little thing. Did we depend on private companies to construct the Interstate Highway System? Why should broadband...

Bleak Future Ahead for 'Free' TV.
March 22, 2010... by Robert Yadon, Ball State The Federal Communications Commission recently launched an examination of the future of media and the information needs of communities in a digital age. Some sobering trends over the past decade should influence...

People.(Bright House Networks L.L.C. vice president Michelle Stuart )(Cartoon Network L.P. senior vice president Josh Feldman )(Comcast Corp. vice president Sue Gibbs )
March 22, 2010... by Staff Bright House Michelle Stuart was promoted to vice president of marketing at Bright House Networks' Tampa Bay division. She had been senior director. Cartoon Network Josh Feldman was upped to senior vice president, ad sales,...

Big-Screen Surfing.(Hillcrest Labs Kylo)
March 22, 2010... by Todd Spangler Hillcrest Labs Bows an Internet Browser Designed for TV Sets After more than a decade of trying, nobody's figured out a great way of accessing the Web's billions of pages and videos on a TV. Web content is intended for...

BigBand Pumps Up Its Media Router.(BigBand Networks Inc.)(Broadcast Video Services Software )(Brief article)
March 22, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Redwood City, Calif.-- BigBand Networks released a software upgrade for its Broadband Multimedia Routers that allows each to process the more than 100 high-definition video streams and insert ads in more than 150 HD...

Gateway, or Functional Equivalent?(Federal Communications Commission)
March 22, 2010... by Leslie Ellis Nothing like the Federal Communications Commission's 360-page National Broadband Plan last Tuesday (March 16) to eviscerate an otherwise sunny day. If you're a set-top person, go directly to page 51. Chapter four is...

Ralph Roberts Going Strong at 90.(Comcast Corp.)
March 22, 2010... by K.C. Neel At 90 years old, Ralph Roberts still comes into the office four days a week, dressed in a suit and his signature bow tie. He gave up horse jumping only a year ago, after hip replacement surgery and doctor's orders. Earlier...

Here's the Plan. What Next?(Federal Communications Commission)
March 22, 2010... by John Eggerton Real Work of National Broadband Rollout Begins in Months Ahead Washington-- What now? That seemed to be the operative question coming out of the Federal Communications Commission's unveiling last week of a national...

Plan Plants Red Flags.(Federal Communications Commission)
March 22, 2010... by John Eggerton Washington-- The Federal Communications Commission has pledged to roll out proposals every month for the foreseeable future as it implements action items in the national broadband plan. Some parts are already raising eyebrows...

Comcast: 100 Meg In 2010.
March 22, 2010... by Todd Spangler Operator Vows Fastest Broadband Lines Over Next Year As the Federal Communications Commission calls for faster Internet hookups, the cable industry is already delivering speeds the agency has targeted for broad...

No Laughs: Franken, Roberts Square Off.(Comcast Corp. chief executive officer Brian Roberts )(NBC Universal Inc.)
March 22, 2010... by John Eggerton Washington-- Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker have responded to a host of follow-up questions from Senate Judiciary Committee members about their proposed joint venture, with promises...

'Stolen Videos' Feud.(Viacom Inc.)(YouTube Inc.)
March 22, 2010... by Todd Spangler Viacom-YouTube Fireworks Aside, Web TV Isn't Attractive For all the reams of documents released in Viacom's copyright-infringement suit against YouTube, the case doesn't address the broader reality today for media...

Canoe Needs a Bigger Boat.
March 22, 2010... by Todd Spangler Canoe Ventures, the advanced-ad startup funded by the six biggest U.S. cable operators, still hasn't launched a commercial service -- but it's hiring like mad and in May will move its New York headquarters into bigger office...

MSG Starts Strong.(Financial report)
March 22, 2010... by Mike Farrell Nothing starts a game like a strong opening. In its first quarterly conference call as a separate, publicly-traded company, Madison Square Garden reported a strong fourth quarter, spurred almost entirely by affiliate fee...

Boffo Backing for VOD.(Video-on-demand)
March 22, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Operators Unveil $30 Million Ad Campaign for Same-Day Titles Cable operators and studios have teamed to launch an unprecedented $30 million marketing and promotional campaign over the next three months targeted at...

Icahn Ups Ante With Lionsgate Bid.(Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)(Carl C. Icahn)
March 22, 2010... by Mike Farrell A week after being rebuffed by Lions Gate Entertainment's board of directors in his partial tender offer for about 13 million shares of the studio's stock, former corporate raider Carl Icahn has raised the ante, launching a...

