Media Law

People are streaming online video more than ever before but only 17% of pay TV subscribers have watched cable programming online using so-called “TV Everywhere” services, according to a new study. The study, from research firm GfK Media, is the latest bad news for big media companies’ TV Everywhere initiative, which is aimed at reinforcing the value of traditional cable subscriptions. But since its launch four years ago, the effort has been plagued by delays in launch as a result of difficult rights negotiations between various entertainment companies and pay TV operators – cable, satellite and phone companies.

The FCC has ordered cable operators (and TiVo) to update their cable boxes to include support for HD streaming over home networks to devices like PCs, smart TVs, and tablets. In addition to video streaming, cable boxes must also allow HD video recording on external devices through home networks. By June 2nd 2014 the vast majority of set top boxes will have to support an open standard, although cable companies with fewer than 400,000 subscribers have been given an extra three months to implement the changes.  The commission originally ordered cable companies to support network-based streaming back in 2010, but TiVo protested the order saying "if each cable operator deploys set-top boxes with its own understanding of an open industry standard, the result may be an outcome that is neither standard nor open." The FCC has now clarified that an open standard should enable companies to work together without consultation, explaining that video streaming should work even if the cable company and (for example) PC manufacturer have never had any contact with each other.

Both the FCC and Verizon have cited the successor to the DLNA Premium Video Profile, which should be agreed upon at some point next year, as an example of a compliant protocol that cable companies could adopt. In order for the standard to comply, it must support "recordable high-definition video, closed captioning data, service discovery, video transport, and remote control command pass-through."  It'll be down to each company to choose the standard they want to use, but whatever happens, customers should be free to watch (and record) their cable TV content on any household device they choose.

...While planting your face in front of a tiny screen is perfectly acceptable on trans-Atlantic flights, it can be a little odd at home. But if you give yourself over to the tablet, it's actually a pretty awesome experience. I'm not claiming an iPad beats the big screen, but I will say this: Watching shows and movies on a tablet feels closer to what television viewing should be like in the 21st century than what 21st-century TVs actually deliver.  Yes, there are "smart" televisions that come with Wi-Fi and video-streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus baked in, but they feel sluggish compared to tablets. Devices that help bridge the gap between Internet-based content and your living room's television, like Apple TV and the Xbox 360, are pretty excellent, but once you've become accustomed to the speed and intimacy of using something like an iPad to watch your shows and films, it's hard to deal with tech that's not as responsive. Even simple things on a tablet, like briskly flicking through a menu of movies or accurately rewinding with the tip of your finger, can be pleasurable. As the gadgets in our pockets and handbags and briefcases become the most impressive technological objects in our lives, the good ol' TV setups in our homes can feel painfully slow and antiquated.  And what these futuristic slates lack in eye-popping bigness, they make up for in deft portability. Want to watch "Monday Night Football" in your backyard for a more tailgate-like experience? You can do that. Spouse kick you off the big screen to watch "Glee?" Grab the tablet and head to the attic. The tablet can be a marriage saver in one-television households. It's also the best thing to happen to lazy Sunday mornings since breakfast in bed...

...While planting your face in front of a tiny screen is perfectly acceptable on trans-Atlantic flights, it can be a little odd at home. But if you give yourself over to the tablet, it's actually a pretty awesome experience. I'm not claiming an iPad beats the big screen, but I will say this: Watching shows and movies on a tablet feels closer to what television viewing should be like in the 21st century than what 21st-century TVs actually deliver.  Yes, there are "smart" televisions that come with Wi-Fi and video-streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus baked in, but they feel sluggish compared to tablets. Devices that help bridge the gap between Internet-based content and your living room's television, like Apple TV and the Xbox 360, are pretty excellent, but once you've become accustomed to the speed and intimacy of using something like an iPad to watch your shows and films, it's hard to deal with tech that's not as responsive. Even simple things on a tablet, like briskly flicking through a menu of movies or accurately rewinding with the tip of your finger, can be pleasurable. As the gadgets in our pockets and handbags and briefcases become the most impressive technological objects in our lives, the good ol' TV setups in our homes can feel painfully slow and antiquated.  And what these futuristic slates lack in eye-popping bigness, they make up for in deft portability. Want to watch "Monday Night Football" in your backyard for a more tailgate-like experience? You can do that. Spouse kick you off the big screen to watch "Glee?" Grab the tablet and head to the attic. The tablet can be a marriage saver in one-television households. It's also the best thing to happen to lazy Sunday mornings since breakfast in bed...

...differing approaches illustrate a divide in the media industry over how best to put content on the Web while also keeping customers hooked to their TVs.  In 2009, cable giant Comcast Corp.and Time Warner — parent of TNT, TBS, HBO and other popular channels — unveiled TV Everywhere, an initiative that was to be a blueprint for the pay-TV industry to develop a platform to let subscribers watch content on their computers, phones or tablets. The proposition was simple enough: Take all that is good about television — lots of channels at the click of a button — and transfer it online.  The hope was that by offering subscribers more content online, people would be less likely to cut the cord to their cable or satellite TV service in favor of so-called over the top services such as Netflix, Hulu and Roku. TV Everywhere was also meant to discourage programmers from giving away their shows for free online.  But in the three years since it was conceived, TV Everywhere has struggled to gain traction.  "It's simply a mess," BTIG media analyst Rich Greenfield said. "A complete and utter failure."  Andy Heller, vice chairman and TV Everywhere point person for Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting, believes "the real stumbling block has been deals." Some programmers and distributors, Heller said, are using TV Everywhere contract talks as an excuse to try to "change terms and conditions" of other contracts.  Another problem is that neither the programmers nor the pay-TV providers can decide who should be the gatekeeper for content online. Some consumers have to register at multiple networks to watch content, while others can do one-stop shopping through their distributor.  "We're trying to figure out, can you have a single access point?" said Mike Hopkins, president of distribution for Fox Networks. "It's technically complicated but not impossible."

