First Look: Postseason.TV, Showtime On iPhone
I spent some time today with two very different iPhone apps with video at the core. Each wowed the teen server at our local diner, who was i… Read more »
Industry Moves: Hearst Adds Four Execs To Large Board
Privately held Hearst Corp. has added four executives to its board of directors: George R. Hearst III, publisher of the Albany Times Union,… Read more »
CNN Launching Pay iPhone App; Live Streaming For $2 Plus Ads
While *Dow Jones* follows through with plans to convert some of its iPhone and BlackBerry free app users to paid subscribers, CNN is jumping… Read more »
MTV Minisodes Series Valemont Launches — With Cameos By Verizon
MTV Networks’ latest experiment with the minisodes format, Valemont, kicks off on-air and online Tuesday with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) cell phones… Read more »
Verizon Might Be Considering DirecTV Bid
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) just might be ready to make a move on DirecTV (NYSE: DTV), the WSJ speculates, as the telco turns its concentration to vi… Read more »
Cablevision Debuts Sub-Only MSG Varsity TV Network Online; Also Includes VOD Channel
Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) is trying a new tack with the launch of MSG Varsity, a network and VOD channel that doubles as an online video site.… Read more »
FCC Lays Out Blueprint For The Open Internet
photo: AP / Harry Hamburg
As expected, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined the agency’s plans this morning for new rules that will prevent telecom companies from… Read more »
FCC To Propose New Net Neutrality Rules; Wireless Operators Will Be Affected Too
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will give a speech on Monday that will outline new net neutrality rules, which will dictate how internet and… Read more »
Virgin Media Signs Three-Screen Disney Content Deal
Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED) is taking its cue straight from Orange France’s playbook by signing a content deal with Disney (NYSE: DIS) coverin… Read more »
Communacopia Highlights: Bewkes On TV Everywhere, Diller On Bewkes, And More
The Goldman Sachs Communacopia XVIII Conference has wrapped up day two of the three-day CEO-fest. Here’s a sampling of notable comments from… Read more »
Update: Comcast Exploring Adding TV And Voice Services Over WiMax
photo: AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac
Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) said it may start allowing subscribers to watch their favorite TV shows on mobile devices, but that it’s too early at… Read more »
Cablevision Ready To Roll Out Interactive Ads
As efforts to provide more targeting and interactivity move slowly along at cable operator cooperative Canoe Ventures, Cablevision (NYSE: CV… Read more »
Earnings: Bertelsmann Swings To Loss On Falling Magazine, Book Sales
“Strong increases” in e-book sales in the UK, Germany and the US couldn’t stop book publisher Random House’s January-to-June profits falling… Read more »
Spider-Man Meets Mickey Mouse: Disney Buying Marvel For $4 Billion In Stock, Cash
Updated: The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is buying Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) and its 5,000-character roster for a cool $4 billion in… Read more »
Former MSG Exec Sues Steinbrenner Over YES Network Idea, Wants Millions
photo: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Some lawsuits can be spotted coming a mile away but this one appeared out of nowhere: Bob Gutkowski, who once ran Madison Square Garden and… Read more »
Comcast Wins Appeal Against FCC's Cable Ownership Cap
photo: AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac
A federal appellate court smacked the Bush-era FCC with a ruling overturning the 30 percent cap on cable ownership and possibly opening the… Read more »
Media Firms Ready Higher Priced, Targeted Ads For Fall TV Season
photo: AP Images
This upfront season may have been something of dud, but media firms, from buyers like WPP’s GroupM and Publicis’ Starcom MediaVest Group, al… Read more »
Updated: Time Warner Cable Tries Its Own Version Of TV Everywhere; Verizon Joins In
Some more details on *Time Warner* Cable’s TV Everywhere push, announced this morning, but calling it a trial still lets the cable operator… Read more »
Time Warner Cable Online Video Test En Route
Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) is on the verge of expanding its online video efforts from a small-scale HBO trial to a small-scale national t… Read more »
Uber-Competitive Wireless Market Growing Slower Than Cable Industry
photo: cogdogblog
Stiff competition in the wireless sector is hurting revenues, and therefore even the cable industry is growing at a faster clip, according t… Read more »
Industry Moves: Starz CEO Clasen To Retire, Liberty Starts Search; Time To Split Company?
