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TiVo's 2Q; Closed Door at FCC; 3D without Glasses & More
2Q Reports: TiVo lost another 125,000 DVR subs in the second quarter, taking its "TiVo-owned" total down to 1.37M by July 31, 2010. Revenues were also down (-10.5% y/y to $51.6M) and the net loss grew to $15.3M. Nonetheless CEO Tom Rogers says the company "remains on solid financial footing." Now, for the really big question, when is that long awaited DIRECTV TiVo going to show up? (Still sometime this year, they say.)
Gov't & Reg: Ongoing today at the FCC: A closed-door meet of economists from a whole passel of folks to discuss the much-discussed Comcast/NBC-U deal. --- The FCC is also keeping its eye on Disney - Time Warner Cable talks as programming carriage and retrans become ever-hotter issues.
Tech: A Japanese newspaper report says that Toshiba will market a 3D TV that does not require special glasses later this year.
Deals: Contract talks between Hallmark and AT&T U-verse are apparently not going well as the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel say they may go dark for U-verse customers if an agreement is not reached by midnight Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Programming: TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland" served up 4.2M total viewers, making it the self-proclaimed #1 cable sitcom of the year. --- Discovery's new educational and commercial-free HEAD RUSH programming on the Science Channel got a shout out from FCC Commissioner Michael Copps: "Initiatives like this truly serve the public interest!”
Sky Tech: Inmarsat has a new DKK 25M ($4.27M) contract with Thrane & Thrane for upgrading and adding new functionality to its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN). --- STM Group is touting "breakthrough technology" for meeting next generation requirements in high-performance satellite networks via its SatLink 2000 VSAT Indoor Unit. The unit supports internet protocol throughput up to 30 Mbps and operates on DVB-S2 carriers at information rates over 160 Mbps.
Tops at Tribune? As the Tribune Company – with its string of newspapers, 23 television stations and national cable interests – looks to exit bankruptcy, former Disney chief Michael Eisner is near the top of the wish list to replace Sam Zell as chairman. Talks are far from over, however, so stay tuned. Other media names mentioned for top spots include Comcast's Jeff Shell who is reportedly being courted to join the post-bankruptcy company as chief exec. Meanwhile DIRECTV founder and former CEO Eddy Hartenstein is already on board at the company as publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times.
Programming: TWC says it now offers more than 150 HD channels in its New York City region with its Start Over service available on more than 25 of those. --- An Entertainment Weekly-branded channel on YouTube will offer sneak previews for the fall television season.
as seen on skyreport
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