...When it comes to delivering audio-visual content to a wide audience, the Internet has lowered the barriers to entry so far that anyone with even the dinkiest camera can become a major broadcaster. The television industry may face a crisis of overhead when a large number of scrappy upstarts deliver comparable value with almost no fixed costs. Also, there are some aspects of the television business that the Internet simply does better, specifically when it comes to reaching an audience.  So there is the scent of blood in the water, and out of the resulting frenzy a few lessons have appeared. Here are four of them.  

- There doesn’t have to be a difference between a “channel” and a “show.”...
- Programming can now be delivered to your television set through a remote control...

- Marketing and distribution are often the same thing...

- Television is no longer that different from publishing...

People are streaming online video more than ever before but only 17% of pay TV subscribers have watched cable programming online using so-called “TV Everywhere” services, according to a new study. The study, from research firm GfK Media, is the latest bad news for big media companies’ TV Everywhere initiative, which is aimed at reinforcing the value of traditional cable subscriptions. But since its launch four years ago, the effort has been plagued by delays in launch as a result of difficult rights negotiations between various entertainment companies and pay TV operators – cable, satellite and phone companies.

The FCC has ordered cable operators (and TiVo) to update their cable boxes to include support for HD streaming over home networks to devices like PCs, smart TVs, and tablets. In addition to video streaming, cable boxes must also allow HD video recording on external devices through home networks. By June 2nd 2014 the vast majority of set top boxes will have to support an open standard, although cable companies with fewer than 400,000 subscribers have been given an extra three months to implement the changes.  The commission originally ordered cable companies to support network-based streaming back in 2010, but TiVo protested the order saying "if each cable operator deploys set-top boxes with its own understanding of an open industry standard, the result may be an outcome that is neither standard nor open." The FCC has now clarified that an open standard should enable companies to work together without consultation, explaining that video streaming should work even if the cable company and (for example) PC manufacturer have never had any contact with each other.

Both the FCC and Verizon have cited the successor to the DLNA Premium Video Profile, which should be agreed upon at some point next year, as an example of a compliant protocol that cable companies could adopt. In order for the standard to comply, it must support "recordable high-definition video, closed captioning data, service discovery, video transport, and remote control command pass-through."  It'll be down to each company to choose the standard they want to use, but whatever happens, customers should be free to watch (and record) their cable TV content on any household device they choose.

...While planting your face in front of a tiny screen is perfectly acceptable on trans-Atlantic flights, it can be a little odd at home. But if you give yourself over to the tablet, it's actually a pretty awesome experience. I'm not claiming an iPad beats the big screen, but I will say this: Watching shows and movies on a tablet feels closer to what television viewing should be like in the 21st century than what 21st-century TVs actually deliver.  Yes, there are "smart" televisions that come with Wi-Fi and video-streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus baked in, but they feel sluggish compared to tablets. Devices that help bridge the gap between Internet-based content and your living room's television, like Apple TV and the Xbox 360, are pretty excellent, but once you've become accustomed to the speed and intimacy of using something like an iPad to watch your shows and films, it's hard to deal with tech that's not as responsive. Even simple things on a tablet, like briskly flicking through a menu of movies or accurately rewinding with the tip of your finger, can be pleasurable. As the gadgets in our pockets and handbags and briefcases become the most impressive technological objects in our lives, the good ol' TV setups in our homes can feel painfully slow and antiquated.  And what these futuristic slates lack in eye-popping bigness, they make up for in deft portability. Want to watch "Monday Night Football" in your backyard for a more tailgate-like experience? You can do that. Spouse kick you off the big screen to watch "Glee?" Grab the tablet and head to the attic. The tablet can be a marriage saver in one-television households. It's also the best thing to happen to lazy Sunday mornings since breakfast in bed...

...When it comes to delivering audio-visual content to a wide audience, the Internet has lowered the barriers to entry so far that anyone with even the dinkiest camera can become a major broadcaster. The television industry may face a crisis of overhead when a large number of scrappy upstarts deliver comparable value with almost no fixed costs. Also, there are some aspects of the television business that the Internet simply does better, specifically when it comes to reaching an audience.  So there is the scent of blood in the water, and out of the resulting frenzy a few lessons have appeared. Here are four of them.  

- There doesn’t have to be a difference between a “channel” and a “show.”...
- Programming can now be delivered to your television set through a remote control...

- Marketing and distribution are often the same thing...

- Television is no longer that different from publishing...

...When it comes to delivering audio-visual content to a wide audience, the Internet has lowered the barriers to entry so far that anyone with even the dinkiest camera can become a major broadcaster. The television industry may face a crisis of overhead when a large number of scrappy upstarts deliver comparable value with almost no fixed costs. Also, there are some aspects of the television business that the Internet simply does better, specifically when it comes to reaching an audience.  So there is the scent of blood in the water, and out of the resulting frenzy a few lessons have appeared. Here are four of them.  

- There doesn’t have to be a difference between a “channel” and a “show.”...
- Programming can now be delivered to your television set through a remote control...

- Marketing and distribution are often the same thing...

- Television is no longer that different from publishing...