April 11, 2011
Volume XXXIV, Issue 9
Don't Miss CONTENT IN THE CLOUD at NAB
The DCIA invites DCINFO readers to attend our first-ever CONTENT IN THE CLOUD at NAB this Monday April 11th starting at 12:30 PM in N232 of the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall.
Explore this rapidly emerging technology that promises to expand the possibilities for anyone looking to realize the full potential of digital post-production and distribution. If IPTV or online delivery is in your current or future operating plans, you won't want to miss these eight keynotes and four panel discussions focused on cloud-delivered content and its impact on consumers, television manufacturers, telecom industries, and the media.
CONTENT IN THE CLOUD attendees will learn about cloud privacy, reliability, and security issues; advanced capabilities, new features, and cost advantages; the impact on key industries; and the years ahead for cloud computing.
To attend the CONTENT IN THE CLOUD Conference, register for one of these NAB Show special packages: SMART Pass - all sessions, your choice of one luncheon, exhibits and 200+ hours of recorded sessions in the 2011 Online Learning Center; or Conference Flex Pass - attend sessions across nine conferences!
Use code TF26 to save $100 on one of the above education packages or FREE access to the exhibit floor.
How to Rethink Music for the 21st Century
The DCIA is proud to partner with MIDEM, the world's music business community, and Berklee College of Music in presenting a new music conference, Rethink Music, which will be held April 25th to 27th in Boston, MA.
Rethink Music will examine the business and rights challenges facing the music industry in the digital age. The conference brings music industry stakeholders together with legal, business, and academic experts.
Joining us for this inaugural event in Boston will be Congressman John Conyers, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, for a discussion about the future of copyright law.
Rio Caraeff, President & CEO of VEVO, will speak at this event, too, which will also feature an exclusive conversation with Paul McGuiness, Manager of U2.
In addition, there will be in-depth panel sessions focusing on new business models, interactive discourses with some of today's most technology-savvy and business-innovative artists and much, much more. Look who's coming to Rethink Music
Sign-up for Rethink Music 2011 at an exclusive reduced rate of $595 - available only to the first 20 DCINFO readers who respond to this announcement. That's 40% off the standard registration fee. Please use discount code DCIA to take advantage of this introductory offer.
Ahead in the Cloud
Based on the results of a new GfK Business & Technology online survey of 1,000 adults, nearly half of consumers are aware of the "cloud," but only 9% acknowledge that they fully understand it. According to IMS Research, there will be a greater need for consumers to move their data to cloud-based services as the growth of connected devices is expected to reach 22 billion within the next decade.
Cloud computing is used to describe applications and services hosted and run on servers connected to the Internet that end-users do not have to maintain or support. Consumers are increasingly in need of cloud-based services with data spread across multiple devices, including laptops, cell-phones and tablet computers. As 4G data networks begin to roll out over the next year, consumers will be consuming and needing to access greater amounts of data across all of their connected devices.
However, while there is a general understanding of what the cloud is, 62% are either not aware of the cloud or aware but do not understand it. Interest in storing data within the cloud is significantly higher in younger than in older consumers, with approximately 60% of users between the ages of 18-35 interested in moving their data to the cloud. In older age groups, though, that number drops significantly, with only an average of 25% of users over the age of 50 interested in moving their data to the cloud.
Rob Barrish, Senior Vice President of GfK Business & Technology, says, "Consumers are now facing similar challenges as those faced by enterprises in needing to securely manage massive amounts of data. When rolling out cloud-based services, marketers should keep in mind that consumers want to be able to access content on all of their devices across multiple platforms."
Concerns among consumers about moving their data to the cloud include: 61% of the consumers surveyed by GfK say that they are concerned about the security of their content if they were to store it in the cloud; 47% of consumers surveyed say they would never use the cloud unless they have a simple and easy way to store their content ; and 39% say they are concerned about the ability to play content on different devices from the cloud
This statistic in particular points to the need for greater compatibility and accessibility to content across devices, so that the same content purchased for one device can be accessed across multiple devices.
Barrish concludes by noting that, "Because security of the data within the cloud is the biggest concern across all age groups, this must be addressed up front when communicating the benefits of using cloud-based apps and services. There's an overall need for greater education about the cloud to move consumers from general understanding to utilization."
