February 2012

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski told the House Communications Subcommittee he would consider closing the Title II docket which proposed to reclassify Internet access service as a telecommunications service subject common carrier regulations.

Internet service providers had termed that the nuclear option and the FCC ultimately struck compromise on network neutrality rules that avoided dropping that bomb by relying on Title I authority. But it did not close the Title II docket. Republicans have expressed concern that if the FCC loses a court challenge to its Title I-based compromise network neutrality rules, it could move quickly to assert Title II authority. At a budget oversight hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) asked him to close it and Chairman Genachowski said he would at least consider it. Chairman Walden pointed out the docket had been open since 2009 -- the compromise rules were approved in Dec. 2010.

"Why is it still open," he asked, tying it to the budget by also asking how many employees were currently working on the docket. Chairman Genachowski said he was not aware of any employees working on the docket. "Why not close it," asked Chairman Walden. "It is something that we will consider,” Chairman Genachowski answered. “We have been focused on USF." Chairman Walden cut him off saying: "You're here, we can consider it now." Chairman Genachowski said it was "something I will discuss with my staff."

National advertisers believe that television advertising has become more effective, according to a new study, and many are allotting more of their media budgets to TV.

In the report from the Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research, the number of national advertisers who say TV advertising has become more effective in the past two years has tripled. The said that TV advertising will account for 47% of their media budgets, a 6% increase from the 2010 study. The advertisers in the study said they were interested in data other than Nielsen when it comes to TV, with 72% expecting that the quality and accuracy of set-top-box data will improve over the next few years. Almost half of the advertisers surveyed said they are testing or planning to test advanced TV advertising, including addressable ads, in the next 12 months. They are also doing second-screen advertising, with 18% running synchronized ads on TV and online and another 31% saying they will try that strategy in 2012.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told lawmakers the White House approves of new Senate computer security legislation that would require critical sectors to report network intrusions to the government.

The endorsement came during a House hearing, the day before she was slated to testify on the measure, S. 2105, before its authors on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The 205-page package -- a compromise bill among numerous competing measures -- would grant the federal government the power to handle penetrations into private networks. "The administration supports the bill that was introduced in the Senate this week," Sec Napolitano said during a House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the department's funding request for fiscal 2013.

Rick Santorum’s relatively meager war chest might be big enough to put up a serious fight in upcoming TV ad wars against Mitt Romney and his money machine. Santorum and his supporters are going to leverage the lineup of the next few contests, making ad buys in states where airtime is cheap and spending strategically to zero in on Santorum’s base of conservative voters in more expensive ones. That combination could pick him up enough delegates to continue fundraising and keep him in the race past Super Tuesday.