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Cahncis THE NEWSNEEKLY OF TV, RADIO & INTERACTIVE MEDIA 34.95 R i DECEMBER 31, 2001 www. .com OUT WITH A BANG 2001 ends with another round of mergers: Vivendi - USA, Comcast -AT & -, =choStar- DirecTV. More to =ome in 2002? o NBC GETS ITS WAY By buyi-ig KNTV fcr $230 million, network ends two years of intrigue ii San Francisco, makes life -ough fx KRON -TV -o CABLE OPS CALL FOUL MSOs fear they'll end up paying for pacts IBA is about to sign wits Disney and AOL Time Warner 3-DIGIT 391 hI1I1I1I11tuIlllmnItIIsnIIn1I1I1I11I1I;I1I11I H CO73184 AIX.03 JOHN REGS 193 KTVp-TVC .1OHN!OtON 263 WATBRTOJ WAY D ILLIN65. rTT 59102-7733 7 THANK You! The staff of Ercadcasting & Cable wou d like to than< our readers and advertisers -or their con =inued support in 2001. As we look back on what was a 7 dramatic and trag c year of change and the events that affected each of our lives, we -emembe- those who are no longer with us. We are hopeful 2002 will be 3 brighter and oett_r year and loo< forward to continuing to provide the industry with timely news coverage of today's most dynamic busiress. Gerard van de Aast, Tad Smith, Bill McGorry, Larry OliJec, Dan Ha-t, Rawle Mocre, Bill Cunningham, Harry Jesse/i, P.J. Bednarski, Marianne Paskowski, Carol Jardan, Bill t. r417.t. Stephen McCleilarr Jchn Higgins, Susan Qualtrough, Ken Kershbaumer, Allison Romano, Linda Moss, P. Liar or A!eyrie, Todd Gast, Miguel Romero, Don West, John Eggerton, Dan Trigoboff, Paige Albiniak, Bill McConnell, Kim Mc<.vo , Doris K lly, Joe Schlo ;se ; Rob Payne, Yvonne Pettus, Mike Farina, Dana Levitt, Georgina Sculco, Marcia Orr-Jt:, Eric Lou, Chuck Bolkcorr, Kristin Parker, Neil Andrews, Sandy Friedman, Steve Labunski, Shoran Goodman, Patricic Baratta, David Rice, Farrah Aponte, John LaMarca, Anne -Marie LeGrand, Tom Michals, Bob Conklin, Heler Grfn, Mitzi Zabala IKUAOUIIS tir iCABLE BROADCASTI N QCABLE {www.broadcastingcable.com} Volume 131 Number 53 Top of the Week December 31, 2001 CONSOLIDATION NATION As 2001 neared its end Vivendi realigned with Barry Diller's USA Networks, and Comcast won its five month battle for AT &T Broadband. » 6 WHEELERS -DEALERS The gang of big media powers is getting smaller, but more powerful. » 7 ALL TOGETHER NOW The compli- cated Vivendi -USA deal literally remakes it into Universal. » 8 ROBERTS' VOW: Comcast's Brian Roberts promised he wouldn't compete Michael Armstrong's fight to keep AT &T against himself for AT &T Broadband. » 9 Broadband is over. HOOP NIGHTMARE AOL Time Warner and Disney's deal with the NBA could be a bad deal for cable operators who say they may have to pass the cost of carriage on to COVER STORY subscribers. » 10 DISH DISS EchoStar and Disney are at REWRITING THE odds over whether the DBS provider can dump ABC Family channel because of the CALENDAR change in the channel's ownership. » 11 The attendance and mood at industry events Syndication Watch: Sally Jessy Raphael's continues to mirror the nation's economy: got legs. » 21 shrinking and a bit downbeat (although the reports are that smaller crowds are quality Business Washington crowds). Consolidation, slashed travel and expense accounts, and flying fears have all Bay Area upheaval NBC's pur- Radio static XM Satellite Radio's repeater required trade show organizers to rethink and chase of KNTV raises a lot of ques- plan has some traditional terrestrial tions. » 18 broadcasters fuming. » 22 retool for 2002. » 14 Money, money, money Public in Pittsburgh Local coalition fights What will Katie Couric's (l) WQED(TV)'s plan to de- reserve WQEX(TV) as new NBC contract mean for a noncommercial station. » 23 B &C Eye 4 other high -profile news Changing Hands 24 types? » 19 Technology Classifieds 31 Robotic control LiveWave system enables Editorials 34 Programming one operator to run cameras at four Fates & Fortunes 29 Clark barred Dick Clark files USA Today Live bureaus. » 26 Fifth Estater 30 lawsuit against Recording Translator Integrating new chipset into Station Break 20 Academy who claiming artists VOD servers reduces headend space and Syndication Ratings 21 sign on to perform at the power requirements. » 27 Grammys are banned from The Week That Was 12 Feds' money New York television stations appearing on the American are due to get federal aid, but no one seems Music Awards. » 21 to know the details. » 28 Broadcasting & Cable /12 -31 -01 3 EYE PRIME TIME RESEARCH Career choice NBC digs Roots Is it better to be in broadcasting or cable these days? A survey of The groundbreaking miniseries Roots, originally aired by ABC over our subscribers from all segments eight nights in 1977, drew over 130 million viewers, won nine of the TV business suggests cable. Emmy Awards and