FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker criticized review of Comcast-NBC Universal by the agency as having taken too long and imposed too many conditions, including about broadband deployment and online video. She expanded on a concurrence that she and Commissioner Robert McDowell put out concerning the order approving Comcast’s purchase of control of NBC Universal. The deal stands to benefit consumers and other content companies, and the commission should have stuck to its 180-day voluntary shot clock for decisions on mergers and acquisitions and not imposed conditions that don’t directly relate to the NBCU deal, Baker said in a recorded interview to be shown on C-SPAN Saturday and Monday.
FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker criticized the FCC’s review of Comcast-NBC Universal (NBCU) as having taken too long and imposed too many conditions, including about broadband deployment and online video. She expanded on a concurrence that she and Commissioner Robert McDowell put out concerning the order approving Comcast’s purchase of control of NBC Universal. The deal stands to benefit consumers and other content companies, and the commission should have stuck to its 180-day voluntary shot clock for decisions on mergers and acquisitions and not imposed conditions that don’t directly relate to the NBCU deal, Baker said in a recorded interview to be shown on C-SPAN this weekend.
Samsung will ship an HD camcorder in February at $299 that it said Monday will be the first from the company to feature a Switch Grip. The feature “ensures that when filming, the LCD screen adapts to how the camcorder body is being held,” whether the user is left- or right-handed, “shooting in difficult positions or combining recording film with other activities,” it said. “No matter how the camcorder is held, the G-magnetic sensor inside the HMX-Q10 recognizes the angle and turns the LCD display so it’s easy to see, and controls recording easily from any angle,” it explained. The HMX-Q10’s body was also “streamlined and made more compact so it can easily be carried anywhere,” Samsung said. The camcorder saves data on SD and SDHC memory cards, and features a 2.7-inch wide touch-panel LCD, shoots HD video at 1920 x 1080i 60 Hz or 1280 x 720p 60 Hz, and offers 4.9-megapixel still images, it said. A similar Samsung HD camcorder last year, the H200, cost $399.99 without Switch Grip, a company spokeswoman said. The new model also features a BSI CMOS sensor that Samsung said “records with twice the sensitivity of normal CMOS sensors, dramatically reducing noise and distortion while also enhancing recording quality in low-light conditions.” The HMX-Q10 also features an upgraded version of Samsung’s Smart Auto scene recognition technology that it said “analyzes key elements of the composition of the footage such as brightness, motion, color and subject and then selects the most appropriate settings to produce the best results possible.” Samsung also incorporated Record Pause technology that it said allows users to take brief pauses in filming before re-starting, “so they don’t need to merge files when finished.”
Broadcasters should “declare a moratorium” on programming “blackouts” that could affect millions of pay-TV subscribers New Year’s Day if new retransmission consent deals aren’t reached, several groups, including some that want retrans rule changes, said Thursday. “Congressional concern and the FCC’s recent announcement that it will begin a rulemaking in early 2011 to protect consumers during retransmission consent negotiations” (CD Dec 9 p5) justify a pause, said the American Television Alliance, whose members include many cable operators and both DBS operators. Consumer Action, the National Urban League, the New America Foundation, Public Knowledge and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition support the request. On a panel about retrans Thursday, broadcast officials noted that there have been few carriage disputes and said the system works. (See the separate report in this issue.)
Public interest groups are turning up the heat on the FCC to strengthen net neutrality rules regarding wireless and a few other areas, in an order circulated by Chairman Julius Genachowski Nov. 30 for a vote Tuesday. The key question, commission and industry officials said Wednesday, is whether Democratic Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn will prevail on Genachowski to make changes to make the rules tougher, though doing so could blow up industry support for the rules.
Logitech’s is using its Google TV-based Revue device as a base for integrating its peripherals technology and building a white box OEM business, Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of digital home, told us at the Digital Hollywood conference in New York. Since shipping Revue in late October, Logitech has been out of stock at some stores, Arora said. The Revue is sold through Amazon, Best Buy, Dish Network and Logitech.com, he said.
Time Warner Cable said it will expand its Look Back service to more markets after successful market trials. The service will allow digital cable subscribers to watch programming on 24 HD and 24 SD networks for three days after it initially aired. Customers can pause and rewind programming, but not fast-forward through it, Time Warner Cable said. The service will be expanded to New York, New England, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and parts of Texas, it said.
Three dozen nonprofits asked the FCC to resume collecting the numbers of minorities and women employed at each broadcaster, after a lapse of most of the past decade. They said late Thursday it’s far past time for the commission to require radio and TV stations to fill out Form 395-B yearly and for the FCC to disclose publicly each broadcaster’s information. Those requesting the commission action include the Communications Workers of America, Common Cause, Free Press, the New America Foundation and Public Knowledge. Broadcasters have asked that the data be kept private and submitted to a third party, not the FCC, a position that some still support, said nonprofit and industry officials.
AT&T added and retained more wireless customers in the third quarter than it had in any previous Q3, the carrier said Thursday. And it sold a record number of Apple iPhone handsets, though many were to subscribers it already had. AT&T mobile broadband “is approaching a $20 billion a year business, and the business is growing at 25-30 percent,” Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said on the carrier’s earnings call. Wireline isn’t achieving the same success, but Lindner said the carrier isn’t thinking about ditching the business.
AT&T added and retained more wireless customers in the third quarter than it had in any previous Q3, the carrier said Thursday. And it sold a record number of Apple iPhone handsets, though many were to subscribers it already had. AT&T mobile broadband “is approaching a $20 billion a year business, and the business is growing at 25-30 percent,” Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said on the carrier’s earnings call. Wireline isn’t achieving the same success, but Lindner said the carrier isn’t thinking about ditching the business.