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Wednesday, August 27th, 11am ET/ 8am PT
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Editor's Corner:  What CBS and Time Warner Cable could learn from Disney and Comcast Also Noted: Ineoquest
Spotlight On... Cable operators driving increased local ad-sales revenue
Cuban invests in Copley Retention Systems; Qwilt raises $16M; Comcast sells Ethernet to New Jersey hospitals and much more... Feature:  Operators team with programmers and rivals to drive local ad revenue  Follow @FierceCable on Twitter!
News From the Fierce Network:
1. BT splits retail division into consumer, business units
2. Sprint's wireline revenues rise to $910M with voice service gains
3. HTC warns of potential Q3 operating loss, plans more mid-tier products
| This week's sponsor is Kony. |  | White Paper: Mobilizing the Entire Enterprise
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What CBS and Time Warner Cable could learn from Disney and Comcast
CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves might've avoided this ugly public dispute with Time Warner Cable, if he had considered some of the terms involving mobile video that rival Walt Disney Co. agreed to in a broad carriage deal it signed with Comcast in January 2012. Disney has been able to use TV Everywhere distribution to squeeze increased license fees from Comcast and other cable operators, including rights to its new Watch ABC app, which streams live video from ABC stations. CBS's problem is that it isn't offering Time Warner Cable any additional value for the retrans fee hike it's demanding to carry stations in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. Rather than let Time Warner Cable and other operators stream CBS stations to subscribers -- a strategy that could help CBS drive increased ratings and ad revenue -- Moonves wants to compete with cable TV Everywhere portals and mobile video apps. In early April, DyleTV announced a deal with CBS flagship station WCBS-TV which will allow New Yorkers to watch local TV on an iPad or iPhone by attaching bulky over-the-air antennas to the devices. Later that month, CBS bought a minority stake in Syncbak, which is developing an authentication platform that TV stations nationwide could use to stream live feeds of their broadcasts through apps on smartphones and tablets. So while Moonves reportedly wants Time Warner Cable to agree to a 600 percent increase in retrans fees, he won't give distributors a live streaming app like Disney's Watch ABC. Instead, he wants New Yorkers to shell out $100 for a DyleTV over-the-air receiver and antenna for their smartphones and tablets. And in dozens of other markets with CBS O&Os and affiliates, he'll try to reinvent the TV Everywhere wheel with Synkbak while threatening to black out cable operators who resist helping him reach his goal of hitting $1 billion in annual retrans revenue by 2016.  Continue reading this Editor's Corner online
Read more about: Time Warner Cable, Cbs, Comcast
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| Sponsor: Cisco FierceLive! Webinars > Assuring Customers' Multiscreen and OTT Video Viewing Experience- August 19, 2013, 2 pm ET / 11 am PT
> Getting started with carrier WiFi - what's it take for a great user experience? - August 27th, 11am ET/ 8am PT
Events > TIA 2013 - October 8-10 - Washington D.C.
Marketplace > Whitepaper: Knowledge Management: 5 Steps to Getting it Right the First Time
> Whitepaper: eBook: Smarter Service: The Contact Center of the Future
> Whitepaper: Cisco ONE: Framework for the Internet of Everything
> Whitepaper: The Financial Benefit of Cisco's Elastic Core
> Whitepaper: How HR Is Solving the Puzzle of Leave Management
> Whitepaper: Touch Technology Extends Mobile Gaming
Jobs > Wireless Store Manager – Florham Park, NJ – Cricket Communications
> Sr. Account Executive – San Diego, CA – Cox Communications
> Inventory Specialist /Revenue Analyst – Oklahoma City, OK – Cox Communications
> Field Auditor I – Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – Cox Communications
> SAS Administrator – Atlanta, CA – Cox Communications
> Senior Director, Technology Delivery Assurance – Atlanta, CA – Cox Communications
> SMB Account Exec (Cox Business) – San Diego, CA – Cox Communications
> Commercial Development Executive – Anywhere – WhistleOut
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* General ad info: Click here | Today's Top News 1. Time Warner Cable hikes modem rental fee to $6 monthly
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2. Zaslav: Discovery could license networks to Intel
