> Subscribers fleeing from cable are not rushing into the welcoming arms of broadcasters. Actually, they're moving into a new realm of connected devices that use the Internet, not airwaves, as the content delivery methodology. Blog.
> It's great when people outside the industry pick up on what's really happening in the world. Wired's Eliot Van Buskirk has correctly (in our humble opinion) tamped down the excitement about Apple TV with a little history lesson: television networks control the content and they're not about to risk any revenue source to pursue a new one. "Eventually," Buskirk writes, "television networks stand to gain by cutting cable and satellite companies out of the equation and relying instead on consumers ... but don't hold your breath, because it's going to take a while, regardless of advancing technology." Story.
> Albany, N.Y. hasn't gone quite as far as Opelika, Ala. in showing disdain for its incumbent cable provider (in this case Mediacom Communications) which is why it's been relegated to the Also Noted space rather than up there with the big boys. On the other hand, the city is open to the idea that Internet and phone provider L2Networks could also enter the cable TV business. Story.
> Speaking of Mediacom Communications (Nasdaq: MCCC), TheStreet is concerned that the MSO may have rejected a great offer when it turned down CEO Rocco Commisso's bid to buy the remaining shares he didn't own. Story.
> If you build a baseball diamond in the middle of an Iowa cornfield, Iowans will show up-at least in the movies. In real life, if you build a broadband network, it's another matter. A study commissioned by the Iowa Utilities board revealed that 95 percent of the state's residence have access to broadband but only two-thirds of them take advantage. News release.
> Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is going through one of those uh-oh moments that can ruin a holiday weekend. When the MSO upgraded its on-screen guide in York, Penn., it ran into a little problem with about 10 percent of its subscriber base who had older set-top boxes that couldn't be upgraded. In that case, a full refresh included erasing stored DVR recordings. Comcast said it reached out to affected subscribers "in many different ways" to warn the problem was coming. Not everyone, of course, got the memo, including Kevin Endriss, who said he is "disgusted" with Comcast and "going to explore my other options." He could always get a free over-the-air antenna from Antennas Direct. Story.
> While on the subject of Comcast, the MSO has selected Novatel for USB modems used in its High-Speed 2Go service. Story.
And finally... In other vendor news, the always-alert Light Reading Cable reports that Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) led the parade among CMTS vendors and Harmonic edged out (pun intended) edge QAM provider BigBand Networks (Nasdaq: BBND) in the second quarter. Story.