DirecTV subscribers will get hit with a price hike in 2013, B&C reports. Citing rising costs of programming, the company said it will hit customers with an average increase of 4.5%, according to the report. The new prices will go…
The television industry is wrapping up 2012 after learning some lessons about how audiences’ tastes are changing, reports Brian Steinberg in Advertising Age. "If 2012 taught us anything about TV, it was that anyone who still thinks this technology should…
Pay-television channel Starz will become a standalone company early next year, when its parent company, Liberty Media, spins it off. But the channel faces some uncertainty and questions about its future, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town blog. "Its…
"Grey’s Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey has made a bid to buy a Seattle-based coffee company that filed for bankruptcy protection in October, reports the Associated Press. Dempsey said he wants to rescue the coffee-house chain Tully’s Coffee and save more…
ABC Sports and ESPN had a big turnout for their combined five NBA games on Christmas Day, the networks announced. ABC’s Knicks-Lakers game at 3 p.m. delivered a 5.9 overnight rating, the best-ever number for the network for the early…
Following in the footsteps of the iPhone, iPod and iPad, Apple’s next big must-have gadget may be something called the iWatch, reports TheWrap.com. Citing a report from Business Insider, the piece reports that Apple has joined forces with Intel to…
Time Warner Cable is telling small networks that they have a choice: Get dropped, or get no fee in return for continued carriage on the cable service, reports the New York Post. That tactic has been used in negotiations with…
A new list from Forbes magazine reveals the most bankable stars in Hollywood, and the actress who tops the list — as Hollywood’s best actor for the buck — is Natalie Portman. The success of Portman’s movie “Black Swan,” produced…
Netflix’s blackout on Christmas Eve, which we reported earlier, is an illustration of the challenges of the cloud, with Amazon.com’s cloud computing service blamed for the problems, reports The New York Times. Amazon, which provides computing power and storage for…
James Mooney, who served as president and chief executive of what is now the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, has died, reports Multichannel News. He was 69. Mooney served as president and CEO of NCTA, then called the National Cable…