Iggy Pop, Fuse Play Nice Backstage at 'Hall of Fame'
March 22, 2010... by Kent Gibbons, Mike Farrell and John Eggerton Iggy Pop of The Stooges presented some challenges for whomever at Fuse worked the "bleep" button during last Monday's (March 15) live telecast of the 25th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...

A View From the 'Tower'.(Univision Communications Inc.)(Pablo Ramirez)(Interview)
March 22, 2010... by Mike Reynolds Univision's Fútbol Voice Sets the Scene from South Africa Known as "La Torre de Jalisco" (the "Tower of Jalisco") for his home state in Mexico and his 6-foot, 5-inch frame, Pablo Ramírez is the...

Sony Preps for World Cup 3D.(International Federation of Association Football)
March 22, 2010... by Glen Dickson Will provide cameras, image processors After striking a deal last December with FIFA that will see 25 of the 2010 World Cup matches in South Africa produced and broadcast in stereoscopic 3D, electronics giant Sony is...

Coda.(SeaChange International Inc.)(Cable News Network)(EchoStar Communications Corp.)(Google Inc.)(Financial report)
March 15, 2010... by Staff CNN Going All-HD by May Todd Spangler Atlanta -- CNN's daytime programming is finally getting the high-def treatment. The news network this spring will debut a high-definition studio in Atlanta, marking the final phase in...

Network on the 'Verge'.(KarmaloopTV.com)(Katie McEnroe )
March 15, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead E-Retailer Karmaloop Taps Katie McEnroe for Youth-Culture Net Youth-targeted online retailer Karmaloop is looking to reach urban audiences on television via a new digital-cable network set to launch this fall. ...

Showtime Inks Deal With DreamWorks.(Showtime Entertainment Inc.)(Brief article)
March 15, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead Showtime continued to restock its supply of movies, dealing last week for 35 DreamWorks Studios films to be theatrically released between 2010 and 2015, while Starz LLC signed a long-term renewal for Disney Studios...

Reviews.
March 15, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead JUSTIFIED (FX, Tuesday, March 16, 10 p,m) FX's new drama series Justified continues the long line of gritty, strong character-driven original drama series that the network has become known for. Based on an Elmore...

5 Ways to 'Fix' Retransmission Consent.(Federal Communications Commission)
March 15, 2010... By Mike Farrell and John Eggerton Retransmission consent has re-entered the public consciousness in a big way in the past few months, with two high-profile battles in New York and more on the way. And last week, a group of cable operators...

Execs: Go Interactive.(growth predictions of mass media)
March 15, 2010... by Mike Farrell Panel Urges Alternatives in Uncertain Economic Climate New York-- With an economic recovery just out of reach, programmers and advertisers should look to alternative ways to capture new revenue through interactive...

After Privacy Bid, RCN Falls Flat in Q4.(Financial report)
March 15, 2010... by Mike Farrell Just a few days after announcing it would go private after a $1.2 billion acquisition by ABRY Partners is completed later this year, RCN released its fourth-quarter and year-end financial results, exceeding some analysts'...

WB Sets Day-and-Date.(Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc. president Thomas Gewecke)(Interview)
March 15, 2010... R. Thomas Umstead Digital Distribution Chief Expounds on Studio's VOD Strategy Warner Bros. digital distribution president Thomas Gewecke oversees the distribution of the company's movie, television and video-gaming properties within the...

TWC to 'Go It Alone' on VoIP.
March 15, 2010... by Todd Spangler Time Warner Cable over the next four years will wind down its deal with Sprint Nextel for voice-over-IP transport, switching and interconnection services -- estimated to be worth more than $500 million per year -- in an...

Boxed Out of Set-Top Data.
March 15, 2010... by Todd Spangler Report Uncovers Ops' Extreme Reluctance to Share One big reason set-top box data isn't becoming widely used as a measure of TV advertising is that cable, satellite and telco TV operators simply aren't willing to share that...

Talkback.(Brief article)
March 15, 2010... Staff No One Wins When Mom & Dad Fight The more broadcast networks like ABC and Fox push for more money out of cable companies -- who in turn pass it on to the consumer -- the more they push people to look for alternate ways to find...

People.(Lisa Rosenblum joins Cablevision Systems Corp.)(Kristen Roberts joins Comcast Corp.)(Patrick Joy joins Time Warner Cable Inc.)
March 15, 2010... by Staff AmericanTowns AmericanTowns Networks has added Chris Glowacki as chief operating officer. He comes from Plum TV, where he was CEO. AWM American Women in Media has tapped Christina Anderson , senior director of Web strategy...

