INTERNET
Music Over the Net Risks Radio Fees (NYT)
Teachers Strive to Show What Adding Technology to
Classrooms Can Mean (SJM)
CABLE
Cable Operators Find New Profit In Pornography (WSJ)
INTERNATIONAL
A Wide Open Mobile Phone Market (NYT)
Europeans Have a Tough Time With the Informality of E-Mail (WSJ)
Deutsche Telekom May End Flat-Rate Internet Access (WSJ)
Oftel Investigates BT's Pricing Of Internet, Telephone Plans (WSJ)
ADVERTISING
Advertising: Showtime Prepares Campaign Aimed at Gay Audiences (NYT)
OWNERSHIP
Regulators Postpone Vote to Block AOL, Time Warner Deal as
Talks Move Ahead (WSJ)
Microsoft Asks Appeals Court To Void Ruling (NYT)
INTERNET
MUSIC OVER THE NET RISKS RADIO FEES
Issue: Intellectual Property
About 4,000 of the nation's 14,000 radio stations transmit programs over
the Internet and a ruling expected soon by the United States Copyright
Office will decide whether stations must pay record companies for
"Netcasting", and whether surveys of customers' musical tastes make a
broadcaster using the Internet "interactive" and subject to even more fees.
"What the music industry is trying to do is saddle broadcasters with new
fees that Congress has always exempted us from paying," said Dennis
Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. "It could
cost broadcasters millions of dollars and would probably cripple or
seriously impair the streaming of radio signals over the Internet."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/technology/28RADI.html)
(requires registration)
TEACHERS STRIVE TO SHOW WHAT ADDING TECHNOLOGY TO CLASSROOMS CAN MEAN
Issue: EdTech
The national debate surrounding technology in the classroom has shifted
from whether computers belong in schools, to how they should be used.
According to some studies, the computer-drill programs that many schools
continue to use to teach reading and math actually hurt test scores. When
used more creatively, however, proponents say, computers can spur projects
that teach students teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking.
Unfortunately, such programs are rare. The U.S. Department of Education has
recognized only a handful of efforts nationwide as the right way to use
technology in the classroom of the future. Part of the problem stems from
that lack of money or time for teacher training. Additionally, more than 80
percent of technology money is spent on software and machines. As a result,
most educators continue to teach the computer to children, rather than
using the computer to teach.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Katherine Corcoran]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/school112800.htm)
CABLE
CABLE OPERATORS FIND NEW PROFIT IN PORNOGRAPHY
Issue: Cable
The biggest name in pornography, Vivid Entertainment Group, is set to push
the envelope on explicitness on Cable TV. Last year, Vivid bought the Hot
Network, a little known cable-TV channel. Since then, Vivid's cable TV reach
jumped from six million to 16 million. The Hot Network's sister channel, the
Hot Zone, is available in 10 million homes. Vivid's profit last year surged
to $14.3 million, from $5.6 million in 1998. But the biggest boost for Vivid
came when AT&T agreed to carry the Hot Network on its digital systems. AT&T
is not alone, five of the top eight major cable systems carry the Hot
Network, including Comcast, Cox, Cablevision, Charter Communications Insight
Communications. The Hot Network is also available on satellite broadcaster
Hughes Electronics' DirectTV. Two things have changed for cable operators
who had once shunned hardcore fare: digital technology ensures a program is
seen only by those who want to see it, and competition from satellite and
the Internet have raised the stakes of subscribership. Additionally,
hard-core porn is great for cash flow. Vivid's porn is, well, vivid. Unlike
soft-porn which hints at the deed, a Vivid production is truly hardcore. The
explicitness translates to pure profit. Hot Network keeps 20% of every
dollar, leaving at least 80% for cable operators, compared with a 50-50
split for Hollywood films. And hard-core porn brings in revenue twice that
of a Hollywood film, usually $9 to $11 for a six-hour program block. But
Vivid may soon face some stiff competition; last week, the Playboy Channel
showed explicit sex for the first time. Playboy also owns the cable-based
Spice 1 and Spice 2 channels. Now, Playboy says that it will launch a
service called Spice Platinum Networks, advertised as even more racier than
the Vivid channels. To help finance its plans of going global, Vivid intends
to go public next year.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (B1) AUTHOR: Sally Beatty]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB975369303347589044.htm)
(Registration Required)
INTERNATIONAL
A WIDE OPEN MOBILE PHONE MARKET
Issue: International/Wireless
With Russia's economy growing so is demand for cell phones. In the last
year, cell phone use has doubled to 3 million and may rise to 6 million in
2001. Foreign investors and telecommunications companies, mostly
Scandinavian and German, are responding to this opportunity by investing
hundreds of millions of dollars to develop Russian mobile phone services.
