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MNF Sets Cable Ratings Record
MNF Sets Cable Ratings Record
Dec 6, 2007 11:20 AM CST

MNF Sets Cable Ratings Record

Patriots' run at history trumps 'High School Musical 2'

(Newser) - Monday’s Patriots-Ravens showdown was the most-watched program in the history of cable television, Variety reports, as 17.5 million tuned in to ESPN to watch New England pursue an unbeaten season. The broadcast of the Patriots' down-to-the-wire victory beat out the Disney Channel's August airing of High School Musical ...

Comcast's Growth Slows
Comcast's Growth Slows
Dec 5, 2007 2:13 PM CST

Comcast's Growth Slows

Company falls short of several key metrics due to 'challenging economic environment'

(Newser) - Comcast believes its business will fall short of predictions as a declining economy and strengthened competitors slow the cable giant’s growth. The Wall Street Journal reports the firm will add 500K fewer subscribers than it had previously expected, and expects to pay out 5% more in capital spending than...

Congress Opens Investigation Into FCC Chair

Martin faces bipartisan rancor over media ownership laws

(Newser) - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin J. Martin, is facing a Congressional probe over abuses of power, Variety reports. The head of the House Commerce Committee sent the FCC head a letter alleging "a larger breakdown in the agency." Members of both parties in Congress have...

FCC Chief Backs Down on Cable Plans
FCC Chief Backs Down
on Cable Plans
Nov 28, 2007 12:41 AM CST

FCC Chief Backs Down on Cable Plans

Martin's data slammed; vote on more regulation delayed until next year

(Newser) - FCC boss Kevin Martin has lost a big battle in his attempt to tighten up regulation of cable TV, reports the New York Times. After strenuous efforts by cable lobbyists leading up to a heated meeting last night, Martin agreed to push back until next year a vote on expanding...

FCC Chief May Not Have Votes to Curb Cable

Martin is struggling for majority of 5-member commission

(Newser) - FCC chief Kevin Martin may not have the votes he needs to initiate regulation of the cable industry, reports the New York Times. Martin has scheduled a vote for tomorrow to approve a formal finding that the cable industry has grown too big, which would give the commission power to...

House GOP Group Slams FCC on Cable
House GOP Group Slams FCC on Cable
Nov 20, 2007 1:18 AM CST

House GOP Group Slams FCC on Cable

'Too much regulation' of industry, say Kevin Martin's fellow Republicans

(Newser) - Republican lawmakers have attacked FCC chairman Kevin Martin's plans to step up regulation of the cable industry, the Wall Street Journal reports. All but two of the 26 Republicans on the House Commerce Committee have signed a letter calling the plans "misguided and harmful." The FCC boss has...

Cable Stock Pounding Not Over Yet
Cable Stock Pounding
Not Over Yet
Nov 19, 2007 3:07 PM CST

Cable Stock Pounding Not Over Yet

Broadcasting & Cable cites industry's growing list of problems

(Newser) - Cable stocks are getting beaten up badly thanks to a combination of factors—subscribers fleeing to satellite and other services, a general market gloom that is compounded for often-complicated cable stocks, and news that the FCC plans to beef up its oversight. Led by industry giant Comcast, the group's stocks...

Sirius, XM Union May Have Listeners Singing the Blues

Deal would lower options, raise prices, Post writer says

(Newser) - For anyone doubting that a merger between Sirius and XM would harm the satellite radio industry by forcing listeners to go through a single provider, the Washington Post’s Marc Fisher has two words: cable TV. Fisher argues that for all of the advantages any union may produce, ultimately it...

FCC Hatches Plan to Re-regulate Cable TV

Finds cable giants too dominant in market

(Newser) - The FCC is taking aim at cable television giants, finding that they have become too dominant, and is preparing to impose new regulations that would open the market to competition, the New York Times reports. Among proposals on the table is a cap that would block continued growth by the...

