Technological advances have ushered in a wave of new products and services, bringing online distribution of video to consumers. Federal laws and regulations have sought to foster competition in the video programming and distribution marketplace, but many such laws were adopted prior to the emergence of these advances.
Video Marketplace: Competition Is Evolving, and Government Reporting Should Be Reevaluated
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Will 21st century broadcasting use the airwaves?
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
The number of people watching broadcast TV with the aid of an antenna is a fraction of what it used to be; about 90% of U.S. homes tune in these channels via some form of pay TV. If Fox decided to shut down its transmitters tomorrow, it would cut off only 10% of its viewers, many of whom might quickly sign up for cable just so they could keep watching "American Idol." And doing so would not only end the threat Aereo poses to the retransmission fees Fox receives from pay-TV operators, it could conceivably enable them to demand higher amounts from those operators -- and from the Aereos of the world.
CBS Bans SodaStream Ad. Where’s The Outrage?
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
CBS banned SodaStream’s Super Bowl spot because, apparently, it was too much of a direct hit to two of its biggest sponsors, Coke and Pepsi.
The Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction: A Staff Summary
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Congress, in passing the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 in early 2012, authorized the FCC to conduct incentive auctions, with the first auction to be of broadcast television spectrum. Congress further directed that certain net proceeds from the broadcast incentive auction are to be deposited in the Public Safety Trust Fund to fund a national first responder network, state and local public safety grants, and public safety research, and the balance is to be used for deficit reduction.
Resignation Suggests Rift Between CNET and CBS
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
A senior writer for CNET, the technology news Web site, resigned less than an hour after a report suggested that CNET was barred from presenting an award to a company being sued by CBS, which owns CNET.
Old Media’s Stalwarts Persevered in 2012
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Everyone knows that traditional media companies are dead in the water, overwhelmed by ad skipping, cord cutting and audience flight. We know that because Chicken Littles have been saying it for years. Eventually we may be right — the sky will fall and the business will collapse — but for the time being, the sky over traditional media is blue and it’s raining green.