BRIEFS

Cable World,  April 28, 2003  

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BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR COURT TV

AOL Time Warner sold its stake in Comedy Central last week, but its interest in Court TV is off the block for now, according to Court TV CEO Henry Schleiff. "There is a buy-sell provision [in the partnership agreement between AOL Time Warner and Liberty]...and I think that's where things will rest for the foreseeable future," Schleiff said. For now, Court TV will concentrate on renewing affiliation agreements with operators. Court TV is seeking "minimal" increases reflecting its growing ratings, Schleiff said. "We do want to be paid commensurate to our importance to the operator."

FCC KEEPING ITS DATE

The Bush administration has weighed in on media ownership rules, and despite many efforts by Republican and Democratic politicians to delay action, the Federal Communications Commission will act on June 2. Commerce Secretary Don Evans told FCC Chairman Michael Powell in a letter that the White House wants that date met, and indicated a preference for loosening the rules. Powell, meanwhile, won a huge victory when Belo Corp. of Texas agreed not to oppose raising the national network cap, which limits the number of local broadcast stations that any one broadcaster can own, from 35% to 45% of TV households (in return for concessions to broadcast affiliates). It now seems certain that Powell will have the three votes necessary to raise the cap. Raising it to 45% would cover Rupert Murdoch's acquisitions, which puts News Corp. at roughly 42%.

CABALLERO NAMES ORTIZ TO SALES POST

Caballero TV & Cable Sales named George Ortiz VP of sales. Ortiz had been associate media director at Y&R/The Bravo Group. Caballero puts together for advertisers and agencies packages of broadcast and cable programming designed to reach Hispanic consumers, and offers a national alternative to Univision and Telemundo. Caballero is also the rep firm for 23 TV stations, including 11 owned by MasMusica TeVe.

Q3 DROP IN SALES FOR C-COR.NET

C-COR.net reported a drop in net sales and a loss in income for its Q3 2003. Net sales for the quarter were $50.1 million, compared with $77.2 million for the same period last year. The company recorded a net loss of $115.3 million in the quarter, compared to net income of $109,000 for the same period last year.

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