Archive for January 5th, 2007
Mediacom says Sinclair Broadcasting has instructed it to take all of Sinclair’s 21 stations off the cable company’s lineup. This comes after disagreements over what carriage fees should be paid to Sinclair. Mediacom is giving out antennas to customers and launched BeFairSinclair.com. And Sinclair, not to be outdone, has been putting on-air crawls instructing viewers to consider other ways of getting their programming - like on DirecTV. (Sinclair gets a referral fee for each new customer it sends to DirecTV.)
January 5th, 2007
Hitachi says it’s made a storage breakthrough with a 1 terabyte drive that can store between 125-200 hours of high definition video. Now we’re getting somewhere.
January 5th, 2007
It’s not that surprising that Boise State’s incredible victory in the Fiesta Bowl sold like crazy on iTunes (I even bought it), but it still tops the most popular list of TV shows five days later. And that top clip isn’t the full game, which is available for $2.99, but the “short cuts” condensed version for $1.99.
January 5th, 2007
It all started when blogger Spocko rightfully criticized Disney-owned, ABC-affiliated radio station KSFO for some of its ultra-right-wing commentary. (For example, the hosts demanded that callers mock Islam, called for public hangings of New York Times editor Bill Keller and suggested that a Sears’ Diehard battery be attached to an African-American’s testicles.) Spocko recorded some audio clips from the radio station’s air and posted them on his site to support his criticism. He also sent letters to the radio station’s advertisers, which were being mocked by the hosts, to let them know what was going on. So what does Disney do? Fire the hosts? Nope. They roll out their lawyers and send a cease-and-desist order to Spocko’s blog host, which pulls the plug on him. Unbelievable. Read more about it on DailyKos, which has the letters. UPDATES: The clips that were pulled down are now spreading like crazy. A Technorati search of “spocko” shows 370 results, most of which have been posted in the last 24 hours. And there’s a video slide show on YouTube expressing solidarity with Spocko and featuring some clips from the radio hosts.
January 5th, 2007
I’m of the school of thought that the whole network/affiliation model doesn’t make sense over the long term. I think the notion that I would go to my local ABC affiliate’s site to download Lost instead of ABC.com or iTunes is completely ridiculous. As you’ve heard before on LR, people watch shows, not networks or channels. So what are local affiliates to do? How about creating more original local programming like local stations had to do in the early days of TV? Also, somewhere along the line “local programming” became synonymous with “news”. It shouldn’t. Here in Boston, a group of guys are shopping around a reality show called RU Wicked Funny? Think Last Comic Standing, but for New England. I’ve talked to creators Mark Longchamps and Michael Coleman about their concept, and what they understand so well is the “recognition factor”. Gaining notoriety in your local community is sometimes more satisfying than getting your 15-mintues of fame on a national scale. Are their any interesting original local programs in your market?
January 5th, 2007
Warner Bros. has been shopping a new syndicated TV show based on TMZ.com, the AOL affiliated celebrity website that was an outgrowth of Celebrity Justice. Now that Fox has canceled Geraldo at Large (a weekend version of the show will air on Fox News Channel), Warner Bros. may gain an opening for the new TMZ.com show. TMZ.com, a video-heavy blog with a growing staff of videographers, has grown by leaps and bounds, thanks in part to big gets like the Mel Gibson tirade.
January 5th, 2007
On the eve of CES, CBS is releasing a new study that draws a connection between families with both a broadband connection and digital TV service and the likelihood they watch primetime broadcast TV. “This data clearly show a correlation between connectivity and primetime television viewing,” said David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer for CBS Corporation. “Consumers who embrace the new media are the heaviest viewers of the top network primetime programs, and this sector of the audience is growing. By offering them new ways to connect to their favorite shows — whether it’s websites, podcasts, ringtones or other mobile features — we’ve been able to deepen the bond these fully connected viewers have with our programming.” Also, 56 percent of those surveyed said they’re aware of network TV shows available online. Of those aware of this streaming option, 46% have already streamed at least one program. Full press release follows with more stats…
Read the full post January 5th, 2007
