October 2009

"Imagine if we had made the mistake of building ordinary roads when, in the 1950s, true progress required an interstate highway system. We are at a similar juncture, which is why the time calls for the high ambition of gigabit speeds."
-- Doug Adams, the Knight Center of Digital Excellence

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY OCTOBER 1, 2009

Apparently, it is Broadband Strategy Week -- and there's video to prove it. http://broadbandstrategyweek.com/

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   NTIA and ICANN Aren't Afraid of Commitment
   Internet Speeds Are Often Slower Than What Consumers Pay For, FCC Finds
   Web Survey Finds Speed Is Quickest Overseas
   RUS wants input to improve stimulus application process
   New report separates fact from fiction in the debate over Net Neutrality at the FCC
   It's 'patent-ly' obvious: US needs better broadband
   Let the broadband stimulus challenges begin!
   Fiber now in 5.3 million North American homes
   House Committee Approves P2P File Sharing Bill
   ViaSat Plots WildBlue Deal for Satellite Internet Service
   Cox Boosts Bandwidth Caps
   Cisco to buy videoconferencing vendor Tandberg for $3 billion

CONTENT
   Senate Urged To Confirm IP Czar Quickly
   Save the Google Book Search Deal!
   Copyright Dispute Ensnares Creator of Copyright Shield

HEALTH & COMMUNICATIONS
   Health fight TV ads pass $100 million for the year
   Media Less Influential in Views on Health Care, Economy Than on Other Issues
   Progress still slow on electronic health record adoption
   Americans Optimistic On Healthcare IT's Potential
   Distracted driving blamed for 5,800 US deaths
   At 60 MPH, Office Work Is a High-Risk Job

JOURNALISM
   White House Proposes Changes in Shield Law
   FTC Seeks Public Comments on the Future of the News Media in the Internet Age
   How Google Wave could transform journalism
   Summit takes hard look at future of journalism
   LA Times and Wash Post Ending News Service

TELEVISION
   Comcast might buy stake in NBC Universal
   New media explosion upends TV ratings system
   Nielsen Adds Internet Speed, Usage, Gaming To TV Ratings Characteristics
   DVRs in 36% of households
   Don't skip the TV ads: You'll miss the plot
   GLADD Study shows more gay characters on TV

MORE ONLINE ...
   Tate: Deregulation We Can All Agree On
   iPhone's share of the smartphone market hits a record 40%
   Patton Boggs Lands Former FCC Chair Kevin Martin
   Emergency Alert System Not Wired
   Whisper-Quiet Hill Aides Must Speak Up Without Standing Out

Recent Comments:
USA! We're Number 1!