The carriage deals that Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA) has with pay-TV distributors wouldn't block it from licensing content to virtual cable services like the one Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is reportedly developing, CEO David Zaslav said Tuesday. "Our agreements are clean. We own all of our content, and we have the right to sell our content to anybody we want to," Zaslav said on Discovery's second-quarter earnings call. "To the extent that there's an Intel or over-the-top video player that moves into this space, we are platform agnostic. And if the business model works, it's just somebody else bidding up for the ability to offer our content to viewers, so that's a good thing," he added. Zaslav was also asked by BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield how consolidation of cable MSOs led by Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LMCA) chairman John Malone could impact the license fees that Discovery collects from distributors. While Zaslav said some of Discovery's carriage deals would allow a large cable MSO that receives a volume discount to reduce the fees it pays on acquired cable systems, he said he was confident that Discovery would be able to continue to hike its license fees. "There may be more consolidation, but we think we'll be able to continue to do well, and get significant increases," Zaslav said, noting that Discovery's original programming and digital networks have become more popular. Discovery President of Ad Sales Joe Abruzzese noted that Discovery programming now accounts for 11 percent of viewership on cable, up from 4 percent at the beginning of 2007. Discovery posted $793 million in revenue from its U.S. networks in the second quarter, including a 17 percent increase in distribution revenue. The company said it saw a $37 million jump in revenue from license agreements compared to this time last year. The Silver Spring, Md.-based company generated about $1.5 billion in revenue, up 30 percent compared to last year. It posted $300 million (82 cents per share) in net income, up from $293 million (76 cents per share) in the second quarter of 2012. For more:
- see the release Special Report: Cable in the second quarter of 2013
Commentary: Will Cox go over the top of fellow cable MSOs with FlareWatch? Related articles:
Report: Google talking to programmers about virtual cable service
Rights issues could thwart Intel and other potential 'virtual MSOs'
Discovery wages 'fight over value' in TV Everywhere negotiations with cable operators
Discovery eyes first TV Everywhere carriage deals
Cisco, TiVo veterans reportedly helping Amazon build set-top box
Intel eyes facial recognition technology for virtual TV service Read more about: Discovery Communications, Intel
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3. Time Warner Cable restores CBS, Showtime after brief blackout
Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) dropped CBS Corp.'s (NYSE: CBS) owned-and-operated TV stations and Showtime from its cable systems in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas shortly after midnight Tuesday, but announced less than 30 minutes later that it had restored the feeds. "At the request of CBS, we have halted going dark on their channels," Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff wrote in an email to reporters at 12:30 a.m. ET. The MSO and CBS agreed to extend their contract until Aug. 2, at 5 p.m. ET, Huff said in a statement issued at about 5 a.m. ET Tuesday. CBS and Time Warner Cable have fought publicly since their retransmission-consent contract expired at the end of June, and they have announced several short-term extensions to the pact. The companies said at 5 p.m. ET on Monday that they had agreed to extend a deadline for reaching an agreement until 8 p.m. ET, and both sides issued statements hourly between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. that said the blackout deadline would be pushed back another hour. At midnight, Time Warner Cable announced that it was forced to drop the CBS stations, along with CBS-owned cable networks Showtime, TMC, Flix and Smithsonian Channel. "The outrageous demands for fees by CBS Corporation have forced Time Warner Cable to remove several of its networks and broadcast stations from our customers' lineups," Time Warner Cable said in its statement. "Fortunately, CBS programming is still available free online at cbs.com and over the air with an antenna," the company added. CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs said in a statement emailed at 1:30 a.m. ET that the parties are still attempting to work out a deal. "CBS and Time Warner Cable have agreed to continue discussions," Jacobs said. Time Warner Cable and CBS face pressure from both subscribers and politicians to reach an agreement. New York City Mayoral candidate and City Council speaker Christine Quinn has reportedly threatened to grill both sides at an oversight hearing, and asked the companies over the weekend to find a way to reach a settlement without disrupting service. Article updated on July 30, at 8:35 a.m., with statement about TWC and CBS agreeing to extend contract until Aug. 2. For more:
- see the Time Warner Cable statement
- USA Today has this story
- The Los Angeles Times has this story Commentary: What CBS and Time Warner Cable could learn from Disney and Comcast Related articles:
NYC Mayoral candidate Quinn urges CBS and Time Warner to settle dispute
Time Warner Cable, CBS extend blackout deadline; MSO loses Journal Broadcast stations
CBS prepares for Time Warner Cable blackout
CBS-Time Warner Cable talks break down as blackout deadline approaches
Time Warner Cable to pitch Aereo if CBS blacks out cable subscribers
CBS to flood TV Guide Network with reality shows Read more about: Time Warner Cable
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4. CEA: Fewer Americans using over-the-air antennas
