Kids Foot Locker Celebrates Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day Of Play

Below is a Kids Foot Locker Press Release featuring Nickelodeon News from PRNewswire:

Kids Foot Locker Celebrates Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day Of Play

Get Your Gear and Get Active!

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kids Foot Locker partners with Nickelodeon for its ninth annual Worldwide Day of Play, held on Saturday, October 6, 2012. From 12-3PM ET/PT, Nickelodeon and its channels will go off-air and offline to inspire kids to get up and get active. Starting today, children and their parents are encouraged to sign Kids Foot Locker's "Get Active" Pledge to turn off their televisions and play. For one-day only, customers who bring the signed pledge to any Kids Foot Locker store nationwide on Sunday, September 30, 2012, will receive a 15% discount off their purchase to "gear up" for the Worldwide Day of Play. Customers making online purchases on September 30th can enter a special code provided once the pledge is signed.

(Download image - Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120927/NY81998); Kids Foot Locker Celebrates Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day Of Play. (PRNewsFoto/Kids Foot Locker)
"We believe it is important that kids be active and healthy by participating in physical activities," said Jed Berger, Vice President of Brand Marketing, Kids Foot Locker. "We are excited to help make this possible by partnering with Nickelodeon to get children and their families off the couch and outside, whether it's in their local park or backyard, and get active."

"Over the past nine years, Worldwide Day of Play has motivated kids and families around the world to get up and get active," said Sharon Cohen, Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing, Nickelodeon Group. "This year, we are excited to partner with Kids Foot Locker to help extend that positive health and wellness message to even more families."

Kids Foot Locker will continue to distribute information to parents to promote children's wellness and good health to its VIP loyalty program members and Facebook fans, along with "fit tips" as part of its ongoing fit and health initiative.

About Kids Foot Locker:

Kids Foot Locker is part of Foot Locker, Inc., a specialty athletic retailer that operates approximately 3,350 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Through its Foot Locker, Footaction, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, and CCS retail stores, as well as its direct-to-customer channels, including footlocker.com/Eastbay/ CCS, the Company is the leading provider of athletic footwear and apparel. www.kidsfootlocker.com.

About Nickelodeon and Worldwide Day of Play:

Worldwide Day of Play (WWDoP) began in 2004 as a part of Nickelodeon's The Big Help initiative, a kid-led movement for positive change that focuses on issues that are important to kids, including health and wellness, the environment, education, and community service. Through The Big Help health and wellness component, kids are encouraged to be more active for and adopt healthier lifestyles. On Saturday, October 6, kids in every state across the U.S. and in countries around the world will participate in Nickelodeon's WWDoP celebration at the more than 4,000 expected local events. For more information about Nickelodeon's WWDoP, visit www.thebighelp.com. Click on resources for WWDoP event planning materials.

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

SOURCE Kids Foot Locker

RELATED LINKS
http://www.kidsfootlocker.com.

Viacom Inc. To Report Quarterly And Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Results On Thursday 15th November 2012

Below is a Viacom Inc. Press Release from PRNewswire:

Viacom Inc. to Report Quarterly and Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Results on November 15, 2012

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2012 /Viacom Inc. Press Release via PRNewswire/ -- Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB and VIA) announced today that on Thursday, November 15, 2012, it will issue financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. The Company will conduct a teleconference call at 8:30 a.m. (ET), following the release of its earnings announcement. The call is open to the general public.

(Download image - Viacom Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110811/NY51392LOGO )

A live audio webcast of the call will be available on the home page of Viacom's website, www.viacom.com, beginning at 8:30 a.m. (ET) on November 15. The conference call can also be accessed by dialing (888) 713-3589 (domestic) or (913) 312-1491 (international). Please call five minutes in advance to ensure that you are connected prior to the call.

The audio webcast replay will be available beginning at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on November 15 in the events/webcasts section of Viacom's website. A replay of the call will also be available beginning at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on November 15 at (888) 566-0808 (domestic) or (402) 220-9387 (international).

The earnings release and any other information related to the call will be accessible from the home page of Viacom's website.

About Viacom

Viacom is home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in over 160 countries and territories. With more than 160 media networks reaching approximately 700 million global subscribers, Viacom's leading brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, SPIKE and Tr3s. Paramount Pictures, celebrating its 100th year in 2012 and creator of many of the most beloved motion pictures, continues today as a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. Viacom operates a large portfolio of branded digital media experiences, including many of the world's most popular properties for entertainment, community and casual online gaming.

For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.

SOURCE Viacom Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.viacom.com.

Roster For Class XII Of The NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program Announced; Includes Nickelodeon And Viacom Staff Members

Below is a NAMIC Press Release from PRNewswire:

Roster For Class XII Of The NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program Announced

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) today announced the roster for Class XII of its Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP). The 2012-2013 class marks the official launch of NAMIC's new academic partnership with the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Presented over a seven-month period, Class XII sessions will be as follows: October 9-12, 2012; December 5-7, 2012; February 20-22, 2013; April 23-26, 2013.

(Download Image - NAMIC Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060705/NYW092LOGO )

Graduating a total of 390 executives of color since the program's inception, NAMIC's ELDP targets mid to upper-mid-level (experienced directors and above) executives of color. The program's central goal is to develop business leaders of color who will be well prepared to assume the top roles within the communications industry. The new ELDP curriculum is the culmination of a rigorous needs assessment and evaluation conducted by the Darden design team, whose goal was to leverage the very best of the program's decade of success while bringing the content in alignment with the current state of the industry, coupled with the very latest research-based pedagogy focused on executive development.

"A pillar of the NAMIC mission is to guarantee that the leadership bench-strength is as diverse as the increasingly rich mosaic of the industry's consumers," said James C. Jones, vice president, Education Programs, NAMIC. "While the program definitely addresses the unique challenges faced by executives of color, ELDP places a strong emphasis on the essential business competencies that all executives must master in order to deliver strong results."

The members of ELDP Class XII are: Audrey Adlam, vice president, Public Relations and Talent Development, HGTV/Scripps Networks Interactive; Damien Alexander, vice president and associate general counsel, BET; Angel Arocho, director, Strategic Services, Comcast; Joe Bernard, vice president, Advertising Sales, NBC Universal; LeVoyd Carter, senior counsel, Cox Communications; Juan Ignacio Cebellos, coordinating producer, ESPN; Dennis Chang, vice president, National Sales manager, Turner; Miranda Chattam, coordinating producer, ESPN; Clement Cheng, vice president, Human Resources, Comcast Spotlight; Sean Coar, group vice president, Strategy and Business Decisions, Time Warner Cable; William Cossey, executive director, Supply Chain, Cox Communications; Samson Desta, senior director, Coverage, Turner; Kyle Dixon, vice president, Public Policy, Time Warner, Inc.; Cheryl Dorsey, vice president, Affiliate Sales, The Africa Channel; Pamela Dover, senior director, Business Development, Comcast; Pamela Ford, director, Communications, NCTA; Jacqueline Gagne, director, Multicultural and College Marketing, HBO; Enoch Glover, senior director, Sustained Engineering and Operations, Time Warner Cable; Lennies Gutierrez, director, Government Affairs, Comcast; Phillip Hayes, engagement executive director, Comcast Assurance and Advisory Teams, Comcast; Michael Hewitt, vice president, Technical Operations, Comcast; Kimberly Hulsey, vice president, Legal Counsel, Scripps Networks Interactive; Eric Jones, executive producer, Spike TV; Navin Kamath, director, Domestic Digital Networks Distribution, HBO; Linda Lee, director, Publishing, Nickelodeon; Adrienne Loung, director, Partner Marketing, Viacom; Derek Low, vice president, Product Management, Scripps; Cherita McIntye, director, Executive Learning, ESPN; Sonya Middleton, deputy assistant general counsel, Cox Communications; Carla Moore, vice president, Domestic Network Distribution, HBO; Sudhir Muralidhar, director, Audience Management, Comcast; Alex Okosi, senior vice president & MD, Viacom International Media Networks; Alessandra Otero-Reiss, vice president, Multicultural Marketing, Time Warner Cable; Sweta Patel, director, Marketing Analysis, Cox Communications; Stephanie Phelps, director, Global Inclusion Strategy, Viacom; David Porter, executive director, The Walter Kaitz Foundation; Gavino Ramos, senior director, Communications, Time Warner Cable; Christopher Rose, senior director, Program Scheduling and Strategy, BET Networks; S. Brinkley Ruffin, senior director, Human Resources, Bright House Networks; Kannan Subramaniam, executive director, Comcast Enterprise Technology, Comcast; Claudia Marcela Tabares, vice president, Strategic Insights, A+E Networks; Jason T. Williams, director, Global Consumer Products and Business Ops, Viacom; Cheryl Wingate, vice president, Talent Acquisition and Movement, Time Warner Cable; and Alex Wong, executive director, Engineering Operations, Comcast.

"NAMIC proudly announces the new cohort for our signature executive leadership program," said Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, president and CEO, NAMIC. "Our new partnership with the Darden School is guaranteed to strengthen the critical business competencies that all senior leaders must command to be successful in our evolving business."
To broaden the reach of ELDP, The Walter Kaitz Foundation has provided a fellowship for eligible executives from smaller industry companies to participate in the program. This year's Kaitz funded fellowship has been granted to Cheryl Dorsey, vice president, Affiliate Sales, The Africa Channel.

For more information on the NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program or other NAMIC education initiatives, visit www.namic.com.

ABOUT NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC comprises over 2,700 professionals belonging to a network of 16 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve. For more information, please visit www.namic.com and stay connected to NAMIC on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and DiversityLive: The Business > Social NAMIC Network.
SOURCE NAMIC

RELATED LINKS
http://www.namic.com.

Nickelodeon USA's Television Channels Go Dark For Ninth Annual Worldwide Day Of Day On Saturday 6th October 2012

Below is a Nickelodeon Press Release with Nickelodeon News about Worldwide Day of Play 2012 from Nickelodeon USA's "Nickelodeon Kids And Family" press website, NickPress.com:

NICKELODEON'S TV CHANNELS AND WEBSITES GO DARK FOR NINTH ANNUAL WORLDWIDE DAY OF PLAY ON SATURDAY, OCT. 6

Network to Air "I Play Because" Special in Celebration of Active Play, Featuring Appearances by First Lady Michelle Obama, David Beckham, U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists Nastia Liukin and Apolo Ohno, Jennette McCurdy, the Cast of Victorious, Lucas Cruikshank and Performances by The Wanted and Rachel Crow

NEW YORK–Sept. TK, 2012 – For the ninth consecutive year, Nickelodeon is empowering kids to get up and get active when its TV channels and websites go off-air and offline for its annual Worldwide Day of Play (WWDoP) on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 12 to 3 p.m. (all times ET/PT). The network's channels – Nicktoons, Nick Jr. and TeenNick – and their companion sites – Nick.com, NickJr.com, Nicktoons.com and TeenNick.com will also participate in the network's commemoration of play. At 5 p.m., Nick will premiere “I Play Because,” an action-packed special highlighting how kids around the world celebrated WWDoP. The half-hour special will be hosted by Nickelodeon stars and will feature appearances by First Lady Michelle Obama, David Beckham, U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists Nastia Liukin and Apolo Ohno, among others and musical performances by The Wanted and Rachel Crow.

"Through our ninth annual Worldwide Day of Play we are building upon our ongoing health and wellness messaging to encourage millions of kids around the world to embrace an active and healthy lifestyle,” said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group. "This year, we're championing real kids with a global celebration that kicked off in July with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move London! and will culminate with thousands of events taking place in commemoration of Worldwide Day of Play."

Nickelodeon kicked off its health and wellness messaging with the “Road to Worldwide Day of Play” onair campaign, featuring spots encouraging kids and organizations across the country to get up and get active on Oct. 6. The network also launched the "I Wanna Play" sweepstakes on www.thebighelp.com, giving kids an opportunity to submit what their schools or community organizations are doing to celebrate play for a chance to win a grand prize $100,000 custom Nickelodeon playground. Nickelodeon will award secondary prizing of five $10,000 grants to local organizations across the country working to promote active play. The grand prize winner of the “I Wanna Play” sweepstake will be announced on the “I Play Because” special, airing on Nickelodeon on Oct. 6, at 5 p.m.

At 9 a.m., on Oct. 6, Nickelodeon will kick start its on-air celebration with Jeff Sutphen, host of Nickelodeon's hit game show Figure It Out, from the Big Brothers Big Sisters Race for the Kids in New York City. At 12 p.m. (ET/PT), the channel will be “turned off” by Sutphen, encouraging kids and families to get outside and get active. When the network goes dark, a message encouraging viewers to go play will appear on a loop.

At 3 p.m., Nickelodeon will "turn" the network back on, followed by the premiere of "I Play Because" at 5 p.m. The half-hour special will showcase how kids across the country and around the world celebrated Worldwide Day of Play. In addition to First Lady Michelle Obama, David Beckham, Apolo Ohno and Nastia Liukin, the special will also feature a roster of Nickelodeon stars, including Jennette McCurdy, Ariana Grande, Daniella Monet, Leon Thomas III, Matt Bennett, Lucas Cruikshank, Halston Sage, Gracie Dzienny and Jeff Sutphen. Nick stars will check in from several events taking place around the world, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York's Race for the Kids, Let’s Move London!, a United States Tennis Association (USTA) event for kids, a health and wellness event hosted by NFL's Play 60 and Rob Dyrdek’s Street League Skate Championship. “I Play Because” will also include special musical performances from international sensations, The Wanted and rising star, Rachel Crow of X Factor fame.

Nickelodeon and a roster of more than 25 partner organizations will encourage their locals affiliates to host events in markets across the country leading up to and on Worldwide Day of Play (Oct. 6).

Organizations participating this year include Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Let's Move!, Kiwanis-Key Club, National Environmental Education Foundation, NFL Play 60, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, National Park Foundation, National Park Service, Ability Path/Best Buddies, ASPCA, Association of Children's Museums, National Association for Sports and Physical Education, National PTA, National Wildlife Federation, Outdoor Foundation, Paralympics, Playward, Special Olympics, UN Foundation/Girl Up, YMCA of Greater New York, Youth Service America, US Youth Soccer, Natural Resources Defense Council, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, The First Tee and JAM School Program.

In conjunction with Nickelodeon's WWDoP, the USTA is encouraging tennis clubs, tennis facilities, schools, parks and recreational organizations throughout the country to host USTA Free Tennis Play Days. The USTA Free Tennis Play Days began September 1 and will run through October 6, and are open to the public. During these events, kids will have the opportunity to play tennis as well as participate in a variety of tennis skill and game challenges that can be done individually or in teams. To date, more than 1,000 events have been scheduled across the country. For more information on local USTA Free Tennis Play Days visit www.youthtennis.com.

Additionally, Kids Foot Locker is partnering with Nickelodeon by encouraging parents to sign the “Get Active” pledge in celebration of Worldwide Day of Play. Customers who bring their signed pledge to any Kids Foot Locker store nationwide on Sunday, September 30th will receive a 15% discount to gear up for WWDoP. Kids Foot Locker outreach will include in-store signage and messaging on their social media platforms. Starting September 24th, go to www.kidsfootlocker.com/WWDOP to download the pledge

WWDoP began in 2004 as a part of Nickelodeon's The Big Help initiative, a kid-led movement for positive change that focuses on issues that are important to kids, including health and wellness, the environment, education, and community service. Through the Big Help health and wellness component, kids are encouraged to be more active for healthier lifestyles. On October 6, kids in every state across the U.S. and worldwide are expected to participate in Nickelodeon's WWDOP at the more than 4,000 expected local events.

For more information about Nickelodeon’s WWDoP, visit www.thebighelp.com. Click on resources for WWDoP event planning materials.

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households
and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

###

Contacts:

Thamar Romero
thamar.romero@nick.com

Tori Fernandes
tori.fernandes@nick.com.

Dish Reportedly To Be In Talks With Viacom About Internet TV

From IP&TV News:

Dish in OTT talks with Viacom?

New reports are coming in that US satellite TV giant Dish Network is planning to launch an over-the-top (OTT) video service similar to BSkyB’s ‘Now TV’ in the UK, with Bloomberg now reporting that Dish is in talks with studios including Viacom, Univision and Scripps Networks Interactive.

Citing two executives “familiar with the situation”, the reports state that Viacom is looking to sell smaller bundles of its networks (which include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central) at a higher rate per-channel, and that Dish’s putative new OTT service is shaping up to be the perfect home for them.

However, sports rights may be a thorny issue here: the new service may struggle if it lacks popular sports programming such as from ESPN. Also, the omission of online video from Nielsen ratings may prove problematic in discussions with ad agencies.

These rumours follow speculation from investment research house Zacks last week which suggested that major satellite TV operator DISH Network (the second-largest pay-TV operator in the US) is planning to launch an over-the-top (OTT) video service targeting younger viewers.

UK satellite operator BSkyB launched a service earlier this year called ‘Now TV’ which will eventually offer pay-as-you-go access to a vast selection of its linear content (including premium sports, drama and movies), whilst avoiding the need for a satellite dish (and lengthy contract).

DISH already operates an OTT service in other parts of the world called DISHWorld, which launched last May on the Roku streaming player.

Via Bloomberg.

Also, from Bloomberg:

Dish Said to Be in Talks With Viacom About Internet TV

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) is talking to networks such as Viacom (VIAB) Inc.’s MTV about offering their channels over the Internet, a service that could shift the economics of the pay-TV industry, five people familiar with the plan said.

In addition to Viacom, the negotiations involve the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications Inc. and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (SNI), owner of the Food Network and HGTV, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. The companies would offer an online product known as an over-the-top service, charging a lower price for a smaller bundle of channels viewable on a computer or tablet.

Dish’s service would change the dynamics of the pay- television business, breaking up the bundles that force customers to pay for channels they don’t watch. It also gives Dish a way to avoid its biggest programming expense: sports. Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ESPN gets as much as $5.13 each month for every cable and satellite subscriber, compared with the industry’s average of 26 cents, according to SNL Kagan.
“That’s when you could start seeing a few cracks in the ecosystem,” said Alan Gould, a media analyst at Evercore Partners LLC in New York. “The addition of an over-the-top service would be significant.”

Live Television

The effort would mark the biggest attempt to create an online service with live cable channels, a break from the approach taken by Netflix (NFLX) Inc. and Hulu LLC. For Dish, the move would decrease its reliance on its satellite-TV service, which ranks second to DirecTV (DTV) in U.S. customers. It also gives it a way to undercut pay-TV competitors on price.

Dish rose 1.8 percent to $30.97 at the close in New York. The shares have gained 8.7 percent this year.

Cable networks, meanwhile, have been reluctant to break up their suite of channels and sell them a la carte because it would lower the amount of available advertising inventory. Viacom and other cable networks typically sell ads at a lower rate than the big broadcast networks such as CBS Corp. (CBS), so they rely on volume.
Viacom would be willing to sell smaller bundles of its networks, which also include Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, at a higher rate per channel than it does for its full complement of programming, according to two executives familiar with the situation.

Bob Toevs, a spokesman for Englewood, Colorado-based Dish, declined to comment. Mark Jafar, a spokesman for New York-based Viacom, also declined to comment, as did Mark Kroeger at Scripps and Matt Biscuiti at Univision.

Unwanted Option?

A central question is whether consumers want smaller bundles that lack sports programming. Several pay-TV operators, including Dish and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), already offer cheaper packages that don’t include sports. Those offerings aren’t very popular, said Amy Phillips, a spokeswoman for ESPN, the biggest cable sports network. “History shows that very few households subscribe,” she said.
Dish offers a $20-per-month satellite package without ESPN, though it also lacks other top channels such as MTV and HGTV. Cable and satellite companies have agreements with ESPN that require the video distributors to include the sports network in their most popular tier of TV service.

Charging Less

Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen, who co-founded the company, has said there will be a day when a pay-TV operator chooses not to include sports in order to charge $10 to $20 per month less than competitors.

“My mom doesn’t watch sports,” Ergen said during a conference call last month. “I’ve got neighbors who don’t want sports. I’ve got friends who go to the bars or the neighbors’ house to watch sports.”

Dish’s plan would go beyond the constraints of the so- called TV Everywhere initiative, already adopted by most of the major networks. Programmers such as CNN and HBO, both owned by Time Warner Inc. (TWX), offer the option to people who already pay for television, letting them watch those same channels on their phones, tablets and personal computers.

Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes has said it wouldn’t make sense to sell HBO directly to the 6 percent of homes in the U.S. who don’t have cable or satellite service.

“There are some of those people that if you sign them up, they would die the next day -- these are people that are old,” he said at an investor conference last week.

Cord Cutters

Still, some younger people are abandoning conventional cable TV in favor of Internet services. Dish wants to reach consumers around 18 to 28 who would rather pay $20 a month for a smaller package of channels to watch on computers or mobile devices, CEO Joseph Clayton said in an interview this month.

The challenge is getting a “critical mass” of companies to give online rights to live shows, Clayton said. Negotiations bog down because programmers aren’t willing to sell Dish the rights for a low enough price to make a service viable, he said. Dish’s satellite customers paid an average of about $78 a month in the second quarter.

Netflix and Hulu, two of the biggest providers of TV and movie content over the Internet, don’t carry live programming, which is considered valuable to advertisers because viewers are less likely to skip commercials.

One hurdle to an Internet-only service, according to programmers: Nielsen doesn’t measure online video the same way it does with television. That makes it harder to track how many people are watching and sell advertising based on that audience.

Online Audiences

Nielsen can measure online viewing audiences provided that programmers broadcast the same ads online as they do on television, said Brian Fuhrer, a senior vice president at the ratings company. Websites such as Hulu, which sells different ads during the shows it streams, would require special coding for Nielsen to count.

Dish would be competing with Aereo Inc., a startup backed by Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) that lets users watch some live television over the Internet for a fixed monthly fee.

The broadcast networks, including News Corp. (NWSA)’s Fox and CBS, sued the company in March for what they consider the illegal retransmissions of their broadcast signals. The networks normally receive fees from television distributors such as Dish. New York-area cable provider Cablevision Systems Corp. filed a brief in support of the broadcasters last week.

Broadcast Networks

Dish and Aereo don’t expect to get separate Internet rights from the major broadcast channels -- Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC -- according to two people familiar with the negotiations. Fox, CBS and NBC also are suing Dish over its AutoHop Ad-Skipper, which allows Dish customers to instantly bypass commercials for network shows the day after they’re first aired. Dish has filed its own lawsuit against all four networks.

Aereo, based in New York, is in talks with a number of cable networks, including Viacom, to get rights to an older library of shows, similar to what’s available on Netflix, according to two executives with knowledge of the discussions. Aereo would pay for that content, unlike what it does with the broadcast channels’ programming, according to the people.

Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia said at an investor conference last week that additional content would be packaged a la carte or in “micropackages” for an additional $2 or $4 a month. The company plans to pair the broadcast networks with independent cable channels and new Internet-only products from network companies to give customers streaming movies, news and sports.

Aereo charges $8 a month plus tax for its standard service, which is only available in New York City. Kanojia said he plans to expand Aereo to as many as 15 markets before the end of 2013.

Dish already delivers an online service called DishWorld to overseas audiences, who watch it using set-top boxes from Roku Inc. Anthony Wood, CEO of Saratoga, California-based Roku, said he has been approached by several media companies looking to offer over-the-top services and expects to see some blossom in the U.S. soon.
“We will see that in the next year,” he said.

Also, from World Internet TV on PC (blog):

Dish Plan Potential Streaming Deal With Viacom

American satellite TV provider Dish Network are rumoured to be moving into the world of online streaming, after it was revealed that they have been in talks with a number of media companies in the country, in particular Viacom, over plans for an Internet-delivered live TV service.

It is claimed that the Dish-Viacom discussions have been ongoing for around a year, although a formal deal is not yet on the radar due to the satellite provider’s holding of ‘expensive sports rights’ which they feel would deter a large proportion of audiences from using a streaming service which packages all Dish channels in together.

While Dish Network does already hold an interest in online streaming through their Blockbuster brand, they have so far only focused on on-demand movies rather than live TV, and make it only available to their satellite subscribers, and as a result seem to be looking for partners to help them provide a service for non-subscribers in a similar way to how English satellite company BSkyB have launched ‘NOW TV’ for the UK market.

A source close to the process said of the problems: “Dish is approaching all programmers with this and some folks are still hearing them out. Another reason why other programmers may have definitively turned this down is that they program live sports, so this model is a non-starter for them.”

While Viacom (owners of channels including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and Spike) seem to remain the long-running targets for Dish Network’s planned service, they are also said to have been attempting collaborations with Scripps Networks Interactive (Food Network and HGTV), along with Spanish-language service Univision.

The service from Dish Network (which no representatives of the ‘approached’ media companies have commented on) is said to be proposed with the idea of ‘shaking up’ the pay-TV industry in the country, by doing away with the traditional methods of having to pay high costs for the rights to a ‘network bundle’, with Dish chairman Charlie Ergen particularly critical of the expensive cost to licence a show which is readily available on an alternative service such as Netflix or iTunes.

While it is unclear what a Dish Network streaming service would exactly consist of, or when it will arrive, will it be as revolutionary and cost-effective as it claims it would be?