Media Notes

MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Ted Hearn reported Time Warner Cable (TWC) on November 26 filed an appeal with the FCC seeking to "nullify a staff order that required the cable company to widely distribute [MASN] to hundreds of thousands of North Carolina cable subscribers." MASN spokesperson Todd Webster said that as of late Monday, MASN is "still not being carried" by TWC, which has 1.5 million subscribers in North Carolina (MULTICHANNEL.com, 12/1).

MAKING THE CUTS: In N.Y., Keith Kelly reports the Time Inc. magazines that were "trying to find volunteers to take buyouts have largely fallen short." The "worst portion of this round of buyouts may come on Friday," when SI Group Editor Terry McDonell and Time Managing Editor Rick Stengel "must swing the ax in the News Group." SI was "looking for 40 volunteers and fell woefully short of the goal, meaning most of the downsizing will come from axings" (N.Y. POST, 12/3).

EQUAL FOOTING: ESPN today announced an eight-year deal beginning in 2010 in which all four rounds of the Ricoh Women's British Open will air on the net. Per the new deal, ESPN will provide 12 live hours of Open coverage over the four days. The deal marks the first time that all four rounds will be aired live in the U.S. The agreement also will cover multiple outlets around the world through various ESPN platforms. The deal follows a deal ESPN and The R&A reached earlier this month for the net to broadcast all four rounds of the men's British Open starting in 2010 (ESPN).

NOTES: Sources said that Vivendi has decided "not to seek a sale of its 20% stake in NBC Universal this year ahead of a deadline Friday." One source "cited market conditions, such as contracted multiples for media and entertainment companies." The source: "It's not the right time to sell" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 12/3)....Golf Channel has "inked a deal with online resource GolfLink to develop programming content for their respective Websites, and the net's digital sales team now exclusively offers GolfLink's branded ad inventory to clients" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 12/3).