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BY JON LAFAYETTE
HDNet Makes Deal With Sony
HDNet signed a deal with Sony for 245 movies and TV shows. The Sony titles the HDTV channel now has the rights to air include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Glory, Awakenings and The Hollywood Knights, said to be HDNet owner Mark Cuban's personal favorite. TV titles in the package include Square Pegs and the original Charlie's Angels series.
Southwick Steps in at Starz
Starz Encore has hired Tom Southwick as VP, corporate communications, replacing Paul Jacobson, who left the programmer earlier this year to serve as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's press secretary. Southwick was the founder and first publisher of Cable World and has been covering the cable business for over 22 years.
Small Ops Rally Against ESPN
The National Cable Television Cooperative late Friday endorsed the American Cable Association's opposition to ESPN's impending rate hike. Both organizations, which represent small operators, are challenging ESPN to keep its programming rate increase closer to the rate of inflation, and to give cable operators the right to carry the service on a tier or single channel basis. ACA president Matt Polka said ESPN, which is expected to inform operators of its increase by the end of this month, has raised its rates 20% a year the last four years in a row.
Motorola Puts Box on Shelf
Motorola is holding back further development of its DCT-2600 model DVR set-top box. According to spokesperson Jeanne Russo, operator interest in the company's DCT-5200, a thick-client unit featuring both DVR and HD capabilities, has helped convince Motorola that the future lies in an all-in-one solution. ?In terms of ROI and what customers are looking for, it makes a lot of sense to concentrate on our HD/DVR platform,? Russo said. The 5200, which comes bundled with Gemstar-TV Guide's DVR software, was demonstrated at last week's CTAM Digital.
Addenda
Peter Falk will star in Wilder Days, which will air as a Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation on TNT later this year?. ESPN plans to show Michael Jordan's NBA last regular season game April 16 on its HDTV service?. The Outdoor Channel renewed its broadcast agreement with the Championship Bull Riding Tour?. Last week's CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards attracted more than 8.3 million viewers and was the highest-rated telecast in the network's history among viewers 18 to 49?. NBA commissioner David Stern said last week in a conference call that cable deals for the 24-hour NBA TV network will be in place by Labor Day.
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