Gawker: valleywag, hdnet

Mark Cuban's High Definition Dreams Crushed By Time Warner

Ryan Tate — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:30:21 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Mark Cuban concedes his HDNet has been permanently kicked off Time Warner Cable Systems nationwide. It's a rough time for the mouthy internet entrepreneur.

It's bad enough that the Feds are still breathing down his neck over purported insider trading. Now Cuban must grapple with the loss of access to Time Warner's 13 million video subscribers.

"Wish I could get HDNets back on TWC, but I can't," Cuban tweeted yesterday, indicating he had failed in his efforts to get Time Warner to reverse its yanking of the network a few days earlier.

Cuban had been trying to get the flagship HDNet station out of Time Warner's marginal "HDTV Tier," which costs an extra $5 per month, and into a more widely-seen subscription package. Time Warner subscribers get a wide variety of HD channels even if they don't sign up for the "HDTV Tier."

Apparently the self-styled media maverick pushed the issue too hard, because now he's off the system entirely despite an offer to significantly reduce HDNet's fees.

The cut means CBS-newsman-turned-HDNet-star Dan Rather is off the air in New York, except for satellite customers.

Perhaps all this stress and conflict explains why Cuban was hitting the dessert table so hard at Dow Jones' "D" tech conference the other day; watch him work the free conference snacks in the background of the Beet.TV video below.

Mark Cuban gives "Internet is dead" stump speech in San Antonio

Jackson West — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:40:00 EDT

Blogging billionaire Mark Cuban dropped by a meeting of Texas's Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing members in San Antonio yesterday. His message: "The Internet is dead. It's had its time; say goodbye." Cuban went on to explain that high-definition entertainment (like that offered on his HDNet channels) is the present and the future, promising that cable companies can leverage those big, pretty screens for computer-like features.

It's the same sermon he's been preaching since a blog post last August — namely, consumers want HD, the Web can't deliver HD, ergo the Web is boring. Which is funny, because in the last year Cuban has also shown up at South by Southwest, BlogWorld Expo and eTech. Hmm, telling both sides what they want to hear — is Cuban looking to run for public office? (Photo by AP/Matt Slocum)

Tech industry? Mark Cuban is so not impressed with you

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:30:51 EDT

Flyover country may now know Mark Cuban better for his quick hips and jazz fingers on Dancing With the Stars, but the Web entrepreneur still likes to talk shop. A lot. He found an ear or two on Friday when AllThingsD's Walt Mossberg interviewed him at an otherwise obscure conference in Providence, Rhode Island. There, he explained that most everything you think is going well isn't really. Sorry. Some choice quotes after the jump.

Vista sucks. Vista is being kept alive by corporations. They tried to make everything backward compatible and there is too much bullshit now. Mac OS X is what it is, closed. Google is completely dependent on that PC. That's a bet I'm not willing to make. Companies are public and they get yelled at for making [broadband] investment. The markets are about the big funds wanting returns and that will hurt us.

There are a few exceptions to Cuban's bearish outlook. He's bullish on his own investments in HDNet, a high-definition-TV cable network, and the Cubs. And his ability to shake what his mama gave him, of course.