Through the Wire

Contributors: Steve Donohue, Linda Haugsted.

Voom's HD Shows Keep On Shooting

While Cablevision Systems Corp.'s Voom unit is set to go dark on April 30, the company still reportedly plans to continue shooting programming for some of the original Voom channels after the plug is pulled on the HDTV satellite-TV service.

Scott Greczkowski, who runs the Web site SatelliteGuys.US (www.satelliteguys.us), said last week that an announcer on Voom's HD soccer channel told him of plans to continue shooting games for WorldSport HD after April 30. Employees at Voom's Auction HD channel are also scheduled to cover live auctions in May.

Cablevision won't comment beyond an earlier statement it would “analyze whether its Voom 21 channels can be marketed to other satellite and cable providers as part of the company's Rainbow programming operations.”

In the meantime, Voom's 46,000 subs are weighing whether to buy an HD programming package from DirecTV Inc., EchoStar Communications Corp. or their local cable operator after Voom dies. And while some Voom subs are trying to sell their equipment on eBay, others still hope that their receivers, which can also decrypt over-the-air signals, will still allow them to get local broadcast HD channels. That would save them the cost of shelling out $500 for a broadcast receiver.

Cablevision spokeswoman Kim Kerns declined to comment when asked if Cablevision would send an electronic signal to the Voom receivers that would kill their ability to watch free broadcast HD channels with the boxes.

But some Voom customers have posted messages on Greczkowski's site saying their receivers lost the ability to transmit broadcast signals after they canceled their Voom subscriptions.

Bronx, N.Y., Voom sub Sean Motta said he already receives HD programming from Cablevision and DirecTV.

Motta said he expects other Voom subs will jump to EchoStar, which charges less up-front for programming and equipment. EchoStar rolled out the welcome mat to Voom customers on Thursday, pitching six free months of HDTV programming and high-definition receivers in up to two rooms at no charge to Voom subscribers who sign up for Dish Network.

DirecTV is also wooing Voom subs with offers of a $99 DirecTV HD system, after a $200 rebate, plus three months of free HD programming.

Seen That Show Where They Spoof Executions?

If your answer is “yes,” you might be a participant in the latest “viral” marketing effort from a cable network.

The show in question is on a new Web site (www.bstv.tv). That stands for “Best Shows on TV” and promises the reality programs on display there are “coming soon to a television network in your area.”

Basically, people on the site get spoofed into thinking they're auditioning for reality shows, trying to impress improv-actor “judges” who explain the bizarre concepts involved.

“Come Fry With Me,” for example, invites contestants to pull the switch and electrocute a convicted killer. One female applicant learns the killer she'd potentially execute butchered some pizza-delivery guys. “Wrong topping?” she asks. No, the host replies, the official explanation is they were late. “Fry him up!”

The network near you is … VH1, which adds BSTV, co-produced with England's Ealing Studios, to the schedule next month. A spokeswoman said the site — which, virally, reached out to “like-minded sites” — drew 36,000 streams the first day.

Bright House, Weather To Paramedic: Thanks!

There must be days in the life of a paramedic when they wonder if it's all worth it. That could be especially true in areas of Florida, where emergency-response workers logged in many consecutive days — on call — and hours of overtime to cope with three successive hurricanes last summer.

“Most days, you don't even get a thank you,” said Heather Burke, a seven-year veteran in Volusia County.

Her work, at least, has been acknowledged: she's won a local Bright House Networks promotion linked to The Weather Channel's Heroes of the Storm campaign. Nominated by her rig partner, Burke went out on call after call during the storms — “including a couple of calls I shouldn't have been out on because the winds were too strong.” She aided a 14-year-old in labor, rescued a family from carbon monoxide poisoning and even administered oxygen to a pet sugar glider.

Her exploits were detailed in the nomination form, and subscribers read the nominations online and voted for the winner. “It's nice to be recognized,” she told The Wire.

Bright House and Weather offered her a trip to Cancun. It might have helped her get out of town during the next hurricane season. But instead, pregnancy will keep her close to home. She thinks the baby was conceived during the brief respite between 2004 hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.