The media ownership study that prompted a pause in approving FCC rules may be done soon, said the head of the group paying for the research on cross-ownership’s impact on minority ownership. The research has been completed and is being peer-reviewed, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Executive Director David Honig told us Tuesday. “We're hoping to get it finished and published before the end of this week, but you never know,” he said. “It’s that close to done.” Then-FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in February paused a vote on ownership rules to give time for MMTC to do the study, and Friday the agency released a study design on barriers to entry, research that a public notice said relates to ownership rules (CD May 29 p2). MMTC had expected the research to be given to the agency Wednesday, said a May 2 filing in docket 09-182 (http://bit.ly/12iVzVE). It said the reviewers are professors Philip Napoli of Fordham University, Allen Hammond of the Santa Clara School of Law and Jannette Dates, ex-dean of Howard University’s School of Communications. NAB continues to think “modest reform of media ownership rules -- many of which stem from the 1970s -- are warranted,” an association spokesman told us. “As the events of Superstorm Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombing and the Oklahoma tornadoes have proven, local broadcasting still matters, and it’s time to adopt ownership rules that allow radio and TV stations to remain competitive with national pay media providers.”
The FCC, having contracted for $208,799 of preliminary research on barriers to entering businesses it oversees like owning radio and TV stations, may spend as much as $917,823 for studies acquiring new data including on new media. That’s according to documents the agency released to Washington Internet Daily’s publisher under Freedom of Information Act requests. As the commission prepares to receive a new privately funded study on media ownership for which a vote on new rules was paused in February, it’s embarking on what officials inside and outside the agency called the next phase of barriers-to-entry research.
The FCC, having contracted for $208,799 of preliminary research on barriers to entering businesses it oversees like owning radio and TV stations, may spend as much as $917,823 for studies acquiring new data including on new media. That’s according to documents the agency released to Communications Daily’s publisher under Freedom of Information Act requests. As the commission prepares to receive a new privately funded study on media ownership for which a vote on new rules was paused in February (CD Feb 27 p1), it’s embarking on what officials inside and outside the agency called the next phase of barriers-to-entry research.
LAS VEGAS -- The second-screen experience is creating a new measurement tool for TV viewing, panelists said Monday at the Parks Associates Connections conference held in conjunction with the CTIA conference. “In the past,” said D.P. Venkatesh, CEO of content discovery company mPortal, audience measuring companies would “tell you what people in America watch.” Now, he said, a new model is emerging based on broadband activity which “lets you know exactly what people are doing.”
LAS VEGAS -- The second-screen experience is creating a new measurement tool for TV viewing, panelists said Monday at the Parks Associates Connections conference held in conjunction with the CTIA conference. “In the past,” said D.P. Venkatesh, CEO of content discovery company mPortal, audience measuring companies would “tell you what people in America watch.” Now, he said, a new model is emerging based on broadband activity which “lets you know exactly what people are doing.”
LAS VEGAS -- The second-screen experience is creating a new measurement tool for TV viewing, panelists said Monday at the Parks Associates Connections conference held in conjunction with the CTIA conference. “In the past,” said D.P. Venkatesh, CEO of content discovery company mPortal, audience measuring companies would “tell you what people in America watch.” Now, he said, a new model is emerging based on broadband activity which “lets you know exactly what people are doing.”
The FCC is requiring all carriers and interconnected text messaging providers to send an automatic bounceback text message to consumers where text-to-911 service is not available, it said in an order released Friday. The order had been adopted May 8 on a 4-0 vote with Commissioner Ajit Pai concurring. The nation’s four largest carriers, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, have already committed to providing bounceback messages by June 30. The requirement now applies to other carriers and interconnected “over-the-top” text providers by Sept. 30 (http://fcc.us/12PR7sF). “Requiring all CMRS providers and interconnected text providers to implement a bounce-back mechanism is particularly important because while deployment of text-to-911 has begun, the transition is still in the very early stages and will not be uniform,” the order said. “During the transition, text-to-911 will be available in certain geographic areas sooner than it is available in others and may be supported by certain service providers but not by others. At the same time, as text-to-911 becomes more widely available, it is likely to generate increased consumer expectations as to its availability, which makes it increasingly important for consumers to be made aware when it is not available in an emergency.” “For too long, when a call for help went out as a text message, the only response was painful silence,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “But no one should be left wondering in an emergency if they have been heard.” Pai’s concurrence notes that he has fundamental questions about the FCC’s jurisdiction arguments. “I cannot support the lengthy legal analysis contained in this item, which offers a grab bag of theories, some far-reaching and questionable,” he said. “For example, the Commission today claims sweeping authority to prescribe ‘rules that prevent the transmission of potentially misleading text messages.’ This remarkable assertion of power raises serious First Amendment questions and should give pause to anyone who has ever sent a ‘potentially misleading’ text message."
