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Cable
Cox Blocking P2P, Too
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 4:44pmCox Communications appears to be impeding peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic in the same way Comcast has, according to a study released Thursday by a German research group. Germany’s Max Planck Institute, a science and technology research organization, analyzed a test of 8,175 Internet volunteers around the world and found that both Comcast and Cox are blocking peer-to-peer traffic over their networks during all hours of the day.
Study: Moderate Growth for Cable Through 2012
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 4:40pmA new SNL Kagan survey predicts annual multichannel-subscription growth of 2.1%, or 108.5 million by 2012, with the total multichannel market accounting for about 89% of TV households. Kagan did not predict that the digital-TV switch will drive very many over-the-air viewers to multichannel providers, saying that about 10% of over-the-air households will opt to move to multichannel, with most of those going to cable.
NCTA Hails Farm Bill's RUS Loan Reforms
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 15, 2008 - 4:40pmThe cable industry's main trade association hailed congressional passage Thursday of a massive farm bill that would reduce the flow of broadband subsidies into rural markets where the technology already exists.
Telcos Fall Behind Cable in Broadband Battle
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 14, 2008 - 7:00pmTwo separate sources this week are offering up more analysis showing the telcos are falling behind the cable companies in the broadband and video battle. Information Gatekeepers, an analyst firm that once predicted the telcos would overtake cable in broadband penetration, this week issued its High-Speed Access Report for the first quarter of 2008, showing cable is outperforming its forecast and the telcos are under-performing what IGI had forecast in 2006.
Dumber demographic rules TV, DC
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 14, 2008 - 7:31amThe Presidential race's preoccupation with demographic-based voting has made the similarity between Hollywood and Washington (DC) even more striking. That's because the debate surrounding Barack Obama's campaign needing to dumb down the message and messenger to appease the masses has a longstanding precedent in television.
Pentagon Media Pundits Appeared 4,500 times since Jan 1, 2002
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 13, 2008 - 7:16pmLast updated: May 13, 2008 - 7:27pm
A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" media military analysts "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks." A Media Matters review found that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article -- many identified as having ties to the defense industry -- collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200805130001
Who Will Tell Us?
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 13, 2008 - 7:15pmThe steady drip of buyouts and layoffs has consumed an estimated four thousand newsroom jobs in print alone since the turn of the century, according to the much-chewed-over annual State of the News Media report released in March by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Charter to Share Broadband Customers' Web Histories with Ad Networks
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 13, 2008 - 7:05pmCharter Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs, plans to track the web surfing habits of its customers in order to help third-party net advertising networks tailor ads to its subscribers in a pilot program set to begin in a month.
Diller, Malone Settle Differences
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 13, 2008 - 7:03pmLiberty Media and IAC InteractiveCorp have buried the hatchet, with Liberty agreeing to drop its appeal of a Delaware Chancery Court decision and agreeing to support the split of IAC into five separate companies.
'Newsday' sale eases Tribune debt - for now
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 13, 2008 - 7:15amLast updated: May 13, 2008 - 1:59pm
Tribune Co.'s $650 million sale of Newsday, announced Monday, is an important step toward alleviating its debt burden -- for this year. To get favorable tax treatment, Tribune will retain a 3% stake in a joint venture to be formed containing Newsday, as well as several related assets, including Newsday.com, some regional magazines and the free New York City daily newspaper amNewYork.
