An Ignoble Experiment

2. Time Warner Cable replaces CFO Esteves with AOL veteran Minson

Wall Street analysts said recent rate hikes will help Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) post increased revenue for the first quarter when it reports earnings Wednesday, but that the nation's largest cable MSO will report that it dropped basic video subscribers during the period.

Comcast is expected to post earnings per share of 50 cents for the first quarter, up a nickel compared to this time last year, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The MSO will likely report that it dropped 30,000 video subscribers and gained 439,000 cable modem customers, said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves. The video subscriber losses would be an improvement compared to the 39,000 that Comcast lost during the first quarter of 2012.

Comcast has gone through several key changes in the last year. The Department of Justice didn't sign off on its its spectrum, marketing and innovation pact with Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) until last summer. It now markets bundles of digital cable and mobile phone service with Verizon in dozens of markets. Comcast also launched its Xfinity X1 platform last May, and now sells the advanced digital cable product in several major markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Denver and San Francisco.

Look for Comcast CEO Brian Roberts to give analysts an update Wednesday on the planned rollout of X2, the next version of Comcast's cloud-based interactive video platform. Comcast is scheduled to release its Q1 report early Wednesday and scheduled its earnings call for 8:30 a.m. ET.

For more:
- Investors Business Daily has this story
- the AP has this story
- International Business Times has this story

Special Report: Cable in the first quarter of 2013

Read more about: Comcast, Verizon Wireless
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By Steve Donohue

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3. Cablevision finds buyer for Clearview Cinemas

Time Warner Cable said CFO Irene Esteves is leaving the company and will be replaced by AOL veteran Arthur Minson. The change, which is effective Thursday, is notable because Esteves' contract is not set to expire for at least another year.

In July 2011, Time Warner Cable disclosed in an SEC filing that it had signed Esteves to a three-year contract paying her $800,000 annually through July 2014. In a statement issued late Monday, CEO Glenn Britt thanked Esteves for helping the MSO close its acquisition of Insight Communications and its partnership with Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ). "Irene has played a significant role in the management of the company during the last two years," Britt said.

Esteves was promoted to CFO in 2011. She succeeded Rob Marcus, who is currently Time Warner Cable's COO. Wall Street analysts have said Marcus is a potential candidate to succeed Britt after his contract expires at year-end. Britt, 64, said on Time Warner Cable's earnings call last week that no decision has been made about whether he will remain at Time Warner after his contract expires.

Previously, Minson served as Time Warner Cable EVP and deputy CFO. In 2009, he joined AOL, where he held the posts of COO and chief financial and administrative officer.

"We're delighted to welcome Artie back to Time Warner Cable," Britt said in a prepared statement. "His deep knowledge of the cable industry, the broad experience he gained at AOL as CFO and COO, and his outstanding reputation in the financial community makes him a great addition to our management team," he added.

The move follows other management changes in recent months at Time Warner Cable, which announced in January that it would restructure into three business units – residential services, business services and media services. Last week, it named former Cox executive Phil Meeks head of business services.

For more:
- see the release

Read more about: Time Warner Cable, Glenn Britt
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By Steve Donohue

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4. NCTA building 'The Observatory' multimedia showcase for The Cable Show

Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) said late Monday that it agreed to sell its chain of 41 movie theaters in the New York City area to Bow Tie Cinemas.

The move comes nearly one year after Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan told analysts on the MSO's first quarter of 2012 earnings call that it planned to "explore potential strategic alternatives for Clearview." While the MSO used the Clearview movie theaters in its Optimum Rewards program--offering subscribers discounts on movie tickets for ordering its cable, phone and high-speed Internet bundle--Cablevision executives said the movie chain was hurting its cash flow.

"As we're looking for ways to continue to consolidate our business, Clearview is not core by any stretch of the imagination," Cablevision CFO Gregg Seibert told analysts last May.

Cablevision didn't disclose terms of the deal, which Bow Tie said will make it the eighth largest movie theater owner in the United States, with 388 screens in 63 locations. It will pick up Clearview's flagship Chelsea Cinemas theater in Manhattan as part of the agreement.

Clearview isn't the first non-core asset Cablevision has sold or folded over the years. It shuttered The Wiz, a chain of New York area electronics stores, in 2003. In February, it agreed to sell its Optimum West cable systems to Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) for $1.6 billion. And in the late 1990s, Cablevision sold other cable systems outside its core footprint of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, including its system in Cleveland, Ohio.

For more:
- see the release

Read more about: Charter Communications
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By Steve Donohue

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5. Nielsen tests overnight online TV ratings with Discovery, ABC, CBS, NBC

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Arris (Nasdaq: ARRS) and connected TV and mobile phone manufacturer LG are among the industry players that will showcase multimedia products at The Cable Show in a new exhibit called The Observatory, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said Monday.

The Observatory. Source: NCTA

A&E Networks, Cox Communications, CommScope, Disney/ESPN Media Networks, Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC), HBO, Fox, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Turner Broadcasting and Scripps Networks Interactive are also contributing to the exhibit at the convention, which kicks off June 12 in Washington, D.C., NCTA said.

LG and Samsung both ran demonstrations at last year's convention in Boston of apps for connected TVs that could deliver cable programming from Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) Optimum lineup without using a cable set-top. Look for LG, which touted new connected TVs and its Intuition smartphone during an episode of NBC's All-Star Celebrity Apprentice series Sunday night, to pitch similar products at the cable convention.

The Observatory will be located in the middle of the convention floor, across from the Imagine Park exhibit. NCTA said in Monday's announcement that the exhibit will be a "360-degree immersive experience that takes attendees on a journey through cable's transformative evolution from the first multichannel television delivery platform, to the power of broadband, to today's powerful content and delivery platform."

NCTA said it will also feature a "Cable to Go" app showcase in The Observatory which will include media and entertainment-themed apps for tablets.

For more:
- see the release

Special Report: Top 10 connected TV interfaces: Do Apple, Google, Microsoft make the cut?

Read more about: Comcast, The Cable Show, Time Warner Cable
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By Steve Donohue

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