Comcast raked for shuffling off local public access programming; Liberty Global is the richest

> Acquiring NBC Universal has put Comcast under a more intense microscope than ever, so any move the MSO makes is fodder for discussion. For instance, the decision to hand off responsibility for public access programs to Peoria drew this comment from the Peoria Star: "In the case of Comcast, a company awaiting federal approval in its bid to buy NBC, one would think it wouldn't break the bank to offer a studio plus staffing and equipment to the community you're serving (and profiting from)." Story.

> Speaking of profiting, word is that Liberty Global--that's John Malone's baby, for the uninitiated--is the cash richest (if that's a term) company in the cable and satellite industry as ranked by its cash equivalents. Liberty beat out DirecTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable and Comcast. And it's not even trying to buy NBC (as far as we know). Story.

> Sticking to the subject of money, the New York Times reports that media industry bigwigs are also making the biggest bucks, despite how the economy is impacting their businesses. For instance, CBS boss Les Moonves raked in $43 million in 2009; Viacom's Philippe Dauman got $34 million; and, for those interested in cable, Comcast's Steve Burke got $31 million and his boss, Brian Roberts, got $25 million. Story.

> ANGA Cable, Europe's largest trade fair for cable, broadband and satellite, as it likes to call itself, is hyping a battle of the broadband on its second day when "top managers of the European broadband industry will discuss the increasing competition between the different broadband technologies (cable, fibre, as the Europeans put it and LTE.) Story.

> Dish Network, the second most famous satellite TV provider in the United States, is planning to launch a TV Everywhere Internet site as early as this summer so its subscribers can access TV on any number of devices. Story.