Direct TV Dish

College World Series Coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 have scored well and the coverage is second most-viewed college baseball game ever and have reached double-digit audience.
ESPN averaged 1,091,000 households for nine games, based on a 1.1 rating, and 1,408,000 total viewers, marking double-digit increases over 2007’s five telecasts: 27% in households (vs. 859,000), 22% in rating (vs. 0.9) and 26% in total viewers (vs. 1,120,000). In addition to being the most-viewed, this year’s coverage ties for the highest-rated with 2004 and 2006 coverage.
ESPN2 averaged 771,000 households for seven telecasts, based on a 0.8 rating, and 988,000 total viewers for an increase of 3% in households (vs. 747,000) and total viewers (vs. 956,000) over last year’s 10 games.

Spike TV has announced on Thursday that the network is planning to UFC light heavyweight bout between Anderson Silva and James Irvin live from Las Vegas on Saturday, July 19 at 9 p.m. ET. Spike TV, which broadcasted Anderson “The Spider” Silva burst onto the UFC scene with a devastating knockout of Chris Leben. Irvin has won four out of his last five UFC bouts but was recently scratched from UFC 85 in June after suffering a broken foot. A victory over the undefeated Silva would certainly be the career highlight thus far for the 29 year-old slugger.

Discovery Channel has ranked as No. 1 favorite channel in many aspects like network satisfaction, average perceived value among total adults, importance to the enjoyment of satellite service among viewers, aided awareness and in respondents having viewed the
Discovery Channel in the past 12 months. This is according to results of the 2008 Beta Research Satellite Dish Subscriber Study. Military Channel has ranked as the No. 1 mid-sized network mentioned as a favorite channel among men.

MSNBC has announced the launch of MSNBC Films, which is a documentary initiative that would help to produce films for television. Kurt Kuenne’s Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father will be the first movie by the MSNBC which was at the Slamdance Film Festival in January. Michael Rubin, MSNBC’s vice president of long-form programming said “MSNBC Films is another way for NBC News to partner with great independent filmmakers, who bring different takes on the world. We’re doing cartwheels over Dear Zachary.”

ESPN broadcast Wimbledon tennis action on its ESPN2 channel from June 23 through July 6. ESPN already had signed an agreement to broadcast the event with All England awn Tennis & Croquet Club to carry the prestigious tournament. ESPN2 started covering the match from 7.00 AM and will present about 100 hours of tennis coverage. ESPN Deportes will present tennis matches focusing Latino subscribers will serve up 51 hours from the London suburb, highlighted by daily coverage through the semifinal. DIRECT TV will offer “Matches On Now,” a graphic across the bottom of the screen with scores from each of the matches currently on the court channels, with the ability to tune directly to the match.

ESPN and NFL Network are to distribute the NFL contents through any one or more of ESPN’s existing expanded basic cable channels. ESPN’s former chairman and president of Disney’s ABC network and chief executive of the NFL Network are in high-level discussion to decide on the partnership. Many cable operators like Comcast, Time Warner have moved the network to sports tier. NFL Network also withheld eight games in 2006 season from its lucrative TV licensing packages to broadcast on its own channel in an attempt to gain leverage with cable operators in securing distribution for its network. But major cable operators such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems and Charter Communications balked at the network’s push for digital-basic positioning and its pricey 70-cent monthly subscriber fee.

Tiger Woods injury at the U.S. Open will keep him away for the rest of the year. Woods absence will have an affect in the TV viewership. Phil Sharpe, senior vice president of technology and operations for Turner Sports said “We all know that Tiger’s presence significantly increases ratings, He brings in the public at large, not just the avid fans. It’s the same thing with baseball or basketball when you’ve got a story there and a character in there, people will come and watch. That’s definitely a major part of it with Tiger.” ABC in a statement said “All of the sports world will miss Tiger while he is rehabbing. The Open Championship is a great global event that will include the best players in the world as they compete for the Claret Jug. They all have personal stories that fans will find compelling. We look forward to covering those stories and bringing them to life for the viewers at home.”

Animal Planet has announced that the channel will broadcast “World’s Ugliest Dog Competition” in October to be hosted by Beth Ostrosky and Mrs. Howard Stern. Animal Planet will broadcast the 20th year of the Sonoma-Marin Fair “World’s Ugliest Dog Competition” and the winner will be announced on June 20. Ostrosky, a model and animal activist said “Every dog deserves a chance to shine, and these dogs need love and attention just like any other, and I think in the show, people will see how much they give to their owners in return.”

National Geographic Channel is planning to bring new series of programming and has ordered for different programs that ranges from Nazis, sharks and bibles. “Dog Town” and “Locked Up Abroad” are to be broadcast for the second year and “Taboo” will be premiered for the fourth season. National Geographic Channel has ordered for a new series “World’s Toughest Fixes” which will share the repair works are performed on giant structures such as jumbo jets, nuclear power plants and oil rigs.

Championship Gaming Series (CGS), professional video gaming league launched by
DIRECT TV along with BSkyB and STAR, today announced an exclusive deal with G4 Media, a 24-hour cable and satellite channel originally dedicated to video games, will broadcast programming of the league’s competitions to United States cable television for the first time. G4, the only destination on television for video games, web culture, and the latest must-have tech gadgets, will air four 90-minute episodes beginning July 16, including the CGS 2008 North America Finals and the CGS 2008 World Finals.

“During our first season, Championship Gaming Series established itself as the creator of the world’s most compelling and engaging television programming dedicated to professional video gaming,” said Andy Reif, Chief Executive Officer for CGS. “Although we were a brand-new sports league in 2007, we created an incredibly powerful global television platform with partners including DIRECTV, DIRECTV Latin America, BSKYB, STAR and ESPN-STAR Sports, through which nearly 50 million cumulative viewers tuned in to watch our programming worldwide during our inaugural season. For our second season, we continue to grow our audience and worldwide reach and this new deal with G4 will help fans connect to CGS via US cable television, for the first time.”