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New Releases at Home? But There's A Catch

Hollywood wants permission to block video to some TV hardware

(Newser) - Hollywood is asking the government to let it control what movies HDTV watchers can see based on what hardware they’re using. Studios don’t want pre-DVD releases going over analog cables, where they can be illegally copied. In return, they’re offering to release new movies in HD on...

TV Switch Will Catch Some Off-Guard, No Matter What

70M sets could be affected in digital move; half of owners won't know what to do

(Newser) - Roughly half of Americans who still own analog TVs aren’t ready for February's switch to digital broadcasting, a government report concludes. Consumers are confused about what to do, and will go dark if they fail to buy a converter box, buy a digital TV or sign up for satellite...

Studios Want to Keep Certain Movies Off Your DVR

Blocking the copying of hi-def films before DVD release is tradeoff for fast-tracking to TV

(Newser) - Hollywood is pressing the Federal Communications to allow studios to block digital video recorders from copying high-definition films before they're released to DVD, Ars Technica reports. In return, the studios promise to shorten the time it takes movies to get from theater to home TVs. The feds would need to...

FCC to Examine Cancellation Fees for Cable, Phone, Web

Agency responding to consumer complaints

(Newser) - The FCC says next month’s hearing on cell phone cancellation fees may also include similar charges leveled by cable and Internet providers. Chairman Kevin Martin hopes the hearing will ease consumer tension over the fees, which were among cell phone users’ five most common complaints last year, the Washington ...

Free Broadband Could Be Part of Feds' Auction Plan

FCC head considers plan that could have 95% of US covered in 10 years

(Newser) - The Federal Communication Commission wants you to have free Internet, the Wall Street Journal reports, and it's considering a plan to auction airwaves with the requirement that the winner offer Wi-fi free to most of the US. The free access would come with its own strings for users, though, in...

Google Guru Prods FCC Over Wi-Fi
Google Guru Prods FCC
Over Wi-Fi
May 23, 2008 11:46 AM CDT

Google Guru Prods FCC Over Wi-Fi

"White space" would increase wireless Internet access

(Newser) - Google co-founder Larry Page urged Congress and the FCC this week to open up access to unused television airwaves to broaden the reach of wireless Internet. Page asserted that the unused waves, called "white space," would increase Wi-Fi range in rural areas and help provide Internet capability to...

FCC Tries Again With Unsold Spectrum

Officials will take public comment before issuing revised plan

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission will try again to sell broadband spectrum space intended to include a national network for emergency workers, Ars Technica reports.The D Block failed to garner the required minimum bid from commercial interests during a recent auction after negotiations became bogged down. Said one commissioner: "...

Stay Tuned to WN- Bleep- C
 Stay Tuned to WN-Bleep-C 
May 13, 2008 10:45 AM CDT

Stay Tuned to WN-Bleep-C

Local anchor drops F-bomb into live mike

(Newser) - A longtime local anchor in New York got her viewers' undivided attention during a promo last night when she said the F-word live, the New York Daily News reports. After the wrong video played as she teased the upcoming news during Medium, 28-year WNBC veteran Sue Simmons said, "What...

FCC to Test TV's Digital Era in N. Carolina

Wilmington will be feds' guinea pig to phase out analog

(Newser) - Wilmington, NC, will be a test market for the switchover to all-digital television, the Wall Street Journal reports. The US as a whole is to change from analog signals by Feb. 17, but Wilmington could flip by Sept. 8 as broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commissions worry over how the...

XM and Sirius Delay Meetings as FCC Weighs Merger

State officials oppose satellite giants' plans despite Justice approval

(Newser) - XM and Sirius both postponed annual shareholder meetings as they awaited final FCC approval of their planned merger, the Washington Post reports. The nation’s only satellite-radio operators are expected to win approval, but their plans have faced new criticism from lawmakers and state attorneys, and there may yet be...

