Technology360

Is Terrestrial Radio Destined to Die?

... asks Celeste Headlee for National Public Radio's Day to Day program.  Here's the set-up:

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to decide next week whether satellite radio companies Sirius and X-M can merge. Satellite radio has roughly 20 million listeners, but new technologies are posing a challenge to market shares.  ¶  Celeste Headlee reports on the development of portable Internet radio. Then NPR's Alex Cohen gets a primer from Wilson Rothman, an editor at Gizmodo.com on the difference between leading radio technologies and Madeleine Brand talks with Mark Ramsey, president of Mercury Radio Research, about why the emergence of new technologies won't spell the end for terrestrial radio.

And you can listen to the audio at this NPR link (0:12:24).  The interview with Ramsey is particularly good.  Thanks to Roger Johnson for the heads up.  --Dennis

FCC’s 13th Annual Video Competition Report

The FCC is out with its annual report on video competition (news release with thanks to Bert Manfredi on the OpenDTV list).  I'll link to the full report when it's posted.  --Dennis

Here are specific findings from the news release:

• The number of TV households and the number of MVPD subscribers increased since the FCC released its last report. As of June 2006, there were 110.2 million TV households, compared to 109.6 million in June 2005. Of that number, approximately 95.8 million TV households subscribe to an MVPD service, versus 94.2 million as of June 2005.
• Section 612(g) of the Act states that: (1) “at such time as cable systems with 36 or more activated channels are available to 70 percent of households within the United States” and (2) “are subscribed to by 70 percent of the households to which such systems are available, the Commission may promulgate any additional rules necessary to provide diversity of information sources.” According to Warren Communications News, a source on which we have traditionally relied, 71.4 percent of households passed by cable systems offering 36 or more channels subscribe to these systems. However, other data sources do not demonstrate that the second prong has been met. As a result, we conclude that the only way to accurately measure the 70/70 test is to collect data directly from the cable industry.  Therefore, the Commission requires each cable operator to submit the following information for 2006 within 60 days under penalty of perjury: 1) the total number of homes the cable operator currently passes; 2) the total number of homes the cable operator currently passes with 36 or more activated channels; 3) the total number of subscribers; and 4) the total number of subscribers with 36 or more activated channels.
• Cable continues to serve the largest percentage of MVPD subscribers. The Report finds that as of June 2006, approximately 68.2 percent of MVPD subscribers received video programming from a franchised cable operator.
• DBS subscribers comprise the second largest group of MVPD households, representing 29 percent of total MVPD subscribers as of June 2006. DBS operators continue to add local-into-local broadcast television service. In approximately 175 of the 210 television markets, at least one DBS provider offers the signals of local broadcast stations.
• The number of MVPD subscribers choosing all other delivery technologies represented 2.6 percent of all subscribers in June 2006.
• The Nielsen Company estimated that, as of January 2007, 15.5 million households, or about 14 percent of all television households rely on over-the air television broadcasts for video programming.  In addition, many households that subscribe to an MVPD also rely on over-the-air signals to receive broadcast programming on some of their television sets.
• From June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2006, the number of commercial and noncommercial television stations rose from 1,747 to 1,753. As of January 2007, approximately 1,600 stations nationwide were on the air with DTV operations, including all 119 stations affiliated with the top-four network affiliates in the top 30 television markets.
• Incumbent local exchange carriers also are providing video service. At the end of 2006, Verizon reported that it offered video programming via FiOS TV to more than 2.4 million households in 200 cities in 10 states and served 207,000 subscribers. At the end of 2006, AT&T served approximately 11 cities through U-verse TV. In addition, Qwest has taken steps to provide IPTV service in its service area.
• As of June 2006, Broadband Service Providers (“BSPs”) served approximately 1.4 million subscribers, representing 1.5 percent of all MVPD households.
• Electric and gas utilities also provide MVPD and other services on a limited basis. The American Public Power Association, which represents more than 20,000 not-for-profit community and state-owned electric utilities, reports that the average subscriber penetration rate for its members offering video service was 50 percent of the homes passed by utility video services, and that 40 percent of these subscribers purchase a combination of video and high-speed Internet access service.
• The number of subscribers to private cable operator systems, also known as satellite master antenna systems, has declined to 900,000 subscribers as of 2006, a decrease of ten percent from last year’s one million subscribers.
• The number of wireless cable subscribers has declined steadily from a peak of 1.2 million in 1996 to approximately 100,000 as of June 2006, unchanged from a year earlier.
• In recent years, major commercial mobile radio service and other wireless providers have begun offering services that allow subscribers to access video programming through handheld devices, such as mobile telephones.
• The amount of web-based video provided over the Internet continues to increase significantly each year. In July 2006, 107 million Americans, three out of every five Internet users, viewed video  online. In July 2006, about 60 percent of U.S. Internet users downloaded videos. More than 7 billion videos were downloaded that month.
• Between July 2005 and June 2006, a total of 28 MVPD transactions were announced. Together these transactions were valued at approximately $5.3 billion and affected approximately 1.8 million subscribers.
• In 2006 we identified 565 satellite-delivered national programming networks, an increase of 34 networks over the 2005 total of 531 networks. Of the 565 networks, 84 (14.9 percent) were vertically integrated, or affiliated, with at least one cable operator. Five of the top seven cable operators own, in whole or in part, all of the networks that are affiliated with any cable operator.
• In 2006, we identified 101 regional networks, an increase of six over those identified in 2005. These networks provide programming of local or regional interest and are distributed to subscribers of one or more MVPDs in an area. Of these, 57 networks, or 56.4 percent, were vertically integrated with at least one multi-system cable operator (“MSO”). There are 43 regional sports networks, representing 42.6 percent of all regional networks, as compared to the 37 we reported last year. Of the 43 regional sports networks, 19, or 44.2 percent, are vertically integrated with a cable MSO.
• The sale of DTV consumer electronics continues to accelerate. The Consumer Electronics Association (“CEA”) estimates that, in 2006, digital televisions (“DTVs”) will have outsold analog televisions by 66 percent.
• The development and deployment of CableCARDs continued in 2006. CableCARDs permit the reception of secured digital cable services without the addition of a set-top box. As of December 22, 2006, more than 216,000 CableCARDs had been deployed by cable operators, up from 90,000 the previous year.
• The Report also surveyed developments in foreign markets. MVPDs in a number of countries provide programming on an a la carte basis or in mixed bundles, themed tiers, and subscriber-selected tiers. For example, in Hong Kong, consumers receive a free basic package and also can subscribe to more programming for an additional charge per channel. In Canada, the largest cable operators offer a la carte services. In the United Kingdom, consumers may select additional programming services they want, either on a subscription or pay-as-you-go basis, without first purchasing a monthly basic-tier package. In India, as of January 1, 2007, consumers in certain cities can subscribe to programming on a per channel basis.

