August 2015

CEA, CCIA Slam Studios in Google Brief

The Consumer Electronics Association and the Computer & Communications Industry Association have taken aim at the Motion Picture Association of America and its studio members in an amicus brief supporting Google in its lawsuit against Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood over his investigation into the company and subpoenas for company info he had issued. "The district court correctly enjoined this investigation when it recognized that the investigation was nothing more than a naked attempt to subvert the federal policy of limited Internet service provider liability," the organizations wrote. "Allowing this subversion jeopardizes the success of the Internet by subjecting service providers [in this case "online service providers" or OSPs, rather than ISPs] to the whims of 50 state attorneys general."

The CEA and CCIA (Google is a member of both) said state AGs can't demand that websites -- what they call "online service providers" -- police third-party speech. They also pointed to a Google filing in suggesting that the MPAA had drafted Hood's pleadings in the suit; the MPAA had no comment but it would not be unheard since the association supports the Hood investigation. The CEA and CCIA also said it appeared the MPAA and Hood had collaborated in trying to plant unflattering stories about Google in media outlets "controlled" by the MPAA.

ESPN isn’t in the kind of trouble dire talk would indicate -- at least until next decade

[Commentary] It’s been a rocky year for ESPN, which shed high-priced, high-profile talent -- reportedly under orders from Disney to cut costs -- and continued to lose cable subscribers. With apologies to our colleagues in sports media -- we’re all engaging in crystal-ball journalism here based on incomplete financial glimpses of media conglomerates -- there’s just as strong an argument to be made that ESPN is better positioned than any of its competitors to handle a market transition from cable bundle to a la carte streamed television. Here are a few reasons why:

ESPN is the most-watched cable station in America.
If sports television rights are a bubble, we’re not seeing signs of a burst yet: A central premise to the argument ESPN is in big trouble is that sports rights fees, which have gone up astronomically over the last decade, are a bubble. The problem with this argument is we’re not seeing many signs of a slide in the actual value of these rights.
These budgets cuts really aren’t that significant, relative to ESPN’s size: ESPN has been told to trim $100 million from its 2016 budget and $250 million from the 2017 budget. But when your annual budget is in the neighborhood of $6 billion (and probably more) $100 million represents less than 2 percent of the overall pie. And ESPN is far from the only cable network looking to trim.
The biggest threat to ESPN is not other cable sports channels; it’s the leagues themselves: The biggest threat to ESPN, and its competitors, is a scenario develops in which sports leagues can make more money televising their games themselves than they do now selling their television rights to the highest bidder. That day could come, analysts think, but not this decade.

Why Jon Stewart Might Be Irreplaceable

Jon Stewart has sought to downplay the significance of his departure. Yet in considering the place he has come to occupy at the nexus of pop culture, politics and satire -- not to mention media literacy -- it’s fair to ask: Is Jon Stewart, as cast in his “Daily Show” role, irreplaceable?

Latenight producer Peter Lassally certainly thinks so, and elaborated about how Stewart’s mix of intelligence, quickness and comedic timing couldn’t be readily replicated. And while the format will remain largely the same -- and indeed, has already been cloned, essentially, by former correspondent John Oliver’s weekly HBO show -- it’s a persuasive argument, to the extent that Stewart arrived at a particularly seminal moment for such criticism, in a vehicle that perfectly meshed with his talents. So even with the latenight audience having splintered into smaller pieces, Stewart’s footprint was sizable -- rippling through the media, with his critiques of certain figures and coverage receiving next-day pickup that multiplied his reach and influence. In that regard, the comic’s decision to move on might be more impactful than any since Lassally’s former boss, Johnny Carson, hung up his spurs in 1992, despite the fact Stewart attracts a smaller audience than David Letterman or Jay Leno.

