May 2013

Chernin, Guggenheim, pay-TV distributors bid for Hulu

The initial bids are in for online media's most talked-about sale: Hulu.

The online video site, which is jointly owned by News Corp., Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal, attracted bids this week from two of Hollywood's digital media power-players and two pay TV distributors. The Chernin Group, a next-generation media company founded by longtime News Corp. executive Peter Chernin, submitted a bid together with Providence Equity, according to several people familiar with the matter. The offer represents a homecoming of sorts for both. Chernin was an advocate for the creation of Hulu while serving as News Corp.’s chief operating officer and Providence Equity used to own a stake in the company. Guggenheim Digital Media, a group headed by former Yahoo interim Chief Executive Ross Levinsohn, also submitted a bid, say the people with knowledge of the situation, who declined to be identified because of the confidential nature of the bidding process. The field of companies pursuing Hulu also includes pay television providers Time Warner Cable and DirecTV, these people said.

FCC hopes to avoid 'end of world' for cell phones

The path to clearing up enough airwaves to satisfy the insatiable demand for mobile downloads is a confusing, complicated mess.

Mobile data traffic is expected to increase by a factor of 13 in five years, according to Cisco. That's why the Federal Communications Commission and carriers are working diligently to free up big swaths of wireless spectrum for mobile devices. By doing so, they're attempting to stave off what most agree would be a miserable outcome if they fail.

"I e-mailed my boss to ask what would happen if we don't free up enough spectrum," said Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile's vice president of government affairs, at a panel discussion held at the CTIA wireless industry trade show in Las Vegas. "He wrote, 'It will be the end of the world as we know it.' He didn't put a smiley face at the end or anything."

Wireless spectrum essentially serves as bandwidth for smartphones and tablets. More spectrum can mean faster speeds for mobile downloads; cramped spectrum can lead to spotty service, slower speeds and even higher bills. So as more people use smartphones, wireless carriers and the FCC believe there will soon be a need for more spectrum. As part of an effort to free up a large chunk of spectrum by 2015 for commercial mobile usage, the FCC has already identified some spectrum currently used by TV broadcasters as well as more used by a combination of government agencies and other broadcasters to auction off for mobile usage. Those sales are expected to take place next year.

Sounds good, but nothing in Washington is ever that easy.

Sen McCain urges FCC to consider security risk of Sprint-Softbank deal

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider the potential national security risk of allowing SoftBank, a Japanese company, to buy Sprint.

"As I am sure the Commission is aware, Sprint holds strategic assets, such as its wireless spectrum and fiber network, and has extensive and ongoing relationships throughout the whole government," he wrote in a letter to Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. "With all other relevant facts and circumstances surrounding Softbank's proposed acquisition of Sprint, I hope the Commission duly considers these facts when reviewing this matter."

Chairman Walden Sees Aereo as Potential Marketplace Disruptor

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) says Aereo could be a major disruptor in the marketplace -- as could Dish's Hopper -- and suggests he understands why Fox would warn that such disruption could move programming off the broadcast model.

He called both Aereo and Hopper disruptions in the marketplace and said he was surprised by the court decision allowing Aereo's service to continue, at least while the court decides the broadcasters' underlying challenge. "Disruptions aren't bad, necessarily," he said, drawing "necessarily" out a little bit as he pondered it. "But this really has much bigger consequences, as people are beginning to read into it." Asked how he reacted to suggestions by Fox that they could move programming to cable if the court upheld Aereo, Chairman Walden seemed sympathetic to a point. "At some point, producers of programming have to have a way to get paid or you aren't going to have programming... If someone is taking your product and putting it on cable [SIC] for free, basically, then all of a sudden you have to look at how you change that model."

Commissioner Pai: FCC Should Let Marketplace Decide Price of Auctioned TV Spectrum

Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai told a CTIA audience in Las Vegas that if the FCC tries to set "initial offers" for broadcast stations in the reverse spectrum auction, it should not do so based on the population it serves or the value of its station business.

With that, he is speaking the language of the Preston Padden-led Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition, a group of stations looking to sell spectrum for the right price. "[I]f we do establish 'initial offers' (to use the terminology of a descending clock auction), they need to be high enough to encourage participation and they have to be based on relevant criteria. The word 'relevant' is important here. The incentive auction is about purchasing spectrum, or more specifically interference rights. It is not about buying broadcast stations," Commissioner Pai said. He also said that the FCC should release its methodology for repacking TV stations after the auction ASAP and embrace the "down from 51" band plan proposed by the National Association of Broadcasters and wireless companies.