Myth, Media and Meta podcast

As I noted in the previous post below, audio files and presentation decks from the 2007 Iowa DTV Symposium have now been posted online.  This includes my own presentation from Oct. 2nd (and intimidating it was to be presenting the same afternoon as John C. Dvorak and Mark Schubin) titled Myth, Media and Meta: Three Information Epochs and What They Mean for Broadcasting.  Here is the agenda description:

Humans have always created information faster than we create humans. And, consequently, humans are in a constant struggle to extract value from the "noise" of too much information in their environment. The title refers to epochs that are characterized by the techniques we've used. "Myth" being story-telling, poetry, music, etc. "Media" dates from Gutenberg and encompasses traditional broadcasting. "Meta" is the digital age, characterized by use of metadata, compression, "pull" distribution, and distribution systems that can learn user preferences. Broadcasters use all these techniques and social systems may enable them to be successful in "many-to-many" distribution in the future.

Links:  MP3, PPT or for Flash version of the deck click here and scroll down in the Content Track to 4:30 on Tuesday.  Also, I've placed both the MP3 and PPT links permanently in the Files section to the left.

For a written version, see these four posts from early June.  Reboot Redux: Myth, Media and Meta; Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.   --Dennis

Innovation at the Met

The Metropolitan Opera, of all organizations, has been doing a very innovative thing by transmitting its performances in HDTV to movie theaters around the country as well as other innovations.  Non-profit fundraising guru Bob Stein writes:

... [CEO Peter Gelb] has taken opera to the streets--free large-screen broadcasts in Times Square (opening night of Madame Butterfly), introduced $20 rush orchestra tickets and broadcast live performances to movie screens around the world. He's brought directors from the theater world to stage operas, and he even recruited design celeb Isaac Mizrahi to create the costumes for Orfeo ed Euridice.  ¶  What has resulted is a revitalized Met. According to Bloomberg.com,

Sales during the 2006-07 season rose 7.1 percent to 810,225, said Gelb, who succeeded Joseph Volpe in August. In all, the Met sold 83.9 percent of tickets offered for its 3,800- seat opera house at Manhattan's Lincoln Center compared with 76.8 percent last season.

