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  2. July 2008

July 2008

Agenda for FCC's Hearing on Broadband and the Digital Future

Not a moment too soon, the Federal Communications Commission announced additional details for the public en banc hearing scheduled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Monday, July 21, 2008, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. There will be two panel discussions including: Mark Cuban, Chairman & Co Founder HDNet, Owner - Dallas Mavericks; Jon Peha, Professor, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University; Mark Cavicchia, CEO, Founder & Director, WhereverTV; Matthew Polka, President & CEO, American Cable Association; Jake Witherell, Sim Ops Studios; John Heffner, Conviva; David Farber, Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University; Rahul Tongia, Senior Systems Scientist, Program on Computation, Organizations, and Society, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University; Robert W. Quinn, Jr., Senior Vice President - Federal Regulatory, AT&T; Rey Ramsey, Chairman & CEO, One Economy Corporation; Rendall Harper, Board Member, Wireless Neighborhoods; Scott Wallsten, Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute; and Marge Krueger, Administrative Director, Communications Workers of America District 13. There will also be a two hour period for public comment.

FCC and USDA to Conduct Educational Workshops on Rural Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that registration is still open for the two remaining regional educational workshops on rural broadband: September 18, 2008 in Austin, Texas and November 20, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona. These workshops are designed to provide communities, organizations, and businesses in rural America seeking to bring the benefits of broadband to their communities with an opportunity to learn about the resources, programs, and policies of the FCC and USDA. The topics to be covered at the workshops include the following: different technology platforms used to provide broadband services, USDA funding for broadband deployment, the Universal Service Fund, the FCC's Rural Health Care Pilot program, and wireless spectrum access. The workshops will also provide communities and organizations an opportunity to share their experiences about broadband deployment in rural and hard-to-reach areas. The workshops will be held free of charge; however, attendees will be responsible for providing their own transportation, lodging, and meals. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please register no later than August 15, 2008 for the Austin workshop or October 10, 2008 for the Phoenix workshop.

Hollywood writers launch "Idol," reality TV protest

Hollywood writers on Wednesday launched a protest against U.S. television's No. 1 show, "American Idol," claiming the Fox network talent contest underpays workers and subjects them to sweatshop conditions. The move by the Writers Guild of America underscores a long simmering feud between the trade union and producers of many reality TV programs, which unlike scripted dramas and comedies are not covered by WGA contracts. The WGA claims that the companies making "American Idol" and similar shows force workers to toil nearly around the clock without overtime pay or benefits, in violation of California labor laws.

State Commission Approves Verizon's Video Franchise in NYC

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) on Wednesday confirmed the agreement between Verizon and the City of New York for the telecommunications company to provide FiOS TV service to all five boroughs of the city. The PSC's confirmation clears the last regulatory hurdle for Verizon to begin selling the FiOS TV video service to some 3.1 million city residents. In the Big Apple, the telco will compete with Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems and RCN.

Wall Street Journal to Shed 50 Editing Positions

Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thompson has announced that editing and page production will be handled in New York and will serve all platforms. The global news, global copy, global pagination, monitor and standalone WSJ.com editing desks "will cease to exist" and most of the editorial operations in South Brunswick (NJ) will be closed starting in August. The result will be a loss of 50 positions.

Daily Video Entertainment in 2013 Will Be Less Than 50% Traditional TV

Anyone wondering why television execs can't get a good nights sleep should know that a new report predicts traditional TV's share of the total video entertainment pie is projected to shrink from 63.9% today to 47.1% by 2013, given the overall increase consumers' in total video-based entertainment consumption. According to the Multiplatform Video Report released by Solutions Research Group, an average American consumer aged 12 and older with Internet access now spends 6.1 hour daily with video-based entertainment, up from 4.6 in 1996. Of this 6.1 hours, 63.9% (nearly 4 hours per day) currently comes from traditional Television, including live, DVR and video-on-demand viewing. Video games, web and PC video, DVDs and video on mobile devices account for the balance. TV accounted for a lower share of video-based entertainment among younger Americans, coming in at 42.4% among those 12-24 (vs. 63.9% total population average).

All Cubs All the Time?

