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NEWS ABOUT: cable TV

7% Not Ready for Digital TV Switch

With switch due Feb. 17, estimated 7% aren't prepared; feds' coupon program shaky

(Newser) - With US television’s transition from analog to digital broadcasting less than two months away, officials are worried that consumers still don’t have the signal-converter box, the Wall Street Journal reports. An estimated 7% aren’t prepared, and Congress, which authorized $1.34 billion for coupons to help consumers... More »

Oprah Seals Production Deal With HBO

Talk-show host's production company will do films, miniseries on cable mainstay

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey has a production deal with HBO, ending a long-lived partnership with ABC, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The exclusive, 3-year arrangement will allow Oprah’s Harpo Films more flexibility than before. “Being on a cable channel like HBO offers us a tremendous amount of creative freedom not seen... More »

Monk Will Go Out on Top

USA says quirky detective show will end after upcoming season

(Newser) - The news that the upcoming eighth season of Monk will be its last has fans in mourning, but the USA Network staple leaves a rich legacy, Media Life reports. Monk ushered in the era of original cable programming and has consistently scored top ratings in key demographics. Tony Shalhoub is... More »

Drudge Loses Juice as Media Swing Left

Tough competition drives Fleet Street-style sensationalism, bias

(Newser) - The Ashley Todd hoax was as good a symbol as any of the decline of the Drudge Report, writes John Gapper in the Financial Times. Liberal blogs, cable TV, and, indeed, newspapers themselves have invaded and occupied Matt Drudge’s sensationalist niche. Tough competition and falling circulation are “pushing... More »

After Beating Back HD DVD, Blu-Ray Hardly in Clear

Satellite, cable, internet offers enough HD options to keep buyers on fence

(Newser) - Blu-ray might have won the battle against Toshiba’s HD DVD, but it may still be losing the high-definition war as it is forced to compete with other sources of HD content, the Wall Street Journal reports. With cable and satellite TV providers offering more HD channels and video-on-demand services,... More »

Cable's Mad Men, Adams Sweep Emmys

Broadcast hangs tough in comedy with big wins for 30 Rock

(Newser) - Cable shows trumped network TV in last night’s 60th annual Emmy Awards as HBO’s John Adams grabbed 13 awards, a record for a miniseries, the Los Angeles Times reports. AMC’s Mad Men, which led in nominations, took home six trophies, including one for best drama. Glenn Close... More »

Cable News Was Biggest Convention Winner

Broadcasters cede historic role as political pundits

(Newser) - The Democratic Convention made it official, writes Scott Collilns in the Los Angeles Times: The broadcast networks have passed the political torch to the cable networks. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC not only delivered “wall to wall coverage” compared to the broadcast nets' paltry hour of nightly programming. Their... More »

Maddow Helps MSNBC Make Left Turn

Network hopes new anchor will translate into ratings, ad revenue

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow's promotion to prime-time at MSNBC more clearly draws the partisan lines among the cable networks, writes Brian Stelter of the New York Times: MSNBC on the left, Fox on the right, and CNN claiming middle ground. Now the big question: Will the Maddow move translate into more ads?... More »

Even in Tight Election, Media Struggle to Retain Audience

Choosier consumers, Internet video hurt

(Newser) - Even as the 2008 election attracts more voter interest than it has in decades, media efforts to translate that into financial success have had mixed results, reports the New York Times. While cable news has enjoyed an uptick—and websites are setting record for online video—viewership for mainstream news... More »

Mad Men's Moss Puts Bad Bangs to Good Use

Deceptive secretary leads TV 'renaissance of female nerdliness'

(Newser) - She’s only 26, but actress Elisabeth Moss has already commandeered a niche: She has a knack for playing “easily underestimated innocents,” Emily Nussbaum writes in New York. Moss describes Peggy Olson—“the secretary with the unflattering bangs” she plays on the hit AMC show Mad Men—... More »

Mad Men, Damages Make History With Emmy Nods

Best-series noms are first for basic cable

(AP) - Mad Men, AMC's sleek 1950s advertising drama, and FX's legal thriller Damages made Emmy nominations history today as the first basic cable programs to gain best-series nods. HBO's John Adams, meanwhile,  was the overall frontrunner with 23 bids, including a lead-actor nomination for Paul Giamatti's turn as Adams. More »

Weinsteins Sign 7-Year Deal With Showtime

Films will replace slate lost when Paramount bailed in April

(Newser) - Showtime and the Weinstein Company have inked an exclusive 7-year movie deal, giving the pay TV network a replacement for the slate of films it lost when Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate decamped in April and teamed up to launch a rival network, Variety reports. Showtime had balked at what it... More »

Fox Unleashes Attack Dogs on Other Media

Station's PR team jumps at criticism 'like a political campaign'

(Newser) - The Fox News public relations machine makes no bones about skewering those it perceives as foes, writes David Carr in the New York Times. “At Fox News, media relations is a kind of rolling opposition research operation intended to keep reporters in line by feeding and sometimes maiming them,... More »

Weather Channel Sells for $3.5B

NBC, Blackstone, and Bain score cable stalwart for far under expected $5B

(Newser) - NBC is heading an investor group that will buy the Weather Channel for nearly $3.5 billion—well below the $5 billion Landmark Communications was expecting when it put the iconic cable channel up for sale in January. The group, which includes private equity firms Bain Capital and the Blackstone... More »

NFL Network, After Ratings Flop, in Talks With ESPN

Partnership could give cable sports power 8 games, save face for league

(Newser) - Having lost a game of chicken with the nation’s cable operators, the National Football League is in talks with ESPN to carry prime-time games that were unavailable to most American households last season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The NFL’s channel, charging lucrative fees, is available in only... More »

Cable Guys Won't Likely Fill Russert's Seat

Execs don't want pundits messing with 'pristine' NBC News

(Newser) - Early word on Tim Russert's Meet the Press successor focused on in-house candidates, like Chris Matthews, David Gregory, or Joe Scarborough. But one insider now tells Variety that there’s “no way” a cable personality will land the gig. NBC’s broadcast division would rather stay “pristine”—... More »

Sexism? Media Disagree With Clinton Backers

Hillary's supporters cry foul, but news world pleads innocence

(Newser) - Now that Hillary Clinton has suspended her presidential campaign, her most ardent supporters are hitting out at television news, proposing boycotts and setting up websites in response to allegedly sexist coverage. But as the New York Times reports, many in the media see little evidence of sexism. Rather, they accuse... More »

Sony Deal Ends Cable Box Era

Strikes deal for accessory-free TV

(Newser) - The days of set-top cable boxes are surely numbered, thanks to Sony, the first consumer electronics company to close a deal to produce TVs that need no accessories to receive digital cable signals. The memorandum of understanding, signed by all the major cable companies, doesn’t just apply to Sony;... More »

HBO: Coming to a Hard Drive Near You

iTunes will sell shows and movies, but they may be pricey

(Newser) - Apple and HBO are close to an agreement that would let iTunes sell episodes of HBO shows, Portfolio reports. Sources say HBO has cut a good deal—either by breaking iTunes' $1.99 video price ceiling or getting a bigger share of the same rate. But at least one HBO... More »

Obama Relents, Will Appear on Fox News

After 2 years, candidate agrees to do Wallace's right-wing talk show

(Newser) - Barack Obama will appear on "Fox News Sunday" this weekend, ending a two-year disagreement between the candidate and the right-wing channel. Obama had promised to appear on the program in 2006, but his campaign has repeatedly cited scheduling conflicts to avoid an appearance. Fox News is crediting its "... More »

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