Charter picks up three digital Fox Sports nets
Fox Sports Digital Networks introduced three new channels last month to digital cable subscribers on approximately 75 Charter Communications systems, said David Nathanson, general manager of Fox Sports Digital Networks and director of broadband strategy for Fox Cable Networks. The new channels will offer digital subscribers in any locale live events such as college basketball that could otherwise be viewed only in individual teams’ native regions. Essentially, content from Fox’s 22 regional affiliate sports networks will be consolidated onto the three digital channels.
Scripps Networks launching video on demand
Scripps Networks, which owns cable television networks including Home & Garden Television and The Food Network, is branching into the video-on-demand arena. “We are in the process of creating many … hours of content for HGTV, The Food Network and DIY to offer our cable distributor partners by year-end,” said Scripps New Ventures President Susan Packard.
TiVo will make its mark on advertising, book says
The audience measurement tool embedded in TiVo’s personal video system will transform the television advertising market, according to “Next,” a new book by former asset-backed securities trader Michael Lewis. The nonfiction narrative, which chronicles recent developments in digital media commerce and culture, argues that the precision of TiVo’s viewership tracking mechanism will give rise to a new breed of niche ad campaigns. “The black box can determine which joke in a comedian’s monologue prompted certain viewers to switch the channel or which medical emergency inspired viewers to exit `ER,’“ Mr. Lewis writes.