Rockefeller Working DTV Delay Bill By Ted Hearn - 01/13/2009
Washington—Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) spent Tuesday trying to assemble a bill designed to delay the Feb. 17 digital TV transition and provide new funds for the Commerce Department's hobbled converter box coupon program. More
Martin: Genachowski To Do 'Fantastic Job' By Ted Hearn - 01/13/2009
Washington -- If Julius Genachowski is the next Federal Communications Commission chairman, he'll do a "fantastic job," current Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday. More
D.C. Mayor Signs Bill Approving Verizon FiOS TV By Todd Spangler - 01/13/2009
Verizon Communications is one step away from bringing FiOS TV to the nation’s capital after District of Columbia mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed legislation into law Monday night approving the telco’s 15-year cable franchise in the city.
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With Genachowski, Adieu To A La Carte? By Ted Hearn - 01/13/2009
Washington -- If President-elect Barack Obama is going to name his close friend and technology adviser Julius Genachowski to be Federal Communications Commission chairman, it will likely to take pressure off the cable industry regarding the pricing and packaging of TV channels, a pair of analysts said Tuesday.
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Obama To Nominate Genachowski To Lead FCC 01/12/2009
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name Julius Genachowski to succeed Kevin Martin as the Federal Communications Commission chairman, according to published reports.
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Obama DTV Plan Splits AT&T, Verizon By Ted Hearn - 01/12/2009
Washington -- President-elect Obama's plan to delay the nation's switch to digital broadcasting on Feb. 17 has driven a wedge between AT&T and Verizon Communications as a key senator prepares legislation that would postpone the transition perhaps by 90 days.
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PEG Has Blurry Future In GoldenState By Linda Haugsted - 01/12/2009
Communities throughout California will see less public-access programming this year, as cable operators turn support of those channels over to cities and counties under the terms of the 2006 law that put the state in charge of cable franchises.
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CEA Chief Opposes DTV Postponement By Ted Hearn - 01/12/2009
Washington—The head of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is continuing to doubt the wisdom of the incoming Obama administration's plan to postpone the Feb. 17 transition to digital broadcasting.
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Public Safety Groups Fear Obama DTV Delay By Ted Hearn - 01/12/2009
Washington—Four leading public safety organizations want a guarantee that an Obama administration delay of the Feb. 17 digital television transition will not postpone their access to spectrum now occupied by analog TV stations.
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Supreme Court Asks For Government Input On Cablevision RS-DVR Case By Todd Spangler - 01/12/2009
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the Department of Justice to submit a brief reviewing an appeal by entertainment companies of a lower court’s ruling that would allow Cablevision Systems to legally deploy a network-based DVR service.
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Charter Sues Verizon Over Video Patents By Todd Spangler - 01/12/2009
Charter Communications has fired back at Verizon Communications, alleging in a federal lawsuit that the telco’s FiOS TV service infringes four patents related to video-on-demand service delivery.
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Cover Story: Operators, Broadcasters Give Peace A Chance On Retransmission Consent By Mike Farrell & Linda Moss - 01/10/2009
Just a few years ago, CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves told an audience at an industry conference that within five years, cable operators should expect to pay cash to carry the network. Well, those days are evidently here.
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CES 2009: FCC’s Martin Opposes DTV Date Move By Todd Spangler - 01/10/2009
Las Vegas -- Kevin Martin, expected to be replaced as Federal Communications Commission chairman later this month after President-elect Barack Obama takes office, said changing the digital TV transition date from Feb. 17 would cause consumer confusion.
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CES 2009: DTV Transition Seen Adding 1.7 Million Pay-TV Subs By Todd Spangler - 01/09/2009
Las Vegas—The elimination of analog TV broadcasts in the U.S.—currently set for Feb. 17, although the incoming Obama administration is hoping to push the date back—will give cable and satellite operators in the U.S. roughly 1.7 million new subscribers, according to a forecast by investment bank Barclays Capital.
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Markey Draft Keeps Feb. 17 DTV Transition By Ted Hearn - 01/09/2009
Washington -- Rep. Edward Markey (D. Mass.) is circulating a draft bill on the digital TV transition that would retain the Feb. 17 cutoff of analog TV signals, despite a request Thursday by the co-chairman of the Obama transition team for a delay.
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N.Y. Rep. McCarthy Latest to Lobby for DTV Delay By Ted Hearn - 01/09/2009
Washington—New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is tentatively supporting a delay of the Feb. 17 digital television transition, arguing that a $1.34 billion converter box coupon program has collapsed and needs additional funds rapidly.
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Powell, Kennard Support DTV Delay By Ted Hearn - 01/09/2009
Washington—Former Federal Communications Commission chairmen William Kennard and Michael Powell are calling on Congress to impose a short delay on the Feb. 17 national switch to digital television service, claiming a "train wreck" awaits perhaps millions of homes that lack the right equipment to make the transition.
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Obama: Delay DTV Transition By Ted Hearn - 01/08/2009
Washington—President-elect Barack Obama wants to delay the Feb. 17 transition to digital broadcasting, claiming poor, rural and elderly residents will be unprepared for the cutoff of analog TV signals so soon after he takes office on Jan. 20.
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Consumers Union: Delay DTV Transition By Ted Hearn - 01/08/2009
Washington -- A leading consumer organization is calling on Congress to consider delaying the Feb. 17 digital TV transition, alleging that a key converter box coupon program subsidized by the federal government has run out of money and could leave millions of consumers without broadcast TV.
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Dish, KTKA Come To Retrans Terms By Mike Reynolds - 01/07/2009
After nearly a week, KTKA, the ABC affiliate serving Topeka, Kan., is back on Dish Network.
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