Through the Wire

DIY Net Swings at Sporty Makeovers

Look for more sports-themed renovation projects from DIY Network. The cable network and major sports leagues think this is a “sweet spot” for both, drawing viewers from either side of the couch.

According to program director Ross Babbit of DIY, projects such as an upcoming series episode with defensive end Michael Strahan of the National Football League’s New York Giants should draw men and women to the television.

The next cross-over project is a baseball-based episode of DIY to the Rescue, scheduled for April 8. Show producers renovated part of the pre-World War II complex that is the spring training home of the American League champion Detroit Tigers, as well as the seasonal home of its Single-A affiliate Lakeland Tigers.

Babbit said representatives of the Lakeland team first approached DIY about a facelift for the rec center and Fetzer Hall at Tigertown. Working with a sports league can be tough — between coordinating schedules and coming up with the right marketing push — but both sides were pleased with the results, Babbit said.

The “reveal” was taped last week, and the team brought in Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson to review the improvements. Granderson occupied the dorms two years ago.

“It was perfect — he didn’t know what to expect,” said Babbit.

The experience revealed other opportunities, according to Babbit. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski is considering more renovations, according to Babbit, and Granderson suggested DIY do work on a house for him.

“He’s got a nice paycheck now and is ready for his first house. I don’t know if he was serious,” Babbit said.

Punchline Is No Go For CEO Comedy Fest

So, a network chief, a cable operator and a CEO walk into a bar … Not!

The “CEO Comedy Challenge” — which marketing types might call a value-added draw the evening before the annual Cable Positive dinner — is not going to happen after all.

Word is various executives were interested in the “make me laugh” challenge, to benefit the AIDS action organization, but in the end, only Sundance Channel CEO Larry Aidem and Rainbow Entertainment Services president Ed Carroll could actually clear their schedules to accommodate the one-night stand.

Rather than stage a two-man comedy cage match, Cable Positive has unilaterally declared the two execs jointly cable’s Kings of Comedy.

The main event, the 15th anniversary dinner on March 6, is proceeding on schedule. What the organization might lack in stand-up comics it makes up for in co-chairs: eight executives are on that list, including three top female cable execs (Lifetime’s Betty Cohen, Disney/ABC’s Anne Sweeney and BET’s Debra Lee), reps of two of the industry’s top equipment suppliers (Jim McDonald of Scientific Atlanta and Rob McLaughlin of Motorola), an industry law firm (Robert Schumer of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison), Michael Willner of Insight Communications and HDNet’s Mark Cuban.

That crew, apparently, is clicking, with tables selling nicely, including to financial and legal firms that aren’t always big donors.

Dan Rather will host; Time Warner Cable and its chairman and CEO, Glenn Britt, are the honorees.

Well-Thought-Out Pitch For a Cable Conference

The American Cable Association wants to take the press out to the ballgame. Wait, strike that. It wants to take the media to its Washington confab. The lobbying group for independent cable operators adopted a baseball theme to the max when it invited reporters to attend its 14th Annual Summit in D.C. in April.

Covering all the bases, the group sent out a press kit that included an ACA Summit baseball cap and pennant, a box of Cracker Jacks, popcorn, peanuts in the shell, a miniature baseball bat, and an ACA Summit baseball jersey with the target reporters’ last names emblazoned on the back.

The ACA sent out 14 of the customized shirts to select members of the media, and distributed a similar press kit, without the shirts, to other ink-stained wretches.

The actual press invite to the April 17-18 summit is a mock ticket. It “Admits One” to the gathering, whose roster of speakers includes C-SPAN founder and CEO Brian Lamb and Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

ACA CEO Matt Polka said that the baseball-oriented press invite was his idea, since he’s a huge fan of the sport.

Wide Samoan Boxers Need Added Heft of HD

Boxer David “Tua-Man” Tua, the 5-foot-10-inch tall native of Samoa, tipped the scales last Wednesday at a rock-hard 241 pounds. That kind of width demands a 16-by-9 television screen — and INHD, the high-definition outlet owned by several cable operators, is ready to accommodate, as part of one of the network’s series.

The 34-year-old heavyweight hopeful headlined a night of boxing last Thursday at Roseland Ballroom and Gotham Boxing promoter Cedric Kushner and producer LiveStar Entertainment had remote HD production trailers outside the arena taping the results.

INHD (soon to be renamed Mojo) will run the two-hour event first — the network’s Web site lists it as March 31 — before it’s distributed to such international locales as China, Australia and New Zealand. Tua, who lives in New Zealand, is very big Down Under, LiveStar honcho Eric Drath explained to The Wire.

Tua didn’t disappoint, defeating Philly favorite son Robert Hawkins in a 10-round unanimous verdict. The other bouts scheduled to air on INHD (spoilers alert) include impressive first-round knockouts by New Yorkers Joe Greene, a middleweight, and Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, who tossed candies to the crowd after disposing of his opponent, Steve Walker, in 38 seconds.

Sadly, the Wire’s favorite pair won’t make the niftily produced telecast. Making their pro debuts in separate bouts were junior featherweights Juan Carlos Velasquez and Carlos Ivan Velasquez. They’re twin brothers, and even in HD they’d be hard to tell apart. (Both won, but Carlos, five pounds heavier, won quicker, with a first-round KO.)