July 2013

Poll: Most in US favor new limits on surveillance

Fifty-six percent of people in the United States say that federal courts should impose tougher restrictions on the government's ability to collect phone and Internet data, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center.

The poll, which was released on July 26, shows a dramatic swing in public opinion in recent years in favor of stronger civil liberty protections. The poll found that 43 percent of Republicans and 42 percent of Democrats believe that anti-terror policies have gone too far in restricting civil liberties. Only 25 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats held the same view in 2010. The study found a lack of trust in the official government position on the anti-terror surveillance programs. Only 22 percent said they believe the government uses the data only for anti-terror purposes, while 70 percent said they believe the information is being used for other purposes as well.

Sinclair Agrees to Buy Allbritton for $985 Million

Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed to buy Allbritton TV stations for $985 million.

The stations consist of seven ABC Network affiliates, covering 4.9% of the U.S. TV households, and NewsChannel 8, a 24-hour cable news network covering the Washington metropolitan area that Sinclair may expand to other markets. Lucrative, and influential, WJLA Washington is also in the group. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter. To comply with Federal Communications Commission ownership rules, Sinclair expects to sell the license and certain related assets of its stations in Birmingham, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, and Charleston, and to provide services to each of these stations. Sinclair continues to acquire at an impressive rate, with Allbritton easily being the largest of its string of acquisitions.

Free Press Takes Aim at Sinclair/Allbritton Deal

In response to word that Sinclair will buy Allbritton's television stations and its DC regional cable news network, Free Press President Craig Aaron said, “The rapid and massive expansion of Sinclair Broadcast Group is unwelcome news for local TV viewers. The company's cookie-cutter approach to local news and repeated use of the airwaves to push a partisan agenda are well known. But the idea that one company should be allowed to control so many stations in so many markets is simply outrageous. What will it take for the FCC to wake up? The FCC needs to scrutinize these proposed deals and stop allowing covert consolidation through shared services agreements. In particular, it should require stations Sinclair has indicated it will put up for sale as part of this deal to be sold to independent competitors, not Sinclair front groups."

FTC OK With Tribune/Local TV Holdings Deal

The Federal Trade Commission has given a clean bill of antitrust health to Tribune's planned purchase of Local TV Holdings.

The FTC released the list of merger's whose antitrust reviews had been terminated early and Tribune's $2.725 billion deal to buy Local's 19 TV stations was on it. That means neither the FTC, nor Justice, which divvy up the antitrust review, planned to take any action to block or condition the deal. An antitrust review by either the FTC or Justice--in this case most likely Justice--is triggered by mergers valued at least $70.9 million. If there are no antitrust issues, an early termination of the review is granted.

TiVo Research Shows Netflix Not Eating Into Linear TV

Netflix households watch as much traditional TV as other households, according to new data from TiVo Research and Analytics.

The research would appear to contradict the widespread conclusion that Netflix and its successful move into original programming with shows like House of Cards and Arrested Development is a threat to traditional network TV programmers. TiVo says that in looking at nearly 10,000 of its subscribers, there was no significant difference in the amount of traditional TV viewing between the self-reported Netflix and non-Netflix households. Neither group differed from the overall TV viewing population. In the TiVo survey, 57% said they subscribe to Netflix and 18% had watched House of Cards. Netflix has declined to provide viewer data on its shows. TiVo says 50% of those surveyed also subscribe to Amazon Prime and 18% to Hulu Plus, with 8% subscribing to all three.

Senate panel to vote on Wheeler's nomination for FCC chief

The Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to vote on Tom Wheeler's nomination to lead the Federal Communications Commission on July 30. The committee also announced votes on 21 other bills and nominations, including a cybersecurity bill and a measure to fund research into violence in the media.

PBS: Acting Like a Network and a Service

When Discovery, The Learning Channel, History, Bravo, A&E and similar networks emerged, there was a real fear it could lead to the death of PBS. Each specialized network would pick off a portion of PBS' audience for programs on science, nature, history and the arts. Founded as an alternative to commercial TV, PBS was losing what made it unique. Yet in the past few years, these cable networks discovered that it was much more profitable to create reality TV stars. PBS' path was cleared, and it is making the most of its new chance. "It is now once again something that the viewer can't get anywhere else," said Beth Hoppe, PBS' programming chief. Hoppe is trying to infuse PBS with new energy, make its projects more timely and get her colleagues to treat it as a television network instead of just a public service.

Publicis-Omnicom Merger May Raise Antitrust Concerns

The merger of Publicis and Omnicom to form the world's largest ad conglomerate is bound to raise more than a few eyebrows in Washington where regulators could add conditions to or even block the proposed $35 billion deal.

Though the holding companies' respective CEOs have said they don't expect regulatory hurdles, the numbers suggest otherwise—the combined companies would control 40 percent of U.S. media spending and 20 percent of the global market. "If it creates too much buying power, it can be anti-competitive," said Bert Foer, president of the American Antitrust Institute. Large, advertising-dependent media companies have the most to lose in the deal, facing a behemoth of a media-buying concern with enormous clout when it comes to setting advertising rates. They could even be motivated to try to block the deal. "Media owners and national TV programmers in particular would face an industry where the combined entity plus WPP would account for more than two-thirds of their revenues," Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group, pointed out in a report. Not all observers think the newly formed entity's buying power will be an issue with regulators, however.

AT&T To Buy Rural Carrier’s Wireless Business

Long Lines, a multi-play service provider based in rural Iowa, announced that it has agreed to sell its wireless business to AT&T Mobility.

In an interview, Long Line’s CEO Brent Olson said the company’s network supports GSM/ EDGE technology in the PCS band. The sale also includes some AWS spectrum that Long Lines had not yet built out, Olson said. Neither the sale price nor the number of subscribers was revealed. It isn’t surprising that Long Lines made the decision to sell its wireless business. In an announcement about the sale Olson noted that “regional wireless providers have limited access to the latest smartphones and other devices, and it has become increasingly difficult for Long Lines Wireless to meet the digital mobile needs of our customers.”

Why Democrats Laugh at the Republican Digital Strategy – and Why They Shouldn’t

Phil Musser and Alex Skatell recently launched a budding digital empire, Media Group of America LLC, which includes a digital consulting firm, a center-right news site viewed by more than 3.5 million people this month, and a technology tool they claim will "leapfrog" President Obama's cutting-edge campaign. Let the trash-talking commence. Musser and Skatell are among a handful of Republican operatives clamoring to bridge the digital divide revealed by the 2012 election, in which Obama's campaign deployed a sophisticated data-mining operation to reshape the electorate into a winning coalition of young people, women and minorities.

Benton

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