Coda
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 11/30/2008 7:00:00 PM EST
Blockbuster Unwraps Box
Dallas — Blockbuster, trying to keep pace with movie-rental rival Netflix, last week began taking orders for a set-top box that will let consumers download movies over broadband connections and watch them on HDTV sets.
For a limited time, Blockbuster is selling the set-top plus an advance rental of 25 movies for $99 through its Web site (www.blockbuster.com). The company said the players will begin shipping in time for the holiday season. The MediaPoint set-top is supplied by 2Wire, a provider of broadband and telecommunications access equipment.
Blockbuster didn't say how many movies will be available in its digital library.
Netflix, Blockbuster's chief competitor, is farther ahead on the Internet set-top front. Netflix offers more than 12,000 titles through its Net-streaming service, and has cut deals with TiVo, Microsoft Xbox 360, Samsung, LG Electronics and others to embed the ability to access its service.
With the Blockbuster OnDemand service, the company is emphasizing its a la carte pricing model, in contrast with Netflix's fixed-rate fees.
— Todd Spangler
TiVo Dials Mobile DVR Site
Alviso, Calif. — TiVo will let subscribers set DVR recordings from any Internet-enabled cell phone in the company's latest attempt to distinguish its service from cable and satellite DVRs.
The new mobile site (m.tivo.com) lets subscribers with broadband-connected Series 2 or Series 3 TiVos schedule recordings, while it's also available to anyone to browse and search television shows.
M.tivo.com is in beta and will be available on a wide scale within a few weeks, TiVo said. The company built the site in conjunction with mobile applications-development firm Mobui.
The site lets visitors search for TV shows by actor, title, director or keyword; provides a list of the most popular programs; and includes a recommendation feature that suggests other shows a user may be interested in.
— Todd Spangler
Discovery, Ted Koppel Break Early
Silver Spring, Md. — Discovery Communications and the Koppel Group have decided to part ways six months in advance of the May 2009 expiration of their contract.
“There has been significant change in senior management at Discovery. Producing our kind of news-related programs is an expensive proposition,” Koppel said in a statement. “It has long been clear that neither of us is interested in an extension of the current contract. Discovery and I worked on terminating the contract a few months early under terms that both sides found acceptable.”
Koppel joined Discovery Channel amid much fanfare in January 2006 as managing editor, bringing with him his long-time executive producer, Tom Bettag, and eight additional producers and staff members, following the end of their run at ABC's Nightline. The group produced 15 hours of programming, including seven original documentaries for Discovery, which said it is continuing its emphasis on series and specials in nonfiction genres that have longer shelf lives and appeal to global audiences.
Among the Koppel Group's projects for Discovery was the combined documentary and town meeting Living With Cancer.
Discovery Channel president and general manager John Ford credited Koppel and his team with producing “remarkable, in-depth and unflinching portraits of issues affecting our lives and our planet.”
— Mike Reynolds
Shoppers Think DTV Spells HD
New York — New buyers of high-definition TVs still are laboring under the misperception that the sets will deliver enhanced signals along with the digital TV transition next year, or feel they can't afford HD subscriptions after the initial outlay for the television, according to a newly released survey from Frank N. Magid Associates.
Among the 12% of U.S. households that purchased an HD set in the last year, 41% still need to acquire an HD service from cable or satellite companies. By comparison, 80% of homes that have owned an HD set for a longer period, now receive some HD signal source, according to the poll.
— Linda Haugsted
Dish Tunes in Novelas, EchoStar Goes to Mexico
Englewood, Colo. — Dish Network has launched Pasiones, a new Spanish-language channel dedicated to the soap opera/telenovela genre.
Pasiones airs exclusively on Dish Network Channel 834, an addition to the satellite provider's new DishMexico package, which caters exclusively to the Mexican American audience. The channel is also available via Dish Network's Dish Latino packages.
Pasiones combines top-rated Latin American soap operas and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Separately, EchoStar and MVS Comunicaciones, one of the largest media and telecommunications conglomerates in Mexico, are forming a joint venture called Dish Mexico that will launch “Dish,” an affordable satellite-TV service that will be available to consumers across that nation.
Financial terms of the joint venture were not released.
— Linda Moss
Colmes Exits Fox Show
New York — Alan Colmes will step down from his role as co-host of Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes by year-end. He will continue to serve as a liberal commentator on a variety of programming and host his radio program The Alan Colmes Show on Fox Talk, a division of Fox News Radio. Colmes will also begin developing a weekend program.
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