Technology360

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Dec. 1, 2017

Another page falls off the calendar.  Welcome to the last month of 2017.  Here is this week’s somewhat slim collection of selected links from @haarsager on Twitter.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• ‘Next Gen TV’ could be an ad boon for local TV stations.  Wall Street Journal
• Broadband/Wireless/Net Neutrality
• Comcast hints at plan for paid fast lanes after net neutrality repeal.  Ars Technica

Cable/Pay-TV/MVPD/Cord-Cutting

• Pay TV subscribers opting for open TV platforms.  nScreenMedia
• Legacy services set for collapse as virtual MVPDs disrupt pay-TV market.  Rapid TV News

Digital Video/OTT

• More than half of U.S. homes take multiple OTT services.  Rapid TV News
• must read  The young reject DVR, embrace smartphone video; connected TV picking up the slack.  nScreenMedia

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• Amazon is now creating content for Alexa.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Comcast integrates iHeartRadio into X1.  FierceCable

Television

• We just don’t rent movies anymore.  nScreenMedia
• The retrofitting of broadcasting.  MediaPost

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Oct. 27, 2017

I’ve been in Scotland, taking a three-week break from aggregating these links, but not a break from posting them to my @haarsager Twitter account.  Here is a longer-than-usual catch-up.  The most recent articles are generally near the top of each category.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• Sinclair, NAB cheer FCC’s ATSC draft order.  FierceCable
• Retrans a key part of FCC’s ATSC 3.0 plan.  TVNewsCheck
• FCC to vote on ATSC 3.0 on Nov. 16.  TVNewsCheck
• CTA warns of ATSC 3.0 ‘chaos’ without modulation standard.  Broadcasting & Cable
• must read  Disparate views of the future of ATSC 3.0.  TVNewsCheck
• Internet of Everything: The IoT market is projected to expand 12x from 2017-2023.  Hackernoon

Cable/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Cord cutting hits 632k for Q3 with bulk of top platforms reporting.  FierceCable
• More than half of U.S. broadband households subscribe to pay-TV, OTT service.  Rapid TV News
• vMVPDs alone no threat to pay-TV.  nScreenMedia

Digital Video/VoD/OTT

• More than half of U.S. broadband households subscribe to pay-TV, OTT service.  Rapid TV News
• Can home Wi-Fi deliver TV reliably?  nScreenMedia
• Netflix rumbles on, but it’s still hard to discern original content’s role.  Video Nuze
• must read  Mobile surges as VOD viewing set to catch up to linear TV by 2020.  Rapid TV News
• Shift toward on-demand viewing accelerates.  nScreenMedia

Journalism

• must read  Young subscribers flock to old media.  Politico
• Scoring stories to make better recommendation engines for news.  Monday Note

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read  Radio can’t just check off the boxes.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Generation X is now driving NPR’s audience growth.  Washingtonian
• Setting the record straight on FM radio in iPhones.  Sam Matheny at NAB  …and…  Everything you need to know about FM radio on your phone.  CNET
• Radio’s digital dashboard display dilemma.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• The good NEW days of radio.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• must read  Classical music’s biggest problem is that no one cares.  On An Overgrown Path
  
• Will radio get off the dime with podcasting?  Jacobs Media Strategies

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repack

• Internet of Everything: The IoT market is projected to expand 12x from 2017-2023.  Hackernoon
• FCC chair’s advisor: FCC can’t hold another big spectrum auction.  Multichannel News
• Broadcasters emerging as winner in FCC reauthorization process so far.  Morning Consult
• T-Mobile, Fox TV stations partner on repack.  TVTechnology  …and…  Pocket Now
• Tower deaths put repack sked in spotlight.  TVNewsCheck

Strategy/Management/Legal

• FCC to lift station modification freeze.  Broadcasting & Cable
• must read  Viewer preferences straddle generations.  TVTechnology
• Pubmedia’s commitment to local audiences must transcend lip service.  Gary Knell in Current
• must read  How to crowdfund a TV series.  Cablefax

Television

• AI is changing how you watch TV.  Venture Beat

Wireless/Broadband/IoT

• nerd alert  5G: Can we do better than OFDM? Cohere Technologies believes we can with OTFS.  FierceWireless
• FCC chair’s advisor: FCC can’t hold another big spectrum auction.  Multichannel News

