• NFL Network Simulcast Miffs RCN
• Hallmark Looks to Cut Last-Minute Deals
• Letterman Reaches Deal to Return
• EchoStar Split Set for Jan. 1
• Insight Separation Looks On Track
• NFL Cuts Station Deals
• Christmas Story Marathon Scores for TBS

• Digital TV Penetration Grows
• Strike Costs $150M in Wages

• Worth Watching
• Bulls to Trample New York for Versus

NFL Network Simulcast Miffs RCN
While the NFL was ironing out contract issues with three local stations that had broadcast rights for the big primetime game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants on Dec. 29, at least one NFL Network affiliate expressed unhappiness that the contest is being simulcast nationally by NBC and CBS. RCN late Friday afternoon said the NFL’s Dec. 26 announcement that CBS and NBC would team with the NFL Network on a national simulcast Saturday night of the potentially historic -- New England maintained its perfect record to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the league’s only undefeated championship squad -- devalues its contract with the league’s in-house service. “This action by the NFL Network seriously devalues the contract between us and we are considering our options. We paid extra for the right to carry this historic game as well as the other games throughout the season,” said RCN senior vice president, strategic and external affairs Richard Ramlall. “In effect, the NFL Network is making RCN customers pay extra for what others are getting for free.” click to read more...
Back to top

Hallmark Looks to Cut Last-Minute Deals
Crown Media Holdings, parent of the Hallmark Channel, is expected to be in deep negotiations with three of its largest distributors over the next few weeks, securing carriage deals that involve more than 30% of its total distribution. Four of Crown’s biggest distributors – Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems and DirecTV – representing about 60% of its total carriage, have deals that expire on Dec. 31. While Crown was able to reach a deal last month with Comcast – which represents 20.5 million Hallmark Channel subscribers – the Hallmark Channel parent had yet to secure deals with TWC, Cablevision, or DirecTV by Friday. According to Crown’s 10-K annual report issued in March, TWC, Cablevision and DirecTV represented a total of 31.6 million Hallmark Channel subscribers, or about 37% of Hallmark’s 84.5 million subscribers. DirecTV vice president of public relations Darris Gringeri said that the satellite TV giant continues to negotiate with Hallmark. “The network is not going to go down on Jan. 1; it’s going to continue,” Gringeri said. While it is likely that the network will continue to be aired on TWC and Cablevision systems through the negotiations, the lack of a deal appears to contradict Crown CEO Henry Schleiff’s prediction in early November that at least two deals would be done before the year was out. click to read more...
Back to top

Letterman Reaches Deal to Return
Late-night host David Letterman won’t have to just wing it this week when he returns to the air, as his production company has cut its own deal with the striking Writers Guild of America. Worldwide Pants, producer of CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, said Friday that it had reached a deal with the WGA, which went out on strike Nov. 5 in a dispute with studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with the major hang-up over residuals for use of content on new media. The strike put TV’s late-night shows off the air, but most of them are now set to return in early January, without writers. Now Letterman can resume broadcasting Jan. 2 with his writers toiling and creating his material. click to read more...
Back to top

EchoStar Split Set for Jan. 1
EchoStar Communications will cap its plans to split into two companies on New Year’s Day, as it starts distributing shares of its spin-off EchoStar Holding Corp. effective 12:01 a.m. MST Jan. 1 next year, officials said Friday. EchoStar Communications will retain its pay-TV business, Dish Network, and EchoStar Holding Corp. will hold the technology and certain infrastructure assets, including its set-top box business and certain satellite assets. The record date for the distribution was the close of business [5:00 p.m. EST] Dec. 27. EchoStar Communications plans to change its name to Dish Network Corp. following the completion of the separation. Each shareholder of EchoStar Communications will receive for each share of common stock held as of the record date, 0.20 of a share of the same class of common stock of EchoStar Holding. click to read more...
Back to top

Insight Separation Looks On Track
Comcast’s acquisition of half of Insight Communications’ 1.3 million subscribers is expected to close by the end of the year, although there is some confusion whether the deal will make that date. Comcast exercised its right to dissolve its 50-50 Insight Midwest partnership in April, agreeing to assume control of about 684,000 customers in southern Indiana and Illinois. Insight will keep 639,000 customers in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio but lose the ability to purchase programming at Comcast’s volume discount. The deal was originally expected to close by Dec. 31, after the required local franchise transfers were obtained. A Comcast spokeswoman would only say that the Insight deal was expected to close “early in the first quarter,” of 2008. Insight, though, was a bit more optimistic. The company said that the deal itself should close on Dec. 31, with the financial assets to be transferred on Jan. 1. click to read more...
Back to top

NFL Cuts Station Deals
After the NFL agreed to simulcast NFL Network’s coverage of the New England Patriots – New York Giants game on CBS and NBC, the league scored an accord with one TV station and was working toward an agreement with two others that had secured what they thought were exclusive local broadcast rights to the contest. On Friday afternoon, the league said it had reached an agreement with WWOR/My9 under which the station would televise the game in the New York market. Meanwhile, WCVB-TV in Boston was continuing to work toward a resolution with the NFL Network for additional coverage rights to the game. click to read more...
Back to top

Christmas Story Marathon Scores for TBS
TBS’s marathon broadcast of A Christmas Story scored its best ever average delivery of adults 18 to 34 (775,000) and adults 25 to 54 (1.5 million), the network said Friday. The 24-hour marathon screening of the 1983 classic, which began at 8 p.m. on Dec. 24, also drew 2.8 million viewers and 1.7 million households. For the entire 24-hour timeslot for the marathon (Dec. 24, at 8 p.m. – Dec. 25, at 8 p.m.), TBS ranked as ad-supported cable’s top network among adults 18-34, adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and viewers. click to read more...
Back to top

Digital TV Penetration Grows
More than 50% of U.S. households own a digital TV, the Consumer Electronics Association said Friday. The trade group for CE firms said it also expects TV manufacturers to ship nearly 32 million units in 2008. CEA said HDTVs are expected to account for 79% of total digital TV shipments in 2008. According to new CEA sales projections, manufacturers will see revenue from digital TV sales jump 11% in 2007 to more than $25 billion. click to read more...
Back to top

Strike Costs $150M in Wages
In a pre-New Year’s salvo, TV and film studios Friday claimed that writers have now lost more in wages and benefits during their nearly nine-week-old strike than they hoped to ever gain. The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued a statement that said according to its calculations, as of 10:11 a.m Friday morning the strike by the Writers Guild of America has cost writers more than $150 million. WGA leaders had previously said that their demands to studios added up to about $150 million over three years. click to read more...
Back to top