Nov 13, 2009 (FCC Seeks More Input on Broadband Plan)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2009
Bridging the Divide and Increasing the Intensity of Broadband Use Across All Sectors of the Economy AND more at the FDA about online marketing... see http://bit.ly/4CHbxD
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
FCC Seeks Comment on Relationship Between Broadband and Economic Opportunity
FCC Seeks Comment on the Role of Broadband in Improving Health Care
DHS Keeping Close Eye On FCC Broadband Plan
McDowell Opens FCC Talk on Access to Capital and the National Broadband Plan
Phoenix Center Says Flawed Study Undermines FCC Bid for "Data-Driven Decisionmaking"
Smart Partner for the Broadband Dance
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Network Neutrality's Impact on Low Income Communities: Equal Access for All
Companies lobby newest FCC members on network neutrality rule
If You Hate the Fairness Doctrine, You Should Love Network Neutrality
Questions to Ask Regarding Internet Regulation
MORE ON BROADBAND
Drug industry presses FDA to allow more online ads
Google Has A Plan For Safer, More Useful Online Drug Ads
Wireless Broadband Electronic News Gathering Gaining Ground
USDA Announces $35 Million for Distance Learning, Telemedicine
Netflix Is the iPod of Broadband
Group Touts Broadband's Benefits
OWNERSHIP
FCC May Relax Media Ownership Limits
Comcast Play for NBC Universal Is a Bet on Future of Advertising
FCC conditions on Comcast-NBC could hurt synergy, says Wall Street
Comcast/NBCU May Create More M&A Activity, Transform Content Owners and Distributors
Intel's $1.25 Billion Settlement
After AMD: Intel's Next Big Battle
Intel and AMD Reach a Landmark Settlement
Google and the Copyright Wars
Google adds Gizmo5 to stable
Liberty seals $5 Billion Unitymedia buy
BROADCASTING
MMTC, SBA Want To Be Included in Discussion of Performance Rights Act
Fox Says FCC Profanity Policy Is Indefensible
Affiliates cool to networks' plan to charge fees
JOURNALISM
Jon Stewart continues to break stories the "real" media can't -- or won't
Moor: Newspapers Not Evolving Enough for Digital Demand
The Fort Hood Tragedy Highlights the Reporting Role of Social Media
MORE ONLINE ...
Can Telemedicine Help Wounded Warriors With Recovery?
CoSN Provides Input on National Educational Technology Plan
Verizon Florida agrees to refunds for customers
FCC launches MySpace Channel
Consumer Watchdog Blasts Google Event
NQF issues quality data standards for electronic records
Kerry bill to boost electronic medical records
The HITECH Foundation for Information Exchange
Here Come Smartbooks
Chicago Community Trust ends funding for 'Chicago Matters'
Recent Comments on:
The Dirty Truth about Rural Broadband
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
BROADBAND AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission seeks public comment on a series of questions related to small businesses (defined for purposes of this Public Notice as businesses with 500 or fewer employees), medium and large businesses (defined for purposes of this Public Notice as businesses with more than 500 employees), non-profit organizations, economic opportunity and workforce development. The FCC question hit on five areas: 1) Community hubs -- In areas of suboptimal deployment and adoption, local community hubs (defined as places such as libraries, community colleges, job training centers, unemployment offices, etc.) and organizations often present themselves as stop-gaps for individuals to obtain access to broadband. Are these hubs used in ways that create economic opportunities? 2) Business adoption and usage. 3) Regional economic development. 4) Government-Provided Social Benefit Programs: Informal research has suggested the provisioning of critical government services designed to help foster economic opportunity is an area where broadband could be instrumental in creating substantial value and efficiency. Under current benefit program constructions, not all those that are eligible actually receive benefits. The FCC seeks to understand the scope of the problem as well as the ways in which broadband may be able to alleviate it. 5) Workforce development. Comments are due December 4.