Sliding Comcast Refocuses as Phone Companies Dial In

Competition, technology require refocusing

(Newser) - The face of cable television is changing as phone companies move in, offering high-speed Internet, high-def TV, and on-demand video, the Wall Street Journal reports. But cable giant Comcast, with the nation’s largest subscriber base, is fighting back, gaining 10 phone users for every video subscriber it loses and...

FCC to Strike Down Exclusive Cable Deals

Likely to cut prices; Verizon, AT&T set to offer multi-services

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission is set to strike down thousands of exclusive contracts between cable companies and apartment buildings this week, a move officials say will drive down prices as it increases competition. Consumer groups have lobbied hard for the change as have companies such as Verizon and AT&T...

Dolans Lose Buyout Bid for Cablevision

Investors nix plan to take company private; offer too low

(Newser) - Cablevision shareholders today rejected a bid by the Dolans, the company's founding family, to take the Long Island-based cable provider private. The family offered $10.6 billion, or $36.26 a share, below what major investors felt was the firm's value, the AP reports. Analysts valued the company, which also...

Cable, Telcos Killing US Web Success Says Pundit

Sees broadband providers' Luddite attitudes stifling growth, innovation

(Newser) - Comcast’s recent disabling of big file uploads could lay waste to Silicon Valley’s media complex, says SiliconValleyWatcher’s Tom Foremski, injuring or killing Web 2.0 companies like YouTube or Facebook. Comcast's insistence that it isn’t contractually obligated to provide those companies’ services, he argues, is the...

Teams Fail to Build Elevator to Heaven

Contestants still struggling to realize Willy Wonka fantasy

(Newser) - The race was on and the wind was up, which was something of a problem because contestants in the second annual Space Elevator Games in Utah yesterday were vying to send a vehicle 400 feet up a vertical cable attached to a crane. The prize of $500,000 in NASA...

DirecTV HD Rollout Forces Cable to Respond

(Newser) - DirecTV is turning up the heat on the HDTV competition, claiming it will offer 100 hi-def channels by the end of the year, while current technology limits many cable companies to no more than 20-30. With 55 HD channels already available on the satellite provider, some competitors are trying to...

'High School Musical 2' Sets TV Record

17M fans make Disney original most-watched basic cable show ever

(Newser) - An estimated 17.2 million viewers tuned into "High School Musical 2" Friday night, making the Disney Channel original the most watched basic cable program in history. Backed by an 18-month promotional blitz, the sequel nearly doubled the debut audience of last year's "High School Musical" and is...

NBC Angles to Keep Leno After Tonight

Execs brainstorm projects for 2009, when Conan takes chair

(Newser) - As Jay Leno nears his final Tonight Show in 2009, NBC is scrambling to keep the late night king at the network and away from rivals ABC and Fox. Peacock execs have pitched a prime time variety show, miscellaneous work on NBC's cable channels, and a showcase of Jay-on-demand through...

Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV
Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV
Jul 12, 2007 7:54 AM CDT

Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV

Even committed commies crave US satellite shows despite Castro ban

(Newser) - Cubans are turning to black-market satellite TV to watch soap operas, US news and music videos, and even the Chicago White Sox—in defiance of a national ban on the programs, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "If there is censorship, there is business," said one  provider who faces...

Carlyle Bids on Faltering Virgin Media

Debt-riddled UK cable provider, 35 ($ a share), seeks rich buyout firm

(Newser) - The friendly corporate raiders at the Carlyle Group have floated an offer to buy out Virgin Media, the British cable provider, with total equity in the range of $8B and $10B, the Journal reports. The besieged media company has been losing customers to rivals in the UK, and has stacked...

Scrapped TVs Spell Disaster for Environment

Analog sets will contaminate dumps after digital conversion

(Newser) - In 2009 a federal law will convert all TV stations to digital, sending most of the US's 268 million analog TVs into the trash. As consumers snatch up plasmas and HDTVs, the old sets—made of lead, cadmium, and mercury will be thrown into garbage dumps, where they may contaminate...

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