(Philadelphia Inquirer) — Seeking to neutralize political opposition to its proposed merger with NBC Universal Inc., Comcast Corp. says it will add four cable networks owned, or partly owned, by African Americans over the next eight years, as well as a new English-language channel aimed at Asian Americans. Those provisions are part of separate agreements […]
(LA Times) — Borrowing a page from Google TV, cable giant Comcast Corp. is experimenting with new tools to help viewers figure out what to watch on TV. The cable operator is running a small-scale trial in Augusta, Ga., of a new type of program guide that lets viewers search for favorite shows among hundreds of TV listings […]
(Washington Post) — When AT&T last week had to renew its contract with Scripps, the owner of popular lifestyle shows such as Rachael Ray and “House Hunters,” it made a demand that the media company thought went too far: Exclusive rights to broadcast the content on iPads and other mobile devices. When the two companies […]
(AP) — TV subscribers are ditching their cable companies at an ever faster rate in the past few months, and many of them aren’t signing up with a satellite or phone competitor instead. Their willingness to simply go without pay television could be a sign that Internet TV services such as Netflix and Hulu are […]
(Dow Jones Newswires) — Dish Network Corp. (DISH) and News Corp. (NWS, NWSA) signed a programming agreement that ends a monthlong blackout of 19 sports channels on the satellite operator and prevents a possible disruption of local Fox broadcast stations starting Monday. The agreement was described as “long term” by the companies, but no financial […]
(Wall Street Journal) — A dispute between Cablevision and Fox over programming fees has left some three million households in the region without Fox, My9, Fox Business, and NatGeo Wild for nearly four days. That’s meant, most notably, a blackout in place of prime-time shows, baseball playoff games and a football matchup featuring the hometown New […]
(WSJ) — News Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. are digging in their heels in a dispute over programming fees, extending a blackout of News Corp.’s Fox network affecting about three million Cablevision homes into its fourth day. The two companies met briefly Monday morning but made “no significant progress,” Fox said. Another discussion is set for Tuesday, […]
(Wall Street Journal) — Fox television stations were pulled from subscribers of Cablevision Systems Corp. after the two companies failed to agree on subscription fees and as the dispute grows increasingly contentious. Cablevision, in a scrolling announcement on Fox 5 New York, said the decision to pull programming was made by Fox’s parent, News Corp., owner of […]
Basic cable is remaking the way TV is made; traditional networks might want to tune in.
(Fast Company) — When Conan O’Brien string-dances on TBS this November, it’ll mark a major victory for cable television, which has long been considered second string to big broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. But any way you slice it — reach, revenue, ratings, and (as Team Coco shows) respect — cable is king. Today, […]
The black-owned media company wants a larger share of its co-owned cable channel.