For more about the survey, please visit gfk America here.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 As DCINFO readers may recall, the DCIA is a member of Digital Due Process, a coalition whose principles are to simplify, clarify, and unify the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) standards, providing stronger privacy protections for communications and associated data in response to changes in technology and new services and usage patterns, while preserving the legal tools necessary for government agencies to enforce the laws, respond to emergency circumstances and protect the public.
Please scroll down to the CNET News report by Declan McCullagh for more information on timely activity regarding this issue.
The following views are those of the trade association and not necessarily of our individual Member companies.
It is important to note the context in which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) testified this week. The DOJ isn't endorsing any changes per se, but wants Congress to consider some problems that it sees. We agree that Congress should consider the DOJ's views and the problems it has outlined, and, as both the DOJ witness James Baker and the Department of Commerce (DOC) witness Cameron Kerry said, balance law enforcement concerns with concerns about privacy, innovation, and effects on business.
Until the inter-agency process is finished, it wouldn't be appropriate to say or imply that the DOJ has endorsed or rejected particular DDP proposals.
From Baker's written statement: "Although the Department does not endorse any particular legislative changes in today's testimony, we discuss matters that may be appropriate for amendment and the problems we see in those areas."
Baker mentions that the DOJ has already adopted the standards for real-time GPS location that DDP has recommended.
In our view, the DDP has been incredibly successful. Without its efforts, there might not have even been a hearing this week focused on ECPA reform, a hearing last year also at Senate Judiciary that focused on DDP's reform proposals, and three hearings at the House Judiciary Committee that focused on DDP reform proposals.
In addition, the Chairman and the ranking member of the Committee both agreed that ECPA needs to be updated, Chairman Leahy put it in the Committee's work plan for the year, and
called the hearing this week, as Cameron Kerry put it, to hold the Administration's feet to the fire to come up with a position. Without DDP, it is difficult to imagine this process moving forward as it has.
With respect to provision of data for commercial purposes, DDP as a coalition took no position on this issue, and took no position on many issues related to ECPA. DDP recognized early on that members of Congress and others might put other ECPA issues on the table, and also recognized that DDP members might, individually, take positions on those other issues. But the DDP proposals are the four that we put forth.
One good thing about having such a strong coalition is that it provides a forum going forward in which to have an informed discussion of new issues, even when the goal is not to arrive at a consensus position. Share wisely, and take care.
Justice Department Opposes Digital Privacy Reforms
Excerpted from CNET News Report by Declan McCullagh
The US Justice Department today offered what amounts to a frontal attack on proposals to amend federal law to better protect Americans' privacy.
James Baker, the Associate Deputy Attorney General, warned that rewriting a 1986 privacy law to grant cloud computing users more privacy protections and to require court approval before tracking Americans' cell-phones would hinder police investigations.
This appears the first time that the Justice Department has publicly responded to a set of digital privacy proposals unveiled last year by a coalition of businesses and advocacy groups including AT&T, Google, Microsoft, eBay, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Americans for Tax Reform.
Baker told a Senate Committee that requiring a search warrant to obtain stored e-mail could have an "adverse impact" on criminal investigations. And making location information only available with a search warrant, he said, would hinder "the government's ability to obtain important information in investigations of serious crimes."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, seemed to agree. It's crucial, he said, "to ensure we don't limit (law enforcement's) ability to obtain information necessary to catch criminals and terrorists who use electronic communication." He also suggested that requiring warrants would lead to "increased burdens on the court system."
The question at hand is rewriting the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, or ECPA, which was enacted in the pre-Internet era of telephone modems and is so notoriously convoluted, it's difficult even for judges to follow.
The Digital Due Process (DDP) coalition hopes to simplify the wording while requiring police to obtain a search warrant to access private communications and the locations of mobile devices - which is not always the case today. Under current law, Internet users enjoy more privacy rights if they store data locally, a legal hiccup that could slow the shift to cloud-based services unless it's changed.
Baker did make it clear that the broader Obama administration does not - at least not yet - have a position on how ECPA should be changed. An inter-agency task force has been meeting, but has not reached a consensus or produced a recommendation, and the Commerce Department has taken a position that's more favorable toward privacy and business interests.
