December 2013

Time Warner Cable next to embrace cheap HBO bundle

Time Warner Cable is experimenting with cheaper bundles to keep people from cancelling cable: The pay TV provider just introduced a Starter TV with HBO bundle that includes access to 20 channels, including local broadcasters in HD, as well as HBO and HBO Go, for $30 a month.

TWC is the second cable company to experiment with this kind of cheap bundle after Comcast started offering a similar bundle in October 2013. In the end, the Starter TV package is not that different from any other deal meant to upsell other services. But the way this package is marketed still tells us something about the offers consumers ask for, and the pressure pay TV providers feel to respond. It tells us that there’s a demand for fewer channels and smaller bundles, and consumers are less willing to buy into huge packages just to get that one premium cable network they’re going to watch.

Microsoft-Nokia Deal Gets Go-Ahead From Justice Department

It’s a regulatory green light for Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Nokia’s phone business. The US Department of Justice just unconditionally approved the $7.2 billion deal, rubber-stamping a massive transaction that will see Microsoft acquire Nokia’s devices and services business and license the company’s mapping services, a move that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said will accelerate the company’s share and profits in phones.

A milestone moment for Microsoft, and one that clearly shows the company recognizing two crucial truths:

It must create a first-rate Microsoft phone experience in order for it to succeed in the smartphone business.
It cannot afford to allow Google and Apple to foreclose the smartphone ecosystem by utterly dominating software and hardware innovation in this sphere.

The next hurdle to be overcome: Regulatory approval in the European Union.

Court Upholds Ban on Political Ads on Public Stations

Public TV and radio stations will remain commercial-free, as a federal appeals court has upheld the federal ban on political advertising on such stations.

In an 8-3 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled that the federal ban that prohibited ads for political candidates or public issues paid for by for-profit companies was constitutional. "The hallmark of public broadcasting has been a long-standing restriction on paid advertising to minimize commercialization. In a classic case of 'follow the money,' Congress recognized that advertising would change the character of public broadcast programming and undermine the intended distinction between commercial and noncommercial broadcasting," wrote Judge Margaret McKeown for the majority.

NBC Plots Aggressive Live Programming Strategy

NBC in 2014 will air the first commercial spaceflight in a three-hour live special during "Today." In a partnership between parent NBC Universal and Virgin Galactic, the media giant will document Richard Branson and his children's journey into space.

The push comes as NBC's scripted shows have struggled.

Social media's ability to push instant tune in as well as the historically DVR-resistant nature of live events are leading NBC to employ an aggressive live-programming strategy over the coming year. "With so much [TV] now being watched on DVRs and through video-on-demand, the need for live telecasts is greater than ever," said Jennifer Salke, president, NBC Entertainment. "We must give a reason for viewers to feel like if they miss a live event, they will miss out on the conversation the next day."

Women Journalists Face Rampant Workplace Abuse, Sexual Harassment: Study

While female journalists routinely combat dangerous situations in the field, a new study finds that they are subject to abuse and harassment in the workplace as well.

The International News Safety Institute and the International Women’s Media Foundation released a report that found that just over 64 percent of female journalists around the world reported experiencing "intimidation, threats or abuse" while working. The survey was based on the testimony of 875 women from countries across the globe. More than 82 percent of the respondents were journalists and/or reporters. More than half of the abuse reported was perpetrated by either a boss, supervisor or co-worker. When asked about sexual assault, just under half (46.12 percent) of the female respondents said that they had been a victim of sexual harassment in relation to their job. 13.02 percent also reported some form of sexual violence in the office or in a work-related area.

Edward Snowden revelations prompt UN investigation into surveillance

The United Nation's senior counter-terrorism official is to launch an investigation into the surveillance powers of American and British intelligence agencies following Edward Snowden's revelations that they are using secret programs to store and analyze billions of emails, phone calls and text messages.

The UN special rapporteur Ben Emmerson QC said his inquiry would also seek to establish whether the British parliament had been misled about the capabilities of Britain's eavesdropping headquarters, GCHQ, and whether the current system of oversight and scrutiny was strong enough to meet United Nations standards. The inquiry will make a series of recommendations to the UN general assembly in 2014. Snowden had leaked “issues at the very apex of public interests concerns,” Emmerson said. “These questions are too important for the UN to ignore,” wrote Emmerson, who’s served as the UN’s top counterterrorism and human rights official since 2011.

Carney: ‘Surge’ of interest in O-Care site

The White House reported a “surge” in interest in HealthCare.gov, with spokesman Jay Carney saying the site had 375,000 visits by noon Dec 2.

"We believe that the website is and will function effectively for the vast majority of users," White House press secretary Jay Carney said. The White House spokesman looked to straddle the line between promoting improvements that have been made with the website and declaring that the portal had been fixed. He said that the administration had "passed an important milestone" while sidestepping questions about whether it was a "mission accomplished" moment for the White House. Carney said that the "surge" in interest surpassed even the "vastly improved capacity levels" of the ObamaCare website. The press secretary said that the White House "anticipated" that it would be a "big day" for traffic, and argued the new queuing system that has put many trying to access the website on a hold page was evidence the improvement were working.

Interactive TV Standard Established For ATSC 2.0

ATSC 2.0, an enhancement of the current television standard, gained some steam when the Advanced Television Systems Committee established a candidate standard for interactive TV, a key element of the new standard.

Interactive TV, or A/105, is designed to enable the marriage of Internet-delivered and broadcast content, feeding a demand of viewers wanting to consume television content on a variety of devices. “Consumer demand for video has resulted in an increasing number of paths to deliver content to viewers,” ATSC President Mark Richer said.

Apple battles antitrust monitor

Apple is accusing a court-appointed monitor of charging exorbitant fees and violating its rights.

A federal judge appointed Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, to monitor Apple's compliance with antitrust laws after the company was found guilty of conspiring to raise the price of e-books. In a filing in federal court on Nov 27, Apple claimed that Bromwich is operating in an "unfettered and inappropriate manner" and is "trampling Apple's rights." The company said Bromwich's proposed hourly rate of $1,100 for himself and $1,025 for his "legal support system" is higher than Apple has ever paid for any task. The company said that in only two weeks, he has already demanded nearly 75 percent of the yearly salary for a federal judge. “Mr. Bromwich appears to be simply taking advantage of the fact that there is no competition here or, in his view, any ability on the part of Apple, the subject of his authority, to push back on his demands,” the company wrote.

Supreme Court refuses Amazon’s challenge to online sales tax law

Can states collect sales tax from online retailers that have no physical presence in the state? For now, the answer is “yes” after the Supreme Court refused a request by Amazon and Overstock to review a lower court’s decision that upheld a law that lets New York collect taxes if the companies advertise in the state.

The Supreme Court ruling comes as the “Market Place Fairness Act,” which would require Internet retailers with more than $1 million in sales to collect sales tax for state government, remains stalled in the House of Representatives. In the New York case, Amazon and Overstock challenged a 2008 state law that required them to collect tax because they have a presence in the state through their affiliates -- third-party websites that make a commission when they refer traffic to the retail giants. Amazon, noting that the company has no offices or employees based in New York, had argued that the affiliate presence wasn’t enough to give it a legal presence in the states -- but a divided appeals court sided with the state government.

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