Cable Networks

Warning that the open, democratic nature of the Internet is in danger, four consumer-advocacy groups plan to present the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission today with evidence that Internet access providers will soon have greater power to shut rival companies and even individuals out of high-speed data networks.The charge focuses on cable television companies, which are moving aggressively to sell Internet access. Cable networks offer much faster links to the Internet than typical telephone lines can.AT&T Corp.

Whoopi Goldberg struts her stuff in the center square -- and Robin Williams and Roseanne yuk it up nearby. Welcome to the wild new world of game shows.Once on the wane and populated by third-rate celebs -- think Paul Lynde on "The Hollywood Squares" -- TV game shows are making a big comeback.Inexpensive to produce and highly profitable for programmers, they're cropping up all over the tube, from the Food Network to MTV to network TV.Game shows have always had a hold on audiences, especially in the 1960s and '70s, when they were a staple of network prime time.

Bethesda-based Discovery Communications Inc. said yesterday that it has purchased CBS Corp.'s Eye on People, a fledgling cable channel focusing on people and personalities that has 11 million cable and satellite subscribers.Discovery, which also operates the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and Animal Planet, had agreed in July to purchase a 50 percent stake in the CBS channel, which was launched in March 1997."Given the realities of the dynamic, ever-evolving cable programming marketplace, we did not think it made sense to co-manage a network," Discovery Networks U.S. President Jonathan Rodgers said in a statement.

All the networks and cable channels attached some form of advisory yesterday to their saturation coverage of President Clinton's testimony before a grand jury, but none was quite as memorable as CBS anchorman Dan Rather's."

Anyone who can't wait to see the unexpurgated Bill Clinton better be wired for cable.If, as expected, Congress releases the videotaped grand jury testimony of President Clinton, the cable networks CNN, Court TV, Fox News and MSNBC plan to air the entire tape, getting it on the air as quickly as possible.Granting that the tapes may contain graphic language, officials of the cable stations say they don't want to be in a position of censoring what Congress thinks the American public should be able to see and hear.

You could almost hear the collective sign of relief from the news crews in Washington last night when President Clinton finally appeared and gave them a real newsmaker on which to focus.It had been a tough day, so devoid of real news and saturated with empty speculation that the truth about channels that sell themselves as all-news was all too apparent: What they mostly have is not news, but rather endless talk about news. And the talk is often uninformed chatter passed off as "exclusive" inside information or "expert" analysis.

To hear AT&T and TCI tell it, their $48 billion merger will allow millions of customers to get convenient one-stop shopping for virtually all telecommunications services, from long distance calling to cable TV to high-speed Internet access.Industry analysts generally agreed that the union of the two communications giants is likely to improve convenience and choice for consumers, and might lower costs for some services.However, the analysts say the development of such an ambitious array of offerings could turn out to be more difficult than either company is letting on.AT&T Corp.

A mall is as good a place as any to see a relic. You can venerate what is left of the dead, grab a sandwich, check out Crate & Barrel and pick up that watch that was in for repair, without ever moving the car.And so they came yesterday to the Grand Court on Level 1 of Towson Town Center, to behold a gown that once belonged to the late Princess Diana and to pay tribute to her as part of the "Legacy of Love National Mall Tour," sponsored by Romance Classics, a...

The commercial networks, led by NBC, which announced its fall schedule Monday, aren't the only television operations getting ready for a new season.Cable networks, too, have a bunch of new offerings for the coming months. And with TV writers throughout the country primed to cover the network's fall lineups, is it an accident that some cable operations have chosen now to reveal what the next year has in store?Of course it isn't. Here's a sampling of what the cable folks want us to tell you about.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gave the government authority yesterday to force cable TV networks to stop offering sexually explicit programs during most of the day if they cannot completely block the programming from homes that do not sign up for it.In an order with no comment, the justices unanimously upheld a lower-court decision that rejected a constitutional challenge by the Playboy and Spice networks against part of the 1996 cable indecency law....