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Monthly Archives : May 2008

Cable Companies to Offer TiVo Adapters

Cable operators will begin offering adapters for TiVo’s HD DVRs with cable card slots that can be used to resurrect channels that disappear due to switched-digital video technology, the Associated Press reports. Switched-digital technology frees up bandwidth space for more…

DTV Switch Difficult for Viewers

The switch to digital television is proving to be more troublesome than imagined for some analog viewers, the Washington Post reports. One viewer said that even though she had purchased a digital converter box, nearby airplane traffic and foot traffic…

‘Weeds’ Taps Julie Bowen

Julie Bowen is set to join the cast of Showtime’s “Weeds” next season, TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello reports, citing an unnamed source. Bowen, who appeared on “Boston Legal” and “Lost,” will play a single mom who “befriends” 17-year-old Silas, the…

Blocked NBC Recordings a Mistake

NBC responded to complaints from Vista Media Center users who said they were unable to record “American Gladiators” and “Medium” on May 12, CNET reports. A NBC spokeswoman told CNET News.com that the network had “made an inadvertent mistake,” but…

FA Cup Lands on Fox Soccer, Setanta

Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports have acquired U.S. rights to England’s Football Association Cup, Multichannel News reports. The networks will share equal coverage rights under their four-year deals, in addition to the digital rights to the matches they televise,…

GAO Report Questions Stations’ Readiness for DTV Transition

A new Government Accountability Office study is raising questions about how fully ready TV stations will be for February’s digital TV transition, even as it reports “substantial progress” since its last station survey. The study hints that for some smaller-city…

IFC Puts Films on Amazon’s Unbox

IFC Films is joining forces with Amazon to make its library available through the Internet company’s Unbox technology. The digital video service downloads films to personal computers, TiVo boxes and portable media players. IFC Films titles including Oscar nominees “Y…

Disney Expands VOD Channel

Disney Travel On Demand joined Comcast’s lineup last week, doubling its distribution to 26 million homes, AdAge reports. The VOD network launched in May 2007 on Cablevision and Time Warner Cable to promote the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, the…

Dish and NBCU Team Up on Interactive Ads

Dish Network’s satellite television service will provide interactive advertising capabilities to NBC television networks and owned-and-operated stations. Paying subscribers to the Dish service will have the option to use their remote controls to access more information, coupons and discounts from…

Satellite Tops Customer Satisfaction

Satellite television services topped cable in the 2008 American Customer Satisfaction Index, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Satisfaction for both mediums rose. DirecTV received the highest score, 68, of any company, while Cox had the highest cable operator score at 63,…