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YouTube: A Lifeline for Indie Nets?

By: R. Thomas Umstead May 20 2013 - 4:50pm

PPV Industry Looks Ahead After Mayweather Win

By: R. Thomas Umstead May 7 2013 - 5:06pm

Showtime this Saturday will air a replay of its May 4 Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero pay-per-view boxing telecast.

The replay will feature Showtime’s well-produced PPV telecast featuring Mayweather’s decisive 12-round decision victory over Guerrero, as well as the undercard bout between unbeaten Abner Mares and defending WBC Featherweight World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon.

BET Officially KO’s ‘Don’t Sleep!’

By: R. Thomas Umstead May 2 2013 - 5:24pm

BET has officially put to bed its latest attempt at offering a late night show.

The network said Thursday that it will not bring back T.J. Holmes’ Don’t Sleep! late night news/talk show, eight months after its initial launch.

Going Retro, Over the Top

By: R. Thomas Umstead Apr 29 2013 - 2:23pm

Over-the-top content distributors like Hulu Plus and Netfl ix are looking to boost the value and appeal of their brands by developing original programming — even if some of that content looks familiar to a legion of television viewers.

MTV, Cartoon Network Push Anti-Bullying Message

By: R. Thomas Umstead Apr 23 2013 - 1:48pm

MTV and Cartoon Network will look to take up the fight on against bullying this week with separate anti-bullying initiatives.

MTV has tapped pop singer Ke$ha to serve as its celebrity ambassador for its “Love is Louder” anti-bullying social media campaign. The campaign, in partnership with The Jed Foundation, promises to “raise the volume” on themes on love and tolerance, according to the network.

OTT Services Trending With Multicultural Viewers

By: R. Thomas Umstead Apr 16 2013 - 4:15pm

Don’t look now cable operators, but multicultural viewers are increasingly using over-the-top services to access their favorite Tv shows and movies.

Nearly 85% of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American viewers have access to services such as Netflix, Hulu and Roku, and 46% of all urban viewers use such services on a weekly basis, according to new data from Horowitz Associates’ Focus Latino 2013 report.

MTV Turning To Facebook To Support `Movie Awards'

By: R. Thomas Umstead Apr 10 2013 - 3:15pm

 MTV has consistently tapped social media to enhance its marquee live event telecasts, and this Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards show is no exception.

The network will partner with Facebook to give viewers exclusive access to celebrities appearing on the 21st annual awards show, as well as providing fans with a chance to vote for one the show’s biggest awards, according to network officials.

Go To Gamers, Pay TV Nets

By: by R. Thomas Umstead Apr 8 2013 - 8:19am
Premium channel Epix is going to offer its digital video-on-demand application on the
PlayStation 3 video-game console. The viewer-authenticated service will offer PlayStation
3 users more than 3,000 movie titles, including The Avengers and The Hunger Games.
 
For Epix, the appeal is tapping a growing audience segment that’s streaming more video
on the PlayStation, alongside hitting home runs with the MLB The Show ’13 video game.

March Madness: Cable Gladness

By: R. Thomas Umstead Mar 18 2013 - 1:44pm

CBS and Turner Sports’ upcoming coverage of the 2013 NCAA men’s college basketball tournament — aka “March Madness” — has generated a lot of buzz, but it’s the 2014 version that has cable hoping for a big score.

Several published reports have CBS Sports passing rights to live coverage of the Final Four to Turner’s TNT and TBS networks beginning next year, a full two years before terms of the current 14-year, $10.8 billion deal between the NCAA and Turner and CBS calls for the rights trade.

`Real Husbands,' 'Real Housewives' Real Popular With Black Viewers

By: R. Thomas Umstead Feb 8 2013 - 3:23pm

African-American viewers got real with their primetime viewing in January, with episodes from Bravo’s reality series Real Housewives Of Atlanta and BET’s scripted show Real Husbands Of Hollywood representing six of the top 10 most watched shows during the month.

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