An Ignoble Experiment

eBrief | Partnering for DPI Deployment

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) said Friday that it is promoting Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) and Citigroup investment banking veteran Christian Lee to SVP of mergers and acquisitions.

Lee (Source: TWC)

Lee, whose new gig becomes effective Dec. 31, will succeed Satish Adige, a 28-year TWC veteran who plans to retire at the end of the year.

Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) and investor Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LMCA) have reportedly been looking to architect an acquisition of TWC, and Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Cox Communications have also been named in recent weeks as potential suitors. Lee, who worked previously as TWC's VP of investments, will be charged with overseeing its M&A strategy, the company said.

"Christian is an accomplished executive who brings a wealth of experience and leadership qualities to his new role. Under his direction, we will continue to pursue our disciplined and strategic approach to investing and M&A," TWC CFO Arthur Minson said in a prepared statement.

Lee worked in Time Warner Inc.'s finance and acquisitions department before joining TWC in 2007. The Columbia Business School graduate also worked previously at Citigroup's investment bank.

For more:
- see the release

Read more about: Cox Communications, personnel changes
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2. SeaChange hopeful that Comcast will upgrade to Adrenalin VOD platform

By Steve Donohue

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3. Cable operators shut out of Connect America Fund broadband subsidies

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is still using a customized version of the Axiom video-on-demand platform from SeaChange International (Nasdaq: SEAC) to deliver on-demand content to Xfinity TV subscribers. But SeaChange CEO Raghu Rau told analysts Thursday that the company is hopeful that the MSO will upgrade to its next-generation Adrenalin platform.

Rau showcasing multiscreen technologies at the 2012 Cable Show. (Photo by Samantha Bookman)

"We have not planned for any Comcast revenues for the next year, but we are not giving up hope that we will be able to enter Comcast with Adrenalin at some point of time," Rau said on a SeaChange earnings call. Rau's statement came in response to an analyst who noted that Comcast developed software that rides on the Axiom platform that SeaChange first began supplying to pay TV distributors in 2008.

"Comcast, when they decided that they wanted a next-generation VOD platform, SeaChange was not ready with the Adrenalin platform, unfortunately. And so that's why Comcast went their own way. They still continue to use Axiom and we believe they will continue to use Axiom in the foreseeable future. However, considering the immense success that Adrenalin has received, we're hopeful that at some point of time, Comcast will want to go with the world's best enterprise-class back office platform, which is Adrenalin," Rau said.

SeaChange introduced its Adrenalin multiscreen software platform in 2010. The Acton, Mass.-based technology vendor said Thursday that it generated $37.8 million in revenue for its third fiscal quarter of 2014, down slightly from $39.2 million this time last year. But it said revenue from new products like Adrenalin now represent 45 percent of all product revenues, up from 25 percent in the same period last year.

Rau said that SeaChange has seen demand for Adrenalin in Europe, where a telco that he did not name launched the multiscreen platform in Q3. He said that a large Scandinavian operator also launched an IPTV service using Adrenalin. Rau didn't name the IPTV provider, but SeaChange announced a deal with Sweden's Com Hem in March to deploy Adrenalin.

SeaChange posted GAAP operating income of $500,000 (2 cents per share), compared to an operating loss of $1.6 million (5 cents per share) last year.

For more:
- see the release
- see transcript from earnings call

Read more about: Comcast
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By Steve Donohue

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4. Verizon FiOS adds NFL RedZone, Starz, AXSTV to out-of-home streaming lineup

No cable operators will get a cut of the $255.7 million in subsidies that the FCC announced as part of its Connect America Fund initiative on Friday, with AT&T (NYSE: T), CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), Fairpoint Communications (Nasdaq: FRP), Frontier Communications (Nasdaq: FTR) and Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) winning grants in the latest round of funding.

The FCC said the cash will help expand broadband access to more than 400,000 homes and businesses in rural areas of 41 states. The latest round of subsidies expands the amount of Connect America funding that the commission has doled out to $403 million.

The American Cable Association and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association have complained previously about the FCC offering subsidies to telcos in areas where broadband is already offered. Those efforts appear to have had an impact on the latest round of funding. The FCC noted in Friday's announcement that the five carriers had identified in August 563,767 locations where they wanted to use Connect America funds, and that the subsidies announced Friday authorize funding for 393,409 locations "that were not subject to a challenge."

For more:
- see the FCC release

Read more about: Connect America, Fairpoint
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By Steve Donohue

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