Oxygen to Breathe on Basic in Manhattan
By Ignazio Messina -- Multichannel News, 11/15/2001 10:39:00 AM MT
Through a deal with Time Warner Cable, Oxygen will add 1 million additional New York homes to its subscriber base next month.
Time Warner Cable of New York City will move Oxygen from its digital tier to its basic package on channel 61 Dec. 18. The move will put the women-targeted network in front of 29 million households by year's end.
The network's move to basic in the Big Apple emanated from a deal Oxygen Media struck with Time Warner Cable parent AOL Time Warner Inc. in April, which promised the channel access to 10 million Time Warner Cable subscribers by 2002, a network spokeswoman said.
The company also pledged to boost distribution of Oxygen's online services through America Online Inc.
The agreement should also serve to boost Oxygen's profile with the Madison Avenue community.
'New York, as the media and advertising capital of the world, is an essential market for Oxygen,' CEO Geraldine Laybourne said in a prepared statement. 'We are delighted that Time Warner will provide our vibrant, fresh programming to the women of New York.'
'Oxygen's unique mixture of distinctive entertainment and informative programming, as well as its innovative Web properties, is a great addition to our standard service,' Time Warner Cable of New York City president Barry Rosenblum said in a prepared statement.
