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Monthly Archives : May 2008

BBC iPlayer Jumps to Virgin Media

The BBC’s iPlayer will be available to 3.5 million Virgin Media cable TV customers today, Daily Variety reports. The BBC iPlayer provides viewers with access to more than 350 hours of BBC programming from the past seven days, the newspaper…

Comcast Beats Estimates Thanks to Internet, Phone Subscribers

Comcast’s first-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates as the largest U.S. cable television operator boosted revenue with more high-speed Internet and telephone subscribers. Cable subscriber numbers were little changed amid increased competition from satellite and fiber-optic television operators. Net income fell…

Price, Functionality Will Restrain Blu-ray Sales

Although many are celebrating the emergence of Sony’s Blu-ray as the winner in the next-generation DVD player format war, count ABI Research among the naysayers. Within the past two weeks, the Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based research firm has twice questioned whether…

Good-Looking Cooking: Burton Jablin

The player: Burton Jablin, executive VP of Scripps Networks, which includes Food Network and HGTV The play: Mr. Jablin helped lead Scripps’ launch of high-definition simulcast broadcasts of Food Network and HGTV in March, two years after the networks began…

ShineReveille, MRC Join Forces

TV companies ShineReveille and Media Rights Capital have joined forces to create a major independent international distributor, Daily Variety reports. The companies say the partnership allows them to present more scripted programming than any other independent group. Under the deal,…

This Week in HD: Geography, Ecology and Political Science

HD programming picks for May 1-7: “Little Miss Sunshine,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Dr. Strangelove” “Little Miss Sunshine” (HBO). Thurs., May 1, 9 p.m. Road-trip/beauty pageant indie flick garnered a best picture nomination and a supporting actor Oscar for Alan Arkin,…

Rounding Up HD News: Blockbuster’s Blu-ray Bundle, Fast-Growing FiOS

Blockbuster Games’ Promotion Includes Blu-ray Bundle Blockbuster, the largest U.S. movie rental chain, announced a games promotion this week that includes a $500 bundling of products including a Sony PlayStation 3 console, which plays Blu-ray DVDs. Along with the PS3,…

AFTRA Ratifies Reality, Syndie, Soap Deal

A total of 94 percent of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists membership ratified a three-year deal with the studios covering reality, syndicated dramas, soaps and other genres, Mediaweek reports. The new Network Television Code agreement increases fees…

NBC Studios to Undergo Makeover

Santa Monica-based developer M. David Paul & Associates is planning a $750 million overhaul of NBC Studios in Burbank, the Los Angeles Times reports. The new owners of the space want to construct a complex to be named the Pointe,…

Comcast Earnings Rise, Subscribers Decline

Cable system operator Comcast on Thursday reported a 10% percent increase in net income to $588 million, says Broadcasting & Cable. The news comes despite a net loss of 57,000 basic-cable subscribers, the newspaper notes. Revenue rose by 14% to…