Cable Content Connection

Cable Content in the Cloud

August 27, 2008 11:02 PM |

My family and I time shift 90% of all our TV watching. We are firm believers that we should tape all our favorite events and then watch them when it's most convenient for us. As a result we have both a Direct TV DVR and a TIVO in our home.

The greatest challenge I experience with my DVR's is the fact that I'm forced to plan my viewing in advance since I can only view time shifted content that I have already decided to record.

Apparently this limitation will easily be addressed by the Content in the Cloud concept that Cablevision is hoping to roll out. As a Cablevision subscriber I was excited to read Steve Shaw's article about Third Screen Reality.

http://cable.tmcnet.com/topics/cable/articles/38214-one-step-toward-third-screen-reality.htm

Not only will this concept allow me to go back and tape the content I forgot to record but it has the capability for me to potentially view that content remotely. This will truly be a disruptive technology to my productivity when I'm home or on the road. Cablevision please sign me up!!!

Cable Ratings Breakdown for Week Ending August 24, 2008

August 27, 2008 10:55 PM |

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Interesting week for in the Cable TV Ratings world. The second week of the Olympics certainly had an impact on Cable viewing but many cable shows were still able to draw strong ratings. The Closer, The Season Finale of Law & Order Criminal Intent and the newest Cheetah Girls movie on Disney were among the weeks top performers.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/08/27/cable-tv-top-20-the-closer-cheetah-girls-and-law-order-ci/4801

Dave's Remote Roundup for August 26

August 26, 2008 12:55 PM |

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The Sci Fi Channel knows how to maximize on one of its flagship brands. The Stargate shows have been a Sci Fi Channel mainstay. Yahoo news is reporting that Sci Fi Channel will launch Stargate Universe in 2009.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080822/tv_nm/stargate_dc;_ylt=AvLnN_oe7Xga7PQ7OKlFS8ZpMhkF

ESPN U goes HD this week with its live college football telecasts

Rumors are flying the Whitney Port will be getting her own spin off from "The Hills"

It's also being reported that CBS is shopping their summer show Swingtown to the cable networks.

I was really excited to see that Kim Kardashian was chosen to participate in Dancing with the Stars while Khole Kardashian is rumored to be part of the next Celebrity Apprentice. I can't tell you how relieved I am that I will once again be able to Keep up with the Kardashian's.

How happy is the DNC to see Sean Hannity from Fox News at their Denver Convention.

SEC Strikes 15 Year deal with ESPN

August 26, 2008 12:34 PM |

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Last year when the Big Ten formed the Big Ten Network many in the television industry felt as though this would lead to a trend with the SEC as a logical candidate to make a similar move.

ESPN and the SEC have reached a 15 year agreement to carry SEC sports. This follows the SEC deal with CBS from a few weeks back that gives CBS the rights to SEC Football and Basketball.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfb/entries/2008/08/26/cbs_espn_deals.html

It appears the fifteen years deals with CBS and ESPN will eliminate the SEC as the next college sports conference to start their own cable channel. The SEC was seemingly able to accomplish its revenue and exposure goals without the need to manage a cable channel. It will be interesting to see if ESPN explores similar deals with the other major conferences.

Big Ten Network and Time Warner Come to Terms

August 26, 2008 12:11 PM |

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Great news for Big Ten Sports Fans in Ohio and Wisconsin Time Warner Cable Homes

The Big Ten Network Channel will be added to the extended Cable Tier. The timing could not have been better as sports fans in those regions prepare for the start of the College Football Season this month.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/08/25/daily10.html

As a Direct TV subscriber I've been watching the Big Ten Channel for the past few months and I can tell you that hardcore Big Ten fans are in for a treat.

Dave's Remote Roundup for August 21, 2008

August 21, 2008 1:36 PM |

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The Shield's Final Season kicks off on Sept 2^nd. I'm not really sure I'm ready to say goodbye to Vic Mackey so I will be savoring every episode.

I'm curious about the recent announcement that Rachel Maddow would be replacing Dan Abrams on MSNBC's primetime lineup. She will be hosting the 9:00 P.M ET show on MSNBC that follows Keith Olbermann. I know that Rachel has been all over MSNBC shows as of late and she must have some type of following but with all the talk of MSNBC's liberal bias is an Air America personality the right choice. Guess we will have to check the ratings.

