Multichannel News

• Public Knowledge, EFF File Brief Supporting Aereo
  
  John Eggerton, May 24, 2012
  Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have filed a brief in a U.S. District Court in New York City supporting Aereo, which is the target of a suit by broadcasters.
  
• Communications Subcommittee Schedules Net Governance Hearing
  
  John Eggerton, May 23, 2012
  The House Communications Subcommittee has scheduled a May 31 hearing on "Internet Proposals to Regulate the Internet."
  
• Cable Show 2012: Conan O'Brien on the New Age of TV: 'Adapt or Die'
  
  By Andrea Morabito (Broadcasting & Cable), May 23, 2012
  Boston -- When Conan O'Brien was forced out of The Tonight Show in 2010, he had to choose not just whether to stay at NBC but decide where he thought the television industry was headed, the talk show host told CNN host Piers Morgan during the general session Wednesday morning.
  
• Cable Show 2012 Draws 12,000 to Boston, Down From '11
  
  by Kent Gibbons, May 23, 2012
    Cable Show 2012, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's convention that wrapped up today, drew about 12,000 attendees, the NCTA said.
  
• Cable Show 2012: Stanford Team Wins 'App Challenge' With Bandwidth-Priority System
  
  By Todd Spangler, May 23, 2012
  Two students from Stanford University took home the $10,000 grand prize in the NCTA's Imagine App Challenge real-time "hack-a-thon" competition here with teams from five colleges, with an app that allows broadband users to set bandwidth priorities for content and applications.
  
• CTIA: President Should Stay Focused on Spectrum
  
  By John Eggerton, May 23, 2012
  CTIA: The Wireless Association said it was pleased the president had acknowledged the rise of mobile device use in his memo directing government agencies to make information more accessible to those devices, but it used the opportunity to call on the government to free up more bandwidth to handle all that information.
  
• Showtime Slates Free Preview Weekend Targeted at Emmy Voters
  
  by Tim Baysinger, Broadcasting & Cable, May 23, 2012
  Showtime said it will have a free preview weekend from June 15-17 in New York and Los Angeles targeted at Emmy voters, the first network to ever do so.
  
• NBCU Expands Malfa's Ad Sales Oversight to Include Style Media
  
  Tim Baysinger (Broadcasting & Cable), May 23, 2012
  NBCUniversal announced Wednesday that it has given Susan Malfa oversight of ad sales for Style Media, to go along with Bravo and Oxygen Media and Women at NBCU.
  
• Cable Show 2012: Cablevision's HTML5 Guide Plays On LG, Samsung Smart TVs
  
  By Todd Spangler, May 23, 2012
    Cablevision Systems was showing off an app built using HTML5 and JavaScript technologies running on Internet-connected TVs from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics that provides full access to live TV and an on-screen guide -- without any set-top required.
  
• Ultra-High Speed Broadband Test Beds Get $200 Million
  
  By John Eggerton, May 23, 2012
  In association with Gigabit U, whose executive director is former FCC broadband plan czar Blair Levin, Gigabit Squared has announced that $200 million in broadband development capital will be spent to fund six projects to accelerate deployment of high-speed, as in gigabit-per-second, networks.
  
• The Cable Show 2012: Social Media Boosts Sports Viewership
  
  Mike Farrell, May 23, 2012
  Social media is driving new viewers to sports programming and could represent another revenue stream, according to a panel of top sports executives at The Cable Show here Wednesday.
  
• DishWorld Launches on Roku
  
  George Winslow (Broadcasting & Cable), May 23, 2012
  In a deal that highlights the growing importance of broadband distribution for international services, Dish Network and Roku have announced that that Dish's DishWorld service has launched on the Roku streaming platform in the U.S.
  
• Cable Show 2012: Streamlined Authentication Process Needed for TV Everywhere
  
  Andrea Morabito (Broadcasting & Cable), May 23, 2012
  TV Everywhere has made significant progress in the last two years, but still faces challenges when it comes to awareness and adoption, according to executives speaking on a panel at Cable Show 2012.
  
• Sundance Teams With Reeve Foundation On ‘Push Girls'
  
  by MCN Staff, May 23, 2012
  Sundance Channel and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation have teamed up around the upcoming original docu-series Push Girls.
  
• TBS Strikes Deal to Bring DumbDumb Shorts to Facebook
  
  Tim Baysinger (Broadcasting & Cable), May 23, 2012
  TBS and Facebook have reached a distribution agreement that will extend the cabler's distribution plan for DumbDumb digital comedy shorts.
  
• Rentrak Gets Purchase Data From MasterCard
  
  Jon Lafayette (Broadcasting & Cable), May 23, 2012
  Rentrak has made a deal with MasterCard that will allow the two companies to combine TV viewing data with retail transactions in order to give advertisers a better understanding of consumer behavior.
  
• Community Connections Are Key Part of NESN's Playbook
  
  Mike Reynolds, May 22, 2012
    When it comes to charitable work and volunteerism, it's game on for regional sports network NESN and its 150 employees.
  
• Cable Show 2012: Business Services Poised for Growth
  
  Mike Farrell, May 22, 2012
  Cable operators' share of the business services market could double to as much as 21% in the next five years, according to a panel discussion at The Cable Show Tuesday.
  
• Samuel Jackson To Host BET Awards
  
  by R. Thomas Umstead, May 22, 2012
  BET has tapped actor Samuel Jackson to host its upcoming BET Awards ceremony, the network announced Tuesday.
  
• Cable Show 2012: Univision to Create Digital Platform to Cover Upcoming Elections
  
  Thomas Umstead, May 22, 2012
  Univision this September will launch a digital component to its upcoming Hispanic-themed, English language news and lifestyles network, according to Univision president Cesar Conde.