August 2007

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NEWS AT THE FCC
Martin Tees Up Program Access Rules at FCC
FCC Spectrum Tests Stand
FCC Officially Nixes Double-Dishing

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
TV, radio look for record ad money in election

INTERNET/BROADBAND
Free Broadband Isn't Really Free
In Online World, Pocket Change Is Not Easily Spent

BROADCASTING
Latinos no longer a niche market for Nielsen
PBS conflicted over adult language in Ken Burns' 'War'
Hearst-Argyle Television Going Private

QUICKLY -- Cell Phone Nation by 2013; The World's=20
Fourth-Largest City Outlaws Billboards

NEWS AT THE FCC

MARTIN TEES UP PROGRAM ACCESS RULES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Under proposed rules supported by Federal=20
Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin,=20
if HBO gets into a contract dispute with=20
EchoStar, the satellite company would have=20
compulsory access to HBO=92s other distribution=20
contracts. The Martin proposal would create an=20
expansive discovery right under the agency=92s=20
program access rules, which provide cable=92s=20
pay-TV rivals with the ability to license any=20
satellite-delivered network with at least 5%=20
cable operator ownership. The requirement that=20
cable operators must sell certain networks, also=20
called the exclusivity ban, is to sunset on Oct.=20
5 if not extended by the FCC. Created by 1992=20
Cable Act, the program access mandates were=20
extended for the first time in July 2002, an=20
effort Martin (then just a commissioner) barely,=20
if not grudgingly, supported. The 2002 vote was=20
3-1. Had Martin dissented, there would not have=20
been a majority for a five-year extension. Now=20
Chairman Martin is proposing a second five-year=20
extension, giving AT&T, Verizon, DirecTV and=20
EchoStar ongoing distribution rights, for=20
example, to Time Warner=92s CNN, Comcast=92s Golf=20
Channel, and Cablevision=92s Madison Square Garden Network.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6471732.html

FCC SPECTRUM TESTS STAND
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Contrary to reports anticipating a showdown with=20
the FCC, computer companies won't ask the=20
commission to repeat its tests of unlicensed=20
wireless devices operating in the digital=20
broadcast spectrum. Although tests concluded=20
Microsoft's spectrum-sensing device failed to=20
detect vacant channels, the company and its=20
allies are confident that a second device=20
works=97and that they have demonstrated as much to=20
an FCC eager to open up the TV band to advanced=20
wireless devices. Despite the test results, The=20
White Spaces Coalition -- a consortium of=20
Microsoft, Google, Dell, HP, Intel, Earthlink and=20
Phillips -- says it has demonstrated to staffers=20
at the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology=20
that its spectrum-sensing device does, indeed, work.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6471754.html

FCC OFFICIALLY NIXES DOUBLE-DISHING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission concluded=20
that satellite-TV companies cannot split up=20
carriage of local-TV-station signals on two=20
dishes. The commission Friday vacated its earlier=20
declaratory ruling that had found that EchoStar=20
Communications=92 requiring of multiple antennas to=20
receive all local-TV-station signals was=20
discriminatory, but that wrongly offered EchoStar=20
remedial options rather than banning outright the=20
two-dish approach. "We vacate the ruling to the=20
extent that it said that split-market carriage=20
could be lawful," the FCC said. The decision is,=20
in essence, a housekeeping move that squares the=20
FCC with Congress, which, in 2004, changed the=20
Satellite Home Viewer Reauthorization Act to=20
prohibit the two-dish delivery of local stations.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6471667.html

ELECTIONS & MEDIA

TV, RADIO LOOK FOR RECORD AD MONEY IN ELECTION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky and Megan Davies]
The presidential election is 14 months away and=20
with as many as 17 candidates now running, U.S.=20
television and radio broadcasters are elated at=20
the prospect of billions more in advertising=20
dollars. Many states have set their 2008=20
nominating contests for earlier than ever,=20
forcing candidates to spend millions on ads=20
sooner as they fight to get noticed. Wall Street=20
analysts predict television stations alone could=20
bring in a record $2 billion to $3 billion from=20
the 2008 election cycle, up from $1.6 billion in=20
2006 and $900 million in 2004. Companies=20
expected to benefit include CBS Corp.,=20
Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. and Meredith Corp.,=20
with the latter two particularly seen benefiting=20
in the early voting states. The presidential=20
sweepstakes could have an additional bonanza,=20
reinvigorating broadcast mergers and=20
acquisitions, though the number of deals will=20
likely depend on financing, which has dried up=20
amid turmoil in the credit markets.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DindustryNews&storyID=
=3D2007-08-24T113414Z_01_N24285067_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-USA-POLITICS-ADVERTIS=
ING-DC.XML

INTERNET/BROADBAND

FREE BROADBAND ISN'T REALLY FREE
[SOURCE: webpronews, AUTHOR: Jason Lee Miller]
[Commentary] The US broadband situation is so=20
dire that you may not even be able to give away=20
access. Worse, there might be good reason for=20
that. You may not have heard of M2Z Networks,=20
Inc., but 50,000 others have and are pressuring=20
the FCC to approve the company's offer of free=20
nationwide broadband access. What's wrong with=20
free broadband? Well, nothing, essentially,=20
except that this free broadband, like the free=20
lunch, doesn't really exist. M2Z has proposed an=20
ad-supported, "family friendly" network based=20
upon the network television model, which sort of=20
runs contrary to Net Neutrality principles,=20
supported by at least a million and a half=20
people, and opposed by incumbent broadband providers.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/08/23/free-broadband-isnt-really-...

