June 2, 2008

Britt Blasts Free Net

Britt warns programmers on free content, Discovery sees green in Planet Green, Plenty of Sex this weekend and other news

By Cable 360 Staff

News Briefing for Monday, June 2, 2008

Members of the Cable 360 newsroom are debating the merits of consuming chicken for breakfast. Good day.

Time Warner Cable chief Glenn Britt tells The Wall St Journal something he’s said previously (last week during the major investor conference)—he’s more concerned about programmers putting their content online for free than he is about competition from DBS and the telcos. “I'm not too worried about the cable business, but I am about the whole entertainment economic ecosystem,” he says. Adds Britt: programmers shouldn’t expect cable operators to pay premium dollars for content if they’re giving it away for free online. [WSJ]

The NY Times gives an environmentally correct helping hand to Discovery Networks with a relatively soft piece about Wednesday’s debut of Planet Green, the eco-entertainment channel replacing Discovery Home. Advertisers are interested, Discovery says,  and the lineup is filled with green celebs, including Emeril, Tom Bergeron and Adrian Grenier. The test will be whether Planet Green and its stars can produce entertaining television that will draw ratings. [NYT]

You might remember her as the little girl from TNT’s The Wool Cap (for which she was nominated for a SAG award). Now Keke Palmer, all grown up at 15, will star in a Nickelodeon series called True Fashion, The Hollywood Reporter says. [THR]

Kim Cattrall is back at HBO, starring in a comedy series brought over from Britain called Sensitive Skin, about a middle-age mom who rediscovers her sexuality, The Hollywood Reporter says. Cattrall will also exec prod the series. [THR]

Briefly Noted
Sex & The City had a record box office over the weekend, bringing in $56 million since its Thursday midnight showings. 85% of ticket buyers were women, The NY Times and L.A. Times reported. [NYT] [LAT]

A fire destroyed major portions of Universal Studios Hollywood back lot Sunday, including some parts of its TV and movie archives. Firefighters were hampered by low water pressure, The L.A. Times says. [LAT]

Late Stories
It's a small world. Comcast SportsNet named former CNN U.S. chief Princell Hair SVP of news operations. Hair  will oversee news, studio programming and digital content for CSN's 10 sports networks (40 million households).

QVC named Anil Jagtiani SVP of Corporate Strategy and New Business Strategy. Jagtiani was at Hallmark Cards. 

CTHRA extended the nomination deadline for its HR Best Practices and Leadership Excellence Award to Friday. It's seeking nominations of individuals and initiatives. 
 
AMC teamed with retailer Bloomingdale's for windows and in-store displays touting season two of original series Mad Men (premieres July 27).  Inside the stores customers will find music and clothing based on fashions from the series, which takes place in 1960.


 

Time's running out to nominate companies for CableFAX: The Magazine's Top 10 Places to Work in Cable. Complete our online nomination form by June 9 and let us know why your employer is tops. And don't forget to nominate the best  minority and female execs for our Most Influential Minorities and Top Women in Cable issues.

Visit Cable360 to respond to the poll question: Which political party are cable operators, satellite distributors and telcos more likely to contribute to in the general election for the presidency?

Got a tip? Contact sgoldstein@accessintel.com and sarenstein@accessintel.com

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