Digital World News

'PIX squeezes The Tube into its digital format
A new music video channel hits the digital airwaves today.

The network, called The Tube, is being launched locally on WPIX/Ch. 11's digital signal, which is free to people with digital televisions capable of getting Ch. 11.2.

Digital technology allows local stations to broadcast a second signal, thus the 11.2 designation.

Eventually, the 24-hour network will be rolled out to cable systems throughout the New York area.

Billed as the only 24-hour all-music channel, The Tube is being headed up by Les Garland, one of the original staffers at the start of MTV and VH1.

"The Tube distinguishes itself by offering top music programming, and our partnership affirms our commitment to providing the highest quality entertainment and enhanced content for our audience," Ch. 11 general manager Betty Ellen Berlamino said in a statement.

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The “new” channel will occupy Prime’s dial position when it debuts in 5.6 million Canadian homes on June 1.

“(Prime) has been in its original incarnation for almost 10 years, and with a focus on the total stable of products (including the recent revamp of the Global Television Network), there’s a huge opportunity for specialty in Canada,” says Tim Kist, Winnipeg-based director of marketing for Global Television Specialty Networks.

Up to 70% of Prime’s schedule–long heavy on such ’70s and ’80s shows as MASH and The Golden Girls–will be refreshed with “iconic” shows including Seinfeld, Frasier and Beverly Hills 90210.

“It’s that era of show that has had a long run on TV, is now in syndication on one or two other channels, but nobody has gone back and taken a look at a lot broader range of those shows and put them all together back-to-back-to-back,” says Kist. “That carves us out as something distinct.”

TVtropolis will also feature the Canadian premieres of celebrity reality shows including Hogan Knows Best (chronicling wrestler Hulk Hogan’s life away from the ring), My Fair Brady (the life of Christopher “Peter Brady” Knight) and Celebrity Fit Club.

Some background information on TVtropolis:

TVTropolis is a Canadian cable television specialty channel, formerly known as Prime, which launched on June 1, 2006. It is currently owned by CanWest Global Communications (66.7%) and Rogers Communications (33.3%).

Programming
TVtropolis operates two feeds, East and West, using Eastern and Pacific time respectively. TVtropolis showcases hit series from the ‘80s and ‘90s such as Seinfeld, Frasier, Married... with Children, Due South and more as well as reality series featuring TV icons such as Hogan Knows Best, Celebrity Fit Club, My Fair Brady and Breaking Bonaduce.

History
Licensed in 1996, the network was originally launched as Prime on October 17, 1997. While the station did not explicitly market itself as a television channel for the "baby boomer" generation, programming was directed mainly towards men and women 50 years of age or older. Prime's schedule reflected a mix of general interest television, including home improvement and design series, along with classic television series such as M*A*S*H, All In The Family, Seinfeld and Frasier. It would also host repeat showings of Global and CH series, including The Apprentice, The Restaurant, The Price Is Right, Entertainment Tonight Canada, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Prime's slogan was "Canada's Entertainment Network".


Programs
Beverly Hills 90210
Breaking Bonaduce
Canadian Case Files
Celebrity Fit Club
Counterstrike
Due South
Ellen
ET Canada
Frasier
From The Ground Up with Debbie Travis
Grace Under Fire
Hogan Knows Best
House and Home
Inside Hollywood
Lonesome Dove
Married... with Children
M*A*S*H
My Fair Brady
Ned and Stacey
Neon Rider
NewsRadio
Night Heat
Northern Mysteries
Seinfeld
Sirens
The Nanny
Urban Angel
Vanity Insanity
War Of The Wheels

Visit TVtropolis at http://www.tvtropolis.com/

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Most American consumers are satisfied with existing options for watching television and listening to music according to recent research from Ipsos.


The research firm found that online American consumers are generally cautious when it comes to trying out new ways to access digital content and most do not envision emerging options for accessing audio and video as replacing traditional options anytime soon.

The Ipsos survey found that, despite the hype surrounding ways to download music and television shows, only a minority of Americans are open to just-emerging ways of accessing digital video content via the Internet.

To learn more about how consumers felt, Ipsos presented survey respondents with a series of entertainment consumption methods and asked them whether they expect to do this more often, about the same amount, or less often a year from now.


For example, when asked about watching television only 6% said they would likely be watching more television on the internet this time next year. A significant percentage but only one-third the number of people who said they would be more likely to watch television the old fashioned way on live-tv! Three percent said they would be more likely to watch a sports games, events, or highlights on a mobile handheld device (e.g., iPod, cell phone)compared to five times that number (16%) who said they would be more likely to watching on live TV.


When it came to listening music, 25% said they'd be listening to more CD's next year versus 17% who said they'd be listening to more music on the internet.

“It’s pretty clear to us that most consumers lean toward the path of least resistance – involving the smallest amount of learning and behavior change,” says Todd Board, SVP of Ipsos Insight’s Technology & Communications practice. “Our findings also suggest that early experiences with content obtained from the Internet and consumed on portable devices has not been all that users had hoped for.”


Respondents were asked also asked about how seriously they would consider each of five hypothetical models for consuming video content – all involving Internet content access, and varying in terms of cost, duplication rights, and presence of advertising. About 10 percent of online American consumers said they are open to each of the five models.


“Among potential early adopters for web-driven video content, we already see differences in the priority placed on cost, absence of ads, and ability to make limited copies.” The findings also indicate a leaning toward several of the models among parents, perhaps because fewer trips to the video store might be welcome. Owners of portable MP3 players, DVRs (e.g., TiVo), and media hubs reported higher-than-average interest in most of the models.

The study suggests that a rapid shift from traditional ways of consuming media is not on the immediate horizon and that the change to an era where consumers will be consuming most of their media from the internet and on handheld devices is still a long way away. The research firm characterized the shift as more evolution than revolution.

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