IN ONLINE WORLD, POCKET CHANGE IS NOT EASILY SPENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Dan Mitchell]
The idea of micropayments =97 charging Web users=20
tiny amounts of money for single pieces of online=20
content =97 was essentially put to sleep toward the=20
end of the dot-com boom. In December 2000, Clay=20
Shirky, an adjunct professor in New York=20
University=92s interactive telecommunications=20
program, wrote a manifesto that people still cite=20
whenever someone suggests resurrecting the idea.=20
Micropayments will never work, he wrote, mainly=20
because =93users hate them.=94 But wait. Amid the=20
disdain, and without many people noticing,=20
micropayments have arrived =97 just not in the way=20
they were originally envisioned. The 99 cents you=20
pay for a song on iTunes is a micropayment. So=20
are the tiny amounts that some operators of small=20
Web sites earn whenever someone clicks on the ads=20
on their pages. Some stock-photography companies=20
sell pictures for as little as $1 each.=20
=93Micropayments are here,=94 said Benjamin M.=20
Compaine, a consultant and lecturer at=20
Northeastern University who specializes in media=20
economics, =93they just have not evolved in the way that everybody expected=
.=94
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/technology/27micro.html?ref=3Dtodayspaper
(requires registration)
** See, from 1996, "CyberCash Lowers Barriers To=20
Small Internet Transactions" **
CyberCoin, a transaction service developed by=20
CyberCash and several large banks, is offering=20
users very small goods at very low prices and=20
transaction services. Micropayments can be=20
used to buy a song for a quarter or purchase=20
other items that only cost a quarter (gumballs?).=20
With cybercash, users download an electronic=20
wallet with their names and=20
passwords. Transactions would be run through with this information.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB844038339546641000.html

BROADCASTING

LATINOS NO LONGER A NICHE MARKET FOR NIELSEN
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James]
After decades of being shunted to the sidelines,=20
Spanish-language media outlets have now joined=20
the big leagues of TV research. Ratings giant=20
Nielsen Media Research today plans to pull the=20
plug on a separate service that it created 15=20
years ago to measure the size of Latino TV=20
audiences. Latinos are now so important to the=20
overall TV ratings picture that it would be=20
misleading to relegate them to a separate system.=20
So Nielsen's sole source for national ratings=20
will come from its influential "people meter"=20
survey, which is produced daily from the TV=20
program choices made by viewers in about 12,000=20
homes equipped with Nielsen set-top boxes. That=20
panel includes about 1,400 Latino families.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fi-nielsen27aug27,1...
07505.story?coll=3Dla-news-a_section
(requires registration)

PBS CONFLICTED OVER ADULT LANGUAGE IN KEN BURNS' 'WAR'
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Joe Garofoli]
Public television stations can't wait to air Ken=20
Burns' newest documentary, "The War," next month=20
as the 14-hour World War II series promises to be=20
a ratings bonanza for the ratings-challenged=20
outlets. But some member stations, including San=20
Francisco's KQED, are also scared to air Burns'=20
original version in prime time because it=20
contains four words: two are f-; one is s-; and=20
the fourth is -hole. They are words that 1940s=20
military personnel and countless other Americans=20
use every day, but expletives that The Chronicle=20
doesn't ordinarily publish and that the Federal=20
Communications Commission says can't be uttered=20
on public airwaves between the hours of 6 a.m.=20
and 10 p.m. Usually. And that uncertainty is the=20
problem, especially in an age where viewers of=20
all ages regularly hear curse words and see=20
violent and sexual images online and on cable television.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/08/26/MNCARP3...
DTL

HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION GOING PRIVATE
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
Hearst Corp. announced that it intends to make a=20
tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of=20
Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. common stock not=20
owned by Hearst Corp. Hearst Corp. currently owns=20
approximately 52% of the outstanding common=20
stock, representing approximately 73% of both the=20
outstanding equity and general voting power of=20
Hearst-Argyle Television. Following the=20
transaction, Hearst-Argyle Television would=20
become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corp.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/08/24/daily.11/

QUICKLY

CELL PHONE NATION BY 2013
[SOURCE: RadioInk]
In a just-released study, SNL Kagan estimates=20
that 84% of the US population, including=20
consumer, business and double users, will have=20
mobile phones by the end of 2007, with this=20
percentage surging past 100% by 2013. SNL Kagan's=20
research also shows that US cell phone=20
subscriptions will grow at a rate of about 3% per=20
year over the next decade versus total population=20
growth of only 1%, despite decreasing net=20
additions as 100% penetration is approached.
http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=3D139017

THE WORLD'S FOURTH-LARGEST CITY OUTLAWS BILLBOARDS
[SOURCE: Adbusters, AUTHOR: David Evan Harris]
In 2007, the world's fourth-largest metropolis=20
and Brazil's most important city, S=E3o Paulo,=20
became the first city outside of the communist=20
world to put into effect a radical, near-complete=20
ban on outdoor advertising. Known on one hand for=20
being the country's slick commercial capital and=20
on the other for its extreme gang violence and=20
crushing poverty, S=E3o Paulo's "Lei Cidade Limpa"=20
or Clean City Law was an unexpected success,=20
owing largely to the singular determination of=20
the city's conservative mayor, Gilberto Kassab.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/60084/
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summaries are factually accurate, their often=20
informal tone does not always represent the tone=20
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