If you've ever wondered what Chicago-based Headlines writers/policy wonks dream about... yes, yes, its an all-Cubs cable channel. A new channel devoted to the Cubs is one of the enticing potential revenue-generating items that Tribune Co. is floating as part of its planned sale of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and its 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet. So far, the media company has provided few financial details about Comcast SportsNet in the confidential briefing books it provided to prospective buyers, making it difficult to calculate a price tag for the channel. But Tribune Co. also planted a seed of opportunity with prospective buyers. After Comcast SportsNet's rights to broadcast Cub games expires in 2019, a new owner could create a new sports network dedicated to the Cubs. The idea is a tempting prospect, considering the size of the Chicago media market, the popularity of the Cubs and the success of other regional sports networks in large markets. On Comcast SportsNet, the Cubs draw more viewers by a wide margin than the other three pro sports teams shown on the network. But future media opportunities for a new Cubs owner may have their limits. About 70 of the 162 Cubs games are also shown on Tribune Co.-owned WGN-Ch. 9. It's unclear whether Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune, would obligate the new team owner to continue broadcasting games on the local station, which has a 60-year history with the Cubs. A Cubs-only cable channel also would lack the winter programming [are you kidding -- how about a reply of the glorious 1908 season?!] Team ownership of regional sports networks has increasingly become a new source of wealth for professional sports franchises. Teams like having control of their broadcasts, as well as the revenue streams from advertising and subscription fees charged to cable operators. The subscription fees have been rising steadily in recent years because the channels are must-haves for cable and satellite operators that don't want to upset rabid sports fans.

Google Gadget Tries To Transcribe What Politicians Say

"I'd like you to vote for me Tuesday and then forget we ever met for 2-6 years." As part of its ongoing effort to promote YouTube as a platform for politics, Google on Monday made a new iGoogle gadget available to help Google users search through election-related video. With the help of speech recognition technologies, Google Elections Video Search will transcribe from speech to text and index videos in YouTube's Politicians channels. Google product managers Arnaud Sahuguet and Ari Bezman said, "Using the gadget you can search not only the titles and descriptions of the videos, but also their spoken content. Additionally, since speech recognition tells us exactly when words are spoken in the video, you can jump right to the most relevant parts of the videos you find."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold a regional educational workshop on rural broadband on November 20, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The workshop is designed to provide communities, organizations, and businesses in rural America seeking to bring the benefits of broadband to their communities with an opportunity to learn about the resources, programs, and policies of the FCC and USDA.

The topics to be covered at the workshop includes the following: different technology platforms used to provide broadband services, USDA funding for broadband deployment, the Universal Service Fund, the FCC's Rural Health Care Pilot program, and wireless spectrum access. The workshop will also provide communities and organizations an opportunity to share their experiences about broadband deployment in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

The workshop will be held free of charge; however, attendees will be responsible for providing their own transportation, lodging, and meals. If you are interested in attending, please register no later than October 10, 2008.

Below is the information required to register:
o Community/Organization Name
o Address
o Phone Number
o Email Address
o Contact Person
o Workshop Location You Wish to Attend
o Number of Expected Attendees
o Description of Accommodations Required for People with Disabilities
(Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities will be made available upon request.)

There are several ways for you to register for a workshop:

o Online. Go to the FCC's website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/ruralbroadband/workshop and fill in the online registration form.

o By Email. Send the information outlined above in an email to ruralworkshop@fcc.gov.

o By Telephone. Call (877) 480-3201 and press Option 1.
For TTY, dial (717) 338-2824.

o By U.S. Mail. Send a letter with the information outlined above to:
Federal Communications Commission
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
ATTN: Matt Nodine
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

A community or organization can register for only one workshop. The contact person listed in the registration will receive additional information at a later date regarding the workshop selected, including the exact time and venue, as well as a detailed agenda.

For additional information about the workshops, please visit the FCC's website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/ruralbroadband/; send an email to ruralworkshop@fcc.gov; or contact Cecilia Sulhoff at (202) 418-0587 or Matt Nodine at (202) 418-1646. Further information on rural programs is available on the FCC/USDA Broadband Opportunities for Rural America website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/ruralbroadband, at a local USDA Rural Development office, and on the USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-283745A1.doc


The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold a regional educational workshop on rural broadband on September 18, 2008 in Austin, Texas.

The workshop will be held at the Thompson Conference Center on the campus of the University of Texas-Austin from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The workshop will be held free of charge; however, attendees will be responsible for providing their own transportation, lodging, and meals. An email will be sent to all registrants with the agenda as well as specific logistical information.

This workshop is designed to provide communities, organizations, and businesses in rural America seeking to bring the benefits of broadband to their communities with an opportunity to learn about the resources, programs, and policies of the FCC and USDA. The topics to be covered at the workshop include the following: different technology platforms used to provide broadband services, USDA funding for broadband deployment, the Universal Service Fund, the FCC's Rural Health Care Pilot program, and wireless spectrum access. The workshop will also provide communities and organizations with an opportunity to share their experiences about broadband deployment in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

For additional information about the workshop, please visit the FCC's website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/ruralbroadband/workshop; send an email to ruralworkshop@fcc.gov; or contact Cecilia Sulhoff at (202) 418-0587 or Matt Nodine at (202) 418-1646. Further information on rural programs is available on the FCC/USDA Broadband Opportunities for Rural America website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/ruralbroadband, at a local USDA Rural Development office, and on the USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-285160A1.doc


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