Agriculture Community Pulling for LPTVs

Several agriculture and conservation organizations are urging the Federal Communications Commission to hold a public hearing about the impact an incentive auction could have on low-power television stations that provide programming for rural America.

Eight groups -- including the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Farmers Union -- expressed their concerns about potentially losing over-the-air television once the auction and subsequent channel repack take place. “In rural and mountainous areas, local broadcast television is often the only communications infrastructure that connects our communities. Over-the-air broadcast television often serves as our lifeline — connecting farmers, ranchers and growers to more populated areas. Our members rely heavily on broadcast television for local public affairs programming, news, weather and emergency information,” they said in a letter to the FCC, and the House and Senate Commerce Committees.

Oklahoma Cities Collaborate on Mobile Policy

Implementing a technology program takes funding and manpower — items that often are in short supply in government agencies these days. But a group of local government IT directors in Oklahoma are stretching resources by working together, and the effort is paying dividends throughout the state and the US.

Formed six years ago, the Oklahoma Government Information Technology Association (OGITA) has developed a number of guidance documents for iPad and social media use that have been adopted by public entities nationwide. Approximately 400 city technology departments in 25 states now rely on OGITA’s policies and procedures. OGITA is spearheaded by its president, Craige Baird, who also is the technology services director of Ponca City, Okla. The nonprofit group consists of 100 representatives and limits participation to two individuals per municipal organization. So whether big or small, all local governments are equally represented and can ask questions and get tips on technology matters they are troubleshooting.

Making Mobile Government a Reality

At the May 2012 launch of the President’s Digital Government Strategy, only 35% of U.S. adults owned a smartphone. Today, on the one year anniversary of the Strategy, that number is nearly 50%.

To keep pace with the rapid adoption of mobile devices and the breakneck speed of mobile innovation, President Obama charged agencies with releasing flagship mobile services and making data available in developer-friendly formats to accelerate the production of services and mobile applications. Twelve months after the President’s call for change, there has been great progress bringing mobile government to citizens’ fingertips. Today, on the one-year anniversary of the Digital Government Strategy, agencies are announcing the release of hundreds of new mobile services, datasets, and APIs, providing unprecedented public access to government data.

Presiding Governor Lynton Steps Down From The BBG Board

Broadcasting Board of Governors leader Michael Lynton has informed the White House that he is leaving the BBG effective May 23.

Lynton is CEO of Sony Entertainment, Inc. He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc’s Penguin Group. He thanked his fellow Governors for electing him to lead the Board in February 2012, adding, “circumstances kept me from taking part in their recent formal meetings, but it is my hope that the BBG board will enjoy a full and productive membership soon.” Lynton was named the BBG’s interim presiding governor following the departure of Chairman Walter Isaacson. He joined the board on July 2, 2010, serving a term expiring on August 13, 2012. By law, any member whose term has expired may serve until a successor has been appointed and qualified. His departure leaves the Board with four members, including Secretary of State John Kerry, who serves as an ex-officio member.

Comcast: US the leader on broadband

[Commentary] US broadband now reaches more Americans at faster speeds than ever before. By nearly every measure, we are a world leader.

94 percent of Americans have access to wired high-speed Internet service (the highest percentage in the world) and 90 percent have a choice of fixed and mobile broadband competitors. Eighty-two percent of U.S. homes have access to speeds in excess of 100 megabits per second (mbps), while in Europe, only 2 percent of the population has access to these speeds, leaving technologists and policy makers there with a mere aspirational goal to extend 100 mbps speeds by 50 percent by 2020. No wonder Neelie Kroes, a senior European Internet policymaker, declared that Europe "needs to catch up," citing the United States as a model. America is first in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in broadband subscribers and users, third in wired competition options, and sixth in access to 10 mbps connectivity. Top residential broadband speeds in the United States have increased 19-fold in the last six years, and America is among the leaders in affordability for entry-level service tiers. Notwithstanding all these speed increases, consumer prices have remained relatively stable. U.S. consumers pay 87 percent less per mbps today than they did 11 years ago.

Today there is a cottage industry of critics who always want to tell us that our broadband Internet is not fast enough or satisfactory for one reason or another. The reality is that the United States is leading the way in speed, reach, and access - and doing so in a vast, rural nation that poses logistical connectivity challenges unlike any other country. The challenge we face now is how best to continue our broadband and Internet leadership.

Benton

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