October 18, 2007

360AM: Martin Pushes Must-Carry in DTV Hearing; DirecTV Sues Cox Over HD Ads

FCC chairman hypes dual carriage as DTV cure-all; Cox comes under DirecTV's fire for HD claims; and more Thursday news.

By Shirley Brady

Cable360AM — News briefing for Thursday, Oct. 18 »

FCC chairman Kevin Martin called on broadcasters to push digital TV PSAs and and cable to also step up — hyping cable operators' compliance with must-carry as the ticket to a smooth digital TV transition — during yesterday's Senate Commerce committee DTV hearing. Martin also may have the full commission's backing for his proposal to eliminate media ownership limits. Details are here.

DirecTV sued Cox Communications yesterday over Cox's ads promoting its HD service. DirecTV's complaint was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, reports the Houston Chronicle. DirecTV sued Comcast in May over its HD marketing.

DirecTV also added two regional sports networks — FSN Midwest and FSN Pittsburgh — in high-def, upping its HD network tally to 74 yesterday, reports TV Predictions.

Cablevision's Oct. 24 shareholders' vote on the sinking fourth bid by the Dolan family to take the company private is examined in the New York Post, which concludes, win or lose, "the Dolans come out ahead."

Comcast SportsNet Northwest goes live on Nov. 1, when it starts televising "a majority of the Portland Trail Blazers' and Oregon Ducks' basketball games," reports The Oregonian, plus high school basketball and football games and NHL matches. The Blazers will anchor the channel with 53 live game broadcasts, including 30 in HD.

Comcast Houston, which irked area sports fans by relocating TBS in the final minutes of the Colorado Rockies' NLCS victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night, also expanded its HD lineup at 12:15am Tuesday. It now offers high-def versions of National Geographic Channel, USA, A&E, History, HGTV, Food Network, and CNN plus seven additional Spanish-language networks, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Time Warner Cable will add the NHL Network in Buffalo and Western New York; and just added the Spanish-language V-me to its digital lineup in the Los Angeles area.

Time Warner Cable also announced it's closing a call center in SE Texas, resulting in a number of layoffs.

The Writers Guild of America is scheduled to announce today whether it's members will go on strike after their contract expires on Oct. 31, a move that would shut down scripted TV production and impact movie studios, reports the New York Times.