Link:  Major Giving.

The legendary Mark Schubin gave a talk about the Met's Live HD opera-to-theater broadcasts at October's Iowa DTV Symposium.  The talk (The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD: global cinemacasts, robotic cameras, and more) is available both as a PowerPoint (click here and scroll down to the Content Track's Tuesday at 2:30 session) and as an MP3 file.

Just went to the Met web site and see that one of their theaters is about a 75-mile drive from me, so I'm going to buy a ticket and check it out.  --Dennis

BBC, ITV and Channel 4 form on-demand service

BBC News reports:

The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are to launch a joint on-demand service, which will bring together thousands of hours of television programmes in one place.  ¶  The service is set to go live in 2008 and will offer viewers access to current shows and archive material. ...

... The three broadcasters currently offer their own separate on-demand services.  ¶   The BBC's iPlayer and ITV's catch-up service will continue to exist along the new online "aggregator", which will provide a complement to the established providers.  ¶  However, Channel 4's 4oD will no longer be a standalone service once it is incorporated within the project.  ¶  Programming from all three broadcasters will be available for free download, streaming, rental and purchase via the internet, with expansion on to other platforms planned. ...

Link:  BBC.  U.S. public broadcasters are about to be lapped again.

Updated 29 November 2007:
Also see Ryan Jarrett, Finally some sense - BBC, ITV and Channel 4 catch-up services to unite.  Link:  last100.  --Dennis

The end of advertising as we know it

The IBM Institute for Business Value is out with a study with this title authored by Saul Berman, Bill Battino, Louisa Shipnuck and Andreas Neus.  The intro says:

Imagine an advertising world where… spending on interactive, one-to-one advertising formats surpasses traditional, one-to-many advertising vehicles, and a significant share of ad space is sold through auctions and exchanges. Advertisers know who viewed and acted on an ad, and pay based on real impact rather than estimated “impressions.” Consumers self-select which ads they watch and share preferred ads with peers. User-generated advertising is as prevalent (and appealing) as agency-created spots.  ¶  Based on IBM global surveys of more than 2,400 consumers and 80 advertising experts, we see four change drivers shifting control within the industry. ...

Link:  IBM (full report, executive summary PDFs).

In Digital Future: Ideas Wanted, Diane Mermigas provides a detailed analysis of the report.  Link:  MediaPost.  --Dennis

Internet Expands Reach, But Narrows Vision

Diane Mermigas writes:

All this talk about hyper-targeting, super search and selective networking could be a sign of trouble.  ¶  The Internet, a big black hole of infinite content and information, is being segmented by users into relevant byte-sized chunks. Some of the time spent sifting through tagged, blogged and bookmarked content was once used to make more spontaneous discoveries in newspapers, magazines and online. Our need to more efficiently manage digital’s cornucopia invariably reduces our time for random search and enlightenment. Plus, it’s possible that too little serendipity in cyberspace could produce a narcissistic populace well-versed in their own interests, but ignorant about the world at large.  ¶ Certainly the Internet allows users to delve deeper into their interest areas more frequently and effectively than any other platform in history. Instant interactivity promises us more time for other things. But as our online management tools become more pre-set and precise, we become less intent on random search and discovery. It’s a tradeoff that comes at a subtle but significant price. ...

Link:  MediaPost. 

Update 26 November 2007:
Be sure to also read John Proffitt's thoughtful comment to this post below, with which I agree.  --Dennis

Internet May Revitalize Net Ads, Content

Diane Mermigas writes:

... Although new and traditional media are slugging it out over tighter ad spend, the continued shift of dollars from television and print to the Internet is helping to maintain new media momentum. “Internet ad spending could still increase at a healthy rate of 11%, even in the face of an overall ad downturn. That’s due to the powerful effect of the adoption curve of advertisers switching their budgets online,” according to Bernstein Research analyst Jeffrey Lindsay. Even as the advertising sector overall grows at only 5% (or collapses to a flat line in the case of a severe economic downturn), online advertising can continue to grow at rates better than 25%. ...

