January 2011

Google Digital Newsstand Aims to Muscle In on Apple

Google and Apple have stepped up their battle to win over publishers, as the two companies vie to become the dominant distributor of newspapers and magazines for tablet computers and other mobile devices.

Google is trying to drum up publishers' support for a new Google-operated digital newsstand for users of devices that run its Android software. With the effort, it is chasing Apple, which already sells digital versions of many major magazines and newspapers through its iTunes store. The e-newsstand would include apps from media companies offering versions of their publications for smartphones or tablets running Android, say people familiar with the matter. Google hopes to launch it in part to provide a more consistent experience for consumers who want to read periodicals on Android devices, and to help publishers collect payment for their apps, these people say. Media executives who have talked to Google say details of the newsstand venture and its timing remain vague. They add that it's possible the venture won't materialize.

Google's travel plans

[Commentary] The Justice Department must determine whether Google's purchase of ITA could substantially reduce competition. These assessments are fact-intensive and often made based on the merger's impact on a narrowly defined market. Justice should not confine its review but should also consider the implications of allowing an already formidable Internet power to continue to expand its reach and consolidate its grip over a range of Internet commerce. This does not necessarily mean that the deal should be quashed. Google gained prominence - and dominance - by providing innovative services to consumers and businesses alike. Its purchase of ITA may very well bring the same benefits to online travel search. But regulators must review the deal closely to ensure that Google's vast power and reach do not unfairly hinder others' ability to compete or deprive consumers of innovations not yet imagined.

Containing Comcast

[Commentary] Federal regulators appear poised to bless Comcast's proposed $30-billion takeover of NBC Universal, with conditions aimed at limiting Comcast's ability to harm competitors.

Those conditions would not speed innovation in the market for TV services, but at least they would blunt Comcast's ability to impede online entrepreneurs and hinder rival networks. The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, which are setting the conditions for the merger, should try to ensure that Comcast's newly purchased networks and Hulu behave the same way they would if they hadn't been taken over by a cable operator. FCC officials have hinted that they will require Comcast to offer licensing deals to online video services on terms comparable to the ones offered by other networks and studios. Such strictures appear to strike the right balance between Comcast's interests and those of its would-be challengers. It would help if the Justice Department applied this principle broadly, so that ventures such as TV Everywhere -- a joint effort by Comcast and Time Warner to make cable programming available online to pay-TV subscribers -- couldn't deny their services to other consumers. The department should also bar Comcast from vetoing Hulu's decisions about which devices and online services to support. The Net neutrality rules adopted by the FCC this month prohibit Comcast from making its own content and services more accessible to its broadband customers than Netflix and other competitors. Those rules don't apply to Comcast's cable TV lineup, but the same protections should be in place for rival TV programmers -- Comcast shouldn't make it harder for viewers to find or watch its competitors' channels than its own networks. The commission appears poised to impose that condition as well, which would help force Comcast's newly acquired networks to compete for viewers the way they did before the merger -- fairly.

Comcast-NBC merger does nothing to enhance the public interest

[Commentary] With his proposed conditions on the deal, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to sugarcoat a terrible regulatory decision that underscores the derelict condition of government regulation in our age.

A hands-on leader pushes Commerce

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke's spacious, wood-paneled office features a working fireplace, elegant artwork and other luxurious touches befitting one of the federal government's top economic officials. More unusual is the nearly 60-foot-long Chinese dragon kite that hovers over his desk. The piece is not just a nod to the heritage of the first Chinese American to hold the top Commerce Department job but also evidence of Locke's hands-on style -- aides said he came in one weekend and hung it himself. It is an approach Sec Locke has taken to running the sprawling department, which plays a crucial role in the Obama administration's plans for fixing the badly broken economy. Since Locke took office in March 2009, he has earned a reputation as the type of manager eager to know details and wring out new efficiencies. He has pushed the Patent and Trademark Office to shorten the time it takes to get a patent, from 34 months to 20 months. He cajoled the Economic Development Administration, which makes business-development grants to distressed communities, to streamline its approval process. And he brought the 2010 Census in 25 percent under budget, saving taxpayers $1.9 billion. But those management feats pale next to the challenge he faces as one of the key figures in implementing President Obama's pledge to double U.S. exports within five years.

FCC spokeswoman Jen Howard moving on

Federal Communications Commission press secretary Jen Howard is leaving the agency to take a senior communications role at the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Howard's last day will be Jan. 14.

Electronics Show Revives Las Vegas Glow

Gadget makers will gather this week in Las Vegas for their massive trade show, with booths full of new wares and a spring in their step. And many hotels are posting a notice not seen in the recession-wracked city for some time: sold out. The official attendance projection for this year's Consumer Electronics Show is 120,000, but the group that organizes the closely watched event sounds confident that improved economic conditions will help top that target easily.

Benton

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