5 Reasons Broadcasters Need an OTT Strategy

[Commentary] In 2015, over-the-top video is showing no signs of slowing down. The writing is on the wall. Here are five reasons why:

Viewership is going there with or without you: In 2015, OTT viewership is expected to nearly double to 6.9 hours per week.
Advertisers Are Following Viewers to OTT Platforsms: The Diffusion Group predicts the OTT share of overal TV ad ales will grow swiftly over the next five years.
The OTT ecosystem is maturing: Audiences are going to become more niche, and they're going to seek out the content they want to consume and choose to view it on the devices they prefer.
OTT Competition is Heating UP.
Viewers Demand a Seamless Experience: An OTT startegy must be an all-platform strategy.

[JD Nyland is director of product management for Adobe Analytics]

Frontier serves up 100 Mbps over copper service in Connecticut market

Frontier Communications may have seen a $5 million decline in Connecticut revenues, a factor it anticipated due to broadband pricing migrations, but it is fighting that trend by introducing a new 100 Mbps residential DSL speed tier. To deliver the 100 Mbps speeds to residential customers, Frontier is using a mixture of vectoring and bonding technologies on its existing copper network facilities. Being a copper-based technology, how many subscribers can get the service will depend on the condition of the copper plant and their distance from the nearest remote terminal (RT) or central office (CO).

Delivering 100 Mbps DSL service is part of the telecommunication company's broader strategy to enhance broadband availability throughout Connecticut. Upon completing its acquisition of AT&T's wireline assets, Frontier launched a plan to invest $63 million to expand the reach of the U-verse video and broadband network to offer speeds of 10 Mbps and higher for over 100,000 households. The service provider has also built a fiber-based middle mile network that will connect all of its central offices across the state and dedicate about $3 million to expand broadband to areas it says are currently "unserved or underserved."

Appeals Court to Hear Arguments Over FCC’s Network Neutrality Rules

The Federal Communications Commission’s new network neutrality rules will face an important federal-court test in December, when an appeals panel will hear arguments in legal challenges brought by the telecommunications industry. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on scheduled a Dec. 4 oral-argument date for consideration of the FCC rules, which require equal treatment of Internet traffic. A divided FCC voted in favor of the rules in February, deciding to reclassify broadband providers as telecommunications services, a designation that has long applied to regular telephone service. The effort is aimed at preventing broadband providers from blocking or slowing certain Internet traffic and prioritizing other traffic. It is also in response to a court ruling from 2014 in which the same appeals court struck down the FCC’s previous attempt at open-Internet regulations.

Challenges to agency regulations in many circumstances can go straight to the DC Circuit instead of going to a trial court first. Because of its role in reviewing government regulations, the DC Circuit is considered by some legal observers to be the nation’s second most powerful court, behind only the Supreme Court. The appeals court hasn’t disclosed which judges will hear the case, as that usually happens 30 days before the scheduled argument date.

President Obama Announces New Commitments to Advance Inclusive Entrepreneurship at First-Ever White House Demo Day

President Barack Obama will host the first-ever White House Demo Day focused on inclusive entrepreneurship, welcoming startup founders from diverse walks of life and from across the country to showcase their innovations. The President will announce new public- and private-sector commitments that promise to provide more Americans with the opportunity to pursue their bold, game-changing ideas.The Administration announcements being made include, among others:

Announcing 116 winners of two Small Business Administration prizes that promise to unleash entrepreneurship in communities across the country: the Growth Accelerator Fund for startup accelerators, incubators, and other entrepreneurial ecosystems; and the President’s “Startup in a Day” initiative that will empower mayors to cut red tape for local entrepreneurs.
Scaling up the National Science Foundation I-Corps program with eight new and expanded Federal agency partnerships, introducing hundreds of entrepreneurial scientist teams across the country to a rigorous process for moving their discoveries out of the lab and into the marketplace.

