| December 6, 2012 | News for the cable and broadband industry |
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- Starz will look for buyer after spinoff, source says
Premium cable network Starz, after it formally separates from parent Liberty Media early next year, reportedly will begin talking with companies interested in buying the channel. That plan is said to have been a major factor in the network's negotiations over its TV rights to Disney movies, which were snapped up by Netflix in a deal said to be valued at $300 million a year. "Some buyers wouldn't want to take over a company that's burdened with giant cost increases," a source said. The Wall Street Journal
(12/5)      
- Will AMC's "Walking Dead" prove to be a TV game changer?
AMC's mega-hit series "The Walking Dead" is defying TV convention, with its violent, gore-filled episodes garnering huge audiences and a raft of high-paying advertisers, Brian Steinberg writes. "If a cable program can reach this many 18-to-49ers, you can bet your DVD boxed set of 'Friends' that the broadcasters will seek to find ways to import some of its appeal," he writes. "If they succeed, 'The Walking Dead' will have marked the start of another shift in the tone of content on TV." Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)
(12/5)
| Business Services Update | | |
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- Cable business services are projected to be up 14% in 2012
U.S. cable providers this year are on track to surpass $7 billion in business services revenue, a 14% increase over 2011, Heavy Reading is projecting. Comcast and Time Warner Cable are leading the business services pack this year, with the former's revenues in the segment up 34.9% to $1.8 billion so far, and the latter's increasing 30.8% to $1.4 billion. Light Reading Cable
(11/29)
| Eye on Video | | |
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- Netflix: No price increase is planned as a result of Disney content
Netflix is "not contemplating" a price hike for its streaming service to offset the cost of supplanting Starz in 2016 as the exclusive TV rights holder for Disney movies, Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of The Weinstein Co. and moderator of Sarandos' UBS session, described the Disney partnership as "a game changer because it affects Starz and the whole marketplace." Reuters
(12/5), Broadcasting & Cable
(12/5)
| Marketing Trends | | |
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- Ryan Seacrest takes controlling interest in marketing firm
Ryan Seacrest has purchased a controlling interest in the marketing firm Civic Entertainment Group. "Part of my overall goal in the business is to connect content, brands and consumers," Seacrest says. Stuart Ruderfer and David Cohn will continue to run the shop, which helped create the CNN Grill and NBC's Education Nation. "I think a lot of people have aspired to bring Hollywood together with excellent marketing services. I think this is genuinely fulfilling that promise," says Ruderfer. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
(12/5)
| Association News | | |
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The hows and whys covered in CTAM study Watchapalooza
Mark Greatrex, chief marketing and sales officer, Cox Communications, discusses how viewing content across multiple devices within the home is highly valued by the consumer. He believes marketers and content providers can learn more from closely looking at viewing occasions and the associated emotions of the consumer, as reported in CTAM's recent study Watchapalooza.
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CTAM Unplugged, gaining knowledge through networking
Join the next CTAM Unplugged on Dec. 13 at the HBO Theater in New York for a conversation with Kristin Dolan, senior executive vice president of product management and marketing at Cablevision Systems, to be hosted by CTAM President and CEO Char Beales. CTAM Unplugged brings together smart people to exchange ideas, share insights and contribute to lively conversations about what's happening in media and communications in a live, interactive setting. Register now.
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