Comcast Wires TechTV Deal: Close to Buying From Paul Allen for $300M; Plans To Merge With G4 Channel

TelevisionWeek ^ | December 8, 2003 | James Hibberd

[Timesink]

Guess they had to put out a Call For Help! Ha! Haaaa!

Ahem.

[Timesink]

Schadenfreude

This is the New York Times TechTV (I think, maybe it'll be G4) Schadenfreude Ping List. Freepmail me to be added or dropped.

[L.N. Smithee]

I actually know some people at TechTV, and they're among the coolest people I have ever worked with. What's your beef with 'em?

FWIW: X-Play's Morgan Webb is one of TV's most delicious dames.

[txzman]

I agree - TechTV is one of the freshest, common-sense shows on television that delivers exactly what it promises.

There is a reason so many big names were interested in buying the network - it is one of the few with a growing audience.

[Timesink]

What's your beef with 'em?

I have no beef. If they're media and in trouble, they get a Schadenfreude ping. It's not always ideological; I've posted Fox News Schadenfreudes more than once.

[mhking]

G4 is one of the few networks my kids (and I - I'll admit it) miss as a result of having satellite over cable. I've been a TechTV fan since the ZDTV days. They've struggled to find themselves over the past couple of years, and seem to be carving a new niche.

Besides, Michela Periera is cute! (and no, I wouldn't dare let She-who-must-be-obeyed hear that [g])

[dakine]

Aren't you suppose to post pictures after mentioning?..I have no idea what Michela Periera looks like..

[mhking]

[dakine]

Thanks...

[mikegi]

Besides, Michela Periera is cute!

Yes, but she's too cold and above-it-all, imho. I liked the asian newsreader girl (don't remember her name but she's now a reporter for CNN or MSNBC). Sumi Das was really cute years ago but screwed up by letting her hair grow too long. The new girl on The Screensavers looks like a baboon and Morgan Webb is a two-bagger.

[mikegi]

Per FR posting guidelines, here's a photo of the woman I referred to in my previous post (her name is Erica Hill):

[martin_fierro]

I've posted Fox News Schadenfreudes more than once.

GASP....!

[TechJunkYard]

In 1976 [Paul Allen] and Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft, where Mr. Allen served as chief technologist until he left the company in 1983. He is the founder and chairman of Vulcan and chairman of cable provider Charter Communications. He also has stakes in DreamWorks SKG and Oxygen Media.

Aha... now I understand your position on Charter. ;-)

[L.N. Smithee]

Besides, Michela Periera is cute! (and no, I wouldn't dare let She-who-must-be-obeyed hear that [g])

I have actually stood face-to-face with Michaela Pereira, and believe me -- the small screen does not do her justice...especially flat-screens.

[L.N. Smithee]

Morgan Webb is a two-bagger.

Dude, the loudspeakers said not to take the brown acid.

[Petronski]

Note to Comcast:

Keep Call for Help and The Screensavers--don't change a thing. Same for X-Play and Freshgear.

On the other hand, box up all of your videotape copies of 'Robot Wars' and dump them in the Bay.

A loyal, geeky viewer...

[Petronski]

Morgan could kick his ass all the way to Puget Sound and still be back in Frisco in time to write and appear in a dozen clever reviews on X-Play before dusk.

[L.N. Smithee]

On the other hand, box up all of your videotape copies of 'Robot Wars' and dump them in the Bay.

A loyal, geeky viewer...

Amen brother! I was a huge fan of BattleBots (I don't know where it's gone) and actually attended a taping of it at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, so I am not averse to the robot fighting concept. Hosting only one-on-one fights, classes and limits on the type of weapons each bot can use, and the lighthearted commentary of NFL vet/novelist Tim Green and wiseguy Bil Dwyer -- makes BattleBots IMHO -- riveting fun (pun intended).

Robot Wars, OTOH, is simply a mess. A crowded ring with robots that mostly damage one another by ramming them into holes, and that goofy, screaming, mega-annoying Craig Charles ("THA MASTA OF MAY'EM!") has me grabbing the remote ASAP.

[EchoLane]

Yep...but that's not gonna stop us from having some fun with their high speed internet!

[FreedomHammer]

Uh-oh.

I wonder if Comcast buying TechTV means anyone with Charter Cable will be S.O.L.?,

I pray not, as I really don't want to lose my TechTV. L.N.'s characterization of the network was spot on. Its the freshest thing on television.,

Oh, and while I agree that Morgan Webb is cute, my favorite is Jessica Corbin.