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November 3, 2009 News for the cable and broadband industry   Business News    NCTA, NBCU side with Comcast on net neutrality The NCTA and NBC Universal filed a petition in support of Comcast, which, on Jan. 8, will begin mounting its legal challenge of the FCC ruling against the cable provider's tactics as an Internet service provider. The joint petition, filed with the U.S. Federal Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit, claims the FCC's BitTorrent ruling should be vacated because it shackles ISPs in their attempts to fairly manage Internet traffic. Broadcasting & Cable (11/2) Reports: News Corp. considers exiting Travel Channel auction News Corp., according to published reports, is considering getting out of the auction process for Cox Communications' Travel Channel. While officials would not speak publicly on the matter, reports citing unnamed sources say Cox's asking price of $1.1 billion may be too steep for Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate. Reuters (11/2), Bloomberg (11/2) Shaw Communications completes deal for Mountain Cablevision With the official approval of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Shaw Communications has closed its acquisition of Mountain Cablevision. Mountain Cablevision had been owned by the Boris Family for the past half a century. Cartt News Service (subscription only) (11/2)   Programming News  Winfrey signs on to narrate Discovery documentary "Life" Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey will narrate an 11-part documentary titled "Life," which will run on the Discovery Channel in March. The documentary, which first ran on the BBC, focuses on the behavioral strategies developed by various species to survive. World Screen News (11/2) "Dance" wins a second season on Oxygen Oxygen has given a Season Two order to its popular "Dance Your Ass Off" series. The competition reality show attracted, on average, more than 1 million viewers per episode in its rookie season and became the network's most-viewed freshman series ever. Variety (subscription required) (11/2) Other News HBO developing film about the U.S. record industry The Hollywood Reporter (11/2)   Eye on Video  Gospel Music Channel goes HD on Nov. 27 Gospel Music Channel at 8 p.m. Nov. 27 will launch a high-definition version of the network. To mark the occasion, GMC will present a film titled "Facing the Giants" and follow that with the exclusive premiere of a concert featuring rock band Switchfoot. Multichannel News (11/2) Streaming video finds a friend in Blu-ray format Companies that make or sell Blu-ray players are ramping up their efforts to market players that also enable the streaming of online video. Best Buy, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are said to be leading the trend. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (11/3) Other News Company launches a Hulu for children The Hollywood Reporter (11/3)   Marketing Trends  ESPN creates targeted ad campaign for Toshiba ESPN is working with Toshiba to develop an advertising campaign that will illustrate for viewers how they might use the products of the Japanese consumer-electronics maker. As part of the deal, ESPN has created four video ads and a variety of digital elements that will run on ESPN.com and SportsCenter.com. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (11/2)   Featured Content    A Shaky CIT-uation Steve Viuker Becoming a Collections Expert: The Small Claims Options Michelle V. Raftner Navigating Small Business Rewards Cards Linsey Knerl How I Tweet Guy Kawasaki Redefine Networking: Stop Looking Above, Start Looking Around Scott Belsky   Advanced Products  RCN goes after SMBs with DOCSIS 3.0 broadband RCN's Business Services division soon will begin offering DOCSIS 3.0-powered broadband services to small and medium-size businesses in Manhattan and parts of Boston. The company is offering three levels of DOCSIS 3.0 service, with download speeds as fast as 60 Mbps and uploads topping out at 10 Mbps. CEDMagazine.com (11/2)   Competitive Watch  Apple aims to extend iTunes success to TV Apple is trying to round up programming support to offer a $30-a-month subscription-television service. The Wall Street Journal says Apple's "over-the-top" service in theory could rival cable television, given it can offer programmers a base of 100 million customers through iTunes. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)/Digits blog (11/2)   Association News  Get better resumes The CTAM Job Bank is the best place to find high-level employees for your cable-marketing jobs. Listings are free to post and are available for 30 days from the date of posting. Submit your openings today! Join CTAM Washington-Baltimore for a business-services event Author and consultant Jim Hoverman and Bloomberg correspondent Linda Bell will share their thoughts during "Summiting: The Art of Building and Sustaining Relationships With Customer Top Management" on Nov. 12. This event is ideal for B2B sales executives, managers and marketers. Register your business-services team today. Learn more about CTAM -> Home page  |  Conferences  |  Join CTAM   People & Personalities  Disney TV Animation taps Gamble for development post Kevin Gamble has been named vice president of development at Disney Television Animation. In the role, Gamble will work with Disney Channel and Disney XD on the development and production of shorts and series. TVWeek.com/TVBizwire/The Wrap (11/2) Other News Cable Center names 3 new members to board of directors CEDMagazine.com (11/2) Coordinator, Public Affairs Time Warner Cable New York, NY Sales Manager Active Support Center Universal Electronics Central or Eastern States   SmartQuote  Some people are making such thorough preparation for rainy days that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine." --William Feather, publisher and author     Subscriber Tools       Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Advertise Account Director:  Mark Lasser (202) 737-5500, ext. 317 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Celia Rothschild (202) 470-1159   Read more at SmartBrief.com A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including: Industry Home Readers' Choice Search Archive Who's Hiring? 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