Coda

Starz Joins Comcast Test

Englewood, Colo. — Starz Entertainment is in the mix for Comcast’s On-Demand Online test, set to launch this month, with the premium programmer planning to initially make 300 movies and other original programming available through Comcast.net and Fancast.com to Starz subscribers for no additional charge.

Comcast announced the plans for the 5,000-home test last month with Time Warner Inc., which will provide episodes from TNT and TBS shows.

Other programmers that have indicated they will participate in Comcast’s trial include Rainbow Media, Scripps Networks, A&E Television Networks and Comcast Networks.

Comcast’s Starz subscribers participating in the trial will have online access to movies including Hancock, Wall-E, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, High School Musical 3, Senior Year and Enchanted. In addition, Starz will feature its original series including Crash, Head Case and Party Down.

According to the companies, customers in many cases will have access to the content online as soon as it debuts on the standard Comcast video-on-demand service and before they air on the linear Starz channels.

“At Starz our goal is to allow subscribers to watch our programming whenever and wherever they want,” Starz Entertainment president and chief operating officer Bill Myers said in a release.

— Todd Spangler

TWC Wants More Samsung Boxes

New York — Will Tru2way step up the competitive pressure on cable’s technology “duopoly,” Cisco Systems and Motorola?

Time Warner Cable last week said it has signed a letter of commitment for the continued development, purchase and deployment of Samsung Electronics’ Tru2way-enabled set-top boxes, including the operator’s first second-source digital video recorder. Under the renewed agreement, TWC will deploy Samsung set-tops including the SMT-H3090 and SMT-H3270 high-definition DVRs.

Still, of the more than 2 million Tru2way-based set-top boxes Time Warner Cable has deployed to date, approximately 400,000 are Samsung boxes; the rest are from Cisco and Motorola.

Comcast, for its part, said it is buying Tru2way set-tops from Cisco, Motorola, Pace, Panasonic and Samsung, while Cox Communications said its current tru2way set-top suppliers are limited to Cisco and Motorola.

Four of the five biggest U.S. operators — TWC, Comcast, Cox, Cablevision Systems and Bright House — pledged in agreements with CE companies that, starting this month, 20% of the leased set-top boxes they buy will be based on Tru2way until 10 million such boxes are deployed.

— Todd Spangler

'10 Things’ Had Hit Debut

Los Angeles — 10 Things I Hate About You bowed as the most-watched comedy series debut in ABC Family history on Tuesday night (July 7).

The series version of the Julia Stiles-Heath Ledger theatrical (which updated Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew) averaged 1.6 million viewers during its July 7 premiere, according to Nielsen Media Research data. The program also became ABC Family’s most-watched debut among adults 18 to 34 (509,000), women 18 to 34 (396,000), adults 18 to 49 (734,000) and women 18 to 49 (574,000).

— Mike Reynolds

RCN Drops FiberNet Bid

New York — FiberNet Telecom Group said last Thursday (July 10) that RCN dropped its bid to acquire the New York-based provider of broadband connectivity services, paving the way for FiberNet to pursue a deal with Zayo Group.

Fibernet said RCN withdrew its purchase proposal of $12.50 per share ($96 million). Now it’s pursuing an earlier offer of $11.45 per share ($88 million) from Zayo. Zayo had reached a deal for FiberNet in May, but the seller had an option to accept better offers until June 17.

FiberNet did not say why the RCN deal fell through but said it expected the Zayo transaction to get done by the third quarter.

— Mike Farrell