But the Justice Department, Baker said, was concerned that requiring more judicial approval would hinder investigations. "Speed is essential," he said. "If Congress slows down the process, this would have real-life consequences, particularly where human life is involved."
Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said that current law has "shortcomings" that need to be addressed.
"It's very clear from the hearing today that Senator Leahy is interested in moving an ECPA reform bill," said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), which is coordinating the Digital Due Process coalition. "DDP has had great success in keying up this issue and giving members of Congress a proposal that has moved the process forward."
Ross Schulman, Counsel to the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) , said he was optimistic that the Justice Department might alter its stance: "It doesn't mean that DOJ's final position would be to oppose (proposals) such as search warrants for electronic data." Google and AT&T referred questions to the CDT.
Also today, a group of conservative and libertarian groups sent a letter to Leahy and Grassley urging them to move "immediately" to "extend the Fourth Amendment's protections against the unreasonable search and seizure of digital documents and other electronic information." It was signed by groups including TechFreedom, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, and the Liberty Coalition.
"The current standards are messy, inconsistent, and unclear," says Julian Sanchez, a Research Fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, which is not part of either group. "I think DOJ has realized is that this is largely severable from the question of whether you...establish consistency in favor of uniformly protecting privacy--or uniformly permitting easier government access."
Baker, the Associate Deputy Attorney General, also offered two suggestions: that any ECPA rewrite might include "the disclosure by service providers of customer information for commercial purposes," and that the practice of telecommunications companies charging fees for the time it takes to process routine police requests should be curbed.
The second suggestion, Sanchez suggested, might end up being used by the Justice Department as a bargaining chip "to splinter the telecom-civil libertarian coalition."
As for the first suggestion, Marc Rotenberg, Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said his group never joined the Digital Due Process coalition because it was "unwilling to address that issue which, we believe, for users is straightforward and obvious."
"ECPA amendments should cover commercial use of user data," Rotenberg said.
Here's how the Justice Department's testimony squares with the DDP coalition's principles:
DDP Coalition Principle No. 1 An Internet or telecommunications provider may "disclose communications that are not readily accessible to the public only with a search warrant issued based on a showing of probable cause."
Justice Department's response: A warrant is too restrictive because "if a person stores documents in her home, the government may use a subpoena to compel production of those documents." In addition, "not all federal agencies have authority to obtain search warrants." Finally, there's the potential "adverse impact on criminal as well as national security investigations if a probable cause warrant were the only means to obtain such stored communications."
DDP Coalition Principle No. 2: Police may access "prospectively or retrospectively, location information regarding a mobile communications device only with a warrant."
Justice Department's response: For less precise information from cell towers, a "requirement of probable cause has hampered the government's ability to obtain important information in investigations of serious crimes." A warrant should be used only for "prospective E-911 Phase II geolocation data," typically "derived from GPS or multilateration."
DDP Coalition Principle No. 3: Police should be allowed to access "prospectively or in real time, dialed number information, e-mail to and from information, or other data currently covered by the authority for pen registers and trap and trace devices only after judicial review and a court finding" that specific and articulable facts show it's relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation. That's a lower standard than a search warrant's probable cause requirement, but in practice perhaps not that much lower.
Justice Department's response: It "makes sense that a person using a communication service should be able to consent to another person monitoring addressing information associated with her communications." (In a 2006 brief to the Sixth Circuit in Warshak, the DOJ argued there could be a terms of service exemption: "The Fourth Amendment allows a third party to consent to the search of another's container when the owner expressly authorize[s] the third party to give consent...Any expectation of privacy can be waived, even in a service available to the public.")
IEEE Launches Pioneering Cloud Computing Initiative
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional association advancing technology for humanity, today announced the launch of its new Cloud Computing Initiative.
Designed to serve as the catalyst for innovation in the cloud computing arena, it is the first broad-scope, forward-looking cloud computing initiative to be put forth by a global standards development organization (SDO).
The effort is kicking off with the approval of two new standards development projects, IEEE P2301, Draft Guide for Cloud Portability and Interoperability Profiles, and IEEE P2302, Draft Standard for Intercloud Interoperability and Federation.
