Lauren Frayer

Public broadcasters are taking seriously proposals by Republicans to eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and will fight such attempts, Association of Public TV Stations (APTS) President John Lawson said. In measures to cut federal costs to pay for Katrina relief, the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) urged slicing $400 million in annual CPB appropriations, which it says would save $1 billion over 5 years and $2.5 billion over 10 years.

Proctor & Gamble's Lance McAlindon says a study he conducted found that viewers think available family-oriented television is not as good as other programming. McAlindon's research also found that the 800 viewers surveyed for the study think family television creates happy and memorable experiences that bring families closer together and that they want more family-friendly programming choices.
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Natalie Verdugo]
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"PBS Kids Sprout," a national 24-hour channel aimed at the very young, debuts today on cable and satellite systems. Sprout, which will initially be available to about 16 million homes, will carry ads and will join the other new, commercial entrant vying for toddlers' TV time this fall. The Cartoon Network, which is owned by Time Warner, has converted two hours of its morning lineup to TickleU, a block of shows like "Gerald McBoing Boing" that the network says have a pedagogic foundation in encouraging a sense of humor in preschoolers.

Across the country, cable operators have been moving popular channels from analog to digital service, which offers customers better picture and sound but also can handle much larger volume, allowing cable operators to use their networks for more lucrative options such as video on demand and Internet and telephone services. Cable operators such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Cablevision are tight-lipped about the changes, which affect many of the nation's cable subscribers.

News Corp. is teaming up with five other companies to invest a total of $26 million in U.S. Digital Television, a recently launched digital-broadcast TV service that charges a low fee for a limited selection of cable channels. The group, which includes several broadcasters such as Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. as well as News Corp.'s Fox Television Stations unit, will get majority control of the service. U.S. Digital Television will use the funds to expand into new markets and to offer other services such as video-on-demand. U.S.

Adopted last month, the FCC released a policy statement last week to encourage : 1) broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice, 2) broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement, 3) broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Inter

Speaking at the National Association of Telecom Officers & Advisors (NATOA) meeting last week, Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said the municipal broadband dispute fits within the FTC’s advocacy ambit, since competition over consumers’ pocketbooks is its focal point. Intensified legislative efforts regarding urban broadband and bars to it on the books or being considered in many states has spurred the Commission’s Policy & Planning Office to do a study.

A draft bill being circulated on Capitol Hill reflects a compromise that House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) struck with Democratic Reps John Dingell of Michigan and Edward Markey of Massachusetts. Although it has a deregulatory thrust, the House draft contains various digital-age consumer and competitive safeguards, including mandates on broadband-network owners to ensure nondiscriminatory treatment of unaffiliated Web merchants, a policy called network neutrality.

A House bill (H-2533) to exempt the Universal Service Fund (USF) from Antideficiency Act rules won endorsement Friday from 44 telecom, education, health and consumer groups. The bill, introduced by Reps. Cubin (R-WY) and Gonzalez (D-TX), would make the exemption permanent. The groups wrote to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Co-Chairman Inouye (D-Hawaii), and members Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Snowe (R-ME) lauding them for pushing Senate passage last week of a one-year ADA exemption in an amendment to the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill.

Texas cable operators are bracing for Hurricane Rita by preparing for the worst and hoping for the best as forecasters predict the Category 4 storm will hit the Gulf Coast area Sat. Time Warner, Cable One and Cox are evacuating employees from area likely to bear the brunt and readying supplies and crews in safer locations. Firms with cable systems in the storm’s path already are reeling from Katrina. Washington Post Co.’s Cable One, the No.