Coda

New York — The auction for The Weather Channel is heating up again, with Time Warner and NBC Universal now emerging as the front runners for the cable network.

Bids for the network — expected to be between $3.5 billion and $4 billion — were due last Friday. Time Warner, which stands to reap $9.25 billion in cash from the spinoff of its Time Warner Cable unit later this year, has renewed its interest in the channel, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. NBC Universal, long thought to be in the running for the network, has paired up with private-equity giant The Blackstone Group in its bid, the Journal said.

The Weather Channel went on the block in January, with owner Landmark Communications reportedly asking for as much as $5 billion for the network and its Web site. Early front-runners in the bidding were CBS — which already has a relationship with the network to provide weather information to its broadcast stations — NBC and Liberty Media. CBS, according to some people familiar with the auction process, dropped out after it agreed to purchase online purveyor CNET for $1.8 billion.

— Mike Farrell

Los Angeles — WE TV is refreshing its Web site, switching from a promotional site for its channel content to more of a social contact and lifestyles site.

Under the umbrella of www.wetv.com, the network is launching secondary destinations for the different stages in a woman’s life: as a single, preparing for marriage, expecting a baby and as a mom. The niche areas will contain new Web-only content, such as original Web series and other short-form programming.

Other content areas will mine topics such as pets and food.

Kim Martin, the channel’s vice president and general manager, said research has shown that the channel’s viewers can be defined as “I do-ers,” women who make buying decisions for the home. The WE TV site was judged as a good source of some information for these women, but not as a destination for reaching other females in the same life stage, channel executives said.

Two of the niche areas, for singles and brides-to-be, had soft launches last week. The other targeted areas will be activated by the fourth quarter, said Jennifer Robertson, vice president, digital and emerging media.

Among the original online content: a 15-episode shortform series called Puppy Wedding in the bridal area, and a series debuting in July on the singles page called Hot Coffee Break, which will feature a daily short of shirtless men doing mundane things.

— Linda Haugsted

New Orleans — A small cable operator in upstate New York says Lifetime Television pulled its signal earlier this month after the operator refused to enter a package deal that required analog tier carriage of Lifetime Movie Network as the basis for continued access to Lifetime.

CableCom of Willsboro, N.Y., supported by the American Cable Association, has taken its concerns directly to Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin. ACA sent Martin a letter in which the trade group accused a more powerful Lifetime of mistreating a small pay-TV distributor.

“The summary withdrawal of Lifetime from CableCom and its customers shows yet another example of abuse of market power by a media conglomerate-controlled programmer, and complete disregard of the interests of rural cable operators and to consumers,” ACA president Matt Polka said in the May 16 letter.

Lifetime, a network aimed at female viewers, is jointly owned by Hearst and The Walt Disney Co.

“Cable Communications of Willsboro has been a valued Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network distributor for many years,” said Lifetime spokesman Gary Morgenstein in a statement. “We are disappointed that the company has chosen not to enter into an agreement for continued carriage of the services and, as always, we are happy to discuss an agreement for carriage of one or more services at any time.”

— Ted Hearn

New York — Mark Robichaux has been named editor of Multichannel News, overseeing both digital and print initiatives.

He takes over at MCN after guiding Broadcasting & Cable as editor since August, when he was promoted from executive editor.

A 13-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal, Robichaux is also author of a book about John Malone, Cable Cowboy.

Ben Grossman, formerly Los Angeles bureau chief for B&C, has been named editor of B&C.

New York — Verizon Communications told New York City’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) on May 20 that it is “ready, committed and eager” to deploy its FiOS network in all five boroughs of the city, passing around 3.1 million households.

The FCRC hearing followed an agreement between Verizon and the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications on the terms of a citywide video franchise. A vote by the FCRC is expected to be held May 27; if the committee and the city approve Verizon’s proposal, it will be submitted to the New York Public Service Commission for review.

Verizon is hoping to begin offering service in the Big Apple before the end of the year, if all approvals are cleared.

— Todd Spangler

New Orleans — Discovery Education, Science Channel and Comcast named the science club at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento, Calif., as grand prize winner in the “Science Matters!” contest, part of an affiliate-marketing initiative.

Chosen from entries submitted by middle schools across the country, the winning team’s one-minute video incorporated elements such as sign language and guitar accompaniment to demonstrate the importance of science in our lives.

The Sutter Science Club will have its Science Matters! video concept produced by Science Channel and shown as a PSA during the network’s Space Week programming event, July 6 to 11. The team will also receive $25,000 for Sutter’s science program, and club members get video iPods.