benton.org/node/29670 | Federal Communications Commission
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BROADBAND AND HEALTH CARE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
There are a number of health information technology (health IT) applications that offer promising ways to use broadband and other advanced communications to promote better health outcomes and more efficient delivery of care. Health IT applications include, but are not limited to, electronic health records (EHRs), remote patient monitoring, and real-time video consultations. Broad use of health IT has the potential to improve population health, expand access to affordable care, increase the efficiency of care provision, reduce unnecessary healthcare costs, prevent medical errors, increase administrative efficiencies and decrease paperwork. The Federal Communications Commission seeks tailored comment on how advanced infrastructure and services could help achieve efficient implementation of health IT applications. The FCC wants to understand gaps between current connectivity infrastructure and the connectivity requirements for various health IT applications across the healthcare ecosystem. Included in this notice are questions about the universal service rural health care support mechanism and the rural health care pilot program. Comments are due December 4.
benton.org/node/29680 | Federal Communications Commission
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DHS AND NBP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Department of Homeland Security is keeping an eye on the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan, stressing speed, capacity, infrastructure, and mobile delivery. The plan will need to take into account sufficient infrastructure to handle real time video for command center situational awareness, mapping systems, censors for emergency medical response, weather status, and more. DHS believes mobile broadband would be a key to reaching emergency and other field personnel in border or remote forest areas where it is currently not available commercially, and even in other pockets around the country
benton.org/node/29650 | Broadcasting&Cable | CongressDaily | Commissioner Copps
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MCDOWELL ON ACCESS TO CAPITAL
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell]
Speaking at the Federal Communications Commission's Capitalization Strategies Workshop for Small and Disadvantaged Businesses, Commissioner Robert McDowell said access to capital is the biggest hurdle facing small business entrepreneurs, including minorities and women, who hope to enter and thrive in the communications arena.
benton.org/node/29649 | Federal Communications Commission
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PHOENIX CENTER FINDS FLAWS IN BERKMAN REPORT
[SOURCE: Phoenix Center, AUTHOR: Press release]
According to Phoenix Center Chief Economist Dr. George S. Ford, because the Berkman Center incorrectly interprets the findings of its own model to draw the wrong conclusions about the impact of so-called "open access" policies on broadband consumption, the Berkman Study is so flawed that it cannot be relied upon to formulate public policy. Dr. Ford demonstrates, using standard econometric techniques, that the "Berkman Study first improperly estimates its econometric model and then incorrectly interprets the results from it. The error in the interpretation is significant. While the [Berkman] Study's authors verbally conclude that open access policies stimulate increased consumption of broadband, the econometric model they rely upon shows the opposite—open access reduces the consumption of broadband." Dr. Ford said his goal was to determine whether Berkman's statistical analysis could withstand professional scrutiny and be relied upon by policymakers. "Regrettably, the answer is no," he concludes. He said he would leave the merits of whether the FCC should reinstitute an aggressive infrastructure unbundling regime under current market conditions to other commentators.
benton.org/node/29668 | Phoenix Center | George Ford
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SMART PARTNER FOR THE BROADBAND DANCE
[SOURCE: Daily Yonder, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] What's "smart grid" technology have to do with rural broadband? Plenty. Smart grid data-flow between meters and utility companies has to move in real time across a highspeed wired or wireless network, and the physical network has to cover sizeable geographic areas. There are two options for moving this data back and forth: 1) those building the smart grids can build a data communication infrastructure, or 2) smart grid operators can share an infrastructure that someone else has built or plans to build. Though the cost is about the same with either option, it's more economical and faster for several parties to share an infrastructure.
