Report: TV Stations Degrading Main HD Signals in Favor Multicasting

TV stations are increasingly "degrading their hi-def picture quality. The culprit is multicasting, i.e., transmitting digital subchannels alongside the primary HD stream within a station's 19.4 Mbps digital TV pipe," according to B&C. The reason is to increase revenues through the subchannels.

--Chuck Ross

Big Payday for News Corp.’s Chase Carey

Chase Carey will be rewarded handsomely for his decision to rejoin News Corp. as deputy chairman, president and chief operating officer, the Los Angeles Times says.

He received a signing bonus of $10 million, will earn a base salary of $8.1 million and could earn annual performance bonuses of as much as $25 million during his five-year contract, according to documents the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Joost Bows Out of Hulu, YouTube Competition

Joost is pulling out of the ad-supported Internet TV business, ending its attempts to rival YouTube and Hulu as video providers, Variety says.

After closing its U.K. and Netherlands offices, the company will be based in New York and will focus on building Internet video platforms for other companies.

--Elizabeth Jensen

How Harvey Levin and TMZ Scooped the World on Jackson

TMZ.com chief Harvey Levin isn't upset that many news organizations declined to credit his Time Warner-owned website with breaking the story of Michael Jackson's death, the media maven tells the Los Angeles Times.

"That's typical," he told the Times, referring to the lack of credit. "No matter what they say, people know we broke the story. That's how competitors handle it. There's no issue about our credibility."

Interestingly, despite owning the story on the web, the syndicated newsmagazine version of TMZ didn't make mention of the Jackson death during its opening segment last night.

--Josef Adalian

Jackson's Death Spurs Conspiracy Theories, Speculation on Web

 The Internet was filled with conspiracy theories and speculation in the wake of Michael Jackson's death while genuine questions about the cause remained, the Telegraph reports.

The U.K. publication cites Hollywood blogger Perez Hilton's initial post that he was "dubious" about Jackson fallling ill, saying that he had pulled a "similar stunt" when he was getting ready for a big appearance in 1995.

The Internet theories cited also included the suggestion that Jackson faked his death and pocketed money from his upcoming comeback performances to solve his financial difficulties.

--Tom Gilbert

More Cable Networks Join Comcast Online Test

Scripps Networks, Cablevision Systems' Rainbow Media, A&E Television Networks and Comcast Networks have joined the Comcast test that will make cable TV content available online on a password-protected basis to cable and satellite subscribers, Multichannel News reports.

Time Warner’s TNT and TBS were part of the official Wednesday announcement of the “TV Everywhere” trial slated for July, but sources said content will also be available from Rainbow Media's AMC, Sundance Channel, IFC and WE tv, as well as Scripps, AETN and some Comcast-owned networks.

--Elizabeth Jensen

In Other News: FCC Gets a New Chairman

Julius Genachowski has been confirmed by the Senate as the new head of the FCC, TheWrap reports. He is expected to be sworn in next week.

Nielsen: 2.1 Million TV Homes Still Digitally Disconnected

Nielsen says some 400,000 homes are no longer without a digital TV connection since the digital switchover, but that still leaves 2.1 million TV households unable to receive a DTV signal as of June 21, says Broadcasting & Cable.

The numbers don’t include households that have the proper boxes but can’t get a signal because of power issues.

--Elizabeth Jensen

TW, Comcast to Bring Cable Shows Online

Time Warner and Comcast Corp. will go public today [Wed.] with their “TV Everywhere” initiative to make more cable programs available for online viewing, Variety says.

The initiative would make shows available on a password-protected basis only to consumers who already subscribe to cable, satellite or telco packages. It’s unclear how many other media companies will be willing to participate.

--Elizabeth Jensen

NBC Sports Plans Live Web Stream of Wimbledon Finals

Add the Wimbledon men’s and women’s finals matches to the list of events that NBC Sports will stream live on the Web, MediaPost says.

All of NBC’s coverage of the tennis tournament will be available at NBCSports.com. This is the first time the finals have been available.

--Elizabeth Jensen