"Since its inception, the Internet has gone through radical changes driven by the twin engines of continued technology advancement and evolving user expectations," said Steve Diamond, Chair, IEEE Cloud Computing Initiative. "Cloud computing today is very much akin to the nascent Internet - a disruptive technology and business model that is primed for explosive growth and rapid transformation. But without a flexible, common framework for interoperability, innovation could become stifled, leaving us with a siloed ecosystem. By leveraging its uniquely deep and broad technological resources and expertise, IEEE is helping to minimize fragmentation and ensure that cloud computing realizes its full potential."
As part of its leadership in advancing cloud computing technologies, IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has formed two new Working Groups (WGs) around IEEE P2301 and IEEE P2302. IEEE P2301 will provide profiles of existing and in-progress cloud computing standards in critical areas such as application, portability, management, and interoperability interfaces, as well as file formats and operation conventions.
With capabilities logically grouped so that it addresses different cloud audiences and personalities, IEEE P2301 will provide an intuitive roadmap for cloud vendors, service providers, and other key stakeholders. When completed, the standard will aid users in procuring, developing, building, and using standards-based cloud computing products and services, enabling better portability, increased commonality, and greater interoperability across the industry.
Short-Run, On-Demand, and in the Cloud
Excerpted from Online Spin Report by Kaila Colbin
In Buddhism, people speak of the impermanence of existence: the fact that nothing is fixed, and that all we have are moments that arise and fall away.
In "The Matrix," Neo and Morpheus stand in a blank white room, creating whatever the moment calls for -- a dojo, a city, a link to the Oracle -- as the need arises.
Ethereal. Fantastical. Futuristic. And, without a doubt, the direction in which we are headed.
At lunch today, the ineffable Nat Torkington proposed what to my mind is the ultimate in portability: the ability to take your configuration from device to device. Imagine if all you had to do when you bought a new phone was enter your username and password -- instantly populating your contact list, your app list, even your ringtone and email settings. It is neither hard to envision nor all that different from technology that currently exists: when you log into Gmail, for example, and get instant chat access to everyone you know regardless of where you're logging in from.
If we could make our online experience device-independent, the device itself becomes less and less important. Who cares if it's iPhone or Android, if all we're doing is connecting to our universal, disembodied identity in the cloud? Grab a phone, any phone, and you've got your personal setup, instantly generated on an as-needed basis.
TV is migrating to the Web at an ever-increasing pace, with some 2 million households estimated to be ditching their cable companies by the end of the year for offerings like Netflix and Hulu. The exodus is expected to boost the value the on-demand, streaming television industry to $800 million. TV isn't dead, any more than newspapers are; but both business models are dead, because the new expectation is "what I want, when, where and how I want it."
This kind of dynamic, spontaneous creation of your environment is happening offline as well. Our new T-shirt store is entirely on-demand: zero inventory, zero wastage, zero incremental cost for stocking new designs. We are not in the business of T-shirt manufacture and distribution and we don't want to be -- and we're not alone. Want to sell shirts yourself? Try Zazzle, Printfection, or CafePress. Have a design idea for a toy, a clock, a wind lantern? Ponoko will laser-cut it from wood or print it in 3D.
Even human organs have become on-demand, as you may remember from last week's reference to Antony Atala printing a human kidney on the TED stage. We have no excuse anymore for warehouses full of unwanted product. If you aren't Apple, with the commensurate confidence of selling millions of units of your device, you should be very wary of investment in inventory.
We are rapidly reaching the point where our world is continuously created anew, as we want it, as we imagine it, with few if any cost or complexity barriers. It is arising dynamically, in response to who we are, what we seek, and our changing circumstances. The past moment has faded away, the future moment has not yet arisen, and all we have left is the present, eternally manifesting itself.
How are you and your company adapting to the new rules of engagement, on-demand and in the cloud?
House Votes to Repeal Net Neutrality Order
Excerpted from Politico Report by Tony Romm
The full chamber cleared the Republicans' measure on a mostly party-line 240-179 vote, despite the protests of Democrats who said the chamber should have instead been focusing on the looming threat of a government shutdown.
An uphill battle now awaits the Republicans' resolution of disapproval, a vehicle by way of the Congressional Review Act that gives Congress a say in evaluating agency rulemakings.
