Media Notes
MULTICHANNEL NEWS’ Ted Hearn reported FCC officials Thursday ordered Time Warner Cable (TWC) to give MASN "wide distribution in North Carolina." The ruling, which was handed down by FCC Media Bureau Chief Monica Desai, held that TWC discriminated against MASN by “refusing to provide carriage on an analog tier that most subscribers receive.” The ruling ordered TWC "to distribute MASN on an analog tier within 30 days.” TWC spokesperson Alexander Dudley: "We disagree with the Media Bureau’s decision and plan to appeal to the full Commission” (MULTICHANNEL.com, 10/30).
GIVE ME LIBERTY...: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Kumar & Worden report Liberty Media Corp. posted "lackluster third-quarter earnings and cast doubt over a potential spinoff of its DirecTV business." Liberty said that it is "reassessing 'the split-off of Liberty Entertainment and its timing, given market conditions.'" Liberty President & CEO Greg Maffei said that "it's 'imaginable' that the split won't happen, which would be a disappointment to shareholders" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/31).
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| Knicks Not Appearing On TNT, ESPN This Year |
KNICKS NIXED: On Long Island, Neil Best noted neither TNT nor ESPN are scheduled to air any Knicks games during the '08-09 NBA season. Best, noting one of the club's national TV appearance last year drew high ratings despite losing by 45, wrote, "While the Knicks widely are expected to be bad enough to be toxic to the NBA's national TV partners, they presumably will not be quite bad enough to be a freak show." Turner Sports President David Levy: "We would love to see New York come back. It's the No. 1 television audience in the United States. Not that they're going to do it this year, for sure, but that would bring back fans" (NEWSDAY, 10/28).
SUPER TUESDAY: USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand reports ESPN "plans to alter its on-screen news graphics on all ESPN TV channels" as results are released Tuesday for the U.S. Presidential election. ESPN will have "news alerts when ABC News projects winners in given states -- as well as when the overall winner is projected" (USA TODAY, 10/31).
NOTES: NBA TV's first-ever Fan Night matchup on Tuesday will feature Celtics-Rockets. The game earned 60% of the fan vote on NBA.com (Turner)....The Big Ten Network (BTN) is launching a free streaming initiative on BigTenNetwork.com that will include more than 100 live events this year and nearly double the number of women's basketball games available. Most games will be streamed with the assistance of Big Ten schools through in-arena video boards and accessing local radio calls (BTN).
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