Robert B. Clasen is retiring as chairman and CEO of Starz, LLC, after six years at Starz and 40 years in the industry. But he’s not going a… Read more »
Lifetime's Digital Strategy For Project Runway Includes Streaming On Demand For First Time
A first for Project Runway as it (finally) starts a new life with season six on Lifetime Thursday night: full episodes of the show will stre… Read more »
CBS Interactive's Smith: Authentication's Not Around The Corner
photo: AP Images
The concept of “TV Everywhere” won’t reach critical mass until perhaps 2014, according to some players, and even that date is uncertain, sai… Read more »
Discovery Opts In To Comcast On Demand Broadband Trial
Discovery Communications (NSDQ: DISCA) is putting some full-length programs online but sticking to its guns when it comes to free broadband… Read more »
Latino Cable Network Si TV Raises $8.7 Million Funding
Latino-centric cable and online network Si TV has raised $8.75 million in funding, according to an SEC filing, with plans to raise nearly $6… Read more »
Earnings: DirecTV: Profit Drops 11 Percent; Exploring Version Of 'TV Everywhere'
DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) managed its second-best quarter for subscriber additions in four years, giving the satellite company some bragging right… Read more »
Earnings: Comcast Profits Gain 53 Percent With Tax Boost
photo: AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac
It looks like the recession is good for the cable industry. Although Cablevision’s recent earnings report was a bit mixed, Comcast (NSDQ: CM… Read more »
Earnings Call: Comcast’s Roberts: Canoe Ventures Revenues Expected By 2010
Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) executives continued to highlight the importance of their digital plans during the Q2 earnings call. Deals with Clearw… Read more »
Earnings Call: Tweeting Murdoch: News Corp. Plans To Start Charging For More News Sites In FY10
photo: AP Photo / Virginia Mayo
Some of my live Twitter coverage of the News Corp (NYSE: NWS). FY09/Q4 earnings call. Among other things, News Corp Chairman and CEO Rupert… Read more »
Earnings: Discovery Profits Rise, As Revenues, Ad Dollars Remain Flat
Coincidentally, I’m sure, Discovery Communications (NSDQ: DISCA) earnings comes out right in the middle of the cable programmer’s heavily pr… Read more »
Disney’s Iger On Authentication: ‘We Should Get Paid Appropriately’
photo: AP Images
Updated: *Disney* CEO Bob Iger describes his take on authentication as a “healthy amount of skepticism but open minded.” That said, he also… Read more »
Earnings: Disney’s Q2 Needed All The Balloons In ‘Up’
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) came down to earth in Q2 with double-digit declines in net income, down 26 percent to fall below $1 billion,… Read more »
Earnings Call: Cablevision: ‘Spinning Off MSG Gives Us Both Flexibility’; Local Ads’ Green Shoots
Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) execs began the call by offering their rationale for spinning off the Madison Square Garden segment into an independ… Read more »
Earnings: Cablevision Will Spin Off MSG; Profits Drop 8.1 Percent
photo: AP Images
As expected, Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) will return to a main focus on cable by spinning off its Madison Square Garden business. The MSG segmen… Read more »
Tories Call For Ad-Funded Multimedia Local News Companies
The Conservative Party is proposing the creation of 80 independent cross-platform, ad-funded news companies staffed by professional journali… Read more »
Broadband Content Bits: Sky Player Ads; ESPN On Virgin; BBC Natural History Vids
– Sky Player ads BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) is adding online-only advertising to its live streaming TV site Sky Player. Until now the service has re… Read more »
Discovery Partners With Baidu On Chinese Content Site
photo: AP Images
Discovery (NSDQ: DISAB) Communications (NSDQ: DISCA) and Chinese search-engine company Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) will create a standalone site that… Read more »
Google TV Ads To Get Help From Visible World With Ad Targeting
Google TV Ads will work with Visible World, a software company that creates customizable TV ads, as the search giant looks to make a greater… Read more »
Earnings: Viacom Profits Drop 32 Percent On Ad Declines; Even Rock Band Sales Disappoint
As the media slump continues, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has been hit hard in Q2, as profits fell 32 percent to $277 million ($0.46 cents per share)… Read more »
Interview: NBCU’s Gaspin: ‘NBC No Longer Stands Alone’
An era ended for NBC when Jeff Gaspin became chairman of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) Television Entertainment Monday. The broadcast network no… Read more »