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council media ownership study won’t provide the level of analysis required by the Prometheus II decision, Free Press told staff from Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s office Monday, said an ex parte filed Thursday (http://bit.ly/109zeqe). Outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski paused a vote on a draft bureau media ownership order to allow MMTC to conduct the study of cross ownership on minority-owned broadcasters (CD Feb 27 p1). Policy Director Matt Wood said Free Press has “serious concerns” about the study, which he characterized as consisting of “interviews with former and current broadcast station principals and executives.” Wood told us Friday that this kind of “qualitative study” won’t provide data showing the economic impact of consolidated media ownership on smaller businesses and minority owners. “It’s nice to see MMTC volunteering to take this on, but it’s not necessarily the kind of research,” requested by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its decision on the FCC’s media ownership rules, he said. MMTC President David Honig said in an email Friday that Free Press had been involved in the design process for the study, and that the council had adopted all of Free Press’s suggestions at the time. “So it’s puzzling why they would be critical of our study even before it’s been completed and published,” said Honig. Wood agreed that his organization had been involved, but said that it still preferred a quantitative study to meet the court’s requirements. “When science is being done, an open mind is helpful,” said Honig. MMTC has said the study will be submitted to the FCC May 29 (CD May 3 p12).
The World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF) will be a “chance to pause, reflect and debate the emerging issues” involving the Internet, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said Tuesday during the conference’s opening ceremony in Geneva. Tuesday’s proceedings were dominated by ceremony and discussion of the conference’s governance and structure. Ivo Ivanovski, Macedonia’s minister of information society and administration, is WTPF’s chair; representatives from Costa Rica, Gabon, India, Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia are vice chairs. Plenary Working Group 1 began presenting the Informal Experts Group’s (IEG) draft opinions on promotion of Internet exchange points as a long-term connectivity solution and fostering broadband connectivity growth, as well as member states’ contributions on those opinions. Debate on those two opinions is set to continue when the conference reconvenes Wednesday morning. Working Group 2, which is handling the IEG’s draft opinions on the adoption and deployment of IPv6, are set to present those opinions Wednesday. Working Group 3, which is handling the IEG’s draft opinions supporting “multistakeholderism” in Internet governance and the Enhanced Cooperation Process, is also set to begin presenting those opinions Wednesday. The New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute endorsed a statement on the “Best Bits” network submitted to the ITU ahead of the conference that urged adoption of the IEG’s opinions and supported instituting “inclusive and transparent ITU processes and uphold[ing] and protect[ing] the public interest and fundamental human rights.” Thirty-two groups in the U.S. and elsewhere have endorsed the statement, which Best Bits originally submitted prior to the controversial World Conference on International Telecommunications (http://bit.ly/196issz). While the tone of WTPF shows the ITU has “taken some positive steps to open up these important discussions, the ITU must create legitimate mechanisms for open and participatory policymaking with all stakeholders,” said Benjamin Lennett, OTI’s policy director (http://bit.ly/13Zw5cy).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., asked GAO to examine the impact that broadcast joint sales agreements (JSAs) and shared services agreements (SSAs) have upon consumers. “I have long had concerns about the public interest of weakening the existing media ownership rules,” said his letter made public Tuesday. “I believe the FCC should act with caution in this area and not make changes to the media ownership rules unless the agency can demonstrate clearly that localism, independence, and diversity of views will be advanced by any changes made to the rules.” Rockefeller asked GAO to determine the extent to which broadcasters are participating in JSAs and SSAs, what impact such agreements have on competition, whether they inflate retransmission consent fees and overall costs, and whether such agreements are increasing the costs that consumers incur for pay-TV programming, among other questions. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently paused a draft order that would relax media cross-ownership rules to give the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council time to study the impact of waivers, allowing common ownership of stations and daily newspapers, on minority and women-owned broadcasters (CD Feb 27 p1). The American Television Alliance (ATVA) and the American Cable Association (ACA) commended Rockefeller for requesting the study. ATVA said: “These types of arrangements may lead to more retransmission consent disputes and cause consumers more harm when multiple broadcast stations are pulled during such disputes. Further, these arrangements may cost consumers more money in the end.” ACA President Matthew Polka said he’s optimistic “the GAO will validate ACA’s claims that broadcast stations are engaging in widespread anti-competitive coordination designed to extract excessive retransmission consent compensation from pay-TV providers as compared to broadcasters that negotiate individually.”