September 29, 2003
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NEWS
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CABLE'S TIP-OFF TIME
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National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern announced in April he'd have cable carriage deals in place for NBA TV by Labor Day ? ?a statement that I want you to call me on,? he told reporters at a press conference.
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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DIRECTV SHAPES UP, PREPARES FOR NEW OWNER
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Just in case there was any doubt that DirecTV will be a formidable competitor to cable and other satellite operators should regulators approve its acquisition by News Corp., last week's Federal Communications Commission filing outlining News Corp.'s business plans erased it.
BY MAVIS SCANLON
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SEARS PREPS SALES STAFF FOR ROLLOUT OF VOOM SERVICE
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Although Cablevision Systems remains close-lipped on the topic of VOOM, its emerging direct broadcast satellite service, new information keeps popping up from the camp of its retail partner.
BY ANTHONY CRUPI AND SHIRLEY BRADY
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BRIEFS
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HURRICANE ISABEL TAKES ITS TOLL ON VIRGINIA CABLE SYSTEMS
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Hurricane Isabel may have only been a Category 1 storm, but it cut a swath of damage that took experienced cable executives by surprise.
BY K. C. NEEL
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LATE BREAKING NEWS
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ONE LAWSUIT DOWN FOR COMCAST
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Comcast proved last week that size does matter when it used its clout to help settle a lawsuit with Liberty Media's Starz Encore unit. But its size ? the result of its acquisition of AT&T Broadband in 2002 ? could work against it if a class-action lawsuit by former shareholders gains traction in the courts.
BY K. C. NEEL
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PRIVACY ISSUE REVISITED
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Several city regulators, including the Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission in Oregon, have called for changes in Comcast's privacy policies.
BY K. C. NEEL
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THE GAP NARROWS
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DirecTV is still the larger of the two major DBS companies in the U.S., but the gap is closing; DirecTV has about 11.6 mil. customers, and EchoStar about 8.8 mil.
BY BRIAN SANTO, KAGAN
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FEATURE
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THE CASE OF THE ROVING AD BOOSTER
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Frank Lee Forensics, Sleepy the Bear and Fast Eddie Hall. The names may sound like something right out of a dime store comic book, but the characters can be found in the flesh ? that is, if you happen upon Court TV's local promotion tour.
BY ANDREA FIGLER
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PROGRAMMING
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BROADCAST HANDED ANOTHER SETBACK
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Ten proud cable networks won 39 prime-time Emmy Awards this year. Broadcasters didn't fare as well (12 awards), and ratings for the Sept. 21 awards telecast weren't great, but the show was memorable ? if only for its upsets.
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON ? AND MADE FOR TV
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How did Ben Silverman, the 33-year-old producer of NBC's steamy new series Coupling and USA's House Wars (which premieres tonight) and Nashville Star, learn the ropes? From his mom, of course.
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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BRIEFS
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DIGITAL PIPELINE
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FOLLOW THE LEADER
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Now that Time Warner has met success with DVRs and has deployed them across most of its systems, it's just a matter of time before the rest of the industry follows suit.
BY BRIAN SANTO, KAGAN
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SYNDEO LOOKS TO SET A STANDARD WITH ?PLUS?
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The lack of a definitive set of standards for VoIP gear has forced operators to piece together their telephony networks like Frankenstein's monster.
BY ANTHONY CRUPI
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WILL DVR REALLY KILL THE 30-SECOND AD?
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Although DVRs have found limited acceptance ? depending on who's doing the counting, there are less than 700,000 of them deployed in TV households nationwide ? time shifting devices have instilled in network types the sort of free-floating dread normally reserved for bone marrow transplants and that Jimmy Kimmel show.
BY ANTHONY CRUPI
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BRIEFS
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MEET THE SYSTEM
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AN INDEPENDENT GROWS IN KANSAS
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Lawrence, Kan., was home to the Beat writer, artist and eternal hipster William S. Burroughs until he was spirited away in a stream of consciousness to some higher, groovier plane. While the Naked Lunch author has split, his spirit lives on in this college town, his think-beyond-the-box creativity is still embodied by local, indie cable operator Sunflower Broadband.
BY SHIRLEY BRADY
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COLUMNS
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ITV IS ALREADY A PART OF LIFE IN THE U.S., AND ONLY CABLE CAN MAKE THE MOST OF IT
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Ever heard the saying, ?Life is what happens while you're making other plans?? While cable industry watchers have been waiting for enhanced TV and other visions of what interactivity should be, consumers have gone ahead and adopted the interactive methods available to them. ITV is no longer a future ? it is.
BY ED FORMAN
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DEPARTMENTS
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CABLE CONNECTIONS
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RATINGS
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