One of the favorite sports of most media conferences these days involves trotting out Wired editor Chris Anderson’s “freemium” idea—which is predicated on balancing free online and paid premium content—and kicking it to the ground. The topic served as a introduction to discussing the problems associated with paywalls and display…

It’s the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Media Summit now, but the two-day conference is still at the McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) Building. CNN President Jon Klein led off in a Q&A with Bloomberg BW Editor Josh Tyrangiel, talking about the magic—and often illusory—word “synergy.” Klein talked about the ties that the Time Inc.…

Disney (NYSE: DIS) says it has reached an “agreement in principle” with Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) “that recognizes the fair value of ABC7 with deal points that we expect to finalize with Cablevision.” Translation: Cablevision subs are watching the Oscars after all. The agreement—which Cablevision didn’t even mention in its terse…

Last-minute dramatics this afternoon as the next “deadline” approaches for Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Cablevision: tonight’s Academy Awards. Disney says it’s sent a new proposal and the ball is in the cable operator’s court. But Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) is playing a different game: calling on “CEO Bob Iger to immediately…

Midnight update: Get ready for some impromptu Oscar parties at New York-area households with Verizon FiOS or satellite: Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) couldn’t find a way over a two-year impasse by 12:01 a.m. this morning—WABC is blacked out for the operator’s 3.1 million households. Time Warner Cable…

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) held its advertising upfront yesterday and unlike the traditional TV upfront events that are getting under way, the focus here was the company’s range of cross-platform offerings, all of which are tied together with social media elements. The centerpiece of the presentation was a…

The other day, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) Judy McGrath was asked about the company’s image in the age of the Jersey Shore, and she talked about reality shows hooking younger viewers, which is the ultimate focus for the network. Today, at the Billboard Music & Money Symposium, Billboard’s Antony Bruno…

If I’m already fatigued by the extended PR volley between Disney and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) over retransmission fees, just imagine how Cablevision subs counting on WABC for the Academy Awards Sunday night or the latest twist in Lost feel. Since Disney went public with the dispute over retrans fees late…

It’s not the end of online access to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert but next week tracking them down may be a little less convenient for those used to watching on Hulu. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) is removing Comedy Central from the ad-supported video portal at 11:59 p.m. March 9 after…

The data is starting to roll in for the full Vancouver Olympics. NBC hasn’t been to provide some of the stats we’ve asked for—the number of video streams served the night the first USA-CAN hockey match aired on MSNBC against ice dancing, among them. But the numbers we do have…

During last month’s earnings call, *Disney* CEO Bob Iger couldn’t have been clearer about his willingness to shut off access to distributors unwilling to pay retrans fees. “We’re pretty resolute,” Iger told analysts—and by extension, cable and satellite operators. Just three weeks later, Disney (NYSE: DIS) is trying to show…

Cable operators are looking for ways to enter the wireless business as consumers disconnect their landline phones in favor of cell phones, and seek ways to connect their laptops while on the go. Cox Communications is building its own cellular network from the ground up; and Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Time…

Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) Systems said it will begin rolling out its controversial Remote Server-Digital Video Recorder in April, and plans to have the service available throughout its 3-million subscriber footprint by year-end. Speaking on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results, COO Tom Rutledge said that the roll-out of the…

Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) had another relatively solid quarter, as it returned to profitability and Q4 revenues rose 5 percent on the strength of its telecom services and the recently spun off Madison Square Garden franchise. Those areas performed well enough to offset Newsday’s 15.7 percent revenue decline to $90.3 million;…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Cablevision	Release	N/A	5%	325%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) customers who subscribe to both digital cable and broadband from the Long Island operator may get the chance next quarter to do something their geek friends have been bragging about but with a lot less hassle: watch internet content on their TVs. The new service, dubbed PC…

It’s half-way through the Vancouver Olympics and NBC Universal’s research head Alan Wurtzel already has some findings to share about the viewing results so far. Anticipating the ire of bloggers who have complained that NBCU has been holding back too much live coverage of the games from online, Wurtzel made…

As MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) ad execs begin meeting with marketers and media buyers for this year’s upfront, the Viacom unit is putting some finishing touches on reshaping its digital team. Later this morning, MTVN will announce that Suzanne McDonnell (image, left) will lead the Digital Fusion unit, while Heather…

The discussion started by ContentNext’s Ernie Sander and FT.com’s Rob Grimshaw at paidContent 2010 continued with a panel of other digital media execs from traditional media companies—along with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) product manager Josh Cohen. —Flavor of the month: CNN.com’s KC Estenson: “There are new revenue opportunities today that we…

Pali Capital’s Rich Greenfield opened the paidContent 2010 conference at the TimesCenter with a note of skepticism about the recent spate of media joint ventures, such as Hulu or the recently-launched YouTube music video channel Vevo. Moderator Quincy Smith, ex-CBS Interactive (NYSE: CBS) exec now partner, Code Advisers, put the…