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The weak economy is at least partially responsible for an ongoing video subscriber slide at Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC), COO Tom Rutledge said during an earnings conference call, adding that the MSO is still reeling after a retransmission dispute with News Corp.'s (Nasdaq: NWSA) Fox Networks that resulted in a blackout during last year's Major League Baseball playoffs. "Cablevision core system ... lost about 8400 video customers. Some of that was attributable to how we came into the year after the dispute that we had with News Corp. and the carriage and the World Series (but) we still continue to...

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his main rival Iyad Allawi are set to win the same number of seats in Iraq's parliament, according to an AFP projection based on 80 percent of votes cast. Maliki's State of Law Alliance and Allawi's Iraqiya bloc are on pace to garner 87 seats each in Iraq's 325-member Council of Representatives, with less than 9,000 votes separating the two nationwide

Those working to develop U.S. biobutanol production stress that they should not be seen as competitors to the existing ethanol industry any more than cellulosic ethanol should be seen as a competitor to corn ethanol. Rather, they note that producers of all biofuels share the same goals, and will be valuable allies in meeting the second stage of the renewable fuel standard (RFS2) requirements, limiting U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and furthering the political initiatives of the renewable fuels industry.

U.S. for two things: corn and ethanol. The state is home to 39 ethanol production facilities and boasts more than 3 billion gallons of annual production capacity, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. The most recent data from the Iowa Corn Growers Association shows that in 2008, 2.1 billion bushels of corn—82 percent of the entire U.S. crop—were harvested from Iowa fields. Iowa has earned its reputation for corn and ethanol and the two have served the state well. But while corn yields continue to increase year to year, the number of corn ethanol plants is expected to stabilize....

2:15 PM UPDATE: I've learned that 100 people are being laid off across "several divisions" of the A&E Television Networks yesterday and today "as a direct result of the merger". It will make those employees feel so much better that management tells me it's "no one in a decision making role." A&E Television Networks in August acquired Lifetime Entertainment, and everything is now owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group, Hearst and NBC Universal. Big Media = Big Mergers = Big Mistakes.

China's "father of space program" mourned across country (Source: Xinhua) 2009-11-02 　 People in deep sorrow come to express condolences in a small mourning hall that was set up at Qian Xuesen's home, Beijing, Nov. 1, 2009. Qian, also known as Tsien Hsue-shen, died of illness in Beijing Saturday morning at the age of 98. He led the country's missile and aviation programs and played a significant role in developing China's first man-made earth satellite. (Xinhua/Gao Xueyu) 　 　　BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The death of China's legendary scientist Qian Xuesen has plunged many Chinese into deep sorrow and people...

Time-Warner Cable will no longer carry Mark Cuban's HD Net, which broadcast Ring of Honor, beginning on or around May 31 in the New York City area. There had been talk of the cable provider pulling the channel its lineup a few months ago, but those plans were temporarily but on the back burner as talks between Time Warner and HD Net progressed.

A possible UFO sighting, as reported by the Journal of Scientific Exploration, date unknown. (Reuters) Something's out there. Just ask the 14 seemingly respectable and sane men gathered in a conference room two blocks from the White House. All say they've had a close encounter of the extremely unsettling kind. Conspiracy theories about UFO sightings and aliens are hardly new, but now it's a multinational group of apparently sane airline pilots and former government officials that is alleging an international cover-up of alien sightings. Members of the group have gathered in the US capital this week to talk about the...

Cable cancellations Scripps Networks Interactive, which operates the Food Network and other cable outlets, said Feb. 5 that the percentage of upfront cancellations is running in the low double digits, as opposed to cancellation rates of 2% to 5% in the first quarter. Speaking to investors on a conference call held by investment-bank Credit Suisse First Boston on Feb. 6, Mel Berning, A&E Networks exec VP-national ad sales, said second-quarter option cancellations could come in at about 10% across cable. Top-tier outlets have been able to maintain scatter pricing, he said, but scatter at other places is down by percentages...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- There's nothing new about fee disputes between TV networks and cable and satellite operators, but now they've got an added wrinkle: Cable operators contending that TV networks should forfeit big fee increases when they put shows online free on their own sites and third-party distributors such as Hulu, Joost and Veoh. That's one of the central arguments being made by Time Warner Cable executives in their dispute with Viacom, which threatens to remove a group of 18 networks that includes MTV, Comedy Central, Noggin and Nickelodeon from Time Warner's 13.5 million subscribers in big markets such...

