Featured Article:
Media Access Project President Outlines the Dangers of the Proposed Comcast-NBC Universal Merger at Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Hearing
Details Potential Negative Impacts for Independent Programmers, Cable and Internet Video Distributors, and the General Public
Media Access Project (MAP) has released testimony prepared for delivery before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee this afternoon. In the testimony, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, MAP President and CEO, expresses opposition to Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC Universal (NBCU).
His testimony draws attention to the transaction’s potential impact on independent programmers, since Comcast’s increase in market power would further hurt those programmers who already are unable to obtain carriage on Comcast’s cable system. The cable provider’s record of favoring its own system means its acquisition of NBC’s cable networks will greatly magnify this imbalance of power, exacerbated even more by potential practices such as forced bundling of Comcast-owned content.Read More >>
Read Mr. Schwartzman’s testimony.
Recent News:
Citizens Groups Ask FCC to Address Diversity in Telecom, Media Ownership and Programming
A coalition of public interest organizations sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski yesterday, calling on the Commission to make increased diversity in the media and broadband communications landscape a top priority. The groups issued the following joint statement:
“Historically marginalized communities still face countless barriers to their own members’ provision and ownership of communications services. The Communications Act instructs the Commission to examine these barriers and take steps to eliminate them. This Commission has taken strides in this area, yet much work remains to be done to address persistent and growing digital divides.
Tuesday March 9, 2010 under Press » Media Concentration | Read more »
Broadcasters: We Don't Need Government to Tell Us How to Serve Our Public
At FCC workshop, panelists outline lack of quantifiable public interest obligations
By John Eggerton,
The FCC began its first workshop on the future of media and serving the information needs of the community March 4 with a series of panelists outlining what they said was essentially a lack of any quantifiable public interest obligations on broadcasters. Broadcasters countered that serving the public with programming they needed and wanted was part of their DNA, or in the case of news, RTDNA, and that there was no need for the government to mandate more specific public interest requirements.
Friday March 5, 2010 under MAP in the News » | Read more »
Schwartzman of MAP: FCC Must Modernize Public Service Requirements For Local Broadcasters
WASHINGTON — Andrew Jay Schwartzman, President and CEO of Media Access Project, testified before the Federal Communications Commission today in a panel discussion addressing the local television and radio public interest obligations, as part of the Commission’s Future of Media workshop series.
In his testimony, Schwartzman explained that, according to Title III of the Communications Act, a primary duty of each broadcaster is to serve its own community of license. Despite this obligation, however, many television and radio broadcasters around the country have done little or nothing to address local topics and meet local needs. “There is no point in having a system which prizes localism and diversity if many of the licensees do nothing – literally nothing – which is locally oriented, or which duplicates the programming of other stations or which consists entirely of home shopping programming,” Schwartzman said. “Yet that is what the current system tolerates.”
Thursday March 4, 2010 under Press » Media Concentration | Read more »
"It's Complicated:" The Spectrum Debate
The Scramble for Content and Delivery: It’s “Up in the Air”
Presented by the American Bar Association on Communications Law, The National Association of Broadcasters, and the Federal Communications Bar Association
Sunday, April 11 2010
Encore Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada
Registration for the event can be found here:
http://new.abanet.org/forums/communication/Pages/default.aspx
For more information:
http://new.abanet.org/Forums/Communication/PublicDocuments/april2010symposium_broch.pdf
12:15-1:45
“It’s Complicated:” The Spectrum Debate
The hottest debate in Washington telecommunications policy and fresh off the pages of the National Broadband Plan — is there really a looming spectrum crisis? How do various proposals affect broadcast spectrum and future innovation and service? What about the deployment of unlicensed devices? And, are there alternatives to consider? Join these esteemed experts as we tackle the communications broadcast-broadband ecosystem.
Co-Moderators:
Bryan Tramont, Wilikinson Barker, Knauer, LLP, Washington, DC
Richard Wiley, Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, DC
Featuring:
Parul Desai, Media Access Project, Washington, DC
Jerald N. Fritz, Allbritton Communications Company, Arlington, VA
Christopher Guttman-McCabe, CTIA – The Wireless Association, Washington, DC
Megan Stull, Google, Inc., Washington, DC
Wednesday March 3, 2010 under Press » | Read more »
Comcast-NBC Deal Could Harm Workers, Lawmakers Say
By Sam Gustin, Daily Finance
The Comcast-NBC show returned to Capitol Hill Thursday as legislators pressed executives over the companies’ plans to create a $30 billion media juggernaut. During a lengthy round of questioning, Comcast (CMCSA) CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Universal chieftain Jeff Zucker denied that the merger would be anti-competitive and would lead to layoffs. But critics were unswayed, including one who went as far as to say the deal would “undermine American democracy.”
It was largely political theater, however, because the deal is almost certain to be approved, despite the concerns of critics.
Friday February 26, 2010 under MAP in the News » | Read more »