benton.org/node/29667 | Daily Yonder
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY
NET NEUTRALITY'S IMPACT ON LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
When Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski calmly laid out the case for creating rules to ensure an open Internet an incredible storm of protest, hype, fear, uncertainty and doubt threaten to bury the value propositions presented by the Chairman. This is particularly true in low-income urban and rural communities. The threat by giant telecom companies that they will stop spending for networks in these communities, and increase prices where services currently exists, raises the fear level, stifles discussion and poisons community opinion towards the FCC's effort to preserve an open Internet. Low-income constituents are, in fact, among the primary beneficiaries of Network Neutrality rules that ensure those with the least continue to have equal footing on the Internet. This paper presents a case for open Internet rules in the context of their impact on low-income rural and urban communities. Though urban and rural are distinctly different constituencies, an open Internet offers both similar benefits and protections.
benton.org/node/29652 | Public Knowledge
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COMPANIES LOBBY AT FCC
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kevin Bogardus, Kim Hart]
Lobbyists and corporate executives are targeting the newest members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the high-stakes fight over regulating the Internet. Meredith Attwell Baker, the newest Republican commissioner, or her aides have held at least seven meetings with officials representing both sides of the debate since the FCC voted three weeks ago to move forward with a rulemaking effort on network neutrality, according to a review of close to 100 records at the FCC. Meanwhile, Mignon Clyburn, the newest Democratic commissioner, or her aides have at had at least three meetings on the issue. Meetings with those two commissioners on net neutrality make up more than half of 18 held at the FCC on the issue since the rulemaking was announced on Oct. 22.
benton.org/node/29651 | Hill, The
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IF YOU HATE THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, YOU SHOULD LOVE NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] It's hard sometimes to know where to start when trying to figure out which criticism of Net Neutrality is the most misguided. Bullying and threats are always a good standby. The telephone companies have done it for decades as an all-purpose answer to anything they didn't like. Pass X regulation and we won't invest. Pass Y rule and we won't deploy. Pass Z and jobs will be lost. Regulators are to be blamed for lower earnings. The big media companies have it in their playbook also. If they don't get another, bigger, badder protection/penalty against "piracy," then all their wonderful content will be shut down. The penalties have increased steadily for years and they are still complaining and threatening to withhold content or even not create some new masterpiece. 60 Minutes ran a Nov. 1 segment on "piracy" that made some of the same claims, despite the facts to the contrary. More movies are being made than ever, and box office receipts are up just the opposite of what is "supposed" to occur under the threat of "piracy." Viacom threatened in 2002 to withhold high-definition content without copy controls on broadcast signals. Never happened.
benton.org/node/29671 | Public Knowledge
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QUESTIONS TO ASK REGARDING INTERNET REGULATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell]
Speaking at the Institute for Policy Communications Summit, Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell said he'd like the National Broadband Plan to be "flexible, iterative and not carved in stone." With estimates that universal broadband will cost between $20 billion and $350 billion and a preference for those capital expenditures to come from the private sector, Commissioner McDowell wondered how we will provide incentives for such massive amounts of private sector investment. Not by examining open Internet, Network Neutrality, rules, he answers. Broadband is thriving. he argues, without regulation. And, even if it weren't, would government be the one to fix the problem? Although it was originally a government creation, it became the fastest penetrating phenomenon invented by humans not through command-and-control government industrial policy, but by privatizing it in 1994. Early efforts to keep the Internet open and free ignited the creation of loosely-knit and non-state-controlled Internet governance entities staffed by volunteer engineers, academics and software developers, among others. These collaborative bodies have never failed to resolve major network management challenges. Will we conclude that the government could do better? Will the government be able to replicate the billions of decisions that are made each day in the Internet's ecosystem? Can the Commission really respond to cyber challenges in Internet time? I have the highest regard for each of my four colleagues on the Commission, but not one of us is an engineer. Do you really want us making these highly technical decisions?
