Category Archives: Misc
DISH CEO OPPOSES COMCAST/TWC MERGER
Charlie Ergen has never been the kind to mince words. In meetings last week with commissioners, bureau chiefs, and other staff of the Federal Communications Commission, the CEO of Dish Network was characteristically blunt. He told the FCC that it … Continue reading
THE ROBOT REPORTER
We’ve often said, jokingly, that Chris Matthews is a robot. Now we have a tantalizing hint that we may not have been far from the truth. On Wednesday, July 2, the Associated Press announced that it will soon begin using … Continue reading
CABLEVISION’S SUIT AGAINST VIACOM GOES TO COURT
In a case with far-reaching implications for the future of the cable and satellite TV industries, Cablevision sued Viacom last February over its practice of requiring carriage of its unpopular channels as a condition for permission to carry its more … Continue reading
CULTURE, CHRONOLOGY, AND CONTEMPT IN CONTEMPORARY TV
Showtime has announced that it would air Penny Dreadful for another season. This gives me a chance to air one of my pet peeves about modern TV and movies, a peeve that this series aggravates often. For those who are not familiar … Continue reading
WOULD YOU SPEND $1.7 MILLION FOR A TV SET?
You think your 71 inch TV set is impressive. Hah! You don’t even approach having the biggest one available. Titan, a British electronics manufacturer, announced last Wednesday that it has produced the largest and most expensive TV set ever built: … Continue reading
DISH NETWORK ACCEPTS BITCOIN
Last Thursday, Dish Network announced that it would accept payment in Bitcoin, the ‘crypto-currency’ established as open-source software in 2009. Bitcoins are produced as rewards for users who offer their computer processing power to process and record payjments into … Continue reading
WHAT DO PAY TV MERGERS MEAN FOR SUBSCRIBERS?
As you may have heard, Comcast announced in February that it agreed to buy Time Warner Cable. Largely in response to this move, AT&T announced two weeks ago that it would buy DirecTV, the largest satellite TV provider … Continue reading
PENNY DREADFUL
For the last three weeks, I’ve been unable to escape the internet ads about Penny Dreadful, Showtime’s Gothic horror series set in Victorian London. You may have seen the ads. Most of them feature Eva Green, the star of the … Continue reading
BURN NOTICE
I often make it a point to watch some of the more heavily hyped movies and TV shows long after their initial release. Doing so makes it easier to see their faults and their merits objectively, without being being unduly … Continue reading
DISH NETWORK RELEASES SUPER JOEY
The date is January 6, 2014. Vivek Khemka’s Google Glass buzzes. Picking it up, he reads, “The excitement rating for tonight’s College Football National Championship Game is 96.” He says to it, “record”, and a field on the big screen … Continue reading