Fans Fume As NFL Network, Cable Companies Play Blame Game Posted by Bob at 12/28/06 10:35 AM

I am a lifelong fan of the Washington Redskins. I have watched virtually every game they have played since the early 1970s. I mention all this because I am seriously considering not tuning in to watch my beloved Redskins give the no-good New York Giants a well-deserved whuppin’ this Saturday night. The game is being produced and distributed by NFL Network, the National Football League’s greedy new cable network, which is currently locked up in a battle with some equally greedy cable companies.

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Fans Lose As NFL Network, Cable Companies Play Games Posted by Bob at 12/21/06 01:35 PM

Many fans of the NFL's Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are in for a rude awakening when they snap on their cheeseheads and horned helmets and settle in front of the television this evening. Unless they have a satellite dish or live in or near the teams’ homes in the Twin Cities or Milwaukee, fans won’t be able to watch the game on television. How can this be? It'a all because of greedy fight between the National Football League’s new NFL Network and some of the nation’s biggest cable companies.

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We’re Betting New Franchising Rules Won’t Lower Cable Rates Posted by Bob at 12/20/06 04:14 PM

As we expected, a sharply divided Federal Communications Commission today passed a new set of rules to curtail the bargaining power of local governments in cable franchise negotiations. We're willing to bet the new rules won't lower cable rates.

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Cable Competitors Should Not Be Allowed To Cherry Pick Posted by Bob at 12/19/06 03:32 PM

Tomorrow the Federal Communications is scheduled to take up a controversial proposal that would eliminate much of the bargaining power of local governments in cable franchise negotiations. If these new rules are truly meant to spur healthy competition and drive down prices, as proponents claim, they need to benefit all consumers -- rich, poor, or otherwise.

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FCC Commissioner McDowell Says He Will Abstain in AT&T/BellSouth Merger Posted by Bob at 12/18/06 04:01 PM

Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell has announced he will abstain from voting on the controversial AT&T/BellSouth merger proposal. We applaud McDowell for honoring his obligation to the public he is charged with serving. He is to be commended for doing the right thing in the face of what must have been wilting pressure from the phone companies involved and their friends in Washington, as well as some of his fellow commissioners.

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FCC Chairman Martin Is Right About Cable Channel Choice Posted by Bob at 12/15/06 12:42 PM

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told an audience at telecom conference in Washington yesterday that consumers should be able to pick and choose the different cable channels they receive, an approach commonly called “cable a la carte.” We wholeheartedly agree.

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FCC to Consider Curbing Local Cable Franchising Powers Posted by Bob at 12/14/06 12:30 PM

The Federal Communications Commission has set December 20 as the date it will take up a controversial proposal that would eliminate much of the bargaining power of local governments in cable franchise negotiations. At issue is a plan being championed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to strip local governments of some of their most effective tools in negotiating concessions – including basic consumer protections – from would-be cable providers. Martin’s plan is basically the same one that phone companies tried unsuccessfully to get through Congress this year.

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New Study Shows Extent of Radio Consolidation Posted by Bob at 12/13/06 09:03 AM

(A quick note about our absence the last few days. We were having some technical difficulties that prevented us from posting. We hope you missed us and we are glad to be back.) A new study released today offers new evidence that the radio industry has become highly consolidated since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, concentrating ownership in the hands of fewer and fewer big media companies.

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New Cell Phone Unlocking Rules Don’t Do Much for Consumers Posted by Bob at 12/08/06 01:44 PM

Last week we brought you what we thought was some good news for consumers – a new ruling by the U.S. Copyright Office to allow wireless phone users to break software locks inserted into their handsets by carriers such as Verizon and Cingular. We’ve since done some additional reporting, however, and it appears this ruling really won’t do much for the average wireless phone user.

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Lies, Damn Lies, and Cable Rate Increases Posted by Bob at 12/07/06 12:02 PM

The Wall Street Journal is out with an interesting article today headlined “Cable Rate Increases Are Smallest in Years.” No problem there. Cable companies are saying they plan to raise their rates at an ever-so-slight slower rate than they have in years past. But we have some real problems with the story that follows – mainly that it is highly misleading, to put it charitably. And we have a bigger problem this same pretzel logic is now being used by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to justify a plan to neuter local authorities in cable franchise negotiations.

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Congressional Leaders Blast FCC Chairman for AT&T/Bellsouth Ploy Posted by Bob at 12/06/06 10:31 AM

Three top congressional leaders expected to be the most influential voices on telecommunications in the new Congress are lambasting a controversial gambit by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin to gain approval of the megamerger of AT&T and Bellsouth.

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Snow Falls Down, Cable Prices Go Up Posted by Bob at 12/05/06 10:49 AM

Except for stomping their feet and threatening to hold their breath until they turn blue, consumers have virtually no good options when cable television companies decide to raise their rates. Snow falls down. Cable prices go up. It's the natural order of things.

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On AT&T/Bellsouth Merger, FCC’s Martin Seems to Have Forgotten Who He Works For Posted by Bob at 12/04/06 01:16 PM

Late last week it became clear just how far Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is willing to go to keep consumer protection guarantees to a minimum in the largest telecommunication merger in history.

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Comcast’s Cable Rate Hikes Continue Unabated Posted by Bob at 12/01/06 12:14 PM

It appears the country’s largest cable television company, Comcast, will be raising its rates by an average of 5.4 percent in the coming year. Investment company Bernstein Research got that figure by adding up the rate increases announced by Comcast in its markets for analog cable television service to date.

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