Coda
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 11/23/2008 7:00:00 PM
Anstrom Exits NCTA Board
Washington — Decker Anstrom, president and chief operating officer of Landmark Communications, stepped down last week as chairman of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association as a result of his company’s sale of The Weather Channel.
Tom Rutledge, chief operating officer of Cablevision Systems, steps in as NCTA board chairman until new elections are held in the spring at the Cable Show in Washington, D.C.
Also appointed last week were Cox Communications president Pat Esser as vice chairman; Advance/Newhouse CEO Bob Miron as treasurer; and Charter Communications CEO Neil Smit as secretary.
In September, Landmark closed on the sale of The Weather Channel and weather.com to a group led by NBC Universal and also including Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group, for about $3.5 billion. Landmark still owns newspapers and television stations but has no cable interests after the sale.
Anstrom, who also serves on top U.S. cable operator Comcast’s board of directors, was elected to a second term as NCTA chairman in May.
“The entire industry has benefited from Decker’s leadership and wise counsel for many years,” said NCTA CEO Kyle McSlarrow in a statement. “We are truly indebted to Decker for his service to the industry.
— Ted Hearn
Weathering Change
Atlanta — About two months after closing its sale to NBC Universal, The Weather Channel is paring down its workforce.
While the company did not reveal how many employees will lose their jobs, it said that the worsening economy played a role in the decision.
“The economic realities of recent months have created challenges for everyone in our business,” The Weather Channel said in a statement. “In addition, when NBC Universal purchased The Weather Channel earlier this year, we expected that there would be cost synergies as part of company reorganization. While it is always difficult to lose valued employees, we are doing our best to minimize the impact, and remain committed to providing the highest quality content that our viewers have come to expect from The Weather Channel.”
— Mike Farrell
TiVo-EchoStar Trial is Set
Texarkana, Texas — A federal judge has scheduled additional hearings for next February to determine whether EchoStar’s set-top boxes continue to infringe a key digital video recorder patent owned by TiVo.
Judge David Folsom of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas last week issued an order that sets a bench trial for Feb. 17 and 18, 2009, regarding TiVo’s request to find EchoStar in contempt for not disabling its receivers’ DVR functionality as previously ordered under the court’s permanent injunction.
Folsom presided over a Sept. 4 hearing in the matter but did not issue a decision at the time, causing TiVo shares to plummet 16.5%.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a lower court’s ruling that EchoStar had infringed the DVR maker’s so-called “Time Warp” patent. Subsequently, EchoStar paid TiVo $104.6 million on Oct. 8.
Dish Network and EchoStar said in a statement: “We are pleased that the district court did not find us in contempt on the face of the injunction. We look forward to the February bench trial on our software design-around.”
In its own statement, TiVo said, “We remain confident that we will prevail in showing that EchoStar’s workaround does not avoid infringement.”
In a research note, Credit Suisse analysts Spencer Wang and Stefan Anninger wrote, “We still believe that a licensing deal between Tivo and Dish is in the interest of both parties, and could provide the best solution to the ongoing dispute.”
— Todd Spangler
Hallmark: We Ought To Be in Pictures
New York — Crown Media Holdings might create a series of Hallmark-branded movies for theatrical and DVD release, CEO Henry Schleiff said at the Future of Television conference here last week.
“We are considering creating a feature-film label, carrying the Hallmark brand on it,” Schleiff said, in a keynote session.
Crown Media, parent company of Hallmark Channel, has focused on producing original movies, raising its output from 10 to 15 per year to more than 35 this year. With a theatrical release, followed by distribution on DVD, instead of “casting in Toronto with an unknown … all of sudden we could get a bigger budget,” Schleiff said. “We could go from $3 to $4 million per film to maybe $8 to $10 million with some recognizable names.”
Schleiff added that original programming has been key to building the Hallmark Channel, saying the network’s unique selling proposition is to deliver family-friendly fare based on “strong storytelling.”
— Todd Spangler
PSAs Cast Politicos In DTV Campaign
Washington — In response to surveys indicating that ethnic groups are especially at risk for service disruption during the Feb. 17, 2009, digital transition, the nation’s top MSOs are promoting a series of public service announcements featuring black and Hispanic legislators to inform that demographic.
According to a Nielsen Media Research study completed in July, multicultural audiences, especially African-Americans and Hispanics, are the most unprepared for the transition. The public service effort, spearheaded by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, will feature 21 members of the Congressional Asian Pacific-American Caucus, Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus.
The campaign underscores cable’s DTV educational effort, noted Comcast executive vice president David Cohen, adding, “This unique PSA campaign lets Senate and Congressional leaders talk directly to their constituents about how to prepare for the transition.”
— Linda Haugsted
Kelly Blows In To Weather Channel Post
07/20/2009Bolster On Tap For Weather Channel CEO
03/26/2009Weather Channel On The Block
01/03/2008Sundance Channel On Block: Analyst
03/20/2008Weather Channel Deal Closes
09/12/2008