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

NTIA AND ICANN AREN'T AFRAID OF COMMITMENT
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has reached an agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that establishes a long-lasting framework for the technical coordination of the Internet's domain name and addressing system (DNS). NTIA and ICANN co-signed an Affirmation of Commitments that completes the transition of the technical management of the DNS to a multi-stakeholder, private-sector-led model. The Affirmation ensures accountability and transparency in ICANN's decision-making with the goal of protecting the interests of global Internet users. The Affirmation also establishes mechanisms to address the security, stability, and resiliency of the Internet DNS as well as promote competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice. Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Rick Boucher, Chairman of the Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee, praised the agreement.
benton.org/node/28355 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration | NTIA | House Commerce Committee | Reuters | ars technica
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INTERNET SPEEDS ARE OFTEN SLOWER THAN WHAT CONSUMERS PAY FOR, FCC FINDS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
According to Federal Communications Commission National broadband Plan staff, actual broadband speeds lag advertised speeds by as much as 50% to 80%. So more than half the time, and sometimes as much as eight out of ten times, consumers are paying for slower Internet access speed than they signed up for. Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst at Consumers Union, says he's heard many such complaints from users and has pushed for the Federal Trade Commission to take up a review under truth in advertising laws. A spokeswoman at the FTC said the agency doesn't publicly disclose all of its investigations. "This speaks to consumer empowerment. And if you are advertising one speed but delivering another, that takes power away," Kelsey said. "Consumers can't make accurate decisions based on quality of service from one provider off another."
benton.org/node/28354 | Washington Post
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WEB SURVEY FINDS SPEED IS QUICKEST OVERSEAS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Pfanner]
The performance of broadband Internet connections has surged ahead in many countries in the last year, even before government stimulus packages aimed at upgrading networks take full effect, according to a study to be published Thursday. The most advanced broadband connections are in South Korea, Japan and Sweden, according to the study, conducted by the Saïd Business School at Oxford and the University of Oviedo in Spain, and sponsored by Cisco Systems, the telecommunications equipment maker. The work differs from some other efforts to assess how countries stack up on the basis of broadband, a form of high-speed Internet connection, because it measures the performance of these connections, rather than simply comparing market penetration rates. As broadband has become more widespread — some governments want to turn it into a universal service like electricity or water — the quality of connections has grown more important. The study takes into account the download and upload speeds of Internet connections, along with the latency, or delay, in the hookup. These measures will be increasingly important in the future, Cisco says, as consumers embrace online services like high-definition Internet television and video conferencing. The top three countries, along with six others in Europe, have sufficiently robust Internet connections to allow the average broadband customer to take advantage of these kinds of services already, according to the survey. A year ago, in an early survey by Cisco, only one country, Japan, met these criteria. Sixteen more countries, including the United States, France and Germany, fell into the second-highest category, meaning that the average Internet connection "comfortably" handles the needs of consumers for popular Web uses today, including social networking and low-definition video streaming.
benton.org/node/28372 | New York Times
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RUS WANTS INPUT TO IMPROVE STIMULUS APPLICATION PROCESS
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Carol Wilson]
The Rural Utility Service is "painfully aware" of problems in the application process for federal broadband stimulus funding, RUS Deputy Administrator Jessica Zufolo told a 2009 FTTH Council Conference & Expo audience, but the agency is hoping feedback from the telecom industry and others will help RUS get it right in the second round of funding, set for next year. Complaints include complexity, confusing terminology and the difficulties in filing applications and supporting maps online as required. Zufolo confirmed earlier reports that the RUS and its partner in stimulus funding, NTIA, are strongly leaning toward collapsing the scheduled second and third rounds of funding into a single second round. The NOFA for the second round will be issued in December, and funding will be issued next summer, she said. Zufolo explained the RUS decision to use its $2.5 billion in funds primarily to subsidize loans and not provide grants, as the agency's best opportunity to make the more efficient use of the federal money and have maximum impact. Because the default rate on RUS loans is less than 1% and the subsidy rate is also low, only about 7%, it costs the government only $72,000 to loan $1 million for rural network development, she said.
benton.org/node/28371 | TelephonyOnline
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NEW REPORT SEPARATES FACT FROM FICTION IN THE DEBATE OVER NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: S. Derek Turner]
Free press aims to dispel the arguments from big phone and cable companies and opponents of Network Neutrality in a new report that exposes false claims about investment, regulation, competition and other prevalent issues. Some of the myths debunked in the report include: "Net Neutrality is a solution in search of a problem." "This will be the first time the government has regulated the Internet." "Net Neutrality rules will discourage investment." "Net Neutrality would prevent ISPs from effectively managing Web congestion from video streaming and other bandwidth-intensive activities that are clogging up the Web."
benton.org/node/28370 | Free Press | Read the report
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IT'S 'PATENT-LY' OBVIOUS: US NEEDS BETTER BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Knight Center of Digital Excellence, AUTHOR: Doug Adams]
[Commentary] In the history of our nation, economic downturns have typically been followed by forces of innovation that result in accompanying upturns. The forces for economic opportunity and turnaround have ranged from innovations in the 19th century's Industrial Revolution to the 20th century's interstate highway system ­ and most recently, the World Wide Web. Today, President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ­ and the broadband economic stimulus plan within it ­ could hold the key for America to move toward a more robust, more pervasive broadband platform ­ the type of infrastructure that drives new ideas and tomorrow's economic success stories. Our European and Asian counterparts have been investing in broadband robust enough to support new products and services, creating a test bed for innovation. This strategy is fostering and attracting companies seeking the 21st-century infrastructure lacking in the US. Broadband is key to our nation remaining competitive. Our goals as a nation should reflect the spirit of innovation that has made and kept America great. We should aim high, with a goal of delivering gigabyte broadband service to every household and business and once again establishing America as a welcome home for innovation. Imagine if we had made the mistake of building ordinary roads when, in the 1950s, true progress required an interstate highway system. We are at a similar juncture, which is why the time calls for the high ambition of gigabit speeds.
