December 2009

Broadcasters Squeezed by Convergence Push

As broadcasters continue to wage the turf war to keep their claim on broadcast spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission -- with its push to get high-speed broadband to every home in the US -- appears to be the toughest opponent. Broadcasters are hoping to maintain their status as an over-the-air medium. The FCC, however, sees the future of TV moving to broadband video delivered via set-top box, and last week the commission opened an inquiry into the matter. For months, broadcasters have been making their case for why the government should not be so quick to move the TV model online. Among those reasons: the recent conversion to digital over-the-air service, with a separate $1.5 billion spent to ensure that over-the-air viewers with analog TVs could still get their signals. The recent defense comes in response to FCC broadband advisor Blair Levin's conversations with broadcasters and Wall Street about how they might give up some of their spectrum holdings, and scale back service, to the benefit of wireless broadband.

NAB To TV: Take Spectrum Case To Public

The National Association of Broadcasters is asking TV stations to join the fight to preserve broadcast spectrum by airing an NAB-produced 30-second spot touting the benefits of free, over-the-air broadcasting. In an e-mail to stations from NAB President Gordon Smith and the NAB spectrum committee, the trade association says the spot will be available Dec. 21 and urges stations to run it "in heavy rotation" between Dec. 25 and Jan. 14 to insure "our viewpoint is heard loud and clear." "The broadcast industry could see the greatest assault on the public airwaves since the 1980s, with the anticipated release of the FCC's National Broadband Plan set for February 17, 2010," says the e-mail. The NAB fears that the plan will recommend that all or some of broadcast spectrum be reallocated for wireless broadband access, a service the FCC believes will soon be facing a spectrum shortage.

NTIA Offers Thoughts on National Broadband Plan

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has filed comments in the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan proceeding. The comments focus on public safety, homeland security and cybersecurity. NTIA stresses that the broadband plan should recognize the layered model that has allowed the Internet to become a transformative technology that empowers people, spurs innovation, facilitates trade, and enables the free and unfettered flow of information. The NTIA also submitted a white paper entitled "Executive Branch Views on Public Safety, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity Elements of a National Broadband Plan." The paper stresses that the plan should identify measures taken to enhance cybersecurity and recognize the responsibility shared by both public and private sector interests in creating effective, coordinated, and cooperative strategies to mitigate the cyber threat.

Broadband Opportunity and Affordability Act

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has introduced the (BOAA), a bill which would amend the Communications Act to extend a universal service program at the Federal Communications Commission to provide support for broadband in low-income households.

The bill would:

1) create a two-year pilot program to expand the FCC's Lifeline program to support the recurring cost of basic broadband service for eligible low-income households (The FCC's existing Lifeline program subsidizes the recurring expenses of maintaining basic phone service in low-income households), and

2) ask the FCC to provide Congress with a report on expanding the related Link-Up program to assist with the costs of securing computer equipment to start up broadband service. The FCC's existing Link-Up program subsidizes the start up costs of beginning basic phone service for low-income consumers.

Broadband Speeds Matter Just as Much as Internet Access, Say New Yorkers

Broadband speeds matter just as much as does Internet access, in order to ensure educational, economic and social opportunities for individuals of all incomes and ethnic backgrounds, participants in a community broadband hearing in New York agreed on Friday. Policy officials, not-for-profit organizations, small businesses, community-based organizations and others came together Friday for to discuss how New York fits into the national broadband plan currently being developed by the Federal Communications Commission in Washington. The event was organized by Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and taped for FCC review and consideration.

Loophole to be closed on UK broadband tax

British Ministers are seeking to close a potential loophole in the government's planned broadband tax by saying consumers should pay the levy even if they only use their phone lines for Internet services. The tax is estimated to raise £175m a year to help pay for the cost of rolling out broadband networks to rural areas. Ministers are planning to include the tax in next year's finance bill, so that it becomes law before the election, which must be held by June. Most homes with copper-based phone lines will pay the 50p-a-month tax. The only exemption will be 850,000 low-income households who qualify for cut-price phone services. The Treasury said the tax would be payable even if landlines were only used for broadband Internet access rather than traditional phone services. These arrangements are designed to prevent consumers from avoiding the tax by only making Internet-based phone calls.

Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal

[Commentary] Sunday was the second anniversary of the sale of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. At that time, a chorus of journalism church ladies (Carr was among them) warned that one of the crown jewels of American journalism now resided in the hands of a roughneck, and predicted that he would use it to his own ends. Yet here we are, two years later, and The Wall Street Journal still hits Carr's doorstep every morning as one of the nation's premier newspapers. But under Mr. Murdoch's leadership, the newspaper is no longer anchored by those deep dives into the boardrooms of American business with quaint stippled portraits, opting instead for a much broader template of breaking general interest news articles with a particular interest in politics and big splashy photos. Glenn R. Simpson, who left the newspaper back in March, is not a fan of the newsier, less analytical Journal. "Murdoch didn't ruin The Wall Street Journal; he just rendered it into a much more ordinary paper," he said. But there are growing indications that Mr. Murdoch, a lifelong conservative, doesn't just want to cover politics, he wants to play them as well.

Glenn Beck's Gold Deal Raising Questions at Fox

The Fox News Channel is only too happy to have the Midas ratings touch that Glenn Beck has been providing, but the golden words he may pour into the ears of his audience have raised questions at the news network. Most of those have concerned whether Mr. Beck, who often hails the virtue of buying gold on his Fox show (as a hedge against a coming economic collapse), had been identified as a "paid spokesman" for a company named Goldline International, which sells gold coins. Joel Cheatwood, the senior vice president of development for Fox News, said the network's legal department had recently sent a letter to Mr. Beck's representatives "seeking clarification" about his work for Goldline. "They sent back word that he is not a paid spokesman," Mr. Cheatwood said, adding that it would be "problematic without question" if Mr. Beck did have a position as a paid spokesman for a product. Fox News released a statement outlining its official policy about such issues: "Fox News prohibits any on-air talent from endorsing products or serving as a product spokesperson." Fox News stressed that it was not aware that Mr. Beck was listed on the Internet as a paid spokesman. But he definitely was, until very recently. On cached editions of the Goldline Web site over the last week to 10 days, a photograph of Mr. Beck was accompanied by an asterisk which led to a line at the bottom of the site that read: "paid spokesman."

TV Networks, Local Stations Do Battle Over Cable Fees

The nation's biggest broadcast-TV networks are battling with local TV stations for a share of viewers' monthly cable bills, with each side claiming the cash is crucial to its survival. CBS, Fox owner News Corp. and ABC owner Walt Disney are asking independently-owned TV stations that carry their programming for a cut of the payments the stations get from cable, satellite and telecommunications companies. In some cases, networks want half or more of the compensation their affiliated stations receive. The fight comes as broadcast TV struggles to turn itself into a more subscription-supported business from one that relies almost solely on advertising. Their need for new revenue is critical, as broadcasters face more competition from well-funded cable networks. The recession cut ad spending on local TV stations 28% from a year earlier in the first nine months of this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. National broadcast networks saw ad spending fall 12% in that period. Local TV stations are a key part of the equation. They offer local feeds for the networks. Cable companies often must negotiate to pipe those signals into viewers' homes, through a process known as "retransmission consent," or retrans. Each of the biggest TV networks owns a string of local stations in major U.S. markets. But to reach the remaining 60% to 75% of the country, they strike deals with independently owned TV stations, called affiliates.

The business of Facebook

[Commentary] Facebook finally implemented the privacy enhancements it promised several months ago. And oddly enough, the world now knows more, not less, about many of the social network's 350 million users. Although that's not what the public may have expected, it's no accident. And as disturbing as it may be to privacy advocates, the change may have the welcome effect of opening users' eyes to the reality of their relationship with Facebook. Simply put, it's not their friend. Why would Facebook do such things? Because it's a business, and key elements of that business are attracting traffic and trading in at least some of the information users disclose. In fact, even as the company rolled out its new privacy tools, it prodded people to change their privacy settings to expose their personal information and posts to the entire Internet. Unless they reject the new default settings imposed by Facebook, everything they say on the network and much of their information will be available to anyone searching through Google, Yahoo or other search engines. These moves make sense from Facebook's perspective (assuming the public puts up with them). But for users, the lesson is that Facebook and other sites will not guard their personal information. To the contrary, such data are currency to the operators of social networks, and it's up to users to watch their own wallets.

Benton

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