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LA TAKES TIME WARNER TO TASK
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
A top Los Angeles cable TV watchdog on Monday called the merger of pay TV and Internet systems in the city a "near failure" for subscribers and asked Time Warner Cable to explain what went wrong, how it would fix the problems and how soon. Citing city statistics and a Times story from last week, Dean Hansell said in a letter to the cable firm that it had gone from being a "model franchise operator" to "providing a level of service that is unacceptable." Hansell is president of the mayor's Board of Information Technology Commissioners. The city and Time Warner have been inundated with complaints since mid-October, when the company began combining systems it acquired from Comcast and bankrupt Adelphia Communications. The merger propelled Time Warner from one of the smallest operations in Southern California to the dominant cable company, with 1.9 million customers in the five-county region. But its reputation took a major blow as it tried to integrate the TV and Internet systems from three companies that use separate technology platforms. Complaints from October through February nearly tripled from the year-earlier period, and Time Warner lost more than 10,000 subscribers. Hansell said subscribers were reporting "substandard and erratic service," long waits on hold, "rude and inadequately trained" customer service agents and repair technicians who were late or failed to show up.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-cable20mar20,1,533287...
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L.A. takes Time Warner to Task
CABLE TELEVISION HITS 17-YEAR LOW
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Steve Donohue]
Cable penetration dropped to a 17-year low of 61.3% in February, as pay TV competition from direct-broadcast satellite and telephone rivals continues to eat into the basic-subscriber counts of cable distributors. The number of cable subscribers dropped to 68.3 million in February, down from 70.6 million in February 2005, according to an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data conducted by the Television Bureau of Advertising. Combined DBS penetration from DirecTV and EchoStar Communications hit 25.2% in February, up from 21% this time last year, TVB said.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6425963.html?display=Breaking+News
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6425963.html?display=Breaking%20News
TECHS, TELCOS TEAM UP TO SET INTERNET TV STANDARD
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Companies which provide television over Internet technology (IPTV) joined forces on Monday to set a single global standard, so that all systems would work together. They hope to hammer out technology requirements by September and a first set of technology specifications by year-end. If all IPTV systems work together flawlessly it should be easier and cheaper for consumers to buy and use IPTV systems and services, such set-top boxes and TV and video programs. The companies involved include Ericsson, Matsushita's Panasonic, Philips, Samsung Electronics, Siemens AG, Sony Corp, AT&T, Telecom Italia and France Telecom.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1622606920070319
Techs, telcos team up to set Internet TV standard
HIGH-SPEED ACADEMIC NETWORKS TO MERGE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Desiree Everts]
Two consortia that aim to facilitate research by linking universities via high-speed networking have announced plans to merge. Although they had scrapped plans to combine their efforts a year ago, Internet2 and National LamdaRail (NLR) say they have finally come to an agreement and expect to complete their merger by June 29. NLR is a consortium of universities and technology companies that aims to build a nationwide optical network owned and used by the research community. It has been quietly snapping up thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable in an effort to build up its network. Because the network is owned and operated by researchers, it gives them greater flexibility and allows them to conduct experiments that they ordinarily couldn't do on a standard communications network. The Internet2 network, a much faster version of the Internet, was developed by a group of universities and technology companies looking to improve connection speeds. Researchers and professors use the network to enhance long-distance collaboration and learning.
http://news.com.com/High-speed+academic+networks+to+merge/2100-1033_3-61...
High-speed academic networks to merge
THE CASE AGAINST YOUTUBE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Douglas Lichtman, University of Chicago]
[Commentary] A Viacom lawyer outlines the company's case against YouTube/Google. He complains that YouTube users excerpts of copyrighted movies and television programs without authorization, and then YouTube happily distributes that contraband to the public. And Google, knowing all this and benefiting from the attention the unauthorized videos bring, has refused to take even simple steps that would reduce the infringement without meaningfully interfering with the service's legitimate use. He makes three points: 1) copyright law plays a crucial role in protecting the rights of artists and others who develop and distribute creative work -- but it must do so while making room for technological innovation, 2) providers of a new technology will often be tempted to attract a customer base by allowing copyright infringement, and 3) bad intent on the part of providers must be mercilessly punished. Above all, he concludes, copyright law can welcome only those with pure motives. Those who abuse the law's caution have no claim for its mercy.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-lichtman20mar20,...
