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NL7S Broadcastg&CaIle April www.broadcastingcable.com Volume 130 Number 14 TOP OF THE WEEK / G Network -affil war over DTV looms Turf war could be Xtreme developing over digital datacasting. / 6 bedfellows Execs desert old media for new ABC's Pat Fili- NBC buys stake Krushel goes to consumer unit of Healtheon/WebMD. 10 in WWF's new / football league, Cable ekes out small gain Ratings for 1Q 2000 rise but TV rights to 2% despite the popularity of 'ilillionaire. / 14 wrestling are AT&T takes control Gf Excite @Home Questions still up for remain about the future of the cable broadband service. / 20 grabs. / 14 WWF Chairman Low-power FM takes hit on Hill House Commerce Vince McMahon Committee scales back FCC plan. / 22 For more late -breaking news, see "ln Brief" on pages 104 -105 TV/Internet/retail packages to ad buyers. / 32 VI-11's upfront, by extension Five series, annual No one will awards show and a movie anthology are unveiled. 34 forget the / horror of Not just cubic zironium Home Shopping Network Columbine, campaign but it also hypes merchandise quality. / 36 was... The TECHNOLOGY / 54 Innovations on tap A selection day TV news of the wares that will be on display at NAB in Las Vegas. / 56 grew Lucent launches fiber net GeoVideo will utilize local PBS Q' stations as production and distribu- up tion hubs. / 62 Grass Valley swallows Vibrint Acquisition moves manufacturer into low -cost digital edit- ing systems. / 68 PanAmSat takes Nef plunge But the company's BROADCASTING / 38 stock dives on lower projected earnings. / ? Making good on diversity pledge Nets cast more minorities, but minority groups are skeptical. / 38 Posting pilots on the Web New sites seek to News crew Freelancers KTTV- turns rescuer pull generate TV concepts with short-form videos online. / 80 TV chopper crew from crash. / 40 These games won't stream, but others do CBS TV news pioneer dies at 86 Sig Mickel - Olympic video highlights won't hit PC screens, but other son established gavel -to -gavel convention coverage, hired events score big with U.S. Web surfers. / 82 C Walter Cronkite. / 50 CABLE. / 32 Changing Hands 85 Editorials 106 Get w /the Program 44 Classifieds 93 Fates & Fortunes 90 Nielsen Ratings 34, 47 Discovery exec sees $5B upfront McGowan Closed Circuit 12 Fifth Estater 88 Station Break 52 says cable will beat broadcast by 2005; network offers Datebook 86 Financial Wrap Up 15 Washington Watch 24 APRIL 3, 2000 / BROADCASTING & CABLE 3 MAW'S MOMENTUM CONTINUES MAKING IT TH, E FASTEST GROWING TALK SHOW IN THE COUNTRY, MAURY'S GAA HH RATING Nov'98 FEB'99 MAY'99 JUL'99 Nov'99 FEB'00 (5-'AEEP DATE) (SWEEP DATE) (SWEEP DATE, (SWEEP DATE) (SWEEP DATE) (SWEEP DATE) in the February sweep, Maury scored a 4.0 - his best -ever national rating. Up an astounding 14% from Feb.19. Maury now ranks #3 following Oprah and Jerry Springer. Record breaking performance, continued growth aid the only talk show with true Maury -mentum. maury STUDIOS USA :1:2060 Studios USA. All Rights Resented.. simmimor BroadcasfiogaCahlc TOP Of mt Y Battle brews for spectrum Turf war could be developing between networks and affiliates over digital datacasting By Ken Kerschbaumer preference is to partner with CBS affili- ates to establish a national digital foot- Look out: Those data - print that, in addition to the television net- casting deals signed work, can exploit [ancillary] profitable by station groups opportunities for affiliates and CBS with- could be the first shots in in our available digital spectrum." a technological turf war A CBS source says, "There's absolute- between networks and ly no question we intend to be in the dig- affiliates in the next round ital- spectrum business "; Mel Karmazin, of affiliate negotiations. CBS Inc. president, has the network The networks, which studying various multicasting scenarios. have still not announced "Nothing they [affiliates] do should their plans for datacast- preclude them from joining us in per- ing, are nonetheless mak- petuity," said the source. The source ing it clear that they view said iBlast was of particular concern carriage of their data because its model uses more spectrum services as important as than others and may conflict with CBS' carriage of video servic- future multiplexing plans and possibly es. 27 sA even its HDTV plans. But at least major Karpowicz: We need to know if the stations...are going broadcast groups already to go off on their own.' "We want them to work with us and we locked into their own dat- don't want them to go off the reservation." acasting arrangements with Geocast, them from carrying HDTV," he says. CBS will also try to negotiate specific iBlast and the Broadcaster's Digital "The deals require anywhere from 3.7 rights with regard to affiliate spectrum Cooperative, sidestepping the networks to 7 Mb/s for data and you just can't do space in affiliate contracts as they come with which most are affiliated. decent HDTV in the remaining spec- up for renewal. "There's no single for- As affiliates renew their network trum. If you have rapid moving sports mula," says a network source familiar deals, many believe that someday you just can't do it." with the situation. "It's definitely a point they'll essentially get an offer they The upshot? "They may have locked of negotiation," the source continues, might not be able to refuse: Carry our themselves out likening it to the data services, or else. of doing major way its position "As an FCC matter, the primary signal events like the on network com- has the right to the digital spectrum," Super Bowl in pensation pay- says Brandon Burgess, NBC chief finan- HDTV," Seidel ments evolved cial officer. "The way we view it is that adds.