An identical effort is pending action in the Senate, where industry leaders expect the measure to encounter serious political roadblocks. Even if the Senate does move forward, the White House has already said it would veto an attempt to undo FCC rules that require Internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.
Still, House Republicans repeatedly questioned the agency's authority to enact that order in the first place - a point stressed Friday afternoon by Rep. Greg Walden, the leading Republican on the chamber's communications subcommittee. Walden slammed the FCC for an order he said amounts to an "end run around" a DC federal court decision, issued in 2010, which found the FCC's original legal basis for pursuing net neutrality to be unsound.
"The Internet is not broken, and this bill will ensure that the FCC will not break it," said full Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), referencing a similar line from former FCC Chairman Michael Powell.
Democrats fought against GOP criticisms and defended the FCC's rules, but also stressed the entire debate distracts from the larger issue of the day - the potential government shutdown. Only minutes before debate began on the Republicans' resolution of disapproval, Democrats tried, but failed, to invoke a procedure that would have postponed debate on net neutrality.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer later tried to recommit the legislation with language that would have funded the government for an additional week, but members ultimately tabled it after the chairman ruled the effort out of order.
"This bill is partisan, it is anti-innovation and it threatens to transform the open into a series of walled gardens controlled by the phone and cable companies," said Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Waxman later said, "This is a bill that's not going anywhere," adding that the chamber "shouldn't be wasting time on this legislation when there's a threat our whole government is closing down."
But not all in the party voted to spare the FCC's new rules. By the vote's conclusion, Republicans had accrued the support of six Democratic defectors, many of whom had criticized Genachowski's initial call for explicit net neutrality rules. Two Republicans, however, joined Democrats in voting against the measure.
In the Senate, the GOP has enough support to force the resolution of disapproval to the floor, but it is unclear whether the measure will make it to the White House. Even if it does, a the threat of a veto looms large - just this week, Obama defended the FCC's work on the order as collaborative in nature and beneficial for the future growth of the Internet.
Still, the political battle is far from over. House Republicans have expressed interest in defunding the FCC's ability to enforce net neutrality rules, and added such an amendment to the party's first long-term budget stopgap. But that battle may not be waged until after the current shutdown showdown.
Meanwhile, Republicans raised the specter of related legislation. One such bill, by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, would reserve broader jurisdiction over Internet policy for Congress. The congresswoman stressed Friday that her legislation is coming to a "committee near you very, very soon."
Cablevision: 50,000 iPad App Downloads In Five Days
Excerpted from Multichannel News Report by Todd Spangler
Cablevision Systems said its free iPad app, which lets subscribers watch up to 300 live TV channels and access more than 2,200 video-on-demand (VoD) titles, has been downloaded more than 50,000 times since its April 2nd release.
The Optimum App for iPad has been the most popular iPad app in Apple's iTunes App Store's Entertainment category from Sunday through Wednesday afternoon - followed by Netflix's streaming app at No. 2 - and is the 10th most popular free iPad app overall.
"We are very pleased by the strong and positive consumer reaction to the Optimum App for iPad, reflected by download activity, ratings and reviews," Cablevision Senior Vice President of Video Product Management Gary Schanman said.
However, at least one programmer has objected to the Cablevision iPad app.
YES Network, the regional sports network of the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets, on Monday said, "Cablevision does not have the right to offer the YES Network in the manner it is doing so on the iPad, and it has been notified as such."Cablevision declined to comment.
That came after some programmers issued legal challenges to Time Warner Cable over its own iPad app with access to live TV. Last month Discovery Communications, Fox Cable Networks and Viacom demanded TWC remove their networks from the service, complaining viewing in the tablets wasn't allowed under existing carriage deals. The operator subsequently pulled 12 nets from the app.
But Cablevision may not be as compliant in the face of legal challenges. "Do not expect the Dolans to back down in this battle," BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield wrote in a research note Tuesday.
In 2006, content owners sued Cablevision over the Remote Storage Digital Video Recorder, alleging copyright infringement. The MSO prevailed in case in 2009, which was appealed to the US Supreme Court.
Both Cablevision and TWC have asserted that their streaming-video iPad applications are covered under existing TV carriage deals because the apps limit viewing to a subscriber's home, over a home Wi-Fi network. The programming signals are delivered over their DOCSIS infrastructure, not the open Internet.