Weekly readings for #pubmedia, 18 April 2017

Missed posting this over the weekend due to a family gathering – grandkids take precedence over blog and Twitter – so here is a bit tardy collection of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter news feed in the past 10 days.  --Dennis

Consumer Electronics

• Researcher: 90% of ‘smart’ TVs can be compromised remotely.  Techdirt  …and…  Bleeping Computer

Digital Video/VoD/OTT

• Netflix crosses 50M U.S. subscriptions.  nScreenMedia
• Lies, damn lies, and Silicon Valley statistics [video].  nScreenMedia
• SVOD market deepens, broadens in the U.S. and Europe.  nScreenMedia
• must read  Downloading continues to gain momentum.  Video Nuze
• The challenges of OTT.  TVTechnology
• must read  The immediate future of UltraHD is streaming.  nScreenMedia

Radio/Digital Audio/Podcasting

• Voices of America.  New Republic

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repack

• Sale of dozens of noncommercial signals in auction earns minimum of $1.9B.  Current
• Craig Moffett analysis of forward auction results: 600-MHz auction results suggest cable wireless not much of a threat.  Telecompetitor  …and…  Comcast made ‘halfhearted’ show at spectrum auction.  FierceCable & Multichannel News  …and…  Analyst weighs spectrum auction ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’  Multichannel News  …and…  Broadcast Incentive Auction: Analysis of high bidders doesn’t see them all as ‘winners.’  CED Magazine
• Why Verizon didn’t buy any 600-MHz spectrum, and what it means.  FierceWireless
• Post auction, Dish’s wireless bet now $21B.  TVNewsCheck
• Bidders in the forward auction spent vastly different amounts per license.  FierceWireless
• FCC: Almost 1,000 stations will have to move.  TVNewsCheck  …and…  Repack notice triggers time, money fears.  TVNewsCheck
• LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition vows legal problems for repack.  Broadcasting & Cable
• List of new channels for TV stations that have to move.  TVNewsCheck [pdf; note that the labels for current channel and new channel are reversed]
• Noncoms: FCC’s post-auction repack threatens debilitating disruptions.  Broadcasting & Cable  …and…  APTS/CPB/PBS joint statement.  CPB
• Smartphones can deliver vital public services.  Brookings

Strategy/Management/Business

• must read  Drawing lessons from the ‘Bezos way’.  Frederic Filloux in Monday Note

Television

• DVR dead, live TV dying among the young.  nScreenMedia
• must read  The immediate future of UltraHD is streaming.  nScreenMedia
• Researcher: 90% of ‘smart’ TVs can be compromised remotely.  Techdirt  …and…  Bleeping Computer

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Feb. 5, 2017

Here’s another group of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed posted in the past week or so.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• must read  FCC chairman Pai moves to jumpstart ATSC 3.0 rollout.  Multichannel News  …and… FCC’s draft NPRM on ATSC 3.0/next gen TV.  FCC [pdf]
• FCC takes first big step toward adopting 3.0.  TVNewsCheck  …and…  FCC next-gen TV rulemaking notice draws praise.  TVNewsCheck

Broadband

• The future belongs to the media and tech companies that can harness 5G.  Recode

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Comcast releases beta of Xfinity TV app for Roku.  Video Nuze

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• Fifth of U.S. broadband households cancel OTT service in last 12 months.  Rapid TV News
• Can foreign subtitled TV SVOD service find a U.S. audience?  nScreenMedia
• Are apps the future of OTT video experience?  nScreenMedia
• must read  Facebook full stream ahead for premium video.  Rapid TV News  …and…  Buyers see potential in Facebook’s TV push.  Digiday  …and…  Here are the big risks for Facebook as it pursues a “video first” strategy.  Video Nuze
• What millennials who cut the cord watch instead.  Media Live Magazine

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• Are you a radio station?  Jacobs Media Strategies
• NAB study finds 44% of top U.S. smartphones have FM chips activated.  Radio & Internet News
• Public radio audience growth extends to live station audio streams.  Current

