Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE by Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Nick Jr.’s internationally popular “Dora the Explorer” children’s animated series will kick off a new season next month. Fresh episodes, which, for the first time since the show premiered, will feature a new voice cast, will run Sept. 15 to 19 and culminate with a five-hour marathon. Multichannel News (8/21) , Financial Times (8/21)

Travel Channel has picked up the cable rights to the CBS series “The Amazing Race.” As part of the deal, the cable network gets Seasons 12 through 14 and plans to debut the Emmy-winning show Sept. 3 in the 8 p.m. time slot. Variety (8/21)

Film credits from the 1920s reveal imprecision in copyright claims that experts say could invalidate Disney‘s long-held copyright to Mickey Mouse. The cartoon character is said to be worth more than $3 billion to Disney. A Disney lawyer dismisses the idea as “frivolous.” (Iwantmedia 8/22,  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mickey22-2008aug22,0,6883462.story 8/22)

ESPN and Major League Baseball have come to terms on a new rights contract that will enable the cable sports network to leverage various media platforms, including video game consoles and iPods, to deliver baseball content. The deal, which runs through 2013, includes online streaming of live games and highlights, as well as the development of new interactive elements in televised games. USA TODAY/Associated Press (8/21)

A company called Visible World says it has created an open standard for addressable TV advertising that will allow marketers to more precisely target their chosen demographic. Visible World President Tara Walpert-Levy said the new application enabled advertisers to deliver specifically tailored messages, down to individual households. MediaPost Communications (8/21)

AT&T has started offering potential customers $125 if they switch their broadband service away from a cable provider. Those who do so by Nov. 15 also get AT&T’s introductory broadband price for two years. CED Magazine (8/2008)

Harbinger Capital Management, which earlier this month disclosed to federal regulators that it had acquired a 4.9% stake in Cablevision, has upped its influence to 8.1%, or 18.95 million shares, according to this report. Harbinger, which is led by fund manager Phil Falcone, has a reputation for shaking up the management of the companies in which it significantly invests. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (8/22)

Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment