“It is a deal that is fair to our customers and in line with our other programming agreements,” Cablevision Systems Corp. spokesman Charles Schueler said in a phone interview with The Associated Press after the signal had been restored. He declined to disclose details of the deal.
Rebecca Campbell, president and general manager of WABC-TV, said the two sides had “reached an agreement in principle.”
“Given this movement, were pleased to announce that ABC7 will return to Cablevision households while we work to complete our negotiations,” she said in a statement.
A stalemate in the dispute had led ABCs parent company, the Walt [...]

The Federal Communications Commission will include a proposal to revamp the Universal Service Fund as part of a national broadband plan due to Congress on March 17. Although the proposal itself has been expected for months, Fridays announcement offered the first solid details.
The FCC said it envisions transforming the Universal Service program over the next decade to pay for high-speed Internet access instead of the traditional voice services that it currently finances. The proposal would create a Connect America fund inside the Universal Service program to subsidize broadband, and a Mobility Fund to expand the reach of so-called 3G, or [...]

Under the settlement terms, RealNetworks is barred from selling its RealDVD product or other similar technology, the company said.
The Seattle-based digital entertainment company will pay $4.5 million to the studios for litigation costs and refund purchases of about 2,700 customers who bought the product.
The Walt Disney Co.s Disney Studio, Sony Corp.s Sony Pictures and several others sued RealNetworks in 2008, arguing RealDVD is an illegal pirating tool that would stop consumers from buying movies on DVD that they could cheaply rent, copy and return.
RealNetworks lawyers had argued the software had piracy protections that limited [...]

RealNetworks also will refund about 2,700 customers who bought RealDVD, a $30 software program that allows users to save one backup copy of a movie to a computer hard drive, according to an e-mailed statement.
“We are please to put this litigation behind us,” Bob Kimball, acting Chief Executive Officer for RealNetworks, said yesterday in the statement. “Until this dispute, Real had always enjoyed a productive working relationship with Hollywood. With this litigation resolved, I hope we can find mutually beneficial ways to use Real technology to [...]

“I dont think were out of the economic situation yet,” Chief Executive Officer Selina Lo said in an interview. Lo was one of the executives who built Alteon WebSystems Inc. and sold it to Nortel Networks Corp. for $7.8 billion in 2000. “If the business is solid, we can wait for the right time.”
Instead of pursuing an IPO, Ruckus will introduce new products that help wireless carriers integrate Wi-Fi with their networks and reduce congestion, said Lo, 50. The five-year-old company will turn an operating profit [...]

RealNetworks currently holds a 51 percent stake in Rhapsody, with MTV parent Viacom International Inc. holding the rest. After the spinoff, neither will have operating control over the venture, and both will own an equal minority stake in Rhapsody.
RealNetworks will pay $18 million in cash, plus contribute the Rhapsody brand, in exchange for shares of convertible preferred stock of Rhapsody.
The companies expect to close the transaction by the end of the first quarter.
“Separating Rhapsody into its own independent company is a significant first step in making RealNetworks a more focused and profitable company,” said [...]

The executives, saying a decision wouldnt be announced today, didnt deny a report posted by the Web site TMZ that NBC was considering making the switch and replacing Conan OBrien with Leno, the newspaper said.
NBC, based in New York, has suffered a drop in viewers at 10 p.m. and in the late-night segment that follows local news since moving Leno, 59, to prime time and appointing OBrien as his successor on “The Tonight Show.” The network issued a statement today acknowledging the trouble the shift has [...]

In a complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the Tennis Channel charges the nations largest cable TV provider with violating FCC rules that prohibit such operators from favoring channels that they own over those from other companies.
The Tennis Channel, a small, independent network, reaches about 2.6 million homes through Comcast. The network maintains that Comcast carries it primarily on the premium Sports Entertainment Package, which costs an extra $5 to $8 per month, to protect Comcasts own sports channels from competition.
Comcasts Golf Channel and Versus, which shows hockey, cycling and other sporting events, reach about 21 million homes apiece [...]

The announcement settles questions about whether the federal antitrust review of the deal, announced late last year, will be handled by Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Communications Commission must also approve the combination, including the transfer of the NBC broadcast licenses to Comcast.
Even though federal regulators are expected to approve the transaction, many analysts and watchdogs believe they will attach significant conditions because a merger would give the nations largest cable TV operator control of a vast media empire as well.
Comcast is seeking to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co., which [...]

About 3.1 million subscribers lost access to HGTV and the Food Network on Friday after Scripps pulled its programming while negotiating a new contract with the cable provider.
In a statement Sunday, Cablevision said Scripps is demanding a 200 percent fee increase, which would drive up customer rates if accepted. For 2010, the average rate increase for subscribers is 3.7 percent, Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella said.
The company maintains that the HGTV and Food Network channels remain available to Cablevision subscribers if Scripps chooses to turn the programming back on while a contract is worked out.
In a separate statement late Sunday, Scripps [...]