Multichannel News Blogs
Federer: No Tiebreak Needed
Not anymore. With Pete Sampras freshly arrived from California looking on, Roger Federer topped Andy Roddick 16-14 (yes, 16-14!!!!) in the fifth set to capture his sixth Wimbledon crown. Just seven years removed from Sampras’ retirement, Federer broke their tie at 14 majors to stand alone with 15 Grand Slams as NBC, for the third consecutive year, was blessed with an incredible gentlemen&#x ... More
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Dish Reaches Another HD Milestone
This week Dish Network lit up another four local into local high definition markets bringing their total HD markets up to 150. With these new additions Dish Network now serves over 92% of their customers with HD locals. The HD local cities that launched this week were Ft. Wayne, Indiana.; La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wisconsin.; Panama City, Florida; and Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Dish Networks HD l ... More
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The Consumer Satellite Industry through the eyes of WWW.SatelliteGuys.US Founder Scott Greczkowski
How Much 'TV Everywhere' Will Comcast's Caps Allow?
My estimate: almost 500 hours per month. Comcast last week announced it would initiate a trial next month to provide full-length episodes from Time Warner Inc.’s TNT and TBS and other networks, to customers who already pay for cable TV and broadband. (See Comcast, Time Warner Inc. Try To Blend Online TV Models, Nets Jump Into Comcast’s Online VOD Trial and TV Everywhere: The Ball Get ... More
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Covering cable TV, broadband and Internet video technologies
The Loss Of A Cultural Icon
In 2003 when Michael Jackson visited the National Show in Chicago to help promote the then upstart MBC Network, literally thousands of cable executives – many of whom grew up on Jackson’s music – lined the show’s exhibit floor nearly three rows deep to get a glimpse of the King Of Pop. Very few celebrities attending any cable show over the years have ever drawn su ... More
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Tom Umstead focuses on TV programming in his column.
Setanta On the Ropes
The Setanta Sports flameout in the U.K. can’t be good for the U.S. premium channel. I’m also not sure it helps U.S. soccer fans, even though the rights it holds are used on a channel that’ll cost you $15 or more on satellite TV or, less likely, on Comcast, Cox, RCN, FiOS TV or U-verse. The update, which you’ll know if you’re a U.S.-based footie fan, is that Irel ... More
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Multichannel News editor Kent Gibbons covers issues impacting pay TV providers, programmers and technology suppliers in his regular column.
Well, THAT's Fun (Moody Blues in Visa Ad)
I’m sitting here watching and tweeting American Idol when this cool Visa ad pops up on my television screen in big, bright psychedelic colors. The music is Moody Blues’ “Tuesday Afternoon.” Fun In fact, Visa recently released another inspiring ad called “Let’s Go.” (That’s Morgan Freeman in the voice over set to Smashing Pumpkins’ ... More
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May McNamara focuses on TV programming in her column, which is updated at least three times weekly.
Goings and Goings -- Manny, A-Rod and T.O.
This has been a week of goings and goings and goings. I’m talking A-Rod, Manny and T.O. As a Mets fan, I wanted Manny Ramirez on the team. I even thought a simple contract of $25 million a year for two years and a $10 million buyout would work. If Manny wasn’t happy in New York, he gets 10 mill to go away. If the Mets weren’t happy with Manny, they cut him a 10 mill check and ... More
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Kiss the Beijing Olympics Goodbye When the 2008 Summer Olympic Games start this August in that wonderfully polluted Chinese capitol of Beijing, you can bet NBC will cover it in all its glory from the opening ceremonies to the close. I’m sure it will be breathtaking and memorable, especially if the US dominates the medal count and no one flunks the drug tests. With NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen and the Weather Channel carrying the Games (only kidding about Weather Channel, I think – the bids for the Landmark Communications property have not been revealed yet), there will be enough TV platforms covering the Games to give even the sorry sport of boxing a shot – even if it may be at 3 a.m. With all the hoopla and money to be made pimping, I mean exploiting, I mean shilling, I mean broadcasting the Games, I for one hope to avoid as much of the Olympics as possible. I don’t know, maybe, it has a tad to do with how the Chinese government dictates to its people how to live – or not. Remember, China is a one baby per family utopia. The little issue of Tibetan independence and the Chinese government’s crackdown on its people leaves me feeling uncomfortable to say the least. I know the American Revolution does not compare with Tibet’s attempt at self-governing, but will it take a monk or three igniting themselves to bring attention to what the Chinese government is doing? I know, in the eyes of the Chinese government, the Dali Lama is akin to Osama Bin Laden, and yet, even President Bush has met the Dali Lama, but he needs to go much further. He needs to avoid attending the Beijing Games just like he did the Hurricane Katrina games. Just give it time and the whole ugly mess will be forgotten – or at least he’ll be out of office. I know my job is to watch at least some of the Summer Games and maybe interview a writer or two, but it’s hard to watch an event like the Beijing Olympics when you need the roar of the crowd to drown out a cry for help from its people. U-S-A! ... U-S-A! ... U-S-A! ... just might do the trick especially if the Chinese government can fool, I mean hire, I mean use Stevie Wonder to lead the cheers.
A Rise From 'Ashes'
I’ve seen the future, and it’s set in 1981. That’s the year that modern-day policewoman Alex Drake is transported back to in the new BBC America series Ashes to Ashes. Ironically, the show’s Stateside debut on March 7 comes just days after ABC announced that it was canceling its Americanized version of another U.K. import, Life On Mars - the original time-travel-meets-p ... More
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George Vernadakis writes about pay TV programming and other issues impacting the industry.
Battlestar Reveal Brings Some Relief
By Eric Smith Sci Fi Channel’s reimagined Battlestar Galactica has been a thrill ride with more twists and turns than Dirk Benedict’s TV career. The latest turn on this crazy space coaster was the Jan. 16 revelation that the fifth and “final” Cylon is Ellen Tigh (Kate Vernon). Vernon and series co-creator and writer Ron Moore held a conference call for the press l ... More
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Just another NWP - Blogs weblog
Cabler Demands Note from Man in Coma
Is your name on YOUR cable account? You better make sure it is, because if your spouse it injured and in a coma, your cable company may lock you out of your account. My family found this out the hard way, and it could happen to you. Service providers only want to deal with an “authorized user” when it comes to changes ... More
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Memo To Mr. Charles Dolan
Memo to: Cablevision chairman Charles F. Dolan Re: FCC chairman Martin’s War On ESPN Date: Dec. 8, 2008 From: MCN Washington News Editor Mr. Dolan, The rumors are that FCC chairman Kevin Martin will take up residence in Silicon Valley when the clock runs out on the Bush administration in January. That’s a not a bad location for him, actually, in that Martin has clearly been fu ... More
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Ted Hearn writes about moves by the pay TV industry inside the Beltway.
Maybe Sterling Cooper Should Do An Ad Campaign For 'Mad Men'
This past weekend Mad Men lead Jon Hamm did a stint hosting Saturday Night Live, and his intro poked funat the conundrum of the AMC show: It’s critically revered, the first basic-cable series to win an Emmy as best drama, yet relatively few people have seen it. In his SNL intro, Hamm alluded to Mad Men’s relative obscurity. The dark, handsome actor also said that when he tells people ... More
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Brian Besieged
You wanna know how tough it’s gotten out there for cable stocks? So bad that one institutional investor, one that doesn’t normally do things like this, is calling for the ouster of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Brian Roberts. The guy who a couple of years ago was being hailed as the smartest guy in cable. The guy who grew his father’s company from a 3-million subscriber regional ... More
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