One of the great side effects of all of the Olympic coverage on CNBC is the afternoon Jim Cramer show. It has been a must watch over the past two weeks. His guest list has been awesome and it's always great to get his take in the middle of the trading day.

One of the negatives of all the Olympic coverage is the fact the Little League World Series has garnered less attention. ESPN does a solid job of bringing these games to the sports world and unfortunately the rating are down this year. ESPN did provide live coverage of at least four games played by Shelton, CT Little League. Shelton is a neighboring town to my home in Milford, CT and I can't tell you how proud that community was of what those young men accomplished. Thanks to ESPN the country got to experience this wonderful team.

Valerie Bertinelli is returning to her roots and has joined the cast of a new sitcom. The sitcom pilot has been picked up by TBS. I hope to have more information in a future posting.

That's it for today. Got to get some rest before tonight's all new episode of Burn Notice on USA

Did you ever wonder how Cable TV Works?

August 21, 2008 1:34 PM |

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If you are like many people I know you probably have never given the question of "How Cable TV Really Works" a second thought. But just in case you are interested I came across a recent article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times that breaks it down for you.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/08/how-cable-works.html

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. When I read the article to my wife she asked me to leave the room so that she could go back to watching Bravo.

ESPN to Broadcast the Olympics in 2016???

August 21, 2008 1:31 PM |

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ESPN seems to be making a serious play to garner the telecast rights for the 2016 Olympics. This is good news for sports fans since the ESPN team certainly has the staff, the knowledge and certainly the broadcast vehicles to deliver the Olympic games in an exceptional manner. They are even pr omising to deliver a majority of the coverage live as opposed to some of the tape delayed coverage we get from NBC and its sister outlets. But as confident as I am in the fact that ESPN would do an outstanding job I have to give NBC credit for delivering these games in an exceptional manner.

My household has been captivated by the swimming, basketball and volleyball coverage. I understand that some of it is on tape delay but it hasn't negatively impacted my enjoyment of the viewing experience. I love the way that MSNBC and USA have been used to deliver basketball, volleyball, soccer and baseball. Let's give credit where credit is due. Thumbs up NBC! Thanks for a very exciting few weeks of coverage

ESPN to Broadcast the Olympics in 2016???

August 21, 2008 1:31 PM |

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ESPN seems to be making a serious play to garner the telecast rights for the 2016 Olympics. This is good news for sports fans since the ESPN team certainly has the staff, the knowledge and certainly the broadcast vehicles to deliver the Olympic games in an exceptional manner. They are even pr omising to deliver a majority of the coverage live as opposed to some of the tape delayed coverage we get from NBC and its sister outlets. But as confident as I am in the fact that ESPN would do an outstanding job I have to give NBC credit for delivering these games in an exceptional manner.

My household has been captivated by the swimming, basketball and volleyball coverage. I understand that some of it is on tape delay but it hasn't negatively impacted my enjoyment of the viewing experience. I love the way that MSNBC and USA have been used to deliver basketball, volleyball, soccer and baseball. Let's give credit where credit is due. Thumbs up NBC! Thanks for a very exciting few weeks of coverage

Satellite versus Cable

August 21, 2008 1:29 PM |

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There is a really interesting story on the Wired.com website about some of the challenges the Satellite providers face in providing Video on Demand and how that has become a significant differentiator for the cable systems.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/08/how-cable-works.html

Latest Earnings Report Shows VoIP and ISP Marketshare Growth for Comcast

August 7, 2008 2:26 PM |

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My colleague Michelle Robart wrote a very informative article on the positive Comcast Earnings Report earlier this week.

http://cable.tmcnet.com/topics/cable/articles/36076-comcast-reveals-second-quarter-results.htm

It was interesting to see that Comcast was winning VoIP market share from Verizon and AT&T. According to the article Comcast with 5.6 million phone customers is now the fourth largest U.S. phone provider

Burn Notice & In Plain Sight Drive Summer TV Viewing

August 7, 2008 1:50 PM |

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An unusual thing has happened to my TV viewing over the past few months. I have completely deserted network TV in favor of shows on USA and Bravo.

