Cablevision

Rainbow Media Sells Off Lifeskool, Sportskool VOD Services

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 9, 2008 - 7:38am.

New York - Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) Rainbow Media Holdings announced that it has sold off its two video-on-demand services, the education-oriented Lifeskool and sports instruction-based Sportskool.

Cablevision Subscribers Not Getting Olympics Web Video

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 11, 2008 - 12:25pm.

New York - Some three million of Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) subscribers aren't able to view all of the 2,200 hours of Olympics video on NBCOlympics.com, due to its reluctance to pay a premium NBC Universal is charging premium TV providers for the privilege, Cablevision-owned Newsday.com reports. Before viewing video, visitors to NBCOlympics.com must first enter their zip code and choose their cable or satellite provider from a list -- which generates local TV listings for Olympic events. "To date, Cablevision has not elected to offer its customers the enhanced Olympics package," NBC said in a statement.

Time Warner Cable to Deploy Network DVR, if Courts Approve

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 7, 2008 - 7:51am.

New York - The chief executive of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) has said that his company will deploy a network-based digital video recorder, should rival Cablevision fare successfully against the studios and networks challenging the technology in court, Multichannel News reported.

Robertson: Cablevision Ruling Bodes Well for MP3tunes Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 6, 2008 - 1:13pm.

San Diego - Michael Robertson, head of music storage locker service MP3tunes -- which is currently the target of a copyright suit from EMI -- said yesterday that a recent court ruling in favor of a similar video service from Cablevision "sets a sturdy legal precedence which MP3tunes can use to battle for the legality of our online music storage service." "The parallels to Cablevision are striking with the primary difference being they're video and we're music. Both are services storing your personal content and playing it back for you," Robertson wrote in a post on his blog. Robertson adds that the pending suit against his company is being heard by the same federal court that delivered the Cablevision ruling.

Cablevision to Explore Possible Spin-Offs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 5, 2008 - 10:00am.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), the cable TV operator and owner of sports teams, newspapers, entertainment venues and cable networks, announced on Tuesday that its board has authorized management to explore "all actions necessary or desirable" to enhance value for the company's shareholders, including the spin-off of one or more businesses.

Do Network-Based DVRs Infringe on the Copyrights of TV Networks and Movie Studios?

Authored by Jay Baage on August 4, 2008 - 9:24am.

Court: Cablevision's Network DVR Doesn't Infringe Copyrights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 4, 2008 - 9:01am.

New York - A federal appeals court has ruled that cable TV provider Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) proposed network-based digital video recorder does not directly infringe on the copyrights of networks and movie studios, and sent the case back to a lower court for further proceedings, Reuters reported. The device would store the programs a user wants to have recorded on Cablevision's servers -- rather than on a hard drive on the recorder device in the consumer's home, a la TiVo.

Rainbow Media Completes Sundance Channel Acquisition

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 17, 2008 - 8:48am.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cable TV service provider Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) Rainbow Media Holdings announced on Tuesday that it has completed its $496 million acquisition of Sundance Channel from previous owners NBC Universal, Showtime Networks and entities controlled by Sundance founder Robert Redford.

Voom HD Claims $1B in Damages from DISH Network Exit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 3, 2008 - 7:29am.

New York - Voom HD Networks, a suite of HD channels owned by Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) Rainbow Media, has filed a complaint against satellite TV provider DISH Network (NASD: DISH) with the New York Supreme Court, claiming over $1 billion in damages in the wake of DISH's dropping Voom's channels from its service last month, Multichannel News reported.

Cablevision to Acquire Newsday for $650 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 12, 2008 - 7:40am.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), a provider of cable TV and broadband services in the New York area, announced on Monday that it will acquire a 97% stake in Newsday Media Group from media company Tribune (NYSE: TXA) for $650 million. Tribune will retain a 3% stake in the company. Cablevision's winning bid beat out other suitors that included News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), which withdrew its $580 million bid on Saturday, and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman.

Cablevision Offers Movies on Demand on DVD Release Date

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2008 - 12:54pm.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cable TV provider Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) on Monday announced a new service that will let subscribers watch select new release movies on-demand on the same day as their DVD release, as well as have a copy of the film shipped to them on DVD. The Popcorn DVDs On Demand service, powered by Popcorn Home Entertainment, will charge $19.95, plus DVD shipping costs, for new release films, while older library titles will cost between $9.95 and $15.95, plus shipping.

