May 14, 2007

360PM: Cox, Discovery Complete Swap

By Shirley Brady

360PM — PM news briefing for Monday, May 14 >>

Cox Communications and Discovery Communications completed their transaction to exchange Cox's 25% ownership stake for Discovery's Travel Channel and its website (but not Antenna Audio, as previously announced). Two-thirds of Discovery Communications is now owned by by Discovery Holding Company, a subsidiary of Liberty Media, and the remaining one-third is owned by Advance/Newhouse Communications. [Release]

Comcast dropped Microsoft TV's interactive program guide (in exchange for its GuideWorks IPG developed with TV Guide) in Washington, marking the end to Microsoft's only U.S. cable operator and sole U.S. market to use its Foundation on-screen navigation guide. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Spokesman Review]

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman spoke at Reuters' Global Technology and Media confab today, where he defended BET and MTV against Imus-like charges and said he's not in the market for any "splashy acquisitions." And—memo to Comcast—Dauman said he's not going to allow any "day-and-date" theatrical/VOD releases of Paramount movies, even though he deemed his company's tests with Comcast of collapsed VOD windows (with DVD releases) in Denver and Pittsburgh a success and said they haven't cannibalized DVD sales or rentals. "So far it's pretty interesting," he commented. "To the extent that it doesn't hurt, it can be additive." But same-day VOD and theatrical? "We need to be very careful about changing windows," he said. "We do not want to tread too heavily on a system that works so well."

SCTE announced NCTA pres/CEO Kyle McSlarrow as keynote speaker at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Orlando, FL, on June 20.

CTAM announced Circuit City pres/CEO Phil Schoonover as keynote speaker at the CTAM Summit in Washington, D.C. on July 25.

Canada's Rogers Communications merges its cable and wireless subsidiaries. [Release | Bloomberg]

NAB pres/CEO David Rehr urged consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers to ensure digital-to-analog boxes are available to consumers by Jan. 1. [Release]

Today was the deadline for ISPs, cable operators and other "facilities-based broadband Internet access providers and providers of interconnected VoIP service" to comply with the FCC's expanded interpretation of CALEA, the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch sent a letter to Dow Jones' Bancroft family, offering to place a family member on its board as a sweetener to its bid, but won't raise its $60/share offer. [WSJ]

The Tennessee Cable & Telecommunications Association and Comcast spent more than $2 million lobbying against AT&T in Tenn. [Nashville City Paper]

Online content aggregator Synacor adding games from Yummy Interactive. [Release]

Cellphone-only users increased last year to 1 in 4 people 18-24 and 29% of 25-29 year-olds, according to a wireless survey conducted between July-Dec. '06 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [AP | CDC Report-PDF]

- Shirley Brady

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