July 14, 2003
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NEWS
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*WAGING WAR ON THE FCC
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Byron Dorgan was pumped. He was all set to unleash his own personal dog of war, a ?disapproval? resolution against all the new, relaxed media ownership rules. He would ?veto? the changes in ownership regulations, which were voted for by the Federal Communications Commission on June 2.
BY ALICIA MUNDY
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MCCAIN & CO. BLAST RATE HIKES
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Timing is everything, which is why it was unfortunate that the Federal Communications Commission had to release its latest report on cable rate hikes in the midst of a media-focused session of Congress.
BY ALICIA MUNDY
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THE NAB SWITCHES GEARS
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Facing a schism among its members, the National Association of Broadcasters has decided not to fight raising the network ownership cap from 35% to 45%. The FCC voted to lift the cap on June 2, with support of the major networks.
BY ALICIA MUNDY
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BRIEFS
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GROWTH IS A HARD SELL
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The art of marketing has become greatly more difficult for cable operators as they've evolved from a relatively simple model of selling a small selection of video options to peddling a broad menu of services.
BY IAN OLGEIRSON, KAGAN
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LATE BREAKING NEWS
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LIVE FROM THE TV CRITICS TOUR: CAN WE QUOTE YOU ON THAT?
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The Television Critics Association's semiannual tour in Hollywood is good for two things at the very least ? parties and great quotes about new programming. While we're not quite able to capture the parties in print, we can, however, pass along some of the more memorable quotes from last week's event. Some hint at programming trends, others are just for laughs.
BY ANDREA FIGLER
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ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING GETS PLENTY OF BUZZ AT CRITICS TOUR
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The Television Critics Association Tour kicked off last week with an $11 billion bang ? representing the massive investment cable networks made in the last year in original programming.
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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ROBERTS SEES NET'S FUTURE AND STEPS ON GAS PEDAL
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Mere months after CEO Brian Roberts promised shareholders and customers that Comcast would juice up its high-speed Internet service, a quiet test of accelerated connection speeds has begun in the MSO's Knoxville, Tenn., system.
BY ANTHONY CRUPI
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TV STARS DO THEIR BIT TO PUMP UP AD SALES
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The Television Critics Association Tour is not just for critics anymore.
BY ANDREA FIGLER
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FEATURE
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THE EDUCATION OF CABLE MARKETERS
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When it comes to marketing, cable is still at the crawling stage. Given the industry's maturity and the level of competition cable operators endure, you could argue, as many have, that at this stage MSOs ought to be more sophisticated about selling their wares.
BY K. C. NEEL
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CTAM PREVIEW: SPARKS MAY FLY IN SEATTLE
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As Cox Communications SVP of marketing Joe Rooney says, ?it's the marketer's turn.? Cable operators have spent the staggering sum of $70 billion ? give or take a few ? to upgrade their networks and ensure that the big fat pipes going into customers' homes can offer an array of technologically advanced ? and lucrative ? services. The upgrades, virtually complete for most big cable operators, occurred not a moment too soon.
BY MAVIS SCANLON
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PROGRAMMING
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LEE LIKES SPIKE ? BUT WILL OPERATORS?
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TNN president Albie Hecht was understandably elated last week as he paraded some new shows and big news ? a whopping legal victory ? at the Television Critics Association Tour in Los Angeles.
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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THE NAME GAME
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The interruption of brand identity can prove costly, particularly in a crowded lineup where it takes viewers time to find a channel or to come back after favorite programming is discontinued.
BY IAN OLGEIRSON, KAGAN
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BRIEFS
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DIGITAL PIPELINE
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BUT WE'RE BIG IN JAPAN
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There's nothing sexy about voice over IP, nothing that provides the you-are-there charge of hi-def, the fiddling-with-the-time/space-continuum kick of VOD, the let's-skip-past-the-boring-bits lure of DVR. When compared to the other available digital cable services, VoIP comes off as the Mets to video's Yankees.
BY ANTHONY CRUPI
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SEACHANGE RATING MARKS A MILESTONE
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Traditionally, the occasion of a tenth anniversary calls for gifts made out of aluminum. Someone must have forgotten to tell the Independent Research Group about the custom, because they showed up to the SeaChange International party with a first-year present: Paper.
BY ANTHONY CRUPI
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THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: VTV NOW ON-DEMAND
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Mere months after launching its linear network, VTV: Varsity Television has landed its first video-on-demand carriage deal.
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UP FOR GRABS
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Competition to become an early leader in the softswitch market for cable-delivered voice over IP has been fierce.
BY IAN OLGEIRSON, KAGAN
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BRIEFS
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MEET THE SYSTEM
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SOUTH JERSEY SHINES IN PHILLY'S SHADOW
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The southern half of New Jersey is a lot like Philadelphia. Since there are no local broadcast TV stations housed in the state, the Philly affiliates hold sway in South Jersey.
BY MAVIS SCANLON
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COLUMNS
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ALPHABET SOUP
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Cox calls up Antwone Fisher to the majors? MSOs are giving broadband a boost? Time Warner expands DVR service? Measuring demand for VOD? HD programming news
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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GUEST-OP: THE TECH IS IN PLACE. NOW, GO OUT AND BUILD A LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE
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I can vividly recall when my suburban Philadelphia neighborhood first got cable in the early 1980s. I came home from school, turned on the TV and to my amazement discovered that there were now 30-some channels instead of the all-too-familiar handful.
BY JENNI MOYER
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DEPARTMENTS
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CABLE CONNECTIONS
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RATING
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