Link:  MediaPost.  --Dennis

Web Video: Move Over, Amateurs

Catherine Holahan writes:

... One after another, online video sites that have long showcased such fare as skateboarding dogs and beer-drenched parties are scaling back their focus on user-generated clips, often in favor of professionally produced programming. "People would rather watch content that has production value than watch their neighbors in the garage," says Matt Sanchez, co-founder and chief executive of VideoEgg, a company that provides Web video tools, ads, and advertising features for online video providers and Web application developers.  ¶  On Nov. 13 social networking site Bebo said it would open its pages to top media companies in hopes of luring and engaging viewers. "As more and more interesting content from major media brands becomes available, [online viewers] are going to share that more and more because those are the brands they identify with," says Bebo President Joanna Shields. ...

Link:  BusinessWeek.  --Dennis

The dynamics of Web-based social networks

First Monday has published a scholarly article by Jennifer Golbeck titled, The dynamics of Web-based social networks: Membership, relationships, and change.  The abstract:

Social networks on the Web are growing dramatically in size and number. The huge popularity of sites like MySpace, Facebook, and others has drawn in hundreds of millions of users, and the attention of scientists and the media. The public accessibility of Web–based social networks offers great promise for researchers interested in studying the behavior of users and how to integrate social information into applications. However, to do that effectively, it is necessary to understand how networks grow and change. Over a two–year period we have collected data on every social network we could identify, and we also gathered daily information on thirteen networks over a 47–day period. In this article, we present the first comprehensive survey of Web–based social networks, followed by an analysis of membership and relationship dynamics within them. From our analysis of these data, we present several conclusions on how users behave in social networks, and what network features correlate with that behavior.

Link:  First Monday.  --Dennis

The Incomparable Umair Haque

Terry Heaton has a tribute to the very perceptive emerging media economist, Umair Haque, to whom you've been exposed if you're a regular reader of my blog or Terry's.  He includes a bunch of not-to-miss quotes, including:

So if you wanna think radically - here’s a (really) easy way. Take the dominant business model/strategy in your market space, and use a market, network, or community to invert it…like Wikipedia, Google, Myspace, Facebook, etc.
This doesn’t mean do something superficial, like a social net for hairdryers. Rather, it means using markets, networks, and communities to shift resources and capabilities from core to edge.

Link:  The PoMo Blog. 

But he didn't include Umair's Making Publishing Plastic, from which comes:

Plasticity is something I talk about a lot. It means the ability to remix stuff - to let it be unbundled and rebundled.  ¶  Plasticity is important because it's a new source of value creation in a world where older ones are decaying - it can lead players out of value plateaus, and to explosive productivity gains. ...

Link:  Bubblegeneration Strategy Lab.  It's very important to electronic media also.  --Dennis

Miro reaches release 1.0

Daniel Langendorf writes:

Miro, the free open-source video player, has reached 1.0 and launched a spiffy player for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Drop what you’re doing and go get it.  ¶ Miro is that good.  ¶  Miro is an alternative to Joost, Windows Media, and iTunes for downloading, watching, and organizing your video. We wrote on it extensively in July, and since then it has improved even more. ...

Link:  last100.  It's great to see what this bootstrap organization is able to pull off on a shoestring.  I've not tried this yet because my ISP is n0t BitTorrent-friendly, but my son loves it.  --Dennis

How traditional media companies approach new media

Natalie Fonseca writes of Quincy Smith's presentation (he's president of CBS Interactive) at NewTeeVee Live:

... So what has Big Media learned?  ¶  More than 80% of the volume in video today is clips, not full-length episodes. Even in Asia where broadband penetration and speeds outpace the U.S., the trend is still toward viewing clips. In CBS’ case, 80% of visitors to its Web site do watch full episodes, but the focus is on bringing in new customers by getting CBS content out to the masses where ever they are on the Net. Which is why CBS has over 285 partners helping to syndicate its content online. ...

