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Rolling on the River with the Tut n' Commons by Ken Pyle ([email protected]), Viodi, LLC |
September 29, 2004 Issue |
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As moderator of the “content panel” at the Tut User’s Group, I was a little surprised to hear Robert Primosch of Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP express the possibility that telcos might not be able to get cable programming in two years. We had discussed various topics in the days leading up to the panel, but we had never discussed this topic in any depth. Primosch made the strong point that, for telcos deploying cable television services, all, “conversations begin and end with programming.” He explained how the 1992 Cable Act prevented MSO-affiliated, satellite delivered networks from giving MSOs exclusive contracts. These “program access” laws had a 10 year life, which Congress had extended for 5 years back in 2002. Further, “lurking the weeds”, are changes to broadcast must-carry and retransmission rules, which are set to take place in 2005. Changes to these rules would allow broadcasters to give exclusivity. Primosch painted a scenario, where Fox could provide exclusivity to its own DirectTV service for its broadcast and cable properties, effectively shutting out a significant amount of programming to independent telcos. Personally, I do not think this will happen as Fox wants to maximize the value of their assets by getting it to as many distribution channels as possible. I heard this reiterated by an executive from Fox at today’s Digital Hollywood conference. Primosch stressed the importance of the independent telco industry making an aggressive case before Congress to ensure they continue to have access to cable programming. He stated that it has been shown that terrestrial competition is the best way to reduce rates people pay for cable television. He cited Philadelphia as an example whereby the cable-owned, local sports network was not available to the Direct Broadcast Satellite provider. As a result DBS penetration was a mere three percent and cable rates in Philadelphia were significantly higher than areas with terrestrial competition. Looking forward with new ways to monetize the network, Allison Dollar of the Interactive Television Alliance gave an overview of what is happening in the iTV world. She said that, “[advertising] Agencies don’t want iTV, because they will be much more accountable.” She suggested that formulas for integrated media buys are still being determined and it is, to some extent, unchartered territory how different media, such as Internet, iTV and the real world play off each other. She stressed that it is important for telcos to build their iTV programs around their core. Telcos best know their constituency and should play to that strength. In doing so, look for content and promotional partners that complement the telco’s core strength. She mentioned The Varsity Network as one content source that could be of interest to telcos. She also suggested that telcos try to anticipate how they might be able to participate in upfront dollars budgeted by advertisers. I wish I would have recorded the exchanges between Robert and Allison, as they fed off each other and there were a number of gems that I missed. I had great feedback from the audience on their presentations. The overall Tut User’s Group meeting was well rated from the telcos I talked to over the course of the riverboat dinner cruise. From what I saw of the cruise and the sessions I attended, everything was first class. One of the sessions that should be of great interest to Independent Telcos is the presentation Tut's Staff Attorney, Kay Stowers, gave on Acacia Media Research. She did a good job of summarizing the patent issues that should be on the forefront of anyone’s thoughts that is planning or has deployed video services. Finally, Tut had an excellent Rock and Roll cover band to entertain us on the cruise. The band’s drummer is involved in training for Tut during the day. Hence the band’s name; The Tut n’ Commons. All displayed trademarks, logos
and service marks are the property of their respective owners. ©
2004, Viodi,
LLC. All Rights Reserved |
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