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repack

• Repack problematic despite progress.  TVNewsCheck
• Forward auction continuing in cleanup phase.  Moved into 10% increments this week.  Current total $19.33B, Round 34.  FCC dashboard
• must read  Media Bureau adopts post-auction policies and procedures for stations transitioning to new channels following the broadcast incentive auction.  CommLawBlog  …and…  Post-auction: 39 months or bust.  TVTechnology
• Broadcast lawyers to FCC: Can we talk?  TVTechnology

Strategy/Management/Business

• FCC’s Media Bureau rescinds ruling on new noncom ownership reporting rules.  Comm Law Center
• A broadcaster’s guide to Washington issues [long read].  David Oxenford and David O’Connor in TVNewsCheck
• must read  We too often ignore the tradeoff between innovation and optimization.  Greg Satell in Digital Tonto

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, 11/27/2016

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.  Here are a few readings from my @haarsager Twitter feed to help you get in the mood to go back to work.  --Dennis

Cable/Pay-TV/MVPD

• Comcast embraces ‘skinny’ competition by offering Sling TV on X1.  nScreenMedia

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• Netflix 4K streaming comes to Windows 10 PCs, but specs are demanding.  FierceCable
• US SVOD subs to top 138M in five years.  Rapid TV News
• Connected TV critical part of multi-screen video app delivery.  nScreenMedia

Radio/Podcasting/Audio Pure-Plays

• RadioPublic podcast app is “rethinking radio in the mobile world.”  Radio Magazine
• Podcasts’ strong ad sales help NPR reach second year of budget surplus.  Current

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repack

• TV tower firm warns FCC ‘quiet period’ will harm post-auction transition.  FierceCable
• Carriers eye Dish’s spectrum, but a newcomer may also make a play.  FierceWireless
• must read  Connecting the Internet of Things.  IoT For All  …and…  How does an IoT system actually work?  IoT For All

Strategy/Management/Business

• BBC is making a major global push to grows its audience to 500M people.  TechCrunch
• must read  The shift in media’s business model played a critical role in Trump’s victory.  Monday Note

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, 11/19/2019

Here is another collection of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  Happy Thanksgiving and don’t eat anything I wouldn’t. 

--Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

Sinclair’s CEO: ATSC 3.0, the only avenue to growth.  TVNewsCheck 

http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/nabs-smith-local-news-crucial-to-democracy/279857

must read  NAB CEO:  3.0 is crucial to local broadcast.  TVTechnology

ATSC 3.0 could pay off but retrans will be part of the gamble.  FierceCable

An open letter to FCC Commish Ajit Pai.  TVNewsCheck

must read  ATSC 3.0 and educational media.  TVTechnology

How ATSC 3.0 changes broadcasting for the better (it’s not just 4K).  Studio Daily

must read  ATSC 3.0 promises to level the playing field between broadcasters and OTT services.  The Drum

Broadband

Say goodbye to net neutrality.  InfoWorld

Chickens and eggs: The problem of the 5G use case.  FierceWireless

Cable/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

Pay TV subscribers churn, while cord-cutting rises.  MediaPost  …and…  Video cord cutting data: Telco TV losses contribute to record declines for pay-TV.  Telecompetitor  …and…  Cord cutting hits an all-time high.  Media Life Magazine

Digital Media/Mobile

Online measurement is a mess.  Wall Street Journal

must read  Social drives video to dominate mobile data traffic by 2022.  nScreenMedia  …and…  Mobile video to spur mobile data to grow 50% by 2022.  Rapid TV News

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

must read  For WNYC, radio’s future is all about experimentation.  Fast Company

The Apple CarPlay conundrum.  Jacobs Media Strategies

must read  Listen deeply: The public radio mandate.  Laura Walker in Medium

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repack

Noncoms ask FCC to expand repack reimbursement catalog.  Broadcasting & Cable

must read  NAB: FCC needs to extend repack deadline.  TVNewsCheck

Television

A world without commercials? Contemplating the future of TV.  MediaPost

Will smart TV’s stay smart?  nScreenMedia

This week’s readings for #pubmedia, July 12, 2016

Another installment of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

A channel-sharing proposal for ATSC 3.0.  Bill Hayes (Iowa Public TV) in TVTechnology

Sinclair readies retooled ATSC 3.0 lab.  TVNewsCheck

Cable/Pay-TV/Digital Video/OTT/VOD/Mobile Video

Why the 7M pay-TV subscribers that want to cut the cord don’t.  nScreenMedia

Milestone marker: SVOD and DVR penetration are now on par with one another.  Nielsen