One of the leading firms is Telecom Invest of St. Petersburg, which was
founded by the man who now serves as Russia's telecommunications minister.
Telecom Invest, which already owns stakes in 36 local mobile phone, paging
and other telecommunications companies in northwest Russia, plans to spend
$250 million on building a national network over the next two years, though
it said the total cost of the network would be closer to $1 billion. "While
investing in Russia's regions is not profitable today, we believe the
Russian economy will grow in the future, and demand for mobile phone
services will continue to increase," said Aleksandr Nyago, Telecom Invest's
chief executive.
[SOURCE: New York Times (W1), AUTHOR: John Varoli]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/technology/28RUSS.html)
(requires registration)
EUROPEANS HAVE A TOUGH TIME WITH THE INFORMALITY OF E-MAIL
Issue: International/Media & Society
As e-mail slowly enters the European business world, the language of
European business is starting to change as well. "The art of correspondence
is still imprinted in our minds as a cultural norm in Europe," says Detlev
Liepmann, a professor at Berlin's Freie Universitaet. "We are still very
used to classical forms of writing letters." Problems can arise when
melding this traditional European art of letter writing with the
lightning-fast mode of e-mail communication. Users are often unsure of
whether to use formal or informal greetings. Some multinational businesses
have discovered that Americans and Europeans can unintentionally offend
each other with their interoffice notes. While Americans often consider the
more formal e-mails absurd, European e-mailers can regard the American
informality as abrupt.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Allison Linn]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB975362151462247585.htm)
(Registration Required)
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM MAY END FLAT-RATE INTERNET ACCESS
Issue: International/Internet
Deutsche Telekom AG said Monday that it may withdraw its flat-rate
Internet-access package currently offered to some of its T-Online customers,
in order to avoid having to extend the pricing plan to competitors. "We are
looking into whether our flat-rate offer for T-Online has been the basis for
the regulator to decide that we have to offer it to our competitors as
well," a Deutsche Telekom spokesman said. Deutsche Telekom charges Internet
access providers approximately .06 cents US per minute for the use of its
network's "last-mile" connections to users' homes. Independent ISPs using a
flat-rate, unlimited Internet access plan say the per minute charges are
causing a financial hardship on them. Further, the independent ISPs say that
T-Online is receiving preferential treatment from its parent company,
Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche's response is two-part: first, T-Online is also
losing money under its own flat-rate structure and secondly, cheaper rates
for Internet surfing across the board would put too much traffic on its old,
narrowband telecommunications network.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB975329208281809018.htm)
(Registration Required)
OFTEL INVESTIGATES BT'S PRICING OF INTERNET, TELEPHONE PLANS
Issue: International/Internet
The United Kingdom's telecommunications regulator, Oftel, is investigating
possible anticompetitive pricing of British Telecommunications PLC's
combined Internet and telephone packages. British Telecom's "Surf Together"
and "BT Talk and Surf Together" packages are being reviewed under the
Competition Act of 1998. Oftel said its investigation "under the Competition
Act is limited to the pricing of the packages involving unmetered Internet
access." The regulator also said that while it "welcomes lower prices for
consumers ... Oftel must ensure that these proposals from BT do not
undermine effective competition." BT said it was "bemused" by the
investigation. Oftel has said in the past that it intends to require BT to
provide operators with a new flat-rate access product starting in February.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Allison Linn]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB975399296895309597.htm)
(Registration Required)
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING: SHOWTIME PREPARES CAMPAIGN AIMED AT GAY AUDIENCES
Issue: Advertising