"Cablevision has the right to distribute programming over its cable system to iPads configured in this way under its existing distribution agreements with programming providers," the Bethpage, NY-based MSO said in announcing the iPad app.
Not all media companies have a problem having their networks available for in-home viewing on iPads.
In a statement last Friday about the TWC application, Turner Broadcasting System said the iPad app lets customers "watch our live linear networks on a device located within the home, and we, therefore, agreed to allow them to expand the number of networks that they are making available for this application as this is consistent with the agreement we have with Time Warner Cable."
And Discovery may be OK with Cablevision's iPad app under the terms of their deal, but not Time Warner Cable's. In a statement about the Cablevision app, Discovery said "we are open to negotiating and we do have deals with distribution partners where similar rights have been recognized and we have received appropriate consideration and value."
The Cablevision app provides access to the channels available on TV through a subscriber's Optimum iO TV package, although the system currently does not support local ad insertion. Cablevision expects the full VoD library to be encoded and available by early summer.
The Optimum for iPad app also lets subscribers browse, search and set DVR recordings from a TV listings guide, as well as browse and view free VoD and on-demand rentals. It also supports closed-captioning and parental controls.
The iPad app can be used only through a Cablevision-supplied cable modem. However, the MSO said Internet access is not required to use the iPad app: Video customers who don't have Optimum Online data service will be eligible to receive a special DOCSIS cable modem that has no web access.
Time Warner Cable Seeks Court Ruling To Approve iPad App For Viacom Nets
Excerpted from Multichannel News Report by Todd Spangler
Time Warner Cable filed a request for declaratory judgment Thursday in a federal court relating to Viacom cable networks, seeking a ruling that the cable operator has the rights under its carriage agreement to deliver Viacom's programming to any device in a subscriber's home - while Viacom responded that it sued TWC for breach of contract and copyright violation.
The cable operator filed the case in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Time Warner Cable Executive Vice President and General Counsel Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum said, "We have steadfastly maintained that we have the rights to allow our customers to view this programming in their homes, over our cable systems, without artificial limits on the screens they can use to do so, and we are asking the court to confirm our view. With over 360,000 downloads of our TWCableTV app, it is clear that our customers welcome the convenience and flexibility our new app provides."
Viacom said, "Viacom has always negotiated rights to distribute our content based on specific technologies and devices to ensure that the unique business issues, such as security, product quality, and audience measurement, are properly addressed."
Continued Viacom, "Instead of addressing these issues, Time Warner Cable simply launched the product without a license to distribute our programming through an iPad app. They blatantly grabbed the rights that their competitors have negotiated in good faith to obtain."
TWC launched the app on March 15th. Subsequently Viacom sent a cease-and-desist letter to the cable operator, demanding that its programming be removed.
According to Viacom, the cable operator "removed our programming from this service only when they were threatened with a lawsuit and, now, it is asking the Court to declare their brazen acts lawful. Regrettably, all of this has compelled us to file a suit of our own - as Time Warner Cable refuses to even discuss the business issues. With $5.2 billion in cash from operations last year, Time Warner Cable can certainly afford to provide our programming through this new broadband service without passing along any additional costs to its customers."
Discovery Communications and News Corp.'s Fox Cable Networks also demanded TWC pull their networks; however, they are not named in the TWC request for declaratory judgment. The cable operator removed 12 networks on March 31st: Discovery's Animal Planet, Discovery and TLC; Fox's FX and National Geographic Channel; and Viacom's BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, Spike and VH1.
The TWCable TV for iPad app currently provides 49 channels, which are available to customers whose subscriptions include them.
Google Faces Piracy Questions at Congressional Hearing
Excerpted from Digital Media Wire Report by Mark Hefflinger
Google faced questions about how its search engine can be used to locate pirated and counterfeit content online, during a hearing on Wednesday before the US House Judiciary Committee's Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet Subcommittee, according to published reports.
When asked by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) why its "autocomplete" search feature suggested so many infringing links, Google General Counsel Kent Walker testified that those suggestions are "a reflection of how many users are trying to seek infringing content," according to PaidContent's coverage.