Link:  last100.  --Dennis

Broadcasters woo 'lost generation' in deal with social networking site Bebo

Owen Gibson writes:

The UK's biggest social networking site yesterday announced partnerships with a string of broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4, Sky, ITN and CBS, in a move hailed as one of the most significant yet in marrying old and new media.  ¶  Traditional broadcasters hope that distributing and marketing their programmes to Bebo's 40 million users will help them reconnect with the so-called "lost TV generation" of 13 to 24-year-olds who make up the social networking site's core audience.  ¶  It will allow Bebo users to collect and curate clips from BBC programmes such as Doctor Who and EastEnders, behind-the-scenes MTV footage, ITN entertainment news and a host of other items within their own "Personal Video Profile", displaying them on their homepage and sharing them with friends. ... 

Link:  The Guardian.  Link to Bebo. 

Also see, TV clips made available on Bebo.  Link:  BBC News.

Update:
Also see Daniel Langendorf, Social networking site Bebo aligns itself with TV, film and music companies.  Link:  last100.  --Dennis

NPR Music beta, more

Consultant Fred Jacobs has a well-deserved rave review of the new NPR Music site in a post called The Content Mountain.  He writes about why this is important for radio.  Link:  jacoBLOG.

Update:
Daniel Langendorf also has a postive review, NPR opens up NPR Music for our listening pleasure.  Link: last100.  --Dennis

Slacker Portable Player (Finally) on the Way

Hate the name (but then I'm an early boomer), but Slacker the audio service looks really interesting.  I've posted about it four other times if you want to catch up (March 15, March 29, April 22 and June 19).  Slacker is a competitor with the so-far better known Pandora and last.fm in that it uses a station metaphor, permitting users to customize music to their preferences and those of others like them.  Rick Broida did a review of the Slacker beta for PC Magazine back in July to which I failed to link at the time.  It's now taking orders for a mid-December delivery of a player that refreshes "station" content via USB or WiFi.  Earlier reports had a satellite receiver dock coming that would give it true wide range mobile coverage.  There are still references to it on the Slacker site, so even though the dock hasn't been released, I presume it's still on the way.  Tom Gideon writes about the new player this month under the title, Slacker Portable Player (Finally) on the Way.  Link:  PC Magazine.

For commentary on this disruptive technology from a radio consultant's perspective, see Mark Ramsey, Slacker's personal radio player finally debuts.  Link:  Hear 2.0. 

Updated 17 November 2007:
Also see Daniel Langendorf, Slacker Portable player is finally here as alternative to iPod and Zune.  Link:  last100.  --Dennis

Congressmen: Higher ed must police file sharing or lose financial aid

Cory Doctorow writes:

Democratic legislators have introduced a bill that will tie university financial aid funding to universities imposing stiff penalties for file-sharing, and to universities subsidizing student subscriptions to failed DRM-based systems like Napster and Ruckus. This is about as ugly as pork-barrel politics can get: politicians are so in debt to four of five ailing giants from the entertainment industry that they're prepared to deny low-income children access to a college education if universities don't punish kids for listening to music and piss away money on a useless service that no one wants to use. ...

Link:  BoingBoing.  --Dennis

Public radio audience on Sirius, XM

I just bought a new Jeep that came with Sirius Satellite Radio and that and my professional ties to public radio have led to some curiosity about audience levels for the individual public media and classical channels.  The following is from a Spring 2007 Arbitron report (pdf):

• Sirius total, 619400 AQH/6595000 Cume, TSL 11.8 hours
• Sirius 80, Symphony Hall, 2500/57800, TSL 5.4 hours
• Sirius 85, Metropolitan Opera Radio, 600/20700, TSL 3.7 hours
• Sirius 86, Classical Pops, 4000/77500, TSL 6.5 hours
• Sirius 134, NPR Now, 800/47600, TSL 2.1 hours
• Sirius 135, NPR Talk, 600/35000, TSL 2.2 hours
• Sirius 137, CBC Radio One, 100/6700, TSL 1.9 hours
• Sirius 141, BBC World News, 400/19500, TSL 2.6 hours
• XM total, 798900 AQH/10332900 Cume, TSL 9.7 hours
• XM 110, XM Classics, 6900/162000, TSL 5.4 hours
• XM 112, Vox, 600/39100, TSL 1.9 hours
• XM 113, XM Pops, 7600/174500, TSL 5.5 hours
• XM 131, BBC, 800/48000, TSL 2.1 hours
• XM 132, C-SPAN, 700/26800, TSL 3.3 hours
• XM 133, XM Public Radio, 900/48300, TSL 2.3 hours

So on Sirius, the two NPR channels have only a combined 0.2% share of its overall AQH and on XM, the single non-NPR public radio channel has only a 0.1% share!  So much for the Death Star.  There's no music on the Sirius NPR channels and I don't think there is any on the XM public radio channel, but on Sirius, the three classical channels have 5 times the audience of the two NPR channels, and on XM, the three classical channels have nearly 17 times the audience of the single public radio channel.