Elliott begins: An extensive campaign to promote a new series on the pay-
cable network Showtime is probably the most elaborate ever aimed by a
mainstream marketer at gay audiences and probably the most elaborate ever
with gay themes aimed at mainstream audiences. The $10 million campaign
will promote "Queer as Folk" which will begin this Sunday and is scheduled
to run for 22 episodes. The series is adapted from a popular British show
and its sequel that drew large audiences last year with a titillating plot
centered on the relationships -- sexual and otherwise -- among a tightknit
group of gay men and lesbians. "There's an opportunity to get a `buzz'
going in the gay community for `Queer as Folk' and move outward from
there," said Howard Buford, president and chief executive at Prime Access
in New York, an agency that worked on the campaign. "It's relevant to a
broader audience if you convince them the show is an authentic slice of gay
and lesbian life," he added, "and the elements of storytelling and
character are compelling enough that everyone can enjoy and relate to them."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C10), AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/business/28ADCO.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
DOT-COM'S BABE PARADE RAISES EYEBROWS
Women's group monitors ads for exploitation
[SOURCE: USAToday (3B), AUTHOR: Michael McCarthy]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001128/2870319s.htm)
OWNERSHIP
REGULATORS POSTPONE VOTE TO BLOCK AOL, TIME WARNER DEAL AS TALKS MOVE AHEAD
Issue: Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission will delay a vote expected Thursday to block
the America Online/Time Warner merger so it can review a new agreement
between the two companies and an AOL competitor, EarthLink. The FTC had
demanded that Time Warner negotiate a contract with a major AOL competitor
to provide Internet access over Time Warner cable systems before AOL itself
could sell such service. This was intended to preserve competition in
high-speed Internet access in cities served by Time Warner cable. The FTC
is also seeking assurances that Time Warner news and entertainment content
will remain available to AOL's Internet competitors if the companies are
permitted to merge.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (A3), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke (john.wilke( at )wsj.com)]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB975369052796249649.htm)
(Registration Required)
MICROSOFT ASKS APPEALS COURT TO VOID RULING
Issue: Antitrust
Microsoft filed an appeal in its antitrust case, claiming Judge Thomas
Penfield Jackson had committed a series of mistakes in his handling of the
Federal District Court trial and his interpretation of antitrust law. "The
entire proceeding .... was infected with error," the company's lawyers
wrote. "Revealing a profound misunderstanding of the antitrust laws, the
district court condemned Microsoft's competitive response to the phenomenal
growth of the Internet and the emergence of Netscape as a platform
competitor. Far from violating the antitrust laws, Microsoft's conduct was
procompetitive, producing enormous consumer benefits."
"The judgment is well supported by the evidence offered during the 78-day
trial, including thousands of pages of Microsoft's own documents," a
Justice Department statement said. "We are confident in our case and look
forward to presenting it to the Court of Appeals."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/technology/28SOFT.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
MICROSOFT'S LATEST MOVE HAS RING OF FAMILIARITY
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/technology/28TRUS.html)
(requires registration)
EXCERPTS FROM MICROSOFT BRIEF TO THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS IN WASHINGTON
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/business/28TEXT.html)
(requires registration)
MICROSOFT FILES U.S. APPEALS COURT BRIEF
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Bridis & Buckman]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB975343439852948168.htm)
(Requires Registration)
MICROSOFT RULING CRITICAL OF JUDGE
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: James V. Grimaldi]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62651-2000Nov27.html)
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