Only about 7 percent of American households use over-the-air antennas to watch TV, down one percent compared to 2010, the Consumer Electronics Association said Tuesday. About 83 percent of U.S. households rely on a cable or satellite subscription for home entertainment, CEA said it found through a survey of 1,009 adults that it used for its Annual Household CE Ownership and Market Potential Study. CEA is looking to use the results of the study to push Congress to auction off broadcast spectrum for other uses, including mobile data and video. "Consumers have moved away in droves from traditional broadcast television thanks to a surge in programming alternatives available through wired and wireless broadband connections," CEA President Gary Shapiro said in a prepared statement. For more:
- see the release Related articles:
CEA gives Dish Network 'Best of Show' award for Hopper DVR
CEA backs Aereo in fight against CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS
Nielsen report finds cable operators lost 2.7 million households between Q3 2011, Q3 2012 Read more about: Cea
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5. DirecTV licenses patents for delivering content to mobile devices, game consoles
Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Ineoquest. |  | Webinar: Assuring Customers’ Multiscreen and OTT Video Viewing Experience
Monday August 19th, 2pm ET/ 11am PT
This webinar is intended to provide a general description and recommended practices for monitoring adaptive streaming video networks, provide an opportunity to understand how many others have successfully deployed a video service assurance solution for multiscreen and OTT video. Register to attend the webinar. |
SPOTLIGHT ON... Cable operators driving increased local ad-sales revenue In today's spotlight, FierceCable takes a big-picture look at the local cable advertising business, which generated $2.7 billion in revenue last year. With disputes between programmers and operators increasing each year, some networks are stepping up efforts to help operators generate revenue by selling local cable advertising using inventory supplied by the programmers. While MSOs continue to shed basic video subscribers, some major providers have managed to post increased local ad-sales revenue. Read more Quick news from across the Web. > AXS TV founder Mark Cuban invested in Copley Retention Systems, which is looking to make a business out of reducing college dropout rates with a Student Engagement Platform that includes smartphone apps and "face-to-face video rooms." The Weston, Fla.-based company said Cuban led its Series A funding round, which also included Boston International Group President Thomas DiBenedetto. Release > Online video delivery and transparent caching technology provider Qwilt said it has raised $16 million in Series C funding. The investment round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, and included existing equity holders Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures and Marker LLC. Release > Comcast Business said it struck a deal to supply Ethernet service to Inspira Health Network's South Jersey Healthcare and Underwood-Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. Release > TV station group owner A.H. Belo Corp. said it generated a 10 percent increase in retransmission-consent fees in the second quarter. Release And finally… Liberty Global said it'll report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 1. Release
Operators team with programmers and rivals to drive local ad revenue Battles between cable operators and networks over the cost of programming continue to increase each year. But behind the scenes, many operators are teaming up with cable networks and even rivals like AT&T, Verizon and DirecTV to sell local cable advertising--a business that generated $2.7 billion in revenue in 2012, according to the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau. The FCC reported last week that cable operators lost 2.1 million customers between 2010 and 2012. Despite those subscriber losses, the nation's two largest MSOs continue to grow ad revenue, thanks in part to online advertising and ads placed in free video-on-demand programming. Comcast generated $488 million in ad revenue in the first quarter, a gain of 2.7 percent compared to the same period in 2012, and Time Warner Cable saw its first-quarter ad revenue jump 5.2 percent to $222 million.  | | Cunningham | CAB CEO Sean Cunningham, a former Universal McCann EVP and managing director, said cable's multiplatform reach was a key focus of the pitch that he and cable sales execs gave to local advertisers at recent meetings in Detroit, Jackson, Miss., and Portland, Maine. He noted that about half of cable triple-play subscribers keep their local operator's portal as the home page on their Web browsers, and that the average cable subscriber watches about 70 hours of cable programming each month on TV and another 20 hours online. "When we're coming in and talking to people who are running car dealerships, furniture stores and medical practices, we're able to start the conversation with, 'How would you like 91 hours-worth of access?'" While demand for multiplatform advertising continues to