Bob and Betsy Magness thought the people of Texas needed better television reception, so in 1956 they mortgaged their cattle ranch to start a 700-subscriber cable system in Memphis, Texas. Friends and colleagues remembered Mr. Magness as a man who…
They are one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population and, perhaps more important, represent some of the most coveted media-buying demos for many top brands, yet Asian Americans are confounding media planners’ attempts to build advertising schedules that…
Relaying traffic conditions to rush-hour commuters is a big part of local newscasts in many cities. And those TV stations using up-to-the-minute technology may have an advantage-not just with viewers but also with advertisers.Advertisers in automotive-related services, food stores and…
Liberty Media’s Starz Encore Group unit will likely see its profits fall, due to programming costs that could surge up to $225 million in 2004, Liberty warned last week. Starz blamed the rising programming costs on the expected box office…
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Ralph M. Baruch arrived in the United States before World War II. Mr. Baruch, who turned 80 this year, did just about everything one could do in the television business. He sold advertising for the old…
Charles Dolan’s Cablevision Systems Corp. has never been the largest multiple system operator, but it has been one of the most important. With some 3 million customers tightly clustered around New York, New Jersey and Long Island, Cablevision claims title…
The reviews are in on ABC’s “Reality Awards,” and the show doesn’t even have a final title yet.Critics started roasting the concept as soon as the show was announced this month, and at least one heavyweight competitor, whose participation would…
Last year country music legend Johnny Cash told Rolling Stone magazine, “I’d die if I retired. … Like a shark, got to keep moving.” Last week he did come to the end of the line, passing away from respiratory failure…
Born in rural Mississippi, the great-grandson of slaves, Robert Johnson is a billionaire businessman who built the empire that would become Black Entertainment Television. Cable was not his first career choice. After graduating from the University of Illinois and earning…
John Rigas and his family have brought fame, fortune and a certain notoriety to the little town of Coudersport, Pa. Mr. Rigas plopped down a hefty $300 for the town’s cable franchise in 1952, then nurtured the company into one…