Deals

Now we know why YES Net’s Ray Hopkins and Time Warner Cable’s Melinda Witmer didn’t make the trip to San Francisco this week. They were holed up in their offices working out a carriage renewal that will see TW Cable launch YES’s HD feed. Neither side would comment on specifics of the deal, but sources said TW Cable will be paying extra to carry the HD feed. The MSO said it won’t charge consumers extra for it. TW Cable cut this deal with one of the most expensive regional sports nets while it’s in rancorous negotiations with Cablevision’s MSG Network. Incidentally, Cablevision is the only major NY-area MSO that hasn’t cut a deal for YES’s HD feed, though both sides are talking. — TiVo bought 6 US patents last week from IBM that generally relate to audience research and measurement, integration of TV signals with ‘Net access, automatic rescheduling of recordings and EPG enhancements. — Liberate completed the previously announced $82mln sale of its N American business to Double C Technologies, a joint venture majority owned and controlled by Comcast, with a minority investment from Cox. Double C, which will operate under the name TVWorks, will continue to employ approx 130 Liberate staffers.