benton.org/node/29669 | Federal Communications Commission
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MORE ON BROADBAND
DRUG INDUSTRY PRESSES FDA TO ALLOW MORE ONLINE ADS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Matthew Perrone]
As federal regulators take their first tentative steps toward policing the wild west of medical information online, pharmaceutical companies are pressing their case to market drugs via Google, Twitter and other Web sites. The Food and Drug Administration will convene a two-day meeting beginning Thursday to hear the drug industry's position on Internet marketing. The agency has agreed to consider developing rules for online advertising after companies complained that the current guidelines for traditional media — which require a detailed list of possible side effects — have left them hamstrung on the Web. An estimated 83 percent of Internet users search for health information online, according to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center. A few drugmakers have begun trying to reach patients via social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube. But overall the industry's online presence trails other sectors, including retail, financial services and computer makers.
benton.org/node/29666 | Associated Press | Reuters
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GOOGLE HAS A PLAN FOR SAFER, MORE USEFUL ONLINE DRUG ADS
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Scott Hensley]
When Google talks about online ads, everybody listens. So check out the Internet giant's idea for rejiggering online promotion of prescription drugs to pass muster with the Food and Drug Administration. Here's the way Google would like to do it: A link headline would go to a designated landing page, warning language would be a permanent part of the sponsored link, and "more info" would lead a person to details about risks. For drugs carrying black-box labels, there would be a special kind of sponsored link to emphasize safety information.
benton.org/node/29665 | National Public Radio
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USDA FUNDS DISTANCE LEARNING, TELEMED
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Department of Agriculture announced that 111 projects in 35 states have been selected to receive more than $34.9 million in grants to increase educational opportunities and expand access to health care services in rural areas. The funding will be provided through USDA Rural Development's Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program provides access to education, training and health care resources in rural areas. Funding is contingent upon the recipient meeting the conditions of the grant agreement. These funds are part of USDA's annual budget and are not part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
benton.org/node/29663 | Department of Agriculture
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NETFLIX IS THE IPOD OF BROADBAND
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said bandwidth costs and the price of delivering steaming media are falling thanks to the effect of Moore's law. He pointed out that Amazon charges about 5 cents a gigabyte for bandwidth — or about a nickel a movie — as proof of the low costs. "What we've seen is bandwidth costs falling exponentially in the last five years. What's funding the whole system is the users paying $40 to $60 a month," Hastings said. He was referring to the monthly subscription fees charged by broadband service providers. Hastings also pointed out that Netflix may compete with cable and IPTV video providers on the video side, but that services like his streaming video offering are driving demand for cable's high-speed Internet products. Calling it a halo effect, and comparing it to Apple's ability to sell more Macs after folks snapped up iPods, Hastings said the primary reason for anyone to subscribe to 20Mbps service is to watch video.
benton.org/node/29660 | GigaOm
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BROADBAND'S BENEFITS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Broadband for America, a coalition of mainly corporations favor improving Americans' access to broadband, announced Thursday the creation of a new Economic Growth Advisory Board to tout the economic benefits of high-speed Internet access. The group claims that broadband providers have helped boost the economy in the last few years by adding jobs through the investment of $100 billion into their networks.
benton.org/node/29648 | CongressDaily | Broadband for America
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OWNERSHIP
FCC MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
[SOURCE: Forbes.com, AUTHOR: Dirk Smillie]
On the day after the Nov. 3 elections, television newscasts were focused on upset political victories in New Jersey and Virginia. Back in Washington, a different kind of politicking unfolded at the FCC, where television broadcasters argued for unprecedented rollbacks in ownership rules. They did so as part of a "workshop"--the Obama FCC's new format for assembling policy scholars, industry bigwigs and regulators to hash out regulatory issues. The workshops are part of the FCC's quadrennial review to prepare for possible rule changes in 2010. Last week's discussions buoyed the hopes of Susan Patrick, managing partner at media investment shop Patrick Communications. A likely change, she says, is a lifting of rules that restrict common ownership of a daily newspaper and a TV or radio station. "Newspapers are breathing their last breath," says Patrick, co-owner of 15 radio stations in Wyoming. For broadcasters, a bigger change may be in the works: loosening station ownership rules.
