• Mediacom Takes Hit on Wall Street
• TMG Blames EchoStar for Chapter 11 Filing
• MSNBC Clarifies Ad
• Qwest Pushes for Colo. Franchise
• Karmazin: I’d Hire Imus Again
• Disney Wins Weekly Primetime
• Postman Pat Joins Qubo

• Comcast Expands Digital Voice
• Spot Runner Creates Jewelry Ads
• NDS Buys Net-Video Startup
• Lime to Be Squeezed Into Portal

• Copper Thieves Spark time Warner Outages
• NBC to Shoot 3,600 Hours in Beijing
• PTC Skewers MyNetworkTV

Mediacom Takes Hit on Wall Street
Declining trends in June and the unexpected negative impact of some system divestitures forced Mediacom Communications to reduce its year-end revenue and cash flow guidance by one percentage point each, spooking investors who drove down the small market cable operator’s stock in kind. Mediacom said that it would lower its year end revenue guidance from 8%-to-9% growth to 7%-to-8% and its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (AOIBDA, a measure of cash flow) to 6%-to-7%, versus its previous guidance of 7%-to- 8% growth. The news saw Mediacom stock drop as much as 12% (94 cents each) in early trading, before closing Tuesday at $7.62, down 56 cents, or 6.85%. On a conference call with analysts, Mediacom chief financial officer Mark Stephan said that the reason for the guidance was two-fold. Stephan said that about one-half of one point of the reduction was due to subscriber and growth trends in June coming in “lighter than expected.” He added that that acquisition and divestiture activity – Mediacom bought one small system and sold another, resulting in a decline of about 3,300 customers – also contributed about one half of one percentage point to the guidance revision. click to read more...
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TMG Blames EchoStar for Chapter 11 Filing
Turner Media Group, an ad-sales rep firm and programmer, is blaming EchoStar Communications for trying to shut down its business, dropping its eight networks and forcing it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Denver-based operation, known as TMG, in legal papers alleged that satellite provider EchoStar for the past eight months has been engaging in “a systematic scheme” to try to capture TMG’s “revenues, profits and assets.” click to read more...
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MSNBC Clarifies Ad
MSNBC clarified one of its promotional spots, where it claimed to have “beaten” rival CNN in primetime, after being contacted by Nielsen Media Research, officials said Tuesday. MSNBC, part of NBC Universal, agreed to add language to the TV commercial explaining how it was defining “primetime,” according to MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines. click to read more...
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Qwest Pushes for Colo. Franchise
Qwest Communications invoked the FCC’s so-called “shot clock,” which will compel the city of Arvada, Colo., to negotiate a franchise agreement within 90 days or the telephone company will automatically be granted authority to enter the community. click to read more...
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Karmazin: I’d Hire Imus Again
Sirius Satellite CEO Mel Karmazin said Tuesday that he would be open to the idea of hiring former CBS Radio and MSNBC morning man Don Imus to host a program on Sirius. “The fact that he had been fired wouldn’t stop me from having Don work for me again. He makes you a lot of money,” Karmazin, a former CBS chairman and CEO, said during an interview on Fox News Channel Tuesday. click to read more...
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Disney Wins Weekly Primetime
Thanks to a couple of anything but ordinary teenage girls, Disney Channel won the weekly primetime ratings battle for the week of July 30, with a 2.4 household rating. The Princess Diaries and Hannah Montana helped push Disney past USA (2.0) and TNT (1.9) for the top primetime spot. Nickelodeon won the week in the total-day category with a 2.1 household rating, beating out Cartoon Network and TNT (each with a 1.1). click to read more...
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Postman Pat Joins Qubo
Qubo, the all-kids digital network and NBC Saturday morning block, will debut its new fall programming Oct. 6, officials said Tuesday. The 2007 fall season features new series and returning favorites with new episodes that emphasize Qubo’s mission of providing family-friendly content that encourages children’s literacy and imagination. click to read more...
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Comcast Expands Digital Voice
Comcast Corp. launched its digital voice service to 300,000 homes in New Mexico and Tucson, Ariz. Customers can now sign up for unlimited local and long distance service, which includes calls to Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. click to read more...
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Spot Runner Creates Jewelry Ads
Spot Runner, the Internet-based ad agency based in Los Angeles, formed a partnership with Stuller, a leading jewelry manufacturer and distributor, to create localized TV advertising campaigns for independent jewelry retailers. click to read more...
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NDS Buys Net-Video Startup
NDS Group said Tuesday that it will acquire CastUp, an Israeli startup that provides software for managing Internet-video production and distribution, for $11.3 million in cash plus additional payments to employees and senior management. click to read more...
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Lime to Be Squeezed Into Portal
Eco-focused media company Lime, majority owned by AOL founder Steve Case, has been acquired by Gaiam, a “green living” media and e-commerce company. click to read more...
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