DIGITAL TELEVISION
Broadcast to Broadband -- Speeding the DTV Transition: Facts & Policy Options
Digital Broadcast Television Transition: Several Challenges Could Arise in
Administering a Subsidy Program for DTV Equipment
Consumers to Congress: Don't let our TV's go Blank
Testimony of Mr. James Yager CEO of Barrington Broadcasting On behalf of NAB
Testimony of Kyle McSlarrow, President and CEO, National Cable &
Telecommunications Association
Should DTV Must-Carry Be Expanded, Sunset or Preserved As-Is?
MPAA Unlikely to Push for Broadcast Flag in DTV Bill
TELEVISION
Texas Bill's Failure Good for Cable
Frog Net Cites FCC In Bagging Tadpole Block
QUICKLY -- Unions Struggle as Communications Industry Shifts; Newsroom
Diversity; FEC & political blogs; FCC Considers Elimination of Rules; Kids'
privacy rule under review; Maryland Adopts Computer-Recycling Fee
DIGITAL TELEVISION
BROADCAST TO BROADBAND -- SPEEDING THE DTV TRANSITION: FACTS AND POLICY OPTIONS
The House is poised to act on legislation to expedite America's DTV
transition and set a "hard" deadline for the end of analog broadcasting.
This Policy Brief offers solutions to the challenging issues facing
Congress as they craft this legislation and reallocate the TV Band spectrum
for critical public safety and wireless broadband uses.
[SOURCE: New America Foundation]
http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Doc_File_2389_1.pdf
For additional background on DTV transition and spectrum policy reform,
visit www.spectrumpolicy.org
DIGITAL BROADCAST TELEVISION TRANSITION
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet,
House Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 26. Key point: "several
administrative challenges might arise in implementing a subsidy for DTV
equipment."
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark L. Goldstein]
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-623T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d05623thigh.pdf
CONSUMERS TO CONGRESS: DON'T LET OUR TV's GO BLANK
Consumer groups last week called on Congress to ensure Americans are not
footing the bill for the cost of transitioning their televisions to a
digital broadcast signal, which is estimated to cost at least $50 for each
analog TV in households without cable or satellite, or require the purchase
of new digital-ready TVs.
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/002261.html...
TESTIMONY OF MR JAMES YAGER, CEO OF BARRINGTON BROADCASTING ON BEHALF OF NAB
"First and foremost, protecting over-the-air viewers must be a priority."
[SOURCE: National Association of Broadcasters]
http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/testimonies/052605DTVHouseTestimony...
TESTIMONY OF KYLE McSLARROW PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL CABLE &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION
"The bottom line...is that cable customers will notice no change from the
day before the transition to the day after."
[SOURCE: National Cable & Telecommunications Association]
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=604&showArticles=ok
SHOULD DTV MUST-CARRY BE EXPANDED, SUNSET, OR PRESERVED AS-IS?
In an age of telecommunications convergence and Internet TV, DTV must-carry
is a historical relic that nevertheless is likely to be preserved and
expanded. Given that political reality, this paper makes two
recommendations: 1) in the long-term, must-carry should be sunset and
transformed into a blanket network neutrality rule for the Internet TV era,
and 2) in the short-term, broadcasters should be held to quantifiable and
enforceable public interest standards in exchange for any expansion of
must-carry.
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: J.H. Snider]
http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Doc_File_2374_1.pdf
Also see:
* Cable: Reject New Must-Carry Bids
In comments filed at the FCC, cable operators and programmers have a
message for broadcasters seeking expanded carriage rights on cable systems:
Give it up.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA604785.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
MPAA UNLIKELY TO PUSH FOR BROADCAST FLAG IN DTV BILL
The Motion Picture Association of America is unlikely to push for a
broadcast flag component in DTV legislation establishing a 2008 hard date
because the bill's main author, House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe
Barton (R-TX) is against the provision. Meanwhile, the MPAA will keep
briefing House and Senate members on a broadcast flag bill's importance and
seek other ways to get the content protections it wants. A new
Congressional Research Service report raises concerns that the broadcast
flag's technological limitations could hinder activities normally deemed
"fair use" under copyright law. For instance, students might not be able
to e-mail themselves copies of projects incorporating digital video content
because no secure system exists for email transmission. "The goal of the
flag was not to impede a consumer's ability to copy or use content lawfully
in the home, nor was the policy intended to 'foreclose use of the Internet
to send digital broadcast content where it can be adequately protected from
indiscriminate redistribution,'" the report said, quoting from the FCC order.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Paul Gluckman]
(Not available online)
TELEVISION
TEXAS BILL'S FAILURE GOOD FOR CABLE
Analyst Craig Moffett of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. said the failure of the
Texas state senate to pass a bill that would have centralizing franchise
authority at the state's Public Utilities Commission is good news for cable
operators -- especially Time Warner Cable, which will add to its
already-significant presence by gaining systems in the Adelphia
Communications acquisition. It will also benefit direct-broadcast satellite
vendors, especially EchoStar, as SBC will continue to rely on that vendor
to provide video for its three-product bundle. Analysts saw Texas as the
bellwether state for the telcos' regulatory-reform plans on video because
of SBC's local presence and its historic success in deregulatory efforts
both with the legislature and utility regulators. But cable operators
sought the support of local cities, which stood to lose their traditional
local regulatory power. According to analysts, the local-regulatory lobby
turned the tide against the telco effort.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA604932.html?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Texas Bill Death Boosts TW, EchoStar
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA605025?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* Phone Firms Lose Out on Statewide TV Franchises
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR200505...