For an analysis of this satellite radio ratings report overall, see Fred Jacobs', Calling All Satellites.  Link:  JacoBLOG.  --Dennis

Best Buy stalls on converter box coupons

Steven Sande reports that Best Buy may not be ready to accept the $40 government coupons for DTV converter boxes until April 1st:

... The cutover to digital TV, with its myriad details, is difficult enough to explain to consumers. For months, Congress has been urging broadcasters to promote the change to DTV early and often. But if viewers cannot use their coupons at what is, for many households, the default store for electronics purchases, it undercuts the coupon program’s credibility.  ¶  The retailer told Congress this week that its computers and cash registers will not be ready to handle the government coupons on January 1. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the government’s rules for the coupon program in March, so it’s not as if Best Buy hasn’t had enough time to prepare for the necessary changes to its systems. ...

And that the NTIA has known this all along:

... The Bush administration may have even signaled to retailers that if they weren’t ready in time, no big deal. Indeed, earlier this year the Commerce Department suggested as much, in the discussion section of its converter box coupon rules:

The [Digital TV] Act requires NTIA to accept requests for coupons between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, and thus, it proposed that retailers be ready to redeem coupons starting January 1, 2008, consistent with the statutory guidance. NTIA expects widespread retailer POS system modifications to occur in the first quarter of 2008.

In other words, the news that stores may not be ready until April 1 is not really news to NTIA.

Link:  Digital TV Facts: The Latest.

This comes as it's announced that NTIA head John Kneuer is stepping down "to pursue new opportunities."  Link:  AP.  For those caught in television's coming Katrina, we can paraphrase our president: "You've done a heckuva job, Johnnie."  --Dennis

NPR Music beta

Congratulations to National Public Radio's Maria Thomas, Sr. V.P., NPR Digital Media, and her team for the launch last week of the NPR Music beta.  I was there for a launch celebration at NPR Hq on Tuesday.  From the news release:

... NPR  Music is a creative collaboration with KEXP and KPLU Seattle; KUT Austin; WBGO Newark; WDUQ Pittsburgh; WFUV and WNYC New York; WGBH Boston; WGUC Cincinnati; Folk Alley.com (WKSU) Kent, Ohio; WXPN Philadelphia, and Minnesota Public Radio. With their deep connection into local arts communities, their incredible music libraries and archives, and their respected on-air hosts and DJs, these stations have invested real energy and resources into the communities they serve.  NPR Music allows you to move beyond the geographic boundaries of radio signals and discover the authentic sense of place created by stations across the country. We expect additional NPR stations and public radio producers, as well as other contributors, to join this collaborative effort in the coming months and years. ...

Link:  NPR.  Early reaction from listeners has been very encouraging.

Disclosure:  I'm on the NPR board of directors and on Wednesday was elected as its chairman for the next 12 months. 

Update:
Also see Rob Paterson's, The New NPR Music Site - A Model for Social Media.  Link:  FASTforward.  --Dennis

Artists: Radio surely can afford royalty

Brooks Boliek writes:

Proponents of a new royalty for music that is broadcast over-the-air contend that a government study bolsters their argument that the radio industry can afford to pay.  ¶  The artist-industry alliance known as the MusicFirst coalition points to an FCC study that examined radio market concentration and said it shows that broadcasters have been jacking up their rates.  ¶  Annual growth of radio advertising rates since 1996 was about 10%, while the CPI has averaged a 3% increase per year over that span, FCC senior economist George Williams found in his study that examined the market through March 2007. ...

Link:  Hollywood Reporter.

Updated 12 November 2007:
Also see Andrew Glass, Singers: Stations should pay (them) to play:

Lyle Lovett wants to get paid for music he made famous with his bluesy twang. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is giving him a stage to make it happen. Leahy is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday to review a nearly century-old law saying radio stations don’t have to give the four-time Grammy winner a dime when they play music he performed that was written by someone else. ...