The independent commitments being announced include, among others:

Expanding the response to the President’s TechHire initiative with 10 new cities and states working with employer partners on new ways to recruit and place applicants based on their skills, create more accelerated tech training opportunities, and invest in innovative placement programs to connect trained workers with entrepreneurial opportunities and well-paying jobs.
Over 40 leading venture capital firms with over $100 billion under management, including Andreessen Horowitz, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, and Scale Venture Partners, committing to specific actions that advance opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Institutional investors committing over $11 billion to emerging managers, including CalPERS and the New York City Pension Funds.
Over 100 engineering deans committing to attract and retain a diverse student body, building the pipeline for the next generation of American engineers and entrepreneurs.
Over a dozen major technology companies announcing new actions to ensure diverse recruitment and hiring, including Amazon, Box, Microsoft, Xerox, and others committing to adopt variations on the “Rooney Rule” to consider diverse candidates for senior executive positions.

Democratic Reps Push Back on Duplex Gap Plan

A trio of Democratic Representatives asked the Federal Communications Commission not to put TV stations in the duplex gap, but instead make sure stations in all markets can use that spectrum for wireless mics. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler dated July 28, Reps Bobby Rush (D-IL), GK Butterfield (D-NC) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) said TV stations in their communities would be "severely impacted" by the FCC's proposed decision to put some stations in the duplex gap, which it had initially planned to reserve nationwide for mics and other unlicensed devices.

The legislators pointed out that the FCC has already eliminated exclusive wireless mic channels as part of the incentive auction plan, proposing the duplex gap as a new home. "Now we understand that the FCC has reversed course and intends to move forward with a new proposal that will leave local broadcasters in some markets with no reserved spectrum for wireless mics that are essential to covering breaking news," they said. The mics are also used in sporting and theatrical events. "We urge the commission to reject this proposal and instead preserve the duplex gap for use by wireless microphones in all markets," they told Chairman Wheeler.

Where broadband is a utility, 100Mbps costs just $40 a month

There’s been a lot of debate over whether the United States should treat Internet service as a utility. But there’s no question that Internet service is already a utility in Sandy (OR) a city of about 10,000 residents, where the government has been offering broadband for more than a decade. “SandyNet” launched nearly 15 years ago with DSL and wireless service, and this summer it's putting the final touches on a citywide upgrade to fiber. The upgrade was paid for with a $7.5 million revenue bond, which will be repaid by system revenues.

Despite not being subsidized by taxpayer dollars, prices are still low: $40 a month for symmetrical 100Mbps service or $60 a month for 1Gbps. There are no contracts or data caps. “Part of the culture of SandyNet is we view our citizens as owners of the utility,” City IT Director and SandyNet GM Joe Knapp said. “We've always run the utility on a break-even basis. Any profits we do have go back into capital improvements and equipment upgrades and things like that."

How the ‘right to be forgotten’ could take over the American Internet, too

Already the rage in certain European capitals, the “right to be forgotten” has slunk into the United States under the inoffensive guise of the “eraser button”: the requirement that all Web sites with registered, under-18 users allow them to nuke their prior posts when they reach adulthood. A controversial “eraser button” law has been in effect in California since May. Similar legislation is in the works in Illinois and New Jersey. And in June, Sen Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep Joe Barton (R-TX) reintroduced an online privacy bill that would make the underage eraser button the law of the land.

This, of course, is a sentiment with which few adults disagree: The very idea of youthful hijinks is that they remain solidly, safely in our youth. The thought that the things we did as teenagers could have, in another time, trailed us forever -- preserved, like nasty insects, in little vials of amber -- has rightly horrified a certain class of upstanding, well-meaning adults who want to know what can be done. After all, these accumulated off-color jokes and Solo-cup-clenching party pics (to say nothing of the shameless Tumblr drug deals or bomb-threat tweets that earn media attention from time to time) amount to more than Internet ephemera: They’re what nearly half of all hiring managers, and a third of all college admissions officers, stand to encounter when they weigh a decision that could forever change that young person’s life.

Benton

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