benton.org/node/28353 | Knight Center of Digital Excellence
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LET THE BROADBAND STIMULUS CHALLENGES BEGIN
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: ]
As of Monday night, the industry is in the 30-day period in which incumbents can challenge federal broadband stimulus applications for projects that involve census blocks within their footprint. Based on what some experts are saying, this challenge period could be very interesting. "There will be many challenges," said Tom Cohen, legal counsel to the FTTC Council. "There are situations where [applicants] are saying, 'This is an underserved area,' and incumbents are saying, 'We're already there.'" It would seem to be a straightforward matter: Is broadband service available in a given census block or isn't it? But does advertising a service in a given area mean it's available? In the case of rural areas, broadband service may run into distance limits such that broadband can be available in a neighborhood but not to every house. Census blocks are the smallest geographical unit used by the US Census, and there are 82 million of them ­ many uninhabited. Urban census blocks can correspond to actual blocks, but in rural areas, census blocks are geographically much larger.One company had gone door-to-door in the census blocks it is claiming are underserved before filing its application, and hopes any challenger would have to do the same thing ­ a comment which drew laughter.
benton.org/node/28352 | TelephonyOnline
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FIBER NOW IN 5.3 MILLION NORTH AMERICAN HOMES
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Carol Wilson]
More than 1.5 million North American homes subscribed to fiber-to-the-home last year, bringing the total to 5.3 million, according to the latest study for the FTTH Council by RVA Market Research. The number of homes passed grew from 13.8 million to 17.2 million in the same time period. Verizon continues to be the market leader.
benton.org/node/28351 | TelephonyOnline
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HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES P2P FILE SHARING BILL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Commerce Committee passed two bills Wednesday dealing with protecting personal information online, including one that would establish new guidelines for some P2P file sharing. The Informed P2P User Act (HR 1319) requires that users of file-sharing programs are given "conspicuous notice" and required to opt in before the file sharing program is installed. It also requires those who market or distribute the programs to make it "reasonably simple" to block or remove the programs. But it also says it is not meant to discourage the legitimate uses of file-sharing technology. The bill as passed narrowed the definition of peer-to-peer services subject to the restrictions to those where sharing of personal data -- financial or health records -- was implicated. It specifically exempts e-mail, instant messaging, real time audio and video and real-time voice applications, its co-sponsor, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) said at the hearing marking up the bills. Also passed out of committee was HR 2221, which sets federal standards for protecting personal information, including giving consumers more access to and control over, that information, and requires notice to consumers of data breaches.
benton.org/node/28350 | Multichannel News | House Commerce Committee
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VIASAT PLOTS WILDBLUE DEAL FOR SATELLITE INTERNET SERVICE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Andy Pasztor]
Apparently, aerospace equipment maker ViaSat has agreed to buy closely held satellite-services provider Wild Blue Communications for more than $565 million. The move is a bet by ViaSat that it can jump into the volatile market of delivering consumer broadband services via satellite. By joining forces, the two companies seek to reduce the long-term costs and risks of expanding Internet access via satellite. The spread of these services has been impeded by hefty start-up costs, as well as technical challenges that historically made it hard for satellites to compete with cable- and phone-based rivals on price and quality. The deal's ultimate success, these people said, will depend on how well ViaSat and Mark Dankberg, its chairman and chief executive, make good on promises to leapfrog existing technology by providing faster, more flexible and less expensive Internet connections than competitors. Wild Blue's capacity-strapped service, targeted primarily at customers in rural areas without terrestrial broadband access, will be able to rely on ViaSat's satellite assets and technical savvy. For ViaSat, based in Carlsbad, Calif., the anticipated acquisition allows a less risky way of entering the consumer market. ViaSat already has invested heavily to build a new satellite, scheduled to be launched in 2011, which the company intended to lease out on a wholesale basis. But with the acquisition, ViaSat would gain an established customer base, marketing organization and retail distribution network able to take advantage of that anticipated capacity.
benton.org/node/28368 | Wall Street Journal
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COX BOOSTS BANDWIDTH CAPS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Cox Communications has increased the maximum data-usage limits for broadband customers. Cox's new limits for each package are: Economy, 30 Gbytes; Value, 50 Gbytes; Preferred, 200 Gbytes; Premier, 250 Gbytes; and Ultimate, the 50-Mbps downstream service available only in certain markets, at 400 Gbytes.
benton.org/node/28358 | Multichannel News | Cox
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CISCO TO BUY TANDBERG
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Mikael Ricknäs]
Cisco Systems has signed an agreement to buy videoconferencing vendor Tandberg for about $3 billion. Tandberg's video endpoints and network infrastructure products will be integrated into Cisco's collaboration products, according to Cisco. When the deal is done Tandberg's CEO Fredrik Halvorsen will lead a new TelePresence Technology Group at Cisco. Cisco has been pushing videoconferencing for a number of years, and is already reselling some of Tandberg's products, according to Steve Blood, vice president at market research company Gartner. The acquisition plugs the gap between Cisco's HD-based telepresence systems and its Unified Video Advantage system for desktop videoconferencing by adding room-based conferencing that supports standard definition video, he said.
benton.org/node/28357 | IDG News Service
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CONTENT

