Coda
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 2/3/2008 7:00:00 PM
'Disney-esque’ Talks
Time Warner and NBC Universal are in discussions to complete a comprehensive distribution deal that could include cable-network renewals and the extension of retransmission-consent deals.
Time Warner officials confirmed discussions with NBCU but would not divulge the nature of the talks. An executive close to both parties likened the talks as “Disney-esque,” referring to the wide ranging deal that Time Warner reached with The Walt Disney Co. last April.
NBC Universal executives would not comment on the matter.
It’s unclear if Time Warner’s deals with any of NBC Universal’s cable networks — including Sci Fi Channel, USA Network, MSNBC and CNBC — have expired or are due to expire at the end of the year.
Also unclear is whether NBC is seeking major licensing fee increases for the networks.
The deal could also include rights to future Summer Olympics. While NBC has secured cable-distribution rights for this summer’s games, executives close to NBC Universal said it has not done so for the 2010 Winter Games and the 2012 Summer games, both of which NBC holds television rights to.
Talks may also revolve around a package of video-on-demand and digital rights that go beyond the current deal. NBCU last month announced its plans to work with Microsoft to deliver more than 3,000 hours of live and on-demand programming from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing via the NBCOlympics.com Web site.
Comcast also acknowledged that it is in discussions with NBC U regarding Olympics content, although officials with the multiple-system operator refused to comment further.
— R. Thomas Umstead
Holanda Is Cable-Ready in Puerto Rico
Former Patriot Media president Jim Holanda — backed by long-time Patriot banker Spectrum Equity — has emerged as the winner in bidding for Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst’s 74,000-subscriber cable system in southern and western Puerto Rico. Hicks Muse bought the system in 2004 from Centennial Communications for about $155 million According to executives in the financial community, Holanda and Spectrum signed a deal to buy the system in December for about $200 million. Waller Capital had been marketing the system since the fall, according to those executives. Closing is expected in the first quarter.
The deal is interesting in that it means that a new equity player has emerged on the island, just as Liberty Media is faced with either having to sell its systems there or ensure that its top management will have no hand in operating them in order to gain U.S Dept. of Justice approval for its pending DirecTV merger.
— Mike Farrell
Class Act in NOLA
National Cable & Telecommunications Association CEO Kyle McSlarrow outlined for Louisiana cable officials the efforts planned to benefit school playgrounds and libraries and other school enhancements planned in conjunction with the May 18 to 20 Cable Show in New Orleans.
McSlarrow said that as part of the “CableCares” initiative, NCTA and nonprofit organization KaBOOM! are teaming to build a new playground at the Fannie C. Williams Elementary School in East New Orleans.
In partnership with Cox Business Services New Orleans and other sponsors, CableCares will provide wiring and equipment necessary to bring Banneker Elementary School advanced cable services. And CableCares volunteers, in partnership with DIY Network, will give Sarah T. Reed High School in East New Orleans a facelift by painting and landscaping the school grounds.
Separately, the Cable Hope Fund, a non-profit foundation created to provide cable industry support for relief to victims of natural disasters, donated $20,000 to the San Diego Food Bank and Santa Clarita Valley Disaster Coalition to aid those affected by fall 2007 wildfires.
— Kent Gibbons
Meyrowitz Back In Fighting Shape
New York — Ultimate Fighting Championship founder Bob Meyrowitz is back in the combat sports ring with a new pay-per-view-based, mixed martial arts franchise. Meyrowitz’s YAMMA Pit Fighting will feature a new fighting surface that he says will encourage more continuous fighting, as well as a tournament format in which fighters will compete in multiple fights during one event. The first live PPV event is scheduled for April 11 in Atlantic City, N.J., according to Meyrowitz.
— R. Thomas Umstead
Hillary Plays Hallmark Card
New York — Hallmark Channel, the 84-million-subscriber home to TV pix like A Grandpa For Christmas, today (Feb. 4) plays host to a Democratic candidate for president.
Hillary Clinton will conduct a 90-minute question-and-answer session in New York City tonight, the first hour of which will be telecast on Hallmark. The campaign — which did not disclose the amount spent on the time buy, though The New York Post put the cost at about $500,000 — said the “National Town Hall” also would be simulcast in 21 locations around the country. Satellite event hosts will include former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. The entire event will be streamed live at hillaryclinton.com.
— Kent Gibbons
Harron Promotes Bruder to CEO
New York — Harron Communications promoted its president, James Bruder, to chief executive, as chairman and CEO Joel Cohen cedes one title but remains chairman. Bruder is the nephew of Paul F. Harron Jr., the former CEO who died in December 2005, and grandson of Paul F. Harron Sr., who extended the family business into cable with a system franchise in Utica, N.Y., in 1964.
Bruder’s been actively involved in Harron’s business over the past eight years, including past and pending acquisitions that are elevating the subscriber base to nearly 200,000, the company said in a release. Harron, doing business as MetroCast, operates systems in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
— Kent Gibbons
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