September 2008

Senate Passes Broadband Data Improvement Act

On Friday, the Senate passed S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which seeks to improve the quality of federal broadband data collection and encourages state initiatives that promote broadband deployment. The Broadband Data Improvement Act specifically would:

Direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct inquiries into the deployment of advanced telecommunications services on an annual, rather than periodic, basis.
Direct the Census Bureau to include a question in its American Community Survey that assesses levels of residential computer use and dial-up versus broadband Internet subscribership.
Direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to develop broadband metrics that may be used to provide consumers with broadband connection cost and capability information and improve the process of comparing the deployment and penetration of broadband in the United States with other countries.
Direct the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy to conduct a study evaluating the impact of broadband speed and price on small businesses.
Establish a program that would provide matching grants to State non-profit, public-private partnerships in support of efforts to more accurately identify barriers to broadband adoption throughout the State.

Senate passes property rights bill

Congress has passed a major intellectual property rights bill strongly supported by showbiz after one of two controversial provisions was removed. The full Senate passed on Friday the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, which increases federal resources for enforcing existing copyright laws and attempts to better facilitate US IP policy. The House had already passed its version of the bill and voted late Sunday to essentially approve the Senate's version, which was very similar to its own. President Bush is expected to sign it.

Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, said, "It is unfortunate that the Senate felt it necessary to pass this legislation. The bill only adds more imbalance to a copyright law that favors large media companies. At a time when the entire digital world is going to less restrictive distribution models, and when the courts are aghast at the outlandish damages being inflicted on consumers in copyright cases, this bill goes entirely in the wrong direction. Instead of being focused on giving large media companies what they want, Congress instead should take a comprehensive look at the current state of the law, and of technology and write legislation that recognizes the reality of the situation and the reality that consumers have rights also. At a minimum, we are pleased that the Senate bill as passed does not include the egregious provision allowing the Justice Department to file civil suits against alleged copyright violators on behalf of copyright holders. This provision was a total waste of the taxpayers' money. We are grateful to Senator Wyden for his leadership in getting that provision removed. We still would have preferred that the bill not pass."

Commerce Committee Approves CPB Nominations

On Friday, the Senate Commerce Committee approved nominees for the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- Cheryl Feldman Halpern; David H. Pryor; Bruce M. Ramer; Elizabeth Sembler; and Loretta Cheryl Sutliff.

Webcaster Settlement Act Sails Through House

On Saturday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 (H.R. 7084), authored by U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA). The bill creates a way to ensure the long-term viability of Internet radio by ending a long-running dispute over royalty rates. The bill permits a negotiated settlement between Internet webcasters and Sound Exchange, who collects royalties for musical performers, to replace the exorbitantly high royalty rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) in March 2007. Rep Inslee, a longtime advocate for Internet radio, introduced the bill earlier last week and worked through the weekend to ensure its passage. In the face of unexpected last-minute opposition from the National Association of Broadcasters, who represent traditional AM/FM radio broadcasters, Reps Inslee, Howard Berman (D-CA) and allies brokered a fair compromise which addressed the concerns of NAB members while still facilitating an end to the royalty dispute. On Monday, the "Webcasters Settlement of 2008" arrives in the Senate for a vote.

DTV Switch on U.S.-Mexico Border Concerns Lawmakers

House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Telecom & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) have written the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration with concerns about the digital television transition, especially concerning stations along the US-Mexico border. The lawmakers are asking the FCC and the NTIA to focus DTV-education efforts on the border area, given some of its unique challenges, including encouraging them to tune to U.S. broadcasters for emergency information. "After the DTV transition, most Mexican stations will continue to broadcast only in analog format, and all full-power U.S. stations will broadcast in digital format," the letter said. "Because many of the Spanish-speaking households near the border watch both U.S. and Mexican television, there appears to be much potential for consumer confusion."

