You heard it here first, set top boxes (or sticks) are a transitional technology. The Genie ( and I hope it’s Jeannie) is about to leap our of her bottle. Right now you can buy about a dozen so-called “over the top” TV technologies that come with all kinds of boxes with which you can […]
Ones and Zeros
February 27, 2015 by
In the interest of clarifying the debate, here’s the argument in favor of net neutrality. Delivering broadband capacity is like delivering gravel. It doesn’t take a ton of talent or innovation. It’s been done for years. There’s typically a demand for more as we pave over the world, but the focus has shifted from the […]
Fear and Loathing Over Comcast
February 14, 2014 by
So what difference does it make one monopoly buys another monopoly? I say, “Very little.” The purpose of this edition of Media Monkey is to provide some alternative thinking to the dominant narrative: that Comcast’s $45-billion purchase of Time Warner is bad for consumers and bad for society. My point is this: The “bad” part […]
Is cable TV a right?
August 27, 2013 by
Like the editorial team and Pete Callaghan at The News Tribune, I too am very, very curious about what KOMO charged CLICK! for carriage. KOMO and CLICK! were locked in a re-transmission fee battle recently and the paper, wisely, is fighting in court to use the public records laws to find out what KOMO charges […]
NY Judge: For now, stealing OKAY!
June 12, 2012 by
US District Judge Alison Nathan went to great lengths to protect a company whose entire business model is based on outright theft. It’s not even a gray area – it’s just stealing, and the wrongness of it is hard to believe. This is one of the things that drive me crazy: We are clearly seeing […]
Show Me the Money
May 25, 2012 by
There’s only one thing that matters in broadcasting: Getting paid. It’s not evil – it’s the same in ANY other business in these here United States. So with that said, why should the consumer have to pay twice? Want CSI? Want the news? Want sports programming or a late night movie? Somebody has to pay […]
Bonkers for broadband
June 19, 2010 by
A couple of developments on the broadband front: AT&T and others have shut down their bandwidth meters where customers were charged based on how much they downloaded, with penalties for overages included. I can’t think of a better way to kill demand than by putting a throttle on the Internet. Let’s face it, huge bandwidth […]
Here comes 3D
May 18, 2010 by
Comcast is the first MSO to buy ESPN’s 3D sports channel that’s supposed to launch in June for the World Cup. The channel will be both on demand, and receive a regular channel assignment too – most likely on the premium side of the house – although I think giving it away with the basic […]
Get interested already
April 7, 2010 by
Comcast won a little victory in court allowing it to continue to throttle high-demand services like Bit Torrent without the FCC being able to get involved. Comcast loves the ruling and promises to keep the net available and fast for most customers. Net neutrality advocates say the FCC had better jump in right now to […]
Google TV – seriously
March 29, 2010 by
Google TV is what’s coming. It will come in dribs and drabs and there will false starts and dry holes, but eventually, the computer and the television set will be one device used to select and view content that is aggregated by the user with no intermediary and no restrictions on what can be watched, […]
Upload Shmupload
March 22, 2010 by
The National Broadband Plan is hailed as 21st century’s Interstate Highway construction program. I agree it is. What I don’t agree with however is the thinking that is behind it. The philosophical underpinnings used to set the plan’s goals are 180 degrees wrongheaded in my opinion, and here’s why. If you do a little reading, […]
Kable Town
March 16, 2010 by
Disclaimer: I love my Comcast service, I do shows for Comcast – a fine and generous company, I shop at WalMart, have owned a broken-down mini-van, admire the engine building involved with tractor pulls and may wind up in a double-wide trailer. Thanks to the miracle that is the DVR attached to my cable TV […]
YouNews: It’s Coming
February 10, 2010 by
Guess what the hot new gadgets are for local TV stations? Answer: Devices that allow the quick and easy ingestion (non indigestion) of viewer-generated content. Why in the world would a TV station fill its newscast with poorly shot video? Because it’s cheap. In fact, think about carving out a YouNews space in your market […]
Tribal warfare
February 4, 2010 by
Word is out today that NBC affiliates are actually going to oppose the Comcast/NBC deal. The official word from the affiliates group is that it won’t oppose the deal as long as some protections are in place. But individual affiliate ownership groups won’t be so gentle – they’re reportedly going to try to get the […]
Gettin’ Paid!
December 29, 2009 by
Every business model is at risk in television. Right now, there are two major fronts on which broadcasters are fighting, and each has the potential to radically change our viewing experience going forward. The first front is the clamor over spectrum. Perhaps youíve seen the commercials on television touting the benefits of free over-the-air television. […]
Messin’ with Sasquatch
December 23, 2009 by
There’s nothing like an early Christmas present. Mine came in the form of a Samsung Blu-ray DVD player that features Internet connectivity to YouTube, Netflix, Blockbuster and Pandora. It is a study in the concept of disintermediation and a clear window into the reasons for things like Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal. Comcast is the […]
