July 2008

AT&T, which has the largest wireless subscriber base in the country, is asking the Federal Communications Commission to deny a merger request from Sprint Nextel and Clearwire. Sprint and Clearwire announced their intention to merge last month, saying the venture would facilitate a national wireless Internet network that would operate on a block of airwaves partly reserved for schools, cities and other nonprofits. AT&T said Sprint and Clearwire "openly state that they intend to compete with other national wireless providers - including AT&T - yet they fail to make the required showings necessary for the commission's review." In listing their holdings, AT&T said Sprint and Clearwire have discounted some of the airwaves they intend to use for the Internet service because it isn't operational yet. If those airwaves were to be taken into account, the proposed merger would be subjected to heightened scrutiny, AT&T said. AT&T argued that when it acquired Dobson Communications last year, the FCC examined airwaves that AT&T hasn't yet accessed. AT&T purchased a block of spectrum in a recent auction that won't be available until February.

Once littered with walled gardens and content silos, the digital landscape is beginning to sprout a customer-friendly ecosystem of shared content and traffic. Fueling this newfound spirit of interoperability are technologies that enable the sharing of content between sites. They include the Open Social initiative and Facebook's open development platform, both driving the "widgetization" of the Web. It's also a reflection of the surging "mash-up" movement online. A mash-up is a Web application that combines content and features from multiple sources for a specific purpose that none of the contributors do individually. The most commonly used applications are those with easily embeddable content or open APIs (programming information available to all), such as Google Maps, Twitter and Last.fm.

It's probably not far from the truth, as the Democratic National Convention is fast becoming a ticket as prized as the Oscars, as much a destination as Sundance and as much a media moment for "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood" as it is for MSNBC. Stars like Annette Bening, Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, Rob Reiner and Ben Affleck are expected. Entertainers as diverse as Kanye West, Melissa Etheridge, the Black Eyed Peas, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow and Rufus Wainwright are being lined up for convention-related events in Denver. And cabler Starz is coordinating a "Green Room," where delegates, celebs and other VIPs can mingle, watch politically themed movies, and listen to panels on entertainment and politics. The only thing missing are gift suites -- off-limits due to stringent lobbying rules. There will be entertainment at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., but save for an expected heavy lineup of country stars, it will be tough to compete given Hollywood's affinity for Obama and the Democrats. (Current score, according to the Center for Responsive Politics: $4.4 million for Obama from the showbiz sector -- more than five times McCain's $757,546.)

Four trade groups -- the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Television Bureau of Advertising -- have formed a coalition to keep the advertising community informed about changes related to the Feb. 17, 2009 transition to digital TV. The new coalition intends to identify and address concerns and issues specific to the ad industry that arise due to the transition. Communications will take place through e-mail, webcasts, speakers, luncheons, one-on-one meetings and the websites of the four associations.