TV Everywhere: Collusion Anywhere?: Via Freedom to Tinker.
FreePress and the National Cable and Telecom Association (NCTA) are talking past each other about TV Everywhere, a new initiative from the cable TV industry. FreePress says TV Everywhere is the cable industry's collusive attempt to limit competition; the NCTA says it's an exciting new product opportunity for consumers. Let's unpack this issue and see who might have a point, and who is blowing smoke.
We're at a critical point in the history of television. In recent years, most people have gotten TV shows from a traditional cable or satellite service. Now more and more people are getting shows on the Internet. Cable companies need to adapt, somehow, or become dinosaurs.
Which brings us to TV Everywhere. The idea, according to the NCTA, is for cable companies to offer their residential subscribers online access to the same shows they get at home. Existing consumers get more, at no extra charge -- who would complain about that? -- but only if they keep buying traditional cable service.
FreePress tells a different story, in which cable industry companies have agreed among themselves that this is their sole Internet distribution strategy. If such an agreement exists, it is problematic -- it looks like a classic market division agreement, which is bad for consumers and (as I understand it) presumptively illegal. read more... »
DRM by any other name: The latest from Hollywood: Via Freedom to Tinker.
Sunday's New York Times had an article, Studios' Quest for Life After DVDs. To nobody's surprise, consumers want to have convenient access to "their" media, wherever they happen to be, without all the annoying restrictions that come into play when you add DRM to the picture. To many people's surprise, sales of DVDs (much less Blu-ray) are in trouble.
In the third quarter, studios’ home entertainment divisions generated about $4 billion, down 3.2 percent from a year ago, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, a trade consortium. But digital distribution contributed just $420 million, an increase of 18 percent.
Given that DVDs are really a luxury good (versus, say, food or electricity), the 3.2 percent drop seems like Hollywood is getting off easy. read more... »
Hollywood Pressuring FCC on Selectable Output Control Again: Via EFF.org Updates.
Our friends at Public Knowledge have been doing a great job in Washington, D.C., fighting against the MPAA's efforts to selectively disable the high-definition analog (i.e., "component" video) outputs on your cable box. In essence, Hollywood is telling the FCC that it won't give Americans early access to blockbuster movies unless the FCC lets it kill your analog outputs.
Public Knowledge has an update today, letting us know that Hollywood is back at the FCC pushing for this anti-consumer, anti-innovation change in the FCC rules: read more... »
Into the DTV era, with no broadcast flag mandate: Via EFF.org Updates.
Today (June 12, 2009) marks the completion of the U.S. transition to digital television, as TV stations switch off their analog transmitters.
Just a few years ago, some broadcasters and movie studios argued that this transition couldn't happen without a DRM mandate -- a legal requirement for devices to obey the broadcast flag and apply DRM restrictions to free, over-the-air broadcasts. And they said they would hold up and obstruct this transition unless they got their way.
The DMCA has already been used to restrict the ability to produce innovative, useful products that copyright holders disapprove of. read more... »
EFF comments on Child Safe Viewing Act: Via EFF.org Updates.
Recently, EFF filed comments with the FCC in connection with the Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007, which requires the FCC to conduct a study of V-chip-like blocking technologies that might apply to media other than television – such as Internet access, perhaps. The law requires the FCC to study these "advanced blocking technologies" and report back to Congress, which might then take some further legislative action based on the report's contents. Our comments emphasized First Amendment issues, but there turns out to be a copyright angle lurking here too (which we'll discuss in a separate blog post). read more... »
The Child Safe Viewing Act and another DMCA victim: Via EFF.org Updates.
In an earlier post, we mentioned that EFF filed comments with the FCC in connection with the Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007. This process unexpectedly drew our attention to a copyright issue, which we discuss below.
The comments of one blocking technology company, TVGuardian, reveal an interesting angle: TVGuardian and companies like it are unexpected victims of DRM and the DMCA! read more... »
S.G. to Supreme Court: Don’t Revisit “Remote Storage DVR” Case: Via CDT - PolicyBeta.
The Solicitor General filed a brief with the Supreme Court on Friday that is good news for anyone who likes the idea of being able to record digital television without having to acquire and install a digital video recorder (DVR) box in the home. More importantly, the brief significantly reduces the chances of a decision that could cast a legal cloud over a wide range common network and computing technologies. read more... »
FCC okays DTV "analog nightlight" rules: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica
On the night before Christmas, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would let some full-power TV stations continue streaming a bare-bones analog signal for 30 days after the DTV transition. The "Analog Nightlight" program will allow those stations to keep their analog broadcast going "for the limited purpose of providing public safety and digital transition information," the FCC says. Meanwhile a key member of the House of Representatives is warning Congress that it may need to rush more money to the government's analog converter set top box program. read more... »
Comcast sued for not selling set-top boxes, CableCARDs: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica
Cheryl Corralejo is mad at hell at Comcast, and she isn't going to take it anymore. The object of her righteous crusade? Cable box rentals. Corralejo wants to own her box outright, and she has filed a class action complaint on behalf of all other Californians who desperately want to stop paying monthly fees just for a bit of decryption equipment.
The case, filed in federal court in California, began in late November and was recently unearthed by Multichannel News. Comcast has yet to respond.
The gist of the case, according to a copy of the complaint seen by Ars Technica, is rental fees. Corralejo argues that Comcast has a monopoly over video service in her area and that it uses that monopoly power to force her to use decryption equipment, which Corralejo cannot purchase outright. After only a few months, alleges the complaint, end users have already paid Comcast more than the box is worth. read more... »
The WIPO Broadcasting Treaty: Back from the Dead?: Via EFF.org Updates
Last year, we reported that WIPO Member States had decided to postpone holding an intergovernmental diplomatic conference to adopt the controversial Broadcasting Treaty. For us, and the many others who had expressed concern about the proposed treaty, this was welcome news. But it was short-lived. In 2008, the Broadcasting Treaty is being pushed by its supporters with a vengeance. Surprisingly, the US seems to have reversed its most recent position, and expressed support for continuing treaty negotiations so long as it includes webcasting.
Despite the fact that there has been no agreement on fundamental elements of the treaty after over 10 years of negotiations, in March there was a concerted move to resurrect negotiations, led by the European Community and Japan, with support from a set of other countries. At the September 2008 WIPO General Assembly meeting, a number of WIPO national delegates expressed support for finalizing treaty negotiations. Then in October, the long-standing WIPO Copyright Committee Chair, Mr. Jukka Liedes of Finland, produced an "informal paper" describing the process of negotiations so far, and proffered several options which would result in continuing discussions and finalization of the treaty. read more... »