3/4 of Amazon Prime members are watching video too.  Video Nuze

Buffering is the leading reason for streaming subscription churn.  Rapid TV News

SVOD subscribers watch services (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime) as much as pay-TV.  nScreenMedia

must read  Viewers are the real winners in Comcast-Netflix integration.  Video Nuze  …and…  Netflix is coming to Comcast cable TV and it’s a really big deal.  Forbes  …and…  Four sticky points in Comcast-Netflix X1 deal.  nScreenMedia

Mobile video revenues to reach $25B by 2021.  Rapid TV News

Convergence realized: Why TV and video are now inseparable [video].  Video Nuze

Journalism

must read  Facing the new Facebook reality: The numbers behind the fright.  Politico

Boston journalism nonprofit is among the first publishers to sell subscriptions on Medium.  Nieman Lab

Management/Strategy/Business

must read  The Total Audience Report, Q1 2016.  Nielsen

A broadcaster’s guide to Washington issues.  David Oxenford and David O’Connor in TVNewsCheck

WNET tests strategy to keep regular viewers watching and donating during pledge.  Current

PBS is creating a channel exclusively for children.  New York Times

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

The BBC’s iPlayer Radio app is going global.  engadget

A closer look at the future of radio.  Radio Ink

The truth about online live, linear radio.  Radioinfo

Two months in: Four things NPR has learned using Facebook Live.  Digiday

Going gaga over podcasting.  Jacobs Media Strategies

Spectrum/Incentive Auction

U.S. mobile data growth predicted to slow due to WiFi use.  Android Headlines

Memorial Day weekend readings for #pubmedia, 5/28/2016

Here’s another collection of selected readings from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  Please note: Due to travel and internet limitations in that direction, it’s likely there won’t be another collection until after the 12th.  I’ll be posting to Twitter though.

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

ACA (cable org): FCC should not rush ATSC 3.o.  Multichannel News

Cable seeks protections in ATSC 3.0 rollout.  TVNewsCheck

An insider’s guide to the development of ATSC 3.o.  TVTechnology

ATSC 3.0: We’re on our own.  TVTechnology

Broadband

Mobile zero rating: The economics and innovation behind free data.  Information Technology and Innovation Foundation [pdf]

Surprise: Americans consume a ton of mobile data.  PC Magazine

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

Domestic SVOD spending growth forecast to slow, but many variables in play. Video Nuze 

must read  How SVOD has changed the business of making TV shows.  Video Nuze  …and…  Podcast: Exploring how SVOD is reinventing the TV business.  Video Nuze

Interview: Turn every show into a TV app.  nScreenNoise

U.S. video streaming shows first signs of saturation but Ultra HD on the rise.  Rapid TV News

Re-runs are “the future” of television.  nScreenMedia

Multitasking on the rise among TV viewers.  MediaPost

Video usage data analysis is industry’s greatest challenge.  nScreenMedia

Journalism

must read  What the New York Times can teach radio about…radio [and TV about TV].  Jacobs Media Strategies

Journalism companies are dead. Long live journalists.  Poynter

Radio/Digital Audio/Podcasting

NPR Music partners with VuHaus for daily videos.  Current

Spectrum/Incentivc Auction/Repack

LPTV/TV translator deadline … or punchline … announced.  CommLawBlog

must read  Game on for broadcast: Auction, Repack, ATSC 3.0.  Harry Jessell in TVNewsCheck

Analysts: $420M price tag for Chicago’s 700 MHz may not point to 600 MHz auction values.  FierceWireless

Strategy/Management

Apple mulls Time Warner takeover; and possibly Netflix.  Rapid TV News  …and…  Apple ideas bankrupt on how to reinvent TV.  nScreenMedia

Public to get round-by-round spectrum auction updates.  Broadcasting & Cable

must read  Receiving CPB’s Ralph Lowell Award, Jennifer Lawson urges focus on ‘societal value.’  Current

must read  New media shares old media’s roof.  Bloomberg

must read  Death to the mass.  Media must rebuild its business around relevance and value, not volume.  Jeff Jarvis in Medium

Weekend reading for #pubmedia, 28 Feb. 2016

Here is another group of selected links for your leap year enjoyment from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV

must read  Skinny bundles are proving to be very complicated for cable companies.  Quartz

Digital Media/Mobile/OTT

Traditional news media still popular with users of mobile media.  Reynolds Journalism Institute. 

