June 5, 2008

Summer Lineup Expansion for FiOS

Verizon says it's adding 60 TV channels, 'simplified' Discovery to be publicly traded and more news.

By Steve Goldstein

News Briefing for Thursday, June 5, 2008

Verizon says it is adding 60 channels to its FiOS TV lineup this summer, about 25 of which will be presented in high definition. Among the sports channels to be added will be Setanta Sports, a premium channel that offers European and International soccer and rugby. Verizon will also add approximately 15 multicultural channels to the FiOS TV lineup, including channels for Arabic, Portuguese and Russian audiences, among others.

Verizon’s expected acquisition of Alltel would make it the largest cellular phone service provider in the U.S. [New York Times]

A restructuring of John Malone’s Discovery Holding Co. will lead to a revamped Discovery Communications that “will own 100% of the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Shares of the new Discovery Communications will be offered to the public. [Hollywood Reporter] 

Ratings for MSNBC’s morning “space filler” Morning Joe, hosted by Joe Scarborough, are about equal with those of Imus in the Morning before that show was dumped quickly after Don Imus’ unfortunate remarks about a women’s basketball team, TV Decoder reports. [TV Decoder]

The Queens, N.Y.-based Museum of the Moving Image has launched on online historical archive devoted to film, television and digital media. [Variety]

Wednesday's Top Stories

Visit Cable360 to respond to the poll question: Which political party are cable operators, satellite distributors and telcos more likely to contribute to in the general election for the presidency?

Got a tip? Contact sgoldstein@accessintel.com and sarenstein@accessintel.com.