Ratings erosion and a continued decline in direct-response advertising dollars put the squeeze on Hallmark Channel's third-quarter results, as the basic-cable network saw ad sales revenue decline 7 percent versus the year-ago period.

Scripps Networks Interactive has agreed to buy a 65 percent stake in Travel Channel Media from Cox Communications in a deal that values the Travel Channel at nearly $1 billion.

Lisa Erspamer has been named chief creative officer of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, effective January 2010.

Time Warner's AOL and Time Inc. divisions continue to eat into its bottom line, as the media conglomerate posted third-quarter net income of $661 million, or 55 cents a share, a 38 percent decline versus its year-ago profit of $1.07

Investors hoping for some insight into Comcast's ongoing negotiations to purchase a majority stake in NBC Universal were stymied Wednesday, as the cable giant declined comment on the matter.

Philadelphia's 8-6 win over the New York Yankees on Monday night drew 17.1 million viewers to Fox, making it the most-watched Game 5 of a World Series in six years.

Discovery Communications posted a third-quarter net profit of $101 million, or 22 cents a share, down 25 percent from $134 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

While USA Network last week returned to its customary perch atop the cable ratings heap, averaging 3.47 million viewers in prime, the NBC Universal network couldn't hold off ESPN in the core demos.

Viacom reported a 3 percent drop in revenue for the third quarter to slightly more than $3.3 billion, while net earnings rose 15 percent to $463 million, compared to the same period in 2008.

Cablevision on Tuesday announced it had tripled its third-quarter earnings, posting net profit of $98.9 million, or 33 cents a share, up from $30.9 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period.