became a sociological closed While 86% of the respondents said phenomenon that they were "very optimistic" or discos(!) and gave ABC an aura of greatness. But 25 years later, "somewhat optimistic" about NBC, not ABC, is planning the anniversary special. Roots- Snowy pictures cable, only 68% felt the same Celebrating 25 Years: The Saga of an American Classic is slated to air about broadcasting. What's more, Jan. 18, with Ben Vereen, Ed Asner and other cast members. When ABC's World News Tonight 30% said they were "very pes- Sources say ABC was pitched the special first, but execs didn't see reported last week on Buffalo's simistic" about broadcasting. eye -to -eye with Judith Leonard, who is co- producing with Kelly sensational snowstorms, viewers CABLE Newton and the original executive producer David Wolper. ABC did not see a weather reporter This is your life executives and Leonard weren't talking. The Hallmark Channel from Granite -owned Buffalo affil- shows Roots in its entirety starting Jan. 20.-J.S. iate WKBW -TV, but the Weather British director Michael Apted is Channel's Mike resurrecting his 7-Up documentary Seidel (above). style for an A&E series following No disrespect intended, says nine American couples through the network. ABC's NewsOne ser- the course of their marriages. In vice has a longtime reciprocal the original 7-Up, Apted tracked relationship with the Weather 14 British youths from age 7 to Channel, which had moved Seidel adulthood. For his latest project, Married in and a truck to Buffalo in advance America, Apted picked couples of the storm. NewsOne Chief Don who reflect different demograph- Dunphy said the service has ics. Among the subjects will be a moved footage from the station, biracial couple, a homosexual cou- but it tries not to burden stations ple and a bi- religious couple. The spring premiere will document during crises. their weddings; he'll update once "In a way it helps us because or twice a year. -A.R. it takes off a little of the pres- sure," acknowledges WKBW -TV News Director Bob Yuna, "But we Clearance sales subjecting 52 -59 buyouts to public interest were a little dismayed to see reviews not applied to deals for the upper someone from the Weather The FCC said it would permit TV broadcasters version rules channels, the final of the - Channel on World News instead of operating on channels 52 -59 to relinquish expected in the next two weeks -does not one of our own reporters and their frequencies well ahead of the 2006 dead- extend some sweeteners aimed at encouraging anchors." But before CNN got its line by selling out to wireless companies that 60 -69 deals. Second, the stations in the 52 -59 want the spectrum. The plan is "not that dif- band are so profitable that few are expected own correspondent, Holly Firfer, ferent" from provisions approved a year ago to accept buyouts. The combination of factors in the area, WKBW -TV was getting for stations on channels 60 -69, said an was enough to silence most critics of the buy- broad exposure on the CNN net- agency staffer. So why were opponents of out policy, including Senate Commerce works and on its news service, early buyouts crowing that the FCC had "com- Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, who CNN Newsource. "Wolf Blitzer is a pletely abandoned" its band -clearing policy? warned that band -clearing incentives would Two reasons, perhaps. First, in addition to yield windfall profits to broadcasters. -B.M. Buffalo native," says Yuna, "and he's been plugging the hell out of the station. " -D.T. 4 Broadcasting & Cable /12 -31 -01 I'm going to \ATPE... because it's the quickest and easiest way to stay current with the programming marketplace and see old friends in the industry. - Robert Riesenberg Executive Vice Presidert Universal McCann Register today at www.natpeonline.com. 'N NATPE N THE ALLIANCE OF MEDIA CONTENT PROFESSIONALS TOP OF THE WEEK No holiday for consolidation After Vivendi -USA deal and Comcast takeover of AT&T Broadband, who's next, what's left? get the merger bug. The speculation among dealmakers immediately turned to who would be next. What station group will surrender to what is expected to be an unprecedented (since the invention of radio) two -year decline in ad sales? (Yes, ad sales didn't decline during World War II or the worst recessions.) Young Broadcasting's struggle against its debt load makes the company many play- ers' favorite candidate. How will the losing AT &T Broadband bidders (though they didn't bid very aggressively) respond? Cox Communications is widely expected to stalk Adelphia Communica- tions, and AOL Time Warner is seen as the Comcast's Bria oberts ( ultimate Cablevision Systems. chased AT &T's M thael buyer of Armstrong for five month.