Traditional affiliate fees — long the revenue backbone for U.S. cable TV networks — witnessed their first overall revenue declines ever in the second quarter. Cable network affiliates’ revenues sank 3% in the period to $9 billion after three previous sequential quarters of slight 1% increases, according to MoffettNathanson Research estimates from analysis and company reports.
In what appears to be an ongoing battle of attrition, cable networks lost about 2.5% of their subscribers in new universe estimates released by Nielsen. The estimates, which are Nielsen’s official numbers for April, suggest an acceleration of cable’s erosion, and compare with a year-to-date decline of about 2%.
Charter Communication’s proposed $55 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable would shrink the number of Internet and cable TV distributors in the U.S. to just four. With fewer outlets to sell their shows, cable networks would have less leverage to demand high fees and inclusion of some of their niche channels.The only solution may be for the networks to merge with one another — or be taken over by the cable and Internet distributors themselves.
Sean Combs, the hip-hop mogul now known as Diddy, has bid about $200 million for the Fuse cable channel, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. He would convert Fuse, owned by New York-based Madison Square Garden Co., into Revolt TV, which has backing from Comcast Corp., said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – TLC has announced it will air a full series about a progressive polygamous family from Utah that starred in a one-hour pilot earlier this year. The cable TV network said Thursday it will produce nine, one-hour episodes of My Five Wives about Brady Williams and his five wives and 24 […]
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NEW YORK (AP) — Talk about an unlikely recipe for success — a cable network dedicated to … food? It may not seem even a little preposterous today, but when Food Network launched 20 years ago America was sitting at a very different dinner table. After all, this was before we’d learned to fetishize cupcakes, […]
There’s no shortage of faith in the TV realm this year, which has yielded a bumper crop of new cable channels. A hardy few are being created from scratch as startup ventures (ABC News/Univision’s Fusion, Sean Combs’ Revolt TV, Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network) but most have arrived as remodelings of existing outlets that had some distribution in place already: Fox Sports 1, FXX, Al Jazeera America, Participant Media’s Pivot.
Participant Media Debuts New Cable Net Pivot
The new 40 million subscriber millennials-targeted cable network from Participant TV has a name: Pivot. Veteran cable TV executive Evan Shapiro, president of Participant TV, told reporters at an upfront briefing the new network, targeting young viewers 15-34, will start up Aug. 1 with a network tagline: “It’s Your Turn.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Participant Media plans to launch a cable network aimed at viewers 18 to 34 years old with programming it describes as inspiring and thought-provoking. The as-yet-unnamed network is set to start next summer with an initial reach of 40 million subscribers, the company announced Monday. Targeting so-called millennials, Participant is developing […]
Technology and competitive advantages have been game-changers for premium-tier outfits such as HBO and Showtime and basic cable’s FX and AMC.
Broadcast DIps, Cable Holds As Season Ends
Looking at the last third of the TV 2011-12 season — over a broader weeklong viewing metric — broadcast networks sank in viewership versus a year before. TV cable networks were virtually flat.
A month after Univision landed its first distribution deal for its three coming cable networks, the company said it is in discussions with other potential operators and expects to conclude arrangements.
Ad-supported cable continues to top the broadcast networks this season by large margins. Yet, after recent declines, the Big Four broadcasters collectively are on the rise, albeit barely. Also, while cable ratings are up, its share of the overall market, is basically flat.
To stay competitive, relatively small cable channels that once relied on reality shows and repeats of others’ scripted programs are now showing original comedies and dramas.
Upfront 2011: Cable Nets To Take In $9.2B
A Barclays Capital report continues the trend of forecasting a stellar upfront for cable networks, but throws some cold water on the ad market at large. Volume for the cable market is projected to jump about 15% over a year ago. Cable is expected to take in total dollars on par with the Big Four broadcast networks for the first time, with both at $9.2 billion.
NEW YORK (AP) — Television viewers will be able to see hours on hours of programming tied to this spring’s royal wedding before Prince William and Kate Middleton even approach Westminster Abbey for their big day. A Lifetime movie, a show that brings wedding fanatics from the U.S. over to London and a TLC special […]
Cable networks have been challenging broadcasters’ hold on TV viewers for years, but the big networks’ lackluster fall is proof of a new parity. Nielsen figures show the Big 4 and basic cable gained 1% in 2010 as overall viewing continues to rise to a record 34 hours a week. But the fall season has been less kind: Fox is down 15% and ABC is off 5%, offsetting smaller gains by CBS and NBC.
Sezmi is shutting down its Select Plus tier of service, a $19.95-a-month offering comprising 23 popular cable networks delivered via leased broadcast digital spectrum. Going forward, it will focus on its Select service, which combines local broadcast signals with access to online video via a “personalized” interface and high-capacity DVR for $4.95 per month.