Apple, Others Sued by Klausner Over Voicemail Patents

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 4, 2007 - 11:24am.

Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL), AT&T (NYSE: T), Skype (NASD: EBAY) and cable TV operators including Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) and Cablevision have been sued for patent infringement by Klausner Technologies, over patents that cover certain attributes of voicemail that give users visual notification of incoming messages, and allow selective retrieval of messages.

RHI to Offer World Premiere Movies on Cable TV VOD Systems

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 20, 2007 - 3:38pm.

New York - TV production company RHI Entertainment on Monday announced plans to distribute 24 world premiere movies in the action, thriller and horror genres to cable TV subscribers on their video-on-demand services. RHI (formerly Hallmark Entertainment) will offer the films in both standard and HD VOD through partners including Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision and Bright House Networks. RHI films slated for VOD premieres include "Black Friday" (Judd Nelson); "Maneater" (Gary Busey); and "Eye of the Beast" (James Van Der Beek). Following the VOD premieres, the films will air on networks including Sci-Fi, Spike TV and Lifetime, and be distributed on home video through Genius Entertainment.

Cablevision Adds VOOM HD Channels

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 21, 2007 - 4:02pm.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cable TV provider Cablevision announced on Thursday that it will add 15 new high-definition channels from Rainbow Media's VOOM HD Networks to its lineup. With the new additions, scheduled to launch later this month, Cablevision will count a total of over 40 HD channels.

Telecom, Electronics Firms File Brief Supporting Cablevision Network DVR

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 12, 2007 - 1:30pm.

New York - A number of powerful telecom firms and technology trade groups have come to the aid of Cablevision, filing a brief in support of the company's appeal of a federal court ruling that prohibited it from launching a network-based digital video recorder (DVR).

tags: Law | Lawsuits | TV | CTIA | Movies | DVR | CEA | EFF | Cablevision | USTelecom |

Dolan Family Takes Cablevision Private in $10.6 Billion Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 2, 2007 - 12:58pm.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cablevision, a provider of cable TV services to 3.1 million subscribers and owner of Madison Square Garden and several sports teams, announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to be taken private by the Dolan family in a deal valued at about $10.6 billion.

tags: Deals | TV | Cablevision | Dolan |

Cablevision Appeals Loss of Remote-Storage DVR Ruling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 10, 2007 - 10:32am.

Bethpage, N.Y. - Cable TV provider Cablevision announced on Tuesday that it will appeal a federal court ruling that said its proposal to build a network-based digital video recorder (DVR) system would infringe copyrights.

Mark Cuban: The CableVision DVR Lawsuit is a Mistake

Authored by Mark Cuban on March 25, 2007 - 4:01pm.

I'm obviously a defender of copyrights. I'm also a defender of fair use. I also think that there is a time to sue, a time to compete and a time to use some sense. CableVision, a Long Island cable MSO, has created a very simple product. It's a virtual DVR. Rather than having a DVR with finite hard drive storage capacity in every home, they essentially moved the hard drive to a network location and let the storage occur there.

Studios Win Suit Against Cablevision Over Network-Based DVR

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 23, 2007 - 10:46am.

New York - Cable TV provider Cablevision has lost a lawsuit filed by the major Hollywood movie studios and networks over the company's plans to introduce a network-based digital video recorder service, Reuters reported.

tags: Video | Law | Lawsuits | TV | Movies | DVR | Cablevision |

2007 Will be the Year When Creators Get Paid and Other Views from the Future of Television Forum

Authored by Jay Baage on November 17, 2006 - 4:58pm.
[Coverage from DMW/CEA/NYU's Future of Television Forum in New York]
 NYU Schimmel AuditoriumDuring the “Mobile TV: The Next Frontier” panel, Jason Rubinstein, Senior Director, Mobile Video & Gaming Mobile Devices at Motorola remarked that there are a number of problems with formats, copyrights and bandwidth that have to be overcome before video applications will become a main stream application for cell phones in the US. “Mobile video is years behind where music is today”, he admitted.