SENATE URGED TO CONFIRM IP CZAR QUICKLY
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
US Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue urged the Senate on Wednesday to "hurry up and confirm" former U.S. Assistant Trade Representative Victoria Espinel who was tapped last week by President Obama to serve as the first White House intellectual property enforcement coordinator. The Senate Judiciary Committee first must receive a completed questionnaire that details her background and experience and then a hearing can be scheduled. Espinel, who is highly regarded on Capitol Hill, within industry, and among international IP policy arenas, is expected to easily win confirmation.
benton.org/node/28349 | CongressDaily
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SAVE THE GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH DEAL
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Tim Wu]
[Commentary] The Google Book Search settlement makes it easier to get books few people want. A delivery system for books that few people want is not a business one builds for financial reasons. Over history, such projects are usually built not by the market but by mad emperors. No bean counter would have approved the Library of Alexandria or the Taj Mahal. A modified settlement should go forward, but let the court keep watch to make sure the deal achieves its public goals without undue private gain. This is the essence of the utility model: Let a private party do something in the public's interest that would not happen otherwise while keeping an eye on what happens. Here, the court would provide protection against a Google turn to the dark side. A lot of people have the instinct that Google is a dangerous company with designs to monopolize everything, not just old books. And the public seems, reasonably enough, in a mood to teach all big companies some hard lessons. But if you want to put Google in its place, the book project is the wrong way to do so. It is Google's monopoly on Internet search that is valuable and potentially dangerous, not a quixotic project to provide access to unpopular books. So hold on to that sense of wariness, but understand that in this case, it's misplaced. To punish Google by killing Book Search would be like punishing Andrew Carnegie by blowing up Carnegie Hall.
benton.org/node/28348 | Slate
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COPYRIGHT DISPUTE ENSNARES CREATOR OF COPYRIGHT SHIELD
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Geoffrey Fowler]
Last month, author Elaine Scott filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming copyright infringement against Scribd.com, a Web site that allows people to publish their own books and documents online and share them with others. A user of the site had posted without Scott's permission a copy of one of her books, a Wall Street explainer entitled "Stocks and Bonds, Profits and Losses." Scribd removed the book from its site after being notified by Scott, but the author claims the site didn't do enough to protect her copyright in the first place. Courts have ruled several times -- including as recently as last month in a case against video company Veoh Networks Inc. -- that Web sites can't be held accountable when users post stolen material. But a second claim in Scott's suit introduces a new wrinkle into the discussion. Scribd created filtering software to prevent books it knows are stolen from being posted again. Every time an author asks Scribd to remove copyrighted work, the company automatically adds that work to its filter. Scott claims that Scribd doesn't have the right to use her book in its filter -- even if it claims to be doing so to protect her interests.
benton.org/node/28366 | Wall Street Journal
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HEALTH & COMMUNICATIONS