"It would seem to be feasible that those common search terms that are used to find pirated works on the Internet - the results could be filtered out," added Rep. Ben Quayle (R-AZ), according to PaidContent's coverage.
Walker went on to say that Google built a content filtering system for YouTube, but it would be impossible to remove unauthorized content without owners' help - endorsing the "takedown notice" process laid out in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Walker added that Google does not want to be tasked with being the "judge, jury, and executioner" when it comes to piracy, according to CNET's coverage, but would cut off its advertising service for sites the government deemed to be engaged in piracy.
At the hearing, John Morton of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also faced pointed questions from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), about the process by which the agency has recently seized over 100 domains alleged to be offering counterfeit or copyrighted goods.
Meanwhile, the movie industry on Wednesday called on Congress to enact legislation to empower more action against such "rogue" sites.
"We believe that rogue sites legislation, combined with the Administration's work with intermediaries and enforcement by the IPR Center, will go a long way towards shutting down the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works and close a gap in the intellectual property law," said Michael O'Leary, Executive Vice President for Government Affairs at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Congress Praises Google for Dumping Grooveshark. Huh?
Excerpted from Digital Music News Report
This is much, much bigger than Google's terms of service, and that became obvious as events unfolded on Wednesday. In the end, Google is looking like a serious hypocrite, and the RIAA the predictable bully.
For those just tuning in, Google unceremoniously yanked the Grooveshark app from its Android Store on Wednesday morning. Fast-forward a few hours later to a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, and that was aiding Google's anti-piracy case. "I want to commend you for a news release which I will put in the record," US Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) told testifying Google attorney Kent Walker. "It says 'Google Boots Grooveshark from Android Market.' Grooveshark is a music app that has been found by many of the top music labels to be violating copyright law. We commend you for that."
Of course, the timing was perfect (imagine that), and Walker expounded upon the many apps that get removed for violating Google's stern terms. But that only bought Walker a small amount of breathing room - Goodlatte wasn't grilling Walker by any stretch, though he did raise serious questions about "free MP3" search results. In a search for "Taylor Swift free MP3s," Goodlatte staffers found just two authorized sites within a list of 30 - with the first appearing after 14 illegal options. And, Goodlatte noticed little-to-no improvement over a multi-month period. "What is Google doing about this?" Goodlatte questioned.
Of course, Walker fell back on the good ol' DMCA. "We play the wack-a-mole problem just as much as the content industry does, and it frustrates us," Walker said. "We are in the best position to rapidly remove content. The content industry is in the best position to let us know what's authorized and what's not. The music industry is a very complicated place."
But haven't we heard this same rap before... from Grooveshark? "Google is traditionally a supporter of DMCA-compliant services - indeed, Google itself relies on the DMCA for the very same protection that Grooveshark does," Grooveshark executive Aaron Ford told Digital Music News.
In other words, they're both playing the same game. And of course, it turns out that the RIAA is also playing a very heavy hand in all of this. Ford noted that "Google received a letter of complaint from the RIAA," also timed perfectly ahead of the launch of Google Music. But that letter should have been about Google itself, whose contribution to piracy makes Grooveshark look like a tadpole.
"Big Content" Is Strangling American Innovation
Excerpted from Harvard Business Review Report by James Allworth
Innovation has emerged as a key means by which the US can pull itself out of this lackluster economy. In the State of the Union, President Obama referred to China and India as new threats to America's position as the world's leading innovator. But the threats are not just external. One of the greatest threats to the US's ability to innovate lies within: specifically, with the music and movie business. These Big Content businesses are attempting to protect themselves from change so aggressively that they risk damaging America's position as a world leader in innovation.
Many in the high technology industry have known this for a long time. Despite making their living relying on it, the Big Content players do not understand technology, and never have. Rather than see it as an opportunity to reach new audiences, technology has always been a threat to them. Example after example abounds of this attitude; whether it was the VCR which was "to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone" as famed movie industry lobbyist Jack Valenti put it at a congressional hearing, or MP3 technology, which they tried to sue out of existence. In fact, it's possible to go back as far as the gramophone and see the content industries rail against new technology. The reason why? Every shift in technology is difficult for them. Just as they work out how to make money using one technology, it changes.