benton.org/node/29647 | Forbes.com
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COMCAST, NBC AND ADVERTISING
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
Comcast is looking to take a 51% stake in NBC Universal, surely a sign of the durability of cable networks, since NBCU owns a bunch of top-tier ones. But there's more going on here: It's also a calculated move to seize the reins in shaping future TV-viewer behavior and a bid to assume the lead in figuring out how to advertise to the new-media consumer. "There are real potential synergies that could arise from an NBCU deal, including ... better windows for video-on-demand and faster development of addressable advertising," wrote Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett in a recent research note. Indeed, a merger of a big content player and a broad media distributor could create "a tipping point," said Tracey Scheppach, senior VP-video innovation director for Publicis Groupe's Starcom USA. "If a big content player like NBC breaks loose with a new business model and advertisers embrace it, others would have to move quickly." A combined company would cement Comcast's place as the nation's biggest media company, and it would become the fourth-largest owner of cable networks (behind Walt Disney Co., Time Warner and Viacom.). Consider the sizable audiences a combined Comcast/NBCU could offer marketers, including the potential to target female consumers through NBC's Bravo and iVillage as well as Comcast's E!, Style and dailycandy.com, for example. Comcast's sports properties, such as Golf Channel and Versus, could be paired with NBC's "Sunday Night Football" to similarly reach a male target.
benton.org/node/29646 | AdAge
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FCC CONDITIONS ON COMCAST-NBC?
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke, Jui Chakravorty]
There's no deal yet and, of course, no Federal Communications Commission review of a theoretical deal, but some on Wall Street say Comcast's bid for a controlling stake in NBC Universal to create a media powerhouse could be hurt by conflicting interests on Capitol Hill and conditions that hurt synergies. A deal would not only face a review by anti-trust regulators and the Federal Communications Commission, but it would also attract interest from Congressional committees in the middle of an election year, says Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett who also notes that "Cable bashing is a nonpartisan sport." The FCC could force Comcast to continue providing content to competitors such as Verizon Communications and DISH Network, even if they are unable to agree on affiliate fees. "My fear is they could lose their leverage in negotiations," said Steve Birenberg of Northlake Capital Management, who sold his Comcast holdings in December and is waiting to see how low the stock goes before getting back in.
benton.org/node/29645 | Reuters | Reuters | Hollywood Reporter
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COMCAST/NBC, CONTENT AND DISTRIBUTION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Claire Atkinson]
For Comcast's Brian Roberts, acquiring NBC Universal will be the capstone of years of carefully plotting how to control both the distribution of content into homes and the production of it. For Wall Street, the deal has some players are licking their lips at the prospect of a whole range of new assets coming on the market as a result of Comcast's imminent deal to acquire control of NBC Universal. While it's unclear what properties, if any, might change hands once the deal is complete, a whole host of M&A specialists are ready to pounce. But however a couple these players appear on paper, a NBC Uni/Comcast combo could transform the way content owners and distributors do business. It's not just about those trendy cable network assets: Comcast's plan to acquire 51% of NBC Universal also is about seemingly boring things, including VOD and changing business models. A preliminary deal could be unveiled as early as Sunday.
benton.org/node/29676 | Broadcasting&Cable | Hollywood Reporter | New York Times
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INTEL'S $1.25 BILLION SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Intel's antitrust and patent settlement with Advanced Micro Devices is good news for A.M.D., which now finds itself $1.25 billion richer, but it is less clear what it does for the general public. Intel has been accused of stifling competition and driving up prices through a wide array of anticompetitive practices, which may or may not continue now that Intel has agreed to write a large check. Government agencies that have sued Intel or are considering it should not back away. Antitrust law can seem like an abstraction, but in the case of computer chips the impact on ordinary Americans is very real. Chips are a significant part of the cost of new desktop and laptop computers, and the quality of those chips has a big effect on computer performance. If Intel is using its market power to keep prices high and fend off better products, it is consumers — and not just competitors like A.M.D. — who are the losers.