Has cord-cutting been overhyped?  Deadline Hollywood

Three-quarters of  TV viewers watch online video.  Rapid TV News

must read  TV Everywhere users spike, still less than 1 in 5.  NScreenMedia  …and…  Is TV Everywhere strengthening the TV business model?  NScreenMedia

Netflix killing physical video.  Rapid TV News

Connected TV to grow 17%, Chromecast has big plans for 2016.  Media Post

Journalism

must read  As publishers lose control, are newspaper websites a dead parrot?  The Guardian

must read  Jeff Jarvis: Papers’ future will be in value, not volume.  NetNewsCheck

Management/Strategy

must read  Podcasts tied to TV shows pave way for larger strategy at WGBH.  Current

Radio/Podcasting

Podcasts tied to TV shows pave way for larger strategy at WGBH.  Current

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/ATSC 3.0

FCC announces previews for TV broadcasters of incentive auction initial commitment software.  Broadcast Law Blog

must read  Repack’s “big lift.”  TV Technology

T-Mobile: 39 months and $1.75B plenty for repack.  TVNewsCheck

FCC’s O’Rielly says repack changes won’t come until after spectrum auction.  Morning Consult  …and… Questions spectrum auction set-aside.  Broadcasting & Cable

Spectrum auction decision time starts March 28.  Broadcasting & Cable  …and…  Broadcasters to have 32-hour auction commitment window.  CED Magazine

Court battle could muddy spectrum auction picture.  Broadcasting & Cable  …and…  FCC denies spectrum auction stay request.  TVNewsCheck  …and…  LPTV threatens to sue to block spectrum auction.  Multichannel News  …and…  Does the FCC want to postpone the incentive auction?  Comm Law Blog

Sinclair envisions ATSC 3.0 royalty windfall.  TVNewsCheck

Korea to launch ATSC 3.0 broadcasts in 2017.  TV Technology

NAB’s Gordon Smith:  Spectrum’s higher, better use is still broadcasting.  Broadcasting & Cable

must read  Verizon: Video is not a money maker for LTE-broadcast.  FierceWireless  [NB: The wireless industry uses multicast differently than does the broadcast industry.  They mean it as simultaneously transmitting the same video to multiple receivers – what broadcasters call broadcasting.  In TV broadcasting, it means sending multiple programs over one channel.]

 Television/Virtual Reality

Wilco in 360: Behind the scenes at NPR Music’s Tiny Desk.  NPR

Are TV networks’ viewer declines related to Nielsen’s NPX?  Media Post

Nielsen better watch its back.  Media Life Magazine

Weekend reading for #pubmedia, Feb. 13, 2016

Here is a Valentine’s Day collection of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV

Recommendation-based guides to drive 75% of all TV viewing by 2025.  Rapid TV News

Consumer Electronics

Why Apple doesn’t sell televisions.  BetaNews

4K TVs make up 40% of US TV placements.  Rapid TV News

Digital Media

must read  The hidden (and not so hidden) costs of platform publishing.  Digiday

Digital Video/OTT

Would the audience be sad if your OTT service went away?  NScreenMedia

OTT smart linear TV channels.  NScreenMedia video interview

Will video eat the internet?  TVTechnology

T-Mobile’s Bing On is awesome.  Ban it now!  NScreenMedia

Journalism

The New York Times collaborates with This American Life on a special investigative report.  NiemanLab

Is there a future for TV news?  TheVJ Michael Rosenblum

Why PBS and CNN teamed up for this week’s Democratic debate.  Washington Post

Management/Strategy

Making digital sense in a broadcasting world.  TVNewsCheck

must read  The future of television, according to Google.  Washington Post

Radio

Study: strong growth predicted for digital sales.  Radio Ink

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/ATSC 3.0

Google won’t bid in the 600-MHz auction.  FierceWireless

J. P. Morgan:  FCC’s 600-MHz auction likely to fetch only $25-30B.  FierceWireless

Transmitters may be repack’s silver lining.  TVNewsCheck

DC-area Columbia Capital emerges as bidder in upcoming auction.  Washington Post