MSG Metro Guide signs Koch

Former Gotham mayor to review films for cable channel

By RICHARD KATZ

Rainbow Media's MSG Metro Guide has signed former New York City Mayor Ed Koch as the local cable channel's full-time movie critic, said sources close to Rainbow.

Koch, a self-professed movie fanatic, will begin contributing film reviews in January. Over the years, Koch has filed film reviews for New York's daily newspapers.

Koch is also the host of the successful syndicated strip "The People's Court."

Koch's reviews on MSG Metro Guide will appear both during the day and in primetime.

The addition of the high-profile Koch comes at an opportune time for MSG Metro Guide. On Jan. 28, Time Warner Cable of New York City's 1.1 million subscriber cable system will add MSG Metro Guide to its basic channel lineup.

At that time, MSG Metro Guide will reach virtually all the cable homes in the New York market. The channel was already carried in all of Cablevision Systems' 2.5 million homes in New York.

Rainbow Media is Cablevision Systems' programming arm.

MSG Metro Guide, the first time Rainbow has used its MSG (Madison Square Garden) moniker for a non-sports channel, provides a 24-hour guide to Gotham's night life, sports, arts, family activities and movies.

Rainbow could not be reached for comment.