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THE ANNUAL TRADE SHOW AND conference of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association was held in Atlanta earlier this week. Since this show sits squarely in the middle of media trade show season, there was not much new ground to cover. There were a few programming and technology announcements and some interesting improvements to existing Continue Reading →

Just a few years ago one would have had to spend upwards of a billion dollars to launch a national sports network or national cable channel. Money alone did not guarantee distribution. Gatekeepers were everywhere. But the transition from network to networked TV is ongoing and new business models are emerging. The New Jersey Wildcats–the Continue Reading →

According to its Web site, “UTOPIA (Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency) is a Utah interlocal agency with 18 founding cities (Provo is not included) dedicated to accelerating economic development and quality of life for its citizens and businesses by deploying a publicly-owned advanced telecommunications network to all premises within member communities.” How would a gigantic Continue Reading →

There aren’t many of us who could call bulls__t on Preston Padden–at least not in front of a room full of press and politicos. However, Mark Cuban, CEO of HDNet and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, did it twice in 10 minutes at the Consumer Electronics Association’s 2006 Entertainment Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. Preston Continue Reading →

Major League Baseball Advanced Media is having a little trouble sending video coverage of baseball games to your cell phone. And, according to an article in the New York Post, they may not get it together in time for this season. The technological issues they are facing are interesting, but it’s the sociological issues that Continue Reading →

People who are schooled in the art of the Internet or those who understand how computers work know that anytime you interact with a computer, your actions can (and probably will) be logged. The level of detail depends upon who is doing the logging, but it is not unreasonable to expect your log on time, Continue Reading →

Much has been written the last two weeks about why television ratings for NBC ‘ s Winter Olympic coverage have been so awful. One media executive, who asked not to be identified, opined that since there is not enough inventory to use for make-goods, he expects to see NBC giving cash back to undeserved advertisers. Continue Reading →

JUST BEFORE THE OPENING CEREMONIES of the Winter Olympics in Turin, Brian Williams spent a moment touting a remarkable technological achievement: NBC would broadcast its coverage of the games in HDTV. Williams went on to espouse the virtues of high-definition: 16×9 aspect ratio, richer, fuller colors–the whole sales pitch. I was very excited. After all, Continue Reading →

MY VIDEO IPOD LOVES ME! Unfortunately, I only like it “as a friend.” It all started last December when we met at a holiday party–the chemistry was extraordinary. It was sleek, beautiful and full of mystery (“Lost”), drama (“Law & Order”) and intrigue (“Desperate Housewives). It had a sense of humor (“SNL”) and even a Continue Reading →

THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO have had some very sub-optimal experiences with PayPal. Personally, I have only had good experiences with the service. But, according to some of my closest friends and advisors, I may belong to a pretty small club. The following admonition comes from a very trusted source, my techno-geek brother, Jason. Here’s Continue Reading →