Disciplining web infringers

July 17 2012 – (CNN) — Recently an op-ed by Douglas Rushkoff took up the issue of the creation of the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), a coalition charged with implementing the Copyright Alert System, a graduated response framework to copyright infringement. As the executive director of the Center, I would like to respond to several concerns that article raised about how the program will work and its goals

For background, the Copyright Alert System aims to inform consumers of inadvertent or purposeful unauthorized distribution of content over peer-to-peer networks and to help consumers find legal ways to obtain, share and enjoy movies and music protected by copyright.

The program represents an unprecedented and voluntary partnership between leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) — AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon — and U.S. content creators — represented by the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America — with advice from leading consumer advocates. Gigi Sohn, president and CEO of Public Knowledge and Marsali Hancock, president, iKeepSafe.org, sit on our advisory board, to name just two.

HK Cable shares Olympic fees

July 18 2012 – Hong Kong – A last-ditch agreement has been reached between i-Cable and the two free-TV stations over broadcasting the London Olympics.

With government mediation, i-Cable agreed to sell the rights to 200 hours of Olympics events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, for an undisclosed amount.

TVB and ATV will jointly produce programming around the games.

As for advertising, the three stations will draw advertisers separately and i-Cable’s ads will not be shown on TVB or ATV.

True mulls Myanmar

Jul 16 2012 – True Corporation has announced plans to jump into Myanmar’s emerging cable television market this year with a possible investment of 1 billion baht.

Thailand’s leading telecommunications firm also outlined a planned drive into Vietnam to expand its telecom footprint when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) kicks off effect in 2015.

Chief executive Suphachai Chearavanont said True expects to finalise the joint-venture plan with the Myanmar government on the cable-TV project this year.

Clash of Asian tycoons in S’pore

15 Jul 2012 – A protracted legal tussle between two prominent Asian tycoons over US$300 million (S$380 million) will soon be played out again in a Singapore court – with all the makings of a giant battle.

Malaysian T. Ananda Krishnan and Indonesia’s Mr James Riady will be facing off in court in Singapore for the first time.

On July 23 and 24, Queen’s Counsel Toby Landau and David Joseph will face off as they argue the case for Mr Riady’s Jakarta-based First Media and Mr Krishnan’s satellite-television operator Astro All Asia Networks respectively.

‘Must carry’ rules may cause copyright problems

July 16, 2012 – The operators of free TV channels could run into copyright-violation problems if upcoming “must carry” regulations are not followed cautiously, broadcasters and a media agency have told The Nation.

Last week, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) approved the draft of a regulation guaranteeing the basic right to access all free-to-air TV content in the Kingdom on any platform, without any conditions.

However, Wichit Aurareevorakul, executive adviser of the Thailand Cable TV Association, said that though cable TV operators would benefit from this, as they will be able to pass through or rebroadcast TV programmes from free-TV channels legally, it also might cause copyright problems for free-TV channels. And this factor will multiply along with the number of digital TV channels, expected to reach between 50 and 60 channels from only six channels now.

IPTV challenge for Foxtel

July 11, 2012 – In 1999, when the Australian pay TV industry was less than four years old, Foxtel chief executive Tom Mockridge made a prediction: a big, bold and – as it turned out – wildly incorrect prediction. Within 10 years, he said, pay TV would be installed in three quarters of Australian homes.

Yet by 2009 only 29 per cent of Australian homes had pay TV. Today, according to stockbroking firm CCZ Statton Equities, it’s currently at 28 per cent – one of the lowest rates in the developed world.

Mockbridge’s over-optimism hasn’t stopped Richard Freudenstein, who replaced Kim Williams as chief executive last year, from publicising his own lofty goals for the industry. In March, he announced an ambition to lift the take-up of pay TV to 50 per cent (though he didn’t apply a deadline to the target).

None of the media analysts contacted by Crikey for this story believe this will happen – ever. They say despite News Limited’s bid to lift its stake in Foxtel from 25 to 50 per cent, the take-up of traditional pay TV has already peaked – and will soon start to decline.

“There is no indication whatsoever that pay TV in its current form will grow to 50 per cent,” said veteran telecommunications consultant Paul Budde. “No way.”

Import licenses for Thai STBs?

July 12, 2012 – The request came after the broadcasting committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission on Monday approved the draft rules to import, produce and distribute set-top boxes to pay-television operators. The draft will go before a public hearing and be put into effect soon.

Niran Tangpiroontham, managing director of Infosat Intertrade and president of the Satellite Dish Club, told The Nation that the NBTC should design two types of licences. One would be for importers, distributors and producers of satellite TV set-top boxes and related parts. The other would be for pay-TV service providers.

Pay-TV service providers must also be required to obtain the licence for importing, producing and distributing satellite TV receivers if they want to have their own type of receiver, he said.

Thailand gets more and better digital programs

July 13, 2012 – Thailand continues to make headlines as the country works to upgrade its broadcasting networks to accommodate new digital technology and HD content.

True Visions subscription TVs will be blacked out late Sunday night to Monday morning when the largest subscription TV operator will make major upgrade to its clients’ receivers to accommodate 17 more High Definition channels.

Meanwhile, Cable Thai Holding (CTH), a joint venture of local cable television operators, will invest 8 billion baht over the next two years to bolster its broadcasting network capacity ahead of the upcoming transition to digital TV.

Aereo clears for live broadcast

July 13, 2012 – Aereo, the start-up that takes live TV programming and sends it to mobile devices in New York, can continue with its service, despite objections from major broadcasters who argue that expansion can threaten the free broadcasting of events such as the Super Bowl, a judge ruled Wednesday.

US District Judge Alison Nathan said she understood how the service provided by the company, Aereo, may be unfair to broadcasters, but said the law left her no choice but to reject a request by News Corp.’s Fox and other broadcasters to stop its broadcasts.

Aereo alllows customers capture over-the-air broadcasts for viewing on iPhones, iPads and computers for $12 a month. A copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC and others, accused Aereo of copying and retransmitting their programming over the Internet unlawfully.

The ad skipping threat

July 12, 2012 – Even though DISH Network’s introduction of an STB with an automatic ad-skipping feature has prompted a furious legal response, the function could become so popular with consumers that it may prove difficult to take away.

According to a research note by IHS Screen Digest, DISH’s AutoHop feature in its Hopper set-top boxes — which will allow consumers to automatically skip ads during playback on a digital video recorder (DVR) when viewing broadcast network programming — may just be a ploy to cut retrans fees, but it could represent a fundamental threat to the advertising revenue that drives their business.

As a result, there has been a swarm of lawsuits and dire warnings of mass commercial failure for the television industry should advertising be taken out of the equation. After widespread industry rumblings against the feature and ongoing investment in such things, DISH, the third largest pay-TV operator in the US, filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, asking for a declaratory judgment that the feature is legal and does not infringe on copyrights. Three broadcasters have responded with lawsuits of their own.

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