Techno-politics

Cable and Congress are at it again. During a hearing that was supposed to be about indecency, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin brought up a study which “concludes that purchasing cable programming in a more a la carte manner in fact could be economically feasible and in consumers’ best interest.” The idea of a Continue Reading →

PEOPLE ALL OVER AMERICA WERE emotionally and intellectually overwhelmed by the plight of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Everyone wanted to do what they could to help – but how?  That was the question, and to answer it, America turned to trusted brands: The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, MSNBC, MTV, CNN to name Continue Reading →

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY done so, and even if you have, I urge you to visit http://www.redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP-NOW (1-800-435-7669) and donate whatever you can to the hurricane relief efforts. Also, The American Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, is launching a Web site and hotline Continue Reading →

“It’s not about content versus technology, it’s about what’s right versus what’s wrong” said Andy Lack, CEO of SonyBMG.  He was referring to the June 27, 2005 Supreme Court decision which makes technology companies liable for how their technology is used.  This is viewed as a big win for content creators and rights holders as Continue Reading →

By the time you read this, the Supreme Court will probably have handed down its decision on the Grokster case.  Most of the pundits say that the Court will let the 1984 Betamax decision stand and single out Grokster’s particular business model as illegal or semi-legal with some restrictions.  This is considered by most to Continue Reading →

Verizon and SBC lost a major legislative battle in Texas this week.  They had hoped that they could strike a deal with the state of Texas to roll out their IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) services.  Instead, they will have to do what the cable companies had to do years ago — negotiate municipality by municipality.  Continue Reading →

An old friend of mine sent me an email a few days ago that went something like this … “Maybe you can help me out.  I’m looking for sponsors for our Podcast show.” One has to be a friend to have a friend, so I dutifully visited his website and listened to a few of Continue Reading →

“What’s next … washing machines?” asked Judge Harry T. Edwards in a strongly worded decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  They unanimously agreed that the Federal Communications Commission overstepped its authority in adopting the rule stating, “In the seven decades of its existence, the FCC Continue Reading →

CBS’s Tallahassee, FL affiliate WCTV didn’t want to interrupt its popular early-morning newscast to cover the Pope’s funeral.  So, President/GM, Nick Waller decided to feed it to his sister station, UPN affiliate, WCTV-DT which is broadcast on their (government-mandated) digital tier. Utilization of the digital tier with this kind of technique is becoming more commonplace.  Continue Reading →

Here in Cannes the weather is cloudy and there’s an occasional rain drop or two. And that’s about the state of technology here in the minds of the program purveyors here at MIPTV. Although the show is billed as a “digital content market,” the reality is quite different. I’ve heard comments from, “You can watch Continue Reading →