FROG NET CITES FCC IN BAGGING TADPOLE BLOCK
The WB Television Network will get out of the afternoon kids'-programming
business starting in January 2006, instead programming a two-hour weekday
WB-branded block of off-network product to replace its kids'-programming
block from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. At the same time, the network will expand its
Saturday-morning block from four hours to five. As reasoning for the move
away from weekday kids fare after a decade, The WB pointed to the growth of
24-hour cartoon cable channels including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and
its own sibling, Cartoon Network, "fulfilling, to a great extent, the
demand for kids' programming in the afternoons for viewers and
advertisers," it said in announcing the decision. The WB also said the
FCC's decision that promotional material will now be counted as commercial
time toward the ad cap in kids shows contributed to the move. " This
rulemaking created regulatory uncertainty concerning the wisdom of
continuing with the Monday through Friday block." the network said in a
statement. In November 2004, the FCC revised its definition
of "commercial matter" to include promos for TV shows. That limits
the network's ability during that key 3-5 p.m. time period to promote other
shows within the block, the Saturday kids block, or its network programming.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA604766.html?display=Breaking+...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
QUICKLY
UNIONS STRUGGLE AS COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY SHIFTS
Since 1985, the number of union workers in telephone and data services has
been cut in half, to fewer than 275,000, from 625,000. To slow the rapid
decline, unions are fighting to organize workers at cable and wireless
companies. They have had little success, outside a big victory in 2000 when
they organized workers at Cingular Wireless. The industry was once a labor
stronghold after the Bell monopolies became unionized in the late 1930's.
But mergers, deregulation and technological change have reduced the number
of jobs at the traditional phone companies while creating hundreds of
thousands of jobs in cable and wireless companies, which are largely
union-free.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/01/business/01labor.html
(requires registration)
NEWSROOM DIVERSITY: WAS IT JUST A 1990s IDEAL?
A report on newsroom diversity to be released today shows that the
percentage of minority employees at major papers peaked 5-10 years ago.
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Mark Fitzgerald ]
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
FEC TREADS INTO STICKY WEB OF POLITICAL BLOGS
Draft rules from the Federal Election Commission, which enforces campaign
finance laws, would require that paid political advertisements on the
Internet declare who funded the ad, as television spots do. Similar
disclaimers would be placed on political Web sites, as well as on e-mails
sent to people on purchased lists containing more than 500 addresses. The
FEC also is considering whether to require Web loggers, called bloggers, to
disclose whether they get money from a campaign committee or a candidate
and to reveal whether they are being paid to write about certain candidates
or solicit contributions on their behalf. These rules would not affect
citizens who don't take money from political action committees or parties.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Dawn Withers]
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0505310158may31,1,624...
FCC SEEKS COMMENT REGARDING POSSIBLE REVISION OR ELIMINATION OF RULES
The FCC is seeking comment, until September 1, on rules adopted by the
agency in calendar years 1993, 1994 and 1995 which have, or might have, a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The
list of rules under consideration makes for great beach -- and you know
this proceeding with be a topic at your next dinner party.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-1524A1.doc
KIDS PRIVACY RULE UNDER REVIEW
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking educators and others to
comment on its implementation and subsequent enforcement of the Child
Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the law that requires Internet
operators to get parental consent before collecting personal information
from web surfers under age 13. The FTC is trying to determine whether to
retain the rule as is, modify it, or eliminate it altogether and is asking
for public comment on current practices for collecting and disclosing
children's information; opinions regarding children's ability to access
information online; and the operation of web sites that specifically target
children.
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Corey Murray]
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5686
MARYLAND ADOPTS COMPUTER-RECYCLING FEE
Starting next year, computer makers that want to do business in Maryland
must kick in up to $5,000 annually to help recycle their products under a
new state law designed to cope with the roughly 60,000 tons of "electronic
waste" that pile up in Maryland each year.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dina ElBoghdady]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR200505...
(requires registration)
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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