• DirecTV Sues Comcast Over HDTV Ad Campaign
• TVG Sues Betting Rival
• No Albrecht Talk at Time Warner Meeting
• Net Hypes ‘Next Food Network Star’
• GSN Adds Four Playmania Hosts
• Showtime Readies Martial Arts PPV
• Sundance Picks Up One-Dozen Films

• Time Warner Promotes Brabson
• New Comcast Hires in New Mexico

• Cartoon, Kournikova Team on Kids’ Fitness Initiative
• Microsoft to Buy Digital-Ad Firm for $6B
• Non-Cable-Ready TV Set Leads to Manslaughter

DirecTV Sues Comcast Over HDTV Ad Campaign
DirecTV filed suit against Comcast over its national ad campaign, which claims that satellite customers believe the cable operator’s HDTV picture quality is better than satellite’s (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6438545.html). The nine-page suit charged Comcast with false advertising and deceptive trade practices for a print, radio and Internet ad campaign the nation’s largest cable company kicked off in early May. The action asks that Comcast be enjoined from “engaging in any further false advertising and promotion,” that it be ordered to retract and correct its “misleading” claims and that it pay unspecified damages to DirecTV. The lawsuit cited the text in Comcast’s print ads, which said, “Comcast wins the HD Picture Challenge. Satellite customers agree: HD looks better with Comcast.” Comcast’s claims are based on a survey that it commissioned from Frank N. Magid Associates. That March poll found that in side-by-side comparisons, “Two-thirds of satellite customers expressing a preference between Comcast and DirecTV and between Comcast and Dish Network said Comcast delivered a better HD image.” On Friday, Comcast defended its ads. “We are aware of the [DirecTV] complaint,” Comcast spokesman Jenni Moyer said. “We have not yet been served. And we stand behind the results of our survey.” click to read more...
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TVG Sues Betting Rival
Gemstar-TV Guide’s Horse-Racing Network Claims Magna, HorseRacing TV, Gemstar-TV Guide International’s TVG Network (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6438339.html) horse-racing channel sued rival Magna Entertainment -- which operates the HorseRacing TV (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6423190.html) network and XpressBet (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA448544.html) service -- alleging that it infringes two patents covering interactive wagering systems. In the complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, TVG is seeking unspecified monetary damages and has requested an injunction to prevent Magna, HRTV and XpressBet from continuing to use the patents. Magna Entertainment senior legal counsel William Ford declined to comment, saying the company hasn’t had a chance to review the suit. TVG said it owns 17 U.S. patents covering interactive wagering systems, with more than 140 issued and pending patents worldwide. The racing network, which is available in more than 27 million households, said it licensed patents to several providers of advance-deposit wagering, including YouBet.com and AmericaTab. click to read more...
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No Albrecht Talk at Time Warner Meeting
Time Warner’s annual shareholders’ meeting Friday in Burbank, Calif., was relatively uneventful, with none of the expected questions from stockholders regarding former HBO chairman Chris Albrecht’s recent legal problems and his subsequent resignation (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6440911.html). Chairman and CEO Richard Parsons (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6440369.html) kicked off the meeting, held at Time Warner’s Warner Bros. Studios, assuring shareholders that the company continues to adhere to its strategy of creating, aggregating and distributing content and focusing on the right businesses. click to read more...
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Net Hypes ‘Next Food Network Star’
Hilton Hotels, Ford Motor, Disney/Pixar, the National Basketball Association, Bon Appetit magazine and MySpace are on the menu of strategic partners Food Network is cooking with on its multiplatform marketing campaign for season three of The Next Food Network Star. The campaign’s goal is to position the program as the most successful food-competition show on cable, according to vice president of marketing Susie Fog Elson. click to read more...
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GSN Adds Four Playmania Hosts
GSN added four hosts for its Playmania (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6357467.html) late-night-participation programming block. The new hosts are: Shandi Finnessey, a former Miss USA from 2004 and co-host of GSN’s Lingo with Chuck Woolery; Jessica York, who also appears on Resort Sports Network; Jeff Thisted, who also works on The Price Is Right; and Angelle Tymon, a recent college graduate and a member of Playmania’s behind-the-scenes team. click to read more...
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Showtime Readies Martial Arts PPV
Showtime will look to raise the profile of its mixed-martial-arts franchise (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6400216.html) with a June 2 hybrid pay television/pay-per-view event card. The Showtime pay TV service will air two fights from the eight-bout event, beginning at 9 p.m., with three other live matches available via PPV for $34.95 one hour later. In addition, the network launched a four-part weekly reality series aimed at generating awareness for the card, according to Ken Hershman (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6346387.html), senior vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports and Event. click to read more...
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Sundance Picks Up One-Dozen Films
Sundance Channel acquired the television rights to one-dozen new independent films from Arthouse Films, Celluloid Dreams/Dreamachine, MK-2, Strand Releasing and THINKFilm. click to read more...
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Time Warner Promotes Brabson
Time Warner Cable promoted Kathy Brabson (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA318457.html) to president of its central Texas division. Brabson had been vice president and general manager for the MSO’s system in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with approximately 220,000 customers. click to read more...
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New Comcast Hires in New Mexico
Comcast said it will hire 56 new employees throughout New Mexico in the next few months to meet demand for its products and services. The MSO added that it has hired employees for 88 new positions in the state so far in 2007, marking more than a 165% increase from last year at this time. click to read more...
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