Comcast: ITV for 50 Nets.
March 15, 2010... by Todd Spangler Operator Targets EBIF Across Motorola Footprint by Midyear New York-- Comcast is taking interactive TV even bigger later this year, whether or not Canoe Ventures is seaworthy anytime soon. The cable operator aims to...

Fox Cable Checks Out Dynamic VOD Ads.(Fox Entertainment Group Inc. Fox Cable Networks Group)(Video on demand)(Brief article)
March 15, 2010... by Todd Spangler Fox Cable Networks is testing BlackArrow's dynamic ad-insertion system with video-on-demand content from FX, National Geographic Channel and Speed, in partnership with an unidentified cable operator. The six-month test,...

Notable Trends of 'Tomorrow'.
March 15, 2010... by Leslie Ellis San Francisco-- For the fourth year running, interactive-TV icon Tracy Swedlow hosted her eclectic "TV of Tomorrow" gathering March 3 to 5 in the visual feast that is the Yerba Buena Gardens. Noteworthy trends from this...

Charter's Stimulus Plan.(Charter Communications Inc. chief marketing officer Ted Schremp )(Interview)
March 15, 2010... by John Eggerton MSO Will Offer Free Broadband to Low-Income St. Louisians Charter Communications is opening a second front in the battle to boost broadband adoption. Last week, the company said it is launching a two-year program, in...

Broadband Grants Might Be Taxable.
March 15, 2010... by John Eggerton Washington-- Broadband-stimulus grant recipients need to get the number of a good tax attorney. That was essentially the message from the Treasury Department to the National Telecommunications & Information...

Bravo Plans 5th Original Night.
March 15, 2010... by Mike Reynolds Network Aims to Increase Programming by 20% in 2010 New York-- Bravo, looking to build on its continuing Nielsen momentum, will add a fifth night of original fare as it looks to buttress its programming base by 20% overall...

CBS Begins March Madness but Eyes Summer.
March 15, 2010... by Mike Reynolds New York-- CBS tips off its multiplatform "March Madness" coverage of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on March 18, culminating with the title game on April 5. CBS College Sports will have tournament games...

Broadband Plan: A Road Map.
March 15, 2010... by John Eggerton FCC's Plan Sets Ambitious 10-Year Goals for Nationwide High-Speed Rollout Washington-- When the Federal Communications Commission releases its national broadband plan on March 16, it's not likely to surprise many people....

Court Rejects Bid to Void Program Access.(Cablevision Systems Corp. and Comcast Corp.)(Federal Communications Commission)(Brief article)
March 15, 2010... by John Eggerton Washington-- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday (March 12) denied Cablevision Systems' and Comcast's joint challenge to program-access rules that compel cable operators to make programming in which they own...

Nat Geo Hunts 'Wild' Sponsors.(National Geographic Channel)
March 15, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead But the New Nature Network May Have Distribution Woes National Geographic Channel says advertisers are just wild about its new wild-animal focused spinoff Nat Geo Wild, to launch March 29. But the National...

Nick Sees Spots on the Upswing.(MTV Networks Inc. Nickelodeon)
March 15, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead New York-- Nickelodeon heads into the kids' upfront market armed with strong ratings performances and a slate of new and returning original shows it hopes will add appeal. Nickelodeon, which presented its upfront plans...

VOD Anywhere.(Video on demand)(Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem)
March 15, 2010... by Todd Spangler 'Digital Locker' Could Help Cable Grow On-Demand Soon, you may be able to buy a copy of The Hurt Locker from a retailer -- and then access it from a "digital locker" through your cable company's video-on-demand service. ...

ExerciseTV Bulks Up Content, Revenue.(Financial report)
March 15, 2010... by R. Thomas Umstead ExerciseTV, the video-on-demand programmer part-owned by fitness personality Jake Steinfeld, is lifting more weight in the contest for ad sales dollars in the home-fitness category. The four-year-old network -- also...

Facebook Is So Big, Summit Can't Ignore It.(Game Show Network L.L.C.)(Comcast Corp. chief executive officer Ralph Roberts)
March 15, 2010... by Mike Farrell and Kent Gibbons More evidence that Facebook is unavoidable: the social-media giant was a sometimes hot topic of conversation at the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Media Summit in New York last week. During a panel session on the...

Disney, Cablevision and Parker Home.(American Broadcasting Companies Inc.)(Cablevision Systems Corp.)(Viewpoint essay)
March 15, 2010... by Tom Wolzien, Wolzien LLC I thought that I'd been on all sides of the retransmission-consent issue. I can argue the broadcasters' needs and rights. I can argue the distributors' efforts to keep down consumer bills. I thought I'd seen it...