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The case against YouTube
COMMISSIONER COPPS ANNOUNCES STAFF CHANGES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Commissioner Michael J. Copps announced that Jessica Rosenworcel, his Senior Legal Advisor and advisor on media issues, will be leaving the Federal Communications Commission to serve as Senior Legal Counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, working on telecommunications and media issues. Bruce Gottlieb, advisor on spectrum and international issues, will serve as the office's primary point-of-contact for media issues and Scott Deutchman will serve as advisor on competition and universal service issues. John Branscome -- on detail from his post as Chief of the Spectrum and Competition Policy Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau -- will assist on spectrum and international issues. All staff changes take place immediately.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271614A1.doc
* Jessica Rosenworcel Joins Senate Commerce Committee
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Det...
FCC Commissioner Copps Announces Staff Changes
MEMO TO SIRIUS: CNN, FOX ARE NOT SUITABLE SUBSTITUTES FOR C-SPAN
[SOURCE: HearUsNow.org, AUTHOR: Bob Williams]
[Commentary] To the displeasure of some subscribers, Sirius has dropped C-SPAN Radio from its service. The problem is that Sirius wants to preempt C-SPAN Radio in favor of sports programming whenever it wants. C-SPAN said no and Sirius pulled the plug. Sirius Executive Vice President David Frear said that C-SPAN was "not a highly listened-to channel.... We have others that speak to public affairs, including BBC, CNN and Fox News." Clearly, C-SPAN is rarely as titillating as the steady diet of celebrity crap, car chases and Anna Nichole Smith coverage that fills up much of the air time on CNN and Fox. But we would argue that neither CNN nor Fox comes close to the zealously unbiased political and policy coverage offered by C-SPAN, day-in and day-out. The BBC is a little closer, but still light years away. We suggest that Sirius find some other channel to drop in order to broadcast its sports programming. Otherwise, it should change its name from Sirius to Frivolous.
http://www.consumersunion.org/blogs/hun/2007/03/memo_to_sirius_and_xm_cn...
Memo to Sirius: CNN, Fox are not Suitable Substitutes for C-SPAN
Announces Agenda for March 21st Meeting
Joint Meeting Agenda
325 Russell Senate Office Building (Russell Caucus Room)
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 2:00 pm
1. Welcome: Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
2. Introduction of Task Force Participants: Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
3. Opening Statements:
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps
FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate
4. Introduction of March 21st Meeting Chair by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS):
Gary Knell – Sesame Workshop
5. State of the Issue:
Jennifer Gootman – Institute of Medicine
Patty Miller -- Children Now
Susan Fox – Disney
Mary Sophos – Grocery Manufacturers Assn.
Dan Jaffe – Association of National Advertisers
6. Closing Remarks:
Gary Knell -- Sesame Workshop
Note: While the Federal Communications Commission participates in the , it does not manage or control its activities.
"The Democrats' most powerful weapons aren't legislative bills, but subpoenas and hearings."
-- John J. Pitney Jr., Claremont McKenna College
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/5184
FAIRNESS AND THE AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: Washington Post 3/19/1997, AUTHOR: Richard Harwood]
[Commentary] "Will the great multimedia corporations that now dominate broadcasting demonstrate to a skeptical Supreme Court and a skeptical public their ability to use the public's airwaves in a responsible and ethical manner?" asked Harwood in his column. In the case of broadcasting, the Supreme Court historically has rejected that the view that private enterprise and the free market system are best for protecting public debate. Broadcast regulation, the legal scholar Lee Bollinger has written, was "built on two phenomena: a fear of the power of television and radio to control the content of public discussion and a concomitant belief in the inability of the market to control that power." The broad thrust of those terms in the early days was that radio and television station owners must serve in their programming the "public interest, convenience or necessity." In fleshing out that generality, the FCC decreed that broadcasters should not put on the air "indecent" or "obscene" material, that they must abide by a "Fairness Doctrine" requiring them to present issues of public concern in a fair and disinterested manner, and that if they give time to one candidate for public office they must give equal time to any competitors for that office. All that is changing, Harwood wrote, not because of any mandate from the Supreme Court, which still condones government regulation, but because of successful pressures on the FCC to change its rules. The Commission has adapted itself to new definitions of obscenity and indecency to the point where anything goes -- almost. The Fairness Doctrine was abandoned in 1987 with the enthusiastic support of President Reagan, who vetoed congressional efforts to keep it in place.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/11279597.html?dids=112...
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