HEALTH FIGHT TV ADS PASS 4100 MILLION FOR THE YEAR
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Evan Tracey, who heads a private data tracking company called the Campaign Media Analysis Group, says spending on TV ads on health insurance reform hit $110 million as of Sunday. It's averaged $1.1 million daily in the past week as Congress has stepped up its work on overhaul legislation. About $47 million has been spent for ads favoring a health overhaul and another $32 million has gone to opposing the effort.
benton.org/node/28347 | Associated Press
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MEDIA LESS INFLUENTIAL IN VIEWS ON HEALTH CARE, ECONOMY THAN ON OTHER ISSUES
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, AUTHOR: Andrew Kohut et al]
When asked what is most important in helping them to form opinions on health care, 41% cite what they have heard or read in the media as most important; only somewhat fewer cite personal experiences (31%), while another 25% say that talking with friends and family is most important. Similarly, nearly as many people say that personal experiences are most important in helping them form opinions about the economy (35%) as cite the media (41%), with 23% mentioning talking with friends and family. By contrast, clear majorities say the media is most important in helping them form opinions about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (61%) and environmental issues such as global climate change (57%), while far fewer cite personal experiences as being most important (15% for Iraq and Afghanistan, 19% for environmental issues). In each case, about one-in-five cite talking with family and friends as most important (22% Iraq and Afghanistan, 19% environment).
benton.org/node/28346 | Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
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DISTRACTED DRIVING BLAMED FOR 5,800 US DEATHS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: John Crawley]
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Wednesday called distracted driving a serious epidemic with more than 5,800 annual U.S. traffic deaths tied to motorists who failed to keep their eyes on the road. The proportion of deadly accidents tied to distracted driving climbed from 11 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in 2008, according to the figures culled from police reports. By comparison, drunken driving accounted for roughly 30 percent of all fatalities. The figures were significant but may not show the full problem since identifying distraction as a cause of crashes, especially in fatal accidents, can be difficult, transportation officials and safety experts acknowledged. A separate survey released Wednesday by the Transportation Department showed 6 percent of drivers, or 812,000 people at any one time, used hand-held cellphones while driving in 2007. One percent used other hand-held devices to send text messages or read.
benton.org/node/28342 | Reuters
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AT 60 MPH, OFFICE WORK IS A HIGH-RISK JOB
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
On Wednesday, the Transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, called the broader phenomenon of distracted driving a "deadly epidemic" at a meeting on the issue in Washington. Real estate brokers, pharmaceutical sales people, entrepreneurs, marketers and others say they have little choice but to transform their cars into cubicles. In this merciless economy, they say, they have to make every minute count, and respond instantly to opportunities and challenges. And they argue that the convenience of constant contact — and the chance to tick off items from an endless to-do list while driving — far outweigh what they think are slim chances that it could lead to a wreck. For white-collar employees, pressures to multitask are largely self-imposed. For blue-collar workers, the demands to stay connected while driving are often imposed by their bosses. Truckers, plumbers, delivery drivers and others are tethered to dispatchers with an array of productivity devices, including on-board computers that send instructions about the next job and keep tabs on drivers' locations. Such devices can require continual attention — distracting drivers who are steering the biggest vehicles on American roads. The compulsion to work while driving often trumps clear evidence that such activity is dangerous. Studies show that someone who talks on the phone while driving is four times more likely to crash, even using a hands-free headset, than someone who is simply driving. The risks are even greater when sending text messages. For all the perceived benefits of multitasking behind the wheel — like staying a step ahead of competitors — the dangers have begun to take their toll on companies, leading some to ban the practice by employees.
benton.org/node/28367 | New York Times
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JOURNALISM