I'm sure the writers strike and the macro economy have had some impact on the network TV summer fare. But in my house the only must see shows are on Cable TV

2008 has been the Summer of Cable and it's been led by the second season of Burn Notice and the debut season of In Plain Sight. These shows are both intelligent and entertaining.

By looking at the recent cable Nielsen ratings that came out on Tuesday it appears that the rest of the nation agrees with me. Both Burn Notice and In Plain Sight are averaging over 4 million viewers per week and both are in the top ten most viewed shows in cable.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/08/05/nielsen-ratings-cable-tv-top-20-the-closer-still-dominates-summer-cable/4599

I'm not sure about you but I'm looking forward to going home tonight and catching the latest episode of Burn Notice. No matter how busy my life gets it seems like I will always find time for Michael, Sam and Fiona.

WiFi on Delta Flights? Might be time for me to change airlines

August 5, 2008 1:46 PM |

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I just read the news that Delta Airlines will be offering WiFi on its domestic flights. They will start the service by mid 2009 and plan to install it on 330 of their aircrafts.

They will be charging a flat fee of $9.95 for flights that are three hours or less and $12.95 for those flights over three hours. The reasonable pricing structure should certainly help with adoption of this new service.

I normally fly either JetBlue or American Airlines and neither of these airlines has launched as aggressive a WiFi service for domestic flights

The most frustrating part of flying is the hours of lost productivity while in the air and out of contact with your family, co-workers and clients. It looks like Delta is making an aggressive push to serve my needs and improve my flying experience with their rollout of their Domestic WiFi service .

Welcome to my Cable Content Connection Blog

August 5, 2008 1:34 PM |

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I've been asked to write a daily blog for years but have always passed on the opportunity. Today this all changes and I'm pleased to be blogging on TMCnet. I'm even more excited about the subject matter of my blog. My blog will be focused on the content that drives the cable industry. But I will also touch on the technology that makes it possible and even industry news when appropriate.

The Cable industry and the content that drives the industry have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. The image of my father waiting outside for the cable installer at my house when I was five years old is etched in my memory. We were one of the first houses to get cable in my town and my father was so excited. He sat me down and filled me with stories about the potential that cable television had and how it would change everything. Dad was right.

I spent many a day sitting with my Dad waiting for HBO to turn on their signal for the day. Believe it or not HBO was not always available 24 hours a day. I remember long debates with my Dad about whether or not people actually watched C-SPAN and whether or not ESPN would make it. My Dad was certain that America had no need for 24 hours a day of sports. I imagine he would be shocked to find out how much the Cable Television universe has changed since he passed in 1991.

Cable TV has been a constant in my life. I even chose a college based on the fact that I would be able to have cable TV in my dorm room and I wouldn't leave the New York Metropolitan area after college due to my fear of losing the MSG Network and the opportunity to watch my favorite sports teams on a day to day basis.

In 1998 I fulfilled a life long dream and accepted a Sales and Marketing position with the same company that installed that first cable line in my house when I was five years old. I spent a few years working in the cable industry and I'm proud to say I was active in the deployment of cable services, high speed internet services and cable telephony. Now I get to cover the space for the World's leading Communications and Technology Website.

I'm looking forward to covering the cable space in this blog and I promise to update this blog as often as possible. I also promise to dedicate each and every blog to my Dad who initiated and fostered my love for this medium. Thanks Dad! Hope you sign up for the RSS feed.

Cable Content Connection

Cable Content in the Cloud

Cable Ratings Breakdown for Week Ending August 24, 2008

Dave's Remote Roundup for August 26

SEC Strikes 15 Year deal with ESPN

Big Ten Network and Time Warner Come to Terms

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Dave's Remote Roundup for August 21, 2008

Did you ever wonder how Cable TV Works?

ESPN to Broadcast the Olympics in 2016???

ESPN to Broadcast the Olympics in 2016???

Satellite versus Cable

Latest Earnings Report Shows VoIP and ISP Marketshare Growth for Comcast

Burn Notice & In Plain Sight Drive Summer TV Viewing

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WiFi on Delta Flights? Might be time for me to change airlines

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Welcome to my Cable Content Connection Blog

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