Brad on Broadcast

Would you view more content if it was higher quality and available on more platforms?

At IBC 2008, AmberFin conducted an attendee survey asking respondents a series of questions about viewing video content over non-traditional platforms. One objective was to look deeper into conditions and interests that might drive viewers to use newer platforms to consume programs and content.

First, the survey showed there was indeed an interest in being able to access content across multiple, including mobile, platforms. Mentioned distribution channels included broadband, IPTV and cell phones. About 60 percent felt that the broadcast industry has improved its knowledge multiple delivery platforms in the past year. Even so, 70 percent of respondents said that content owners could still be distributing their content more effectively across these platforms. For most TV stations, that could mean digital multichannel and mobile broadcasting. more

For grins, I typed into my Yahoo search engine the phrase, “staff reductions + broadcast.” The result was almost 2 million hits.

While the story headlines listed were primarily about cutbacks at newspapers, there were plenty of broadcaster mentions too. First headline, “The New York Times Company announces staff reductions,” leads to a story about the newspaper cutting 500 staff positions. If you care, those reductions were in addition to the previous staff reductions, which were taken in May of this year.

Other top headlines included, “Chicago Tribune trims 14 percent of news staff,” “BBC to give 3,000 pink slips” and “Era of the celebrity broadcaster fades on local TV.” Okay, these are nothing we haven’t hear about, or God forbid, experienced. This got me to thinking about how Broadcast Engineering readers might be dealing with, what at best could be called, troubling times.

At a recent Broadcast Engineering News Technology Summit, Jerry Gumbert, president and CEO of AR&D said, “You can’t do more with less. You can do more by doing differently.” Let’s consider that point for a minute. more

Have you written Santa yet? It’s not too late to send him an e-mail Christmas wish list.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was surfing around the net looking for sales. I had nothing particular in mind, just looking for deals. What I found were plenty of deals, but nothing I wanted, until…

On a Gizmodo blog post, I found what I want Santa to bring me for Christmas. I want a Panasonic 103in plasma TV set under my tree Christmas morning.

Now, he may have to leave a few of your presents behind in order to squeeze my new, huge TV into his sleigh, but that’ll be all right. After all, it’ll be for a good cause: Me! more

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin received recently a very public hanging in the form of an 110-page report titled, “Deception and distrust: The federal communications commission under chairman Kevin J. Martin.”

The report was prepared by the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee run by democrats John Dingell and Bart Stupak. While the committee did include two republicans, Joe Barton of Texas and John Shimkus, neither republican signed off on the democrat-authored report.

A republican deputy staff director for the committee, Larry Neal said, “A congressional investigation has established that the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t play well with others. The inquiry was supposed to pin down some weightier matters. Evidently that didn’t pan out.”

FCC spokesman Robert Kenny said the agency’s review of the report showed that the commission “did not violate any rules, laws or procedures.”

During an unusual committee conference call with media reporters, Stupak repeatedly hammered Martin for abusing FCC procedures, suppressing reports, data and information. On one hand, Stupak chided the chairman for not providing records, then has to admit that the committee staff “reviewed several hundred thousand documents … including 95 boxes of paper documents; conducted 73 interviews of current and former FCC employees and individuals associated with the telecommunications industry, solicited and received e-mails from FCC employees and contractors at a secure e-mail address established for this purpose and reviewed dozens of allegations delivered by hand, fax, phone and mail.” Sounds like the FCC coughed up a ton of records.

Unfortunately, the press has focused highly on the report’s title, and how couldn’t they, “Deception and Distrust”? Let’s look a bit closer at what the report really said. more

Would it surprise you to learn that a particular article on the Broadcast Engineering Web site receives more than 2500 views a month? Yet, that article has nothing to do with professional broadcast equipment.

Back in March, 2008, Aldo Cugnini wrote in his Transition to Digital column a tutorial on smart antennas. These are antennas that actively tune themselves to the proper frequency and direction of the station selected by the STB. Such antennas are a good solution to viewers who are live in areas where their favorite TV stations are located in multiple compass directions.

If all the stations you wanted to watch were in one general direction, a yaggi antenna would be a good reception solution. If however, one station is at 15 degrees, one at 100 degrees and a third at 270 degrees, a directional antenna is not a good answer. That’s where the smart antenna comes in. more

Americans want their TV screens…and their laptop screens…and their mobile screens. It seems that despite the dire predictions of broadcast TV going dark, U.S. viewers are increasingly hungry for more content on their video screens.

In late November, Nielsen released its second “A2/M2 Three Screen Report,” which describes how viewers access and use video content. The bottom line is that Americans are using more video on more platforms than ever before.

