December 2013

The FCC Should Stay Out Of TV Newsrooms

[Commentary] Among the many things wrong with the Federal Communication Commission's proposed study of local media, the most egregious is its intention to interview newspeople on how they do their jobs. It's one thing to profile the media in a market to see how it could be opened up to more players. It's something entirely else to muck around in the editorial decision making of broadcasters and other media.

The FCC has awarded the research contract to Social Solutions International for an initial study in Columbia (SC), one of a planned six apparently. I know broadcasters have been trained since they were pups to jump when the FCC says jump, but just because the study is being done for the FCC doesn't imbue SSI or any other contractor with some special power. To the TV broadcasters of Columbia, I would say that if SSI comes calling, asking a bunch of questions about how you produce the news, politely decline and point the researchers to the public files. Nothing is compelling you to cooperate. If the FCC somehow tries to strong-arm the Columbia stations into cooperating, then I would hope that every member of Congress cracks down hard on the agency.

If the FCC wants to know who owns what in Columbia, it can check its own database. And if it wants to know what's keeping small businesses from entering the broadcasting business in Columbia, I can tell you right now: money. For $50 million-$60 million, you probably could buy WIS, Raycom's NBC affiliate, the market leader. If that's too rich, consider one of the market's unaffiliated TV stations for couple of million or an FM station for a million or so. An AM daytimer? Sure, and maybe for less than what the FCC is paying SSI. There you go, FCC. No charge.

NCTA To Jump Into Retransmission Reform Fight

In a break for the pay TV companies lobbying for retransmission consent reform, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association announced that it is planning to put more of its weight behind the campaign.

“In particular, we welcome an examination of a retransmission consent regime that is increasingly fractured and in need of some repair,” said Michael Powell, NCTA’s president-CEO. Powell, a former FCC chairman, provided no details about the new reforms the NCTA intends to promote. But NCTA has previously urged the FCC to crack down on the ability of broadcasters to use sharing agreements to negotiate retransmission consent agreements for multiple stations in a market. One cable TV industry insider said the additional reforms under NCTA consideration are more in the form of “surgical changes than a wholesale restructuring of the rules.”

Rogers NHL Deal to Draw Government Scrutiny, Moody’s Says

Rogers Communications’ deal to lock up exclusive rights to broadcast hockey, Canada’s favorite sport, probably will make the government reconsider how it regulates TV programming, Moody’s Investors Service said.

The C$5.2 billion ($4.9 billion), 12-year agreement makes Rogers the sole distributor of National Hockey League games in Canada beginning in 2014. Rogers may distribute some content only to its subscribers, giving the government pause about the effect on hockey-hungry consumers, Moody’s said. “Despite the Canadian government’s support of free markets, should Rogers’ plan adversely affect consumers, regulators will respond,” Moody’s analyst Bill Wolfe said.

FCC Seeks Comment on Application of the IP Closed Captioning Rules to Video Clips

The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau seeks updated information on the closed captioning of video clips delivered by Internet protocol (“IP”), including the extent to which industry has voluntarily captioned IP-delivered video clips.

In the IP Closed Captioning Order, pursuant to the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (“CVAA”), the FCC imposed closed captioning requirements on the owners, providers, and distributors of IP-delivered video programming. The Commission determined that the IP closed captioning rules initially should apply to full-length programming and not to video clips, but it also stated its belief that Congress intended “to leave open the extent to which [video clips] should be covered under this section at some point in the future.” Specifically, the FCC noted that statements in the legislative history of the CVAA that Congress “intends, at this time, for the regulations to apply to full-length programming and not to video clips or outtakes,” suggested that Congress only intended to exclude video clips initially. Given Congress’s intent to “update the communications laws to help ensure that individuals with disabilities are able to . . . better access video programming,” the FCC stated that it may later determine that this intent is best served by requiring captioning of IP-delivered video clips. Although not required by the IP Closed Captioning Order, the FCC also encouraged video programming owners, providers, and distributors to provide closed captions for IP-delivered video clips, especially news clips. The Commission stated that if it finds that consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing are denied access to critical areas of programming, such as news, it may reconsider the need for a requirement to provide closed captioning on video clips to achieve Congressional intent.

Sens Baldwin and Markey Preserve Public Access to Local Television Channels, Ensure Diversity of Programming

Sens Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act, legislation to ensure public access to local television programming.

