Cablevision

The omnibus pact includes the CBS O&Os as well as Showtime, the Smithsonian Channel and the CBS Sports Network. It also covers distribution of CBS programming on Cablevision’s VOD and TV Everywhere platforms.

Affected are WPIX New York; WPHL Philadelphia; KWGN Denver; and WCCT Hartford, Conn. The cable operator accuses Tribune of demanding fees that are too high because of its parent company’s financial woes, but Tribune says it’s asking for “less than a penny a day per subscriber.”

The surprise resignation of Cablevision System Corp.’s top cable executive Tom Rutledge sparked Wall Street and investor speculation on Thursday that the Dolan family-controlled company could become an acquisition target.

(RTTNews) — Cable television provider Cablevision Systems Corp. said Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit seeking to end an advertising campaign run by Verizon Inc., which allegedly misleads consumers by […]

Cablevision and Viacom have resolved a dispute over streaming rights, the media companies said on Wednesday. In a joint statement, the two companies said that Viacom’s programs will continue to appear on the app. Just don’t expect either side to admit they were wrong. “Neither side is conceding its original legal position or will have further comment,” the statement reads.

The cable networks group has completed its spin-off from cable operator Cablevision, and its stock, which many analysts recommend with “buy” ratings, has started trading on Nasdaq.

With Cablevision Systems set to spin off its cable channel unit AMC Networks on Thursday and the stock scheduled to start trading on Friday, some Wall Street observers are recommending that investors buy the stock after the spin. Citing programming success, carriage fee upside and a possible acquisition as early as 2012, analysts say AMC Networks shares are worth in the mid to high $40 range.

Looking to combat runaway retrans costs — and sometimes testy negotiations that lead to TV program blackouts — cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp. filed a proposal with the FCC for some reforms.

As Time Warner Cable’s iPad app continues to face objections from Discovery and other program providers over Internet-distribution issues, Cablevision releases an app it says sidesteps the Net, and thus the licensing question.

Cablevision Systems Corp., the Long Island, N.Y.-based media company that owns cable TV systems and a raft of cable networks, said Thursday that it was on track to spin off its Rainbow Networks unit in mid-2011 and the soon-to-be created company will be named AMC Networks Inc.

Cablevision Systems shed about 35,000 basic video customers in the fourth quarter, losses that are almost entirely attributed to the MSO’s high-profile retransmission consent battle with Fox Broadcasting last year.

OWN, Oprah Winfrey’s forthcoming cable channel, will be carried by Cablevision, the companies said Tuesday. The carriage agreement is important because Cablevision was one of the last big gaps in OWN’s distribution footprint, and because Cablevision serves a large swath of the New York metropolitan area. The agreement came just days before OWN’s Jan. 1 start date.

Cablevision Systems Corp. said it is considering spinning off to shareholders its programming unit, Rainbow Media, which houses the AMC and Sundance Channel networks. Cablevision shares jumped as much as 10% following the news as Wall Street speculated on the possibility of the highly valued cable networks eventually being sold off.

By early spring, Cablevision plans to launch a service that can turn the iPad into a mobile TV screen at home. “You’ll have our full cable television service on it in the home,” COO Tom Rutledge said Thursday at an investor event. The launch could come toward the end of the first quarter next year, or early in the second, he said.

As promised, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation officially confirmed today that it will hold hearings on retransmission consent next week, on Nov. 17.

Cablevision Systems COO Tom Rutledge wouldn’t discuss Thursday how many subscribers the cable company likely lost due to its recent public program showdown with News Corp./Fox, which kept key programmers off its cable systems for two weeks. But on Cablevision’s quarterly earnings conference call, he defended the company’s stance against Fox and its hopes for government intervention.

Wall Street analysts Monday morning analyzed the weekend’s resolution of the Fox-Cablevision and Dish Network program fee showdowns, highlighting the entertainment giant’s leverage and guesstimating that the cable operator likely lost a few thousand subscribers in the worst case scenario.

The online service that streams local broadcast signals said its subscribers grew by 323% during the Fox blackout on Cablevision’s New York and Philadelphia systems.

A recent spate of TV blackouts and the lack of government intervention suggests that broadcasters have the upper hand over TV signal providers when it comes to negotiating fees, at least until Congress decides to act.

Fox and Cablevision reached an agreement Saturday that will restore programming to more than 3 million New York-area subscribers who have been without some of their favorite shows and baseball playoff games for two weeks.

Another week has gone by, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has yet to step into the middle of the bitter Fox-Cablevision retrans feud. Good for him. ~~ Cablevision seems to have lost its mind with some of its tactics. ~~ It’s funny that neither side is spending more time encouraging consumers to put up antennas. ~~ Fox’s hard line shows the driving determination to get paid for its programming and I’ll bet that later Fox affils will be trying hard to hang on to their own retrans dollars when affiliation renewals contracts come up. ~~ Broadcasters may start to feel an unexpected retrabs backlash as cable operators begin to challenge the legality of duopolies.

The Cablevision blackout led to slashed ratings in New York for Fox drama Glee this week, with the Halloween-themed hour down 29% compared to the previous original episode. On Tuesday on WNYW, Glee posted a 2.84 in the 18-to-49 demo, down 29% from a 4.01 on Oct. 12. Nationally, ratings were up 4% in the key demo. With WNYW off the air in 43% of the New York market, its late local news continues to suffer ratings drops at much higher percentages than that.

Fox on Wednesday rejected a last-ditch offer from Cablevision Systems Corp. to pay it more for its TV stations’ signals, a move that could leave some 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the New York area with few options besides heading to a bar to watch baseball’s World Series on TV.