This Just In
By Staff -- Multichannel News, 12/31/2006 7:00:00 PM
Items:
Versus Runs Bulls Into New York’s Garden
NCTA: 216,000 CableCards Are Now in Service
BigBand Files for $140M Initial Offering
DirecTV Flies Into Cable Capital’s Airport
Yuletide Stunt Brings ABC Family Ratings Cheer
FCC Gives Nod to AT&T-BellSouth
Versus Runs Bulls Into New York’s Garden
New York — The bulls were running on Wall Street during 2006. And they’ll soon be kicking, stomping and twirling at Madison Square Garden.
Real bulls, weighing in at a ton or so, and the cowboys who try to ride them will be making their first ever stop at Madison Square Garden next weekend, when the Versus Invitational kicks off the 2007 Professional Bull Riders season with two shows on Jan. 6 and another matinee performance on Jan. 7.
Comcast-owned Versus, the primary carrier of the PBR Built Ford Tough Series (NBC shows a handful of events, including one next Sunday), will televise taped renditions of the hard-charging action from the Big Apple both nights.
“This is the first time the PBR is coming to the Garden and the nation’s biggest media market, so we naturally wanted to show our commitment to this key franchise,” said Versus president and COO Gavin Harvey. “We’re going to run the wheels off it.”
To that end, Versus will deploy a number of marketing tactics to draw exposure from the tough guys and their horned competitors.
This week, Versus is offering free rides in a half-dozen PBR-wrapped cabs in Manhattan. The vehicles will sport faux horns, which may give pedestrians and bicyclists “extra incentive” to watch out for the cabs, Harvey joked.
A number of manhole covers will reflect the faces of bulls, with the “snort holes” allowing for the streets’ subterranean steam to escape.
In addition to billboards in select areas, Versus has also employed actual bull-sized “wild postings” in several different neighborhoods and business districts.
American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry, who released a self-titled album in November, will perform during the intermission at the 2 p.m. event on Saturday. Daughtry’s performance will be part of Versus’ 2.5-hour telecast that night, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
In addition, Versus.com will feature exclusive footage from Daughtry’s performance and other never-before-seen images, and his band will also be incorporated into a promotional campaign for the PBR on the network.
Versus, formerly OLN, extended its PBR pact last year, with the new contract roping rights through 2010. This year, Versus plans to televise 59 events, up from 57 in 2006; those totals do not include encores.
Growing beyond its Western and Southern roots, the tour this year also includes stops in Anaheim, Calif.; Worcester, Mass.; and Auburn Hills, Mich.
“The PBR is like NASCAR in the respect that it has a growing national appeal,” said Harvey, noting that sport continues to rise in popularity on the network. “We believe there’s upside here because the PBR is exciting, different and has a high energy level. The cowboys are tough, respectful guys who don’t complain. And the bulls are treated like athletes; they’re bred to fight. There’s a lot of action and once in a while there is a wreck.”
NCTA: 216,000 CableCards Are Now in Service
Washington — Cable operators serving 90% of U.S. cable subscribers have deployed 216,000 CableCards to date, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said in a Dec. 22 report to the Federal Communications Commission.
The five largest cable operators had deployed a combined total of 191,174 CableCards, according to the NCTA report. Comcast reported 102,168 CableCard subscribers; Time Warner Cable, 41,641; Cox Communications, 18,983; Charter Communications, 17,164; and Cablevision Systems, 11,218. The NCTA compiled the report as part of an FCC requirement to periodically update the agency on CableCard efforts.
BigBand Files for $140M Initial Offering
Redwood City, Calif. — BigBand Networks, a maker of video-processing and data-networking equipment, has filed for an initial public offering and expects to raise up to $140 million.
The company, in an S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec. 22, said it intends to use the net proceeds from the IPO to pay off $14 million in debt and plans to use the rest as working capital and other general corporate purposes. BigBand said it may also use the funds to acquire businesses, products or technologies.
DirecTV Flies Into Cable Capital’s Airport
Denver — DirecTV will be the sole provider of programming in select areas throughout Denver International Airport under terms of a multiyear agreement.
The direct-broadcast satellite provider also held a launch event at the airport last Thursday to celebrate the opening of its first retail kiosk.
Yuletide Stunt Brings ABC Family Ratings Cheer
Burbank, Calif. — ABC Family’s ninth annual “25 Days of Christmas” programming event proved to be the network’s best from varied ratings perspectives.
During its 7 to 10 p.m. time slot, the stunt was tops in its history among total viewers (2.56 million), adults 18 to 49 (1.06 million), adults 18 to 34 (441,000), women 18 to 49 (687,000) and women 18 to 34 (302,000), according to Nielsen Media Research data.
The network, according to officials, ranked first in basic cable overall with total viewers and women 18 to 49 in the aforementioned time slot over that span, and trailed only TBS’s 1.1 million adult 18 to 49 viewers in that key demo.
Among the programming highlights: the Dec. 10 premiere of Santa Baby was the network’s most-watched original telefilm developed under the ABC Family banner to date, with 4.73 million total viewers; and the airing of The Polar Express one night earlier garnered 5.06 million total viewers, to eclipse the record 4.78 million viewers who tuned in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Dec. 3.
FCC Gives Nod to AT&T-BellSouth
Washington — The Federal Communications Commission late Friday afternoon approved AT&T’s merger with BellSouth.
San Antonio-based AT&T had been eager to close the $80 billion-plus transaction for several months, but there were hangups over network neutrality issues that had not passed muster with FCC Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.
In an 11-page letter made public Thursday night, AT&T said it would “maintain a neutral network and neutral routing in its wireline broadband Internet access service.” Evidently that stance convinced the commission to approve the deal early last Friday evening.
The FCC on Friday said that the following public-interest benefits would result from the transaction:
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Deployment of broadband throughout the entire AT&T-Bell South in-region territory in 2007.
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Increased competition for advanced pay TV services, due to AT&T’s ability to deploy Internet Protocol-based video services more quickly.
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Improved wireless products due to the unified management of Cingular Wireless, no longer a joint venture operated by both companies.
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Enhanced national security, disaster recovery and government services through the creation of a unified end-to-end IP-based network.
“New technologies and services are continuing to transform every aspect of our lives. The merged AT&T-BellSouth promises to offer consumers a wider array of IP-enabled services, including voice, data, wireless, and video services,” FCC chairman Kevin Martin and commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said in a statement issued by the agency.
“In particular, the merger will enable the combined company to accelerate its deployment of broadband and IPTV in the BellSouth region. The merger also will enhance national security by creating a stronger and more efficient U.S. supplier of critical communications capabilities.”
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