CABLE/TELEVISION
What Is 'Family' TV? (LA)
Analysts Wary of EchoStar Move (WP)
Consumer Advocates Challenge Overturning Of Cable Ownership Caps
(MAP)
INTERNET
Md. Deemed Most Web-Enabled State (WP)
Online Music Ventures Probed (WP)
FCC
FCC to Take NextWave Case to High Court (WP)
CABLE/TELEVISION
WHAT IS 'FAMILY' TV?
Issue: Television
This Friday, CBS will be airing the Family Television Awards, an event
sponsored by a consortium of advertisers called the Family Friendly
Programming Forum. But these days, when most homes have multiple TV sets and
communal viewing is an increasingly rare occurrence, some may wonder what
"family viewing" really means. While the advertisers honored "Survivor" as
TV's top "reality" program, some parenting experts have accused the series
of promoting "warped values" and suggested its dog-eat-dog mentality is
"poisonous for our young adolescents." At the same time, the consortium did
not recognize critically acclaimed shows such as "ER" and "Boston Public" -
which dabble in controversial issues, from AIDS to guns to homosexuality -
that many families view together.
[SOURCE: LA Times, AUTHOR: Brian Lowry]
(http://www.latimes.com/technology/columnists/techcol/la-000064078aug07.stor
y?coll=la%2Dbusiness%2Dtechnology%5Fcolumn)
See Also:
EDUCATION KEY TO V-CHIP AND TV RATINGS SUCCESS
[SOURCE: Center For Media Education]
(http://www.cme.org/press/010731pr.html)
ANALYSTS WARY OF ECHOSTAR MOVE
Issue: Merger
Analysts are split on whether EchoStar Communications' surprise $32 billion
bid for Hughes Electronics Corp. is a serious bid or an attempt to disrupt
Rupert Murdoch's pending merger with Hughes's DirecTV unit. "The consensus
is that [EchoStar chief executive Charlie Ergen] is bluffing," said Jeffrey
Wlodarczak, an analyst with CIBC World Markets who talked to several of
EchoStar's institutional investors yesterday. Nevertheless, GM has said that
it will "give full consideration to any bona fide proposal" and is set to
discuss the bid at a board meeting today. Ergen and Murdoch have a history.
In 1996 the two were in merger talks until Murdoch pulled out of a deal,
pushing EchoStar close to financial collapse. Ergen was able to rebuild the
company after reaching a settlement with Murdoch's company that gave
EchoStar a sizable chunk of satellite spectrum.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/11695-1.html)
CONSUMER ADVOCATES CHALLENGE OVERTURNING OF CABLE OWNERSHIP CAPS
Issue: Cable
On behalf of Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, and other
non-profits, MAP and Georgetown Law School's IPR asks the Supreme Court to
review a decision overturning the FCC's national cable ownership cap.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/)
INTERNET
ONLINE MUSIC VENTURES PROBED
Issue: Antitrust
The U.S. Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into two
rival online music services being developed by the world's largest music
companies. The first service is MusicNet, comprised of AOL Time Warner,
Bertelsmann AG, EMI Group and Real Networks. The second service is
Pressplay, comprised of Sony, Vivendi Universal and Microsoft. The probe
centers on potentially anti-competitive behavior by the five industry giants
in music, which control 80 percent of the world's most popular music. The
rival online music services are trying to generate revenue out of the
concept popularized by Napster, the free online music-swapping service. The
market is estimated to be worth billions of dollars. On a related topic,
some members of Congress have expressed concerns that Pressplay and MusicNet
will license content to each other, creating a pair of online behemoths. As
a result, Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) recently
co-sponsored the Music Online Competition Act, which would ensure that
smaller Internet companies can license songs under the same terms and
conditions as the largest media conglomerates.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein and Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/11696-1.html)
MD. DEEMED MOST WEB-ENABLED STATE
Issue: Internet
Maryland offers more government services online than any other state,
according to a study released by the Center for Digital Government, an arm
of the for-profit magazine publishing company E.Republic. Maryland was the
only state to score a perfect 100 percent, indicating it scored the highest
possible ranking in each of several categories of services. The report
released Monday was just one installment in an ongoing survey, specifically
evaluating electronic commerce and business regulation by the states. The
Center for Digital Government conducted the research jointly with the
Progress and Freedom Foundation in Washington.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Neil Irwin]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/govtit/11693-1.html)
FCC
FCC TO TAKE NEXTWAVE CASE TO HIGH COURT
Issue: FCC
Federal regulators have decided to appeal the court ruling that would have
them return confiscated spectrum licenses to bankrupt NextWave Telecom. The
FCC will ask the Supreme Court to review the lower-court decision. The lower
court had ruled that the FCC violated bankruptcy laws when it reclaimed the
airwave licenses and held a new auction netting $15 billion. The FCC's
appeal comes as NextWave plans to file a plan with a federal court in White
Plains, N.Y., to emerge from bankruptcy. FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell,
meanwhile, said the appeal was necessary because the lower-court's ruling
threatens the agency's seven-year-old policy of selling airwaves to the
highest bidder.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/11690-1.html)
See Also:
NEXTWAVE TO UNVEIL REORGANIZATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/11677-1.html)
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