Cable Tv

A proposal to tax cable television in Baltimore has been yanked by its sponsor after city attorneys determined that federal law would prohibit such a fee. Councilman James B. Kraft said he decided to shelve the bill and cancel a Thursday afternoon hearing after the city solicitor's office ruled that the city does not have the authority to impose the $4 monthly telecommunications tax on cable service. Kraft had estimated that the tax could generate as much as $10 million in revenue.

So I just received an e-mail from a group called TV4US about Maryland residents paying an average of 6.4 percent more for cable television beginning Saturday. Says TV4US, "the cost of Comcast's standard cable package will go from $55.45 to $59, an increase of 6.4 percent. In some counties, like Montgomery, rates have increased 13.75 percent since January 2007." Comcast disputes those figures. (I'll get to this in a sec.) Comcast is not, however, disputing the fact that your cable bill is going up come Saturday.

After decades of cutting back on prime-time political coverage, the networks plan to reverse the trend starting tonight in Denver when the new order of anchors on ABC, NBC and CBS takes to the airwaves for their first national convention. Trying to rebound from an all-time low in 2004, when each of the networks was roundly criticized for skipping entire nights of convention coverage in favor of rerun entertainment and preseason sports programming, the broadcasters will offer more coverage than at any time since 1996 in an effort to compete with cable TV and the Internet - most notably CNN and MSNBC, and their dot-coms.

Last week on Super Tuesday, all-news cable TV made it plain that CNN, MSNBC and Fox News have displaced the major networks this primary season as the best on-screen source for political coverage. Last night, the 24/7 cable news channels were again dominant, but this time they stole the thunder from local TV news operations - making area broadcasters that were unwilling to cut into network prime-time programming seem all but irrelevant with their 11 p.m. newscasts in cities such as Baltimore.

Here's some advice from your friends here at O, by the Way. If you want to watch Thursday's game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, both 10-1, at Texas Stadium, you might want to think about getting yourself to your favorite sports bar. Even though it's a prime-time game at 8:15 p.m. and the second most hyped game of the season - after the New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts a few weeks back - it won't be carried over the air...

Baltimore County Council members approved last night the start of negotiations on a deal that could give county residents a third choice of cable television providers. The council unanimously voted to start franchise talks with Virginia-based Cavalier Telephone Corp., which applied for a license to offer cable service in the county. Council President Stephen G. Samuel Moxley and Councilman Vincent J. Gardina were absent. Cable service is provided to county residents by Comcast, long the area's dominant provider, and Verizon, which began offering service to parts of the county in the spring.

Glen Burnie, Maryland City and Russett would gain an unheard-of fourth option for cable service if the Anne Arundel County Council endorses a deal with Virginia-based Cavalier Telephone Corp. Cavalier's seven-year proposal is the latest in a flurry of cable proposals to come before the council during the past 16 months. During that time, Comcast Corp. and Millennium Digital Media Services renewed long-term agreements to provide service in Anne Arundel, and Verizon Communications inked its own deal to establish a cable franchise here.

Baltimore County residents might soon have a third choice of cable television providers. Virginia-based Cavalier Telephone Corp. has applied to the government for a license to offer cable service in the county, a company spokesman said yesterday. The County Council has scheduled a vote Oct. 15 to decide whether to negotiate with the company. Cavalier would become the third major cable provider in Baltimore County, joining Comcast, long the area's dominant provider, and Verizon, which began offering service to parts of the county in the spring.

The Emmys have not always been in sync with what's happening on screen and in viewers' hearts. But yesterday's 59th annual Primetime Emmy Award nominations got one thing right: As network television sinks deeper into a dismal sea of reality TV with series like this summer's new No. 1 show, NBC's The Singing Bee, increasingly cable becomes the place for quality programming. For the eighth straight year, HBO led all networks - this time with 86 nominations. The premium cable channel had both the most-nominated program, the made-for-TV movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and the top series, The Sopranos.

Barbara Cox Anthony, an heir to the Cox Barbara Cox Anthony, an heir to the Cox media fortune, died Monday in Hawaii after an extended illness, Atlanta-based media conglomerate Cox Enterprises Inc. announced. She and her sister, Anne Cox Chambers, inherited the company from their father, founder and three-time Ohio Gov. James M. Cox, in 1974. Forbes magazine in March estimated Ms. Anthony's assets and those of her sister at $12.6 billion apiece, making them the 45th richest people in the world.