January 2011

Retransmission Tops Analyst's 2011 Ten Issues to Watch List

BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield mapped out his top 10 Media Issues/Events to Watch in 2011:

Broadcast TV Affiliate Model Begins to Crack as Retrans Reform Fails and Networks Take Center Stage vs. Affiliates (and Distributors).
Starz Renews Netflix Agreement.
Multichannel Subscribers Grow in 2011 - Debunking Cord Cutting.
Hulu.com, TV.com, and Broadcast Network TV Website Content Moves Behind an Authentication Wall.
Continued DVD Declines Force Studios to Launch Early-Release Premium Price VOD/iVOD.
The Importance of TV Channel Position Begins to Fade Away as Rapidly Growing Tablet/Smartphones Become the TV Remote Controls of the Future.
Internet Connected Televisions Create Huge Opportunity for Zynga and Pirated Content.
Music Industry Finally Embraces Spotify Out of Desperation.
Ad Supported Movie Industry Launches.
Strike Time for the NBA, While the NFL Avoids a Strike by Expanding the Season.

HHS rule details permanent EHR certification program

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has released its final rule to establish the details of the permanent certification program for approving electronic health records technology.

The permanent program provides new features that will make health IT certification more comprehensive, transparent and reliable than the current processes used to approve electronic health records (EHR), according to ONC in a Jan. 3 announcement. Meaningful use of “certified EHR technology” is a core requirement for eligible healthcare providers who seek to qualify to receive incentive payments under the HITECH Act. The final rule appeared in the preview section of the Federal Register. ONC anticipates that the permanent certification program will start up Jan. 1, 2012. The temporary certification program, established through a rule published in June last year, will sunset on Dec. 31, 2011, or at a later date when the mechanisms necessary for the permanent certification program become operational, Blumenthal said.

HHS opens registration for e-health records incentive program

Registration began Monday for health care professionals and hospitals to participate in the Health and Human Services Department's Medicare and Medicaid electronic-health records incentive programs. Doctors who adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records will be eligible for Medicaid payments of up to $63,750 over six years, and Medicare bonuses of as much as $44,000 over five years. For hospitals, the incentives start at a $2 million base payment for both Medicaid and Medicare. The money comes from the 2009 economic stimulus package. For Medicare, doctors must begin the transition by 2012 to receive the maximum benefit; those who provide services in an area with a shortage of health care professionals will qualify for additional payments. Medicare eligible professionals who do not demonstrate meaningful use by 2015 will be penalized starting at 1 percent of reimbursements and increasing each year to a maximum of 5 percent. There are no penalties associated with the Medicaid incentive program and the program varies by state.

FCC's Media Bureau Cracks The EEO Whip

The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau served warning that for every single job opening – no exceptions – broadcasters must notify multiple recruitment sources that are likely to refer applicants from diverse backgrounds.

Exclusive reliance on over-the-air announcements and Internet postings will not do the trick. Neither will reliance on word-of-mouth or unsolicited walk-ins standing alone. And, of course, all notification activities (and other recruitment minutiae) must be documented in the annual Equal Employment Opportunity report that stations place in their public inspection file on the anniversary of their renewal application filing

Multicasting Stalls

If there's an elephant in the room this winter as the Federal Communications Commission considers how to repurpose more than 100 MHz of digital broadcast spectrum for other services as part of a national broadband plan, it could be the relative dearth of multicast channels among commercial broadcasters more than a year-and-a-half into the digital transition.

By December 2010, there were 1,618 multicast signals being provided by all TV stations in America, according to BIA Advisory Services. But only two-thirds of these channels (1,086) are commercial -- averaging out to less than one multicast signal per commercial licensee. The remaining multicast outlets (532) are generated by only 360 non-commercial stations. BIA Vice President Mark Fratrik said some commercial broadcasters are filling their multicast spectrum with various newer networks like This TV (owned by MGM and Weigel Broadcasting) and RTV (aka Retro Television Network, owned by Luken Communications) to unserved areas, as well as content from the big four in regions where they're not otherwise available. The lack of multicast buildout (no doubt exacerbated by a down economy) has disappointed some key multichannel proponents in Washington.