WHITE HOUSE PROPOSES CHANGES IN SHIELD LAW
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Charlie Savage]
The Obama administration has told lawmakers that it opposes legislation that could protect reporters from being imprisoned if they refuse to disclose confidential sources who leak material about national security, according to several people involved with the negotiations. The administration this week sent to Congress sweeping revisions to a "media shield" bill that would significantly weaken its protections against forcing reporters to testify. The bill includes safeguards that would require prosecutors to exhaust other methods for finding the source of the information before subpoenaing a reporter, and would balance investigators' interests with "the public interest in gathering news and maintaining the free flow of information." But under the administration's proposal, such procedures would not apply to leaks of a matter deemed to cause "significant" harm to national security. Moreover, judges would be instructed to be deferential to executive branch assertions about whether a leak caused or was likely to cause such harm.
benton.org/node/28373 | New York Times
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FTC SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE FUTURE OF THE NEWS MEDIA IN THE INTERNET AGE
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comments in advance of upcoming workshops that will explore the Internet's impact on the news media, including the new avenues for innovation and the financial challenges that it has created for the industry. The FTC is asking for input on a series of questions to be addressed in the workshops, including: How is the Internet changing the way consumers access news and how advertising dollars are spent? What economic challenges do news organizations face today? What cost-cutting measures have news organizations considered? Which have they adopted, and how have they affected the provision of news to consumers? What collaborations are news organizations undertaking or considering to deal with financial challenges brought about by the Internet? How is the Internet changing the way news organizations and others research, write, edit, produce, and distribute news? What innovative forms of journalism have emerged due to the Internet? What are the business models, including the revenue sources, for journalism on the Internet? How are news organizations likely to compete for audience and advertising in the future? Are new or changed government policies needed to support optimal amounts and types of journalism, including public affairs coverage? Should the tax code be modified to provide special status or tax breaks to all or certain types of news organizations? Do current U.S. copyright protections provide enough incentive to create news content? Should the federal government provide additional funding for news organizations? Comments are due November 6.
benton.org/node/28345 | Federal Trade Commission
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HOW GOOGLE WAVE COULD TRANSFORM JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Mark Milian]
The tech world is awash with excitement for today's scheduled release of 100,000 invitations to preview Google Wave. Seems like everyone is buzzing about how the collaborative Web tool will revolutionize how we do business, organize parties, manage projects with friends, cheat on homework and market brands. For journalism, Google Wave could mean more collaborative reporting, archived interviews, live editing, smarter story updates, improved user comments, a more transparent writing process, instant polls and more.
benton.org/node/28363 | Los Angeles Times
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SUMMIT TAKES HARD LOOK AT FUTURE OF JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: James Temple]
Rapidly advancing technology may be to blame for the news industry's present predicament, but the same digital tools promise a bright future if the sector can harness them to deliver customers the content they want in the manner they prefer. That was the general message from panelists during the first day of the UC Berkeley Media Technology Summit on Wednesday, sponsored by the Graduate School of Journalism and hosted at Google's headquarters in Mountain View. Such an approach requires a dramatic shift in thinking, however, and raises some troubling questions for journalists and publishers. Key to survival in the digital media age is rapidly responding to the preferences that consumers reveal every time they click a link, view an ad, read a story or post a comment, said Michael Franklin, professor of computer science at UC Berkeley. He is also the founder of Truviso, a San Mateo company that creates tools for analyzing consumer data.
benton.org/node/28362 | San Francisco Chronicle
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LA TIMES AND WASH POST ENDING NEWS SERVICE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post are breaking up their news service after 47 years. Effective January 1, 2010, the Los Angeles Times will distribute some of its best work through a news service jointly owned by newspaper publishers McClatchy Inc. and the Tribune Co, the Times' owner. The Times-Post venture distributed its stories to about 600 subscribers including newspapers and other media.
benton.org/node/28361 | Associated Press | Washington Post
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TELEVISION

