| February 5, 2008 | News for the cable and broadband industry |
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- Cable nets sue FCC over "dual must-carry"
Six cable programmers -- C-SPAN, Discovery Communications, The Weather Channel, TV One, A&E Television Networks and Scripps Networks -- have filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, charging that the FCC's new "dual must-carry" rule is unconstitutional. At the heart of the matter is the commission's rule that requires cable companies to deliver the analog and digital signals from local broadcasters after the February 2009 transition to all-digital TV. The Hollywood Reporter
(2/5), Bloomberg Businessweek/Associated Press
(2/4)      
- Report: WGA's West Coast board likes proposed deal
Striking TV writers and Hollywood studios are a bit closer to a resolution today after the 19-member West Coast board of the Writers Guild of America gave a tentative thumbs up to the outline of an agreement, according to this article. The board apparently has been briefed on the details of the proposed accord, but has not yet seen the exact language of the contract. Los Angeles Times
(2/5)
- FNC helps lift News Corp.'s Q2 results
Buoyed by strong earnings from its Fox News Channel, News Corp. announced Monday that its fiscal second-quarter revenue grew 10%, to $8.59 billion, and that earnings were up 1%, to $832 million. Earnings for News Corp.'s cable networks, most notably Fox News Channel, increased 23% during the period. The Seattle Times/Associated Press
(2/5)
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- Disney's "Phineas and Ferb" gets quick start among tweens
"Phineas and Ferb," Disney Channel's new animated series about nerdy stepbrothers, attracted 4 million viewers to its 15-minute debut episode Friday. In its 9-to-14 target demographic, the show pulled in 1.6 million viewers, to make it the most-watched animated premiere in cable history in that age group. Multichannel News
(2/4)
- Rove to make FNC debut for Super Tuesday races
Karl Rove will serve as a contributor for Fox News Channel's prime-time coverage of today's Super Tuesday primaries. Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush and, while in that post, was considered to be the mastermind behind many of the administration's strategic initiatives. Variety (subscription required)
(2/4)
- Verizon joins MTV "Crew" for Randy Jackson series
MTV Networks has inked a deal with Verizon Communications that will give the telecom full episodes of its "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew," which premieres Thursday at 10 p.m. Under the exclusive on-demand arrangement, Verizon's FiOS TV can run episodes for free 24 hours after they appear on MTV. Mediaweek
(2/4)
- Fox's Super Sunday posts super ratings
Sunday night's nail-biter between the New York Giants and New England Patriots was the most highly viewed Super Bowl ever. The big game on Fox averaged 97.5 million viewers -- about 3.5 million more than the previous high set in Super Bowl XXX -- and earned a 43.3 rating/65 share, according to preliminary results from Nielsen Media Research. Mediaweek
(2/4)
| Eye on Video | | |
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- Comcast enhances VOD offering
Following on the heels of a similar move by Cablevision Systems, Comcast said Monday that it would begin offering such theatricals as "Michael Clayton," "Invasion" and "The Brave One" to video-on-demand customers on the same day they are released on DVD. Comcast also announced that it would serve up Showtime's "The Tudors" on VOD before the program's second-season premiere March 30. Multichannel News
(2/4)
| Marketing Trends | | |
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- Media Institute cautions against mandated DTV PSAs
The head of The Media Institute has sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, saying that requiring public-service announcements about the DTV transition would raise serious First Amendment issues. The group's president, Patrick Maines, told the FCC chief that requiring DTV PSAs would amount to "government-mandated content." Broadcasting & Cable
(2/4)
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| The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
Hot off its ground-breaking debut season on HBO, Tell Me You Love Me: The Complete First Season arrives in stores on February 12, 2008 from HBO Video. The candid adult series offers an intimate and unfiltered look at three couples as they navigate through critical periods in their relationships.
JLTV Joins Cable Networks Broadcasting Live!
America's Only Full-Time Jewish Programming Outlet Begins Airing News Reports
With Correspondents Around the World, from London to New York to Tel Aviv
WILEN GROUP LAUNCHES NEW B2B CAMPAIGN FOR COMCAST.
Wilen Group LC launches its "Situation Critical" B2B ad campaign for Comcast. The integrated ad effort targets small businesses and leverages customer testimonials in direct mail, print and more. Wilen Group utilizes actual customer stories. Results are up. Way up. Let us work hard for you.
Disney and Lifetime Gain in "Must Keep TV" Rankings
ABC remains the top "must keep TV" brand, as USA Network enters the Top 20. Now quarterly, Digital Life America provides consistent tracking on the fast-changing broadband, on-demand TV and mobile entertainment landscape. Click here for downloads (no registration required)
Interested in learning more about advertising in CTAM SmartBrief? Contact Mark Lasser at 202-737-5500 x317 or mark.lasser@smartbrief.com.
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Come dine with Anthony Zuiker, creator of "CSI"!
Join Anthony Zuiker at CTAM's opening dinner at the 2008 Research Conference in Los Angeles (Wednesday to Friday). Then hear what Larry W. Jones, president of TV Land, has to say about the industry. On-site registration available.
| People & Personalities | | |
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- Lifetime's Bryson to step down after nine years
Louise Henry Bryson, who served in the dual roles of president of distribution and affiliate business development for Lifetime Networks and executive vice president/general manager of the Lifetime Movie Network, will retire at the end of May. Bryson, who has been with the female-focused network for nine years, helped grow LMN's prime-time viewership about 40%, to an average of 569,000. Broadcasting & Cable
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| Senior Account Manager | Intregrated BroadBand Services (IBBS) | Kennesaw, Georgia |
| Research Analyst | Hallmark Channel | New York, NY |
| Account Manager, Affiliate Sales | HBO | Santa Monica, CA |
| Account Executive | E-Poll Market Research | Encino, CA |
| Manager, Client Development | E-Poll Market Research | Encino, CA |
| Director, Client Development - LA | E-Poll Market Research | Encino, CA |
| Senior Counsel, IP and Entertainment | HIT Entertainment | New York, NY |
| DIRECTOR OF AFFILIATE MARKETING | TVN Entertainment | Burbank, CA. |
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| SmartQuote from Warner Bros. Digital Distribution | | |
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 | Yeah, but you know what? This one, this one right here. This was my dream, my wish. And it didn't come true. So I'm taking it back. I'm taking them all back."
--Mouth (Corey Feldman)
"The Goonies," 1985
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| Memorable movie quotes brought to you by Warner Bros. Visit us at www.whvdirect.com. |
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