Daily News Owner Makes Newsday Bid
Daily News Owner Makes Newsday Bid
Apr 26, 2008 6:02 AM CDT

Daily News Owner Makes Newsday Bid

Zuckerman v. Murdoch fight may hinge on who can clear FCC

(Newser) - Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman has matched Rupert Murdoch's bid for Newsday, the New York Times reports—but didn't go a penny over the $580 million the New York Post owner offered. Instead Zuckerman claimed his bid is the better one because, unlike Murdoch's, it doesn't run the risk of...

Murdoch Calls FCC Bluff With Newsday Move

News Corp. would need waiver to dodge anti-consolidation rules

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch is betting new federal standards limiting media ownership to one TV station and one newspaper (per market) won't keep him from buying a fifth New York outlet. The mogul has long held waivers to control media in excess of the rules, and he doesn't think recent enforcement pledges...

Google Accused of 'Gaming' FCC Auction

Lawmakers say firm made fake bids to trigger open access

(Newser) - Republican lawmakers are charging that Google manipulated an FCC bandwidth auction to get a free ride on the airwaves, PC World reports. The internet giant is accused of bidding purely to bump up the price to a level where rules trigger open access—and then walking away, leaving Verizon to...

AT&T, Verizon Plan New WiFi in Old TV Spectrum

Telecoms envision WiFi that can penetrate deep into buildings

(Newser) - Verizon and AT&T are talking big about recent bandwidth acquisitions at an FCC auction, the Washington Post reports. The companies promised fast, high-tech new networks in the next few years based on long-range frequencies, newly available from television broadcasters, that can penetrate deep into buildings. A Verizon spokesman said...

Justice Dept. Sues Fox Over Raunchy Reality Show

Latest round in indecency battle

(Newser) - The Justice Department has stepped in to force Fox to pay up $56,000 in indecency fines levied by the FCC but challenged by the broadcaster, Variety reports. Eight Fox-owned stations are being sued to collect fines for a 2003 episode of "Married by America" that featured men at...

Whew! Google Saved by the Highest Bidder

Search giant OK with not winning FCC spectrum auction

(Newser) - Google nearly became the unenthused owner of a $4.71 billion slice of wireless airwaves in a recent Federal Communications Commission auction, the New York Times reports. Its bid was part of a deal with the FCC to open some spectrum to third-party services, but for much of the bidding,...

FCC Boss Nixes Bid to Open Up Wireless Networks

Systems already 'open enough,' he says

(Newser) - The head of the FCC has rejected a request from Skype to open up wireless networks to outside devices, AP reports. The Internet phone provider wanted wireless operations included in a 1968 FCC decision that required AT&T to open up its network beyond its own devices that paved the...

Comcast Bends Under Net Neutrality Pressure

Promises new system for managing network, probably by end of year

(Newser) - Comcast is changing the way it manages Internet traffic after an intense public and FCC outcry over its blocking traffic from BitTorrent users. To cut use during peak hours, the Internet provider will stop targeting specific applications and instead slow its highest-bandwidth users’ traffic, reports the New York Times. Still,...

TV Newbie Verizon to FCC: Help Cable Users Switch

Move highlights telecom turf war

(Newser) - As Verizon rolls out its subscription-TV service, the company has asked the FCC to make the switch from cable easier for consumers, the Washington Post reports. In its petition, Verizon asked for the authority to shut off its customers’ cable services on their behalf, arguing that the switchover process is...

Fox Thumbs Nose at $91K FCC Fine
Fox Thumbs Nose at $91K FCC Fine
Mar 25, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Fox Thumbs Nose at $91K FCC Fine

Calls indecency ruling on strippers 'arbitrary and capricious'

(Newser) - Think strippers and whipped cream is indecent? Pshaw, says Fox, which wants the FCC to drop a $91,000 indecency fine for a 2003 episode of “Married by America” in which contestants at rowdy parties licked whipped cream off topless strippers. The network originally was fined $1.2 million,...

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