Picture This
Tom Umstead focuses on TV programming in his column.
In Demand, UFC To Bring 3D PPV Event To Cable
It was a matter of time before the pay-per-view event category moved into the 3D space. This Saturday In Demand and the UFC will team to distribute the UFC 143 PPV event in 3D to cable subscribers with 3D-ready television sets, according to In Demand officials. Many ring sports observers have speculated that mixed martial arts and boxing events would play very well in 3D. Now consumers with 3D TV ...... Read More
Comments (0)Sports Taking Center Stage In Cable Shows
HBO will look to ride the sport of horse racing to its next breakthrough series with Sunday’s launch of Luck, starring Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina. The drama is the latest cable series to use sports as a major component of its storyline. Sports have played well recently in the scripted series arena. USA Network’s football-themed drama Necessary Roughness garnered a G ...... Read More
Comments (0)Cable Nets Script 2012 Programming Plans at TCA
Cable’s portion of the winter 2012 Television Critics Association press tour will most likely be remembered for Univision’s Saturday morning presentation debacle, but the headline should be the industry’s continued push into a number of TV genres with quality, creative programming. Independent networks GMC and Ovation TV announced that they will look to play with the big boys ...... Read More
Comments (0)NBA Still Has Game With Viewers
Any concerns about whether basketball fans would embrace the NBA after the lockout were dunked recently as the league’s cable media partners reported stellar viewership returns for the first week of the league’s truncated regular season. The league’s 24-hour network NBA TV posted record breaking numbers during its first seven days of NBA regular-season coverage, which launched ...... Read More
Comments (0)Holmes: Cable News Nets Still Relevant In New Media World
Viewers will continue to flock to cable news nets for breaking news and analysis, but the web will play a prominent role in delivering the news of the day to young consumers in particular, according to former CNN anchor T.J. Holmes who is joining BET at the beginning of 2012. Part two of my interview with the award-winning news anchor appears below. TU: What will you take away from your experience ...... Read More
Comments (0)CNN Anchor T.J. Holmes To Push BET Into News Arena
Award-winning CNN on-air journalist T.J. Holmes will bring his talents to BET beginning in 2012 as part of a multi-platform deal with the African-American targeted network. I had a chance to speak with Holmes about his move to BET and how he envisions his role at the network heading into what promises to be a very busy 2012 news cycle. The first of a two-part interview appears below. Tom Um ...... Read More
Comments (4)Viewer Fast Break Back To NBA Uncertain
The NBA will launch its abbreviated 2011-12 season on Christmas Day with a gift of five games for fans to unwrap. But with less than a month before the season’s tipoff, the question remains whether disgruntled fans dismayed over the 149-day lockout will embrace the return of the league with open arms. ESPN and TNT are both coming off one of their highest-rated seasons of NBA coverage, but ...... Read More
Comments (0)African-Americans Have Got Game
So much media attention rightly has been focused on the growth and influence of the Hispanic marketplace, given the results of the 2010 U.S. Census.But that’s no reason for cable programmers, marketers and advertisers to sleep on the still-emerging African- American community. While its population growth hasn’t been as explosive as that of the Hispanic community, cable programmers an ...... Read More
Comments (1)Pioneering A New Distribution Path
Many independent content providers believe the Internet and other alternative platforms will eventually offer a viable distribution options for their product. Two recently announced Web-based content deals may put that faith to the test. YouTube, known mostly for user-generated videos of singing cats and fl ash-mob dancers, will offer 96 channels of professionally-developed entertainment ...... Read More
Comments (0)Golden Boy: Mayweather-Ortiz Draws 1.25 Million PPV Buys
It took a little over a month, but Golden Boy Promotions finally released pay-per-view buy numbers for the Sept. 17 Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight. The fight, which carried the most expensive suggested retail price ever for a PPV boxing event at $59.99, drew 1.25 million buys and garnered $78 million in PPV revenue — a record for a non-heavyweight PPV fight, according to Golden Boy off ...... Read More
Comments (0)Multicultural Viewers Will Like Xbox TV
Microsoft’s recent content deals with cable network-based on-demand services for its Xbox 360 have thrust video-game consoles onto the TV-content distribution field in a big way. Xbox, which inked content deals with HBO Go, Epix, Bravo and Syfy, as well as Comcast’s Xfinity TV and Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV, joins Sony’s PlayStation 3, which offers live ...... Read More
Comments (0)N.Y. Comic-Con Less Scary For Cable Nets
More than 100,000 Sci Fi and comic book fanatics are expected to converge on New York City this weekend to attend the annual Comic-Con confab. While the east coast version of the popular convention is not as grandiose as the annual San Diego-based Comic-Con International show, it’s still expected to draw its share of cable networks looking to showcase their popular shows and stars to ...... Read More
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