Biz Briefs
Media giant Viacom announced last week that it will spin off its video rental unit Blockbuster in a tax-free transaction expected to be completed by the middle of the year. The news came as the parent of CBS and MTV…
In Depth
Clarification/Corrections
In “Kids Ad Picture Clearing” (TelevisionWeek, Feb. 9), Disney has no plan to rebrand its ABC Kids Saturday morning programming package “Jetix.” ABC Cable Networks Group debuted new “Jetix”-branded programming blocks Saturday on ABC Family (mornings) and Toon Disney (evenings)….
HDTV Stymied by Local Signal Issue
There’s no question that high-definition television has grown massively in acceptance and availability over the past year. But beneath the hype of the television industry’s patting itself on the back for delivering the crisp, lifelike 3-D pictures to consumers is…
Comcast’s Disney Bid Is For Real
Comcast Corp. is seeking and getting the support of Pixar Animation chief Steve Jobs and other key allies who can supercharge the cable operator’s initial $66 billion hostile bid for The Walt Disney Co., which has quickly morphed-at least for…
Comcast’s Eye on Disney Proves Content Again King
This past summer, at the height of a programming-fee battle between multiple system operators and cable networks such as ESPN, many Wall Street prognosticators declared that distribution had become king and that cable operators with scale would forever steer the…
Comcast’s Other Big Deal
While all the media attention last week was focused on Comcast’s bid for The Walt Disney Co., another deal involving the cable giant may have been quietly moving forward. As James Hibberd first reported last year (TelevisionWeek, Dec. 8), Comcast…
Contract Extensions on Table
Negotiators for the production community and actors guilds resumed discussions Feb. 13 on whether to extend their current contracts for an additional year.While considering the proposal from the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, representatives of the Screen Actors…
‘Dear,’ ‘Croce’ Clear Fox O&Os
Syndicators bolstered their clearances last week with series such as Twentieth Television’s “Yes, Dear” and Sony’s “Pat Croce: Moving In” pinning down key sales for fall debuts.Both series cleared the Fox owned-and-operated station group, with “Yes, Dear’s” tally up to…
COMCAST MUSCLE POWERS EVENT
When Ehrlich Toyota was planning a grand opening for its Fort Collins, Colo., car dealership last summer, Comcast Spotlight got the chance to flex its marketing muscle. Marketing promotions and campaigns are often packaged into local cable ad sales deals….
Exclusive First Look: Alhurra Gallops Into Mideast Media Mix
Like this image of Arabian stallions at full gallop, the new Alhurra Arabic-language television network is off and running this week with news coverage beamed at the Middle East, despite significant competition and mounting controversy. The signature horses, done in…