COMCAST MIGHT BUY STAKE IN NBC UNIVERSAL
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James, Joe Flint]
Apparently, Comcast, the nation's largest cable television company, is in talks to buy a stake in entertainment giant NBC Universal. Comcast has been looking to expand its entertainment offerings for several years. In NBC Universal it would get not only a big broadcast network and movie studio but also powerful cable channels including USA, Syfy, CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo. NBC parent company General Electric Co. has repeatedly denied that it is interested in selling its vast entertainment holdings. However, the industrial giant is facing the possibility that in six weeks its minority investor, French telecommunications company Vivendi, might exercise an option to sell its 20% stake in NBC Universal. That would require GE to come up with $4 billion to pay Vivendi -- or find new investors to take Vivendi's place. This wouldn't be the first time Comcast has made a play for a piece of Hollywood. Five years ago it made an unsuccessful run to buy Walt Disney Co. for $54 billion. Taking an ownership interest in NBC Universal would cost much less. A recent report from J.P. Morgan said NBC Universal was worth $30 billion to $35 billion. A separate analysis by Sanford Bernstein & Co. valued it closer to $23 billion. The appeal of selling part of NBC Universal instead of the whole unit is it could create a more favorable tax situation for GE, which bought NBC in 1986 for $6.5 billion.
benton.org/node/28369 | Los Angeles Times | more from LA Times | WashPost | Financial Times | B&C | Variety
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NIELSEN ADDS INTERNET SPEED, USAGE, GAMING TO TV RATINGS CHARACTERISTICS
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Joe Mandese]
In another step toward the integration of online and television, TV ratings researcher Nielsen Co. has informed its clients that it is adding new sample characteristics to its ratings software that will enable advertisers, agencies and media companies to identify the composition of TV audiences based on their household Internet connection speed, persons Internet usage, whether the households are "telephone-capable," and whether the households play video games. Nielsen said the data, which will be available alongside conventional demographic sample characteristic descriptors as age, gender, and ethnicity, would be used by clients to "better understand who is viewing in order to optimize advertising campaigns." Nielsen said it has been collecting the Internet and gaming characteristics data in its national people meter sample, but had not provided them in its regular reporting until now, because some clients have requested that they be made available.
benton.org/node/28344 | MediaPost
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NEW MEDIA EXPLOSION UPENDS TV RATINGS SYSTEM
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Basil Katz]
The explosion of ways people watch television is confounding the media industry, which has relied for decades on the Nielsen ratings but now must adapt to the realities of the Internet and on-demand video. Americans are watching more TV than ever -- an average of 151 hours a month -- on more networks and in increasingly diverse ways. Industry heavyweights and analysts are calling for a new ratings system to keep up. At first there was a "crisis in measurement" due to the scarcity of data, said Alan Wurtzel, president of research and media development at NBC Universal, which is 80-percent owned by General Electric Co. But now, he said, content providers are "drowning in data." Broadcasters, content providers and advertisers including consumer products giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble Co are all trying to adapt.
benton.org/node/28359 | Reuters
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DVRS IN 36% OF HOUSEHOLDS
[SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Paul Bond]
Digital video recorders (DVRs) are now in 36% of all U.S. homes, four times more than the penetration of just four years ago, according to a study from Leichtman Research Group. But even with the deployment of all those time-shifting devices, more than 90% of TV viewing in the country remains the traditional, live-linear type. The study also says that at least 65% of those owning DVRs begin their TV-watching experience by watching live television, then switch to their recorded programming after determining there's nothing that interests them there. Despite the proliferation of TV shows on Web sites like Hulu, at least 98% of television video is viewed on TV screens.
benton.org/node/28343 | Hollywood Reporter, The
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DON'T SKIP THE TV ADS: YOU'LL MISS THE PLOT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Ryan Nakashima, Deborah Yao]
In television's latest quest to discourage viewers from skipping ads, actors from NBC and ABC shows are appearing in character in commercials to interact with products in parallel story lines. This new kind of commercial further blurs the line between program and advertisement and comes as traditional product placements within shows, an early response to fast-forwarding, have become common. A series of spots that debuted this week, for example, weaves Palm's Pre phone more deeply into prime-time dramas' story lines. "It's definitely groundbreaking," said Denise Ocasio, managing partner of MindShare, the marketing firm that helped Sprint create the spots. "It's not a commercial. ... It is an entertainment experience. It's just brought to you by Sprint." But not everyone is pleased. Peter Horton, executive producer of the short-lived NBC drama "The Philanthropist," said ?a dramatized vignette showing characters using Microsoft's Bing search engine to look up things online was confusing to viewers because it sometimes introduced a competing plot line.
benton.org/node/28360 | Associated Press
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GLADD STUDY SHOWS MORE GAY CHARACTERS ON TV
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Michael Schneider]
The number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters in primetime continues to rise, according to a new GLAAD study set to be released today. The org found that 3% of scripted series regulars on the broadcast nets are gay and lesbian, up from 2.6% in 2008 and 1.1% in 2007. ABC led the way, with eight characters out of 168 (5%), followed by Fox, with four out of 105 (4%), NBC, with three out of 126 (3%) and the CW, with two characters out of 69 (3%). CBS had none, which the org called "disappointing." GLAAD officials said they were also concerned about a lack of diversity among the LGBT characters -- as just four are people of color. According to the GLAAD study, male characters outnumber women 57% to 43% overall in primetime. White characters rep 77% (466 out of 600), followed by African Americans, at 11% (67) and then Latino representation, which is down to 5% (27). Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders rep 4% (23 characters). GLAAD also found that the number of regular gay and lesbian characters on the mainstream cable nets dropped to 25 vs. 32 last fall.
benton.org/node/28356 | Variety
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