benton.org/node/29673 | New York Times
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AFTER AMD: INTEL'S NEXT BIG BATTLE
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Cliff Edwards]
On one hand, the agreement lets Intel and AMD move past the conflict that's put the companies at legal loggerheads for years, and it may help Intel resolve ongoing antitrust tussles with U.S. regulators. But a more important benefit of the agreement is that it lets Intel turn attention to what may become an even greater headache in the coming years: the challenge posed by ARM Holdings, maker of the technology used in chips running in a widening array of mobile devices, including the Apple iPhone. Intel "now gets to focus on its real long-term threat," says Jack Gold, founder of Gold Associates, a research firm. "No, it's not AMD—it's ARM Holdings." A host of chipmakers, including Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Freescale, and Nvidia, license ARM technology to create chips for handhelds, phones, and other mobile devices. ARM-based chips are valued because they consume less power than the x86-based chips, which are made by Intel and AMD and power most of the world's computers and servers, the machines that run corporate networks. The benefits of Intel's agreement don't end there. Through the settlement with AMD, Intel silences the loudest voice accusing it of abusive behavior while at the same time keeping alive one of its most formidable competitors. The settlement in effect subsidizes AMD's plan to reduce debt, spin off cash-intensive manufacturing operations, and boost its research and development on new chips. Over time, that means a stronger AMD and helps Intel counter claims it wields too much power in the industry.
benton.org/node/29672 | BusinessWeek
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INTEL SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Arik Hesseldahl, Cliff Edwards]
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have reached a sweeping settlement over allegations that Intel abused monopoly power to thwart competition in computer chips. Intel will pay $1.25 billion, and AMD will drop all pending antitrust litigation. AMD will also withdraw all of its regulatory complaints worldwide. The two companies also forged a five-year cross-licensing agreement that gives the companies access to each other's key chip technology.
benton.org/node/29653 | BusinessWeek | TechDailyDose | IDG News Service | NYTimes
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GOOGLE AND THE COPYRIGHT WARS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Bruce Sanford, Bruce Brown]
[Commentary] On Monday, a federal court in Manhattan granted yet another extension to Google and a group of authors and publishers as they try to reach a settlement in the landmark digital books case. They are expected to submit a revised proposal today. But whatever the ultimate agreement, this case is a giant missed opportunity. The involves the very legality of how search engines operate on the Internet. If search engines cannot make full copies of books and Web sites without permission from copyright holders, their own business model would be jeopardized. When leading publishers and authors sued Google for violations of copyright, it appeared that the first serious test case was at hand. And yet, as the litigation proceeded, the question that prompted the lawsuit—whether search engines are fair users—fell away entirely. The settlement agreement doesn't even address fair use standards for the future. Instead, the focus is now on the competitive concerns of allowing one company to have such a dominant role in digital book publishing, specifically on the treatment of "orphan works" (texts whose authors cannot be found).
benton.org/node/29679 | Wall Street Journal
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GOOGLE BUYS GIZMO5
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Richard Waters]
Google on Thursday plugged a key gap in its growing portfolio of communication services with the acquisition of Gizmo5, a Californian start-up that handles Internet-based voice calls and instant messaging. Alongside its Google Voice, Google Talk and Gmail services, Gizmo5 will give the search company with a broad set of technologies for completing and managing voice, text and video communications. Users of Google Voice are given a single number for all their phones, and can route calls between devices. Although it can be used to set up calls between traditional landline telephones it does not connect to Internet-based networks such as Google Talk or Skype. With Gizmo5 Google is set to overcome that technological limitation. That could also potentially open up a deeper integration of Voice with other online applications, including Wave, the ground-breaking collaboration tool that is meant to make it easier for groups of people to work together online.
