Technology360

The repack death toll begins

The FCC’s crazy-ambitious 39-month timetable for repacking the TV bands post-auction may have contributed to the deaths of three workers from Tower King II, a Texas tower contractor.  The gin pole, a standard temporary device that is installed at the top of a tower to enable the lifting into place of permanent tower sections or an antenna, failed.  The tower is shared by two Miami stations, WSVN (Fox) and WPLG (ABC).  WSVN is moving from channel 7 to channel 9 in the repack, requiring a new antenna.  The tower is eight years old and is just over 1,000 feet high, about half the maximum height that many stations use.

There is no evidence to my knowledge that the pushed nature of the repack schedule contributed to the deaths of these three men, but with the paucity of qualified high tower crews and a forced schedule that is ambitious even if everything (weather, supply, crew availability, etc.) turns out optimal, safety issues are unavoidable. 

I strongly suspect this won’t be the last of these tragic accidents.  --Dennis

Link:  ABC News

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Sep. 24, 2017

The following selected links were posted to my @haarsager Twitter feed in the past week.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• Addressability is about to take a huge step forward.  AdExchanger
• AWARN Alliance blasts T-Mobile assertion that ATSC 3.0 emergency warning capabilities are inferior.  TVTechnology  …and…  AWARN strikes back at T-Mobile at FCC.  TVNewsCheck

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Skinny TV could be the key to cord-cutting.  Rapid TV News
• Analyst: Pay-TV losses could soon accelerate to 5M a year.  FierceCable
• Why you should buy a TV antenna. Yes, really.  Yahoo! Finance
• Will cable’s digital efforts hit a wall?  MediaPost
• Can an entertainment-centric skinny bundle succeed?  Video Nuze
• must read  Big generational divide over pay-TV subscriptions.  Video Nuze

Digital Video/VoD/OTT

• PBS flexes its digital muscles with the Ken Burns documentary series, The Vietnam War.  Decider
• IBC 2017 reports:  No one path to OTT video business success.  nScreenMedia  …and…  Innovation is key as TV broadcasters move online.  nScreenMedia  …and…  Three ways OTT will reshape the TV market by 2027.  nScreenMedia
• Video Advertising Bureau: OTT complements, not replaces, pay-TV.  Rapid TV News

Journalism

• must read  The media have a probability problem.  FiveThirtyEight

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• Podcasts democratized radio. Now PRX wants to democratize podcasts.  Fast Company
• Radio’s streaming effort may be screwed.  Mark Ramsey Media part 1 and part 2
• Six lessons radio can learn from cable TV’s woes.  Jacobs Media Strategies

Repack/Incentive Auction/Spectrum

• Extreme weather brings uncertainty to broadcast TV signal shuffle.  Bloomberg BNA
• Incentive auction second priority filing window opens: What to know.  CommLawBlog  …and…  FCC opens second post-auction TV filing window.  Broadcasting & Cable
• FCC: First auction repack reports due Oct. 10.  Broadcasting & Cable

Television

• Why you should buy a TV antenna. Yes, really.  Yahoo! Finance
• must read  Most TV companies unprepared for advanced TV advertising.  Rapid TV News

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Sep. 16, 2017

Here are some links of interest that I’ve posted to @haarsager on Twitter this past week.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• New Public Media Venture Group will exploit potential of ATSC 3.0.  Current
• ONE Media refutes T-Mobile claims about 3.0 tuners.  TVNewsCheck  …and…  T-Mobile: No to ATSC 3.0 cellphone mandate.  TVNewsCheck

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Cord-cutting explodes: 22M U.S. adults will have canceled cable, satellite TV by end of 2017.  Variety 
• must read  Studies point to widening age gap among pay-TV subscribers.  FierceCable  …and…  Younger viewers shun pay-TV as search difficulties lead viewers to off button.  Rapid TV News

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• must read  Hulu is spending more than Facebook and Apple, but far less than Netflix on content.  MarketWatch
• must read  Research: Millennials continue shifting viewing online.  Video Nuze  …and…  Millennials lead online video consumption.  Rapid TV News

Repack/Incentive Auction

• must read  FCC’s repacking effort may far exceed 39 months.  FierceWireless  …and…  Failure to meet 39-month repack plan could spell trouble for FCC, carriers warn.  FierceWireless

Social Media

• Are publishers making money on Facebook? ‘Not really,’ a new report finds.  NiemanLab

Strategy/Management/Legal

• Online public file to bring new scrutiny to issues/programs lists.  CommLawBlog

Wireless

• What kind of spectrum do carriers want for 5G? ‘All of it'.  FierceWireless
• What you need to know about the FCC’s 2017 wireless competition report.  Wetmachine

Weekly readings for #pubmedia, Sep. 12, 2017

I’m a little late in getting this collection of selected recent links from my @haarsager Twitter feed compiled.  It was a busy weekend, and I didn’t even have a hurricane to blame.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• The HDTV switch revisited: Is ATSC 3.0 déjà vu all over again?  Spectator.org
• Sinclair closes $240M Bonten Media deal, adds 14 stations.  FierceCable

Cable/MVPD/Cord-Cutting/Pay-TV

• Comcast integrates YouTube into X1 set-top boxes.  Video Nuze
• must read  Unprecedented global transformation creates a perfect storm of slowing pay-TV growth.  Rapid TV News

Digital Video/VOD/OTT

• must read  Reach, frequency and engagement continue to expand for SVOD.  nScreenMedia
• must read  Shifting demographics, premium tiers drive next wave of SVOD growth.  Rapid TV News
• Comcast integrates YouTube into X1 set-top boxes.  Video Nuze
• For Disney’s new OTT service, success is all about the price.  Video Nuze
• Roku best hope for growth not in box sales.  nScreenMedia

Journalism

• Two-thirds of Americans are now getting news from social media.  recode
• What I’ll tell my journalism students after Charlottesville.  Columbia Journalism Review

Radio/Digital Audio/Podcasting

• How broadcasters could continue to control the dash.  Radio Ink
• Report finds digital killing radio’s next gen: Broadcasters, Nielsen call foul.  MediaPost  …and…  NAB, Nielsen respond to study predicting terrestrial radio’s downfall.  Variety
• must read  Podcast popularity opens important door for radio.  MediaPost
• must read  In the war of virtual assistants, where’s radio?  Jacobs Media Strategies

Repack/Spectrum

• Tower guy to Hill: Post-auction repack should not be rushed.  Broadcasting & Cable
• Lawmakers hear that pubcasters need additional $50M for repack.  Current

Social Media

• must read  Two-thirds of Americans are now getting news from social media.  recode

Television

• must read  The battle for the TV home page.  nScreenMedia
• must read  Broadcast-only homes see big rise.  Multichannel News  …and…  Broadcast-only TV homes add younger viewers.  MediaPost  …and…  Broadcast-only TV homes up 41% in last five years.  Rapid TV News
• Five reasons Wall Street is right to be bearish on TV stocks.  nScreenMedia  …and…  Media stocks sink, Comcast warns of subscriber loss.  MediaPost
• How are TV homes growing if pay TV is shrinking?  nScreenMedia
• must read  Millennials lead in time-shifted TV usage.  Rapid TV News