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K.C. NEEL AND DAVID CONNELL
The FCC may think it needs to examine the potential pitfalls of interactive TV and is considering placing some regulatory holds on the nascent business, but some industry players and congressional members aren't so sure that's a good idea.
The issue began taking shape last year after America Online agreed to buy Time Warner in what's become the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate. Some industry heavyweights - notably Walt Disney and Gemstar TV Guide International - complained the merged AOL Time Warner could use its power to lock out their content in favor of the merged company's interactive content. The companies wanted assurances that they would be able to pass through their own interactive services without discrimination from AOL Time Warner or other MSOs.
The FCC has agreed to look into the issue. Staffers from the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees believe it's a bit too early in the ITV game to decide how the issue will be handled, although some say there will likely be hearings on interactive TV later in the session.
Judiciary Committee staffers point out that there are several antitrust issues raised by interactive functions that should be looked at in hearings. They also note that the two-way functionality of interactive services raises privacy concerns. Newly appointed House Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., may address the issue later.
If the FCC's goal is to make sure there are open standards "so everyone can work on the same page" when it comes to interactivity, 24/7 Media Broadband's SVP-marketing Michael Nurfe is all for it.
He's not sure the FCC should step in to regulate a business that isn't even off the ground yet.
Some industry watchers believe companies such as Disney and Gemstar are really just trying to preserve what some call an unfair advantage when it comes to carriage negotiations.
"ABC could use ITV content as a negotiating chip when it comes to retransmission consent," one industry executive says. "But I think they'd rather preempt any negotiations on that issue and make it a matter of law, not dissimilar to must carry."
Meanwhile, some industry players believe the current FCC proceeding on ITV may not have legs, noting that commissioner Michael Powell - next in line for the FCC chairmanship - endorsed the proceeding "reluctantly." A new FCC chairman and new commissioners might allow the proceeding to just fade.
The NCTA would rather see the commission gather information with a Notice of Inquiry rather than choose to propose rules on the ITV business.
"There is something these so-called public interest advocates don't realize," says NCTA spokesman David Beckwith. "The fact is, that since this industry was deregulated in 1996, we've come up with $41 billion in investments for new services - ranging from digital video and audio to telephony to high-speed data services. The way you raise that money is you say, `We're going to run things, not the government.'"
SOURCE ROLLS ON INSIGHT Insight Communications has expanded its deployment of Source Media's interactive program guide and local programming portal SourceGuide and LocalSource in systems that count 100,000 digital customers. Source Media CEO says the product is now available in roughly 730,000 homes.
EMI HIRES INTERTAINER Intertainer and EMI Recorded Music have cut a deal giving Intertainer access to EMI's music video library. The videos will be available on all Intertainer platforms. Intertainer will also work with EMI to market and promote new and established artists. Users can review a track list from a artist's current release, purchase current or past releases and find out more information about the artist.
ICTV ADDS PLUG-INS ICTV is augmenting its support for several broadband interactive plug-ins and extensions, including Pulse 3.5, Veon, INNOVATV, BeHere, Multipath, IPIX, MP3 and MPEG 4. ICTV already supports the latest versions of the most common plug-ins that drive most video and animation in broadband new media, according to CEO Robert Clasen. ICTV's browser converts the content created by HTML-based developers into new media for the television.
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