Link:  Politico.  --Dennis

National LambdaRail + Internet2 merger off

News that the long-awaited merger between National LambdaRail (NLR) and Internet2 is off doesn't cheer most people in the academic/research advanced networking community.  For the story, see John Timmer, Internet2, LambdaRail can't even agree to disagree; merger called off (Ars Technica); John Fischman, Breaking Up, Internet2-LambdaRail Style (Chronicle of Higher Education); and Anick Jesdanun, Ultra-Fast Internet Networks Won't Merge (AP).  For analysis see Gordon Cook, A Sad Day as Emotion Drives R&E Networking in the USA (Cook's Collaborative Edge); Internet2 Responds (Cook's Collaborative Edge); and Some Unsolicited Advice: NLR Should Blow Its Own Horn (Cook's Collaborative Edge).  --Dennis

HD DVD players hit $99

Most pundits (e.g., Phillip Swann) have been saying that Blu-ray will beat out HD DVD in the high definition disc format wars, but don't count the latter out just yet.  Matthew Moskovciak from CNET reports that Wal-Mart and Best Buy are offering the Toshiba HD-A2 for sale at $99 while quantities last, one-fourth the cost of the cheapest Blu-ray player.  To sweeten this sweet deal, Toshiba is offering five free movies.  I bought the HD DVD format when it reached $300 at Costco a few months ago -- but then I owned two Betamax VCRs by the time I realized that VHS was going to win.  Link:  CNET.  --Dennis

Does Web Distribution Stimulate or Depress Television Viewing?

Joel Waldfogel of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has published a study of students at his university on this.  Here is his abstract:

In the past few years, YouTube and other sites for sharing video files over the Internet have vaulted from obscurity to places of centrality in the media landscape. The files available at YouTube include a mix of user-generated video and clips from network television shows. Networks fear that availability of their clips on YouTube will depress television viewing. But unauthorized clips are also free advertising for television shows. As YouTube has grown quickly, major networks have responded by making their content available at their own sites. This paper examines the effects of authorized and unauthorized web distribution on television viewing between 2005 and 2007 using a survey of Penn students on their tendencies to watch television series on television as well as on the web. The results provide a glimpse of the way young, Internet-connected people use YouTube and related sites. While I find some evidence of substitution of web viewing for conventional television viewing, time spent viewing programming on the web – 4 hours per week – far exceeds the reduction in weekly traditional television viewing of about 25 minutes. Overall time spent on network-controlled viewing (television plus network websites) increased by 1.5 hours per week.

Link:  Wharton School (pdf).  Thanks to Eric Bangeman for the tip in his post, Study: proliferation of web video a blessing to networks.  Link:  Ars Technica.

Updated 11 November 2007:
For another view, see Richard Wray's, Young networkers turn off TV and long on to the web: 

... The EIAA study shows the effect on TV viewing, especially among the youth audience which is using the internet more often than TV for the first time.  The survey shows that 82% of 16- to 24-year-olds use the web between five and seven days a week while only 77% watch TV as regularly - a drop of 5% from last year. ...

Link:  The Guardian.  --Dennis

McLuhan's web

Nicholas Carr writes:

Marshall McLuhan is back. The 1960s icon’s theories about “electric media” have new resonance now that the internet is becoming our all-purpose conduit for news, information and entertainment.  ¶ McLuhan was an obscure Canadian academic until the mid-Sixties, when his best-selling book Understanding Media turned him into a pop-culture phenomenon. His playfully radical ideas and deliberately disjointed prose perfectly reflected the spirit of the times, when the air was filled with revolutionary rhetoric and pot smoke. Tom Wolfe, in a 1965 article, suggested that McLuhan might be ''the most important thinker since Newton, Darwin, Freud, Einstein and Pavlov.''  ¶  McLuhan’s central thesis, encapsulated in the famous phrase “the medium is the message,” was that the technologies through which we take in information—the media, broadly defined—become “extensions” of our bodies, exerting a profound influence over how we think and act. When an important new medium arrives, it can reshape who we are as individuals and as a society. ...

Link:  Rough Type.  Version in the Guardian.  --Dennis