The report, shows that the average U.S. viewer watches approximately 142 hours of television a month. That’s 4.75 hours per day!

In addition, people who use the Internet, are online about 27 hours per month. Those with mobile phones used them to watch about three hours of content per month.

Susan Whiting, vice chairperson for Nielsen, said, “TV use is at an all-time high, yet people are also using the Internet more often, 31 percent of which is happening simultaneously.” I assume this means viewers are surfing while they watch TV.

So what does all this data suggest?

First, today’s viewer is consuming five more hours of television per month this year than last. And, if the economy continues to tank, other surveys suggest that TV usage will further increase. more

Once Thanksgiving is over, I always want to watch the movie “Christmas Vacation.” Its a Chevy Chase classic where he plays Clark Griswold, aka Sparky, and Beverly D’Angelo is his wife, Ellen. Together, with their two children, the family struggles through a series of unending Christmas-season disasters.

Maybe I love the movie so much because I identify with Clark. The guy who wants his family to experience his version of a “real” Christmas. It starts with the family going into the woods to pick and harvest the tree. Seeing him careen across field onto highway ending up driving under a huge truck is hilarious. But, Clark is at his best when it comes to decorating the house with Christmas lights. I really see myself there. All that work and damn lights still won’t turn on.

A focal event in the movie is his expectation of a Christmas bonus. He’s planned on installing a swimming pool and has already placed a down payment. Now all he needs is that Christmas bonus to make it happen. The problem comes when his scrooge boss, instead of the traditional bonus, gives Clark a year’s membership in the “Jelly of the Month” club.

The realization that there is no bonus, and therefore no pool, pushes Clark over the edge, and we see how he handles great financial disappointment. (Hey, I’d be disappointed too if my dream of skinny dipping with the sexy negligee department saleswoman Mary, played by Nicolette Scorsese, was suddenly stolen.)

This brings me to my point.

The disappointment of having saved and planned for something, only to have it ripped from your grasp by uncontrollable forces is what we baby boomers are feeling right now about our retirement investments. Wall Street’s greedy financial thieves and their patrons have destroyed plans that took us average folks a lifetime to create. And there’s nothing we can do about it. more

Before Thanksgiving, our elected idiots (in this case the Senate) passed by unanimous consent a bill allowing TV stations to “voluntarily” broadcast emergency information and informational messages about the DTV transition in analog for 30 days following the Feb. 17, 2009, DTV transition.

Called the “Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act” (S. 3663), it was introduced by no friend of broadcasters, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-WV. The law will allow analog transmission, subject to FCC limitations, of specific types of information, including:

• emergency information as carried by digital TV stations; and

• English- and Spanish-language, as well as that accessible by people with disabilities, messages concerning the DTV transition, including the fact that the transition has taken place and additional action is required to continue receiving TV and the steps viewers must take to receive DTV emergency information.

A similar measure was introduced by Rep. Lois Capps, D-CA, and awaits action in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is so much crap it stinks all the way to my office in Kansas City.

Does anyone with one-half a brain think broadcasters want to keep an analog transmission system up and running on the off chance there might be some kind of “emergency message.” And after analog has been dark for 30 days, why would anyone tune to snow expecting to suddenly see video?

If I were a TV station CE, on Feb. 18, I’d rip out that analog transmitter. That way, next time some worthless official says, “Hey, we’ve got something you have to broadcast in Spanish or with closed captions, blah, blah. Turn your analog transmitter back on,” it would give me great pleasure to respond, “What analog transmitter?” more

A change in presidential administrations always encourages pundits (myself included) to engage in predictions in how the newcomers will manage, regulate, control and otherwise force themselves upon the rest of us. For the party in power, its members always predict a new attitude, more cooperation, outreaching to the other side, better solutions and smooth sailing. For the defeated party, forecasts of payback and retribution are the more common line.

So, as our nation moves towards a change in management, I too will offer my perspective on potential changes. Especially some that will affect our industries.

The “Wall Street Journal,” reported that an industry telecom aid said, “We’re going to see a more activist approach, with particular emphasis on promoting new competitors across all sectors and implementing tougher consumer protections.” So, can we expect the new Democrat administration to enact tougher regulations on broadcasters? To paraphrase Sarah Palin, “You betcha.” more

Welcome to my weekly blog. Or, if you’ve seen the promotion, welcome to my rants, raves and reviews. I’m not sure what that all means, but I’ve been given the opportunity to provide my perspective on a variety of issues related to our industries of cable, broadcast, satellite and production.

And I want to know what you think, too. So, if you have ideas or responses or just want me to see your opinion, please comment here in this blog. Or, for more in-depth discussions, there’s a thread set up on our forum called Editor’s Desk.