The CAP Act amends the Cable Act to ensure that PEG fees can be used for any purpose, including paying employee salaries. The legislation reaffirms that cable operators must deliver PEG channels to subscribers without additional charges, and via channel placement with the same quality, accessibility and functionality as provided to local television broadcast stations. Finally, it requires operators to provide the support required under state laws, or the support historically provided for PEG, or up to 2 percent of gross revenue, whichever is greater. The CAP Act costs nothing, will address the severe challenges faced by PEG access channels and local community media, and will save thousands of jobs across the country. The CAP Act is supported by the Alliance for Community Media (ACM), American Community Television, The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), The National League of Cities, The United States Conference of Mayors, Americans for the Arts, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Proposed bills seek to rewrite media rulebook

Looking to bring an end to channels going dark as a result of contract disputes between broadcasters and pay-TV distributors, two lawmakers are proposing legislation that could radically alter the media landscape.

The first bill, introduced by Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), is the Video CHOICE (Consumers Have Options in Choosing Entertainment) Act, which was praised by pay-TV distributors and criticized by broadcasters. The bill looks to give the Federal Communications Commission authority to keep a broadcast channel on during a contract dispute. Also in the bill is a provision that would prohibit a broadcaster from tying carriage of its television stations with distribution of its cable networks, a service otherwise known as bundling.

Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA) introduced another bill called the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, which seeks to overhaul much of the current Communications Act, including retransmission consent rules and the compulsory copyright that was established in 1976 and allows cable and satellite operators to distribute broadcast television programs in return for paying a one-size-fits-all copyright fee. “Over the last several decades, communications and entertainment technology has become more advanced, while the laws governing the industry have remained relatively unchanged,” Rep Scalise said. "The government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers, and the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act ensures that by removing the heavy hand of government, the market is free to operate in a way that continues to benefit consumers and encourage innovation.”

NFL, DirecTV Extend Pact in $4 Billion Deal

The National Football League reached a four-year extension with DirecTV Group valued at $4 billion.

The NFL's new contract with DirectTV calls for payments of $1 billion a year for the 2011-14 seasons. That is a 43% increase on an annual basis over the current five-year deal in which DirecTV pays the NFL about $700 million a year for the exclusive right to sell the Sunday Ticket package. That package allows fans to see every NFL game on Sundays, as opposed to simply the games shown on local broadcast channels. Major cable operators have been trying to reach a deal with the NFL to sell the Sunday Ticket and share revenue with the league, but the NFL has preferred to take a lump-sum payment from DirecTV, which has used the product to lure viewers away from cable subscriptions to satellite.

Consumer Study Suggests Apple's iBeacon Could Work for Retailers

There has recently been chatter suggesting that the future of zapping digital offerings into consumers’ smart phones is indeed finally here, thanks in large part to Apple's iBeacon technology (not to mention the emergence of wearable devices like Google Glass).

At the same time, there will be no mobile retail marketing working the magic of a Nathan's Hot Dogs coupon appearing on your phone, New York Mets fan, as you walk into Citi Field next summer -- unless you consent to your location and other data being used by the ballpark. Well, per Swirl Network's research, people are willing to hand over those small pieces of privacy for a good deal. In the mobile marketing firm's study, 77 percent said they'd be OK with sharing location data in exchange for something of value. Swirl also found that 65 percent of respondents trust retail brands over shopping apps and tech platforms such as Google or Facebook when it comes to location data.

Rep. Bobby Rush’s Englewood tech center dream dead, where did $1 million go?

In 2000, in the midst of a bruising but ultimately victorious Democratic primary battle against then-state Sen. Barack Obama, Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL) launched the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corp. Funded with a $1 million grant from telecommunications giant SBC and the promise of another $175,000 from Congress, the not-for-profit agency’s aim was to help revive the violence-plagued South Side neighborhood, Rep Rush said. A key element of that, Rep Rush and SBC said, would be the creation of the Bobby L. Rush Center for Community Technology, which was supposed to teach computer skills to neighborhood residents and serve as a small-business incubator in a community that badly needed one. More than a decade later, though, there’s no technology center. And it’s unclear what happened to the money. The congressman said he doesn’t know exactly where the money went. He said he didn’t run the day-to-day operation and doesn’t have records of how the money was spent. Rep Rush also said that, contrary to the written announcements in 2003 from his office and SBC, the $1 million never was intended for a building but, instead, for programs.

Benton

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