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DirecTV Serves Up NASCAR in HD
DirecTV will offer its NASCAR “Hot Pass” service in high-definition this season, the satellite service announced Friday. Subscribers also will be able to access 13 additional live audio feeds of driver/pit crew communications via dedicated channels. The service will be…
Discovery Domestic Nets Post Flat Sales
Discovery Communications’ domestic networks registered flat revenue for the fourth quarter in a year that saw sales rise 4%. According to an earnings statement from Discovery Holdings, Discovery took a $129 million impairment charge covering the repositioning of some of…
Dove Awards Alight at Gospel Music Channel
The Gospel Music Channel signed an exclusive multiyear agreement to televise the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards. The 39th annual Dove Awards will air April 23 on the Gospel Music Channel, marking the first time they have been televised live…
Logo Puts ‘Noah’ on Big Screen
Logo announced plans for its first feature film, which will be based on its series “Noah’s Arc.” The movie, with a working title “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2008, with…
Balboni Steps Down at New England Cable News
Phil Balboni will leave the New England Cable News operation he founded, and has run successfully for 16 years, in March. The NECN president announced Thursday that he intends to launch what he described as the first U.S.-based Web site…
Oxygen Ad Sales Head Exits
The head of ad sales for Oxygen Media has left the company. When Oxygen Media was acquired by NBC Universal last year, NBC Universal officials said tat they had expected Mary Jeanne (MJ) Cavanagh to remain as executive VP of…
Comcast Boosts Profit, Mollifies Shareholders
Addressing complaints about a weak stock price, Comcast said it would be turning over some of the money it takes in from subscribers to its shareholders by giving them a dividend and buying back stock. The nation’s largest cable company…
CBS Lays Off CSTV Staffers
CBS Sports, which absorbed and renamed CSTV as CBS College Sports Network early this week, has eliminated more than 40 former CSTV staffers. “With the staff actions completed today, the management team of CBS Sports has created a fully rebranded…
Showtime ‘Firing on All Cylinders,’ Blank Says
With the writers strike over, Showtime is gearing up to produce pilots of new series and new episodes of its returning shows. At a state-of-the-network breakfast Wednesday in New York, Showtime CEO Matt Blank said the premium channel was “firing…