The sensible thing for them to do would be to learn how to deal with the change. Instead, their approach to every generation of technology is either to attempt to stymie it so badly that nobody wants it, or to stop it altogether through their influence with lawmakers in Washington DC.
Now, in the past, these efforts might have impacted technology that only involved the consumption of movies and music. But as the technology used to display movies and listen to music converges with other technology - technology where America has historically led - Big Content's attempts to protect their business model threaten innovation at the very heart of America's competitive advantage.
Let's take a look at one specific example: the industry's repeated attempts to introduce innovation-chilling legislation. The latest is COICA, designed to allow the Government to take down any website that infringers copyright - and lock the domain. Fortunately, a number of American legislators have taken a more clear-headed view of the problem. It was defeated late last year in Congress, after being described by Senator Ron Wyden as a "bunker buster cluster bomb." But it's back again. In a recent interview, Silicon Valley Congressman Zoe Lofgren describes the back and forth with the content industry and their requests for legislation like COICA as increasingly draconian.
These laws won't just have the power to stop copyright infringers. They have the potential to stop legitimate uses that the content industries don't like - examples like YouTube and even the early MP3 players are examples of legitimate uses that big content have gone after. As Senator Wyden put it: "the collateral damage of this statute could be American innovation, American jobs, and a secure Internet."
The result of laws like this? Start-ups - the engine of America's growth - will just go elsewhere. China and India are creating environments extremely conducive to disruptive innovation. Even Europe is benefiting - one of the most promising recent music services, Spotify, is hosted in Europe. It's still not available to American consumers.
Unfortunately, a subset of what COICA proposes is already in existence today. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (known as ICE) has been simply seizing domains of websites suspected of copyright infringement at taxpayer expense. Because of the sheer number of sites the content industries want taken down, they innovated - by bypassing due process altogether. ICE have taken down entire sites for only linking to files - for example, torrent-finder.com. The sites have no opportunity to stop this process until after they have been taken down.
If you're the next YouTube, would you want to locate here in the US and risk having the government simply switch off your site at the behest of Big Content? Or might it not be easier to find a more benign environment to create your business in?
The ultimate irony in all of this is that if we stop giving the content industries what they want - sweeping, blanket protections - we may actually be doing them a favor. They wanted the VCR banned. It turned out to be one of the most profitable technologies for the movie industry in its history. Ignoring their requests may turn out to be cruel to be kind - instead of focusing on trying to fight the technology, they'll be forced to find ways of profitably embracing it.
The next generation of technology companies are already starting to shift overseas. Before conceding to any more demands for protection from Big Content, America would do well to consider what it places at risk.
Coming Events of Interest
NAB Show - April 9th-14th in Las Vegas, NV. For more than 85 years, the NAB Show has been the essential destination for "broader-casting" professionals who share a passion for bringing content to life on any platform - even if they have to invent it. From creation to consumption, this is the place where possibilities become realities.
CONTENT IN THE CLOUD at NAB - April 11th in Las Vegas, NV. What are the latest cloud computing offerings that will have the greatest impact on the broadcasting industry? How is cloud computing being harnessed to benefit the digital distribution of television programs, movies, music, and games?
1st International Conference on Cloud Computing - May 7th-9th in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands. This first-ever event focuses on the emerging area of cloud computing, inspired by some latest advances that concern the infrastructure, operations, and available services through the global network.
Cloud Computing Asia - May 30th - June 2nd in Singapore. Cloud services are gaining popularity among information IT users, allowing them to access applications, platforms, storage and whole segments of infrastructure over a public or private network.CCA showcases cloud-computing products and services. Learn from top industry analysts, successful cloud customers, and cloud computing experts.
Cloud Expo 2011 - June 6th-9th in New York, NY. Cloud Expo is returning to New York with more than 7,000 delegates and over 200 sponsors and exhibitors. "Cloud" has become synonymous with "computing" and "software" in two short years. Cloud Expo is the new PC Expo, Comdex, and InternetWorld of our decade.
CIO Cloud Summit - June 14th-16th in Scottsdale, AZ. The summit will bring together CIOs from Fortune 1000 organizations, leading IT analysts, and innovative solution providers to network and discuss the latest cloud computing topics and trends in a relaxed, yet focused business setting.
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