What the hell is going on with TV?

[Commentary] After more than a decade of false starts, web TV is here -- sort of.

Thanks to streaming video services like Hulu and Netflix and new portable devices such as the iPad, we've begun to expect that TV should be more like the web itself: social, mobile, searchable, and instantly available. When we can't figure out what to watch, web-based recommendation software ("If you liked Inception, you'll love Heroes!") might do a better job of finding us programs we like than the professionals who program ABC -- or we might just want to check an onscreen guide of our friends' status updates to see which shows they've enjoyed recently. And once we've reached a decision, we want to click and watch on any screen that happens to be nearby. But for the moment, all that promise translates into a proliferation of new boxes and services that are impossible to compare. Do I want an Internet-connected TV from Samsung or Sony, or should I just buy a separate box that hooks up to the Net, like that brick-size Logitech gadget that enables Google TV? What about the supercheap Roku box? Should I bother paying for Hulu's new premium service or just get a Netflix subscription? Those companies -- and many more -- are making a bet that the largest screen in our homes is going to become an operating system like the ones that power our computers and phones -- a platform I can use to open up apps or surf the web. The potential payoffs for tech companies are huge: Google could serve up advertising next to search results on our TV, grabbing a chunk of the $56 billion a year spent on television ads (See The $56 billion Ad question). Apple's iTunes could become the online merchant for all video content. Device makers can sell us even more gear. Cable operators and studios stand to gain viewers and ad dollars by making their shows available -- with commercials -- anytime, anywhere. And for time-starved folks like me, it's TV nirvana.

After the Skype Ban: China's Changing Online Landscape

China has banned Skype, but the country still loves the Internet--the latest numbers reveal that 450 million Chinese are online, or a whopping 33.39 percent of the population. Business opportunities for domestic and foreign companies are also expanding. The Chinese government is joining the bandwagon too. The government has announced that it's putting the entire country's worth of marriage registrations onto an online database in an effort to prevent polygamy. So as the Internet climate continues to evolve in China, one thing is clear--online business there is still risky. Local partners or not--and hacking protection or not--regulations are unpredictable. Sure, the number of people who use the Internet in China is soaring, increasing at a rate of 20% per year, and ultimately that will be an important customer segment to tap into. But proceed with caution.

Hutchison Says UK Must Act to Avoid 'Distorted' Mobile-Phone Competition

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. said the UK government should resolve “distorted” competition in the mobile-phone market and ensure a level-playing field for the company to boost investments.

The UK mobile-phone market would be distorted if carriers are allowed to reallocate their existing airwaves for faster services. A proposed airwave auction in 2012 should include rules that address this issue, Hutchison said. Hutchison may quit its UK investments unless its 3 UK mobile-phone unit is guaranteed equal treatment in the government’s auction of airwave frequencies.

UK ISPs: Porn Filters 'Not Possible'

[Commentary] UK politicians are planning to demand that the country's Internet service providers begin filtering all pornography, requiring that anyone interested in adult content register to access it -- or "opt in." Such filtering efforts rarely work with the filters frequently blocking legitimate content and those looking for such content finding ways around the barriers anyway. Most ISPs would prefer that parents use existing tools and good judgement to protect their kids from content. At least one ISP notes that blocking all pornography simply isn't possible

NTT planning to cut fiber-optic broadband service charges

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp is planning to lower its fiber optic broadband service charges around next spring to increase use of such services. It is also considering cutting interconnection charges for other telecom companies accessing NTT’s fiber optic cables. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry threatened earlier this month to restructure the NTT group unless it made progress on increasing access to fiber optic cable services and NTT is seeking to emphasize its positive contribution through service charge reductions. The ministry has vowed to make fiber optic broadband cable services available to all households in Japan through competition in the private sector. NTT controls more than 70% of existing fiber-optic cables in Japan.

Benton

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