Editor's note: This is part of a series of stories about the recession's effect on the tech industry. A year before the U.S. economic crisis came to a head, Debra James of Oakland said she saw the writing on the wall and decided to trim the household budget. Topping the list were things like satellite television. I could tell the economy was getting sluggish in the summer of 2007," she said. "So I decided we needed to make some cuts, so that if things got worse, it wouldn't be so painful." Indeed, things did get worse. The U.S. economy has...

Instapundit points out an article about a family that ditched their satellite TV: You don’t need satellite TV when times get tough After a few Google searches, James said she found a wealth of legitimate sources for TV programming online. Sites such as Hulu, Fancast, Joost, YouTube, and most major TV networks’ Web sites offer TV shows and other video content for free. Using an existing rooftop antenna, James plugged her TV into the hook-up to get more than 50 high-definition TV channels over-the-air. The cost for these HD channels: zero. And instead of spending an extra $20 a month...

General Electric Co expects profit at its NBC Universal media business to be flat to down slightly, Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told investors on Tuesday.

EW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc will likely sell fewer than expected video, Internet and phone subscriptions this year, and expects a further decline next year due to the worsening U.S. economy, Chief Financial Officer Rob Marcus said on Monday. "In 2008, we're on track to deliver less than 2.5 million additional revenue-generating units," Marcus told the Reuters Media Summit in New York, adding that that was less than what the No. 2 U.S. cable company had originally anticipated. Revenue-generating unit, or RGU, is a cable industry term used for each video, Internet and phone subscription sold. Time...

Utility’s cable television and Internet service has been sold to Comcast by the city council of Alameda, California. The reason for the sale was due to a listless growth of the company due to decline in cable subscription. The sale will help to clear off the Alameda Power & Telecom’s debt of $33 million.

Choosing & Installing an Antenna for HDTV TV antennas may seem like relics from the last century, but a growing number of viewers are finding them to be indispensable in getting the best picture from their HDTVs. In this article, we'll discuss the advantages of over-the-air (OTA) reception and explain how to find digital TV signals in your local TV market and in nearby cities. We'll introduce the different types of TV antennas and tell you which ones perform best under various reception conditions. And we'll offer tips on how to install larger attic- and roof-mount antennas. To learn about...

Viacom, Inc. will weather the economic downturn by focusing on “organic growth” instead of any “significant acquisitions,” according to president and CEO Philippe Dauman. Speaking at the annual UBS Media and Communications Conference in New York, Dauman downplayed the company’s announcement least week that it would cut 850 jobs, or 7% of its workforce, and instead focused on the company’s positioning as a content provider with multiple revenue sources across each of its television, movie and digital divisions. Dauman was bullish on Nickelodeon, VH1, MTV and BET, which recently underwent a shift in programming leadership. He conceded that MTV has...

NBC's sweeping shake-up of its entertainment division last week highlights the deep problems it and other networks face in continuing to produce high-quality shows as advertisers slash spending and viewers find alternate ways to watch TV. The General Electric Co.-owned network, which has seen its ratings plunge 14% this season, plans to announce this week that it will merge its two programming groups -- one at the NBC network and the other at its television production studio -- into one unit. The restructuring, which could save the company millions of dollars a year in overhead, comes as the TV industry...

UPDATE: I hear the layoff announcements could come as soon as Thursday... Another hour, another source telling me about layoffs and cutbacks. I've already told you about Viacom's and CBS Inc's. And at Disney/ABC, don't dare include alcohol in your expense account meal. Now hundreds of layoffs are planned at NBC Universal. In the meantime, NBC has issued new draconian network and studio budget parameters, a second wave of cost-cutting following up on Jeff Zucker's promise a month ago to tighten belts across the board. Staff inside the company are outraged at these new measures, after already being told two...

SAG Strike Could Spell Disaster for TV (Cable Networks DeathWatch™) Nov 25, 2008 -By Nellie Andreeva, THR.com LOS ANGELES Already engaged in deep soul searching following a dismal fall TV season and flatlining ad market, broadcast networks are facing another blow: a potential Screen Actors Guild strike early next year. SAG's decision during the weekend to seek a strike authorization from its membership following the breakdown of its negotiations with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers has shifted the once-remote possibility of a SAG walkout much closer to reality. While its effect would not be as far-reaching as...