grow, local cable avails remain the bread and butter for cable ad sales executives. Cable networks ranging from Comedy Central to TNT set aside about 2 minutes per hour of ad inventory that pay TV distributors can sell locally. Operators typically set aside about one-third of their local ad avails to sell regionally through cable advertising interconnects that let advertisers reach an entire Nielsen DMA with a single order. Operators also set aside about one-third of their inventory for national advertising. Rep firms such as Viamedia and National Cable Communications, which is owned by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications, use local cable avails to give media buyers the ability to to run the same commercial on cable systems nationwide or to buy packages of local avails that can be targeted to specific neighborhoods or demographics. Continue reading this Special Report online > Assuring Customers' Multiscreen and OTT Video Viewing Experience- August 19, 2013, 2 pm ET / 11 am PT This webinar is intended to provide a general description and recommended practices for monitoring adaptive streaming video networks, provide an opportunity to understand how many others have successfully deployed a video service assurance solution for multiscreen and OTT video. Register to attend the webinar. > Getting started with carrier WiFi - what's it take for a great user experience? - August 27th, 11am ET/ 8am PT Meeting customer expectations has never been more challenging than it is today. Learn how Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess™ Wireless LAN switch family and Access Point product line can help you deliver the Wi-Fi solution your customers want and create new revenue streams. Register Today!
| > TIA 2013 - October 8-10 - Washington D.C. TIA 2013 will address disruptive technologies and changing business models as companies position themselves for success with wireless, the transition to all-IP networks, Cloud, M2M, smart buildings, and more. The conference will offer ideas for thriving in the changing ICT environment. www.tia2013.org. Registration opens June 2013.
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| > Wireless Store Manager – Florham Park, NJ – Cricket Communications Cricket Communications offers nationwide wireless voice and mobile data services over high-quality, all-digital wireless networks. Every day, our Store Managers at Cricket run all aspects of the Cricket retail business including, but not limited to, financial management, business operations... Learn More > Sr. Account Executive – San Diego, CA – Cox Communications The Sr. Account Executive - Enterprise is responsible for meeting or exceeding sales goals for large accounts. The position is responsible for initial contact with customers, follow-up, proposal preparation, making customer presentations and seeing the sale through to the signing of a contract...Learn More > Inventory Specialist /Revenue Analyst – Oklahoma City, OK – Cox Communications The Inventory Specialist is responsible for providing accurate and detailed reports regarding inventory sell-out levels with recommendations and guidance to assist sales leadership in yield management through the development of optimized rates...Learn More > Field Auditor I – Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – Cox Communications The Field Auditor will maintain the security of the cable system by designing and implementing an effective and efficient audit program, asset and loss prevention programs; investigate internal and external security problems; implement internal and field security programs with other departments... Learn More > SAS Administrator – Atlanta, CA – Cox Communications SAS Administrator is responsible for providing senior level expertise on overall technology, infrastructure and administration as it relates to the SAS Grid enabled architecture, installed on RHEL/JBOSS server platform. Manages, configures and supports SAS...Learn More > Senior Director, Technology Delivery Assurance – Atlanta, CA – Cox Communications This position is accountable for driving Standard Processes, Governance, and Continuous Process Improvements across the Technology organization to improve the consistency and repeatability of our delivery processes. This role supports all technology organizations and closely partners with our enterprise portfolio management team...Learn More > SMB Account Exec (Cox Business) – San Diego, CA – Cox Communications The SMB Account Executive promotes, sells, and retains commercial business solutions for voice, data and video to SMB level customers. Sell bundled telephony, data and video products to existing/new commercial business customers based on assigned revenue targets...Learn More > Commercial Development Executive – Anywhere – WhistleOut This is an easy, 'open and shut' opportunity for an experienced and well-connected telco executive who is looking for a fresh opportunity in digital marketing with a unique, innovative and fast growing online comparison engine. This position is tasked with enhancing the depth of relationships with carriers and resellers in the US and Canada... Learn More > Need a job? Need to hire? Visit FierceWirelessJobs | |
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