benton.org/node/29678 | Financial Times
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LIBERTY BUYS UNITYMEDIA
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Ben Fenton, Martin Arnold]
Liberty Global, the international cable group chaired by John Malone, sealed a €3.5bn ($5bn) deal to acquire Unitymedia in the early hours of Friday, less than a week after approaching Germany's second-largest cable company. Unitymedia, owned by private equity houses BC Partners and Apollo, had been scheduled to announce a flotation on Thursday, but the intense negotiations with Mr Malone postponed that and Friday's announcement represents the largest acquisition in the European media market since the credit crisis began. Unitymedia, which covers German cities such as Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Cologne, expects to benefit from access to Liberty Global's advanced technologies, developed in other international markets.
benton.org/node/29677 | Financial Times
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BROADCASTING
GROUPS WANT SEAT AT TABLE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council (MMTC) and the Spanish Broadcasters Association (SBA) have asked for a seat at the table at upcoming discussions on the Performance Rights Act. "We understand that you are convening a discussion regarding the Performance Rights Act on November 17th with the interested parties, including the National Association of Broadcasters and the musicFIRST coalition," wrote MMTC Executive Director David Honig and Francisco Montero director of SBA to the chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. "As this legislation will have a significant impact on minority radio broadcasters, we would ask that the Minority Media Telecommunications Council and Spanish Broadcasters Association also be included in these conversations."
benton.org/node/29675 | Broadcasting&Cable
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FOX PROFANITY CASE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a filing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Fox calls two Federal Communications Commission assertions "stunning": 1) that the quid pro quo for an FCC license is broadcasters having to live with a poorly-articulated indecency standard and 2) that Fox is under an obligation to defend the artistic merit of speech. Taken to their logical extremes, says Fox, such assertions stand the First Amendment "on its head," even render it moot in the broadcast context. The court is taking another crack at the case, likely this time reaching constitutional issues. That comes after the Supreme Court said the Second Circuit was wrong to have held that the FCC had failed to justify its fleeting profanity finding against Fox for swearing in awards shows. The Supremes said the FCC's justification was not arbitrary and capricious and remanded the case back to the court.
benton.org/node/29674 | Broadcasting&Cable
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AFFILIATES COOL TO NETWORKS' PLANS
[SOURCE: New York Post, AUTHOR: Holly Sanders Ware]
The big broadcast television networks are putting the squeeze on local TV stations, trying to wring out some of the fees affiliates get from cable and satellite companies. In better times, when local stations boasted big profit margins, the networks competed to sign them up as affiliates and paid them to air their programming. Now, with networks facing growing financial pressure and competition from cable, network chiefs say it's time for a role reversal. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox each are angling to get a cut of the compensation -- known as retransmission consent -- that cable and satellite companies pay the affiliates to carry their signals. The broadcasters' push comes at an inopportune time for many local TV station owners, who've been hobbled both by flagging ratings and slumping retail and auto advertising. Some affiliates are signaling that they may dig in their heels.
benton.org/node/29640 | New York Post
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JOURNALISM
JON STEWART SCOOPES JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Daily News, AUTHOR: Will Bunch]
[Commentary] This week, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart scooped journalists by reporting that the Fox News Channel's Hannity program used some creative editing to make recent protests of the health care reform bill appear bigger than they were. Sean Hannity apologized on the air, claiming the error was "inadvertent." That's hard to believe. It's a significant story because Jon Stewart understood something that many high-ranking traditional media editors still, sadly, do not understand. That this kind of thing matters. A lot. For Fox News, which has stepped up its partisan cheerleading for the right wing since Barack Obama became president, size -- of anti-administration protests, that is -- matter. And when they run misleading footage to make a conservative rally appear to be much, much better attended than it really was, that accomplishes several things. It fires up the right-wing base -- the people that GOP wants to get rowdy at town hall meetings or flood congressional phone lines. And the bogus report also pressures wavering lawmakers, especially those centrist Democrats looking for any excuse not to support health care reform. Using doctored footage to make a point is not news. It's propaganda, and in America that makes it a serious matter, indeed.
benton.org/node/29641 | Philadelphia Daily News | NYTimes
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