House Commerce Committee Wraps FCC Investigation

Apparently, the House Commerce Committee has closed its investigation of the Federal Communications Commission, but it will not hold a hearing on the results. The subcommittee investigation, launched in January, followed complaints externally and internally about how items were brought to a vote, information that was leaking to some lobbyists and not to others and complaints about FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's resolve to vote on modifying the ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership despite attempts to stop or delay the vote by members of FCC oversight committees in both Houses.

Adelstein Advocates More Analog-Cutoff Tests

Federal Communications Commission member Jonathan Adelstein made an impassioned plea for more tests on the consumer impact of dropping analog-TV broadcasting, including praise for an Oct. 28 test planned in New York. "Planning, I think, has been disappointing to say the least" in government, he said. He cited education efforts not highlighting that lower-power TV stations will continue telecasting and said little thought has been given to the dangers of repositioning rooftop antenna in the snow belt, since the national cutoff date is in the middle of winter. "Nobody's ultimately responsible for vetting or prioritizing the ideas from both public and private sector into a concrete, comprehensive and coherent plan," Adelstein asserted. "While our [FCC] staff has been hard at work and despite some recent improvements, our overall DTV effort is not a model of effectiveness."

Beware of Bureaucrats Bearing Deals

[Commentary] Last week, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin suggested that broadcasters cut a deal with him on new localism rules this year. The clear implication was that the deal with him will be a lot less onerous that the deal they'll get next year when Democrats will have a tighter grip on Congress and, lord knows, what kind of wild-eyed, liberal regulator will be heading the FCC. Jessell says, "Don't do it." Why? 1) The deal will not be great. 2) Even if a deal is in place, the next Administration might try to heap on more obligations. 3) Agreeing to a deal would perpetuate the idea that broadcasters work for the federal government and that bureaucrats can tell them what kinds of programming to air. If broadcasters are to survive, they must have absolute freedom to serve their markets the best way they can. They cannot keep up with quick-moving rivals like cable and the Web if they have to drag around pointless regulatory burdens.

Stations Demand Retrans Cash

Some TV stations have already put demands for cash on the table in advance of the October 1 federal deadline for broadcasters to tell cable operators whether they plan to negotiate retransmission-consent deals for carriage of their signals. While the official cutoff date looms, a number of broadcasters have already made their so-called "elections," notifying multichannel pay TV distributors whether they are demanding carriage of their stations — so-called must-carry — or if they will only "consent" to carriage after negotiating terms, according to Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association, a lobbying group for independent operators. In fact, some broadcasters have gone ahead and notified cable systems of their demands, including cash compensation, in exchange for carriage of their TV signals, Polka said. "I have seen the gamut of requested fees so far ranging from 40 cents to $1.10 per station, per subscriber, per month," he added. Stations that opt for must-carry can't seek payment from distributors. Many retransmission-consent contracts are on a three-year cycle that ends Dec. 31, but some deals expire earlier.

PPM Coalition, Arbitron Submit Comments To FCC

The Federal Communications Commission received a handful of filings in response to its request for comment on investigating the effect of Arbitron's portable people meter on minority ownership. A second round of comments are due Oct. 6, two days before Arbitron is scheduled to commercialize PPM in eight markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. The PPM Coalition, made up of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, the Spanish Radio Association, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, Border Media Partners, Entravision, ICBC Broadcast Holdings, Spanish Broadcasting System and Univision filed Wednesday (Sept. 24). Arbitron filed a rebuttal. The Coalition argued that the PPM methodology undercounts minority radio listeners and that the rollout of PPM methodology starting Oct. 8 in eight markets will seriously harm minority broadcasting and defeat the Commission's diversity goals. The Coalition wants the FCC to "undertake a fact-finding inquiry, using subpoenas for document production and conducting witness testimony under oath." In its rebuttal, Arbitron said it "cited extensive precedent in which both Congress and the Commission have previously recognized that the FCC lacks authority to regulate audience ratings. Both Congress and the Commission have expressly stated that the reliability and methodologies of audience ratings services are best left to private industry groups such as the Media Rating Council, Inc."

Benton

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